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By CYRUS LEVESQUE AND JOHN S. McCRIGHT
ADDISON COUNTY — Most area high schools slightly outperformed the state averages in a batch of standardized reading and math test results released by the Vermont Department of Education last Wednesday.
In general, area elementary schools scored about on par with their peers across the state in a release of reading comprehension test results on the same day.
Educators gleaned a few specific lessons from the their initial look at the test results other than that they seem to be focusing their instructional efforts on some of the right things.
In results from the New Standards Reference Exams (NSRE), which were given to 10th graders in March, Mount Abraham Union High School students met the standard at four percentage points above the state average in the Math Concepts category, eight points below the state average in Writing Effectiveness, and within two points either way on the other five math and reading categories.
By ANDY KIRKALDY
WALTHAM — After an Oct. 5 hearing at which members of the Waltham Planning Commission and some residents questioned changes selectmen made to proposed new zoning laws, it looks like selectmen and planners will be sitting down to talk before another version of the zoning rules is put before the public.
Selectman Harold Francis said on Friday that disagreements over conditional use language, frontage requirements, changes made in the town's forest zone, noise law provisions, and the size of the town's main 5-acre residential zone will almost certainly require face-to-face meetings to resolve.
"It was suggested that the zoning board and selectboard get together and work this out … which I think we'll probably do," Francis said.
By CYRUS LEVESQUE
ADDISON COUNTY — Vermont's top agriculture official said he is in favor of weaning the state's dairy farmers from synthetic growth hormone, but he expects milk processors to help them do it.
Dean Foods and H.P. Hood Inc. have both announced recently that they would no longer accept milk from cows that have been treated with rBST (recumbent bovine somatropin), an artificial form of a naturally occurring hormone. Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Steve Kerr this week said he welcomed the change but said that the processors should compensate farmers for going without the hormone.
rBST, developed and marketed by Monsanto Corp. under the name Posilac, increase milk production by an average of 10 extra pounds per day.
By JOHN FLOWERS
MIDDLEBURY — Members of the Middlebury Business Association (MBA) on Tuesday urged selectmen to put pressure on the Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) to make sure that next year's scheduled repaving of downtown roads does not choke off customer traffic to local stores.
More than 20 downtown business owners packed the board's conference room to voice their concerns about the state's plans in 2007 to mill and repave Main Street from the Middlebury Congregational Church to the Cornwall town line; Route 125 (College Street) from Main Street to the Cornwall line; and Route 7 from Creek Road to just north of High Street.
The state has budgeted for the multi-million-dollar project to occur within the fiscal year 2008, which begins on July 1, 2007. Local merchants fear a late summer/early fall work schedule, which would coincide with one of the most lucrative shopping periods of the year.
By MEGAN JAMES
MIDDLEBURY — Justin Spurley, Marietou Paye and Conetrise Holt were the top students of their graduating classes at Atlanta public high schools. When choosing colleges, they could have gone where their friends were going — the University of Florida or Georgia, or even accepted generous scholarships to Emory University in Atlanta.
But these three students chose Middlebury College.
Their parents had never heard of the school. Their friends called it "Middle-of-nowhere-bury,� but with the support of the year-old 21st Century Scholars Program, created by Atlanta native and Middlebury College alumnus Graham Balch, these students applied to a range of northeastern liberal arts colleges they never would have considered before.
The Atlanta public schools are struggling to see their students through college, Balch says, and they attribute this to the lack of gap-financing in southern colleges and universities.
ADDISON COUNTY — Two Vermont transit organizations soon will begin offering weekday bus service between Middlebury and Rutland.
Officials from Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR) and the Marble Valley Regional Transit District (MVRTD) said the service, which will run several times a day during the workweek beginning Dec. 4, will make it easier for people to commute to and from both towns.
By ANDY KIRKALDY
FERRISBURGH — A major federal grant recently earned by the Rokeby Museum could "transform" the Ferrisburgh institution that illustrates the key role Vermont played in the anti-slavery movement, its director said.
Rokeby director Jane Williamson announced this week that the National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the historic Route 7 museum a $235,000 grant to develop a permanent exhibit on the Underground Railroad that helped escaped slaves find their freedom.
Rokeby earned the highly competitive grant by developing a proposal to highlight the stories of two fugitives who enjoyed long stays at the Ferrisburgh farm, then owned by Rowland Robinson, after fleeing slavery in Maryland and North Carolina.
MIDDLEBURY — Nick Artim still vividly recalls his high school guidance counselors' reaction when he first told them of his desire to work at a job that melded his love of history and architecture.
"They said, 'You're never going to make money at that,'" Artim recalled.
Well, Artim is currently proving those guidance counselors wrong.
Artim, 50, has quietly become one of the country's most respected authorities in designing fire protection systems for some of the western world's most historic homes, libraries, museums and castles. Even if you look real closely, you'd be hard-pressed to see his handiwork — sprinkler heads, smoke detectors and the like — craftily camouflaged within the rafters, banisters or log walls within such iconic structures as Edinburgh Castle in Scotland and the Vermont Statehouse.
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Wednesday, February 01, 2012
A couple of people made the point that SSM is about the gay community wanting validation and affirmation more than it is about obtaining specific marital rights.
I don't think that's a necessarily incorrect assessment. And, I think withholding that validation is a serious motive for opponents to gay marriage, who are comfortable tolerating gay people and acknowledging their existence, but don't want to be required to put their stamp of approval on gay relationships, elevating the status of gay relationships to those of heterosexual relationships.
Full disclosure. I don't know how comfortable I am, personally, with Same Sex Marriage. That's to say, while I don't harbor ill will towards homosexuals, I can also say that I have a hard time understanding homosexuality simply because I can't identify with it personally. I don't know or understand what it would be like to be attracted to the same sex, and because of that I can't un-self-consciously accept it in the same way that I would any other straight relationship. I actually have to consciously work on not making value judgements.
Those statements are not meant to be used as ammunition against me. I am merely trying to be honest about the thought process I have. Because I don't identify with or understand homosexuality in the same way that I understand heterosexuality....I am limited in my abilities to be as instinctively OK with it as I would be with other relationships. As such, I have to take what gay people say about themselves and their relationships at face value to some extent. If most of them feel as if this is something they were born with or something they have no power to change, then I have to accept that.
I have no basis to argue otherwise.
How valuable is this validation of SSM and what do opponents gain by not giving it?
For the gay population, I think the validation is extremely valuable. Having governmental recognition of SSM would allow them to feel accepted and as if their relationships were equal to heterosexual marriages and all that it entails. Living in a society that doesn't purposely and consciously exclude you and that doesn't merely tolerate you is definitely more appealing and freeing than living in a society in which you feel slighted.
Is it the government's responsibility to make sure that everyone feel more accepted and free? Is the government supposed to make us feel warm and fuzzy about all of our choices? Is the government supposed to be a hippie love-in organization making sure that everyone gets a hug and a flower in their hair?
Well....not exactly. However, the government isn't a separate entity that operates outside and independent of society. It is a representation of society and serves to enact laws that society considers just and good. Those laws are adjusted and added to as society adjusts and adds to its conception of "just" and "good".
Validating SSM is a way of declaring that society thinks it is more just and good to honor consensual, binding, relational agreements between two gay people than it is to not honor those agreements. While it is about making homosexuals feel openly accepted and equal, it is also about honoring the wills of individuals to live peacefully, according to their own consciences, without government impediments, a principle which is entirely American.
Very conservative Christians will never accept homosexuals in any way. The only option in their eyes is a fundamental denial of same sex attraction. Homosexuals are expected to repent and live as heterosexuals. The problem is that after many years of this approach, it doesn't seem widely viable or workable. Some of the founders of various ex-gay movements, after many years of working in those movements, have given up on the idea of thinking it's even possible to be "ex-gay".
Conservative Christians will characterize these people as giving up on God, or the faith, or surrendering to the devil and their lusts.
On the other hand, if someone so desperately wants not to be gay, founds an organization for ex-gays, and dedicates themselves to that movement for many years, and after all that discovers that their life's work hasn't been very effective and openly admits it...then I think Christians need to listen to what they have to say.
The average evangelical christian has historically taken the path of "loving the sinner, hating the sin" when it comes to homosexuality. I once thought this was a workable spiritual solution; tell homosexuals that we love them and think God loves them, but that their actions are not pleasing to God and we can't condone their behavior. In theory, the idea is that acting on homosexual desires is equivalent to acting on heterosexual desires outside of marriage. People make mistakes. God offers forgiveness. We simply can't condone the mistakes.
The problem is that it never really works that way in evangelical churches. No matter how open and loving an evangelical church can be, or how insistent that homosexuals are welcome to attend, they are not treated in the same way that heterosexuals are because an attraction to the same sex is not viewed equivalently to an attraction to the opposite sex, in the eyes of the church. Attraction to the opposite sex is seen as inherently natural and if heterosexuals stray then it is a matter of right desire, wrong timing or wrong relationship. With homosexuals there is never a right time, place, or relationship to express their sexual orientation.
