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By announcing this week it will be returning to dirt in 2015, Del Mar virtually assured itself of hosting the Breeders' Cup no later than 2016.
Oh sure, the current Polytrack eventually had to be replaced because of wear and tear, and Del Mar didn't want to be the lone track left in Southern California with a synthetic surface. It isn't safe.
But make no mistake, this announcement, particularly the timing of it, was all about trying to secure what Del Mar officials have dreamed about for years — hosting a Breeders' Cup in beautiful San Diego.
Track president Joe Harper, while admitting the Breeders' Cup equation played at least a part in the decision to return to dirt, also maintained it was not the major driving force.
"The prime reason is the safety factor," he said. "We really felt that being the only track in this circuit that was synthetic, it was important to maintain some kind of a continuity there.
"It's certainly no secret from all of our discussions with trainers and Breeders' Cup people that they would prefer a dirt track. I never got the impression that under no circumstances would they run on a synthetic, but I think the preference is certainly dirt."
Harper said Del Mar has applied to host the 2015 Breeders' Cup. Track officials made a presentation to Cup officials last June, and Harper said the two sides have engaged in conversations since then.
"They certainly know that we're very interested," he said.
So what better time to announce the return to dirt than now, when Breeders' Cup officials are on the verge of announcing the site for 2015. This year's Breeders' Cup will be held at Santa Anita Park for an unprecedented third consecutive year and record-tying eighth overall.
Breeders' Cup officials play it close to the vest when releasing any information about their event, and the subject of future sites is no different. I sent a text message to a Cup official this week, asking when we could expect to hear about where next year's World Championships will be held.
This is what I got back:
"It is Breeders' Cup policy not to discuss host site matters publicly until we have something to announce."
What's the harm in revealing when we will hear the news? I guess that's fodder for a future column.
Harper expects news no later than the end of March. He said he doesn't know if switching to dirt in time for the 2015 meet will help sway Cup officials' minds, but the guess here is it didn't hurt.
"Nobody there has ever said, at least to me, that they would never run on a synthetic track," Harper said. "They've certainly run on synthetic tracks before. But they certainly asked me when was I going back to dirt, or was I going back to dirt. So there might have been a message in there."
The message is clear — Del Mar is clearly in the running for the 2015 Breeders' Cup along with its major competitor, Churchill Downs, which hasn't hosted the event since 2011 and is chomping at the bit for it to return.
"We're hopeful for '15, or '16, or '17 or '18," Harper said. "Whichever year, we're certainly capable of doing a great job and eventually I think it will be at Del Mar."
The guess here is that the Breeders' Cup will return to Churchill Downs for a record ninth time in 2015 and will return to Southern California the following year at Del Mar.
Harper reported the expansion of Del Mar's turf course, another allowance to the Breeders' Cup folks, is progressing on schedule.
"We've got just about all of the grading done now and the grass has been growing out over in the desert, so it's all nice and ready to be put in," he said. "I think we'll probably put it in sometime in the middle of March."
Which will be plenty of time before the start of Del Mar's tradition summer meet that begins Thursday, July 17. With the permanent closing of Hollywood Park, Del Mar will also host a 15-day fall meet in November.
Harper seemed cautiously optimistic the new meet will fare well.
"I think we'll do fine," he said. "We're projecting about half of our summer averages and we hope that's a conservative figure. I worked there many years ago when they had a fall meet and it was pretty disappointing. But that was so long ago, back in '67, when there was hardly any buildings around the track or anything else.
"There's a lot more higher percentage of the local attendance now, so I think we're going to do pretty well. It's obviously going to be a different kind of meet, but hopefully we can market it a little differently and we'll do well."
Follow Art Wilson on Twitter at @Sham73


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Message Board
Hester Kaplan Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Kaplan has written!
Author Kaplan's Book Reviews
Kinship Theory
Little, Brown; Feb 2001; 24.95; 288 pp. ISBN: 0316482110 Nearing fifty, divorcee Maggie Crown reluctantly agrees to serve as a surrogate mother so her sterile daughter and son-in-law can have the child they want. Maggie really does not want to carry a child for nine months as she relishes her independence and return to scientific research. However, Dale manages to make Maggie feel guilty especially using the weapon of maternal failure. ...

subset: commoncrawl


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Hey everyone,
My name is Jenn and I wanted to tell you about my startup that is currently based in Santiago, Chile. We're helping people share and learn skills that they are passionate about. Having been selected for the Startup Chile program (which offers equity-free seed financing and six months in Chile), we plan to use the next few months to build a new online marketplace. We are looking to bring on a founding developer/CTO ASAP and I thought this might be of interest to kiteboarding folks since it is an international opportunity in a place with amazing kiting and the business idea is very much to do with the idea of a sharing economy.
If you or anyone you know might may be interested, we'd be very grateful if you would pass this along - we would like to hear from those that are interested by Feb 1. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to hearing from you. http://bit.ly/korulabsdeveloper


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This is the secondary writing area. Looking to break free of your level? Play your Althanas character how you want or venture into a new fandom all together.
The farther from the breach, the stronger the effects of the Tap become. This is the moderated free form area of the site. You can role-play your approved character at any power level in any Althanas setting. Threads completed here received 50% rewards, but they can be judged how you choose.
Welcome to the Althanaverse, where the laws of physics are reversed. This is the open free form area of the site. Feel free to play any character in any setting. Threads completed here receive 50% rewards, but they can be judged how you choose.


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Much weaker-than-expected trade data from China on Friday suggests the world's second largest economy is slowing faster than anticipated and could prompt Beijing to take action in days rather than weeks to boost flagging growth, some analysts say.
China's July exports rose just 1 percent from a year earlier, the weakest reading since January and well below forecasts for a rise of 8.6 percent. Imports meanwhile rose 4.7 percent in July from a year ago, the weakest pace since April and also well short of forecasts for a 7.2 percent rise.
The numbers followed weak numbers from China on Thursday that already had investors betting on further monetary easing soon.
"The data was definitely a surprise and it will raise pressure on Beijing to ease monetary policy sooner rather than later," said Donna Kwok, Great China Economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.
"The easing may well come through in days rather than weeks," she said, adding that Chinese authorities were likely to respond to the weakness in the economy, not just with monetary easing but also fiscal measures such as financial support to households and exporters.
This view was shared by Banny Lam, China Economist at CCB International, who told Reuters news agency that there was a possibility that action by China's central bank could come as early as the weekend.
China has eased monetary policy by slashing reserve requirement ratios (RRR) for banks three times since November. The country's central bank has also cut interest rates twice this year to bolster an economy that has slowed for six consecutive quarters.
"There is still a possibility in coming weeks, as early as over the weekend, that the central bank will cut RRR," Lam was quoted as saying.
The data shock came as a blow to financial markets, which just yesterday brushed aside a flurry of weak economic readings from China. Asian equities from Japan to Australia extended losses following the release of the data. Commodities and China-reliant Aussie dollar also fell in tandem.
Analysts say the data highlighted that measures taken already this year by Beijing to boost economic growth appeared to be having little impact on domestic consumption.
"Perhaps the most worrying in today's data are the import numbers, which suggest that domestic demand has not responded to the stimulus measures," PK Basu, Head of Research and Economic at Maybank Kim Eng, told CNBC Asia's "Cash Flow."
How Aggressive?
Alistair Thornton, an economist at HIS Global Insight said the data "complicates the prospects for an imminent recovery."
"With the export sector losing speed faster than expected, the government's current investment stimulus plan looks woefully inadequate. This isn't a 2008 collapse, but it's not worth testing how close the economy can get," he said in note. "The government is likely to respond by ramping-up its stimulus efforts, with both monetary and fiscal guns firing."
In 2008-2009, China announced spending worth $586 billion or 14 percent of its GDP , to bolster its economy in the face of a global financial crisis.
But that spending is blamed for many of China's economic problems in the years that followed such as local government debt, over investment in housing and higher inflation.
"Fearful of compounding the risks that have built up over the last few years, the government has acted cautiously in loosening. Now is the time to get more aggressive," said Thornton.
- By CNBC's Dhara Ranasinghe.


