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I couldn't tell you how many pilots have been announced so far during this pilot season — 40? 50? — but many of them sound as terribly generic as much of what's already on TV right now. However, there were several with great promise, either because of the showrunner, the talent involved, or because of an intriguing premise. There's no promise, of course, that any of them will be greenlit to series for next fall (or midseason), but of the announcements made so far, these are the 15 Most Promising Pilots (networks only). Hopefully, a few of these will vie for the slots left by the slew of cancellations we can expect in March and April.
15. Let It Go — The pilot is an ensemble comedy about a married couple, the husband, his best friend, and her sister as they try to navigate, negotiate, and sometimes manipulate society's unspoken rules. I'll grant that the premise sounds terrible, but it will star Zachary Levi, who was much sought after during this pilot season. The fact that he chose this project over all the rest suggests that it must have some promise, despite the premise. Either that, or Zachary Levi just has terrible taste.
14. Animal Kingdom — This NBC pilot basically sounds like a comedy version of "House," but instead of a hospital, it's a veterinarian's office, and instead of Hugh Laurie, it's Justin Kirk ("Weeds"). It could be good, it could be terrible, but I'd hedge my bets to the positive side simply because Justin Kirk is so good.
13. Prairie Dogs — I know that people have caught on to the fact that the idea was basically ripped off of a "Friends" episode, but I do like Kal Penn, and it comes from the makers of "That 70's Show," so there's some promise here. The show is about an uncool cubicle worker named Neil who is the victim of identity theft. Said corporate drone ultimately discovers the thief created a much more fulfilling life with his identity than he ever did — and thus he engages the con man to help him improve his prospects.
12. Living Loaded — The Fox pilot doesn't have a terribly intriguing premise — it's about a loose partying blogger who is forced to change his career plans when he becomes an NPR radio host — but it comes from Rob McElhenney ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") and has tapped Donald Sutherland as the manager of the NPR station. Mike Vogel (Cloverfield) has been cast in the lead.
11. How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life — I will basically follow Sarah Chalke anywhere (I even watched the dreadful CBS sitcom "Mad Love" for much longer than I should have). This one is for ABC, and it's about a recently divorced single mom who moves in with her eccentric parents, Elaine and Max, a couple who's full of life but knows no boundaries. It will be a multi-camera/hybrid comedy, similar to "How I Met Your Mother."


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As a resident of Henry County, I never thought I would be the one facing a break in at my home. I am a single mother of four and trying to provide a decent living for my family when the unthinkable happened someone broke into my house taking several items that meant a lot to me and my children. I called the Eminence Police and they came right out and were very attentive to the situation. They came back several times checking on my family and gathering more information on my case.
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subset: commoncrawl


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EtherScan Event Logs API - Libraries
The EtherScan Event Logs provides an alternative to the native eth_getLogs. This API is still in Beta. EtherScan is a Bitcoin block explorer and analytics platform that provides its APIs without warranty as a community service. An API Key is only required if the user wants to make more than 5 requests per second.


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More than 290 programs and 500+ career options to choose from.
Start your future here.
Seneca's campuses are located in Toronto, York Region and Peterborough.
Seneca is at the forefront of providing student-focused teaching and learning that is redefining how people think about postsecondary education.
Seneca's RED: Emerging Designer Showcase at Toronto World MasterCard Fashion Week
Seneca's Redefining Design Runway Show
Fashion Alumna Vivienne Poy
Fashion Arts Alumni Phillip Sparks


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The only thing more inspiring than a good sports story is a true one such as the legacy of Gordie Howe who, at age 45, returned to the ice after his retirement for the opportunity to play professional hockey and win a championship with his sons.
The story will be brought to life in the two-hour Hallmark Channel original movie 'Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story,' which will have its premiere at 9 p.m., May 4.
'It's been a lifelong vision to see this come together,' said executive producer Mike Ilitch Jr., who initiated the idea of producing the film and assembled the dream team to do it. That includes his own production-financing company MICA Entertainment and film tax-credit company ITS Capital.
'He is among the most iconic and revered sports figures in history and always handled himself with such dignity and professionalism. I consider myself so very fortunate and blessed to know Gordie and his family, and, for the ages, this film will appeal to so many people who hold him and his family in equally high regard.'
Howe played hockey for Detroit Red Wings from 1946 to 1971. He skated through the presidencies of Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
During his tenure as the Red Wings' right wing and man of mayhem, he won six MVPs and six scoring championships. He also set numerous scoring records before Wayne Gretzky came along.
It's no secret Ilitch's father, Mike, owns the Detroit Red Wings (since 1982), but that's not what prompted him to pursue the film. It's what he knew of the man and his family, the ideals that the Howe and Ilitch families share that drove him: If you believe in yourself, don't listen to the negative voices, and above all put family first and anything is possible.
At age 45, Howe was retired from the NHL, his jersey number in the rafters in Joe Louis Arena in honor of his career. When given the chance to play alongside his sons in the newly formed World Hockey Association, however, Howe attempts to accomplish the unthinkable and return to the game that he loves. This made possible through a contract brokered by his late wife, Colleen. Despite the naysayers who labeled it 'the biggest publicity stunt in hockey history,' he and his sons Mark and Marty Howe, along with Colleen, head to Houston to attempt the unthinkable of playing professional hockey and winning a championship with his sons. Howe still has a house in Bloomfield Hills but he is never there as he lives with one of his children at all times since Colleen passed away four years ago.
'It was a great period of life to capture for the whole family and for hockey,' Ilitch said of the film by Brightlight Pictures/Inferno Pictures Production in association with Nutmeg Film Productions.
Make no mistake. The importance of family and faith in oneself is a reoccurring theme but Howe didn't get the nickname 'Mr. Elbows' from opponents for nothing. There's plenty of action created by a cast (who were all hockey players at one time), including actor Michael Shanks. He's known for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in the long-running, sci-fi television series 'Stargate SG-1' and as chief of surgery Charlie Harris on NBC's medical series 'Saving Hope.'
As a kid growing up and playing junior hockey in Vancouver, B.C., Shanks entertained his own NHL aspirations. Landing the lead role as one of the greatest hockey player of all time, however, is a nice second. 'My father used to drive my brother and I 1-½ hours to a town with a hockey rink,' said Shanks, 42, during an interview from Toronto. 'I always wanted to do a hockey movie, but I never got the chance.'
'Mr. Hockey' is directed by Andy Mikita ('Stargate-SG1'), written by Malcolm MacRury (writer on Shanks' series 'Saving Hope') and co-stars Kathleen Robertson (Colleen Howe), Andrew Herr (Mark Howe) and Dylan Playfair (Marty Howe).
For his role as the Chuck Norris of hockey (as he described Howe), Shanks watched all the footage of the star he could find. He also spent hours a day, skating and working out in a weight room, before joining other members of the cast and crew for the filming in Canada for filming.
'It's a little hockey infrastructure in Winnipeg. It's the same location and lot that was used in the filming of (the hockey comedy) 'Goon,'' said Shanks, who is married and has three children. His youngest son loves hockey.
'It's probably the most fun I've ever had filming a movie.'
'Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story' will also air at 8 p.m. April 28 on CBC. The U.S. debut is 9 p.m. May 4 on The Hallmark Channel.


