text:
Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.
Symptoms sometimes begin after a physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event.
Women are much more likely to develop fibromyalgia than are men. Many people who have fibromyalgia also have tension headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and depression.
While there is no cure for fibromyalgia, a variety of medications can help control symptoms. Exercise, relaxation and stress-reduction measures also may help.
Symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
Doctors don't know what causes fibromyalgia, but it most likely involves a variety of factors working together. These may include:
Researchers believe repeated nerve stimulation causes the brains of people with fibromyalgia to change. This change involves an abnormal increase in levels of certain chemicals in the brain that signal pain (neurotransmitters). In addition, the brain's pain receptors seem to develop a sort of memory of the pain and become more sensitive, meaning they can overreact to pain signals.
Risk factors for fibromyalgia include:
The pain and lack of sleep associated with fibromyalgia can interfere with your ability to function at home or on the job. The frustration of dealing with an often-misunderstood condition also can result in depression and health-related anxiety.
Because many of the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia are similar to various other disorders, you may see several doctors before receiving a diagnosis. Your family physician may refer you to a doctor who specializes in the treatment of arthritis and other inflammatory conditions (rheumatologist).
Before your appointment, you may want to write a list that includes:
In addition to a physical exam, your doctor will probably ask you if you have problems sleeping and if you've been feeling depressed or anxious.
In the past, doctors would check 18 specific points on a person's body to see how many of them were painful when pressed firmly. Newer guidelines don't require a tender point exam. Instead, a fibromyalgia diagnosis can be made if a person has had widespread pain for more than three months — with no underlying medical condition that could cause the pain.
While there is no lab test to confirm a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, your doctor may want to rule out other conditions that may have similar symptoms. Blood tests may include:
In general, treatments for fibromyalgia include both medication and self-care. The emphasis is on minimizing symptoms and improving general health. No one treatment works for all symptoms.
Medications can help reduce the pain of fibromyalgia and improve sleep. Common choices include:
Talking with a counselor can help strengthen your belief in your abilities and teach you strategies for dealing with stressful situations.
Self-care is critical in the management of fibromyalgia.
Complementary and alternative therapies for pain and stress management aren't new. Some, such as meditation and yoga, have been practiced for thousands of years. But their use has become more popular in recent years, especially with people who have chronic illnesses, such as fibromyalgia.
Several of these treatments do appear to safely relieve stress and reduce pain, and some are gaining acceptance in mainstream medicine. But many practices remain unproved because they haven't been adequately studied.
Besides dealing with the pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia, you also may have to deal with the frustration of having a condition that's often misunderstood. In addition to educating yourself about fibromyalgia, you may find it helpful to provide your family, friends and co-workers with information.
It's also helpful to know that you're not alone. Organizations such as the National Fibromyalgia Association and the American Chronic Pain Association can help put you in touch with others who have had similar experiences and can understand what you're going through.
Original article: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/basics/risk-factors/con-20019243
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.


text:
Audi A8 price in Dehradun start at Rs. 1.18 Cr. The lowest price model is Audi A8 L 50 TDI Quattro and the most priced model of Audi A8 L Security priced at Rs. 9.15 Cr.
* includes only fuel cost
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Rippling Run Floden's Teutorix "T-Rex"
Now at stud!
Pedigree -
Trifectas Repeat Performance*** MH, UD, CCD, VCX, OS, UD, WCX, CGC, Can CD x Rippling Run Touch of Spice** MH WCX
The name Teutorix means "the people's King," and Teutorix has certainly lived up to his name by having such an excellent temperament around people, children, and other dogs. His call name is "T-Rex," given to him as a puppy. Our trainer refused to call him after a dinosaur, so his name has been shorted to just "T".
T-Rex has Excellent rated hips through OFA and is PRA/prcd clear by parentage. T-Rex's Outstanding Sire, Ditto, became a Qualified All Age at 28 months with two first places, coming in second place twice, and placed third twice in Open Stakes. Ditto is darker in color, has excellent conformation, a stable temperament, and is a family pet as well as a winning obedience and field trial competitor, and lived to be nearly 12 years.
T-Rex's dam, Ginger, is not only beautiful but also very intelligent. She earned her MH title the summer of 2007, passing seven tests at just two years old. She qualified in 2008 for the Master National Test. In 2009, Ginger began field trials and jammed several times, placing third twice.
Both T-Rex's sire and dam rate "Good" in hips, and T-Rex is rated Excellent. T-Rex is an "old soul." Easy-going, wonderful with other dogs, and great around small children. He seems wise beyond his years. He loves to please and also enjoys retrieving. With all health clearances in place, T-Rex is now available at stud.
T-Rex is force fetched, collar-conditioned, and at approximately a SH AKC level at this point. We plan to run him in events once at a MH level.
OFA Health Clearances:
GR-101676E31M-VPI HIPS - Excellent
PRA/prcd - Clear (parentage)
For more information, visit http://www.flodenfarm.com/ or call 866.932.9466. Able to work with natural or AI breedings.


text:
By Avi Salzman
Edwards Lifesciences (EW) is falling hard after-hours after the company lowered its third quarter sales guidance. Austerity measures in Europe caused cutbacks in heart valve implantations, and regulations affecting the company's products in the U.S. are taking longer than expected.
"Transcatheter heart valve sales were below expectations for the third quarter, with global sales estimated at $124 million, including U.S. sales of $55 million," the company said in a statement.
Edwards said it now expects to post sales of $448 million in the third quarter, below its prior guidance of $465 million to $485 million.
Shares were recently down 13%.


text:
Submit News
Ford Offers $10k Discount on Leases for Slow Selling Focus EV
Shane McGlaun
January 25, 2013 8:48 AM
Recipient E-mail
Sender E-mail
$10,750 discount includes $7,500 federal tax credit
Electric vehicles aren't exactly selling in droves for automakers around the world. Many of today's highly efficient gasoline-engine vehicles are offering such high fuel efficiency ratings that it makes little sense to pay the extra money for hybrids or EV for many consumers (that is unless you
live in California
Ford is trying to get customers to lease its Focus EV electric vehicle and is offering significant discounts to land buyers. Ford has announced that it has dropped the base price of the Focus EV by $2,000 on cash purchases. Ford is also offering as much is $10,750 off the cost of a three-year lease.
Ford also plans to offer 1.9% financing on the Focus EV if purchased through Ford Motor Credit. The Focus EV didn't have a good 2012 with Ford selling only 685 of 1,627 vehicles it built. That sales rate made the Focus EV one of the
worst performers
in the industry.
Ford isn't alone in having to discount its electric vehicles to get consumers more interested; Nissan also recently dropped the price of its 2013 Leaf by 18%. The Leaf now
starts at $28,800
and Nissan is offering new incentives to help boost sales.
"We certainly are not in a situation where we have to completely discount but we do have to respond to competitive pressures," Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said. "We're not anywhere close where Nissan has gone with the Leaf."
The Ford lease offer is on Red Carpet leases if buyers take retail delivery by April 1. If the buyer meets those conditions, they will receive $10,750 off (a figure which includes the $7,500 federal tax credit).
The MSRP for the Focus EV base model is $39,995, while the new price for cash purchases is $37,995.
Detroit News
"Well, we didn't have anyone in line that got shot waiting for our system." -- Nintendo of America Vice President Perrin Kaplan
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text:
May the Force Be with You
License: CC BY-NC 3.0
This odd-looking device is a medical marvel. It is used to detect radiation in the human body. The radiation is given off by radioactive isotopes, or radioisotopes, that have been injected into a patient.
Why It Matters
- Standard X rays are very useful for some purposes, such as diagnosing broken bones. But X rays just show structures of the body. Even CT and MRI scans mainly just show the body's structures.
- Medical scans that detect radioactive isotopes, called PET scans, not only show structures of the body. They also show how the structures are working. They can detect cancer cells, for example, because they use more energy than normal cells.
- PET scans would not be possible without the weak nuclear force. This is the force inside the atomic nucleus that can change a proton into a neutron, or vice-versa. In doing so, the weak force changes one type of atom into another and releases radiation. This is called radioactive decay.
- Watch this entertaining video to learn how the weak force is involved in radioactive decay:
Explore More
Learn more about radioactive decay and PET scans at the links below. Then answer the questions that follow.
- http://www.mhhe.com/physsci/chemistry/essentialchemistry/flash/radioa7.swf
- http://www.livescience.com/32376-what-is-a-pet-scan-and-how-does-it-work.html
- What is the weak force? What carries the weak force?
- What is radioactive decay? Describe the three types of radioactive decay.
- Why is the weak force necessary for radioactive decay?
- Describe how the weak force can change carbon-14 to nitrogen-14. Which type of radioactive decay is this?
- Outline how a PET scan works to detect cancerous tissue.
- What other diseases or conditions can be detected with PET scans?
- Besides PET scans, what other phenomena would not be possible without the weak force?


