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The lights are on
What are the best hack & slash (talkin Ninja gaiden, heavenly sword) games on the ps3,and if you could only own one, which would it be?
God of War, definitely!!
I think Dante's Inferno
Ninja Gaiden Sigma (the 1st one) is an AMAZING game. 2nd one has much less violence, but is very good also in terms of gameplay / fun. Seriously though, 3rd newest one is not even worth a rent. No one should support it and make devs think it is ok to release blatantly sub par games like it.
Bayonetta was really cool also. New Metal Gear looks cool, but I havn't played it yet.
I'd say Lord of the Rings : War in the North. It didn't do well with GameInformer score wise, and I'm not sure about other reviewers, but I loved the hell out of that game. It was so great that I actually decided to platinum it. It also has split-screen co-op which is rare.
Best hack and slash? I'd say Anarchy Reigns or Bayonetta.
I would say Prototype is one of the better hack 'n' slash games. Overall an OK game, but Ubisoft has that battle system down.
Nier is a great hack and slash JRPG? Does that count?
Or try Dynasty Warriors 7??
Dynasty Warriors 8 comes out next month, and its got my vote! I don't play any other hack n' slash series besides, and I've stuck with Dynasty Warriors for about 10 years.
I definitely have to go with Metal Gear Rising. It's fast and responsive. The countering is pretty simple to execute as well as the dodge but in higher difficulties you have to spot on the timing which makes it oh so satisfying. The story is simple but it has a ton of meat if you listen to the codec calls. Lots of Metal Gear Solid references to feed my MGS hunger as well. The boss fights are tough and the soundtrack to the boss fights made me explode my room with my surround sound. Also, the game is pretty short which is a good thing in these type of games. The repetitiveness of the longer hack and slash games get to the point of making the game feel like a chore to finish. This game is roughly five to six hours long and I never felt that. I beat it twice back to back which I've never done that with any other game ever.
Dragon's Crown looks really good, does that count?
Picked it up and have to say Dragon's Crown is excellent ! Only drawback I can see so far is, it does get insanely chaotic and become difficult to tell what is going on in some parts.
Bleach: Soul Resurrection


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U.S. Savings Bonds are going Paperless!
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is ending sales of paper savings bonds. Paper Series EE and I Savings Bonds will no longer be sold through financial institutions or mail-in orders after December 31, 2011. Savings bonds aren't going away, though. You can purchase electronic savings bonds online through TreasuryDirect at www.treasurydirect.gov.
Why end sales of paper savings bonds?
Ending sales of paper savings bonds will save taxpayers an estimated $70 million over the next five years. In addition, unlike paper savings bonds, electronic bonds aren't easily lost or misplaced. And with TreasuryDirect, you can manage your savings securely online, anytime.
What will happen to the paper savings bonds I already have?
Existing paper savings bonds are valid issues of the Treasury Department and will earn interest for 30 years from the issue date or until redeemed. You can continue to redeem paper bonds at Ossian State Bank. You also can convert your paper savings bonds to electronic savings bonds in TreasuryDirect using a program called SmartExchange. There's no charge to convert paper bonds. No earned interest will be lost, and the bonds will keep their original issue dates and current interest rate terms.
Can I still give savings bonds as gifts?
Yes. You can buy electronic savings bonds as gifts in TreasuryDirect. The recipient must have a TreasuryDirect account (or be named on a minor linked account if under 18 years old).
What is TreasuryDirect
TreasuryDirect is a secure web-based system through which you can establish accounts to purchase, hold, and manage Treasury securities online, anytime. In TreasuryDirect, you can purchase Series EE and I Savings Bonds, Treasury bills, notes, bonds and TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities).
How do I sign up for a TreasuryDirect account?
You can apply for a TreasuryDirect account in just three steps at www.treasurydirect.gov. You will need your social security number, e-mail address and bank account and routing number.
How can I learn more?
To learn more about electronic savings bonds, Treasury securities or TreasuryDirect, visit www.treasurydirect.gov.

subset: commoncrawl


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Troy Chamber of Commerce announced a new, strategic partnership with International Bancard, a Michigan-based company leading the payment processing industry. This strategic partnership with International Bancard will allow Troy Chamber members to receive assistance in navigating through the many complexities of the payments landscape.
With constant changes within the industry, International Bancard consultants will review merchant statements, support goals and provide a risk free cost-savings analysis. International Bancard will also ensure that your POS system and/or credit card terminal are PCI compliant, eliminating and reducing risks.
International Bancard helps businesses streamline their credit and debit card payment processing systems to accept all major credit cards, debit cards, and ACH checks safely and securely, anytime and anywhere.
For more information, call Roger Ferworn at 248-284-9061.
� Staff writer Kathy Blake


text: Home → NFL football NFL's concussion lawsuit settlement should succeed FILE - In this Jan. 22, 1983, file photo, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett (33) takes a hard hit and fumbles the ball during first quarter of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Washington. Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia, announced Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, that the NFL and more than 4,500 former players want to settle concussion-related lawsuits for $765 million. The plaintiffs include at least 10 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including Dorsett. The global settlement would fund medical exams, concussion-related compensation and medical research. (AP Photo/File) By Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press Posted: 09/20/13, 10:36 AM EDT | Updated: on 09/20/2013 # Comments VILLANOVA, Pa. — A lawyer who filed the first concussion lawsuit against the NFL believes the proposed $765 million settlement will go through, and lead to payments to injured players within 18 months.The deal could be nixed if too many ex-players opt out to sue individually.But Philadelphia lawyer Sol Weiss, speaking at Villanova Law School on Thursday, says they would face an uphill battle in court. He thinks most will accept the deal."Overwhelmingly, our clients are very supportive of the settlement, very grateful. A lot of these players had a very glamorous life, they were pro athletes. (Now), they can't work. ... Their families are desperate."Addressing criticism that the NFL, with more than $9 billion in revenues, got off lightly, he said time was of the essence for many of the families. Protracted litigation could have taken years, and left some players with nothing, if the judge threw out the case or they couldn't prove their conditions were caused by their years in the NFL."People say you only got $765 million. I'd rather have that than $1.5 billion, 10 years down the road," Weiss said.The awards could reach $5 million for athletes with Lou Gehrig's disease and $3 million for dementia cases, and includes medical testing for those without symptoms. The money is expected to last for at least 65 years, according to actuarial and medical experts. About 19,000 retired players would be eligible to seek awards or medical testing, but current players are not part of the deal.Asked if he thinks parents should let youngsters play, Weiss noted that Kevin Turner, a former Philadelphia Eagle battling ALS, made his son wait until high school to play football. The decision was difficult, he said."It's sad to see Kevin deteriorate," Weiss said. "Kevin's having a hard time speaking. Yet he's out there every day, supporting his son."Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody must still approve the settlement, which was reached last month.Weiss says Brody brought in a mediator only after a year of negotiations between the lawyers and the NFL failed to produce an agreement. The proposed settlement, reached late last month, also calls for the NFL to pay the players' legal fees in addition to the $765 million fund.The rule changes that have ensued since the lawsuit was filed two years ago, and the science that's emerged linking concussions to brain injuries, only help the game, he said."It doesn't mean the end of football. Football will still be around, and it will be exciting. But they're going to teach kids at a young age how to tackle, or not to tackle with their head," Weiss said."Any sport where you can have a concussion, I think the game will be safer for all the participants," Weiss said.He also mentioned lead plaintiff Ray Easterling, the former Atlanta Falcons player who committed suicide since filing the lawsuit two years ago. His widow remains a plaintiff."He had a horrible 10 years before he committed suicide," Weiss said. Advertisement Subscribe to Home Delivery and SAVE!


