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Around here I can usually tell it is June because of the gray skies, known as June Gloom, the blossoming Jacaranda trees, and the inordinate amount of end of school year activities, family birthdays and anniversaries. This week I noticed the trees were filled with purple flowers, the cool, grey mornings required a jacket, and there was nearly a daily occurrence of birthdays, school assemblies and a very special kind of anniversary
Ten years ago this week, Juan and I made plans to spend a Saturday afternoon at the beach with our kids. It seemed like it should have been summer already, but instead, the overcast skies signaled the beginning of June Gloom. Still, we had young kids and wanted to keep them busy, so Juan invited me to join him and the girls at the beach.
Juan and I had become friends through work . We supported each other through our sometimes messy and often painful divorces, and since our kids were close in age we would sometimes get together for weekend play dates. Juan had already asked me out for a date, and even though I thought he was kind, funny and found his obsession with the rock band KISS to be a bit quirky, I didn't feel the romance, so I declined. We agreed we should just remain friends. But, something changed that cool, overcast June afternoon. I saw Juan in a different light. The way he played with his daughters; the way he flew kites with my son; and the spontaneity and lightness of the day made me see him in a new way, outside of being a serious lawyer. Perhaps if I had known that several months later he would show at my door looking like this, I would have changed my mind earlier.
But I digress. That evening, after we ended our afternoon beach play date with the kids, Juan and I spontaneously decided to go to a party given by one of our co-workers, at a Karaoke bar, in Koreatown. I think we both must have felt the desire to prolong our day, and not part each other's company. Juan insisted on driving me to the karaoke bar. When we got to the party, we drank something we now refer to as "Korean Lemonade." Whatever it was, it was tasty, and strong. And it helped Juan lose some of his inhibition and get on the Karaoke stage with friends and sing. When I saw him up there singing, something clicked. (And, it was definitely not because he was a good singer.) I started to think, maybe, despite my injured heart, and his poor rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, I should go out with this guy.
That Korean lemonade made Juan feel more than just brave–it also made him feel like couldn't drive home. I drove his car back to my house. Juan must still have been feeling emboldened by that lemonade because he asked me for a kiss. I said yes. Was it the beach day, the Karaoke, the lemonade, or was it just a shift in my heart that allowed me to take a chance on this lawyer-dad-KISS-fan? Whatever it was, I am glad the sun came out in the midst of the June gloom, and the light changed enough for me to see Juan in a new way.


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Democratic super PACs are gearing up for an epic fundraising campaign during the party's national convention in Charlotte.
They're calling the money grab "the Super-O-Rama," according to a Wednesday report by POLITICO.
"The kitschy name is for a massive fundraising push at the national convention in Charlotte," the political news Web site said, "where Democrats aim to woo elusive big donors with parties featuring live music, open bars and mingling with 'senior Democratic policy leaders,' according to a fundraising appeal."
There's some urgency to their plan: Democratic super PACs like the pro-President Barack Obama Priorities USA Action are strapped for cash, POLITICO said.And they are anticipating "a tidal wave of attack ads" from better-funded GOP super PACs such as Crossroads (affiliated with Karl Rove) and Americans for Prosperity (backed by the Koch brothers).
In its report, POLITICO sounded a skeptical note about the "Super" fundraising plan for convention week:
"But the plan isn't perfect. The Democratic National Convention is just two months before the general election -- too late to spend any money raised there on ads, some Democrats worry. Plus, conventions do not typically lend themselves to the type of one-on-one meetings where mega donors usually sign six- and seven-figure checks."
Super PACs are private groups that can spend unlimited amounts of cash without having to disclose who their donors are. They are also supposedly independent, though most are headed by friends or former staffers of the candidates they're promoting. For example, former Obama aide Bill Burton co-founded Priorities USA.
It was a landmark 2010 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court's that paved the way for these free-spending Super PACs, which specialize in attack ads. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the court effectively prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions.
Tim Funk
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
'$uper-O-Rama' planned for DNC week
Democratic super PACs are gearing up for an epic fundraising campaign during the party's national convention in Charlotte.
9 comments:
- Skippy said...
Of course Obama was against Super Pacs before he was for them. That is called "evolving" in liberal circles, we get it.
- May 16, 2012 at 12:50 PM
- Jonathan said...
He really doesn't have much of a choice, does he? Kind of a pointless comment.
- May 16, 2012 at 12:54 PM
- Anonymous said...
Agree with Jonathan. A person may be against guns, but if they're getting attached by other people with guns, they might need one themself.
- May 16, 2012 at 12:57 PM
- Anonymous said...
and yet I do not count him out by a longshot.
- May 16, 2012 at 1:08 PM
- Anonymous said...
Why does Obama need super PAC money? I thought his "win a dinner with Barack and Michelle" was making a fortune
- May 16, 2012 at 1:39 PM
- Anonymous said...
No, you must be mistaken. Democrats abhor money and wealth. Only the evildoers from that other party dirty their hands with money. We prefer to sit and sip coffee on The View and talk about our feelings.
- May 16, 2012 at 1:41 PM
- Anonymous said...
Why not just take the money from Social Security like the Dems always do?
- May 17, 2012 at 10:13 PM
- Anonymous said...
Ok, "super-o-Rama"???
Does anyone else find that a bit tacky and ridiculous sounding?
Please use common sense when it comes to the elections this Nov.
- May 18, 2012 at 8:45 AM
- Anonymous said...
Common sense? You see that's a problem with most Obama voters, they don't have any.
- May 20, 2012 at 4:23 PM

subset: commoncrawl


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If you turn to Google before turning to a doctor when you're feeling icky, you're not alone.
Last year, 1 in 3 Americans typed their symptoms into search engines and medical websites before seeing their physician, according to a Pew Research Center study released this week.
And with the flu epidemic making its way steadily west, now seems like a good time to talk about the best way to search for health information online.
Searching for medical advice online can never replace a visit to a living, breathing doctor, but there are ways to help you weed through the online clutter and get reliable information.


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Stories by Starr [0] Series by Starr [0] Reviews by Starr [0] Challenges by Starr [0] Favorite Series [0] Starr's Favorites [4]
Favorite Authors
No results found.
|The authors own nothing. Joss, UPN, WB, etc. own Buffy, the show, the characters, the places, and the backstory. The authors own any original plots.