text:
ECL775 - Intercultural Communication in Language Classrooms
Unit details
Note: You are seeing the 2012 view of this unit information. These details may no longer be current.
|Enrolment modes:
|Credit point(s):
|EFTSL value:
|Unit chair:
|Z Golebiowski
|Incompatible with:
|Contact hours:
|For on-campus students, 2 hours of seminar/workshop per week; for off-campus students, a half-day study day at the Melbourne Burwood Campus.
ContentThis unit aims to introduce students to the basic concepts of intercultural communication. It discusses differences in interactive styles across diverse cultural settings and focuses on the application of intercultural pragmatics in language learning and teaching contexts.
Topics to be addressed include: Cultural differences in written and spoken discourse; Intercultural communication and Grecian maxims; Ways of making meaning in diverse cultural contexts; The pragmatics of face and politeness; Applications of pragmatics in second and foreign language learning and teaching; Relevance and implicature; Intercultural variation in speech acts; Presupposition and common ground; Cultural awareness in the classroom; Intercultural variation of academic English; and Stereotyping and discriminating in language.
AssessmentResponses to theoretical issues and practical activities in logbook format (2000 words - 40%); an essay on an issue in intercultural communication in a language classroom (to be selected from a list of topics included the Unit Guide) (4000 words - 60%).
Prescribed textsDeCapua, A and Wintergerst, A. (2004). Crossing Cultures in the Language Classroom, University of Michigan Press
Hinkel, E. (2002). Culture in second language Teaching and learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Unit Fee Information
|Student Contribution Rate*
|Student Contribution Rate**
|Student Contribution Rate***
|Fee rate - Domestic Students
|Fee rate - International students
* Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2010
** Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2009
*** Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2008
Please note: Unit fees listed do not apply to Deakin Prime students.


text:
Monique Harden, one of the lead lawyers in the case, filed this brief to the Commission: "It will be interesting to see how the administration will deal with the fact that the arguments it presented in its first brief to the Commission are entirely contradicted by the statement made by EPA Administration Lisa Jackson in her interview with Ike Sriskandarajah."
The U.S. Government claims that the people of Mossville "have not exhausted domestic remedies" which is a requirement to be heard by the IACHR. But EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told Planet Harmony: "I think the Mossville case is a really interesting one because . . . they had to basically make a case that the laws of this country do not provide them an opportunity for redress. And it is true that at this point there are no environmental justice laws; there's nothing on the books that gives us the ability to do it."
Harden said she was surprised by Administrator Jackson's statement in our report, "heck yeah I was surprised and joyful, greatful." She added about the admistrator, "this is a person who gets it."
The EPA was not immediately available to comment. Harden and her firm, Environmental Human Rights, say that this will be definitely be a "sticking point" for the Government's defense.
We'll be following this story as it develops. In the meantime here's the report in full:
SRISKANDARAJAH: Mossville, Louisiana is old. The village was founded by freed slaves. They chose to settle land with deer to hunt, fish to catch and fertile soil to grow rice and sweet potatoes. Today the descendents of those settlers live in a very different place. Christine Bennett's family has been living here for four generations.
BENNETT: The place that was once so beautiful and so clean is now a dump.
SRISKANDARAJAH: The petrochemical industry built 14 factories where she lives. They make things like siding for houses and each year release four million pounds of carcinogens such as benzene and vinyl chloride.
BENNETT: What happened to that place that I was reared at—that I can go back and share with my children. This is where my ancestors are. But now part of it is gone, the rest that's left there is a little ghost town people and starving for life.
SRISKANDARAJAH: We met up with Bennett on her way to file a petition in Washington D.C. on behalf of her community's human rights. Now, after five years of back and forth with the Government, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hear the case.
FARRIOR: Well this case is important in a number of respects.
SRISKANDARAJAH: Stephanie Farrior teaches International Law at Vermont Law School.
FARRIOR: It is the first environmental case coming out of the United States to go to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
SRISKANDARAJAH: So this is the first? So nobody's tried this before? FARRIOR: Not from the United States.
SRISKANDARAJAH: But other environmental cases have succeeded. In 1985 The Yanomamo Indians charged the Brazilian government with violating their human rights.
FARRIOR: So that was the first environmental case that came to the Inter-American Commission.
SRISKANDARAJAH: For 50 years the Commission, made up of members from Canada to Argentina, has provided a last line of defense for human rights in the Americas. The United States has been before the Commission on complaints about the death penalty and Indian land claims. But this is the first environmental case from the U.S. to reach the Commission.
FARRIOR: And the commission found the petition actually did make out several potential claims regarding two important rights. One is the right to equality and freedom from racial discrimination, and the other, which they linked to the environment, the right to protection of the law against abusive attacks one's life, family life.
SRISKANDARAJAH: Racial discrimination and health impacts of polluted environments have been notoriously hard to win in American courts. Jerome Ringo—former Chairman of the National Wildlife Federation—consulted on another Mossville case. That succeeded in buying up homes of residents closest to a petrochemical factory.
RINGO: Today the first mile from the plant, from the fence line of the plant to a mile into Mossville is abandoned and the property now is owned by the industry and that is contaminated property.
SRISKANDARAJAH: This suit compensated for property damage, but personal health damage…that's another story. Legal standards make it difficult to pinpoint which of the 14 plants, if any, is to blame for the high rates of cancer in the area.
RINGO: The EPA and the CDC does studies that really check the chemicals that are being discharged by a specific plant, but I am not aware of any study that monitors the chemicals that once they meet into the atmosphere and they mix what do we have then?
SRISKANDARAJAH: This toxic chemical mix is a hallmark of Louisiana's infamous cancer alley. The emancipated slaves who settled Mossville had land, but no voting rights to protect it. With the boom in the chemical and plastics industries after World War Two, companies found little resistance to building factories in these disenfranchised, black neighborhoods. Today, government researchers find three times the national average of dioxin levels in Mossville residents.
RINGO: Well you know that's the responsibility of government. We recognize that we have an EPA, who is now doing great job because of the leadership of Lisa Jackson.
SRISKANDARAJAH: Jackson is the first African American administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. And she cares about this area. JACKSON: That's right. It's where I grew up.
SRISKANDARAJAH: The administrator has made environmental justice a centerpiece of the EPA. But she says that the laws of the United States still don't provide adequate protection to its poor and minority populations.
JACKSON: And I think the Mossville case is a really interesting one because what the petitioners argue, as I understand it, is not in order to get heard they had to basically make a case that the laws of this country do not provide them an opportunity for redress. And it is true that at this point there are no environmental justice laws—there's nothing on the books that gives us the ability to do it.
SRISKANDARAJAH: Since 1994 a U.S. presidential order has mandated equal protection for minority and low-income populations. But implementation is weak. This isn't only a problem in North America says Santiago Canton. He's the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
CANDON: We hear that over and over again from people that come to the Commission saying that they try to exhaust local remedies in their own countries, they tried to find justice in their own countries, and they couldn't find it, so that's why they come to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
SRISKANDARAJAH: In the coming year the Commission will determine the merits of the Mossville case. This could be a lengthy process as 1,500 petitions are filed every year. But, international lawyer, Stephanie Farrior, says just getting the case heard is a victory.
FARRIOR: The Commission's decision to let the case go forward really goes to the very foundation of human rights law. Conditions of severe environmental pollution are inconsistent with the right be respected as a human being. And I think that's what this case is about.
SRISKANDARAJAH: And depending on the outcome, this case could open a new channel to protect and defend the human right to a clean and safe environment for all American citizens. For Living on Earth and Planet Harmony I'm Ike Sriskandarajah.
CURWOOD: Ike is the Senior Editor of Planet Harmony, and everyone is invited to participate in our new online network, and we especially encourage young people of color to share their stories of environmental concern.


text:
Kim Nowacki, Digital Producer, WQXR
Kim Nowacki is the digital producer for WQXR. She is responsible for WQXR's social media channels, live event coverage, video production and keeps a keen eye on the website to make sure what you hear on air is what you see online. Follow her on Twitter at @knowacki.


text:
Atomic Floyd HiDefDrum
In-ear stereo headset Introducing HiDefDrum +Microphone™ by Atomic Floyd™ HiDefDrum are the headphones for music lovers with something to say. These mini works of art pair World Class acoustics with dual-filter technology, so every note you hear and every word you speak is pitch-perfect. Good looking, great sounding, clear talking. Welcome to the New State of Sound.
Atomic Floyd HiDefJax
Manufacturers Description: HiDefJax rugged, tactile styling and gut-grabbing deep bass sound, will send music lovers into a frenzy. Noise isolating design, WideBody acoustics and stunning looks, deliver a heady mixture that transports you to a higher state of music consciousness. Welcome to the New State of Sound.
Atomic Floyd SuperDarts
"Atomic Floyd are a relatively small British based company that not many people have heard of. They continue to sell their products through as few authorised dealers as they feel necessary which means that the £200 price rage for these is pretty much what you're going to have to pay if you want to have your socks blown off by these little gems. First Impressions: As I opened the parcel..." --smithamb
Atomic Floyd Twistjax
Build to provide max bass and max treble the twistjax were intended to replace my battered Sony ex75 in ears. They are the same build with a plug in ear with an acoustic bass chamber for hammering the soft tissue of the outer ear. The bass chamber is made of "acoustic steel" which gives a very solid look. At first the highs and lows are amazing and you hear pumpy basses with sparkling...
Spider "realvoice" Vertical in the Ear Headphone
" First off the disclaimer, the Realvoice IEM'S were given to me a month or two back for reviewing. I would like to thank Spider Cable for the review sample and my apologies for taking so long in writing this review. Since I have had these I have used them about 75% of the time when I am using earphones, which probably averages about two hours per day. So I have put quite a few hours..." --Carlsan


text:
Another Vegan Restaurant Chain Going National
April 30th, 2014 | by Jill Ettinger
When Chipotle added vegan sofritos to its menu, that was pretty yummy news (as was its recent announcement that its menu is now mostly GMO-free, too). But the chain still serves meat. It pretty much means you have to grab your vegan sofritos or black bean burrito and hightail it out of the restaurant to avoid watching people chow down on chicken, pork and beef, save you ruin your appetite.