What remains is the option of lifelong celibacy in an evangelical church. However, even if an openly gay person chooses to be celibate, there is always a lingering suspicion towards them and they will most likely not be given any visible leadership positions within the church.
Withholding approval/validation effectively keeps acknowledged homosexuals out of evangelical churches. It's not hard to see why. If desires that you have always had, desires that you can't get rid of, and desires that are an integral part of the framework of your self-conception are considered twisted and unnatural, even if you don't act on them, it would be difficult to feel loved, accepted and part of that community.
When a person latches onto the idea of withholding validation or approval from someone as a means of influencing them, they are operating on several assumptions.
Assumption #1 --They are in a superior position. Validation is theirs to give or withhold by fiat and natural authority.
Assumption #2--Their purposeful withholding of validation will influence the subject of it to submit and agree to the authority's position and discourage them from the subject's own position
Assumption #3--Giving validation to someone who lives and believes differently than they do is as bad as living and believing in the same way as that person. Validation=participation.
#1 is hard for anyone to prove. Justifying hierarchies and inherent authority is incredibly difficult when people begin to critically examine that hierarchy and the basis for the authority given to it.
#2 isn't effective. When you don't validate people they typically don't change, they simply continue being the way they are in a different location.
#3 Validation is not equal to participation.
I may write more about this when time permits.
8 comments:
My views in this area have changed significantly over the years as well. While I too still find it hard to "understand" homosexuality, I also know that there's a lot that I don't understand in life, and rejecting or condemning someone or something because I don't understand it or them or can't relate to them is pointless and self-defeating.
Personally I've become more and more open to SSM to the point that I think it's a good idea. Society, or at least a large portion of it, wants same sex relationships to be recognized. This can be seen in the laws in certain states and in the benefits policies of many companies (i.e., providing health benefits for same sex partners). The problem is it's a half solution that causes more confusion and problems.
Giving SSM the same recognition as opposite sex marriage would not only acknowledge the right of people to live their lives in peace and harmony as they see fit and without undue governmental intrusion, it would also give individuals in same sex marriages the same protection that those in opposite sex marriages have.
For example, if two people in a SSM sought a divorce, they'd have to legally dissolve their estate and split their assets. Similarly, if a same sex couple had a child and then later got a divorce, both would have a legal recourse to seek parental rights and involvement in the life of their child.
I may not "understand" homosexuality, but I don't want to be the person saying that one person is somehow less than another and therefore shouldn't receive the same respect, protection, and freedom. Sounds a bit too much like the sordid past that I thought we, as a nation, had moved on from.
- Sabio Lantz said...
Great post, well stated.
On the blog Naked Pastor, he addresses this issue in his cartoons -- as you know. In a recent comment thread, a conservative Christian attacked a homosexual Christian and the other Christians did not stand up for her. It took atheists to stand up.
You said, If desires that you have always had, desires that you can't get rid of, and desires that are an integral part of the framework of your self-conception are considered twisted and unnatural, even if you don't act on them, it would be difficult to feel loved, accepted and part of that community.
Many versions of Christianity are full of this -- "Atheists" are seen as twisted and unnatural too. Because they can't buy into the Christian's world, or the Muslim's world. If "love and acceptance" was a priority, religions would not look at all as they do today. The gay issue makes the religion game clear. And many people are realizing that.
- Assistant Village Idiot said...
There are desires I have always had that are evil and cruel. I work with deeply pathological people who have desires that are evil and cruel.
That doesn't make homosexual desires evil and cruel, but it does mean that the argument "but I've always been this way, I can't help it, God made me this way" is completely empty.
However, the weight the "that's just the way I am" argument carries with people is the center of why gay activists have to contend that their preference is no matter of choice, but entirely ordained from their genes. They need to believe it and need to maintain it to others. Interestingly, lesbians are less adamant about the issue, and many will estimate that only 40-60% of them were lesbians from birth. Gay men and transgenedered insist on 100%.
The evidence for that proposition is weak, and epigenetic phenomenon are rising up as better explanations, but the science doesn't matter.
Sabio, I read the Gay Thursday posts and comments a ways back - don't know if I caught the one you mean. But a lot of folks, including the blogger, quite winsomely take the "oh we're not the haters, they are" route and are sweetly quite vicious. "Attack" and "defend" are loaded words that may not have clear meanings there.
- terri said...
A few things. I think sexuality occurs along a spectrum. There are most definitely people who feel that they choose to gay, or bi-sexual, there are those who feel that they have always been gay, from their earliest impulses, and there are those who feel more like they "discovered" that they were really gay.
There is some flexibility there, but I think that the majority of those who identify themselves as gay view themselves as always having been that way.
The problem with equating sexual desires with being evil or cruel, or at the very least something that can be evil or cruel if not used in the right setting and circumstances....is that for someone who is homosexual there is never a "right" time or place for them to have a romantic/sexual relationship, in the evangelical/conservative christian view.
Can people survive without sex? Sure. Should we ask them to for their entire lives? I think that's a recommendation that comes easily from people who always have the promise for, hope to, and ability to have a loving sexual relationship.
What evangelicals easily require of homosexuals is really quite a daunting request. Humans are hard-wired to have relationships. They are hard-wired to have sexual urges. To tell someone that they must control those urges...not just at certain times and in certain conditions....but for their entire lives with no exceptions...well, that is unrealistic and not very merciful.
That thought, more than anything, has changed my mind on this issue.
Does that mean that any sexual urge and desire should be accepted by society? No.
Child molestation is never going to be approved of no matter how much sexual predators declare that they can't help their desires and that they were just born that way. We recognize that sexual relationships with children are harmful to children, physically and psychologically, and non-consensual by their very nature.
I think people too easily move the line of argumentation to the,"Well, if we approve of homosexuality, what's going to stop us from approving of child molestation or bestiality?"
I think its a false equation. Those are very different things.
A lot of conservatives are chagrined by the promiscuity of the gay community. I do wonder if allowing SSM and normalizing gay relationships would help stem some of that stuff. If the option of socially accepted, recognized, normative relationships becomes more prominent...maybe some of that would settle down...although straight people sure can be just as promiscuous in their behaviors.
Epigenetic explanations don't dismiss the "born that way" sentiment. Epigenetic simply means that something has altered the genes which are turned off or on in an individual. And...as far as I know, we don't know how to turn genes on or off or what the consequences would be if we did.
What's the difference between someone who was "born that way" and someone whose genes became turned off or on by age 5, or 10, or 15?
Either way that person's unconscious genes are driving behavior that is biological, not mental.
- Sabio Lantz said...
Sorry, I need more direct talk. I would have to read your comment 3 times to figure out what you are saying, but I won't. I read your "blogger profile" where you tell us how smart you are, so was glad I did not read twice.
@ terri
Your points were clear and well said. I agree.
- terri said...
Why is it that on the rare occasion when you and AVI comment on the same post you annoy each other so much?
I understood AVI's comments. I believe he's referring to nakedpastor and his various pro-gay cartoons, which you referenced in your comment. His point is that some people are comfortable being hateful towards the people they perceive as being in the wrong on issues in an I'm-defending-the-oppressed-against-their-evil-hateful-bigoted-critics kind of way.
You don't have to agree with him....but I think that's where he's coming from.
- Sabio Lantz said...
Really, I don't actually remember him. But then, I don't have a fantastic memory.
And interestingly, I still don't understand your summary of his position. I must be particularly dense tonight.
Nice blog. A couple critical disagreements:
T5.1 "If most of them feel as if this is something they were born with or something they have no power to change, then I have to accept that. I have no basis to argue otherwise." The Bible makes a statement about human nature, and further is the standard for Christian living. Am I wrong in saying that I can empathize with them? What is the difference between 30 years and 75 years of celibacy?
T5.2 "Homosexuals are expected to repent and live as heterosexuals. The problem is that after many years of this approach, it doesn't seem widely viable or workable." Exactly. Conquering sin never seems viable or workable. This is why we praise The Spirit, when we, not just overcome sin, but come to hate it.
T5.3a "Even if an openly gay person chooses to be celibate, there is always a lingering suspicion towards them and they will most likely not be given any visible leadership positions within the church." I would have the utmost respect for a "valid candidate" who has chosen celibacy.
T5.3b "No matter how open and loving an evangelical church can be, or how insistent that homosexuals are welcome to attend, they are not treated in the same way that heterosexuals are". Your response to "love the sinner, hate the sin", reveals a possible failure of the church in action, not in principle.
T5.3c Let me just say how I would react to a homosexual (who has accepted Jesus as his savior) in the two polar church situations:
i) (He feels guilty and powerless). "I am gay." "Hey, watch this cool 116 clique video" about "making war" with sin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=poF4QsiPwtM
ii) (He comes but feels judged). "I am gay." "Uh-huh, that's nice, wanna do some evangelism with me?" What this does: Treats him like a normal person with normal struggles. Puts him on my team. Implicitly acknowledges the simplicity of salvation (He does not need to do anything else). Focuses on sharing that simple truth with others (again, instead of obsessing with our own salvation). Gives him in an active role in the church that will inevitably call him to higher and higher standards. Keeps him around so that maybe one day I can share my 116 clique video with him. Fulfills the great commission (what else are we doing here?!)...