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Before I left for South Korea, I was often asked by friends and family, "Is South Korea safe?"
I was reminded of this question on my first day there, when I visited the barrier between North and South Korea known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Perhaps surprisingly, the atmosphere felt more like an amusement park than anywhere dangerous, yet I still felt unnerved looking through the barbed wire into the barren North from the fertile South. When the DMZ was set up 60 years ago, I'm sure no one could have guessed that it would become one of South Korea's most popular tourist attractions, with more than 5 million visitors a year.
This 155-mile cease-fire line that slashes the peninsula in two was created at roughly the 38th parallel after the Korean War. Lined on both sides by electrified fences, armed sentries and land mines, it is a surreal place — it is both historically fascinating and a reminder that hostilities still exist. On the day I visited, people from all over the world poured out of tour buses and cars to visit Imjingak, a tourist area that was developed jointly by both countries in 1972. Here visitors can see monuments to the war, such as the Bell of Peace, the Gyeonggi Peace Center and the Bridge of Freedom that was built to free more than 12,000 prisoners in 1953.
To visit other sites besides Imjingak, visitors must book a tour either through the USO's website or a travel company in Seoul. Many people want to visit the Joint Security Area (JSA), the abandoned village where the truce between North and South Korea was signed. Not every tour goes there, so agents should be sure to verify that beforehand. Sometimes tours are canceled, so pick a tour that gives a refund or rescheduling option. Also note that lunch is included on some tours, or visitors can bring a packed lunch.
Sights of the DMZOn my tour, we were driven by bus along a road with greenery and wildlife on either side, since no development is allowed at the DMZ. We passed by JSA but, because talks were taking place between the North and South, we could not visit. There was still plenty to see, however, including the Dora Observatory, where we looked through binoculars at the North's Kaesong city, and the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where the South and North used to do business until it was closed in April of this year by North Korea due to political tensions. The North and South agreed to reopen the zone in August, and thousands of North Korean employees went back to work.
We also saw the pristine Dorasan train station, a testament to the optimism of the South Koreans. They built the station hoping to have train service through North Korea to Pyongyang and into Russia one day.
Since 1974, four tunnels have been found in the DMZ that were constructed by the North in case of renewed fighting, although many more are believed to be still undiscovered. We visited Tunnel #3, which is over a mile long, 6½-feet wide and 6½-feet tall (in certain areas). It was designed to enable 30,000 soldiers to invade South Korea in just one hour.
Tourists can visit the tunnels either on foot or by taking a tram part way. We donned hard hats and took the tram down — occasional drops of water falling on our heads. We still had to walk part of the way into the tunnel, and I was happy to have a hard hat because I had to stoop over to walk in some areas, bumping my head at times. It didn't hurt but it did give me a bit of a claustrophobic feeling.
I was glad that I visited the DMZ at the beginning of my trip, as it helped me better understand Korea. Reportedly 10 million families are separated by the DMZ, yet South Korean people continue to believe that someday there will be reunification. Visitors to the site come away hoping so too.
Korean Tourist Officewww.visitkorea.or.kr
USO tours of the DMZwww.koridoor.co.kr


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We created the two projects of the treasure chest and bank provided....and more! We were also able to make a Heart Person and I made a card with the extra supplies left over.
Craft Caravan focuses on open-ended craft projects for preschool and early elementary students. They are also have an Environmental Commitment in which they try to use recycled content wherever they can. They avoid foam products, use paper envelopes for shipping, and their products are manufactured in the USA and Canada.
Go to CraftCaravan.com and check out their site. All Chocolate Muffin readers can use the special discount code of chocmufftree to get a BONUS month added on to a 3 month subscription for the kids craft club! A great deal... a savings of $9.95!


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John J. McIntee - 1911-1980
Kathryn S. McIntee - 1914-1976
Contributed on 11/16/09 by pa_moulin
Email This Contributor
Record #: 114520
On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Ohio, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 11/16/09 • Approved: 11/18/09 • Last Updated: 8/13/15 • R114520-G114519-S3


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photo 1 of 130
Gleison Tibau
TRAINING: I will be very well prepared. I'm training something every day, but focusing more on my standup. I hope to score the knockout in this fight!
When and why did you start training for fighting? 14 years ago. I started fighting when I was 15 in Brazil.
What ranks and titles have you held? In jiu-jitsu I was a State Champ in Rio and a State Champ in Wrestling. I have won in some of the big shows MMA here in Brazil like MECA. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black belt
Do you have any heroes? My father, he guided me and always supported me.
What is your favorite technique? Rear naked choke
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? A very big dream of mine is to fight in the United States for the UFC.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I go to the college of ATT, where I am learning all I can. (Laughs) No college, I completed high school back in Brazil.
What was your job before you started fighting? I started training when I was 13 and was fighting by the time I was 15. This is the only job I know.
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Save the Web From Software Patents 127
TheNextCorner writes "PersonalWeb's software patent suit against Github and others threatens the freedom of the Web. In order to make sure that the Web can remain a free and accessible space for everyone, we need to rid ourselves of all the patents that threaten its viability. We need to end software patents."


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LEMONT – A man has died after reportedly jumping from the Interstate 355 bridge over the Des Plaines River on Aug. 27, according to the Illinois State Police.
Acting Master Sgt. Julio Cerrano said that a witness reported that the male jumped at 5:40 p.m. at mile post 10 of northbound I-355, just north of 127th Street.
The man landed on the ground next to the river and a Cook County Medical Examiner declared him dead at the scene, Cerrano said. State Police are investigating the incident as a possible suicide, according to Cerrano.
The man's name has not been released because police are still notifying family.


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Unlike the United States where most of our culinary traditions focus on special holidays, very specific preparation, utensils, process and form are the norm in many, many foreign countries. In Sierra Leone for example, tonight's meal of Corned Beef and Yam cakes, would likely have been prepared by women, using a large pot, supported by three stones over a wood or charcoal fire. In fact, when I first started cooking in African countries back in 2010, I dug such a fire pit so I could try to replicated this process, which I highly recommend no matter what you like to cook - to see it, click here. Families in Sierra Leone generally congregate around a large dish of food, which almost always consists of rice, a small amount of fish or meat and sauce or gravy for dipping. After washing their hands, each person eats from the area directly in front of them or the middle of the platter, using their left hand only. Reaching across the platter is considered bad manners, as is using ones right right hand. Moreover, a lot of conversation is considered disrespectful to the food. The oldest male gets the best piece of meat, followed by younger males. The balance is left for the women and girls.
One cannot talk about Sierra Leone's history without mentioning the 1991-2002 Civil War that killed and/or mutilated more than 75, 000 people. The country's long history of diamond, bauxite and gold mining has long been a source of exploitation by those who mercilessly profit from the country's natural resources and exploit its people. This corruption, mismanagement, economic collapse and the dismantling of the educational system all contributed to one of the bloodiest and most tragic civil wars in the world's history.
Sierra Leone's tropical climate ranges from savannas to rain forests. Cassava, palaver sauce, red palm oil, onions, peppers, fish, meat stews, okra and ground nuts are all grown and consumed in this country. As mentioned above, rice is the staple starch in nearly every family, and large amounts of meat and fish are not common at the dinner table.
Peel the yam, sweet potatoes or potatoes, boil until soft and mash
Prepare the egg-milk mixture and the bread crumbs
The recipes calls for tinned corned beef, but I used fresh and minced it (my son works at a deli!)
Combine ingredients and add 2 Tbsp. of the egg mixture to bind everything
Brush cakes with egg mixture - don't attempt the dip method - I did and they fall apart
Get your oil good and hot and fry four at a time, turning once, until golden brown
Serve alongside hot sauce...I love this Peri-Peri sauce fromt he folks at Rhino
Corned Beef and Yam Cakes (recipe courtesy of Africaupenn.edu)
1 pound potatoes or yams
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
7 ounce can corned beef (I used 1/2 lb. fresh)
2 cups bread crumbs for coating
Oil for frying
1 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional
1 tsp. finely chopped parsley
Peel potatoes or yams.
Boil in salted water until tender; drain and mash.
Add pepper or cayenne, chopped onions, parsley and corned beef.
Add milk to eggs and whisk.
Add 2 Tbsp. of the egg mixture into the yam mixture and blend well.
Scoop up about 2 Tbsp. yam mixture and form into flat cakes.
Brush with egg mixture, then coat with bread crumbs.
Fry in hot oil until golden brown, turning once as needed.
Drain on paper towels.
Serve with peri-peri or hot sauce of your choice.
Final Assessment: These were absolutely wonderful. They could easily be vegetarian by leaving out the corned beef and I honestly don't think you'd miss it all. I love the sweetness of the yams and the addition of cayenne gives them a great kick. Like any croquet, they're best fried in good hot oil so they don't float around soaking it all up. Once deeply golden brown, all they need is a little sea salt and a good sized dipping dish of peri-peri or hot pepper sauce. Served along side rice and a vegetables, they make a great meal. Except we just ate them as soon as they were cool enough to handle and called it dinner.
© 2010-2011, What's Cooking in Your World? Sarah Commerford/All Rights Reserved