text:
By From an editorial published in Bloomberg News on Wednesday:
Remarkable developments are embedded within an otherwise humdrum announcement last month by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which said that the number of homeless people in the United States declined slightly in 2012, according to a count on a single night last January.
The drop of 0.4 percent to 633,782 continues a trend of improvement now lasting five years. In that time, the U.S. has reduced homelessness by 5.7 percent even as the poverty rate grew by 20 percent.
The decline shows that the country has learned something about how to address homelessness. The solution lies not in publicly sheltering the homeless for sustained periods but in ensuring that they quickly secure their own places to live.
This approach was first applied to the chronically homeless, who made up 16 percent of all cases in 2012.
New approaches also are being applied to the situationally homeless – families and individuals who've slipped into homelessness because of misfortune such as a job loss or a costly illness. Once assisted, people tended to stay housed. Numerous studies showed that only about 3 percent of households served were homeless again within 12 months. Plus, costs per household were much less.
Experience over the past five years demonstrates that homelessness is not an insurmountable challenge. With the right measures, significant progress is possible.


text:
|Gear Talk - Fly Stuff Spoken Here Sage advice & fresh perspectives
|Topic Review (Newest First)
Kennebec River Tube Fly Tool
If you tie tubes, you need this tool. I was getting heavy into the saltwater coho scene when I discovered that the position of the hook made a difference in the number of fish you'd land. Well, I guess it stands to reason that the classic salmon rig uses two snelled hooks on one leader - salmon just don't go for head [img]http://184.108.40.206/images/flytalk/Wilk.gif" border="0" align="middle"> What I mean is, you can throw a 12 inch fly with a 1 inch hook up front and still hook a striper... he is tuned into the head. The coho is a side-swiper, as I imagine most salmonids are (hence the design of 4x long Maine streamers, etc).
When the action gets hot around tide rips in the Strait of Juan DeFuca, you need something you can cast and I do not have any desire to cast a standard two-hook salmon rig on my fly rod. I turned to tubes. Fortunately, the Swallows Nest flyshop (downtown Seattle) had gentleman by the name of Les Johnson on it's staff. He is perhaps the most experienced contemporary saltwater/coho fly guy around Puget Sound - and a heck of a steelheader too. To some he's a bit of a legend in the making - you can count me in that crowd.
Anyway, he shows me this little chunk of Yankee ingenuity from out old town way... the Kennebec River Tube Fly tool. After the obligatory down Maine praise and another belt of my espresso, he continued to explain the device. It was so new then that he was using the machined prototype. The "keeper notch" (a little edge used to prevent tube rotation) was machined and sharp. He mentioned that he was going to refuse sending it back, with the mirthful smile of a teen. The mass produced ones just didn't have as much bite to them, but this hasn't been an issue for me. I believe it was around $45, but I must say it was worth every penny. Kind of like the Mattarelli whip finisher (another hot debate item <img src="http://18.104.22.168/images/flytalk/Wilk.gif[/img] ).
It comes with several mandrels of varying diameters, each tapered slightly to hold the tube from the inside. There is also a vise jig, that fits any vise (I liked that). Each mandrel fits into the jig and you tie around the tube body. Once done, you simply loosen the jig and pull the mandrel out of the tube. OK - so I use the term "simply" liberally. About the only problem with this whole blissful affair is the removal of tightly wrapped tube flies from mandrels when using a compressible tube like plastic in combination with high-tension thread patterns like salmon fly bodies wrapped with floss and tinsels, etc.
This is not a problem with aluminum, brass or other tubes. You can also use a slimmer mandrel (you get a bunch of different sizes) although there is risk of slippage.
In any case, now that I am back in the NE I still use my little gizmo of Yankee Ingenuity when tying big squid or articulated patterns for stripers and other eastern SW gamefish.
If you tie tubes, ya gotta have one!
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You are here
Rascal Flatts
Date & Time
Thursday, February 14, 2013 (All day)
North Charleston Coliseum
Event Details
Does your sweetheart love country music? Then shoot cupid's arrow through their heart with tickets to see Rascal Flatts live. The band that's had 14 number one singles on the country music charts makes another visit to Charleston. Listen to hits such as "These Days," "Bless the Broken Road," "What Hurts The Most," "Take Me There," and "Here Comes Goodbye." North Charleston Coliseum, 5001 Coliseum Dr., North Charleston. Thursday, 7:30pm. $60-$30. (843)529-5050, www.northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com


text: I am looking for advise on a two dog slide in box. I am interested in a North star box that is insulated, has aluminum doors, and top storage. My biggest concern is the durability of plastic compared to an Ainley or other double walled stainless box. I do however like the idea of Northstars floor pan and temperature control. Any advise?


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Terry Britton
Interesting that they are trying to blame the Bush administration with the lack of regulation when it was Bush that tried to reel it in from 2003-on. The Bush administration kept yelling about the coming housing crash/bubble burst that was being ignored along with the lack of regulations being past by the democrat congress. It was the Clinton administration that pushed for the deregulation and the subprime loans to those who couldn't afford either.
And this guy is wrong on heavy regulation saves capitalism? No the fear of failure and freedom to fail is what saves capitalism!!! Allowing innovations saves capitalism.
We are heading down a long road of facism. Yes, the ideas and actions coming out of the Whitehouse are more aligned with Facism. Obama was right when he said he wasn't a socialist.
And this guy is wrong on heavy regulation saves capitalism? No the fear of failure and freedom to fail is what saves capitalism!!! Allowing innovations saves capitalism.
Here is more on the new administration wanting to control the private sector. Anyone that doesn't think the new administration is very dangerous has thier head buried in the sand!
He was blaming the Bush Administration, but I also heard him say that Geithner and Summers were right there with Clinton and the Democrats in congress, supporting the repeal of regulations passed after the first great depression. Interesting that 10 years after those regulations were passed, we are in the position that we are in. I believe that he's right that things with the big banks are much worse than they are letting on, and the cover-up is to keep us all from panicking and making a run on the banks.
Regulations were in place to allow honest capitalists to thrive and succeed while keeping the frauds at bay. It's not the honest ethical hard working capitalist that's a problem, it's the one that has criminal intent to defraud a country. Those guys intentionally made loans to people they knew couldn't pay, then they bundled those loans into CDO's and put AAA rating on them, then sold them around the world. And AIG got into the act by selling guarantees on those fraudulent instruments with their CDS's. The government has been supporting AIG to funnel money through AIG with their CDS's to all those banks that bought the fraudulent CDO's from the likes of Indy Mac.
I'm not trying to let Clinton, Geithner, Summers, the Democrats in Congress, or Obama off the hook. Everyone INCLUDING the Republicans are complicit. These guys are ALL too close to Wall Street, and now the American Taxpayer is taking a big one up the poop chute.
Terry, did you listen to the whole think, or did you click stop the first time you heard the word Bush?
The aspect that he's missing is what the loan issuers viewed as the get out of jail card. Home prices were increasing at an unheard of rate and the expectation was that there would not be defaults because it would continue to be easy to flip the properties at a price that would pay off all loans. When prices began to stabilize and then fall, the gig was up and default rates began to shoot up -- for all mortgages, not just sub-prime.
Gerry Clinchy
the expectation was that there would not be defaults because it would continue to be easy to flip the properties at a price that would pay off all loans.
And that was the folly. The real estate market is always cyclical. When prices reach a critical "ceiling", the numbers of people who can afford the higher prices diminishes. This kind of thing was seen in various parts of the country before ... California, for example, about 20 (?) years ago ... and here in my own area when an Interstate opened around 1987.
Prices then stop rising; deflate to some point where the market again attracts buyers. We have seen this in my own area of PA. The prices don't usually go as low as when they started their increase, but they are significantly lower than the peak. When the prices get low enough, buyers are again attracted to buy, and prices begin to increase again due to demand.
The error in the actions being taken now is that the market prices (here in my area) have not yet reached their "natural" low. Sellers are still pricing their homes too high to sell in less than 120 to 180 days. The tax credit IS attracting first-time buyers, but that may serve to keep prices higher than they would be if the market were left alone.
Just as with gasoline when it went to $4/gallon ... or any other product that rises in price to the point where consumers will begin to limit their consumption. When that happens the prices begin to decline until consumers decide that they can afford to increase their consumption gradually.
I really believed that the "credit" should have remained an interest-free "loan" ... or maybe blend a smaller "credit" with a larger, repayable "loan".
There is also a bit of a "glitch", the first-time buyers get a break, but the sellers who are "moving up" don't have that same benefit. With conventional loans now requiring increasing down payments (30% up from 20% to get a reasonable interest rate), the sellers are wanting more for the house they are selling to the first-time buyer. The first-time buyer is figuring the tax credit into this scenario, and possibly paying more than they should.
Since the conventional mortages are requiring higher down payments, guess what? The number of FHA mortgages in our area has at least doubled in the past year. While FHA loans only require a minimum of 3.5% down, you can put down a higher amount. It didn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out that an FHA loan could be a better deal than a conventional loan even if you had a larger down payment ... like 10% of 15%.
OTOH, if the prices have not bottomed out yet; and if job layoffs continue, all of these loans could also end up in trouble in a couple of years.
Interestingly, the cycle here in my area didn't vary dramatically from the "historic" 7-year cycle. In 1993 the prices were still coming down gradually from the "peak" around 1988 or 1989. It was about 7 years later (1994, 1995) that the increase gradually began; then started to accelerate considerably around 2003-2004. The advent of easier credit changed the "up" cycle by a couple of years, but, as we have found, it was "artificial". Prices peaked toward the end of 2006, and have been "softening" since then. By the beginning of 2008, the number of Realtors® in our local association had decreased by 1/3.
Terry Britton
This is better coverage of the problem:
Terry Britton
That is the same reason engineers are now leaving the EPA in droves. The new administration had sent out emails that was basically instructions for the engineers to ignore laws and engineering principals over allowing the underprivilaged and minorities to start or continue business without worrying about environmental issues. On top of that, the engineers travel to actually do their jobs were restricted with heavy pressure to approve projects without verification. This kind of thinking is dangerous, and is the same sort of thinking that put us in the housing bust.