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Watch out! Those rocks Odin Sphere homeless princess character Velvet swings around will poke your friggin' eye out, kid.
This PVC figure of her will be released this December in Japan for around US$100 and is manufactured by Yamato Toys.
Odin Sphere Velvet non-scale PVC figure by Yamato [Neko Magic]


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How to deal with problem tenants
Earning a rental income from your property investments can be a sound financial decision. However, there's always the possibility that you'll encounter a difficult tenant. It can happen to anyone, but these precautions will help you to pre-empt problems and stop them escalating if your tenants are unreasonable.
Cultivate good relationships
Effective communication in a tenant-landlord relationship is essential, so always respond quickly when someone renting your property gets in touch. Be proactive as well, reaching out on a monthly basis to make sure everything is satisfactory. It's also worth establishing a good network of reliable tradesmen you can call on to do any repairs required. Strive to maintain contact with the neighbours, and ask them to call you if they have any concerns about the occupants.
Listen and show concern
If a dispute does arise, sit down with your tenants and listen to what they have to say. The famous self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People recommends letting the other person dominate the conversation. Find out what is really bothering them, and use this as the starting point to develop the discussion. Resist the urge to become defensive or angry as raising your voice will only aggravate things. Show that you understand their point of view, even if you don't agree with them. A soft voice and gentle nods will go a long way to winning them round.
Refer to the contract
If a disagreement between two sides becomes intractable, it's best to consult an impartial third party. When leasing, this is the written agreement signed at the beginning of the tenancy. If the area of concern is outlined in the contract, both parties should be able to see how to proceed. This is why it's important to have a comprehensive agreement. If you don't want loud parties or extra overnight visitors, for example, make sure it's stipulated in the contract.
Keep a paper trail
Hard evidence can help resolve disputes surrounding repairs, payments and acceptable behaviour. Have the property photographed and an inventory made at the outset. Keep a file with copies of all your emails and bills. You should also include dates and times of phone-calls, along with notes recording any conversations. Keep a copy of any warning letters that you have sent your tenants, along with their responses. If a case does go to court, this documentation will be invaluable.
Prevention is better than cure, and the safest way to find suitable tenants is to use a broker who will vet them properly in advance. An experienced letting agent like Engel & Völkers will ensure you choose the right people for your properties, so you can be confident your investment is in safe hands. Visit one of our offices, located in 37 countries, or contact us online.


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B-Real Of Cypress Hill (Feat. Sick Jacken) - Pyscho Realm Revolution
B-Real of Cypress Hill's "Psycho Realm Revolution" video featuring Sick Jacken, directed by Matt Alonzo. It is from B-Real's "Smoke N Mirrors" album in stores now.
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Deadline: October 21, 2018 | Date: October 22, 2018-October 24, 2018
Venue/Country: http://www.researchi.org/, Taiwan
Updated: 2017-10-23 14:39:34 (GMT+9)
Keywords: Accepted papers list. Acceptance Rate. EI Compendex. Engineering Index. ISTP index. ISI index. Impact Factor.
Disclaimer: ourGlocal is an open academical resource system, which anyone can edit or update. Usually, journal information updated by us, journal managers or others. So the information is old or wrong now. Specially, impact factor is changing every year. Even it was correct when updated, it may have been changed now. So please go to Thomson Reuters to confirm latest value about Journal impact factor.


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P!nk forgot the little people on her way up the ladder ... at least according to a new lawsuit accusing her of cheating her ex producers out of $36k in royalties.
A company called Specialists Entertainment filed docs in NYC last month, claiming P!nk signed a deal with them, and Thunderstone Productions, to produce on her debut album back in 1999.
According to the suit, the two companies agreed to split producers' royalties 50-50 ... before cranking out 2 songs, "Can't Take Me Home" and "Hiccup" for P!nk -- real name Alecia Moore.
Well, the album blew up -- selling 5 million copies, according to the docs -- and helped launch P!nk's career. Only problem ... SE says the royalties they agreed to never showed up.
Now, SE is suing P!nk for $36,213.31, the remainder of the unpaid royalties.
A rep for P!nk told us this isn't the singer's problem, because ... "Sony are responsible for paying the producers."


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AMD Demos New Fusion Chips
Rick Bergman, AMD's senior vice president and general manager, gave more details Tuesday morning on the company's Fusion APUs at its analyst day, demoing its latest chips.
According to Bergman, at 4 AM CT, the company's facility in Singapore shipped its Fusion chip to customers. He showed off a system that he said would be shipping in January that was very thin and light, and kept it running showing high-definition video, saying it would run for many hours.
That system was running the 18-watt Zacate APU, which he said would deliver twice the gaming performance at half the power. There's also a 9-watt version called Ontario, which is aimed at low-power systems like netbooks and ultra-mobile form factors. Both of these use the new "Bobcat" core and are part of the Brazos platform, which he said would enable battery life of up to 10 hours.
Bergman also showed a demo of the upcoming 32nm "Llano" chip, which he said was shipping test units to system-maker customers now, and said it would be shipping in the first half of 2011. This is a higher-end system aimed at mainstream desktops and notebooks. Bergman said it would give customers a "supercomputer in a laptop."
For this demo, he showed a system playing a DirectX 11 game while running high-definition video on another screen, and said it was the first notebook product that could do that -- although the demo seemed to be on a desktop.
Another demo showed Zambezi, an 8-core chip based on the upcomoing high-end "Bulldozer" core, which is also due later next year. He showed it running a DirectX 11 game and using all 8 cores.
He quickly went through roadmaps for upcoming laptop and desktops, promising new APUs every year. As part of this, the company is promsing "Trinity" to replace Llano for mainstream computing sometime in 2012; with Krisha (at 28nm) following for the low-power space.
Don Newell, chief technology officer for servers, discussed the server roadmap, which includes "Interlagos" (for 8/12, and 16-core systems in a dual-die configuration), and Valencia (for 6 or 8 cores in a single die) due later in 2011. In 2012, he said this would be followed up with Terrarmar with up to 20 cores, and "Sepang" with up to 10 cores -- both using a "next-generation" of the Bulldozer core with other enhancements in areas like interconnects.
Overall, Bergman said AMD's strategy was to deliver winning platforms, differentiate with its GPUs, and push its APU strategy. That strategy dates back five years, he said, back to a time when there were very little things like Skype and HDTVs. Now, AMD is showing a system with 12 million pixels (on multiple displays using the company's Eyefinity technology in its Radeon boards); video conferencing is common; laptops will get up to 10 hours of battery life; and gaming systems have motion detect (AMD's GPU is in the Xbox 360 with the Kinect controller).
Knocking Intel's upcoming "Sandy Bridge" chips, which also integrate CPU and GPU functions, he noted how some hotels have ocean views and garden views, but "all of us deserve the ocean view." He said AMD's competitor was talking about "good-enough graphics," but that a true APU requires GPU leadership, including world-class Direct X 11-capable graphics processing -- not an architecture that is a few years old. Obviously, we'll have to wait until we see systems shipping to really know performance.
He said AMD has shipped more than 25 million DirectX 11 GPUs, and AMD has shipped 90 percent of these. He mentioned that the company just announced its second-generation Direct X 11 product line (with its HD 6870), and talked about how the GPU has been outpacing Moore's Law
Bergman talked about how there were two industry standard APIs for running computing operations on a GPU -- OpenCL and DirectX11 --, and said there was no room for proprietary standards -- a hit on Nvidia's CUDA platform, used in its GPU computing platform.
Originally posted to Michael Miller's blog, Forward Thinking.