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SUMMIT — Two fatal crashes in three days in the Santa Cruz Mountains have authorities stressing the importance of seat belts and cautious driving on rural roads.
A 38-year-old Boulder Creek man died in a crash on Highway 35 early Wednesday morning, the California Highway Patrol reported.
He was driving a 1997 Volvo S60 north on Bear Creek Road near where it meets Summit Road about 12:50 a.m., said California Highway Patrol officer Bradley Sadek.
The driver, whose name was not released, crossed into the southbound lane and down an embankment. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the Volvo. Authorities declared the man dead at the scene.
Officers investigated the cause of the crash Wednesday but have not released it. Sadek said he has seen many drivers walk away from rollover crashes because they were wearing a seat belt.
"Where the ejections were the contributing factor (in the driver's death), the seat belt would have kept them in that nice metal cage and saved them," Sadek said.
It was not yet clear if speed was a factor in the crash, but he noted that the speed limit is 35 mph at the Bear Creek Road crash scene.
"Slow down for the curves in the roadway," Sadek said. "The nature of the road is that the curve tightens as you go through it. You want to make sure that your speed is set going in to the turn to avoid having to make a drastic brake."
Officers are still investigating the cause of a
solo crash spotted on Monday on Jamison Creek Road that killed Timur Chetin, a 61-year-old man from Berkeley.
Chetin's name was released by the Santa Cruz County Coroner's Office on Wednesday.
Chetin's 2000 Ford Expedition landed about 60 feet down a dirt embankment near Empire Grade Road, according to the CHP. The Ford was spotted about 1:15 p.m., but it was not clear when the crash happened.
Authorities have not received toxicology results from either of the crashes.
Sadek said he hoped more drivers would buckle up.
"Given the type of vehicle and the nature of the crash, I think (a seat belt) would have helped his survival," he said.
Follow Sentinel reporter Stephen Baxter on Twitter at Twitter.com/sbaxter–sc
©2013 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.)
Visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) at www.santacruzsentinel.com