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Anyone know when these will be out?
Anyone know when these will be out?
"It can't rain all the time."
"Quote the Raven, Nevermore."
We just got wave 3, man! Give it some time!!!
*snicker snicker
GIGANTA: A robot that automatically produces fun!
I just got off the phone with Disney Mail Order and they claim that the new Star Tours figures have not arrived at Disney Florida yet.
Anyway, when they do manage to come in, call 1-407-363-6200.
I was at Disneyland (California) yesterday and was told that ONLY Florida would be getting them (bastards). So for anyone not living in Florida, mail order looks like the only way to get them.
Damn, that really sucks. I might be going to Disneyland in December, maybe they'll get them then? I hope.Originally Posted by stillakid
Got a question for Hasbro? Ask it here!
My Photos and Reviews: SSG Toy Guide
My Star Wars Fan Film: The Lazy Jedi
Originally Posted by Mr. JabbaJohnL
We can hope, but the word is that they won't get them at all. Why? I wasn't told.
Just posted this in the Just Found thread in response to your post there Stilla, but I wouldn't take what a Disneyland store employee says too seriously, they may want to help but oftentimes I've found that they know very little and are too eager to fill in the blanks to ensure that your visit is as smooth as possible. It's happened with StarTours and Indy before where they declare something is never going to hit Disneyland and not long after it's right there in the store.
The key phrase here: "grain of salt"
Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.
Kylo Ren - came from Space Brooklyn, although he moved to Space Williamsburg before it was trendy.
The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.
I ordered mine on Kebco.
Anybody been to Disneyworld/land lately? Any news at all on these? Have Kebco orders been delivered?
I went to Disneyland a few weeks ago. They didn't have any of wave 4, though they did have the others. I forgot to ask about them, but I doubt they would've known anyway.Originally Posted by stillakid
Got a question for Hasbro? Ask it here!
My Photos and Reviews: SSG Toy Guide
My Star Wars Fan Film: The Lazy Jedi


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Joseph Bastianich
About the Author
JOSEPH BASTIANICH is the co-owner of Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group as well as Eataly throughout the Americas. He has co-authored two award-winning books on Italian wine, and his memoir, Restaurant Man, was a New York Times bestseller. He was formerly a judge on FOX's MasterChef, is on Sky's MasterChef Italia, and both stars in and serves as a producer on CNBC's Restaurant Startup.
TANYA BASTIANICH MANUALI received her PhD in Renaissance art history from Oxford University. She co-owns and is the executive producer of Tavola Productions, owns restaurants, and oversees the production and expansion of Lidia's food line. Tanya has co-authored five previous books with her mother and has also written a book on breast cancer in art.


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Rock Back the Clock Music FestLocation: La Belle Amie Vineyard
Come to La Belle Amie Vineyard for the Rock Back the Clock Music Fest on October 13 in Little River. Bring a lawn chair and sip some wine while listening to live music on the winery's lawn. What a great way to spend a fall afternoon! Be sure to check their website for any changes due to weather.Next Date:


text: I went to Walmart today to buy some graph paper and decided to pick up some CCI stingers while there. Went over to the ammo case and there was nothing but about 8 boxes of .270, four or five of .300 win mag, same with 7mm mag, and a couple of 7mm-.08. No .22, no 2 3/4" 12 ga, no 20 ga birdshot, a couple of boxes of 20 ga buck shot, and maybe 20 total boxes of .410, 3" 12 ga, and 10 ga!! Wish I had my camera with me. Really a bit scary.


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I just posted a tweet to Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence and Jena Malone:
#THG @jhutch1992 – @jenniflawrence_ – @jenaamalone — You've all got LOTS of fans who would love to meet you here in Oahu! #808 #Military
— starryskye81 (@starryskye81) November 30, 2012
I'm pretty sure they won't see it though. BUT – I know the power of social media – so maybe ya'll can help me!
The cast of Catching Fire is currently on Hawaii (Oahu) shooting scenes for the movie. Normally, with big movies the Navy Exchange or Moral, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) would be having a fan 'Meet n' Greet' with cast members. For some reason – the Hunger Games cast isn't having on.
The cast did a 'Mall Tour" for the last movie – and Hawaii isn't on the list. But why not? They are here anyway – why not do a meet n' greet and meet up with some of the awesome military families stationed here on-island?
Please re-share this and help me make some noise! 🙂


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0 items
Hi Joe. just to say thank you for such excellent service .thanks you for the help in changing my boots to a bigger size and following this up so promptly.Irene Lester
© 2000 - 2017 Outdoor Megastore Ltd
Stan and his helpers were poised to pick your order but it seems you've left our site. Is it something we said?
If there's anything we can do to help you complete your purchase please call us on 0845 130 8982.
Alternatively, here's a tip that will hopefully persuade you to come back... just add an Outdoor Megastore Customer Discount Card to your shopping cart (cost £4.95) and you will automatically receive 5% OFF your purchase. Just sayin' like...