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As the severe drought lingers, Gov. Mark Sanford is encouraging all South Carolinians to voluntarily conserve water, "As this situation continues, we believe it's incredibly important for all South Carolinians to take individual initiative in doing what they can to conserve water. We think these conservation recommendations from DNR are a good step toward that end, and would urge citizens to do what they can at home or at work to impact their own water usage."
State and local representatives from the South Carolina Drought Response Committee upgraded the drought level to severe for all counties except Beaufort and Jasper on Sept. 5. Drought conditions have continued to deteriorate with significant impacts to most of the streams, lakes, and groundwater. According to the SC Department of Natural Resources' Hydrology Office, 14 of the 17 monitored streams are now at the extreme drought level. Some lakes have declined to levels lower than during the 1998-2002 drought. Over most of the state, rainfall during all months this year except June has been below normal, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources' State Climatology Office. The deficit is as much as 16 inches in some locations, while many areas experienced the driest ever July to September.
This week's forecast calls for a widespread rain event, however, it will only provide temporary relief, according to state climatologist Hope Mizzell. "We need many months of normal to above normal rainfall and unfortunately that is not expected. National forecasters are predicting a drier than normal fall and winter due to the developing La Nina."
With little relief on the horizon, Mizzell urges South Carolinians to now begin voluntary conservation measures. "All water users from the local water systems to the individual homeowner are encouraged to voluntarily conserve water. If we all work together now, we can hopefully avoid more stringent restrictions if the drought does continue."
Contact State Climatologist Hope Mizzell at (803) 734-9568 in Columbia for more information about the ongoing drought.
DNR offers these tips for water conservation in and around your home.
DNR protects and manages South Carolina's natural resources by making wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state's natural resources and its people.
Find out more about the State Climatology Office at http://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/ or by calling (803) 734-9100.


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Zia Consulting Named Alfresco Platinum Partner
System Integrator Reaches Key Milestone Leveraging CMIS-enabled Content Management and Collaboration Solutions from Alfresco
LONDON—January 27, 2010 — Alfresco, the open platform for social content management, today announced that Boulder, Colorado-based systems integrator Zia Consulting has achieved Platinum Partner status in recognition of its successes in implementing Alfresco's enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. With this announcement, Zia joins a prestigious group of 10 platinum integrators in Alfresco's community of more than 270 channel partners.
Tweet This: Colorado-based system integrator @ZiaConsulting achieves #Alfresco Platinum Partner status http://bit.ly/ieMXmg
"Zia Consulting is a shining example of the excellence our Platinum Partners bring to each Alfresco-based project and is a worthy recipient of this designation," said Bill Robinson, vice president of the Americas, Alfresco Software. "With broad experience implementing ECM, collaboration, web publishing, and records management solutions from Alfresco, Zia truly exemplifies what we look for in our partners through their dedication to and involvement in the Alfresco open source community."
Zia Consulting services a range of markets including the public sector, government, manufacturing, and publishing industries with innovative ECM, WCM, records management, and collaboration solutions built on Alfresco's open platform for social content management. Zia's extensive Alfresco experience includes revamping the City of Denver's document management systems to centralize document and content applications across over 70 separate agencies.
The Alfresco experts at Zia have also made significant contributions and developments around the Content Management Interoperability Specification (CMIS). Zia's Director of Enterprise Integration, Ryan McVeigh, is a technical editor and secretary on the OASIS CMIS Technical Committee. Additionally, Zia has contributed a Spring Framework tutorial created to demonstrate how users can version content in a CMIS repository. Zia also developed some of the very first CMIS-based native content management applications for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Called Fresh Docs, these are open source apps run against Alfresco and several other CMIS repositories.
"Alfresco has been instrumental in assisting us with executing a simple, but effective business plan and we look forward to continued success and growth," said Mike Mahon, CEO, Zia Consulting. "To be designated as a Platinum Partner represents not only the great work we've shared with Alfresco, but also the way in which the Alfresco community has accepted us with open arms. It is truly the life-blood of the organization and a fundamental driver in Alfresco's continued success."
Alfresco's system integrator partner program offers new partner benefits that enable system integrators across the Americas to build new practice areas and generate consistent revenue streams around Alfresco ECM and WCM technologies, including:
- Turnkey enablement including both sales and technical training;
- Lead sharing for services and resell opportunities;
- Partner Solution Showcase to promote applications developed on the Alfresco platform;
- Joint business planning and dedicated resources for business development activities;
- Joint marketing opportunities and assistance;
- Speaking opportunities at Alfresco and industry events;
- Access to an Alfresco Enterprise subscription and technical support; and,
- Access to Alfresco portal for knowledge-base sales and marketing materials.
Zia Consulting recently presented at Alfresco's Content.Gov 2011 event in Washington DC, and showcased a series of case studies on the City of Denver's Consolidated Content Management Program. This presentation highlighted Denver's switch from paper-based contract management to an electronic process that streamlined the contracting process by implementing citywide workflows, electronic signatures and improved auditability. Zia will be hosting a webinar, Easy Records Management with Ephesoft and Alfresco on February 10th. For more details and to register please visit the webinar event homepage.
For more information on Zia Consulting's services for Alfresco, please visit http://www.ziaconsulting.com/products/
To learn more about Alfresco's partner program, visit http://www.alfresco.com/partners/program/
About ZIA Consulting
Zia Consulting, Inc. is based in Boulder, CO. Zia's focus is to provide insightful technical expertise in Content Management, Enterprise 2.0 Application Development and Mobile Application Development at the enterprise level. Find out more about Zia's services at http://www.ziaconsulting.com
About Alfresco Software
Alfresco (www.alfresco.com) is the open platform for social content management. The platform combines the innovation of open source with the stability of a true enterprise-class platform, at a tenth of the cost of legacy ECM solutions. The Alfresco content platform uses a flexible architecture to provide document management, web content management, records management and social collaboration to customers and partners in 40 countries. Headquartered in London, Alfresco was founded in 2005 by a team of content management veterans including the co-founder of Documentum, John Newton, and former COO of Business Objects, John Powell.
Zia Consulting Media Contact
Mike Mahon
Zia Consulting, Inc
303.443.4004 x203
Alfresco Media Contact
Linsey Krauss
Lois Paul & Partners
(001) 512-638-5316