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Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Physical Affection
Her concern had to do with her girlfriend–that her girlfriend wasn't as physically affectionate as she was and as she wanted her to be (for example, didn't hug her as much). And that she felt her girlfriend was essentially telling her she didn't feel the same way about her emotionally, even though they'd been together for years. Boy, could I relate to that.
When I wrote back the young lady, I told her that, when I was growing up, my parents never touched my sister and me, except to discipline us. Consequently, I was starved for physical affection, for the validation that came from it. I just wanted to be hugged. Was that asking too much? I wanted to know I was worth hugging, and thus that I was a worthwhile human being. I wanted to know I made a difference to them for being here, that they were glad I'd been born. But it never happened.
When I grew up and moved out on my own, I swore that, when I was in a relationship, I would be physically affectionate toward my partner. I wouldn't hold myself back from him. I had this vision in my head that we'd hug and kiss all the time, because that's what two people in love with each other do, right? It's only natural. In other words, I wanted to make up for everything I missed out on when I was a kid.
Enter Chris. He wasn't raised in a touchy-feely family either; his parents had always been physically reserved with him and his sister. When I learned that, I thought he'd be like me, needing to gain in adulthood what he'd lacked in childhood, needing to feel better about himself through the physical validation he received from me. I couldn't have been more wrong.
When I was physically affectionate toward Chris all the time, it drove him crazy. He even told me so. He never came to me and wrapped his arms around me first. And, when I held him, he was always the first one to pull away, like he couldn't wait for the hugging thing to be over. Each time it happened, I took it as yet another small rejection of me. I became deeply hurt.
This went on for years–yes, years! I kept forcing myself on Chris (that's how I saw it, anyway), because I was determined to soften him, because I wanted him to know he had a safe place in my arms to be himself, and I would never hurt him. I thought, surely, he'll come around sooner or later. Surely, he'll start to trust me and see my heart's in the right place. Surely he'll start to initiate hugs and not be the first one to pull away.
Didn't happen. And we had lots and lots of talks about it. He told me hugging made him feel very uncomfortable–even hugging me–and I told him I craved being hugged, it was very important to me, and I was determined not to perpetuate the poor example my parents had set. I knew from the look on his face he wasn't happy with that. I also knew that, if I kept doing it, I could lose him. I lived with the fear of that for years.
It wasn't until some time after we'd bought our condo together that we had the talk that would change everything for me. During that talk, I remember asking him, is it me you don't want to be physically affectionate with, or would you be the same toward anyone else? It was a big risk. What if he'd said it was me? The idea of losing him, especially over something like this, scared the hell out of me. But I had to know. I had to feel loved.
Chris thought for a few moments. I rephrased the question, hoping I'd say it in a way that helped him sort out how he felt (although I knew my first question couldn't have been more direct). Finally, he said what I needed to hear, one way or the other: It wasn't me. He said he would feel the same way toward anyone else. What an enormous relief that was, because I loved this young man so much, and I didn't want to lose him or the wonderful life we shared together.
The rest took patience, lots and lots of patience (which, regretfully, I don't have enough of at the best of times). And the belief that, one day, Chris would feel more comfortable being physically affectionate with me, that he might even come to me and hug me first, and that, at the least, he wouldn't feel so uncomfortable when I hugged him and would no longer pull away.
I don't know when things started to change; I'm guessing well over a decade after we met. But, still, not as much as I'd thought they might. Does Chris eagerly wrap his arms around me for no reason at all, simply because he wants to? No, I wouldn't go that far. Is he more willing to hug me when I go to him? Yes, he is, very much so. And good news. Whenever I hug him, he no longer pulls away. In fact, he consistently keeps hugging me…until I let go of him.
It's easy to think love looks the way it does in Hollywood movies. That, when we find someone, he or she will be all over us, hugging and kissing, confirming on every occasion that we are the only one for him or her. That he or she loves us as much as, if not more than, we love him or her. That's the way it should be, right?
My experience tells me it's not always the case. And I'm also here to tell you that, just because you don't receive the degree of physical affection you think you should doesn't necessarily mean the man or woman you're with doesn't love you madly. Some people are just naturally more reserved. Some people have different ways of showing their love. And their ways may not be your ways, but, make no mistake, they're still there. You just have to become more aware of what they look like.
And don't necessarily throw in the towel on something that doesn't look the way you think it should. I can't imagine what would have happened if I'd become so fed up with Chris that I'd put an end to our relationship, just because I thought I deserved to be hugged and kissed more than he was doing, and, by god, I'd find someone who gave me what I needed.
In the end, Chris has given me all I needed, and so much more, for nearly the past twenty-two years. I can't ask for anything else. I'm one lucky man, and I know it. I'm also one grateful man.
4 comments:
- Aries_BoyJanuary 30, 2014 at 6:01 AM
I could relate to this story as well.ReplyDelete
I wasn't raised in a touchy-feely family either. That made me liked the idea of living alone all by myself. Then i fell in love with him. When we walked, like on a park, he loved to hold my hand. But it felt strange for me. So i, in reflex, pulled my hand away.
He would be sad and gave me silent treatment every time i rejected his romantic gestures. At one point, i then told him that i felt a bit awkward every time he held my hand. Fortunately, he understood. So he never initiated it again.
I loved him very much at the moment but i never knew how to express it. And i was afraid that he might never feel it. So one night, on our way back home from local theater, while we were seating on the back seat of the cab, i held his hand and put it in my heart. I kissed it. And then i hugged him and whispered my feeling toward him to his left ear. He was shocked but happy.
After i arrived on my home, he texted me that he felt so happy because of it. And i told him i was the happiest man in the earth because i got an amazing bf like him.
From that night, i never felt awkward anymore with showing my affections in the public. In the end i learned a lot of things from him. And i sometimes still miss him.Replies
I like your perspective on this. You're the one who felt uncomfortable showing physical affection. You've provided some personal insight into why that was the case, and I know you'll help others see themselves in you.Delete
Your line "I loved him very much at the moment, but I never knew how to express it" is my favorite. I think we learn from the example of those around us, and, if we don't see physical affection–that is, if it's not natural for us to see it and participate in it–we don't know how to do it. And, even more important, we're too scared to take the risk.
Your story is ultimately victorious. You took a chance, and it paid off. Often, that's all it takes. The courage to do something we ordinarily wouldn't, to be someone we usually aren't. When it comes to love, it's a chance we must take; otherwise, we'll never know how good it truly feels.
And look at what you learned from doing it. Now, you're open to physical affection. And, not only to physical affection, but also to one of the most important and beautiful and comforting and validating aspects of love.
Thanks for giving me and my readers your perspective. Together, hopefully we'll encourage others to take that risk, as well.
All the very best.
- AnonymousMarch 20, 2014 at 12:41 AM
Thank you for being always there Mr. Rick. Days have been easier and tougher, at the same time; relationship wise it´s getting better, but family wise, worse. On the same note, I guess my crave will eventually be controlled, but at the moment, it still gets me once in a while. Like the reader, it really hits my when I´ve a romantic gesture and I get rejected, for some reason.ReplyDelete
I have been having the dilemma of just letting go of what I want and settle in my head that what matters is that my partner is there for me. Unfortunately, I tend to ask myself why, if there´s nothing wrong with me, as I´m told usually, why my partner thinks twice whether or not being affectionate in some form or fashion.
I wanted to give a proper thank you note. I stumbled with this and I wanted people to know how nice you´re to all of us. I thank greatly what you do to each and everyone of us, the time and effort you put into, and the amazing heart you have.
I guess, in the end, everyone of us will have to find their way; the only thing I´m sure is that I´m still looking for mine.
Thanks Mr. Rick for being support and inspiration. Big shout-out to your partner Chris; same to every important person in your life.
- The lady from MéxicoReplies
Marcela, it's so good to hear from you again.Delete
With respect to physical affection from your partner, it sounds like you still have some good days and some not so good days. I know our stories aren't exactly alike, but there are enough similarities for me to encourage you to be patient. As I recall, that's one of the suggestions I made previously. You know from the post above that patience made all the difference between Chris and me. In fact, it accounts for why we're still together today.
And, Marcela, please be more confident. Please don't think, as I did, that if your partner isn't ready with a hug for you all the time, it means she doesn't love you, or she doesn't want to be with you. I did that to myself with Chris, and it drove me crazy for many years. In my case, the issue was more about how insecure I felt inside, and not anything Chris felt, or didn't feel, toward me. The fact you and your partner are still together says a lot. Go with it and see what happens.
I'm sorry to hear things between you and your family are not good. If you ever want to share some of that with me, I'd be happy to read what you have to say. And I'd also be happy to help you through it, if I'm able.
Finally, I just want to say how much I appreciate all your kind words. You are a very sweet young lady, and you really boosted my day when I read your post.
Every time I receive a comment or email from a reader, who's going through a difficult time or who asks for specific advice, if I'm able to help in any way, I put the time and effort into it. That's important to me. What good is my experience if I don't share it? Like Dr. Maya Angelou says, "When you learn, teach." I've learned a lot about what it means to be gay, and I welcome the opportunity to share that with readers like you, in the hope it will make a difference.
My sincere thanks once again for keeping in touch and for your wonderful comment. I hope to hear from you again. (And good luck with everything you're going through. It's all happening exactly as it should. One day, you'll look back on it, and you'll know I was right.)
Take good care of yourself.


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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nick Saban and Brian Kelly dropped strong hints Saturday they would be coaching at Alabama and Notre Dame beyond Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game.
It's understandable the men leading the top two college football teams into the sport's top game would be considered candidates for several NFL vacancies.
Saban, seeking his third national title in six years at Alabama, had the more adamant denial.
"I don't have any unfinished business in the NFL," Saban said at Saturday's media day at Sun Life Stadium. "It's not even something I want to do."
Saban went 15-17 in two mostly woeful seasons with the Miami Dolphins before taking the Alabama job in 2007 — one of the great career moves in coaching history.


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Cross County Opens Promising Season Saturday
by Jim Amidon
August 25, 2010
The Wabash cross country team won't officially open its season until September 4, but will get a nice warm-up to the coming season with this weekend's Charlie Finch '51 Memorial Alumni Cross Country Race.
The Little Giant harriers will compete against the College's alumni track and cross country athletes in a friendly four-mile race through Wabash's Fuller Arboretum that begins at 10 a.m. on the Owen Huntsman Track.
The season officially begins with the 49th running of the Wabash Hokum Karem on Saturday, September 4.
The Wabash cross country team will be led by two-time national qualifier Seth Einterz '11
(pictured left)
and two-time All-American track star Kevin McCarthy. Both runners earned All-Conference honors and qualified for the 2009 NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships. McCarthy later earned All-America honors in the indoor 800 and outdoor 1500 races.
That duo will be pushed up front by senior Justin Allen and junior Donavan White, but fourth-year head coach Roger Busch is still looking for his fifth scoring runner to emerge.
"We are very balanced this year and in position to do some very good things on the cross country course," Busch said. "Front-runners McCarthy and Einterz should be very well supported by Allen and White. The fifth man, which is very crucial to our success this year, is wide open; there are plenty of guys running for our fifth, sixth, and seventh varsity spots.
"This should make for a very exciting fall."
Among the men pushing for a top-seven varsity slot is indoor 800 All-American Jake Waterman, whose promising track season was cut short by an injury in the conference meet.
Also looking to make strides this year are juniors Colin Dunlap, Michael Gough, Kenny Farris, Brian David, and a few freshman runners.
(pictured above right)
emerged as a budding star when he qualified for nationals after finishing sixth in the Great Lakes Region meet. He narrowly missed earning All-America honors in cross country with a 46th place finish at nationals, but he more than made up for during the indoor and outdoor track seasons.
McCarthy ran to sixth place in the indoor 800 meters and fifth in the outdoor 1500 meters.
Einterz peaked at the right time for the Little Giants, and ran to fourth place at the NCAC Championships to propel Wabash to its highest finish at the conference meet, second. He later finished 13th at the Great Lakes Region to earn his second straight berth in the national field.
Donavan White
(pictured below left)
suffered a foot injury for the second straight year, which cut his season short. White ran a time of 27:13 at the conference meet to earn a spot on the All-NCAC Second Team.
"Our three seniors — Justin Allen, Seth Einterz, and Jacob Surface — are just great leaders," Busch said. "When I say they are great leaders, I mean they are leaders on and off the course; they are great young men who are excellent students and have high expectations for life. That combination works very well for the mentality it takes to be a successful runner or part of a successful team."
Farris was 31st at the conference meet, which represented his best all-around race as a collegian. Also competing at last year's conference meet were Dunlap (45th) and David (71st).
"We're a little down in terms of roster numbers, but everyone is very focused and ready to go this season," added Busch. "The freshman class has come into the season in great shape — as have our upperclassmen. We have a lot of potential on this team, and as all cross country seasons go, there will be plenty of highs and plenty of lows. But this year it looks like we will have many more highs and hopefully just a handful of lows."
In addition to hosting the 49th Annual Wabash Hokum Karem, Wabash will also host the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship on October 30 at Southmont High School.
Wabash enters the 2010 season ranked ninth in the Pre-Season Great Lakes Region Coaches' Poll, and last year posted the fourth highest team grade point average in NCAA Division III.
2010 Wabash Cross Country Schedule (home meets in Red)
Aug 28 — Charlie Finch '51 Annual Alumni Meet
Sep 4 — 49th Wabash Hokum Karem
Sep 17 — at Indiana Intercollegiates (Purdue)
Oct 1 — at Notre Dame Invitational
Oct 9 — at Rose-Hulman
Oct 16 — Inter-Regional Rumble (Oberlin)
Oct 30 — NCAC Championships (Southmont High School)
Nov 13 — NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Hope)
Nov 20 — NCAA National Championships (Wartburg)
For more information see:
2010 USTFCCA Cross Country Pre-Season Poll
Wabash College
301 W Wabash Ave Crawfordsville, IN 47933 765.361.6100