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Mac BlurayRipper Pro allows you to extract Blurays to your hard disk
Enjoy the latest in video and media entertainment with the help of Mac Bluray Ripper Pro. It is now easier and faster than ever to extract Blurays to your hard drive. For DVDs checkout Mac DVDRipper Pro.
Watch Blurays on your computer
Watching your Blurays has never been this convenient. Use VLC Media Player to watch them on your desktop or laptop.
What's New
- Mac BlurayRipper Pro is shutting down, as it doesn't work with newer releases.
Thanks to all who supported Mac BlurayRipper Pro!
- Mac OS X 10.5 or later
- Blu-ray drive
*Previously available here


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The lights are on
The last console generation was packed with some of the
greatest action games of all time. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4's life cycles
were longer than any consoles before them, allowing developers to become more familiar
with the powerful tech and deliver better and better games. Imaginative new IPs
like Uncharted and Assassin's Creed started as demonstrations of raw potential
and matured into blockbuster franchises. Long-running series like Tomb Raider
received their best entries in years.
The action genre is, by definition, a fairly broad category.
Games that don't obviously fit into more defined genres like shooters, sports,
or RPGs tend to fall under the "action" umbrella. For example, Nathan Drake
shoots tons of evil mercenaries in Uncharted, but labeling it a shooter does a
disservice to the fun environmental exploration and puzzle-solving. With that
in mind, by Game Informer's qualification of action games are generally
third-person affairs with significantly more to them than a combat hook. As one
final note, keep in mind that we limited our list to one entry per series. (Click here to explore the rest of our articles exploring last generation)
Without further ado, these are the 10 best action games of
the generation.
10. Tomb Raider
Going into last generation, few would've likely guessed that
Lara Croft would star in a new game worthy of this list. The indomitable explorer managed
to survive a series of rough entries before Crystal Dynamics righted her path
on the PS3 and 360 - Didn't Crystal do the last 3 or 4 games??. Visually
stunning, the Tomb Raider reboot did an incredible job of transporting players
to the mysterious, deadly island of Yamatai. Lara's ordeal in the island's
wilderness and crumbing ruins is filled with intense moments like tumbling down
a waterfall and escaping a collapsing ship. The visceral, bone-breaking nature
of these close calls would be enough to make Nathan Drake feel like he has it
9. Dead Space
Horror games dried up on consoles last generation, but
Visceral's Dead Space series stood against changing trends. Isaac Clarke's
fateful mission on the USG Ishimura combined
the core third-person gunplay of Resident Evil 4 with the innovative ability to
move while shooting (something Capcom wouldn't implement until RE 6). The
winning combination gave players more control, but also inspired Visceral to
make deadlier enemies. The twisted, mutated Necromorphs shake up the tired
headshot-centric firefight formula by forcing players to aim for the limbs - an
engaging twist that stands the test of time. Dead Space's HUD is also entirely
in-universe, allowing players to immerse themselves in the nerve-fraying sci-fi
nightmare. Dead Space kicked the series off on the right foot and set a high
benchmark for all horror games to follow.
8. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
This PS3 exclusive is the dramatic conclusion to the iconic
Solid Snake's convoluted yet entertaining story (until Kojima decides
otherwise). Kojima Productions shook off the series' history of tricky cameras
and quirky control schemes in exchange for a stealth game that controls like a competent
third-person shooter. Snake's optic camouflage further streamlines the action,
allowing the daring clone to blend with his environments instead of changing
his clothes on the battlefield. These gameplay changes, along with its goofy
multiple story climaxes, makes it one of the high points for the generation.
7. Batman: Arkham Asylum
Rocksteady put an end to Batman's long line of awful video
games last generation in one fell swoop. The Dark Knight's perilous adventure
into the deepest recesses of the lunatic-filled Arkham Asylum introduced us to
a terrific story with a who's who of fun enemy cameos and groundbreaking
combat. Batman's ability to fluidly battle mobs of enemies and the clever
counter-attack cues made every battle a blast rather than a chore. The larger
open-world sequels did a great job of expanding Gotham City, but we love Arkham
Asylum's sense of Metroid-like progression that comes with unlocking new
sections of the more compact madhouse. Arkham Asylum reinvented the Caped
Crusader and put Rocksteady on the map with undeniable style.
6. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Ubisoft kicked off its wildly successful Assassin's Creed
series last generation and delivered a staggering six core entries on last-gen
hardware. Of these alternate history/sci-fi tales, Ezio's second chapter narrowly
edged out AC II as the standout title. The saucy hooded Italian takes to Rome,
scaling ancient ruins with a more fluid parkour system. The combat system also
underwent enhancements, making it easier to string together flashy kills.
Making a bad-ass character even cooler, Ezio could even sit back and call in
his fellow assassin brothers to spring from haystacks and other hiding spots to
take out targets. Arguments can be made for the strengths and weaknesses of
each Assassin's Creed game, but Brotherhood has the fewest glaring dents in its
Keep reading to see where stellar action games from Naughty Dog and Rockstar fall on our list...


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Capital Currents: FCC broadcast spectrum incentive auctions
I've written about several aspects of the FCC "incentive auctions" of broadcast spectrum, but I have not laid out the big picture – the statutory requirements and the positions of the stakeholders. Now that the first round of comments on the FCC's proposal have been submitted, I can summarize some of the positions.
The goals of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 include: 1) The transfer of at least 120 MHz of spectrum for mobile broadband use; and 2) The generation of enough revenues to pay broadcaster relocation costs, the funding of a national broadband public safety network, as well as support for deficit reduction. It would involve clearing DTV broadcast operations from at least off-air channels 38 through 51 (614-698 MHz), and probably more channels below 614 MHz.
More specifically, the law directs the FCC to: 1) Conduct a reverse auction in which broadcast licensees may submit bids to give up their spectrum; 2) Repack the remaining broadcasters to free up additional spectrum in the UHF band; and 3) Conduct a forward auction of newly available spectrum to allow for licensed broadband wireless use.
Among the stakeholders, first and foremost are the broadcasters.
But, in fact, there are differing views within the broadcast industry. For example, there is the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition, which claims to represent 39 television stations concentrated in the country's largest markets. Those broadcasters are actively interested in selling their spectrum, if the price is right, and they have specific views on how the reverse auction should be structured. And they want AT&T and Verizon to be allowed to participate in the forward auction to maximize proceeds.
There are the low-power TV broadcasters that will likely have problems finding new channels after the repacking. Currently, there are roughly twice as many LPTV licenses as high-power broadcast licenses.
There are broadcasters (and cable programmers) that use wireless microphones (WMs), many of which now operate in the 600 MHz range and are concerned about having enough spectrum after the repacking. At the largest sporting events and at political conventions, there are typically more than 120 WMs in use, often simultaneously. But the FCC has proposed to scrap the two channels that were reserved for WMs near Channel 37.
There are those broadcasters, like members of the Mobile Content Venture (operating with the "Dyle" brand name), that support the delivery of mobile content using the ATSC standard for digital mobile transmission on broadcast channels. Today, a 6 MHz channel can support both the transmission of HD programming to fixed TV receivers and simultaneously the delivery of a lowerresolution signal to handheld mobile receivers. If the FCC requires that two broadcasters share a single 6 MHz channel after the repacking, there will be less opportunity for mobile broadcasts.
All of the broadcasters have a concern about the repacking and resulting coverage areas and interference. They want to have the same coverage area and serve the same population after repacking as before repacking. But the FCC has suggested several ways to interpret the statutory requirement that it preserve population served, such as preserving total population served, but not necessarily the same population previously served by each station.
Another issue related to repacking and interference is the need for coordination with Canadian and Mexican TV stations.
International coordination can take years.
Educational broadcasters cannot participate in the reverse auction, but they will be affected by the repacking. Not only do they want to keep the same coverage area, but they want to make sure their costs for changing transmitter frequencies are reimbursed.
Similarly, Dish and DirecTV will have to change receiver frequencies, and they want their costs reimbursed.
There is a concern about the specific band plan that the FCC proposed. Not only the broadcasters, but also the cell phone operators (AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile) and equipment suppliers (Intel and Qualcomm), all support an alternative band plan that would minimize interference and equipment costs compared to the FCC's plan.
I previously wrote about the radio astronomers that use channel 37. They don't want to be forced to move to a different band. But they may be forced to share their channel with unlicensed users.
And, finally, there are the "white spaces" proponents of unlicensed operations on broadcast frequencies. Like the low-power TV broadcasters, they see the available spectrum for their operations being squeezed.
They have proposed some changes to the FCC's white spaces technical rules that would give them access to more spectrum, but these changes would increase the possibility of interference to licensed broadcasters, wireless microphones and radio astronomers.
This entire process is enormously complex, with many conflicting goals. It remains to be seen how long it will take the FCC to adopt specific rules for the auctions. And it remains to be seen whether enough auction revenues will be generated to pay off the broadcasters that are willing to give up their channels, pay all the repacking costs and still fund a national broadband public safety network.