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All-Crawl Weekend: The Best Sports-Friendly Restaurants For The Weekend
Oak Restaurant & Wine Bar
AskMen may receive a portion of revenue if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service. The links are independently placed by our Commerce team and do not influence editorial content. To find out more, please read our complete terms of use.


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Sunday, Nov. 4
'Rent' Silhouette Stages presents Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical/rock opera at 3 p.m. at Slayton House Theater, 10400 Cross Fox Lane in Columbia. Tickets are $18; $15 for seniors, students, and military. For tickets and more information, call 410-637-5289 or go to silhouettestages.com.
South Asia Culture Cafe The cultures of six South Asian countries will be represented and celebrated at an event sponsored by the Columbia Association and the Howard County Library System from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Miller branch, 9421 Frederick Road in Ellicott City. The free event isn't just for those from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, but for anyone interested in South Asian culture. Activities include displays, dance performances, henna tattoos, music and children's stories. South Asian snacks and drinks will be provided. Information: 410-715-3162.
Friday, Nov. 9
Bazaar Resurrection of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church's annual Christmas Wonderland Bazaar will be held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 9-10, at 8402 Brock Bridge Road in Laurel. Event features Christmas crafts, photos with Santa, a silent auction, kids room, bake sale, and more. Hours are 5 p.m -8 p.m. Nov. 9 and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 10. Information: 410-792-7982.
Saturday, Nov. 10
Classical music Candlelight Concerts presents violinist Benjamin Beilman and pianist Yekwon Sunwoo at 8 p.m. at Howard Community College's Horowitz Performing Arts Center, Smith Theatre, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. Tickets are $30; $28 for seniors; and $12 for students. Information: 410-997-2324 or candlelightconcerts.org.
Concert River Hill High School's Department of Music presents its 10th Annual Pops Concert, "A Concert in the Park," featuring band ensembles, a marching band, orchestra, choir, and the Soggy Bottom Boys at 7 p.m. at 12101 Route 108 in Clarksville. Tickets are $10; $7 for seniors; $5 students. Information: 410-313-7120.
"Wonder Talk" Howard County Conservancy offers "Cookin' for the Birds" at 10 a.m. at 10520 Old Frederick Road in Woodstock. Diane Ference leads a program on providing healthy food for wild song birds. Information: 410-465-8877 or hcconservancy.org.
Bazaar The Allview Center for Family Enrichment will hold a Holiday Bazaar featuring jewelry, paintings, appetizers, Christmas items, and more Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 10-11, at 6401 Allview Drive in Columbia. Hours are 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Information: 301-570-6515.
"Exploring the FamilySearch Wiki" A genealogy presentation about how to find, use, and analyze records of genealogical value from around the world will be given at 1 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 4100 St. Johns Lane in Ellicott City. Genealogist Angela McGhie will show how this free website can answer many of your questions and enhance your research. Free. Information: 410-796-3022.
Concert Bob Reilly and Joe Goullait perform in a free Music Matters showcase from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Anna's Coffee Roastery, 8827 Centre Park Drive, Suite D, Columbia. Information: 443-546-4131.
'Talkin' Baseball' Meeting will be held at 9 a.m. at Brighton Gardens Assisted Living, 7110 Minstrel Way, Columbia. Tim Wendell will discuss his book, "Summer of '68." Free. 410-740-1145.
"Amber Brown is Not a Crayon" The Candlelight Concert Society presents this musical based on the book by Paula Danziger at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, at Howard Community College's Horowitz Performing Arts Center, Smith Theatre, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. Tickets are $10. Information: 410-997-2324 or candlelightconcerts.org.
Awards dinner The Columbia Foundation, which raises, manages and distributes funds to support nonprofits, will recognize the county's philanthropists at its annual dinner, "A Celebration of Philanthropy," from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at Ten Oaks Ballroom, 5000 Signal Bell Lane in Clarksville. The foundation will present the first "Philanthropist of the Year" awards. Tickets are $75 and include hors d'oeuvres, dinner and dessert. Information: 410-730-7840 or columbiafoundation.org.
Concert The Columbia Jazz Band will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church, 6410 Amherst Ave. in Columbia. Band's repertoire consists of Swing, Latin, Mainstream and Big Band Jazz, with vocals, instrumental solos, improvisations, and riffs. A freewill offering will be taken. Information: 410-997-8011.
Holiday lights The 19th annual "Symphony of Lights," a 20-minute drive-through spectacle of more than 70 larger-than-life holiday light displays, will be open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily beginning Monday, Nov. 19, and continuing through Jan. 6, at Symphony Woods in Columbia. Admission is $20 per car or van up to eight passengers; $45 for commercial vans and minibuses seating nine to 24 people; and $125 for buses exceeding 24 passengers. Information: 410-740-7840 or hcgh.org/symphonyoflights. Benefits Howard County General Hospital.
Concert Oseh Shalom congregation presents Brother Sun at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at 7515 Olive Branch Road in Laurel. Tickets are $18 per person; $54 per family. Information: 301-498-5151 or osehshalom.org.
Holiday event Howard County Center for the Arts holds its annual Open House and Holiday Sale from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at 8510 High Ridge Road in Ellicott City. Local artists and groups will sell handcrafted items, paintings, photographs, wearables, ceramics, jewelry, greeting cards, sculpture, and more. Information: 410-313-2787 or hocoarts.org.
Reunion Cardinal Gibbons High School Class of 1973 will hold its 40th reunion on April 20 at Reflections Banquet Hall, 8015 Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena. Information: 410-382-6919 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Announcements for the datebook may be sent by mail to The Baltimore Sun in Howard County, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278; by email to email@example.com; or by fax to 410-332-6455.