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Study —Hula has heart health, spiritual benefits
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii research presented to a convention of the American Psychological Association claims hula is good for the heart and soul.According to research by the University of Hawaii medical school and the Queen's Medical Center, learning hula dancing can lower blood pressure and help rehabilitate patients after heart attacks or cardiac surgery.The research attempted to evaluate how hula can help improve health among Native Hawaiians, whose death rate from heart disease is roughly twice that of the general popula- tion in the state, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Friday.Mele Look, an investigator on the studies, said there's also evidence hula has emotional and spiritual benefits. "Hula has never been used before as an intervention in a scientific research study," Look said. "We wanted to understand it both from the cultural side as well as from the Western scientific side."One study examined 45 people diagnosed with hypertension. Half of them took hula classes twice a week for 12 weeks, including heart health education. That group saw their blood pressure drop by 20 points on average. The control group saw a nine-point drop. Most of the participants with Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.Another study offered hula as rehabilitation for patients after cardiac surgery or heart attacks. The trial showed hula improved physical functioning and boosted social support, Look said. "People in the group often felt no one else really understood what they went through or how they were feeling, how vulnerable, facing their mortality," she said. "In the environment of a hula class, they felt supported, and it happened very fast and it lasted."An earlier stage of the research was accepted for publication in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers found low-intensity hula was slightly more energetic than fast ballroom dancing and high-intensity hula took more energy than a pickup game of basketball.


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A few farmers and agricultural service providers went to the field in late July and August to find their global positioning systems (GPS) were not operating as anticipated.
"Online discussion forums are continuing to have numerous questions about GPS problems. Many farmers' first suspicion is their GPS equipment malfunctioning," said Terry Griffin, economist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
This interruption in service occurred after two Wide Angle Augmentation System (WAAS) satellites were turned off. These satellites are used by some GPS equipment as a source of differential correction.
Farmers use the GPS in precision agricultural operations that help them make better management decisions and more precise field applications, Griffin said.
WAAS is a no-cost differential correction signal for the GPS system that consists of geostationary satellites designed by and maintained for the aviation industry by the Federal Aviation Administration.
WAAS correction is also available for civilian use, including agricultural purposes. A few common agricultural uses of the WAAS correction signals include lightbar guidance, variable rate application of inputs and yield monitoring on combines and cotton pickers.
"Although the GPS system remains operational without differential correction, the accuracy may not be enough to conduct the field operations at the desired precision," Griffin said. "In addition, some agricultural positioning software can be set to not operate without a source of differential correction."
Two WAAS satellites (identified as PRN 122 and PRN 134) were turned off July 30, according to the FAA Technical Center, Atlantic City, N.J. The old satellites were set to be taken off line earlier in the month, but were allowed to be usable for another two weeks to accommodate users. The two newest WAAS satellites, identified as PRN 135 (NMEA Satellite ID 48) and PRN 138 (NMEA Satellite ID 51), became operational Nov. 9, 2006, and July 13, respectively.
To maintain WAAS-corrected GPS, affected users may need to update their GPS system software, Griffin advised. Those users whose receivers are unable to scan for the new satellites or are otherwise locked onto the old satellites may experience a lack of GPS correction and may become unusable for agricultural purposes.
"Many agricultural GPS equipment manufacturers and providers have posted information on their respective Web sites about firmware updates for specific models," Griffin said. "This would mean a GPS receiver firmware update may be needed by growers who are readying for fall applications using lightbars for guidance and yield data collection during harvest."
Farmers and agricultural service providers relying upon other sources of differential correction such as Coast Guard beacon, subscription satellite correction, or base station (RTK) systems for their GPS correction signals, were unaffected by the change in WAAS satellites.
For more information on WAAS, log on to the FAA Web site at www.nstb.tc.faa.gov/. For more information on your equipment, check with your GPS equipment manufacturer or service provider.


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2008 Toyota Tundra TRD Old Man Emu Suspension - Tame But Tough TundraPosted in How To: Suspension Brakes on July 1, 2008
The New, Larger '08 Toyota Tundra is storming the fullsize truck market, and the aftermarket isn't far behind with support for those of us who like to modify our 4x4s. We just returned from a trip to Arizona where we took a stock Tundra, added the new Old Man Emu 2.5-inch performance suspension at 4-Wheeler's Supply in Phoenix, and then hit the trails. This is a great low-lift suspension where performance is a priority over added height. Old Man Emu (OME) is the suspension division of ARB, and most OME suspensions focus less on ride height and more on quality springs and shock valving to optimally control the suspension. This ARB ideology originated in Australia due to the more stringent lift laws there than here in the U.S., and four-wheeling is primarily done on long outback touring trips where traveling hundreds and hundreds of miles across rough corrugated dirt roads is commonplace. Because of this, the OME suspensions are very livable for daily use, while still offering a stout ride and enough lift to clear a slightly taller tire.
We found that having the extra-cab truck with a short lift can require an attentive eye on the rocker panels when off road in technical wheeling situations, especially in a truck without locking differentials. The Tundra requires enough wheelspin to engage the factory traction control but without launching the truck into a waiting boulder. However, when rallying down mountain roads or crawling up twisty obstacles with steep side hills, having the low center of gravity makes for a secure driving experience. The 21/2-inch lift also doesn't make using the bed a struggle since it is only slightly taller than stock. We were very happy with the short lifted Tundra as it rode great, looked better than stock, and performed excellently off road. And though we're usually fans of big tires under our 4x4s, with the price of gasoline pushing $4 per gallon, we're sure the 33-inch Goodyears are a bit more economical than a larger, heavier tire.
4PhotosView Slideshow