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IN.gov - Skip Navigation
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Arvin Copeland,
The IDHS Division of Emergency Response and Recovery assists local emergency response leaders who coordinate or support local incident management at major or complex emergencies or disasters. The division also assists individuals and local jurisdictions with recovery from natural or manmade disasters, in addition to coordinating mitigation programs designed to reduce the impact of future disasters on a community.


text: Tessa Pullen was born Dec. 3 weighing 8lbs 13oz. Parents are Jeff and Liza Pullen. Tessa is welcomed by three sisters: Sophie, age 7, Alice, age 3, and Greta, age 2. Grandparents are Louis and Jacqueline Winchip of Cedar Rapids and Carol Pullen of Omaha, Nebraska. Great-grandparents are Ellsworth and Marlys Cizek of Traer.


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The IMF on Tuesday cut its world growth forecast for this year as the eurozone recession continued to drag, but predicted growth overall would pick up in the second half of the year.
In its newest assessment of the global economy, the IMF said world output would expand by 3.3 percent this year, compared to the 3.5 percent it predicted in January.
That left the pace of the world economic expansion virtually flat from last year's 3.2 percent, with slower-than-expected growth in the US and prolonged stagnation in the euro area the key reasons behind the downgrade.
Despite some promising signs, though, the IMF expressed concerns over a global fragmentation between the dynamism of the emerging countries, the US just puttering along in second gear, and the eurozone stagnating.
"We are in a better place but ... we're not out of the woods," IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said at a news conference.
The global crisis lender said that short-term risks still loomed especially in the eurozone, where Cyprus' fresh bailout and Italy's weaknesses could still spark fresh setbacks.
"The slump in the eurozone is worrisome," Blanchard said.
However, the IMF also saw growth slower in large emerging economies like Russia, China, Brazil and India, underscoring the global sense of economic weakness.
"Global prospects have improved again but the road to recovery in the advanced economies will remain bumpy," the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report.
"In the medium term, the key risks relate to adjustment fatigue, insufficient institutional reform, and prolonged stagnation in the euro area as well as high fiscal deficits and debt in the United States and Japan," the report said.
"In this setting, policymakers cannot afford to relax their efforts," it said.
With immediate crises out of the way, the fund stuck close to its previous estimate for global growth next year, predicting a 4 percent expansion, "assuming that policymakers avoid setbacks and deliver on their commitments."
US growth was forecast at 1.9 percent this year, due to larger-than-expected government spending cuts, and the eurozone was expected to contract 0.3 percent.
Even in Europe's powerhouse Germany, growth is forecast at less than 1 percent this year.
The IMF upped its growth forecast for long-stagnant Japan, to 1.6 percent from 1.2 percent, as the Bank of Japan launches an ambitious stimulus plan.
However, that also promised to elevate further Tokyo's massive debt load, which the IMF says is an important point of concern without a medium-term plan to reduce its debt.
Among emerging economies, the IMF lowered its this year's forecast for China's growth by 0.1 percentage point to 8 percent — still better than last year's pace — and Brazil by 0.5 percentage points to 3 percent.
The IMF said that Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa remain supported by resilient domestic consumer demand, and should improve if growth in the eurozone, US and other advanced economies picks up.
The Middle East-North Africa region is still struggling with political reforms, and inflation and foreign exchange market pressures are setting tough challenges in some Latin American countries, it said.
The IMF said the "bumpy" progress of the advanced economies was making it difficult for developing countries themselves to get traction as well as to manage gushes of capital and upward pressure on currencies.


text:
1 more events today...
Wednesday, May 23Today's Hours:
The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library is proud to be working toward a more environmentally-friendly
and energy efficient model for our community.
For more information on these projects, please select an item below.
these press releases about the solar project.
Watch the announcement
in this online video.
Watch Video
The roof of Central
Library has been covered with 60 Solyndra solar panels.
View Spec Sheet
With a Sunny Boy power inverter, sunlight
captured by the solar panels is converted into electricity for Central Library.
See where the solar
panels are located, with this photo from Google Earth.
View Photo
solar energy production at Central with these real-time statistics!
Oaklyn Library is covered with a native
Mesic Prairie habitat. The roof meadow is designed to last the life of the
building. Although the new Oaklyn Library facility is three times larger than
the facility it replaced, utility costs are comparable to the former library.
Green Roof Benefits:
Meadow Assets:
Additional photos of Oaklyn's green roof
are available on our Flickr page.
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More details about Oaklyn's
green roof are available in this brochure.
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Oaklyn was featured in an article published
in the Journal of Green Building.
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Want to save money on energy bills?
Check out a Kill-A-Watt meter Phantom Finder kit today at the EVPL, and see how
much energy your appliances, computers, and phone chargers are using. Simply unplugging
things in your home when they're not in use could save you money.
Just visit the Checkout Desk at your local EVPL branch, and you'll be on your way
to detecting energy waste, saving money, and helping the environment.
The Phantom Finder program is sponsored by Vectren Corporation, the Indiana State
Library, and the EVPL.
For more information about the Kill-A-Watt meter, please visit P3International.com.
Reduce your energy costs, while helping
our library Foundation!
For every energy assessment scheduled & conducted through EVPL, the
Foundation will receive $25!
Visit EnergizingIndiana.com
for more information.


text:
Crockpot Chicken and Sweet Potato with Pasta
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into spears ( I slightly boil in microwave to 9 minutes)
1/2 pound white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary,
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons teriyaki
parsley for garnish
cooked pasta of choice or fluffy rice
Place chicken, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, garlics, wine, rosemary, salt and pepper in a 5-quart slow cooker mix all together. Put the cover on and cook on low until the potatoes are tender, about 4 to 5 hours. Mix all sauces together pour over chicken. Serve with pasta topped parsley or with white rice. Serve the potatoes on the side.
25 comments
- Federica said...
This dish looks amazing, so rich and complete. It's very appetizing. Bye bye, have a great day
- June 1, 2011 at 1:06 AM
- Aarthi said...
This looks yummy....you have a lovely blog...I am having a giveaway in my blog..Y dont you check and join that
- June 1, 2011 at 1:22 AM
- alison said...
souns and looks delicious,a flavorful dish!
- June 1, 2011 at 2:01 AM
- My Little Space said...
Claudia, the pasta looks simply delish. You're making hungry. Hope you're having a great day.
Blessings, Kristy
- June 1, 2011 at 3:13 AM
- Three-Cookies said...
Sounds delicious. We don't see chicken crockpot recipes often - falling off the bone chicken is awesome
- June 1, 2011 at 4:53 AM
- Three-Cookies said...
Sounds delicious. We don't see chicken crockpot recipes often - falling off the bone chicken is awesome
- June 1, 2011 at 4:53 AM
- Belinda @zomppa said...
Ooo slow cooked goodness. Love the combination!
- June 1, 2011 at 5:34 AM
- My Home Diary in Turkey said...
It looks mouthwaterring Claudia... Should try this soon.. ^,^ Thx for sharing
- June 1, 2011 at 6:10 AM
- StephenC said...
If I worked from 9 to 5 I'd probably use a slow cooker. As it is, we left ours behind when we came to DC from Denver. I admire your devotion to putting nutritious food on your table.
- June 1, 2011 at 7:41 AM
- Mary said...
Claudia, this looks and sounds delicious. My family would love this dish. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
- June 1, 2011 at 11:34 AM
- Drick said...
oh my Claudia, I have made pork with sweet potatoes, but not chicken, so gonna have to give this one a try...as hot as it is the last couple of days, a slow cooker is looking pretty good...
- June 1, 2011 at 11:38 AM
- Trix said...
It is SO hot out, busting out the slow cooker for a dish like this is a great idea!!! xoxo
- June 1, 2011 at 2:35 PM
- ARLENE said...
I'll bet that is an amazing sauce. We had chicken thighs tonight, but I know they weren't as flavorful as these.
- June 1, 2011 at 8:02 PM
- Reeni said...
What a uniquely flavored crockpot recipe! I love chicken cooked this way - so tender!
- June 1, 2011 at 9:14 PM
- Cookin' Canuck said...
The chicken and sweet potatoes together are perfect. And made in the crockpot with little effort? Even better.
- June 2, 2011 at 12:34 AM
- Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...
This sounds excellent! I love the flavors and love the crockpot. I just added this to the menu in a few weeks, thanks!
- June 2, 2011 at 7:35 AM
- Tina said...
Great flavor combination here! I will add this to my crock pot recipes. Thanks for posting such a unique and delicious recipe.
- June 2, 2011 at 7:54 AM
- Apron Appeal said...
I've been wondering about sweet potatoes on pasta. I don't have to wonder any more. I can just bum off your success. Thanks. :) sometimes making up a recipe from an idea (even a simple idea) turns out very badly and I just didn't want to go through that with sweet potatoes and pasta. :)
- June 2, 2011 at 8:07 AM
- Erin said...
This sounds wonderful! Never thought of putting sweet potatoes with pasta before. And the sauce sounds delicious!
- June 2, 2011 at 2:19 PM
- Claudia said...
The Asian flavors are a sweet surprise. And you know I love the ease. You have me bringing the crockpot back out of the basement for summer!
- June 2, 2011 at 6:09 PM
- Sandra said...
Wonderful dish you've done very well with this one.
- June 2, 2011 at 7:59 PM
- Lauren at Keep It Sweet said...
What a great looking dinner! I'm all for slow-cooker meals:-)
- June 2, 2011 at 9:13 PM
- Kate@Diethood said...
Sweet potatoes on pasta... really?! I need to give this a try! It looks amazing... so comforting, homey, and warm... the way a meal should be.
- June 2, 2011 at 11:17 PM
- Angie's Recipes said...
East meets west...I always love fusion creations. The sauce looks terrific!
- June 3, 2011 at 12:27 AM
- Magic of Spice said...
What a fascinating blend of flavors...very creative and I am sure delicious :)
- June 5, 2011 at 11:01 AM