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Horsehead Nebula, Barnard 33
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2013-07-25 / Letters
Beware Pumped-Up Cops
Dear Editor: In the last month, I have been reading about more and more over the top and brutal actions by our police in pretty benign situations. After reading about anabolic steroid use and abuse by police officers, perhaps we have an answer.
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Are you for real Joe???
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Are you for real Joe???


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About Human Services PoliceEmployment InformationComplaints / ComplimentsContact InformationMegan's Law
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We, the Human Services Police, exist to serve the most vulnerable citizens in New Jersey with respect and sensitivity.
We are committed to the protection of life and property; the prevention of crime and the safeguarding of constitutional guarantees.
We are committed to enhance the quality of life and foster a sense of security in the DHS community.
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We pledge that through our efforts, we will establish a new standard of excellence in law enforcement and service to the citizens of the State of New Jersey.


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Franklin Spilman Newell (1854-1895), a native of Readsboro, Vermont, was a graduate of the University of Vermont's Medical College. In 1879, he opened a medical practice in Rowe, Massachusetts; seven years later he moved to Deerfield where he specialized in diseases of the eye. Dr. Newell died shortly after suffering an accident in which he was thrown from a horse-drawn sleigh while visiting a patient. A memorial room was dedicated in his honor at the Franklin County Hospital in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Dr. Newell is seen here seated in a horse and buggy, with the Deerfield Academy/Dickinson High School building in the background.
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Academic Freedom | News
A Washington, D.C. organization is suing three universities and one college to challenge what it considers "unconstitutional speech codes in academia." That includes attempts by one school to censor a faculty blog critical of the administration and trustees.
This move by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) follows two other similar lawsuits filed earlier in district courts and is the precursor — FIRE promises — to future suits. In each case FIRE and its legal partner, First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere, are filing the suit on behalf of students or faculty and accusing the administration of censoring free speech.
The courtroom "campaign" is intended to abolish speech codes in public colleges across the country. "The lawsuits will continue until campuses understand that time is finally up for unconstitutional speech codes in academia," said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff in a statement.
In fact, he added, as one lawsuit is settled, another one will be filed against a different school in that same geographic boundary, "sending a message that unless public colleges obey the law, they will be sued."
During a press conference Lukianoff said that the "first modern generation of speech codes" was defeated in federal court in 1989. In spite of that, "Campus speech codes are still alive and thriving. The restrictions on free expression somehow remain the rule rather than the exception, even though speech codes have been successfully challenged in more than two dozen lawsuits over the years."
FIRE maintains that 58 percent of public universities have speech codes that are "unambiguously unconstitutional."
"Many universities maintain their speech codes not just because they may actually believe in a mythical right not to be offended on campus but because they believe there is no 'downside,'" Lukianoff said. "They say to themselves, 'Well, maybe I can point to our speech codes if we get sued for harassment, discrimination or personal injury. And it's not very likely we'll have to go to court for violating students' free speech rights. So let's keep our speech codes.'... In this amoral calculus free speech loses. FIRE has therefore decided that it must change the incentive structure to one that favors freedom of speech on college campuses rather than suppression of dissent."
FIRE's latest salvo has caught up these four schools:
The lawsuit against Chicago State charges that administrators have "threatened legal action" and "other behind-the-scenes actions" to shut down a blog titled "CSU Faculty Voice," which offers sometimes scathing descriptions of what it views as university mismanagement. For example, a June entry by Robert Bionaz, an associate professor of history, examined the university president's evaluation criteria as stated in his contract and concluded that his "performance as Chicago State's president has resulted in more failures than successes and his willful transformation of the university into a haven for well connected administrative hires seems directly related to a number of the woes experienced by the school."
"Ultimately," the lawsuit stated, Chicago State adopted a cyberbullying policy that "broadly prohibits electronic communication that may have an 'adverse impact on the work environment of a CSU faculty member or employee." By these actions, FIRE charges, the university "unlawfully restricts the free exercise of constitutional rights to free expression."
At Citrus College, a student is challenging the existence of a "free speech zone" that the college had already agreed to eliminate following a 2003 lawsuit. The suit also questions the need for student organizations "to get approval before they may hold or publicize events" as well as a policy that allows campus administrators "to punish any speech deemed 'inappropriate' or 'offensive.'"
Two students at Iowa State are fighting censorship of t-shirt designs they created for a student chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ISU). In that case, the lawsuit charges, administration adopted new trademark rules "expressly to restrict NORML ISU's [t-shirt] message," one of which read, "NORML ISU Supports Legalizing Marijuana."
In the fourth suit, also involving t-shirt slogans, an Ohio U student is fighting a decision by his school to prevent members of a student group that defends fellow students accused of campus disciplinary offenses from wearing shirts that state, "We get you off for free." The group asserts that it first began using the slogan in the 1970s; this year administrators prohibited the shirts, citing a speech code that bans any "act that degrades, demeans or disgraces" another person. In this case the university said the logo "objectified women" and "promoted prostitution."
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Article by by Christina Ianzito, AARP
"There are so many reasons why you might leave a longtime hometown to relocate somewhere new, especially as you grow older. Maybe you want to live in a warmer climate or be near grandchildren. Perhaps an aging parent needs your help, you're downsizing from house to apartment or you found a job in a new town. Whatever the reason, many people 50 and older need to establish new social ties for the first time in decades. The question is: How do you do it?
Make friends in a new community by participating regularly in a group activity, such as a book club.
Get a dog, suggests Lisa Johnson Mandell, 52, a journalist who moved with her husband from Santa Monica to a different part of Los Angeles five years ago.
"Having a dog made all the difference," she says. The couple got a Goldendoodle (a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle) and met other "doodle" owners at a dog park. Then she heard of a fund-raiser for animal rescue efforts, and asked to help. "I went to a meeting and met these women, and we started to get to know each other planning that year's event. Then our husbands met each other and fell in love," Mandell says.
Since then the couples have gone on vacations together, have parties and cook big dinners together at each other's homes. "We all just can't imagine having better friends than the ones we've met through our dogs," says Mandell, who calls her new buddies "the Doodle Girls."
Studies show that having a wide circle of friends is strongly correlated with psychological well-being, brain health and even mortality, so there's no getting around the fact that friends are good.
And if it feels uncomfortable or embarrassing, to be pining for pals as an adult, Shasta Nelson, author of Friendships Don't Just Happen, is here to tell you "it's very normal multiple times in our lives to need new friends. We need to recognize that our health and happiness are more important than the awkwardness we feel in admitting we need friends."
Of course, it can often take months or even years to solidify a friendship. Elaine Rodino, Ph.D., is a psychologist who moved to central Pennsylvania from California almost four years ago to be near her only grandchild. It's taken some time, she admits, but she's been able to meet people through volunteering. Whatever the organization, Rodino says, "People love volunteers. There's always a job to do and people are thrilled for you to be on a committee, and then you just start forming friends." More than joining a special interest group or attending religious services, volunteering is one way to take your involvement — and relationships with other members of the group — to a deeper level."