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2002-05 Kia Sedona Control Arm with Ball Joint Passenger Side Front Beck / Arnley 101-5139 - BASLF00012BASLF00012
Frequently bought together
Part Details
- Side Location: Passenger Side
- Front or Rear Location: Front
- Location: Lower
Beck/Arnley® is a leading specialty supplier of premium, quality import parts for cars, light trucks and SUVs. Unlike others, Beck/Arnley is committed to meeting their promise to provide the import parts by model and year to equal OE form, fit, and performance. All Beck/Arnley products meet or exceed OE specifications.
- Brand New Beck / Arnley Control Arm
- RH (Passenger Side) FRONT LOWER
- Replaces dealer part numbers: 0K52Y34300, 0K55234300B, 0K55234300C
- Includes ball joint
- Direct replacement
- Built to strict quality control standards
Worn ball joints can cause excessive front tire wear, popping or creaking in the front end, extra play in the steering system, and pose a serious safety concern. Replace loose or worn ball joints with our quality replacement. One way to diagnose a loose, or warn ball joint, is to jack the car up, so the wheel is off of the ground, then have someone try to move the wheel in and out. While they are moving the wheel check the ball joint for play, if it is moving you probably need to replace it. Remember whenever you are replacing any front end or steering components you should have your vehicle professionally aligned as soon as possible. This will ensure proper tracking and even tire wear.
Beck/Arnley thinks of the needs of the service technician first. They evaluate OE parts for each vehicle model and year, and determine the quality standards needed for maintenance and repair work. As automotive vehicle professionals, the Beck/Arnley Product Managers seek out finished goods or assembled kits to cover the basics of the installation and make improvements when possible.
In other words, Beck/Arnley parts look, fit, and install just like the originals. They are the right replacement parts for you vehicle!
Our control arms are designed to be direct replacements for the original factory parts. They are 100% brand new and require no modifications for installation. No special tools are required because all of the bushings come pre-installed.
Item Condition:
Lifetime Warranty
This item is backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty. In the event this item should fail due to manufacturing defects during intended use, we will exchange the part free of charge (excludes shipping charges) for the original purchaser.
|Kia Sedona Front Lower Control Arm with Ball Joint Passenger Side Beck / Arnley 101-5139
Part #: BASLF00012
Order must be placed by 4pm ET
Get it in: 2 - 4 Business Days
Want it sooner? Choose Next Day Air at Checkout


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I know that no one is impressed with modified physics files, but that's basically what I've uploaded to Simplici7y:
While designing new enemies for some other maps I'm working on I came up with some ideas for "Bosses". But since I don't actually like boss battles, I'm not going to use them in any of my other maps, so I figured I'd share them as a separate little thing. I think they're fun, and I had fun making them.
Each "boss" does require a specially designed arena for him to work properly. The arenas in the map I uploaded aren't perfect, but they do provide the opportunity for the boss battles to play out the way I intended them to about half the time (if you're not cheesing the monsters or using invincibility).
Humor me, and let me know what you think.


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It's 12.07am AEST and I'm about to eat breakfast. I'm not an insomniac. I'm in New York. It's ok to be jealous.
Many hours of research has revealed that Murray's Bagels on 6th Ave has perfected the NY bagel. I'm no expert on the subject. But I'm great at pretending.
10.07am. Get in line with half of the West Village. Peruse the extensive menu. Practice your order over and over in your head.. 'Cinnamon bagel with strawberry cream cheese, cinnamon bagel with strawberry cream cheese'. Repeat. Reach the front of the line. Forget your order. Say the first thing that pops into your head in a heavy Aussie accent. Repeat your order minus the accent. Collect your plain bagel with eggs and bacon.
Regardless of the ordering mishap, I am chuffed with my spontaneous choice. The plain bagel is chewy with a dense bread flavour. Yet the insides are somewhat light and fluffy. See those little holes in the bagel? I'm pretty sure that's the sign of a perfect bagel. Fluffy. Yeah, I'm an expert. And the bacon is oh so crisp. You don't want chewy bacon on a chewy bagel. It's all about the textures, and this bagel has all of them.
A sweltering summer is currently edging closer to NY, and the coffee here is CRAP, so drink it cold. It helps.
Ignoring my better judgement, I brave the line again and order the cinnamon bagel. It's like a giant, chewy hot cross bun slathered with cream cheese that is punctuated with chunks of real strawberry the size of your face. Perfection.
Murray's Bagels
500 Avenue of the Americas, New York.
Murray's Bagels
500 Avenue of the Americas, New York.
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The Archive is sad to report that legendary actor Jack Klugman died today, December 24th, at the age of 90. Klugman has made over 400 television appearances — in comedies, dramas, and even in a game show (well, sort of – remember the "Password"episode of The Odd Couple?) He played a blacklisted actor, a medical examiner, and perhaps most famously, sportswriter "Oscar Madison" opposite Tony Randall's "Felix Unger" in the 1970's sitcom The Odd Couple. One roommate was a neat-freak, one was sloppy and sarcastic: Klugman played the messy one.
Born April 27, 1922 in South Philadelphia, Klugman got his start in acting in the drama department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon). Klugman soon moved to New York to pursue theater, securing roles in several off-Broadway plays and getting his big break in the 1948 Broadway production of "Mr. Roberts." From there, Klugman began dabbling in the new medium of television, making appearances in the early 1950s on Actors Studio, (where he was directed by Yul Brynner), and on anthology dramas Studio One, Playhouse 90, and the 1955 Producers' Showcase production of "The Petrified Forest," opposite Bogey and Bacall. Klugman also wrote several scripts for Kraft Television Theatre in the late 1950s:
Klugman wasn't restricted to theater and television, though. He appeared as "Juror #5″ in the 1957 film Twelve Angry Men, and continued to do theater, television, and film projects throughout his career. He was back on-stage in 1959's "Gypsy" with Ethel Merman, and on TV again in the 1960s for four appearances on Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. In 1964, Klugman had a memorable role in "The Blacklist" episode of The Defenders, for which he won an Emmy:
Also in 1964, Klugman starred as the superintendent of a movie studio in his first sitcom, the short-lived Harris Against the World. Then in 1966, Klugman made his first appearance in Neil Simon's stage play, "The Odd Couple:"
Garry Marshall was looking to make a television series of the play, which Klugman agreed to do after some initial resistance. He resumed his stage role of "Oscar Madison" for the sitcom, which ran from 1970-75:
CBS' Fred Silverman tried to sell Klugman on a few other series after The Odd Couple ended, but it wasn't until the chance to play muckraking medical examiner Quincy, M.E. came along in 1976 that Klugman agreed to helm another TV show. Quincy lasted eight seasons, through 1983:
Klugman appeared in the 1987 film I'm Not Rappaport with Ossie Davis and Walter Matthau, but was suffering from throat cancer and soon underwent surgery to remove his right vocal cord. His voice was quieted to just above a whisper, and Klugman worked hard to train his remaining cord to pick up the slack. He returned to acting at the urging of friend Tony Randall for a one-time stage performance of "The Odd Couple" in New York in 1991. The production was a huge success, leading to Klugman and Randall teaming up for productions of "Three Men On a Horse," and "Sunshine Boys" on Broadway throughout the 1990s.
Klugman continued to act in small roles here and there, most recently as "Sam" in the 2010 horror film Camera Obscura. He was a proven success in film, television, and theater, and his perseverance in resurrecting his voice after surgery was an inspiration to his fans.
Watch Jack Klugman's full Archive interview.