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Product Details
This great-tasting, fiber-rich nutrition:
- Promotes healthy, complete bowel elimination and gastrointestinal health.
- Supports beneficial GI microflora by serving as a prebiotic (food for probiotics)
- Promotes enhanced immunity.
- Stimulates natural killer cell activity
2 tablespoons (10g) serving contains:
Arabinogalactan Extract 10g
Other Ingredients: None
|Does Not Contain
|magnesium stearate, corn, milk, salt, sugar, wheat, yeast, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
Additional Info
Additional Info
|Recommended Use
|Adults and children age 4 and up: Take 2 tablespoons daily. Blends well in drinks, smoothies or food.
|Serving Size
|Serving size - 2 TBSP
|Storage Instructions
|Store in a cool, dry place
|Additional Notes
|These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.


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It's March, which means the madness is right around the corner, as the nation's best teams will do battle to earn a berth in Dallas for the Final Four on March 31 and April 2.
It also means it's a great time to sign up for the 2017 Women's Tournament Challenge. After the brackets are revealed on March 13, come back to make your picks for the NCAA women's tournament and follow along with the action when games tip off March 17 all the way to the Final Four.
The object of the game is simple, especially for those who have played in bracket games through the years: Select the teams you think will win each of the 63 tournament games, from the first round all the way to the championship game. You'll get points for each game you pick correctly, with the points increasing as the tournament progresses. Remember to make all your picks before the first round tips off, but after that, just tune in to the ESPN family of networks to watch all the action unfold. (All women's tournament games will be on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and WatchESPN.)
If you score the most points, you'll have a chance to win a $3,000 Amazon Gift Card.
Will Geno Auriemma lead mighty Connecticut to a five-peat and a 12th national crown? The Huskies will be tough to take down, but among the top challengers are former conference foe Notre Dame along with perennial contenders South Carolina and Baylor.
You can fill out up to 25 brackets, so you can mix it up when making your picks. Will you decide to go chalk and pick all the favorites? Or are you more apt to go upset-happy, or even pick teams based on mascots or school colors? Whatever you decide, it's all about having fun and a rooting interest in all of the games.
Best of luck as you take your shot at women's bracket glory!


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How Social Behavior May Point to Brain Problems
With many neurological disorders, from Alzheimer's to ADHD, the first clue something is wrong may be atypical social behavior. Shirley Wang reports on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... new claims to brain diseases such as Alzheimer's can be found actually in social behavior such as ... the ability to tell someone is lying or knowing how to express into the doctors now have ... new research to understand just why that is a joyous with the latest signs of hell calmness ... surely long in London ... sch chili will retire the changes in social behavior behavior ... books are a few examples I mention line but what are some others that would make doctors ... worry that brain disease might be applying ... way to think so the line when it's actually all forms of instant fear ... behaviors were insincere bad talk sale ... recognizing and sarcasm some notable is the ability to that ... um otherwise add to protect the social behaviors would be ... people who just after telling them they use to you on Vimeo let the left and pathetic when some ... kid telling people's feelings and an acting appropriately ... they may start to ignore ... so Sladek and or social norms on ... these kinds of changes oftentimes Apple I ate some kind of change in the brain that shows up first a social behaviors before you might notice it and other kinds of behavior such as ... planning or ... I'm ... thinking in Essen about and more organized way out of the social changes somehow come first is there a part of the blood brain Shirley that they think is specifically affected ... with imperative emotional responses ... yet there lots of different parts the brain that I think um work together ... and compare men anyone is probably helps to disrupt a lot of the functions that one in particular is a region called ... the info lot which is helpful ... in helping us recognize in import information so ... we might recognize that facial expression effective the import information should pay attention to that ... but for some people when they have this disruption ... that seems to stand for at least in part from this part of the brain ... the Macy's recognizing that that's really import information be shed ... on notice people's Index expressions of emotions and instead of people seem to stop ... stop noticing it and that might cause them to you that in appropriately ... or seem like they don't carry more about people's emotions so when we say someone when when we don't think someone is empathetic enough right if we don't think that they respond the correct way in a social situation or we just think they're ... cool are mean ... does that necessarily mean they have brain disease or is it a fine line between having PCs in just kind of being an awful person ... Wolf course on this never knew the answer that in general does not saying that anyone with a quarter or ... if sometimes on empathetic Cup hasn't rained in fees ... um but if it if you notice changes in the person that can can be a clue so for example ... there was a family member ... on who ... you know we use to be very I'm good at listening to other people and now this wouldn't seem to walk away we should talk ... that um could be a signal that there's something off ... um but I suppose like you said there might be people can just for personality reasons um it ended the year ... but some but that again and for that person perhaps not ... so much that it had rained is the isthe rather than something about the way the brain that that that that personality conducted on the point where they're talking about ways to repair these connections are appear these parts of the brain's where there seems to be this is this misfires of these these impairments ... I think it's fair said the Fed actually still appointed trend figure out what exactly goes awry ... on and they're trying really to figure out if they can figure ... out that a what goes wrong ... they can maybe use of the diagnostic information so not so much treatment yet I think that's really really really far down line that ... even in the sense that can help us ... paint a better clinical picture to help us diagnose add ... him ... to men shout or ... onto that earlier that would be banned notion right now that's very helpful thousands of priests and assigns it to someone has a family member friend would definitely be


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Serve these sweet treats for dessert or make them to give to your friends and family. Red velvet cupcakes, baked in canning jars, topped with vanilla icing and red hot cinnamon sprinkles make a unique Valentine gift.
Kids can help: Mix ingredients and add the sprinkles.
- 3 Tbsp butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp red food coloring
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp cocoa
- Icing
- Cinnamon Red Hot candies
- ½ pint glass canning jars
- Paper designs for lid inserts
- Ribbon
Cream butter and sugar. Add applesauce and egg and mix well. Blend in vanilla, buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest and food coloring. Mix well.
Combine dry ingredients and add slowly to mixture, stirring well. Spoon batter into each glass jar, filling only ¼ full. Set jars on cookie sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 15 – 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness.
Let jars and cakes cool completely. Frost cakes. To get the roped icing effect, put icing in a pastry bag and, using a large tipped opening, make a circular, graduated rope, ending with a peak at the top. Decorate jars with printed design shown, Red Scrolls, or cut a circular piece of colored paper to fit the lid insert. Finish with a red ribbon or tape a red strip of paper around the top rim of the jar.
By Kristin Fitch & Sharon Pierce McCullough … the FoodChics