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Brain Teasers
Knights of the Round Table
Fun: (2.73) Difficulty: (2.27) Puzzle ID: #19885
Submitted By: tsimkin Corrected By: tsimkin
Submitted By: tsimkin Corrected By: tsimkin
Probability Probability puzzles require you to weigh all the possibilities and pick the most likely outcome.
King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Guinevere decide to go to their favorite restaurant to share some mead and grilled meats. They sit down at a round table for five, and as soon as they do, Lancelot notes, "We sat down around the table in age order! What are the odds of that?"
Merlin smiles broadly. "This is easily solved without any magic." He then shared the answer. What did he say the odds were?
Merlin smiles broadly. "This is easily solved without any magic." He then shared the answer. What did he say the odds were?
HintDoes it matter if they are sitting clockwise or counterclockwise? Or where the oldest sits?
AnswerThe odds are 11:1. (The probability is 1/12.)
Imagine they sat down in age order, with each person randomly picking a seat. The first person is guaranteed to pick a seat that "works". The second oldest can sit to his right or left, since these five can sit either clockwise or counterclockwise. The probability of picking a seat that works is thus 2/4, or 1/2. The third oldest now has three chairs to choose from, one of which continues the progression in the order determined by the second person, for a probability of 1/3. This leaves two seats for the fourth oldest, or a 1/2 chance. The youngest would thus be guaranteed to sit in the right seat, since there is only one seat left. This gives 1 * 1/2 * 1/3 * 1/2 * 1 = 1/12, or 11:1 odds against.
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Learners create art inspired by authentic NASA planetary image data while learning to recognize the geology on planetary surfaces, uniquely inspiring learner engagement. This presentation and accompanying activity use the elements of art - shape,... (View More) line, color, texture, value - to make sense of features in NASA images, honing observation skills and inspiring questions. It aligns with the NGSS cross-cutting concept of Patterns. Videos, images, and an interactive poster that breaks down activity elements deepen user access. (View Less)
Students are introduced to planetary rocks, soils, and surfaces using images of the lunar samples collected by Apollo astronauts. Examining those images and participating in related activities will lead students to a deeper understanding of the... (View More) Moon, Earth and our Solar System. The 27-page student guide contains background information, images, instructions, questions and activities. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and also includes a teacher's guide, an alignment to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and connections to Common Core English Language standards. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
Using a set of activities, recommendations, and diagrams, participants will construct a fully functional Space Weather Action Center (SWAC) for use in a classroom. Students will access, analyze, and record NASA satellite and observatory data to... (View More) monitor the progress of an entire solar storm. Afterward, they will transform the data collected in their student journals into real SWAC news reports using an adaptable SWAC script. (View Less)
This is an activity about the period of the Sun's rotation. Learners will use image of the Sun from the SOHO spacecraft and a transparent latitude/ longitude grid called a Stonyhurst Disk to track the motion of sunspots in terms of degrees of... (View More) longitude. Using this angular motion measurement, learners will then calculate the sunspot's angular velocity in order to determine the rotation period of the Sun. This activity requires access to the internet to obtain images from the SOHO image archive. This is Activity 4 of the Space Weather Forecast curriculum. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free
In this activity, students consider the sudden release of a tremendous amount of kinetic energy when an extraterrestrial object strikes the Earth. In small groups, they study satellite images that show possible evidence of impact events. To... (View More) demonstrate their understanding of the role of impact events in shaping the Earth, students design a field expedition to determine whether or not a given landform is an impact crater. The resource includes a lesson plan, satellite images, teacher background, student readings and worksheets, a student learning assessment rubric, and extensions. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free per group of students
This poster shows comparison images of Earth and Mars on the front, with 11 Mars activities on the back. Learners can investigate: how far away is Mars, why does Mars have craters, water on Mars, Mars' minerals, how high the mountains are on Mars,... (View More) and are invited to create a martian calendar and travel guide. See Related & Supplemental Resources (right) for link to poster back where the activities are located. (View Less)
This is an activity about the shape of the Earth's orbit. Learners will first use elements of the orbit of Earth and Pluto and an apparatus using string, a pencil, and pushpins to accurately draw an ellipse, showing the nearly circular shape of... (View More) the orbits of Earth and Pluto. They then measure real images of the Sun in each season, determining the apparent size of the Sun to see if it changes throughout the year. By determining the apparent size of each Sun image and by seeing the shape of Earth's orbit, learners will confront the misconception that seasons are caused by changing distance of the Earth from the Sun. Finally, learners reflect on the results of the Sun-Earth Survey, which is Activity 2 in this set. This is Activity 4 in the Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) guide titled Real Reasons for Seasons: Sun-Earth Connections. The resource guide is available for purchase from the Lawrence Hall of Science. This activity recommends use of an overhead projector. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
This is an activity about sampling in astronomy. Learners will make a sampling window in order to estimate the number of stars in the sky visible to the unaided eye. After, they will discuss how to estimate the effect of different variables on their... (View More) counts, such as sky brightness, dark adaptation, cloud cover, etc. Please note use of a clear night sky is optimal for this activity. (View Less)
Students examine a series of remotely-sensed images of the US, scaling from the continent to San Francisco, and distinguish the concepts of scale and resolution. At greater resolution, students are able to identify different land classes on the map,... (View More) using the color key for false color images. This lesson gives students first-hand experience in seeing how reality is represented by maps and models, determine spatial relationships between landscape features on a map, and an opportunity to design and create their own maps and models. This activity is part of the Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook, which provides more than 20 activities to build student understanding of global change and remote sensing, and includes background chapters for teachers, glossary, and appendices. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free per student


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The Week In Music: Help Wanted For Chris Martin And Gwyneth Paltrow
Are you fresh out of a top higher-learning institution and looking for a job? Can you play Coldplay songs on piano and guitar proficiently? Are you a polyglot? Do you have a mean backhand and know how to roll a jib? Are you looking for a position requiring travel? If you answered yes to these questions, you may be the perfect fit for London-based power couple Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, who are in the market for an A-list Renaissance-style tutor for their son Moses and daughter Apple. But before you send your résumé, you may want to review the qualifications. The ideal tutor candidate is fluent in Latin, French, Spanish, and of course, Ancient Greek; musically inclined with the ability to play at least two instruments; interested in sports such as sailing and tennis; and Oxbridge-educated. The job's benefits are appealing, including a flat in West London and free travel with the family abroad (think concert tours and movie sets). The starting salary? Nearly $100,000, and the tutor will only have to work with the tykes for two hours per day. The couple posted an advertisement on Tutors-International.com and is interviewing candidates now. But applicants beware, there may be more to the job than meets the eye. An unidentified source told the UK's The Sun, "They want someone to go with them wherever they need them."
In related celebrity news, Sean "Diddy" Combs is looking to get his label crew in line. The GRAMMY-winning rapper has hired an etiquette coach specifically to teach his Bad Boy Records staff some proper manners. Etiquette expert Dawn Bryan will teach the staff everything from appropriate business practices and the right way to present a business card to eating caviar and how to properly hold chopsticks. Thankfully, Ancient Greek and jib rolling will not be prerequisites for new Bad Boy hires moving forward, but etiquette training will be. A label name change to Good Boy Records may be pending.
Maybe that plot device in the Beatles' 1965 film Help! — in which Ringo Starr finds he's the target of comically nefarious characters out to kill him — may not have been so funny after all given this week's news that a baby Ringo (or Richard as he was known as a child) may have barely escaped Nazi bombing in Liverpool, England, in 1940. British historian Neil Holmes' new book, Liverpool Blitzed: Seventy Years On, says the street on which a three-month-old Richard Starkey lived was hit by stray bombs from the German Luftwaffe during their air raids. "The baby who was to find fame as Ringo Starr was very lucky not to have lost his life that night," says Holmes. Could this early (okay, really early) brush with war be part of the reason that Ringo has gone on to flash an arguably record number of peace signs in photos?
Fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd have been singing the sweet tune of "Sweet Home Alabama" since 1974 when their sophomore album, Second Helping, was released, but now fans and foodies alike will be humming a different tune, and it might sound (or taste) something like sweet home…BBQ sauce? According to a report, the iconic Southern rock band will serve as the theme of a new restaurant set to open at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The mission of Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer "will quite simply be to rock the house," according to a statement, and the restaurant will resemble the rickety Hell House structure in Jacksonville where the band's sound originated. Of course, all of the bases necessary for a rock band-themed restaurant will be covered, including memorabilia, cover bands and maybe even special appearances from some of the band members themselves. Details on a menu have yet to be released, but we're hoping for free bird happy hour specials and plenty of Saturday night specials on tap.
Zach Galifianakis is one of the stars of the raunchily funny $350 million-plus grossing film The Hangover: Part II. And according to a recent report, Warner Bros. has just signed off on a deal to produce another sequel. So what does Galifianakis have to complain about? Apparently, Ke$ha. "I saw that Ke$ha woman the other day," Galifianakis told Rolling Stone, recalling a story about receiving an email from the dollar-sign artist inviting him out for a drink. "She was sitting by herself and I walked up to her and said, 'Listen, I got your email. Your music is really bad! I don't know who listens to it, but I imagine it's 6 year-olds, and it's a bad message." Of course, the seed of the tiff may have been planted a few months earliesr when Ke$ha told Sirius radio that Galifianakis was fat.
For years we've heard we only use 10 percent of our brains. Now it turns out we only listen to 19 percent of our music. According to mobile music company Music WithMe (and based on some possibly faulty assumptions), 81 percent of the tracks in personal iTunes collections never get played. That means of the average iTunes library of 5,409 songs, more than 4,200 are never played. Digital Music News points out that the data may be skewed by the resetting of play counts when users move their libraries between devices. Or maybe this helps explain how one Justin Bieber track can get more than 550 million views on YouTube.
Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" remains atop both the Billboard Hot 100 and iTunes singles chart.
Any news we've missed? Comment below.
For the latest GRAMMY news, visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.