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All DBAs know, or should know, you should not prefix stored procedures with sp_. Even Microsoft mentions the sp_ prefix is reserved for system stored procedures in Books Online.
I'm not going to discuss the do's and don'ts of naming conventions. What I want to know is there still a performance impact of using the sp_ prefix.
For our test, we'll use the AdventureWorks2012 database. First we need to create two new stored procedures that selects from the Person.Person table.
USE AdventureWorks2012;
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.sp_SelectPerson AS SELECT * FROM Person.Person;
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.SelectPerson AS SELECT * FROM Person.Person;
Next, we'll clear the procedure cache, and then execute each procedure once to compile it and to ensure all the data pages are in the buffer.
EXEC dbo.sp_SelectPerson;
EXEC dbo.SelectPerson;
Next, we'll run execute each stored proc 100 times using SQLQueryStress and compare the results.
Total time to execute sp_SelectPerson was 3 minutes 43 seconds, and only 3 minutes 35 seconds to execute SelectPerson. Given this test run was only over 100 iterations, 8 seconds is huge amount of savings.
We can even query sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats to get the average worker time in seconds and average elapsed time in seconds for each procedure.
o.name AS 'object_name'
,p.total_worker_time AS 'total_worker_time(μs)'
,(p.total_worker_time/p.execution_count)*0.000001 AS 'avg_worker_time(s)'
,p.total_elapsed_time AS 'total_elapsed_time(μs)'
,(p.total_elapsed_time/p.execution_count)*0.000001 AS 'avg_elapsed_time(s)'
FROM sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats p
JOIN sys.objects o ON p.object_id = o.object_id;
As you can see, the average time per execution is very minimal, but it does add up over time. This could easy scale into a much larger difference if all stored procedures begin with sp_.


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Josh Berkus of PostgreSQL Experts spoke at OS Bridge this summer on Data Warehousing 101:
Everything you never wanted to know about big databases but were forced to find out anyway (http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/database-soup/data-warehousing-101-slides-video-up-47456 has video and slides)
Call for papers for Percona Live: MySQL Conference & Expo 2012 is open! They opened it on Friday, September 15th and the call will close on Monday, December 5th. The MySQL Conference & Expo is Tuesday April 10 - Thursday, April 12, 2012 in Santa Clara, CA. To submit a paper, first register as a speaker at http://www.percona.com/live/mysql-conference-2012/user/register and then go to My Account -> Submit Proposal.
Kscope has a call for papers open until Friday, October 28th. KScope is an independently organized Oracle developer's conference, and will be held June 24-28, 2012 at the JW Marriott San Antonio in San Antonio, TX.
FOSDEM has a call for papers open until Sunday, November 6th. FOSDEM is one of the largest free and non-commercial open source events, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on 4 and 5 February 2012. There will be a Developer's room that's near and dear to our hearts called "MySQL, MariaDB and friends".
Main Content
Terms defined in the podcast:
data warehouse
data mining
DSS - decision support
data visualization
dimension - facet (Lucene), taxonomy, secondary indexes, view (map/reduce)
ETL (and ELT)
Tools for data warehousing
ETL tools - Talend, informatica, Kettle
Relational Database - MySQL, PostgreSQL
MPP (massively parallel processing):
Teradata - appliance
Netezza - appliance
Greenplum - software
IBM DB2 - software
Not mentioned: MySQL-based Calpont
Column Stores:
Vertica, Par Accel, Infobright, LucidDB, monetdb
Hadoop, Aster, CouchDB
Enterprise Search:
Lucene, elastic search, Solr
Ear Candy
Last week we mentioned the test database and access to it. In fact, it's not just "test", but ANY database starting with "test_"! According to the manual page at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/default-privileges.html:
"In addition, the mysql.db table contains rows that permit all accounts to access the test database and other databases with names that start with test_. This is true even for accounts that otherwise have no special privileges such as the default anonymous accounts. This is convenient for testing but inadvisable on production servers. Administrators who want database access restricted only to accounts that have permissions granted explicitly for that purpose should remove these mysql.db table rows."
DELETE FROM mysql.db WHERE user='' AND host='%' AND db LIKE 'test%';
Facebook group
e-mail: podcast at technocation.org
voicemail using phone/Skype: +1-617-674-2369
twitter: @oursqlcast
or Tweet about @oursqlcast


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We provide Officiant and Photography services in
the Livermore Wine Country, South Bay, Peninsula & San Francisco area of California
We love helping couples become one; sealing their vows with that special first kiss!! The Sealed with a Kiss team will help make your day perfect in every way. We would be happy to meet with you answering all your questions about the services we provide!!
We have recently been featured in an episode of "Platinum Weddings," the wedding of Kristopher and Ashleigh, princess meets rock and roll!!


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Our Fitness Blog
How to Get Your Fitness Groove Back
You have been on the fast track to achieving your goals. You workout regularly, you are only eating the best foods, and your goals are within arm's reach. You feel as if you are on top of the world, and nothing can stop you. But, then it happens. Something comes up and throws your routine off track. Then we find ourselves skipping a few workouts and hitting the drive thrus for lunch and dinner. We have become a coach potato mindlessly flipping through the tv channels and telling ourselves tomorrow we will get things back together. We will stop eating junk and hit the gym, but tomorrow never seems to come. This has happened to most of us. We fall off the wagon and just need to find the right thing that will help us get back up. So, what can you do to get your fitness groove back? I am glad you asked. Here are a few things that can help you get off the couch and back into the gym.
Revisit your goals. The whole reason you started working out was to accomplish something. You need to look back on what you wanted to achieve and stick with it. You need to wake up with the mindset that you are going to get one step closer to your goal today and act on it. You can write down a timeline for your goals on your calendar, set reminders on your phone or leave post it notes on your mirror. Anything you can do that keeps your goals fresh in your mind and helps you to stay motivated will help keep your fitness routine from stalling once again.
Evaluate yourself. If there was a personal reason behind your fitness routine stalling, then you need to pinpoint the exact reason and put an end to it. You need to try to keep your personal affairs out of the gym, or they will just revisit you once again and continuously wreak havoc on your fitness routine. So, do not let the stress of other parts of your life interfere with you achieving your fitness goals. Besides if you are stressed in your personal life or at your workplace, the best place for you to be is in the gym working off that stress in a healthy way instead of feeding those feelings while drinking wine on your couch staring blankly at your tv. So, get up and get motivated because you have goals to achieve.
Reassess your peers. What type of people are you associating with? Are they a good influence on you and your goals? If not, you may need to start hanging out with different people. The saying like attracts like applies here. If you hang out with inactive people, you are more likely to be inactive, but if you hang out with athletic people, then you will be more likely to get active and achieve your fitness goals. You may want to deny that others affect you, but a study performed by the University of California-Davis grouped college students with thirty randomly selected students and discovered that these students actually adopted the diet and exercise patterns of the least fit person in their groupings. This means that the company you keep can affect how you approach your fitness goals.
Mix it up a little. It can become boring doing the same thing over and over for days on end, and your fitness routine is no different. It is easy to lose focus when you are not excited about going to the gym or entirely engaged in your fitness routine. You need to look back and determine if this was the deciding factor in quitting your fitness routine. If it was, then it is time to seek out new things. Try a new fitness class, research a different type of fitness routine, buy a new fitness dvd or look for some different scenery. You may be surprised at how much adding a little something different to your routine can get you back into your groove and looking forward to working out.
This scenario has happened to most of us. In fact, a huge majority of us have fallen off the fitness wagon at some point in our lives. However, we have to remember that there are always going to be bumps along the road, and we will have to work hard to come up with creative ways to get over these bumps.