text:
BLACK BAYOU — Bass and crappie are rather slow. Bream are fair.
CANEY LAKE — Bass are schooling right at daylight with some being caught on Chug Bugs and other similar topwater lures. The crappie are quite slow with not many anglers going after them. A good many chinquapins are being caught on the flats on cold worms. Catfish are fair fishing cold worms on the bottom.
CHENIERE LAKE — Bass are fair with best catches made early mornings on topwater lures. A few crappie are being caught on jigs or Road Runners fished around the trees. Bream are fair on crickets or Beetle Spins.
LAKE CLAIBORNE — Catfishing has been good with cold worms fished on rods and reels during the days or chicken liver baited trotlines and noodles picking up some fish at night. Small to medium-sized bass are fair late afternoons and at night on plastic worms and Brush Hogs. Bream fishing is slow to fair. Crappie are slow during the days with better catches made at night fishing shiners around lanterns. Stripers are schooling sporadically and when they're up will hit shad imitations. For latest information, call Tim Lofton at Kel's Cove at 927.2264.
LAKE D'ARBONNE — Bream fishing continues to be good on cold worms fished off the banks with some big fish being caught. Lots of channel catfish are being caught along with the bream. Crappie fishing has slowed quite a bit while bass are best early and late on topwater lures with a few hitting Wobbleheads around the grass later in the day. For latest information, call Anderson's Sport Center at 318.368.9669.
OUACHITA RIVER — Crappie are fair fishing around the tops in the river and the bayou with shiners or jigs. Lots of gasper-gou (freshwater drum) are being caught along with the crappie. Bass are fair on shad imitation lures fished at the mouth of the run-outs. Bream are slow to fair.
LAKE POVERTY POINT — Catfishing has been good fishing cold worms and cut shad on the south end as well as the "jungle". Bream fishing has been fair while the bass and crappie are slow. For latest reports, call Poverty Point Marina at 318.878.0101.
LAKE ST. JOHN — Bass fishing has slightly improved with best catches made early mornings on topwaters while plastic worms are picking up a few later around the trees. Catfishing is good, bream are fair and crappie are slow. Call Doug Miller or Ken Mahoney at Lake St. John Grocery (318.757.0013) for latest reports and fishing conditions.
LAKE YUCATAN — Low water conditions are resulting in more crappie caught drifting jigs in the middle of the lake. Bream fishing is good while some bass are being caught early mornings on topwater lures. For latest information, call James Lachney at 318.467.2259.


text:
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A 17-point victory over the Pac-12's last-place team left Arizona coach Sean Miller in no mood to lavish praise on his team, particularly because of the 12th-ranked Wildcats' dubious second-half effort on defense, something that's become a distressing pattern.
If not for Kevin Parrom's offense, and Washington State's lousy free throw shooting, Arizona 73-56 victory on Saturday would have been a whole lot closer. Parrom matched his career best with five 3 pointers - in six tries - scoring a season-high 19 points.
``I don't know where we would be in this game if Kevin didn't play the way he played,' Miller said.
The senior entered the game shooting 26 percent from 3-point range in conference play and was just 2 of 12 in his previous six outings. But he had the touch from the start this time, opening two 3s and the Wildcats (23-4, 11-4 Pac-12) led all the way.
``I was happy the first one went in,' he said, ``because I don't remember the last time I made a 3.'
Arizona was up by as many as 21 points early in the second half before the Cougars cut it to 11 late. It was that lull, which followed similar drop-offs in a litany of other contest, that perturbed the coach.
``The second half at Colorado, the second half at Utah, the second half against Cal, the second half against Stanford wasn't very good,' Miller said. ``So it's our team is having a hard time playing very, very hard for 40 minutes. The one thing that I know is we're not the most talented, prolific offensive team, so when we don't play over the top hard and together, it really shows up.'
No matter that Arizona, on the surface, appeared to win in relatively easy fashion.
``You can make the point that, `Hey, you played a team you were supposed to beat and you had a lead at halftime and you had a lead throughout. Coach, what's the big deal?'' Miller said.
``If you're trying to win the regular season championship and you're trying to win the Pac-12 Tournament and you're trying to secure the highest seed possible that we can get in the NCAA tournament and then enter that tournament knowing that on a given day, any team's capable of beating anyone else, we're the team that won't win, because we pick and choose how hard we play on defense.'
Mark Lyons, feeling a bit under the weather, added 14 points and freshman Kaleb Tarczewski had a career-best 12 for the Wildcats, who began the day tied with Oregon atop the Pac-12.
Brock Motum scored 20 points but missed six free throws for the last-place Cougars (11-17, 2-13), who lost their eighth straight. DaVonte Lacy added 10 points, eight in the second half.
Shortly after Parrom's two 3s made it 6-0, the Cougars went exactly 10 minutes without a field goal, resulting in a 14-2 Arizona run that put the Wildcats up 20-7 on Solomon Hill's 15-footer with 8:45 left in the half.
Angelo Chol's 15-footer made it 26-12 with 5:24 to go in the half, then Tarczewski's three-point play with 32.6 seconds remaining put Arizona up 35-19 at the half.
Washington State shot 35 percent and committed eight turnovers in the first half. And the Cougars were just 5 of 11 from the foul line in the opeing 20 minutes.
The second half got off to a magnificent start for Arizona, then went downhill from there.
An 8-2 spurt put the Wildcats 42-21 on Lyons' layup with 16:47 left.
But the Cougars went on a 10-0 run to cut it to 43-31 when Brett Boese sank a 3 with 12:47 to play.
After an Arizona timeout, Parrom drove the baseline for a reverse layup to boost the lead to 45-31, ending a 4:23 scoreless drought for the Wildcats. Nick Johnson's two free throws made it 47-31, but Lacy's 3-pointer sliced the lead to 47-34, then he made a drive to the basket to cut it to 47-36 with 9:08 remaining. Lacy was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.
Washington State cut it to 11 two more times and Parrom responded with 3s on both occasions, the latter making it 55-41 with 6:26 left. Parrom's final 3 put Arizona up 58-42 with 5:50 to go.
``In those moments where we really tightened up I looked out there and I didn't see anyone that really wanted to shoot the ball,' Miller said. `` He did, and he made some big shots.'
Washington State coach Ken Bone lamented his team's slow start but at least liked the last 20 minutes.
``I think we were the more aggressive team (in the second half),' he said. ``We attacked the rim. We made a few 3s, although we still didn't make our free throws.'
The Cougars finished 14 of 28 at the line.
Arizona plays at Southern California and UCLA next week, then wraps up regular season play at home against Arizona State. A co-title won't do, Parrom said.
``I'm selfish. I don't want to share with anybody,' he said. ``I want to cut down the nets and be the only team in first place. We can't control what the other team does, but on my senior night, I want to be able to cut down the net so these next three games we have to buckle up on defense and play consistently on defense - first and second half.'
Follow Bob Baum at www.twitter.com/Thebaumerphx