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Organic Kapok Pillow
Quantity in Basket:
Code: 154P
Price: $49.00
Shipping Weight: 4.00 pounds
Standard (20x26)
Queen (20 x 30) $59
Our natural Organic Kapok pillows are environmentally friendly, very comfortable and covered in 100% unbleached cotton ticking. Comes overstuffed, but fill is removable to obtain desired firmness.
Kapok is a very light and fluffy fiber made from tree seeds, and makes for an
amazingly comfortable yet firm pillow filling.
Makes a wonderful companion to the Veggie Kapok sleeping bean.


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MMAWeekly Radio returns for Thursday's show with guests including Jamie Varner, Mike Pyle, and Mike Pierce plus the best debate in all of MMA.
Jamie Varner talks about his fight against Melvin Guillard, and how badly he wants another shot at Joe Lauzon at some point in the future.
Mike Pyle discusses his exit from Xtreme Couture and his upcoming fight against James Head. Finally, Mike Pierce tells why he accepted a short notice fight in Australia, and how the loss to Josh Koscheck still haunts him to this day.
Finally the debate features new topics along with picks and predictions for this weekend's fights:
– Carlos Condit faces Rory MacDonald in Montreal. Is it fair or foul to have Condit go back-to-back fights in his opponent's hometown?
– Is this a make or break fight for Roy Nelson after a tumultuous season of the Ultimate Fighter?
– Fight picks TUF 16 finale main card – Poirier vs. Brookins, Guillard vs. Varner, Barry vs. Del Rosario, Smith vs. Ricci and main event Roy Nelson vs. Matt Mitrione?
– Fight picks UFC on FX 6 – Hector Lombard vs. Rousimar Palhares, George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson?
This is MMAWeekly Radio for Thursday, December 13
Click to listen on non-Flash devices or right-click to download MP3


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Facilities Management
Facilities Management Department
As an Institute service provider, we continually evaluate the tasks we perform. These services, detailed throughout this website, show a vibrant, dynamic organization assembled to provide a level of Service Excellence unmatched in quality, response, and focus. The Facilities Management Administration and Staff are proud of their employees, and look forward to working with you.
This web page has been created, as an electronic handbook for all New Mexico Techs employees. All are encouraged to consult this document as a reference to simplify the service process we offer the university.
Our Mission
The mission of the Facilities Management Group is to provide the New Mexico Tech campus, students, faculty and staff with a safe, secure infrastructure and an aesthetically pleasing environment. Facilities Management meets its goals through a trained and dedicated workforce, an experienced administrative staff, and a finely tuned organizational plan.
Our Goals
The Goals of the Facilities Management Group are:
- To maintain, repair and renovate university structures
- To provide an environment that is safe and aesthetically pleasing to all who work, study or visit New Mexico Tech
- To provide construction services to the University, including building design, and cost estimates
- To establish Facilities Management as a dynamic and progressive organization by continual program review, and by building and maintaining experienced crews for every phase of operation
- To provide uninterrupted electrical and utility services to one million square feet of campus building space that includes classroom and lab facilities, offices, dormitories and other auxiliary enterprises
- To establish a progressive safety & risk management program to prevent workplace injuries to Facilities Management employees and visitors
Please direct any questions or concerns about the content of the FM's website to firstname.lastname@example.com


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Our Fitness Blog
Should You Try Kickboxing?
Most of us have heard the great news about kickboxing. Mainly how it can help us lose weight and quickly shape our bodies. However, most of us may view it as just another passing fad that is just a bunch of hype. It can not really get us those results, can it? Once you have your first class, you will know that it can. Kickboxing challenges you physically and mentally. It is fast-paced and packed with moves that will work your entire body. It can help many achieve their perfect body. All you need to do is see if kickboxing is the right fit for you.
What to expect
Kickboxing is an intense and fast-paced workout. In as little as thirty minutes, you can actually burn more calories kickboxing than taking an hour long aerobics class. You will be kicking, punching, jumping and moving in ways you never have before. It can be a little overwhelming for many beginners. You will need to figure out how to do all the moves and combinations correctly, and it can be frustrating. However, you just need to take your time and focus on the movements. Once you learn them everything will begin to flow together easily. It is important to stick with it and not give up, and you may actually find yourself enjoying your new fitness routine.
Who should try kickboxing
People who are looking for a fitness routine that can help you shed those pounds and fit easily into your hectic schedule should try kickboxing. You can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time making it perfect for people with busy schedules who are looking to squeeze in an exercise routine.
Kickboxing helps you build strength and core definition. If you are one of the many people out there who want to lose some of that excess belly fat and tone your abs then kickboxing is a great way to do this. Through combining kicks and punches, you work the upper and lower body together causing your core to get an unintentional workout.
If you use boredom as an excuse to quit your fitness routine then kickboxing may be a great option for you. The routines are engaging and always changing making them a great option for people who become easily bored with their fitness routines. It is easy to adapt and build on to your kickboxing fitness routine to help make it new and exciting each time you workout.
People who are stressed and frustrated can benefit from kickboxing. Exercise is a natural way to relieve stress because it releases endorphins that make us feel better. Kickboxing has an added benefit of helping us release some of that pent up anger and frustration by kicking and punching a heavy bag.
Kickboxing is an intense and vigorous fitness routine that may not be the best fit for everyone. You have to be prepared when you start this fitness routine. It requires a lot of focus and attention to detail. You need to be patient and be able to stick with the routine long enough to learn the moves. If you do not have patience, it will be easy to become overwhelmed and quit. However, if you are truly interested in losing weight and have the determination to stick with the routine then kickboxing would be the perfect workout routine for you. All it takes is a great trainer and some willpower from you, and you will be on your way to getting fit and healthy in no time.


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Family won't fit for Christmas? Try this!
Every time Billy DellaSorte Jr. thinks back to his childhood growing up in Irvington, N.Y., he has the best memories. His family, which is made up of his parents and four older sisters, has always been very close and would have a huge Christmas celebration each year.
"We would always have Christmas at home. The door was open to anyone who wanted to come over, but we always celebrated this holiday in our home," said DellaSorte, who now lives in Danbury with his wife Kristina and their two sons, Billy III and Kristopher.
As is the case with many families, once the children grow up and have families of their own, it becomes increasingly difficult to get everyone together for the holidays. This Christmas, however, the DellaSortes decided to make a change.
They converted their heated, three-car garage into a great room where both their parents, all their siblings, and their siblings' children (totaling just over 30 family members) -- traveling from as far as Massachusetts and California -- will be able to sit down together at one table and enjoy a Christmas meal.
We recently spoke with the DellaSortes about what was involved in the project and why it's so important to them.
Q: This is such a wonderful idea. How did it first come about?
More InformationBilly and Kristina DellaSorte The DellaSortes, who live in Danbury, converted their garage into a winter wonderland where they'll host a meal for more than 30 family members this Christmas. They're both 43. He's the owner of William Paul Inc. and New England Dry Concrete LLC, both construction businesses. She's office manager of the businesses. The DellaSortes have two children, Billy III, 13, and Kristopher, 9.
Billy: We realized it had been over 20 years since everyone in the family spent Christmas together, and we felt very sad about this. We wanted to do something about it. So, on the day after Christmas last year, we called everyone up and invited them to our house for this year's Christmas.
We knew the best room that would fit everyone is our garage. It's an 11,025-square-foot, 14-foot-high room. Everyone will be able to sit comfortably around our 32-foot-long table.
KRISTINA: It took a full year to plan everything. I kept a folder and listed all my purchases and expenses on it. The decorations alone for the entire project cost $500. My mother, Martha, is helping me cook the six courses we'll be serving.
Q: How did you go about turning your garage into a Christmas room?
K: In order to hide everything we usually keep in our garage, such as snowboards, bikes, fishing equipment and skis, I made pleated curtains from burlap. My sister-in-law Angela and I made two-tiered chandeliers from Christmas wreaths. We used 500 feet of ribbon for making all the bows. A toboggan sled will sit on an 8-foot table and be made into a bar to serve drinks.
I got chair bows and chair covers so all the chairs will look the same. To bring more light into the room, I hung about 1,600 white lights. I also hung large ornaments clustered together with ribbon.
Q: Christmas is just around the corner. Are you getting more excited and feeling a bit sentimental as the big day approaches?
K: Absolutely. Life goes by too fast. Everyone is getting older. Time is precious. The work we put into this is all worth it. The memories will last forever. We want to try to have this every year, but we know this may not always be able to happen.
Q: So, what will happen to the room after Christmas is over?
K: We're planning to have a New Year's Eve party. After that, everything will be taken back down and the room will be turned back into a garage again.
Q: In every family, there is bound to be disagreements and people who have differences with one another. What would you say is the secret to keeping the peace?
B: Nobody's perfect. To me the most important thing is my sisters and their children and their happiness. For that reason, I try and get along with everyone. Just about every single day growing up, my father always said family is No. 1, and that is what I believe as well.
Sandra Diamond Fox is a freelance writer in Connecticut; email@example.com.