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Recently we hosted a new-found cousin for a week. We had met via ancestry.com, got acquainted through email and skype, and formed an eternal bond during our visit. Like my mother-in-law, she grew up in Jamaica, but now lived and worked in Germany. I had extended an invitation to her that if she was ever in the States to visit with us, and she took us up on it in February.
The family name we have in common is Robinson from Jamaica. Her great-grandfather, Rose Bingham Robinson and my mother-in-law's great grandfather Charles Robinson were brothers. His first name of Rose is a family surname, and yes, it does cause a good bit of confusion regarding his gender, but several documents confirm him as a him.
On our last night together, I was introducing her to the joys of familysearch.org. We were able to find several documents for which she had been searching for some time.
Above are the christening record for her grandfather Earnest, and the death record of Rose Bingham Robinson.
Almost as a post-script, I mentioned another website that she might find helpful, findagrave.com. I wasn't too sure there were many memorials from Jamaica, but I thought I'd enter Robinson as a search term without a given name just to see what turned up. The search results showed nine Robinson memorials in Jamaica, including an R.B. Robinson, died 15 April, 1899. We held our collective breaths as we double-checked the death date from the document we'd just found on familysearch.org. Then the collective hooting began! It was him, the great-grandfather whose burial place had always been a mystery to her. And more amazing that he was found in a cemetery in Port Maria, so very close to the village where she grew up.
How did we ever do family history before the internet?
(Many thanks to Scooter T for the photograph and findagrave memorial!)


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Related story: Inland Empire's unemployment rate falls to 9.6 percent, 900 jobs added
Los Angeles County's unemployment rate sank below 10 percent for the first time in 52 months during April as the economy continued adding jobs, the state said Friday.
Last month the county's jobless rate fell to 9.9 percent from 11.2 percent a year earlier and was down from 10.2 percent in March, said the California Employment Development Department. April's rate is the lowest since it was 9.7 percent in December of 2008, the beginning stages of the Great Recession.
Over the past 12 months the county has added 76,500 jobs, a growth rate of 2 percent, the state said. Both the county and the state continue to outpace the nation in job growth.
"Certainly that's a welcome development," said Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist at the Kyser Center for Economic Research in Los Angeles.
"The bottom line here is that this report is a generally positive report. There are job gains occurring in a wide array of sectors in the local economy. "
Last month the state's unemployment rate fell to 9 percent from 10.7 percent a year ago and 9.4 percent in March. By comparison, the national jobless rate dropped to 7.5 percent in April from 8.1 percent a year earlier and from 7.6 percent in March.
At the county level during the past 12 months the professional and business sector accounted for about 33 percent of the growth, adding 24,700 jobs.
Other gains included 19,100 jobs in educational and health services, 15,600 in leisure and hospitality, 13,200 in information and 9,400 in construction.
Government recorded the largest year-over-year decline with a loss of 9,700 jobs.
Job growth slowed on a monthly basis.
Between March and April the county added 200 jobs, bringing non-farm employment to 3.9 million, the EDD said.
Unclear at this point is what impact the ongoing federal spending reductions will have. They have not yet taken a big toll, though.
"So far this year I think that the national and local economies are weathering the drag from the federal side of things," Kleinhenz said.
Some businesses are now having trouble filling positions.
Galpin Motors in North Hills, which sells 10 brands and is the world's top Ford dealer, is looking to hire 50 employees, said Beau Boeckmann, the company's vice president.
"Today we could fill those jobs," he said. "This is the highest degree of need we've seen. We're at a point now where we're rather surprised that it's been difficult to hire people. All of our brands are growing. "
Salaries vary depending on the position and skill level.
"If you are a master technician you can make $100,000. Obviously that's not coming right out of school. That takes quite a bit of time but it can be an excellent income. "
Job growth followed a similar pattern at the state level.
Between March and April the state added 10,400 jobs and 273,100 over the past 12 months, a growth rate of 1.9 percent.
California Department of Finance chief economist Irena Asmundson said growth slowed in April. The department is expecting a 2.1 percent job growth rate this year, unchanged from 2012.
And it will take until the end of next year before employment in California returns to its pre-recession level, Asmundson said.
Nevertheless, Stephen Levy, director and senior economist of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto, said the state is making steady progress in creating jobs and reducing the still high jobless rate.
"The wealth of Californians is being rebuilt by increases in home prices and the stock market. And across the state one sees building everywhere. The state continues to make economic gains driven by technology, foreign trade and tourism and now a surge in home prices, sales and new building," he said in an e-mail.
And there are some bright spots.
Levy noted that over the past 12 months construction jobs increased by 7.7 percent to 45,000 and the number of unemployed residents dropped by more than 303,000.
"The state still faces the challenges of a slow growth national economy and world economy uncertainties. Yet today's consumer confidence report supports the idea that the country and state are making economic progress." Levy said.