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Special telecast to benefit the United Way
Blake Shelton has organized and will headline the telethon "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" on May 29, to take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. Grammy Award-winning artists Miranda Lambert, Reba and Vince Gill will also perform. Additional guests for the concert will be announced shortly.
The concert will be televised live at 9 p.m. on NBC. It will also air on cable networks Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT on either a live or delayed basis.
"Everyone has their way to help, and mine as an entertainer is to perform to help raise money and awareness for this tragedy," Shelton said. "This is why I want to do this special and especially hold it in Oklahoma City, which is near ground zero."
The event will raise funds for the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund. Working with their local community partners, United Way of Central Oklahoma will use the fund for immediate, intermediate and long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts in Oklahoma following the tornadoes that devastated Moore earlier this week.
Born and raised in Oklahoma and currently residing in Tishomingo, the recent tragedy hit close to home for Shelton. The one way the country singer knew he could help immediately would be through the "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" aiding the United Way of Central Oklahoma.
This isn't the first time Shelton has reached out to those in the wake of tragedy in Oklahoma. In 2011, Shelton and long-time friend Reba went back home to Oklahoma to host the "Tornado Relief Concerts" for victims affected by the Atoka County tornadoes. The two-sold out concerts, which featured special guests and more than two hours of entertainment, raised $500,000 for the Oklahoma victims.
Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on May 25. Tickets are $25, with a limit of eight per person. Tickets can be purchased at the Chesapeake Energy Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at Ticketmaster.com.