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What's the ruling from The Boss about what can and can't be talked about RE this issue? Seems like it could easily veer into no no land? Or have the no no rules been relaxed? And TM's school record might not have anything to do with his interaction with GZ, but it might well have something to do with GZ's interaction with a jury of his peers, no?
... (walking on Taffe's property and looking at all the houses)...
was Martin on Taaffe's property or on the common area between buildings?
Smith: Where did he, where was he standing at when you, when he stopped? Zimmerman: Right there. Right in front of 1460. Smith: By the sidewalk, or in the grassy area? Zimmerman: No, in the grassy area. Smith: Right in the grassy area? Zimmerman: Yes. Smith: OK. That's about right in front of where the car is. Zimmerman: Yes, sir.
They didn't have sense enough to make Zimmerman go over and stand and walk exactly where Martin supposedly did, and the way that car is pointed puts the entire grassy area in "front" of it.
It's not all 'in front of 1460'.


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|Birth Date:
|Newport Beach, Calif.
|High School:
|Foothill HS
2010: Appeared in three games, starting one in the goal for the Gauchos…Tallied 19 saves for a 15.2 saves per game average…Posted a 6.4 goals against average…Had a season-high 10 saves in a win over Harvard (Oct. 10).
2009: Redshirted.
Played at Foothill High School under head coach Jim Brumm...Was named the CIF and Seaview League Co-Player of the Year as a senior after leading his team to league and CIF Championships, which he names as his most memorable athletic achievement...Also earned California NISCA First Team All-American honors and CIF South Section Division I All-American accolades...Named to the All-County Team by the Orange County Register...Tallied a career-high 23 saves in the 2008 Seaview League Championship game...Posted 28 assists and 32 steals in his final season with the Knights...Set a school-record of 373 saves in a season in 2008, breaking his previous record of 337, set during his junior campaign...As a junior, he led the Knights to a Seaview League Championship and won Seaview League Co-Player of the Year honors...Earned California NISCA Fifth Team All-American honors as a junior, as well as CIF South Section Division I Second Team All-American accolades...Was also a four-year letterwinner in swimming.
Played for SoCal Water Polo Club...Helped SoCal to gold medals at the 2004, 2006 and 2008 National Junior Olympics.
Jay Anthony Lovero was born on June 14, 1990 in Newport Beach, Calif....His mother is Trish Lovero...Has an older brother, John...Enjoys playing the guitar, soccer, basketball surfing and fishing...Favorite movie is "3000 Miles to Graceland" while his favorite book is "The Hallo-Wiener"...Names Roger Waters as his favorite musician...Names his father V.J. Lovero and soccer player Francesco Totti as his personal heroes.


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GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 1, 2012) – Fresh off beating No. 2 UCLA in last week's Golfweek Conference Challenge, the ETSU women's golf team kept up the momentum during first and second round play in the UNCG Starmount Forest Classic Monday at the Starmount Country Club.
Led by juniors Sian Evans (Gillingham, England) and Lourdes Lopez (Cadiz, Spain), the Buccaneers placed four players in the top eight on the individual leaderboard and currently hold an eight-stroke lead in the team competition heading into third and final round play on Tuesday. The Bucs finished the day at 2-over-par 570 as a team, and lead squads such as No. 17 Campbell, No. 20 East Carolina and Maryland.
Evans and Lopez are third and fourth, respectively, with Evans – who currently sits at 1-under-par 141 for the event – holding a one-stroke edge over her teammate. Meanwhile, sophomore Gabrielle Wahl (Heidenheim, Germany) and senior Chloe Garner (Somerset West, South Africa) both carded a score of 146 by the day's end and are both tied for eighth.
Wahl had the most impressive single round of the day, posting a season-best score of 4-under-par 68 during the day's second round of play. Meanwhile, East Carolina's F. Gustafsson Spang leads the individual competition after wrapping up the first day with a remarkable score of 8-under 136 (66-70).
In addition to her ETSU teammates, junior Larissa Steinfeldt (Eschweiler, Germany) also played well on Monday, finishing the day tied for 23rd. In all, the Bucs carded seven of 10 total rounds at 72 or lower.
ETSU will continue with final round action on Tuesday. Fans can watch live scoring and get complete results by visiting Golfstat.com. In addition, ETSUBucs.com will have a complete wrap up of the day's action following play.
For more on ETSU women's golf throughout the 2012-13 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's golf link.


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York have made a double loan sweep by agreeing deals for midfielder John McGrath and forward Michael Rankine.
Burton captain McGrath has joined on a one-month loan deal while Aldershot's Rankine has returned to Bootham Crescent for the rest of the season.
McGrath, 32, has made just one start for the Brewers since recovering from a serious foot injury in November, so heads to York in search of regular first-team football.
The move will see him link up with his former Tamworth boss Gary Mills.
The experienced midfielder has made 246 appearances and scored 19 goals for his parent club since joining them in the summer of 2007.
Rankine has found first-team football hard to come by in 2013 and was recently sent out on loan to Blue Square Bet Premier side Grimsby.
Rankine scored 24 goals in 103 games during a two-year spell with the Minstermen from 2009 to 2011.
Meanwhile, York striker Jamie Reed has joined Cambridge on loan until the end of the season.


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A group of breastfeeding peer support volunteers have been trained up by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's infant feeding team to support current and future mothers to breastfeed their new-born babies.
The peer supporters, who are all breastfeeding mothers themselves, will become breastfeeding champions to local women attending one of nine breastfeeding clubs that have been set up by our Trust and child health clinics in Derby. The breastfeeding clubs are open to any pregnant women who want to gain more information about their feeding choices, mothers who are already breastfeeding and those who provide breast milk to their infants.
The volunteers will facilitate clubs alongside a health visitor. They will offer breastfeeding mums an opportunity to share their experiences on a mother-to-mother level with the hope of improving their experience of the service and their self-esteem, and bridging any gaps between the health professional and the breastfeeding mother.
Lucy Partington, a breastfeeding peer support volunteer, said: "I always wanted to volunteer as I had lots of fantastic help from the Trust's infant feeding team with my first daughter. I want to be able to offer realistic support to other breastfeeding mums as there are so many long term benefits to children."
Each breastfeeding peer supporter has undergone an extensive eight week training course which has included information on how to position and attach a baby effectively to the breast for feeding, hand expressing, the barriers to breastfeeding, communications skills, health benefits, common problems and responsive feeding.
Carolyn Green, executive director of nursing and patient experience, who recently presented each volunteer with their certificates for passing the training course said: "We would like to inspire our local community to be supportive and encouraging to mothers in Derby who choose to breastfeed. We want breastfeeding to be spoken about openly and in a positive way. Our clubs offer mums a safe place to speak about breastfeeding in a relaxed friendly environment, and to seek help if they need it from a health visitor or a breastfeeding peer supporter.
"There are so many benefits of breastfeeding to both the physical and psychological health of infants and mothers both in the short and long term; however statistics show that in Derby we have a lower percentage of mothers breastfeeding their children than the national average. Training mothers to become breastfeeding peer supporters is one of our ways to show our commitment to improving these figures and encouraging more women to breastfeed their babies."