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I would like to take a moment to update everyone on the status of Traq.
Traq 3.7 is still supported and actively developed, right now it's primarily bug fixes.
Traq 4.0 is still being developed, just somewhat slower due to a busy work schedule.
And a side note, the forums have been changed over to phpBB.
Development Update
Announcements about Traq.
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Focus of wolf-dog probe says his pets are not hybrids
North Stonington — Ashbow Sebastian said Wednesday he is cooperating fully with state environmental conservation officers investigating a possible wolf-dog hybrid shot and killed last month in the area around Long Pond, and that he owns seven dogs that are all white German shepherds.
"No, it wasn't my dog," Sebastian said of the animal identified by genetic tests as a wolf-dog hybrid. "My dogs are not hybrids. Where that hybrid came from, I don't know."
Sebastian, war chief of the Eastern Pequot tribe, has been the focus of the investigation that state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officers launched Sunday after being alerted to the presence of a possible wolf-dog hybrid, which is illegal in Connecticut. The animal was shot by a local resident after it and two other canines surrounded the man while he was outside near his horse barn. A neighbor trained in animal science collected tissue samples and sent them to the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, which determined the animal was a wolf-dog hybrid.
On Wednesday, a DEEP EnCon officer took a statement from the man and visited Sebastian's property. DEEP said Sebastian agreed to allow a veterinarian to take tissue samples from his animals for DNA testing at the same University of California lab. The officers warned Sebastian to keep his animals under control and on his property, DEEP said in a news release.
If test results show the animals are wolf-dog hybrids, EnCon officers can seize them under state law, DEEP said. The officers "acted after reports from neighbors of the Long Pond area on the North Stonington/Ledyard border that they have been threatened by menacing dogs that could be wolf/dog hybrids," DEEP said in a statement.
Sebastian and his wife, Colleen, said they have had white German shepherds for about 25 years and never kept vicious animals. They said people have been unfairly jumping to conclusions and "pointing the finger" at them and their dogs.
"I have nothing to hide," Sebastian said, standing in a fenced-in area outside his house with two of his dogs and two horses. "My dogs don't attack anybody."
He said one of his dogs went missing "a couple of months ago" but he is certain it is not the animal that was shot and killed.
"Every dog gets out once in a while," he said.
Colleen Sebastian questioned why the man who shot the dog didn't report the incident to police and town animal control officers immediately after it happened. The incident happened in late February, and the test results were received last week and DEEP officials alerted Sunday.
"You don't tell anybody for a month that you shot a dog?" she asked. "I don't understand that."
More than a year ago, state and local animal control officers went to Sebastian's property, seized some of the 17 dogs he had there and instructed him to keep no more than six animals and to keep them on his property, North Stonington First Selectman Nick Mullane said. There have been periodic complaints to authorities over the years about Sebastian's dogs roaming freely, he said, and "sometimes the jurisdiction gets fuzzy" between the reservation property and the town boundaries of Ledyard, North Stonington and Stonington.
Clint Tupper of Stonington said Wednesday that five or six of Sebastian's dogs chased and nearly bit him while he was riding his motorcycle on Lantern Hill Road about two years ago. He said he complained to the resident state trooper, but that the officer told him he could not take action because Sebastian lives on reservation property. The Eastern Pequots are a state-recognized tribe.
"When they pack, they're not to be messed with," Tupper said of the dogs. "Somebody's going to get hurt."
DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain said that if the tests show Sebastian's dogs are not hybrids, the matter could be turned over to state and local animal control officers, who would have jurisdiction over issues with domestic roaming dogs.
EnCon officers have jurisdiction over wildlife issues, including wolf-dog hybrids.
That would still, however, leave unanswered questions about the origin of the animal that was shot. Schain said officers would need to continue the investigation to learn more about that animal, and would also re-examine the genetic test that was conducted.
Genetic tests show North Stonington dogs are not wolf hybrids
State investigating wolf-dog hybrids in North Stonington, Ledyard
Watch Live: New London vs. Bacon Acadmey in ECC girls' basketball final
College trustee quits over Nazi uniform yearbook photo from 1980


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Next Episode of Good Game is
The show for gamers by gamers. Join Bajo, Hex, Goose and Nichboy for the latest game reviews, insider interviews, and fascinating stories from the global culture of gaming.
Steven O'Donnell(Steven O'Donnell)
Stephanie Bendixsen(Stephanie Bendixsen)
Steven O'Donnell(Steven O'Donnell)
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Mozilla Firefox 7 Released | Reduces Memory Usage | What's New
Mozilla Firefox 7 has been released. The new release fixes some stability issues and several bug fixes. Mozilla Firefox 7 available to Download for Linux, MAC OS X, and Microsoft windows. Also available to install on Ubuntu "Natty, Oneiric" using PPA.
According to Mozilla blog post that firefox 7 and upcoming releases will significantly reduce the memory usage by 50% less than earlier versions of firefox, better performance for handling HTML 5 animations, and it will become much better environment for developers, Firefox 7 supports W3C navigation timing spec API will help developer to easily measure the page load time, optimize websites, and web apps.
Here's a Benchmark "Firefox 7 is lean and fast" for Firefox 7 vs older version Firefox 6 and development version Firefox 8.
What's New In Mozilla Firefox 7 "Changelog"
- Drastically improved memory handling for certain use cases
- Added a new rendering backend to speed up Canvas operations on Windows systems
- Bookmark and password changes now sync almost instantly when using Firefox Sync
- The 'http://' URL prefix is now hidden by default
- Added support for text-overflow: ellipsis
- Added support for the Web Timing specification
- Enhanced support for MathML
- The WebSocket protocol has been updated from version 7 to version 8
- Added an opt-in system for users to send performance data back to Mozilla to improve future versions of Firefox
- Fixed several stability issues
- Fixed several security issues
Download Mozilla Firefox 7
Mozilla Firefox 7 available for Linux, MAC OS X, Microsoft Windows operating systems and with different languages Here.
Install Mozilla Firefox 7 On Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal and Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot
Firefox will be updated to the last stable release after updating official Ubuntu 11.04 and Ubuntu 11.10 repositories.
Install Firefox 7 on Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal using Mozilla security team.
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa/ubuntu sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install firefox
Install Firefox 7 On Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx and Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat
Run Terminal, then type
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-stable/ubuntu sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install firefox
Mozilla Firefox Significantly Reduces Memory Use to Make Web Browsing Faster
Mozilla Firefox 7 Release Notes
Post updated


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Archive for the 'Literary Paranoia' Category
Today's review is a little bit different. Yesterday I met Chris Stiebens on Twitter and he steered me towards his story Delimited Detention in Subtopian Magazine. I don't normally do reviews on request because I find it too stressful but I've been wondering what to write about ever since I posted a review of Spankalicious. Chris caught me at the right moment, while my mind was still blank and my bottom still sore.
It's always good to read science fiction with a blank mind because most good science fiction stories defy your preconceptions. If you begin one thinking you know what to expect, the chances are you will be proved wrong.
Delimited Detention is no exception. It did several unexpected things.
The first was to mention ham radio. The narrator has a colloquial, geeky, introverted tone of voice reminiscent of Howard Waldrop and Cory Doctorow. It fits the ham radio character perfectly, so this was a promising start.
But the next unexpected thing was a heavyweight reference to Tristan und Isolde via T.S. Eliot. In German. Without the umlaut.
I calculate at maximum a four year window before the sky over every major city is bladed to intolerability by police and Homeland Security drones—Od' und leer das Meer! What will become of "free society" at that point?
This is not what you want when you've got a sore bottom because it makes you squirm uncomfortably in your chair. It should be Oed' und leer das Meer! or Öd' und leer das Meer! and probably in italics.
It wasn't the only typographical error I noticed, but I don't want to be petty. Some of the sentences are quite tough to read and need all the typographical help they can get; but you can tell from the Wagner/Eliot reference and the hint of paranoia there that this is an ambitious story with a serious theme. The paranoia deepens and the theme darkens as the story goes on.
But I won't spoil it for you. I'll let you discover it for yourself.
I'll just say that it has a wry, knotty, poetic intensity that makes it worth reading more than once, even after you know the ending.


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Smart Vocab MCAT Lite
- Publisher: High Five Labs Inc.
- Genre: Education
- Released: 12 Aug, 2010
- Size: 8.7 MB
- Price: FREE!
- App Store Info
DescriptionThis is the LITE version of Smart Vocab MCAT app.
* Studies have shown that one of the top reasons why people do poorly on the MCAT is - Poor Vocabulary - FIX THIS with Smart Vocab MCAT. Acing your Verbal Reasoning section starts with a good grasp on your vocabulary *
"Shoot - I don't know that word..."
If you know you have a poor vocabulary, fix it! When your vocabulary improves, so will your test score.
Smart Vocab is your personal vocabulary tutor:
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Smart Vocab is the only app with a diagnostic feature that assigns you to a vocabulary "belt."
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1500+ words. Hand-picked and ranked for difficulty and priority by top New York City tutors.
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Better UI. Smarter definitions and usage examples. Addictive quiz mode.
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This quiz mode is serious fun. It times you, makes you get each word right three times and keeps track of what you need to review.
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The easiest, funnest, fastest way to master vocabulary.
* 1500+ words, selected from past tests.
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Note: All Smart Vocab apps include many essential words that appear on all tests. Choose the version that best matches the test you're taking.