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Cell Phone Text Messages – the Panacea for Obesity?
We are well aware that regular physical activity and proper nutrition are key to reducing risk of many diseases and associated mortality. These same bahaviors are also the cornerstone of weight management. Unfortunately, we are much less sure how to get the public to adopt these healthy behaviors. For example, we know that while physicians may counsel their patients about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, seldomly do the patients change their behavior.
In other words, we are in desperate need to find new and innovative ways to make healthy lifestyle changes EASY for the majority of people.
So what are the alternatives?
A very interesting study just published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research suggests that an intervention using personalized cell-phone text messages may be one novel way to make a healthy lifestyle change more probable.
In the study, Patrick and colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, randomized 75 overweight men and women for 4 months into one of two interventions: 1) receipt of monthly printed materials about weight control; (2) an intervention that included personalized text or multi-media (picture) messages sent two to five times daily to the participants phones, along with the same printed materials received by the previous group.
The time the text messages were received was dictated by each participant, as were the number of messages per day. Approximately half of the messages requested a reply, with the remainder providing tips, suggestions, and encouragement for improved behaviors.
The topics of the text messages included the following: "goal setting and self-monitoring, understanding calories, portion control, pedometers and physical activity, personal strategies for weight loss and overcoming barriers, volumetrics (consuming foods that are healthy and make one feel "full"), replacement and substitution, routine physical activity, organization and meal planning, strategies for eating out, strategies for creating healthy food and exercise environments, strength training, emotion eating, managing tough social situations, body image, and sticking with it."
The messages went something like this:
"Control your portions by setting aside a large snack package into smaller bags or buy 100 calorie snack packs!"
"In a rush? Buy pre-cut vegetables like carrots, celery, and mushrooms for a quick, easy, and low calorie snack!"
And what were the results?
At the end of the 4 month intervention, those receiving regular messages to their phones lost about 4.5 kg (or about 10 lbs) in contrast to no change in the other group.
And all it took were regular text messages provided by a more or less automated system.
Finally, 92% of the participants in the texting group stated they would recommend the intervention to their friends and family – suggesting a very high overall satisfaction with the program.
While this study is the first to evaluate the effectiveness of tailored text messages for weight loss, the same technology is being used in Africa to increase AIDS awareness and education.
A key component to such an intervention is that it is EASY for the participant – they just receive small "nudges" towards healthy behaviors, and slowly but surely they begin to adopt them.
Secondly, such an approach in today's fact paced world may be more feasible in contrast to forcing people to exercise a la boot camp style for hours each day and go on very-low calorie diets, as popularized on misguided TV shows.
And lastly, getting informative and helpful "nudges" may simply be more fun than reading diet books and being yelled at by a personal trainer.
If you have any doubt as to the veracity of the fun factor in helping people adopt healthy behaviours – look no further than the video below which showcases the most innovative method for getting people to adopt a simple behavior like taking the stairs. (Note to our email subscribers, you must log onto Obesity Panacea to view the video).
Have a great (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend.
Credit to BJ Fogg for the fun video, via Twitter.
Enjoyed this story? Subscribe to Obesity Panacea and have future stories delivered regularly to your email account or your RSS reader.
Patrick, K., Raab, F., Adams, M., Dillon, L., Zabinski, M., Rock, C., Griswold, W., & Norman, G. (2009). A Text Message–Based Intervention for Weight Loss: Randomized Controlled Trial Journal of Medical Internet Research, 11 (1) DOI: 10.2196/jmir.1100
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Updated on 17 November 2012
Dr Paul Hutchison - healthcare professional; Member of Parliament, Hunua; and chairman, Health Select Committee, New Zealand
Dr Paul Hutchison is ushering in a new era in the history of New Zealand's healthcare sector. Dr Hutchison, a parliamentarian from Hunua, is the present chair of the Health Select Committee, a key body responsible for bringing the recent changes in the clinical trial industry of New Zealand.
Dr Hutchison, hopes that the island nation leverages its focus, "From a base of stable government, strong institutions, and excellent educational facilities, to focus on research, innovation and its commercialization to form a third tier to our economy, that of primary products and tourism."
New Zealand in the past has not paid much attention to its clinical trial industry. For instance, the country lacks accurate records of trials done in the country or the revenue generated in the nation through clinical trials. It is estimated that pharmaceutical trials held in New Zealand during the year 2000 generated an excess of $100 million.
A report submitted by the Health Committee of New Zealand to the government, mentions that according to Health Strategic Initiatives Review Committee, New Zealand's aggregate annual clinical trial revenue is less than $30 million. In comparison, neighboring country Australia generates $464.71 million (AU$450 million) from clinical trials of pharmaceuticals alone. This significant reduction in revenue generated by New Zealand's clinical trial industry is indicative of the country's weakening competitive advantage.
Course correction
Following a series of discussions with the regulatory authorities in the country, Dr Hutchison, in June 2011, submitted a 62-page report titled, 'Inquiry into improving New Zealand's environment to support innovation through clinical trials', to New Zealand Parliament. The purpose of the report was to make necessary recommendations in order to improvise on the existing clinical trial industry. The committee made 54 recommendations and the government has now begun acting on them.
Reg Harris 21 November 2012 at 07:06 AM
Dr Hutchison's 2011 report was timely. He drew attention to, amongst other things, the benefits to: the participants in clinical trials, the health system generally, higher education and the economy. He quoted a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise [NZTE]-sponsored paper on the biotech industry which showed that (1) for every $1m spent, a further $1.03m was created in the wider economy resulting in total output of $2.03m; (2) the multiplier effect for every dollar in terms of GDP was 1.95 and (3) the multiplier for jobs was 3.41. The not-unreasonable assumption was made that this general pattern would be reflected in the clinical trials 'sector'. Currently in New Zealand we are endeavouring to develop a cohesive Regenerative Medicine [RM] industry. The web page http://www.cmdt.org.nz/research-themes/ provides a general profile of RM which embraces clinical trialling in NZ as an integral component of its structure. It doesn't, I think, require a huge leap of imagination to visualise some of the benefits of having a strong and expanding sector. There are, of course, the overall outcomes noted in the NZTE study. But one might add the engendering of confidence on the part of biomedical researchers and their sponsors that products-to-be can be tested readily and affordably; the encouragement, springing from this, to continue with the necessary lab-end work; and the immediacy and colleagiality of researcher-clinician/trialler contact and the efficiencies arising. One could also mention the relative manageability [and low costs?] of carrying out trials in a small population and the accessibility of a wide range of ethno-cultural groups, the major ones of which encompass numbers suitable for robust study. The clinical trialling sector in NZ is a health, education and economic driver-in-waiting. Decision-makers and influencers need to recognise this and take the necessary action to help ensure the growth and further development of the sector. Cheers Reg
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YOU have lately been called to these meetings on pretence of sympathising, in your several sections, with the people of France; of putting out addresses of congratulation to their Provincial Government; of "fraternizing" (that is the cant phrase) with the new Republic. The United, or rather Disunited, Irishmen (for with them fraternization does not, like charity, "begin at home") have been foremost and loudest in their expressions of sympathy. With whom do you fraternize? On what grounds do you rest your con‐ page: 9 gratulations? The answer seems easy. We congratulate that noble people who have shaken off the yoke of tyranny; who have banished their false‐hearted King and his family; who behaved with so much moderation in the hour of victory, and with so pure a sense of disinterestedness, that they shot a man only for stealing a silver spoon in the Palace!
In Burke's time, when another revolution called forth similar demonstrations from clubs and societies now forgotten, that great statesman and orator observed,—"I must be tolerably sure, before I venture publicly to congratulate men upon a blessing, that they really have received one." Let the congratulators and fraternizers of the present day consider the saying of one, to whose charge it can scarcely be laid that he was not a true lover of liberty. Let them also consider the present condition of Paris—of that Paris which is the heart of France. Much is said of the tranquillity which reigns there. That great pulse of the country stands still, and we are told to consider it a sign of health. Paris is calm! So is a vessel struck at sea, which trembles stationary on the waves before it is ascertained whether the shock she has received will sink her or permit her to make for the haven. Paris is calm;—its banks are broken, tradesmen ruined, the Savings' Bank (that storehouse of poor capitalists) suspends its payments, or makes them in a compulsory paper currency. Employment is wanting, though forced through unnatural channels, by unnatural means. Men's minds "fail them page: 10 for fear." They stand in a gasping pause, waiting they know not what; watching their Government, watching those balloon‐statesmen who have risen to a height they cannot measure, to descend they know not where; prepared alike to witness the accident of their safety, or the catastrophe of their fall. What is there in all this to awaken a spurious and morbid sympathy, a spirit of emulation, with France? What is it that Englishmen and Irishmen consider it would be worthy and wise to imitate? Of the moderation shewn by the populace we will not speak; where no foe stood to confront them, there could be no opportunity for mercy. If the cold ferocity, which once made the world shudder at such savage antics as dressing the hair on the severed head of the Princess de Lamballe, is extinct in the breasts of the French people—of that people whose dreadful women (no longer "Poissardes") appear in the new character of "Vesuviennes," sworn to fire Paris with torches kept for the purpose—it is indeed a thing to thank God for, if not to congratulate them upon. May it prove so! May the infant Republic remain unbaptized in blood! Meanwhile, let us consider the sort of moderation shewn. There was, a few years since, in Paris, a prince, the heir‐apparent to the throne. He was brave, generous, noble, a good son, a tender brother. He was what any of you might most wish your sons to be, and his parents lost him early, as some of you have no doubt also lost sons. A frightful accident called him suddenly from this world's uncertain pros‐ page: 11 pects of grandeur. He died beloved, lamented. In the tumult of the Revolution the chapel at Dreux was hushed and darkly calm. He lies there, ungrieved by the exile of those discrowned and aged parents, who shall weep no more by his tomb! When the widow and orphans of this prince presented themselves in the Senate of their country—in the Senate where laws are made to protect the feeble and punish the wrong‐doer—the people, whose moderation you applaud, whose success you would emulate, gave the telegraphic signal of exile and beggary, by pointing muskets and bayonets at that defenceless woman and her children. Their property is forfeit to the state: moderation granted them their lives. There was also in Paris, some few years since, a princess, sister to that prince. She was a lady of great genius as well as perfect disposition. She encouraged art, and was benevolent to the poor. She worked with her hands, as some of you workpeople do, and made a statue, casts of which many of you must see daily hawked about the streets of London—the statue of Joan of Arc, one of her country's heroines. She, too, died young, and in her death‐hour the innocent hallucination of her religious mind was that she saw heaven open, and its angels beckoning her to approach. The people, whose justice you applaud, have seized the rents which were the property of her husband and her orphan son. They have seized the fortune of the Duchess of Nemours, which was unfortunately put into the French rentes. They have seized the Brazilian fortune which was the dower of Princess page: 12 Joinville; they have seized the Spanish dower of the Duchesse de Montpensier; the Condé property, left by the will to the Duc d'Aumale; the property of Madame Adelaide, bequeathed by that excellent princess to Madame de Montjoie, and other subjects. If moderation consists in not cutting the throats of women and children and unresisting foes, congratulate them on their moderation. They have created a deficit in the revenue, which they vainly attempt to fill by confiscations and sequestrations, forced gifts, black‐mail levied under the name of patriotic subscriptions. They have taught the working men to look for a sort of Utopia of labour, an imaginary system of independence of all mutual obligation between masters and men—which can never exist—and the expectation of which will entail the certain ruin of thousands, and the probable martyrdom of some on whom the French mob now rely. Paris was, beyond most cities, employed in what is termed industrie de luxe. By banishing their court, by degrading their aristocracy, by destroying the credit and fortune of their rich financiers, by expelling foreigners who spent their wealth in Paris, they have taken the bread out of the mouths of their own artizans. The rich man's pleasures were the poor man's earnings. The large salaries, the gilded vanities, the toys of pomp, are gone—but with them are gone the fuel for the poor man's fire, the loaf for his children's food. "A bas l'aristocratie!" "Vive l'égalité!" Good. But where now to find a market for those quaint devices of ornament, those fanciful traceries, those fili‐ page: 13 gree productions which formed the staple trade of thousands? Barren and withered as the trees of liberty they have transplanted, is the prospect of their new and unemployed condition. Even plunder cannot help them. The rising cry, "A bas les riches!" will not save them. The circulation of a few rich men may make the fortune of thousands; the division of the capital, even of many rich men, would give but a miserable fraction a‐piece to that amazed and starving mass. Is it on this state of things that you would congratulate France? Be warned in time. On the false translation of this cant word "Fraternization" may depend at this moment, in more countries than one, the adverse fate of millions. Ruined tradespeople, stagnated commerce, an impoverished, economizing, or absentee aristocracy, may teach thousands to ban, instead of bless, those who taught them to utter it. You cannot reverse the order of nature. You may stir a pond, so as to bring sticks, stones, and leaves, to the surface; they sink when it subsides. Do you believe that the French Government can continue to support the working classes? Do you believe that the credit of other classes can be supported for commercial purposes by a compulsory paper currency, which may be the fictitious representation of funds that do not exist? Friends, I could shew you the assignats of a former revolution. They were kept as curiosities, because they availed nothing as payment.
But you will say, "We struggle for our rights; we want equality of taxation; we want an extension page: 14 of suffrage; there is still much to do for the people of England." I agree with you. I think there is still much to be done for the people of England, and I think there is much that will most certainly be done. I desire it, as you do, but I believe you are taking the wrong road. I believe that the men who have persuaded you that intimidation, and popular cries echoed from France, will help you to your ends, not only retard your march, but risk your ruin. You are at this moment, many of you, placing your lives, characters, and fortunes in the guidance of men to whom you would not trust the casting up of a ledger or the management of a farm. They would be incompetent, you think, for that; and yet you hold them fitter to legislate for you than the Government of your own country!
In the Commination—read at stated periods in our Church Service—there are these sentences:—"Cursed is he that removeth his neighbour's land‐mark!" "Cursed is he that causeth the blind to go out of his way!" There are land‐marks of the mind—set there by education, custom, and religion: there is blindness of the mind—the ignorance which has not been instructed to see things justly. In my heart I should dread, if I were one of your leaders, the secret echo of that curse; if, from dishonest vanity or selfish fury, I removed those land‐marks, and availed myself of that blindness, to lead you to fruitless insurrection. I should shrink from the memory of those party cries which, when they page: 15 grow too loud, are only silenced by the filling in of obscure graves. Pause! there is yet time. Your best friends stand in the ranks of those you would approach as foes.