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Westboro Baptist Church Leader Fred Phelps, Sr. Is Near Death
You may have heard that infamous hate group leader, Fred Phelps, Sr. of the Westboro Baptist Church is on his death bed.
His son, Nathan Phelps, who's been estranged from his father and the WBC for 30 years, posted this message on Facebook:
I've learned that my father, Fred Phelps, Sr., pastor of the "God Hates Fags" Westboro Baptist Church, was ex-communicated from the "church" back in August of 2013. He is now on the edge of death at Midland Hospice house in Topeka, Kansas.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. Terribly ironic that his devotion to his god ends this way. Destroyed by the monster he made.
I feel sad for all the hurt he's caused so many. I feel sad for those who will lose the grandfather and father they loved. And I'm bitterly angry that my family is blocking the family members who left from seeing him, and saying their good-byes.
We're curious. How do you feel about Fred Phelps' impending death? Is this something to celebrate?
Is it an opportunity show the Phelps family (and the WBC) far more grace and compassion than they've shown the LGBT community, deceased soldiers, and more?
What do you feel is the appropriate reaction to the apparent soon-to-be death of an individual that's caused so much pain?
(H/T: CBS News)
When someone is near death,or is dead,it is the asking of thee Almighty to not condemn nor persecute this person in any way shape or form.....................For that person is unable to defend themselves...And it is written that hate,,no matter whom or what for,shall not be practiced, but kept to yourself or not at all......It is in loving that we exist...and it is in hating that we expire........
I find it ironic that people loved to hate this man, saying he should burn in hell and other such nonsense and then just as soon as he's on the deathbed everyone gets the flowers and compassion going to keep up the appearances. He was a man with principles that he stuck to up to the end. I don't agree with him but the gay community could learn alot from the value of holding onto convictions and beliefs. Rather than hating and loving a person like changing clothes.
Show him love and compassion. Death is not an easy thing to manage, especially for someone so confused in life. Allow our compassion to break ground with the disbelievers and the people we are feared by. We cannot make headway in our fight for equality by lowering ourselves to the level of negativity that our oppressors have shown us. Don't be the same as him, be better.
I pity this man and I believe that his karma has finally caught up with him. I hope that with his death, it will help teach others that hate is an infectious cancer and destroys lives, destroys hope and it destroys love, if we allow it. I don't hate this man because I don't have room in my heart to do so nor do I want to live my life hating others as he did. I forgive him only because I don't want to be anything like him or what he represented to humanity. Love conquers all!
The human side of me is happy this is happening. Maybe most of his legacy will die with him. But there's this other side of me who feels guilty for thinking that and pities him. He's had a lot of demons haunting him his whole life, and he's about to have a whole lot more. I just wish I could talk to him, get in his head, see what's caused this hate.


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Yet again, it has been a while since my last post…can't say it has been writers block anymore. I have so much to say…
My infatuation with tasting wine hasn't waned and I was recently in touch with a new friend, Jeff over at Vini Wine Bar in Davis, CA. He is one of the great ones in this business, making wine accesible to all & encouraging people to taste wine whenever possible, in his case by utilizing wine dispensing machines to enable small tastes of wine for people before they go ahead and purchase bottles. Great work Jeff…keep it up!
Though I'm primarily writing today as relates to wine aeration devices. I've previously spoken highly of one such gadget I really like, the Vinturi. I think it does a great job of helping young wines open up quickly, eliminating the need to wait for a wine to open up. But I was recently introduced to a very cool device known as the Wine Wand. While not inexpensive, this is a device like no other. Rather than force the wine through a device that introduces extra oxygen to the wine to speed up the aeration process the Wine Wand is a Philip Stein product. Philip Stein is best known for their watches and devices that work with "Frequency Technology". Frequency technology is based on the idea "that natural frequencies (have) the power to improve one's overall wellbeing". The frequency technology in their watches "provide information to the biofield that makes the person more resilient and adaptable to stress".
Getting back to the wine wand, I tried it last night for the first time and I was impressed. It seemed to accomplish what it set out to accomplish, specifically help a wine to open up and become more aromatic and soft within 2-3 minutes.
How does it work you ask??…from the Philip Stein website: "The Wine Wand has been created to accelerate the aerating process of wine by replicating the natural frequencies of air and oxygen, and infusing them into the wine. This process allows your favorite wine to be perfected and ready to drink in only 2 or 3 minutes. "
Well, I must sadly admit that all this natural frequency stuff is way over my head. But I can tell you that the wine opened up nicely and showed REAL WELL when I used the wine wand.
So if you are in Davis, CA go visit Jeff at Vinibar and if you are looking for an elegant and unique wine "open-upper" (hey, its not an aerator) for the wine lover who seemingly has everything check out Philip Stein's new Wine Wand.
Happy Wine Tasting!


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My Pet Gift Box is one of the UK's leading online platforms for personalised and handmade pet products. As we continue to source and work with both small and larger suppliers, some of your items will be delivered to you directly from the supplier, which means that you may receive your order in separate deliveries.
For standard items, UK delivery typically takes around 5-7 working days from dispatch and your order will be dispatched by either Hermes Tracked or Royal Mail. If you are ordering personalised or made to order products, please allow up between 10 days for your order to be delivered.
Items such as handmade birthday cakes are typically delivered a few days before your pet's birthday to ensure that they are fresh on arrival.
Delivery Details
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Standard delivery orders will be shipped via Royal Mail or Hermes Tracked. There is a flat charge of £3.95 for an unlimited number of items. We aim to dispatch all Standard Delivery orders within 3 working days.
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When placing your order, you have the option to choose an Express Delivery service. Orders must be placed before 1pm and will be delivered within 3 working days (excluding weekends and bank holidays). Depending on your location, there are two Express Delivery services, the prices of which are outlined below:
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This service is available to all mainland UK and Northern Ireland addresses but extended delivery times may be experienced to Northern Scotland and other isolated areas. Please note that both express delivery services require a signature upon delivery.
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The customer is responsible for the importing of products into their country and must obey with the regulations set by that country. Any additional charges for customs clearance are the responsibility of the customer.