text:
Time will tell..
Andrew C. Noel 8/29/2007 3:16:18 PMLove the look and feel of the simple design and great comp. Also like the soft glow you added to it. not something you usually associate to a clock. #725930
Gina K. Campbell 8/29/2007 6:19:02 PMI really like this photo. It feels so...whimsically melancholy. (If that makes any sense!) #4720869
Heather Thorsen 9/4/2007 11:04:57 PMA lovely picture Sabrina. I can well understand that you like this one yourself.
Dominick M. Dimacale 9/22/2007 10:50:55 AMCongratulations Sabrina...Dominick #4827781
Donna La Mattino Pagakis 9/22/2007 11:29:49 PMCongratulations on your finalist win!! Very cool perspective! #4830595
Joan Powell 9/24/2007 7:22:56 PMCongrats on your fabulous image !! #4840945
Kay E. Mahoney 9/24/2007 7:59:53 PMCongratulations on your second place winner. #4841182
Daniella Puente 9/25/2007 7:46:30 AMGreat macro detail and POV for this fantastic winner, congrats!!! #4843810
Heather Thorsen 9/25/2007 8:17:41 AMCongratulations Sabrina.
Raymond Pauly 9/26/2007 11:10:24 PMCongratulations! Lovely photo and verses! #4851256
RC Fritz 9/28/2007 3:34:52 PMBeautiful POV. Congratulations! #4858717
Janine Russell 9/29/2007 2:48:19 PMSabrina, great tones, exposure, DOF and point of view; big congratulations on your Second Place Win! #4861961
Sabrina De Vries 9/30/2007 2:41:16 AMThank you all so much for commenting on my photograph. I'm really happy with my second place win!! #4863514
Anfal Aljery 8/22/2010 12:49:20 PMIn front angel you took it from
Oh and congratulation on second place :)
Time will tell..
This bitter farewell.
I live no more to shame nor me, nor you..
And you.. I wish I didn't feel for you anymore..
A very old photograph, I think I made this one about 3 years ago..
Because of this one I started to like photography so it's kinda special to me.
Shutter Speed: 1/74 second
F Number: F/2.8
Focal Length: 6 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Uploaded on 8/29/2007 3:08:17 PM
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi (400D/Kiss X) Digital SLR Camera
Copyright for this gallery photo belongs solely to Sabrina De Vries. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Log in to follow or message this photographer or report this photo.


text:
"We work closely with our customers to identify and share best practices to prevent a release during chemical shipment transit," said Diane Duren, Union Pacific vice president and general manager chemicals. "Chemical transportation safety is critical and this is Union Pacific's opportunity to acknowledge and thank our customers for their continuing efforts to eliminate chemical releases from rail cars. Rail is the safest way to haul the chemicals that Americans use every day, whether it is chlorine for drinking water or fertilizer for our farms that help feed the world."
The Pinnacle Award program, which began in 1996, is open to all Union Pacific hazardous material shippers, including chemical and petrochemical customers. Criteria include safe-loading techniques, securement of shipments and zero NARs. A non-accident release is an unintentional release of hazardous material during transportation not caused by an accident or train derailment. NARs consist of leaks, splashes and other releases from improperly secured or defective valves, fittings, safety relief devices and tank shells.
Non-accident releases of hazardous material declined more than 16 percent on Union Pacific's network from 2003 - 2011, due in part to increased inspections by the railroad's hazardous materials safety field personnel and customers adhering to the Pinnacle Award criteria.
For a complete list of the Pinnacle Award Winners of 2012, visit http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/safety/2012/0412_pinnacle.shtml


text:
lambdaj is a Java library that allows you to manipulate collections in a pseudo-functional and statically typed way. The main purpose of lambdaj is to partially eliminate the burden of writing (often nested and poorly readable) loops while iterating over collections. In particular, it allows you to iterate a collection in order to filter its items on a given condition, convert each item with a given rule, extract a given property from each item, sort the items on the values of one of their properties, group or index the items on the value of one or more properties, invoke a method on each item, or aggregate the items or the values of one of their properties. It allows all this without having to write a single explicit loop.
The Objeck computer language is an object-oriented computing language with functional features that has ties with Java, C#, and Pascal. In this language, all data types are treated as objects. The language consists of a compiler and VM with an accompanying memory management and JIT compiler.
Immutable Collections for Java is a library providing immutable/persistent collection classes for Java. While collections are immutable, they provide methods for adding and removing values by creating new modified copies of themselves. Each copy shares almost all of its structure with other copies, to minimize memory consumption. The library includes a singly-linked (cons/cddr style) list/stack, an integer tree-based indexed list, a 2-3 tree-based random access indexed list, a 2-3 tree-based map, a hash tree-based map, and hash- and tree-based sets. All collections provide immutable Cursor as well as standard Iterator classes for looping through all elements. A utility class provides functional style algorithmic processing of Cursors, including foldLeft, foldRight, collect, select, and reject. The 2-3 tree and integer tree classes are optimized for performance and can be used alongside java.util Collections when immutability is needed for safe data sharing.
A Dart Web server.
A PHP/MySQL tile engine for Google Maps.


text:
My wife loves Cutco knives for the kitchen, and when it comes to the kitchen she gets what she wants because it benefits everyone! So anyway, she bought me one of their hunting knives for our anniversary, it seems like a nice knife overall but the salesman talked her into a fully serrated blade saying it will stay sharper longer.
Anybody used one before? Pros? Cons?
Trying to decide if I should send it back for a standard blade or not.


text:
Pure Storage: Our Tech Is Similar, But We Have Three Years On EMC XtremIO
Pure Storage CEO Scott Dietzen wrote in a Wednesday blog post that it's no accident XtremIO and Pure Storage look very similar. All-flash storage, Dietzen wrote, needs high availability with dual-parity or better RAID protection, the ability to do no-disruptive upgrades, in-line deduplication, and no-overhead snapshots and clones. "Pure and XtremIO are the only all-flash arrays offering this feature set today, and I submit that our mutual competitors are still a long way from delivering the above recipe. ... The last place you want to be as an early-stage company is looking up at EMC because you are behind on critical features, but that is arguably where the rest of the all-flash field wakes up tomorrow, with Pure Storage the notable exception." Dietzen said that, while it may seem odd to give EMC so much credit, Pure Storage offers several advantages stemming from running production workloads for three years, including a hardened architecture, persistent metadata, lossless deduplication, scale-up and scale-out design (vs. the scale-out design of XtremIO), and variable block sizes.