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By Kevin Tate/Outdoors Writer
The cold November sunrise set a world of fog aglow. The temperature was crisp but the air was still. The three of us sat on buckets and stools a hundred yards apart on one end of a small field, and the low cloud that obscured us from sight created an odd acoustic effect. We couldn't see at all but we conversed in a normal voice as though mere feet apart, white water transmitting sound better than air.
We'd returned to the dove field that had seen us last in September. It had long since sprouted a patchy crop of winter wheat and the soil between stalks stood crusted and cold, but the area's roost trees and water still made it a tempting southbound stop for migrating birds. We'd seen them here in droves during the week before and, after consulting the hunters' almanac to make sure it was legal, organized an impromptu shoot.
Rounding up dove loads and shaking out green camo seemed a strange task in cold weather, a process somehow out of sync. Like the atmosphere around a spring football game, the setting and purpose was familiar but the enthusiasm oddly misplaced, the whole event slipped in time. Likewise the proposed change to tighter chokes, heavier loads and larger shot seemed odd, so odd that, in the end, we decided against it. We're only willing to separate ourselves from tradition so far, after all. We all have our limits.
Presently, as the sun climbed higher in the sky, visibility improved from feet to yards and the doves began to fly. By the time I could see 40 yards we had birds in the bag and, as the air finally cleared to reveal the perimeter of the field's hot corner, we stepped from the remaining fog with limits in hand. At least, that's how I recall it in my mind's eye. I'm sure I've forgotten the small hardships and discomforts along the way, erased easy shots missed from the record, but there's no doubt it was a special morning. It's part of how I remember the people who were there. It's a mental strongpoint, at times, an anchor whose chain can draw me back to the person I was when I feel lost.
After my first experience with a dove shoot held later than college football's first weekend I was forever hooked on the idea. In some seasons since I've been able to make it happen, in many others not but, always in my mind come November, I think of my Dad, my Grandaddy and I shooting high, fast doves on a late fall day, looking up into the gray, listening for shots from each other, waiting for the birds to come.
Kevin Tate is V.P. of Media Productions for Mossy Oak in West Point.


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Kammann signs deal to sell printing equipmentComments Email Print
ORLANDO, FLA., (April 4, 8 a.m. ET) — Kammann USA (Booth 24033) is celebrating after sealing a deal at NPE2012 to sell one of its K15 CNC printing machines.
The Portmouth, N.H.-based company manufactures and sells a range of printing and labeling machines from 'extra small' through to 'extra large' to a variety of customers producing plastic bottles, tubes and other containers, said Paul Bolduc, Kammann USA president.
The servo-driven K15 CNC machine comes in four sizes and has complete CNC-functionality, printing onto any plastic, glass or metal shape or form. The company has sold 61 such machines, with 12 located in the U.S.
"The accuracy of the servo-drive enables faster, 'pin point' motion control of the bottle and the squeegee print stroke," said Buldoc.
The flexible handling system allows for both vertical and horizontal infeed and outfeed of articles, the company said.
The smallest of Kammann's machines has a footprint of 13.5 square meters, while the extra large machine covers 36 square meters.


text:
So the President of the United States signed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act into law. And the White House released a little fact sheet about it. But as this Reuters article points out, "The law itself does nothing to create federal requirements or repositories for signatures. That will be left to the marketplace, as will the issue of creating security surrounding digital transactions."
...so it could be a while before we see digital signatures catch on.
After signing it in ink, the president signed the bill with a smartcard. His password: "Buddy", the name of his dog. Aren't you glad the password the U.S. president uses to sign bills is broadcast in national media?
Also note that the white house publications server has a much better addressing system for referencing documents than congress does.


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Updated on 4 October 2013
Mr Ganesh Ramaswamy - The new global president of Pentax Medical
Singapore: Japan-based Hoya Group's Pentax Medical has appointed Mr Ganesh Ramaswamy to the position of global president.
"Hoya Group is extremely pleased to have Mr Ganesh Ramaswamy lead the global division of Pentax Medical," said Mr Girts Cimermans, COO, Hoya Group Lifecare Segment.
"Mr Ramaswamy brings a wealth of knowledge, insight and experience from the medical device industry and has a proven track record of delivering results through developing and implementing strategic and operational changes in a multicultural environment. We expect his leadership to further advance the Pentax Medical growth strategy".
Mr Ramaswamy joined Pentax Medical in 2011. Most recently, as senior VP for global technology and quality, he led the transformation and globalization of the R&D and quality functions. Prior to his career with Pentax Medical, Mr Ramaswamy spent several years with GE Healthcare in various strategic and operational roles in the US, Europe and China.
Mr Ramaswamy said that, "Pentax Medical's strengths in medical endoscopy technology combined with the additional advantage of being part of Hoya Group will certainly enable us to be positioned as the global market leader in this field in the future. We will continue to execute on our commitments to deliver world-class products and services that yield tremendous clinical value propositions and economic value additions for our customers and patients."
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text:
Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Anglicans, Lutherans, Calvinists, Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, Episcopalians, etc, etc, etc. Which ones are "false Christianity" and which ones preach the "one true gospel"? Save us the huge pile of scriptural quotes and just tell us what you believe.
And in what way was my original question "dubious"?
Its not that its false christianity but much of the info stems from paganism. There are probably peopl from most religions who have an honest heart to serve God ,,,but often they do wacky things in the name of religion. Luckily God looks on the heart.
Its best to be completely accurate when dealing with scriptures,,but sometimes theres good enough.
Satins original intent was to steal worship away from God,,thats why he got the boot. The more myth and sometimes out right lies surrounding the word of God the more he steers people away from the true heart of God.
So you can't worship God the father of JC if you think God is a Frog,or whatever because it has nothing to do with God.
So the more wrong stuff you believe the harder it is for God to bless you. He has a will for his children ,,,and iff they try hard to learn it and do it ,,they get blessed.
If they don't care about it why should God go out of his way to bless them
God descibes himself with the father analogy because its similiar in a way that earthly fathers care for their children.
I always honor my kids when they try to do my will
When they are disobedient and defiant they don't get jack. If they try hard to do my will I'll bend over backwards for them.
There behavior doesn't make or unmake them my children. They are born of my seed and if they blow up the world they are still my kids,,,but I will turn my back on them and disown them. But they are still Petestians(get it) Pete within them by seed.
So If someone is of a weird type of religon but they believe enough to get gods seed in them then they are for ever christians,,,but their standing will fluctuate with their behavior.
So thats why one can't really be a false christian because either you have Gods seed in you or you don't. Its your applying his will that will show manifest in the life of a son of God.
Their are christians that don't like God because of something bad that might have happened,,,it doesn't make them less christian. it just makes their standing in the family of God less productive as a christian.
God made it incredably easy to be his kid Romans 10 : 9 and 10
its not tough to be a christian but it takes balls to do his will