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Cab Monitors are going through an extensive streamlining. This year TeeJet, Dickey-john and the Big 4 tractor makers — AGCO, New Holland, Case IH and John Deere — all introduced new or upgraded versions of virtual terminals (VTs) for use in tractors.
VTs make it possible to view (and in some cases control) not only tractor functions but also implement functions, regardless of brand, from a single monitor. In the past, as many as six monitors may have been required to do the same functions. This upgrade has been made possible by an electronic communications standard called ISO 11783, commonly called ISOBUS.
"The goal of the ISO standard is to allow single point control of all implements from one monitor in the cab called a virtual terminal," says Rich Gould, vice president of TeeJet Technologies. "Tractors will ultimately have just one monitor instead of multiple devices to control planters, sprayers, spreaders and other implements."
Experts say this offering will be a win for buyers. But it also brings to bear some questions, such as: What functions should a VT control? And will it replace the need for aftermarket display screens?
These questions are fueling a battle for the cab as manufacturers duke it out to retain display space and operating control of your tractor and implement functions.
That battle began with the advent of electronic controllers on implements and tractors. In the early 1990s, companies started to convert mechanical functions to electromechanical or electrohydraulic controls. Engineers put motors, circuits and wires onto valves and other components so operators could control functions from the cab rather than having to get out of the seat to move a lever.
While electronics added convenience, they also added clutter. Each electronic function required its own monitor, wiring harness and electronic control unit (ECU), called the "black box" or "brains," which blocked visibility. Marvin Stone, a professor at Oklahoma State University, coined the term "monitor wallpaper" to describe the array of displays and peripherals that were lining the A-posts and glass in tractor cabs.
Then, later in the '90s, an automotive standard called Controller Area Network (CAN) was used to reduce the amount of hardware required. CAN technology enabled engineers to network electronic devices using a single group of wires called a serial "bus."
However, while CAN Bus consolidated hardware, it still didn't eliminate it because each company used proprietary messaging and only same-brand components could be hardwired together. "We had our system, Deere, Case IH and New Holland had theirs, and none of them could cross data back and forth," says Wade Stewart, product manager with AutoFarm who worked for AGCO at the time he was interviewed for this story. Farmers who used different brands of electronics were still stuck with multiple peripherals and wiring harnesses that would have to be fished out the back window to reach the implement.
Observers say the problem was analogous to adoption of hydraulics 40 or 50 years ago before the industry agreed to a standard hydraulic connection that made it easy to connect one brand of implement to different brands of tractors.
In 2000, machinery manufacturers agreed to implement a similar standard for electrical connections. The standard, called ISO 11783 or ISOBUS, is based on the CAN Bus system. It originated in Europe, where mixed fleets on farms are common due to the high number of short-line companies. In Europe, ISOBUS equipment has been readily available for at least the past three years.
Adoption here in the U.S. has been slower. "Trying to get everyone to agree on the standard is like trying to part the Red Sea," says AutoFarm's Stewart. "Our meetings have been compared to the United Nations'."
In 2002, the North American ISOBUS Implementation Taskforce (NAIITF ) was formed to promote the industry's adoption of the standard. William Rudolph, NAIITF's general chair, says the standard has been in published, usable form for the last four years. Some parts are still being revised.
Who's compliant?
"Under the standard, any ISOBUS-compliant implement from any manufacturer can be displayed and controlled using the built-in user terminal that comes with the ISOBUS-compliant tractor," Rudolph says. Compliance is determined by an independent testing lab appointed by NAIITF.
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Companies practice for the test by attending "Plug Fests," which are informal demonstrations of connectability between different manufacturers' devices. Connection is made through a standard plug called a "breakaway connector."
To date, all four of the major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have active ISOBUS development programs and have introduced ISO-compliant products. (For a partial listing of ISOBUS-compliant devices, visit www.isobus.com/isobus_E/isobus.html.) Rudolph says the major electronics suppliers are also heavily involved in ISOBUS development in order to remain competitive.
Resistance, he says, has been mostly from second-tier equipment manufacturers for two reasons. "First there have not been a lot of tractors equipped with ISOBUS until just recently, so there has not been a need for second-tier manufacturers to invest in ISOBUS development," he says. "Secondly, public awareness of the technology is low, so there has been little demand from customers." He expects both issues to dissolve as more equipment comes standard-equipped with ISOBUS technology.
Not playing fair?
The electronics manufacturers see two problems with adopting the ISOBUS standard as currently written. "One of the problems we face in North America is that not everyone is willing to play nice with each other," says David King, marketing manager for Ag Leader. "While companies promote that they meet the ISOBUS standard, not everybody's ISO equipment can be read by everybody's VT."
King says some OEMs that market themselves as ISO-complaint are still using language that only their brand of equipment can understand to control certain functions, namely steering and vehicle functions.
Deane Malott, director of marketing for AutoFarm, agrees: "The true concept of the ISO standard is that I should be able to take any task controller and plug it into any VT. The problem is, vendors are only halfway committed to that vision by keeping some functions proprietary."
OEMs counter by saying that opening up their vehicle functions to third-party controllers is a liability risk they are not willing to take. "Machine control is core to our product and is not something we are going to give up," says Kirk Wesley, Advanced Farming Systems global manager with Case IH. "Other companies can provide steering and implement functions, but we are not going to give them the code or ability to reach into our vehicles and change engine rpm, hydraulics or other settings that could put a tractor out of spec."
A second reported problem is that the ISOBUS standard does not cover or support all of the functions that can be monitored and controlled by third-party controllers. This limits what aftermarket companies that make third-party controllers can offer under the ISOBUS standard.
"The VT can only recognize those functions that have been defined by the ISO standard, unless the VT has been programmed to display those functions," Ag Leader's King says. "Some farmers are going to want more than what is provided in the ISOBUS protocol."
Graphic limitations
Two functions that are still being defined under the standard are graphics and moving maps. According to Marlin Melander, marketing manager for Raven Industries, a VT is divided into four quadrants to show a lot of information at the same time. "Some of those windows are going to be fairly small," Melander says. "So while VTs work fine for showing digital or numeric information such as rates being applied, most VTs do not have processors or graphics accelerators to be able to show maps."
George Huber, global sales manager with Trimble Agricultural Division, says another limitation of the ISO 11783 protocol is message latency. "Some messages, such as GPS, are highly time critical," he says. The standard does not ensure that the GPS signal is placed in the front of the messaging stream.
Two displays for now?
Because of these problems, some aftermarket companies say that growers who want the broadest range in task controllers may have to settle for a second display in the cab until the standard catches up with growers' needs. That could take another three to five years, says AutoFarm's Malott.
He predicts that, if and when the industry arrives at a single display that can do all functions, aftermarket companies will find their niche in building controllers that work off that one display. "In the end, it will be a competition among task controllers if everything plays out in the best interest of growers," he says. "And the terminal will be just another device that is built into the tractor to provide the interface for those controllers."
OEMs maintain that a one-display solution is possible, especially as the technology advances and is able to incorporate more functions at a lower cost. Matt Danner of John Deere says, "ISOBUS electronic compatibility is comparable to what Pioneer hydraulic couplers were 20 years ago, and look at the difference that made in the industry."
AGCO Corporation GTA Console Iand GTA Console II
The GTA Console I comes standard on Challenger MT600B series tractors and is an option on the newest generations of Challenger MT500B, AGCO RT/DT and Massey Ferguson 7400/8400 series tractors. It is used to control numerous tractor functions as well as ISO-compliant implements such as non-variable-rate planters, round balers and big balers.
The GTA Console II oversees functions in Challenger, Gleaner and Massey Ferguson Class VIII combines and offers yield monitoring with Fieldstar II in all new Class VI, VII and VIII combines. It has capabilities for variable-rate planting and is an option on RoGator, TerraGator and Spra-Coupe application equipment.
Both consoles integrate with AutoGuide on vehicles with this option. Fendt's Vario VT comes standard on high-horsepower tractors. AGCO's VT is not sold as a stand-alone unit. Contact your AGCO dealer, call 888/989-8525, visit www.agcocorp.com, or circle 101.
Case IH AFS Pro 600
The AFS Pro 600 has a color touch-screen display and is used with the AFS AccuGuide system. It handles yield monitoring and mapping tasks on 2100, 2300 and 2500 series combines and handles those precision operations along with vehicle functions on Axial-Flow 7010 and 8010 combines. The AFS Pro 600 display will perform planter functions and control prescription variable seed planting on Case IH 1200 and 1250 series ASM pull-type planters. It comes standard or optional, depending on the model, with the Case IH 1200 series planters. On Case IH Magnum, Steiger and Puma tractors, the AFS Pro 600 is an optional item providing machine function and AFS AccuGuide technology.
Suggested list price: around $5,000 when sold as an option. Contact your local Case IH dealer, call 262/636-6011, visit www.caseih.com, or circle 102.
John Deere GreenStar2 system
The GreenStar2 system includes a color display option, the GreenStar 2600, which can be used with most tractors and implements. The display comes standard with GreenStar Basics software that includes an established set of features necessary for manual guidance and documentation for tillage, seeding, crop care and harvest. The system can be upgraded with Pro Modules or AutoTrac for advanced functionality.
Suggested list price: $5,000. Contact your local John Deere dealer, call 866/993-3373, visit www.johndeereag.com, or circle 103.
New Holland IntelliView II and IntelliView Plus II
The IntelliView II display monitor is mounted on the right-hand armrest of all models equipped with New Holland's IntelliSteer autosteering system. The operator has easy fingertip control of calibrations, data storage control and operational functions. IntelliView Plus II (shown) runs the combine or tractor by monitoring critical machine functions and provides the interface for the IntelliSteer autosteering system. It is available on New Holland CR9000 series Twin Rotor combines, CX8000 Series super-conventional combines and TJ series II and TG series II tractors.
The IntelliView II display is a standard feature and the IntelliView Plus II is a $4,800 (retail pricing) option. Contact New Holland North America at 888/290-7377, visit www.newholland.com, or circle 104.
Dickey-john IntelliAg
The IntelliAg delivers planting and granular fertilizer application control. It features a monitor and either a planter/grain drill control or air cart control module, which can function on any manufacturer's equipment. Modules offer four control channels, which accept input from hopper level sensors, shaft rpm sensors, ground speed sensors, implement switches and seed sensors.
Suggested retail price: $3,200. Contact Dickey-john at 800/637-2952, www.dickeyjohn.com, or circle 105.
TeeJet PowerLink 640
The PowerLink 640 provides a standards-based user interface for any ISOBUS implement control. The ISOBUS standard calls for a universal interface for multiple implement controls. TeeJet PowerLink 640 is designed for compatibility with many TeeJet and third-party job computers.
Suggested list price: $3,900. Contact: Spraying Systems Company at 217/753-8424, www.teejet.com, or circle 106.
For a partial listing of other ISOBUS-compliant devices, visit www.isobus.com/isobusE/isobus.html.
10 questions to ask your dealer when buying electronic components


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Guard Ryan Jensen overcame some long odds when he got drafted in the sixth round after completing his career at Colorado State-Pueblo, a school that has produced only two non-replacement players that have played in an NFL game.
Jensen's chances of adding a third name to the list in 2013 have taken a hit, however. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports that Jensen broke his foot late last week. He's scheduled to have surgery soon and is expected to be sidelined for roughly 10 weeks as a result.
While that timeline would put Jensen on track to return with a fair amount of time left in the regular season if he was put on injured reserve with the ability to reserve, it's hard to imagine the Ravens using that option on a player who might not have wound up on their two-deep depth chart. Without training camp to make his case and the possibility that the Ravens will need to use their injured reserve return spot for a different player, there's a good chance that Jensen's return to the field will come some time next year.


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Can one set up a game longer than 15 minutes?
When I want to play a game, I can see only games with 5, 10 and 15 minutes time limit. I like to think about every move, so additional 5 - 10 minutes would be ideal. But I can not see the options for the longer games on web site?