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There comes a time in every science writer's career when one must write about glass duck vaginas and explosive duck penises.
That time is now.
To err on the side of caution, I am stuffing the rest of this post below the fold. My tale is rich with deep scientific significance, resplendent with surprising insights into how evolution works, far beyond the banalities of "survival of the fittest," off in a realm of life where sexual selection and sexual conflict work like a pair sculptors drunk on absinthe, transforming biology into forms unimaginable. But this story is also accompanied with video. High-definition, slow-motion duck sex video. And I would imagine that the sight of spiral-shaped penises inflating in less than a third of second might be considered in some quarters to be not exactly safe for work. It's certainly not appropriate for ducklings.
So, if you're ready, join me below the fold.
This story is actually a sequel. Back in 2007, I wrote in the New York Times about the work of Patricia Brennan, a post-doctoral researcher at Yale, and her colleagues on the weirdness of duck genitals. The full story is here. (Brennan also appeared in a Nature documentary, starting at about minute 38:35.)
In brief, Brennan wanted to understand why some ducks have such extravagant penises. Why are they cork-screw shaped? Why do they get so ridiculously long–some cases as long as the duck's entire body? As Brennan dissected duck penises, she began to wonder what the female sexual anatomy looked like. If you have a car like this, she said, what kind of garage do you park it in?
Brennan discovered that female ducks have equally weird reproductive tracts (called oviducts). In many species, they are ornamented with lots of outpockets. And like duck penises, duck oviducts are corkscrew-shaped. But while male duck penises twist clockwise, the female oviduct twists counterclockwise.
Brennan speculated that all this bizarre anatomy is the result of a peculiar form of evolution known as sexual conflict. A strategy that allows females to reproduce the most offspring may not be so good for males, and vice versa. For example, male fruit flies inject their mates with lots of chemicals during sex, and those chemicals make her less receptive to other males, thereby boosting his chances of fathering her eggs. But those chemicals are harsh and will make female flies sick. Females, in turn, have evolved defenses against those chemicals, blunting their effects.
With many examples of sexual conflict in nature, Brennan wondered if sexual conflict between male and female ducks was giving rise to their weird genitals. Female ducks pair off with male partners for the breeding season, but they also get harrassed by other males, sometimes being forced to have sex (and sometimes dying from the attacks). A third of all duck matings are forced.
And yet only 3 percent of the ducklings that female ducks produce come from such forced matings. Brennan speculated that the female ducks can block forced copulations with their mismatched spirals. And they might also be controlling which drake got to fertilize their eggs by socking away the sperm of different mates in different pockets. And the extravagant penises of males might be the result of an evolution around those defenses.
As I reported in 2007, Brennan discovered a pattern that supported this hypothesis. Among 16 species of water fowl, species in which the males grew long phalluses also had females with more turns in their oviduct and more side pockets. The ducks were escalating an arms race, genital for genital.
But Brennan didn't actually know how duck penises actually moved through the labirynthine oviduct, and how the oviduct's shape might affect the drake's delivery of sperm. So she traded calipers and rulers for high-speed video.
Brennan and her colleagues traveled to a California duck farm, where workers are expert at collecting sperm from drakes. The first step in the collection is to get a drake excited by putting a female duck in his cage. The drake climbs on top, and then the penis emerges. Before its emergence, a drake's penis is usually completely hidden from view, tucked inside his body like an inside-out sock. Drakes unfurl their pensises differently than male mammals. In mammals, the penis becomes erect as blood flows into the spongy tissue. Ducks pump lymph fluid instead. And as the fluid enters the penis, it does not simply become engorged. It flips rightside-out.
Here's how it happens, in slow motion. A Muscovy drake everts his penis in about a third of a second, at speeds of 1.6 meters per second.
Of course, drakes don't mate with the air. Having made this video, Brennan still needed a way to see how a duck penis actually performs its appointed task. Unable to film duck penises in a real female oviduct, she built a fake oviduct out of silcone. She then managed to get a drake to mate with it. But the overwhelming force of the explosive penis broke the fake oviduct.
So Brennan turned to glass. Her new fake oviducts were strong enough to handle the drakes, and she started filming. Here's what she saw.
As Brennan had predicted, the counterclockwise turns of an oviduct slow down the expansion of the duck penis, compared to a straight tube or a clockwise one. Brennan suspects that female ducks slow down males trying to force a mating, but they can also let their partner's penis move faster through the oviduct. They have been observed to relax and contract their muscles arond the oviduct.
Female ducks can't stop an unwanted male from delivering his sperm, but the obstacles in their oviducts may give them control over what happens to that sperm. The female ducks may use their oviducts to slow down the expanation of the penis, so that by the time the drake ejaculates, the sperm are delivered in the lower reaches of the oviduct. A female ducks's partner, with her cooperation, can deliver sperm further up the oviduct. With the wanted and unwanted sperm delivered to different places in the oviduct, a female duck may be able to store the sperm in different pockets. And then she can choose which drake will father her duckling. For all the explosiveness male ducks may display, it's the female ducks that get the final say.
[Postscript: I tell Brennan's story in more detail in my new book, The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution. It opens the chapter on sex–where I show how the same processes that explain these strange genitalia explain many other things in the natural world.]
Reference: Patricia L. R. Brennan et al, "Explosive eversion and functional morphology of the duck penis supports sexual conflict in waterfowl genitalia," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.2139
[Update: 12/23–a couple misspellings fixed]
Comments (88)
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Jeebus, whatever happened to the gentle cloacal kiss?
Apparently there's a lot more involved in duck sex than making a poultry effort.
When will the prolific duck rape make it on to Law and Order: SVU? It's time to break the silence.
The comments so far have been terribly unfunny.
[CZ: Well, HG, I think you'll have to step up to the plate and post a joke of your own. Them's fighting words.]
I think HG is just egging us on.
We just bought a male duck for Christmas. I now think I'll let GrrlScientist do the
dissectiondressing. We might have to ask a female duck about stuffing, as they seem to be the experts.
Wow, those are amazing ovi-ducks.
My goodness, why aren't those scientists wearing sanitary gloves? Ewwwwww.
Well, as long as we're on the subject of kinky duck sex, I seem to recall that there was an ignobel award given out a few years ago on the subject of necrophilia between male ducks.
So, since I went there, it also seems like a good time to mention this recent story Bug powder causes male bedbugs to stab each other to death with their penises.
Don't get your feathers ruffled, HG!
that's fowl
absolutely fowl
There's a bunch of ducks near my work, so every spring I get to watch several duck gang rapes. One time I did see the duck's penis and OMG.
I'm glad to hear the lady ducks have at least some defense against this crazy behavior…
If nothing else, the use of those glass models prove that males will mate with basically anything.
I have now seen things that can never be unseen. I did not know that there were clips of male duck genitalia out there, and I did not know how little I wanted to see it. Interesting!
Merry christmas, folks and ducks.
'So Brennan turned to glass. Her new fake oviducts were strong enough to handle the drakes, and she started filming. '
A different meaning in a different context, eh?
So why isn't the same thing happening with humans, or is it?
No wonder Donald was so uptight. He was with the wrong lady all that time. I'd be angry too.
I just hope the person in these videos is a bona fide scientist, not a mere duck fluffer.
So what does your daddy do?
Oh he films drakes having erections!?!?
#24 i think you might be on to something.
Wow. People who think furries are freaky ought to check out real life.
I hope you bought that duck dinner first.
Total Duck pr0n! Do we know if these ducks were of age and this site was in compliance? On a serious note- this is fascinating. Was it Brennan who debunked the cyber myth about dolphins having prehensile penises? Good work Patricia. I look forward to further research.
If you were any kind of a science writer you would use the proper latin plural of penis: penes. "Penises" might be as acceptable a variation the same as "ain't" is for "isn't," but it is not correct. So, the next time any of you boys and girls see more than one penis, please, say PENES.
CZ: Penises is perfectly acceptable. You can look it up in a dictionary. Or you can read the paper about which I'm writing. Let me quote: "The erect penises of mammals and turtles are stiff hydrostats supported by axial-orthogonal layers of inextensible collagen fibres."
Forgive me if I don't retire early.
If he's clockwise and she's counterclockwise, it seems like while he's screwing, she would be unscrewing and they would never get anywhere.
But why are drake penises curved at all? If they were straight, those males forcing sex would be at less of a disadvantage regardless of whether female genitalia curved clockwise or counterclockwise. [Does this imply that the two flip directions periodically?]
While TC was kind of an asshole about it, he does seem to be right about this rather pedantic issue.
Here's a quote from the dictionary.com page that you linked. "The proper plural is penes." You have to scroll down to the heading "Word Origin and History."
It seems that "penises" is the dominant form in current usage, but this is a change from the latin origins and historical English spelling. The issue is that the word has passed out of the hands of the medical and scientific communities, and the general public has abandoned the Latin pluralization for the dominant English form. This development is relatively recent in historical linguistic terms.
I'm sure that your editors know what's best for their readership. It's all just a piece in the ever-changing tapestry of modern language.
Great article, btw.
[CZ: Thanks, David, on the post. TC wasn't talking about a historical shift, but actually claiming that penises was the equivalent of ain't. But ain't is considered non-standard, while penises is perfectly acceptable according to several dictionaries and is used by scientists themselves in scholarly publications.]
I hope that now people will stop suggesting rape is "natural" giving the duck example from "nature", without considering the complexities of evolution and how it works within and across species.. Until humans develop twisty, penis biting vaginas, put rapists in jail please, where they belong. Thanks!
So, now we know why Walt always drew pants on Donald!
On the topic of 'Penes' versus "Penises"…
The use of language is to communicate. Another example that comes to mind is that of 'Octopus'. People often try to say 'Octopi' for the plural of Octopus, when the word originally came from Greek, not Latin. IIRC, the technically correct plural of it is 'Octopetes'. If I actually used 'Octopetes' in a sentence, though, no one would have any idea what I really meant. In everyday English, we should just say 'Octopuses', because others will know what we're talking about. While 'Penes' is technically correct, I find 'Penises' to be perfectly acceptable.
On the subject of animal rape: It may be 'natural', but that does not make it right or good. Murder occurs 'naturally' among many species, but we won't stop putting people in jail for that!
@Naked Bunny: I can see a whole new furry(or rather, feathery) sexual subculture emerging from this. (If it doesn't exist already– not like I'd know.)
The pic of the strung up drake at the top of the article leads me to believe there will soon be a BDSM site for this, with some very creative and intricate CBT equipment devised.
Seriously though…ducks, and their observers, have been around for ages; so why is this not already common knowledge?
You learn something new every day. I thought "ain't" was a contracted form of "am not", the plural of penis was either penises or penes, and that the plural of octopus was either octopuses, octopodes, or octopi. I guess I was wrong on all counts.
Judging by the amount of academic "giggling" here, we haven't been able to abandon our speciesism roots. Imagine what ducks would write about here. Would they consider their anatomy at all unusual? Would they be saying "ew, gross!"? Fact is, all life is mechanical -no less our own- and there are no morals. It all solves the desires of DNA using the tools at hand (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen mainly). We consider duck penises erotic because we compare them to ourselves. We don't feel that way about bacteria reproducing; they're too different. Regarding ducks having erections into glass tubes: is that any different from ourselves? We can be stimulated by a two dimensional image printed on a scrap of paper. We're all animals; we all work the same way. The brain does the bidding of our genes, not vice versa.
…damn, watching that gave me a cramp!
Sounds like quack science to me.
You lead in with "To err on the side of caution, I am stuffing the rest of this post below the fold. " Pity your webmaster didn't agree, as that sentence appeared less than half-way down the height of a photo… which really could have used a fold. (In other words, "YIKES!")
Also, that's a heckuva lot of lymph! Is there a reservoir or something?
Also Steve #51: "Imagine what ducks would write about here. " They'd probably snicker at our inadequacy.
… Why would anyone take this as a "rape is natural, therefore good" idea?
First, why wouldn't it be explained by a culture? It's actually really stupid to believe that other animals don't have a culture merely because we can't understand them and we're too arrogant to learn the inflections of body language and scent.
Second, this is a defense against rape, or forced sex, or whatever. The female ducks are evolving a defense against their attacker's offspring, and they can/do encourage their willing partners. So… wouldn't that be an argument for consensual sex, and against rape as a method of procreation?
Does it make too much sense? I swear to god, I do not get people these days.
This is the first time I have ever learned something and felt stupid for learning it. Was money really wasted to find this out and people are dying, starving, and plenty of actual wrong going on and here these people are studying duck dicks come on people. figure out how to make the government start using water as fuel.
[Carl: As a civilization, I would hope we could chew gum and walk at the same time. That is, be able to support basic research on things like evolution while also figuring out new solutions for our energy demands.]
It will be interesting to see if this defense becomes their downfall. As Mallard ducks become the predominant species in most of Eastern Canada, this selective breeding defense is less desirable. Mallards now make up the majority of the duck biomass displacing many other species for food and nesting area.
Could it be that Mallards do not have such similar genitalia??
Forced mating frenzies are quite common with Mallards with several males taking their turn. It is often a wonder the females do not drown.
This sheds a whole new light on the idea of "screwing".
Think,every one has a creator.who make this amazing creations?the answer is only one -THE GOD- then turn to the creator that is only way to victory.for details see the last vedha QUR-AN.
@41 Ziggy… um, what? Mickey wore pants, Donald didn't.
Remember, folks, stuff like this happens all the time in nature. That's why our ancestors invented walls.
Hmm, maybe Todd Akin was actually talking to duck doctors before he made his ridiculous comments about 'legitimate rape'.