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Monday, June 30, 2008
Mammi Mia, That's the Ticket!
Last night I joined some friends at the stage show, Mamma Mia, and learned something interesting about context in our writing.
For anyone who isn't familiar with Mamma Mia, it premiered nearly a decade ago on the London stage and has been an international smash ever since. While the plot has nothing to do with the 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA, the group's music fuels the energy in the story about a young woman's search for her real father. The movie version releases in a few weeks, and it looks fantastic in the trailers.
Now about that context thing. I was never a big fan of ABBA's music when they were a hot pop group, but the other night I was completely thrilled with the harmonies and vitality in the songs. Of course, I was a teen in the 70s and way too cool and deep to embrace giddy, hooky songs like "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen." But I think the music's positive effect on me last night had less to do with my no longer being the slightest bit cool and more to do with the context of the music.
In a recent interview Judy Craymer, Mamma Mia's producer, said she thought ABBA's music was "very theatrical." She thus got the idea to create a musical around the songs.
Yes. That's why the show hooked me while the albums had not. When presented in the context of a Broadway musical, the songs rang true. They might not have suited the rock 'n' roll era (in my know-it-all teenaged opinion), but they were perfect for the anticipated tone of the theatrical stage.
And so it must be in our writing. When we decide to write in a particular genre, or about a particular era, or to a particular reading audience, we need to consider the tone of our writing. If we fail to match our tone with the setting, something's going to ring false for the reader. I recently read a blog post by author Camy Tang in which she described her need to switch from the "chick-lit mindset" of her first three novels to a more suspense-riddled tone for her new romantic suspense manuscript.
How can we be sure our tone hits the mark? We immerse ourselves in "the mark." We read books in the genre we're targeting. We watch films set in the timeframe and atmosphere to which we aspire. We plunge into examples of tone done well until its nuances rub off on us. Until it feels natural to write in a particular way for a particular effect. We rush to our computers and pour it all out until we need further immersion. Then we share our work with critique partners and ask them to tune a keen ear for proper tone.
This may sound like common sense. But sometimes we simply don't understand why something sounds wrong until we hear it done right.
And the flip side of this context thing? Maybe you write best in a particular tone and should change genres to match your best writing voice. The tone of the ABBA songs wasn't changed; the genre was, from Rock to Broadway. If you simply write best in a particular tone or voice, you might want to consider changing your genre. But that's a song for another day.
What about you? What's your current genre, and what are the nuances of your writing that fit your genre? Your comments could help others.
14 comments:
- Stacey said...
I haven't seen "Mamma Mia", yet. But I've heard good things... Please enter my name to win a copy of your book. Thank you.
- July 7, 2008 at 10:39 AM
- Bethany said...
Interesting thoughts. Kind of reminds me of the verse Paul wrote about becoming all things to all men...to the Greeks, he became as Greeks, to the Jews, a Jew. Fitting into each group as needed in order to reach them for Christ.
- July 7, 2008 at 11:00 AM
- donna said...
I'm not familiar at all with the movie or show, but it looks cute!
Enter me once again!
- July 7, 2008 at 1:11 PM
- Stephanie Reed said...
Ouch! Guess I wasn't cool in the seventies, when I was also a teen! But I was in choir, so I appreciated the harmonies way back then, especially Fernando and Take a Chance on Me.
And yes, yet another entry for Beach Dreams. Great way to get comments for all your posts--I'll have to remember that when I give away one of my books.
stef dot reed at gmail dot com
- July 7, 2008 at 7:43 PM
- Lucie said...
Now that I know a little bit more about that movie, "Mamma Mia" I think I will check it out.
I also thought that your insight on the subject of keeping the tone to your writing correct (for the genre) was helpful.
Please enter me to win a copy of your book, "Beach Dreams". And, again, thank you!
- July 7, 2008 at 7:58 PM
- bigguysmama said...
Well, I was in my early adolescence in the 70's so I LOVED ABBA. After the 70's, not so much.
At my work Dancing Queen comes over the PA occasionally and you can definitely count on me singing along. :o) Have totally wanted to see Mamma Mia for the past 7 yrs. Maybe some day. I liked how you tied it in with writing. :o)
In Him,
Mimi B
mnjesusfreak at gmail dot com
- July 7, 2008 at 8:19 PM
- luv2read said...
Okay I saw the play in London 2 years ago. I enjoyed the music also, but was not impressed with the the theme of a girl trying to figure out which of the 3 men her mother slept with was her father. Blunt I know. But as for genres as a reader not a writer. I recently read the book Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh. Chick-lit is not my usually type of reading since I am a serious kind of gal. Yep, outlining, research, and a good game of scrabble get me excited. However, her book had so much spiritual depth to it as fun as it was to read I am now quite open to reading that genre. Therefore, I'm entering the drawing for Beach Dreams.
- July 7, 2008 at 9:26 PM
- cespiers said...
i'm not that familiar with the show or movie but it looks cute.
enter me yet again!
- July 7, 2008 at 10:28 PM
- bigguysmama said...
Trish, you will not believe this... The girls and I are watching the end of The Bachelorette and all of a sudden Dancing Queen started playing. I hadn't seen the preview yet! What crazy timing. :o) Just had to share that.
Mimi B
- July 7, 2008 at 10:44 PM
- Trish Perry said...
And, see, Mimi, now I'm loving that music! That's a funny coincidence. I think once the movie releases, we're going to hear ABBA playing a lot more on the radio.
- July 8, 2008 at 4:36 PM
- Audra Elizabeth said...
I really like some of your tips about writing. Thanks.
and please enter me for the book contest again!
- July 8, 2008 at 9:34 PM
- ForstRose said...
Please add another entry for me.
As for Genre and tone, I'm actually more a reader than a writer in terms of fiction anyway but love romance, historicals and fantasy, some chick-lit when I need something less serious to balance the intensity of some of the romances and historicals and now I'm getting into cozy mysteries and some suspense stuff.
Amazing what reviewing books will do in terms of broadening your scope when it comes to reading material LOL!
- July 10, 2008 at 7:20 PM
- Peggy Blann Phifer said...
Hi, Trish, me again. Just covering all my chances at your book drawing.
I really would love to get a copy of Beach Dreams. REALLY (grin)
- July 10, 2008 at 7:41 PM
- kalea_kane said...
I had a similar opinion about Abba when I was a teenager. They were definitely a little hokey though I have to say I adored the song "The Winner Takes It All." As a young teen it really touched an emotional side of me. That being said...I have not seen Mama Mia yet. I do plan to check out the film at some point, because it looks pretty cute. I also would like to see the stage version, but there aren't too many stage musicals going on in Prescott. I really should have caught more when I was in RI and NY.
I enjoyed your analysis of the way the music fits the musical genre, and I really learned something about doing the same with your writing. I am taking baby steps with writing right now. I have to say...I am too much of a newbie to have a genre let alone a voice. Blogs like yours, Camy Tang's and countless others have really been helpful to me.
Thank you. :)
PS...Can you enter me to win Beach Dreams?
- July 12, 2008 at 1:28 PM


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Notice Home
It is ORDERED that, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:6A-13, Appellate Division Judge Michael P. King, retired on pension and having given his consent, is hereby continued on recall by the Supreme Court, for temporary service within the judicial system other than the Supreme Court, for two years, effective December 16, 2009 or until further Order; and
It is FURTHER ORDERED that during this recall continuation, Judge King remains temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division of Superior Court as a settlement judge for the Civil Appeals Settlement Program (CASP), as a member of the special part to handle appeals from tier classification and notification determinations by the trial courts under the Registration and Community Notification Laws, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-1 et seq. (Megan's Law), and to serve on such Appellate Division Parts as ordered by the Appellate Division Presiding Judge for Administration.
For the Court,
Stuart Rabner
Chief Justice
Dated: December 1, 2009


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ECL774 - Learning An Additional Language
Unit details
Note: You are seeing the 2012 view of this unit information. These details may no longer be current.
|Enrolment modes:
|Credit point(s):
|EFTSL value:
|Unit chair:
|Z Golebiowski
|Contact hours:
|2 hours seminar per week for on-campus students.
Note:Study school program at Burwood campus for off-campus students subject to demand. On-campus version subject to demand.
ContentTopics to be addressed in this unit include:
- error analysis, contrastive analysis and learner language: how the acquired language is studied
- relationship between first and additional language acquisition
- foreign language learning cf. Second language acquisition
- learner variability: Features of the learner (cognitive structure, attitude, age, motivation/engagement, goals, aptitude) which may influence acquisition
- silent period and language production
- cognitive effects of second language acquisition
- features of the sociocultural context of language learning that may influence acquisition
- the experience of language immersion
- features of the second language classroom that may influence acquisition, including feedback, noticing, teacher role, learning strategies
Assignment 1 Learning log, submitted in two stages: Topics 1-3 30% (1,700 words) Topics 4-5 30% (1,800 words)
Assignment 2 Analysis of classroom lesson from language acquisition perspective 40% (2,500 words)
Prescribed textsBlock, D., (2003) The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press
Unit Fee Information
|Student Contribution Rate*
|Student Contribution Rate**
|Student Contribution Rate***
|Fee rate - Domestic Students
|Fee rate - International students
* Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2010
** Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2009
*** Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2008
Please note: Unit fees listed do not apply to Deakin Prime students.