text:
For the past 10 years, farmers in tobacco-growing states have been slowly saying goodbye to that old leaf in favor of other crops.
Of course, there's lots of corn and soy replacing tobacco, but some farms are testing out specialty crops that appeal to recent immigrants.
George Bowling's farm in southern Maryland is one such place. He started growing African vegetables about a year ago, but he has worked on farms growing corn and tobacco for much of his 70-something years.
The only sign suggesting that you've arrived on the property is a simple white wooden one. It says "African produce" in red letters, painted by hand.
Bowling took me on a tour of his fields on a steamy mid-August day.
"I've had the African eggplant, I've had the hot peppers, yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, okra, and potato leaves, watermelon, cantaloupe," he says, pulling his dusty baseball cap down to shade his eyes.
This year, seven acres of his 60-acre farm were dedicated mainly to new African crops he hadn't planted before — something of an experiment, he says.
A Request For Sweet Potato Leaves
Bowling's wife, Julia, says they started researching African crops after some customers asked for sweet potato leaves to cook with.
"We'd never heard of anybody that ate sweet potato leaf, and when we plowed our sweet potatoes last year, that's when they first started coming in," she says.
Sweet potato leaves are used like spinach in many cultures, added to a stir fry or an African stew.
Customers asked Bowling to plant African produce and said they would come to pick it, she says, so he gave it a shot. He ordered specialty seeds for vegetables like "garden eggs" — tiny green African eggplants — and chocolate habanero peppers, and planted them.
And now many customers come to Bowling's farm, picking 16-pound bags of hot peppers at a time. They load up their cars, drive home, tell their friends and come back for more. It's mostly word-of-mouth marketing.
If you can find these peppers at a specialty market, they are often expensive or dried out, says Gladys Fontem, who is originally from Cameroon. She wears surgical gloves to protect her hands while picking the hot peppers. She comes to pick, she says, because the peppers here are fresh, and the farm is clean.
"You can't cook without peppers," says Fontem. "We love that spicy stuff."
But there's another reason they come, according to her sister, Ara: "It gives us a taste of home. The smell, the fields — it's like we're back home."
Market Potential
There's a big market for African crops in the D.C. area. Nearly 120,000 people born in Africa live in the metro area, according to the U.S. Census.
In other parts of the country, the foods of home are different.
A recent study by Rutgers showed that the demand for Mexican, Indian, Chinese and Puerto Rican produce is worth more than a billion dollars — on the East Coast alone.
As tobacco taxes have gone up and imported tobacco has flooded the market, many farmers are looking to try new things.
In Maryland, the state gave some farmers an incentive.
In 2000, it offered to buy out farmers who grew significant amounts of tobacco if they promised to stop growing tobacco but keep their land in agriculture for 10 years. More than 80 percent took the offer, according to Christine Bergmark of the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission, the agency that administers the tobacco program.
So some farmers are trying out wine grapes, some are giving public farm tours and Halloween hayrides, and some are testing African and other specialty ethnic crops.
African crops are fairly new, but they are not just limited to the ethnic market. Some farmers are even starting to take their products to urban farmers markets and high-end restaurants.
Crops Adjust To A New Climate
Growing new crops in this climate isn't easy.
Yao Afantchao came to Maryland from Togo about 20 years ago. He missed the taste of home and brought seeds with him to experiment. He tried peppers and melons, and more exotic things like edible hibiscus and jute leaves. Turns out they grow fairly well, but they take some adjustments.
"We have few problems. We have a weather problem. This is a temperate zone, and so the growing period is shorter," he says.
Eventually, the University of Maryland hired him to help set up a program that would educate farmers about how to grow the crops and find markets.
He still works with several Maryland farmers, as well as with city garden farmers through the University of the District of Columbia.
But farming is not easy work, no matter what is growing. With the hot, rainless July and the downpours of August, it's been tough, says farmer Bowling. He lost a field full of cantaloupe.
"A total loss almost," he says, pointing to the withered vines. "But that's farming."
Still, Bowling doesn't miss tobacco. Even though he says he's retired, he puts in 15-hour days now. I ask him if he makes any money.
"I probably got a net return of a dollar an hour now ... this is a lot of hard work and kind of a minimal return," he says.
So, why do it?
"I just love dealing with people," he says.
He also loves the farm, and this area — Charles County — where he grew up.
"We've got it all — we've got mountains in the back, [the Chesapeake] Bay on the East, Potomac River there, I can go to the bay and fish and crab, I mean, what else could you want?"
ROBERT SIEGEL, host: For the last 10 years, farmers and tobacco-growing states have been slowly saying goodbye to the old leaf in favor of other crops. There's a lot of corn and soy. But some farmers are also trying out less familiar plants, crops that appeal to immigrants.
NPR's April Fulton visited one farm in southern Maryland that is growing African vegetables.
APRIL FULTON: Drive just over an hour down the back roads south of Washington, D.C., and the landscape gets greener.
FULTON: I pull into a gravel lane off a winding road in Charles County, Maryland. There's a wooden sign in a clearing. It says: African produce. An arrow points the way.
Hi, are you George?
GEORGE BOWLING: Yes.
FULTON: I'm April.
BOWLING: How are you doing?
FULTON: I'm good...
George Bowling leans on a shed, smiling and squinting in the sun. It's a steamy August morning and he wears a faded baseball cap. He takes me on a tour of his fields.
BOWLING: Well, I've had African eggplant. I've had the hot peppers, yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, okra, and potato leaves, watermelon and cantaloupe.
FULTON: George and his wife, Julia, got into African crops just recently, after some customers started asking for sweet potato leaves to cook with.
JULIA BOWLING: We'd never heard of anybody that ate sweet potato leaf. And when we plowed our sweet potatoes last year, that's when they first started coming in. And they begged him to plant the African produce and that they would come to his farm.
FULTON: It's George Bowling's first year with the new crops, but certainly not his first year farming. He's been working corn and tobacco fields for a big part of his 70-something years.
But as cigarette taxes and foreign competition have gone up, the tobacco industry has faded. Bowling doesn't miss it. He pours a bucket of fiery African peppers onto his scale.
FULTON: This year, he planted seven acres of his 60-acre farm with African vegetables. There's a big market, potentially. Nearly 120,000 people from Africa live in the D.C. area.
A group of women in colorful headscarves, long pants and long sleeves gets out of a car. Gladys Fontem from Cameroon is here to pick hot peppers, the key to her spicy stews. She pulls on surgical gloves to protect her hands.
GLADYS FONTEM: It's that hot. You need to put on gloves, trust me.
FULTON: She says the kind of peppers she wants are hard to find at stores. They can be dried out or very expensive. They're shipped from far away. Bowling charges just 80 cents a pound, all you can pick. Customers come and pick and go tell their friends. This time, Fontem brought her sister, Ara.
ARA: We come to the farm because it gives us a taste of home. Yeah, the smell, the fields, it's like we're back home.
FULTON: In other parts of the U.S., the foods of home are different. A recent study by Rutgers and other universities showed that the demand for Mexican, Indian, Chinese and Puerto Rican produce is worth more than a billion dollars on the East Coast alone. Yao Afantchao is an ethnic crop specialist and something of an evangelist.
YAO AFANTCHAO: Not in the true sense of evangelization, but I am really trying to help people discover new foods.
FULTON: He immigrated from Togo to Maryland 20 years ago. The University of Maryland hired him to explore whether African crops could even grow in the state. He tried peppers and melons and things like edible hibiscus and jute leaves. Turns out, they grow fairly well, but it takes some adjustments.
AFANTCHAO: We have few problems. We have a weather problem. This is a temperate zone and so the growing period is shorter.
FULTON: He works with farmers like George Bowling. Bowling shows me what's left of his melon patch.
BOWLING: You had three rows of cantaloupes from here to the woods and the sun cooked them all, a total loss almost.
FULTON: How did the African crops do with the heat? Do they fair a little better than some of these things?
BOWLING: Not really because what they call the African eggplant, when it gets real hot, like, they turn red and they don't want them.
FULTON: These red eggplants are actually supposed to be green with white stripes. I asked George if he makes any money.
BOWLING: I probably got a net return of a dollar an hour now.
FULTON: A dollar an hour. It doesn't sound like much, but he tells me he's technically retired, so he can afford to experiment. Maryland has given many farmers an incentive to experiment. Back in 2000, the state offered them money to stop growing tobacco as long as they kept their farms going. More than 80 percent of the Maryland farmers who qualified took the buyout. Some are now growing wine grapes, some are giving farm tours and Halloween hayrides and some are taking African vegetables even further, introducing them to new customers at farmers markets and fancy restaurants. April Fulton, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.