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Braves duo could make history with joint Hall induction
Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were key parts to an Atlanta Braves team that won an American professional record 14 consecutive division titles.
Now they have a chance to add another achievement to their resumes.
Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were key parts to an Atlanta Braves team that won an American professional record 14 consecutive division titles.
Now they have a chance to add another achievement to their resumes.
First-time candidates for the Hall of Fame, Maddux and Glavine could become only the second pair of teammates elected to the Hall of Fame in the same year by the members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
They could join Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees, who were enshrined in 1974. Mantle was elected in his first year of eligibility. Ford was on the ballot for the second time.
There have been 18 induction ceremonies in which two players from the same organization were enshrined in the Hall of Fame. But in 17 of those cases, at least one of the inductees was elected by the Veterans Committee, meaning they had used up their 15 years of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot.
In 1946, the famed Cubs double-play trio of Joe Tinker to Johnny Evers to Frank Chance was inducted en masse, thanks to the vote of the Veterans Committee.
The most recent induction of multiple players from the same franchise came in 2000 when Tony Perez, representing the Cincinnati Reds, was elected by the BBWAA, and Bid McPhee was selected by the Veterans Committee. McPhee played for Cincinnati from 1882-99.
In that same Class of 2000 was former Reds manager Sparky Anderson, which gave Cincinnati three representatives recognized at Cooperstown that year. The Braves could match that. Bobby Cox, who Atlanta's general manager before returning to the dugout and managing the club to those 14 division titles, is among 12 candidates on the Veterans Committee ballot.
In addition to his success in Atlanta, Cox also managed the Toronto Blue Jays to the American League East title in 1985, the franchise's first postseason appearance.
A major oversight on the Veterans Committee ballot is John Schuerholz, who was the general manager during Atlanta's run of 14 consecutive division titles. Schuerholz not only oversaw Atlanta's record-setting run, but he was in the front office in Kansas City when the Royals advanced to the postseason seven times from 1976-85.
While the 73-year-old Schuerholz remains active as the Braves' president, executives 65 or older are eligible to be on the Veterans Committee ballot, even if they are still working.
There are 36 players on the BBWAA ballot this year, including 19 first-time candidates. The ballot is bigger than normal after the BBWAA did not elected a Hall of Famer last year for the first time since 1996.
This year's first-time eligibles include Maddux, Glavine, Frank Thomas and Mike Mussina, who appear likely for eventual induction. They join last year's list of first-timers that included Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa.
Jack Morris is on the ballot for the 15th and final time. Morris was listed on 67.7 percent of the ballots cast last year, second to Biggio, who was on 68.2 percent. No player has ever received that strong of support in his first 14 years of eligibility and not been eventually elected.
Another reason Morris is so well-respected among peers is that he pitched in seven postseason series, and six times he was selected to start Game 1 -- by Anderson, his manager in Detroit, Tom Kelly in Minnesota and Cito Gaston in Toronto. The one time Morris didn't start the series opener came in 1987, when he started Game 2 for Detroit in the AL Championship Series against Minnesota. Morris likely would have started Game 1, but he had thrown nine innings in a 3-2, 12-inning victory against Toronto in Game 161, helping clinch at least a tie for the AL East title.
Also running out of time on the ballot are Don Mattingly, who is appearing the for the 14th time, Alan Trammell, making his 13th appearance, and Lee Smith, who is being considered for the 12th time.
Thomas could be a key to eventual enshrinement for Edgar Martinez, who will be making his fifth appearance on the ballot. The biggest knock on Martinez has been that he was primarily a designated hitter during his career.
If Thomas is elected, he would become the first inductee who had more than half his career plate appearance in the DH role. Thomas had 5,698 plate appearances as a DH, 4,334 as a first baseman, and 45 as a pinch-hitter.
Martinez had 6,218 of his 8,674 career plate appearances in a DH role with Seattle. In the final 10 years of his career, he played a total of 235 1/3 innings in the field, including just five in 2001 and none from 2002-04.
Tracy Ringolsby is a columnist for MLB.com.