text:
Unfortunately, the characters from We're Alive are all situated in Los Angeles and I had to move them into Georgia to make this work.
And yes, Carley survives the gunshot in this one. If you don't like it then write your own story.
FF.Net Link: Last Survivors
Feedback is needed.
Chapter One: Wounds
"She... She.... She's dead! Why did she shoot her?"
"Get in! We're leaving this crazy bitch."
"Lee, she's gone. You heard Ben, you can't help her. Get in or do I have to drag you!"
She woke as if coming out of a deep sleep to find herself face down in the dirt.
What happened?
Almost immediately she felt a painful burning sensation in her left cheek and eye. Her head started to throb as she tried to move her limbs.
Shit. I feel like crap. What happened?
Slowly she pushed herself up and that's when she noticed something else was wrong. She couldn't see out of her left eye. It was night but the moon and stars were out and giving off enough light to see out of her right eye but something was wrong with her left.
Fighting down her panic, she reached up and touched the left side of her face. When she pulled her hand back she found it to be covered in blood. Almost shaking in fear now, she looked around to find herself on the side of a long stretch of a road, lined with trees on either side.
How did I get here?
Then she heard them, the slow shuffling of feet through piles of fallen leaves and the bone chilling constant low moaning. Like right out of a foreboding bad dream, three walkers emerged out from the shadows of the trees, heading straight towards her.
Carley rose to her feet to flee but she almost blacked out from the effort. The sudden movement caused new pain to surged through her head, making it feel like it was about to split open.
The walkers closed in on their new prey.
No, get up and move!
Through sheer will and much fear for her life, Carley started to run as best as she could but her aching head made it almost impossible and for some reason her body had so little strength to give. At most, all she could manage was a fast walk down the road. Carley fumbled inside her coat for her gun but came up empty. The situation was growing from bad to worse.
I'm injured, most likely seriously, no weapon and being chased by walkers. Which one will do me in first?
Looking behind, one of the three walkers was actually gaining on her. Carley tried to move faster but every step felt like someone was taking a jackhammer to her already throbbing head.
The fast walker behind her sounded so close now that she didn't dare look back. Exhaustion was overtaking her and Carley started to cry from her good eye. Maybe it would be better to stop running and let it end now than drag this out needlessly.
Then there was a light from behind and the sound of an engine. A vehicle was approaching and it filled Carley with unexpected hope to keep moving. The vehicle was loud as it sped up and swerved around them to pass on her left. Carley looked and her jaw dropped. It was a humvee! An honestly to goodness US military humvee.
Still trying to keep ahead of the pursuing walkers, Carley tried to wave and call to them but she couldn't catch her breath to shout. Worse, probably in her condition and in the dark they might think she was a walker too. Even in the gloom of night, she could see faces inside the vehicle windows looking out but they were already passing to accelerate away.
With all she had left, Carley finally screamed out. "PLEASE HELP ME!!!"
This caused her head ache even more but it made the humvee screeched to a halt about fifty feet ahead of her. The front side passenger door flew open and a man jumped out. It was too dark to make out his face but the outline of his body showed that he was dressed head to toe in full military combat gear. In his hands, he cradled an assault rifle. At that moment he was the most beautiful sight in the world to Carley.
He took a step towards her as he brought his weapon up. "If you are living, GET DOWN!" The man barked.
Carley almost nodded as she dropped to the hard pavement. An instant later, she heard three loud cracks from his discharging weapon. When her ears stopped ringing seconds later, the moaning of the walkers that had been dogging her from behind had been permanently silenced. Still on her hands and knees and gasping for breath, Carley couldn't stop shaking, unable to believe she was rescued. She then heard more voices coming from the vehicle.
"Watch the tree line!" A powerful and rough older voice commanded. "But shoot only if you have to!"
"I got it!" A much youthful male voice answered back.
Carley then heard people approaching. Lifting her head, she saw the soldier and next to him a woman in plain civilian clothing hurrying to her with flashlights. When they reached her, they shined their lights right into Carley's face, nearly blinding her. Her two would be rescuers actually paused in shock which scared Carley.
How bad are my injuries?
For a moment she feared they would turn around and abandon her.
"Please, don't leave me." Her plead was feeble and weak but she nearly at the end of her rope, her strength fading and she was terrified of dying out here alone.
The woman snapped out of it first and spoke with a gentle French accent. "We won't." She knelt down next to her, taking Carley's hand into hers before turning to the soldier. "Angel, help me."
However, the soldier still hesitated before kneeling down before Carley, studying her damaged face with his flashlight.
"Wait." He was more professional sounding and asked Carley direct. "Were you bitten?"
"I don't know…" Carley muttered. She couldn't remember what happened to her, her headache was getting even worse. "I was with a group at this motel and we were attacked by bandits. We escaped but… everything is a blank after that. Help me… please… please…"
Angel nodded and looked to the French woman. "Riley, this looks like a messy gunshot wound and not a bite. Let's chance it."
I was shot? I need a mirror to see how bad it is.
From the humvee, the young voice called to them. "I would hurry you two! We're doubled park and I'm seeing a ton of movement in the trees!"
Riley and Angel each took an arm and helped Carley to their vehicle and quickly placed her in the back. All the way to the humvee, Carley was almost delirious with gratitude, thanking them over and over. She wanted to kiss them.
Inside, Carley collapsed into her seat in a mixture of relief and exhaustion as the French woman took her place next to her on her right. To Carley's left a large and older man with no hair and a grey beard, dressed in civilian cloths climbed in.
To the front, Angel hurried around into the passenger seat as the driver slide back behind the wheel pulling a pair of night vision goggles from his face. He turned back to them and he was a young black man, dressed in full combat gear like Angel.
"How is our..." He stopped when he looked at Carley and saw her face and nearly exclaimed. "Holy... Is she going to be all right?"
Carley could barely keep her good eye open now. On second thought, I don't want that mirror.
"Just drive Saul." The French woman said urgently, as she reached in the back compartment for the first aid kit. "Burt, help me dress her wound."
The older man leaned in closer to help Riley tend to Carley's damaged face before saying in a gruff voice. "Radio ahead and warn them we have wounded coming in."
"I'm already on it." Angel said.
The humvee pulled away as dozens of walkers piled out onto the road from the forest. They mindlessly tried to follow the military vehicle as its taillights grew smaller into the night before disappearing around a bend in the road.


text:
Zynga Gains After Nevada Clears Online GamblingDouglas MacMillan and Karl Baker
Zynga Inc., the biggest maker of online social games, climbed 7.5 percent on optimism that other U.S. states may follow Nevada in legalizing real-money gambling over the Internet.
The shares rose to $3.43 at the close in New York, after Zynga announced plans to eliminate 1 percent of its workforce. The stock has climbed 45 percent this year, compared with a 4.5 percent increase for the Russell 1000 Index.
Nevada legalized online gambling last week, creating a possible new revenue opportunity for Zynga, which has struggled to step up growth as gamers have shifted to mobile devices. Last year the company signed a partnership with Gibraltar-based Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc to offer real-money gambling in the U.K.
"As states legalize some form of online gaming, you're likely going to see Zynga positively impacted," Edward Williams, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said in an interview. Revenue from Web-based betting will probably measure "in the billions," he said.
The San Francisco-based company filed for a preliminary finding of suitability for gaming in Nevada, Chief Revenue Officer Barry Cottle said in December. It could take the game maker 12 to 18 months to become eligible for real-money wagering in the state, he said at the time. Dani Dudeck, a Zynga spokeswoman, declined to provide an update on the timing today.
Offices Closing
Zynga is consolidating office locations in New York and closing one site in Baltimore and two in Texas, Chief Operations Officer David Ko said today in an e-mailed statement. Workers in McKinney, Texas, will shift to a site in Dallas and employees at one Austin location will move to another site in the same metropolitan area, he said.
Currently, Zynga generates revenue by selling virtual goods within its games -- for example, a gun in "Mafia Wars" or a brick oven in "ChefVille." Zynga's titles are among the most popular games played on Facebook Inc.'s social network.
Zynga sold 100 million shares at $10 apiece, the top of a proposed range, in an initial public offering in December 2011.


text:
Earpiece Kit 6 Sizes STARSET/H31CD
Plantronics offers products for the computer and mobile market segments, specializing in telephone products, such as amplified telephone headsets, telephones for hearing-impaired users and noise-canceling headsets, handsets for use in high-noise environments and value packs. As the world's leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of lightweight communications headset products,...
Plantronics BackBeat 906 Stereo Bluetooth headset
Plantronics BackBeat 906 Stereo Bluetooth headset with Bluetooth adapter 3.5mm audio ports. This wireless headphones feature Altec Lansing sound technology for rich, full-spectrum stereo music and dual-mic AudioIQ noisecanceling technology for exceptional call clarity. This provides up to 7 hours of talk time and up to 8 days of standby time. It is equipped with A2DP technology.
Earbuds with Wind-Up Case
The JB9, a unique set of earbuds, is designed for enhanced audio performance, comfort, style and carrying convenience. Although designed with a sense of fun, the JB9 delivers serious high quality sound from its proprietary custom design and tooling. Enhanced acoustic chambers built into the earbuds improve overall sonic performance and increase bass response for overall clearer sound...


text:
By Robert St. John
Weatherwise, it's been a crazy four weeks to start the year, almost as erratic as the four weeks that ended 2012. Anytime Jim Cantore is in your hometown on Christmas day – and he's not visiting relatives – you are in trouble.
At the Purple Parrot Café we started a construction project on Nov. 12, and due to the rain weren't able to continue until Jan. 22. Last week it was freezing and snowing all over central and northern Mississippi. This week there is a Japanese Magnolia in front of the Mississippi State Capital in full bloom, the crape myrtles are budding, and my wife is breaking out the Bob Marley music on her iPhone – the three most reliable signs that spring is just around the corner.
It's only a trick, though. Don't buy into this beautiful weather thing. It will get cold again, and it will be, most assuredly, after we have put up our winter clothes for the season.
The one positive we can take from this wet winter is we are due to enjoy the best crawfish season we have seen in years, and possibly the best I have witnessed in my 25 years in business.
A perfect storm for crawfish is brewing out there in the swamps and rice paddies and we are gong to be the beneficiaries.
According to four or five suppliers and farmers in Louisiana there is already an overabundance of crawfish. That is unheard of this early in the season.
What we are seeing are optimum conditions – a lot of rain, a good hatch, and moderate temperatures (a hard freeze kills a good hatch). This is a forebearer of great days to come for mudbug fans.
According to one of our largest seafood suppliers, farmers who haven't produced in four or five years are getting back into the game and already have crawfish available. Fellow restaurateurs in New Orleans were boiling crawfish a few weeks ago. I have never seen this many crawfish available this early in the season.
Ground zero for crawfish production takes place in and around the Atchafalaya River Basin Spillway. At the spillway, water is diverted off the river supplying the swamps and rice paddies with muddy, nutrient-rich water.
The crawfish farms are where the early crawfish are harvested, it's not until after Easter – and the melting snow from up north has made its way to our part of the world – that we begin to eat the "spillway crawfish."
Late in the season, the crawfish come from the marshes (a 15-mile stretch between the marsh and the river). We don't always get a "marsh season," but when we do, the crawfish are available into June.
As long as there is water moving through the spillway the crawfish are good. If the water is stagnant the crawfish lose quality.
So, while watching the Superbowl in a short-sleeved shirt, try one of these recipes using fresh crawfish. And make the best of what appears to be one of the best crawfish seasons ever.
Robert St. John is a restaurateur, chef and author of numerous books.