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Mobile Homes FAQs
Where can I locate my new home?
A-1 Homes will assist you with choosing a home site that meets your needs and requirements. A-1 Homes stays on top of the home site market by working closely with area land developers, community owners and real estate brokers.
Are there many choices in floor plan and exterior design?
Just as on site-built housing, factory built housing offers hundreds of floor plans and exterior designs. A-1 Homes displays more than 20 model homes. The models on display are carefully chosen to represent the broad array of plans and exteriors available.
Once I have made my decision on a new home, how long will it be before I can move in?
Move in time depends on loan approval and weather. Under the usual circumstances, our customers are able to move in to their new home within 10 workdays after submitting their loan application. Real Estate transactions take longer, depending on mortgage processing, land improvements and title work.
Do I have to select a home from your inventory of models or may I custom order a new home?
You may choose any of the display models as yours, or you may custom order. At A-1 Homes, you decide!
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A-1 Homes is an exclusive retailer. We use our purchasing power to bring our customers the very best value available from the marketplace. We feature homes built by Cavco and a few selected models from other builders that represent exceptional values to our customers.
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Yes, since 1969 more than 100,000 families have selected an A-1 Home. There are A-1 Home retail stores in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. A-1 Homes can arrange the purchase and installation of your home at any location jurisdictionally permitted.
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A-1 Homes is committed to providing the very best in customer service. A-1 Homes uses only factory trained support personnel. A-1's service personnel will arrange factory direct service for every customer.
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Being in business since 1969, A-1 Homes has forged beneficial relationships with all mainstream mortgage companies serving the manufactured housing industry. With more than 40 financing programs (including "first time buyer, single parent, credit re-builder, co-signer, and Chapter 13") available. One is certain to be just right for you.
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A-1 Homes has arranged loans that require "zero" down. Traditional down payments usually range from 3% to 10% of the purchase price of the home. The amount of down payment required by a lender will be established based on an assessment of the applicant's credit history.


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Carleton College will hold its annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the Northfield Community Action Center's Food Shelf on Friday, May 11 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on the campus Bald Spot. Over 600 handmade ceramic bowls, filled with soup, will be available for sale, with a suggested donation of $15 per bowl. This popular annual event is open to the public.
Now in its eighth year, Carleton's annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser has raised thousands of dollars for the Northfield Community Action Center's Food Shelf. Carleton students, alumni, faculty, and friends have hand-crafted over 600 ceramic bowls, while residents of various campus interest houses join in the effort by cooking up pots of homemade soups. A suggested $15 donation will buy a simple meal of soup and bread, as well as the bowl that it was served in.
The Empty Bowls Project is a nation-wide movement that was started by a rural Michigan art teacher and his students over two decades ago. The simple concept has spread across the country, and art teachers and students now hold Empty Bowls fundraisers annually ranging from the elementary to college level.
Says Carleton art professor and coordinator of the College's Empty Bowls Project Kelly Connole, "The empty bowls serve as a reminder that three square meals a day are often taken for granted."
This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Department of Art and Art History. For more information or disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4341. The Bald Spot is located on the center of the Carleton campus off College Street. In the event of rain, the fundraiser will take place in the Severance Great Hall.


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Robert Morris University
Pittsburgh -- Robert Morris University Director of Athletics Craig Coleman announced today that RMU Assistant Head Football Coach John Banaszak has been named the program's coach-in-waiting.
Banaszak, who has spent the last nine years as an assistant coach and assistant head coach with the Colonials, will take over for current head coach Joe Walton at the conclusion of the 2013 season.
Walton signed a two-year contract extension in September of 2011 that will take him through the 2013 campaign, which will be his 20th season as the inaugural head coach of a program that began play in 1994.
"Coach Walton has done a tremendous job starting the program from scratch and developing it to its current level," Coleman said. "We are blessed to have another outstanding coach on our staff in Coach Banaszak to provide leadership and excellence when Walton retires."
The 2011 season marked Banaszak's ninth season as a member of the Robert Morris football coach staff, including his fourth campaign as assistant head coach. Among his many duties with the program, Banaszak is responsible for tutoring the defensive line and the special teams unit.
"I'm extremely excited to be named the coach-in-waiting of the Robert Morris University football program," Banaszak said. "Over the next two years, I plan on working hand-in-hand with head coach Joe Walton in continuing to build this program so it competes for Northeast Conference championships. Upon taking over the program, the emphasis won't be any different than what's it's been since the beginning, which is developing the total student-athlete."
During Banaszak's nine years at Robert Morris, the Colonials have led the Northeast Conference in total defense four times (2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010) and have finished in the top five in the league on eight occasions.
Banaszak was a key component to a 2010 defense that led the NEC in total defense, allowing an average of 312.6 yards per game, and coaching a defensive line that recorded 13 of RMU's 21 sacks as the Colonials claimed the NEC's inaugural berth in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs.
In 2006, Banaszak helped tutor an RMU defense that led I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision) in total defense, allowing an average of just 228.36 yards per game.
Under Banaszak's guidance, former defensive lineman Ray Gensler (2003-06) tied the RMU single-season school record for sacks with 11 in 2006 en route to earning All-NEC First Team honors. Gensler also established a career record in sacks with 19 thanks to 11 in 2006, and the Robert Morris defensive line that season recorded 28 and-a-half of RMU's school record 34 sacks.
Eight of the 11 players in school history to earn All-NEC recognition on the defensive line have come under the tutelage of Banaszak, including Nolan Nearhoof, who led the Colonials with seven and-a-half sacks last year en route to being named to the 2011 All-NEC First Team. Nearhoof will enter his final season of eligibility in 2012 with 16 career sacks, just four away from breaking Gensler's record.
Former defensive linemen Jason Forrest (2002-05) and Mark Szymanski (2007-10) earned multiple All-NEC honors with the guidance of Banaszak, as Forrest was a three-time All-NEC selection and Szymanski garnered All-NEC accolades twice.
In addition, also earning All-NEC honors on the defensive line with the help of Banaszak were Will Weathers (2003), Babafemi Odumeru (2004), Matt Brunck (2006) and Colyn Haugh (2006).
As much as Banaszak's presence has been felt on the defensive side of the ball, the same can be said on special teams. Under his leadership, former Colonials Dante Settles (2000-04), Tyjuan Massey (2002-05), Mario Hines (2004-07) and Anthony Coleman (2008-11) garnered All-NEC honors at return specialist, the first players in RMU history to earn such a distinction.
Former punter Nick Schirztinger (2007-10) also thrived under the tutelage of Banaszak, as he finished his career last year as arguably RMU's greatest punter ever. Schirtzinger owns Colonial career records for punts (230), punting yards (9,290) and average yards per punt (40.4) and also owns four of the top five marks in the RMU single-season record book for punting yards.
Prior to RMU, Banaszak served as the 30th head coach in Washington & Jefferson football history, leading the Presidents to a record of 38-9 (.809) in his four seasons on the sidelines between 1999 and 2002. In each of those four campaigns, he was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and ranks third on the college's all-time victory list.
A 1975 graduate of Eastern Michigan with a bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation, Banaszak signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 1975 season and was one of only three rookies to make the defending Super Bowl champion team out of training camp.
Primarily a special teams player on Pittsburgh's Super Bowl X championship team, Banaszak started five games the following season and then started at both right end and inside tackle in 1977 before suffering a knee injury that forced him to the injured reserve list.
Between 1978 and 1980, Banaszak started 45 regular-season games at defensive end as the Steelers won back-to-back Super Bowl championships. In Super Bowl XIII, Banaszak recorded six tackles, including a pair of sacks, and a fumble recovery in a 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, which garnered him Defensive Player of the Game honors. The following year in Super Bowl XIV, Banaszak finished with five tackles and a sack in a 31-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Upon completion of his stint with the Steelers, Banaszak spent the 1983 and 1984 seasons with the Michigan Panthers of the USFL. He then moved on to serve as a player/coach with the Memphis Showboats, also of the USFL, in 1985. While with the Showboats, Banaszak mentored former NFL standout Reggie White.
Banaszak and his wife, Mary, have three children and five grandchildren. They reside in McMurray, Pa.
Who: John Arthur Banaszak
Born: August 24, 1950 (Cleveland, Ohio)
Residence: McMurray, Pa.
Wife: Mary (40 Years)
Son: Jay (38)
Daughters: Carrie (33), Amye (33)
Grandchildren: Emma (6), Jack (6), Abby (3), John (2), Mia (9 months)
Alma Mater (Year): Eastern Michigan (1975)
Degree: Health, Physical Education & Recreation
High School: Holy Name
Robert Morris University; Moon Township, Pa.
- Assistant Head Coach (2008- )
- Assistant Coach (2003-08)
Washington & Jefferson College; Washington, Pa.
- Head Coach (1999-2002)
Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL)
- Defensive Line (1975-81)
- Three-time Super Bowl Champion (X, XIII, XIV)
Michigan Panters (USFL)
- Defensive Line (1983-84)
Memphis Showboats (USFL)
- Defensive Line (1985)
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITYRobert Morris University, founded in 1921, is a private, four-year institution with an enrollment of approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The university offers 60 undergraduate and 20 graduate programs. An estimated 22,000 alumni live and work in western Pennsylvania.