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Not that I'm gloating over our 60-degree weather or anything....
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Wordless Wednesday: November Surprise
5 comments:
BONUS, and a purple bonus at that! LOL WHAHHOOOOReplyDelete
Very nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL. I've seen crocus and azaleas get confused and think it's spring after a warm day in fall, but never an iris. Enjoy! :)ReplyDelete
You've got to be kidding! I just hope you get them in the spring too!ReplyDelete
Beautiful, Greta . . . that is a nice surprise!ReplyDelete
Carol - Glad you enjoyed it! Those purple and white ones are my favorites.ReplyDelete
Cynthia - There are some iris that are supposed to be double bloomers, but if I remember correctly, this isn't one of them. Sure surprised me!
Barbara - I'm sure they'll be there. I think it was the warm weather, plus this year I actually took pretty good care of that bed.
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December 2009
Overfishing continues despite repeated warnings about the decline in the ocean's population of Atlantic, or Northern, bluefin tuna ((Thunnus thynnus). Source: Osaka Aquarium, Japan; OpenCage.info.
Marine fisheries supply a major source of protein to the world's population, and they support an industry worth over $85 billion annually.1 People have fished since the dawn of human history, and overfishing impacts were apparent even in some primitive societies at relatively low population density.2 It was during the 20th century that fishing expanded rapidly to the global scale as a result of motorized vessels, inexpensive oil, refrigeration, increasingly global commodity markets, and heavy government subsidies to increase fleets.3 Marine fisheries now use 24-35% of primary production on continental shelves and in major upwelling areas, including bycatch (marine animals caught in the nets inadvertently)—a figure similar to the roughly one-fourth of the land's potential net primary production appropriated by humans.4 Fishing has transformed the world's oceans. 5,6 Humans are now a dominant force of nature in the seas as we are on land, and we often affect marine fish resources negatively with such practices as:
Overfishing—this takes place when fish supplies fall below standard levels due to excessive fishing; it can be categorized into three main types: growth overfishing, recruit overfishing, and ecosystem overfishing.7
Destructive fishing practices—utilizing destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling, where the fishermen suspend large nets from boats to drag the bottom of the oceans and end up with other marine animals and organisms such as corals in their nets, as well as threaten biodiversity by killing animals unnecessarily and damaging the ocean environment.8
Polluting the ecosystem—e.g., directly with litter, boat exhaust, and oil spills, and indirectly with phosphates and nitrates from agricultural runoff.
Status of global marine fisheries
Currently, fishing pressure appears to be near—if not beyond—the ocean's capacity to provide. Estimates based on fisheries catch data, which were corrected for over-reporting by China, suggest that global fish catch peaked in the late 1980s, and this number has remained flat or begun to decline since.1,9 The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conducts the most comprehensive analysis of global fish stocks every four years, and recently reported that "the maximum wild capture fisheries potential from the world's oceans has probably been reached."1 The situation is reminiscent of society's reaching the point of peak oil—although fishery production is at least partially a renewable resource.
What about individual fish stocks? In 2008, the FAO estimated that roughly half of the world's 523 assessed fishery stocks are "fully exploited," meaning that they are harvested at rates near their maximum sustainable limits, while another 28% are "overexploited or depleted," meaning that they are being harvested at rates not sustainable in the long term.1 Even these numbers are uncertain and possibly conservative since they do not include many small-scale commercial and artisanal tropical fisheries; furthermore, these numbers do not include stocks that have already collapsed and been abandoned.
Fishing impacts have fallen especially hard on slow-growing predators. Typically, deep-sea fisheries, such as those targeting Chilean sea bass (Dissostichus eleginoides) and orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus), have undergone an initial boom followed by collapse. In addition, many sharks, which are slow growing and have very low reproductive rates, have been reduced by more than 75% in recent decades.10-13 Impacts are not restricted to such species, nonetheless. At the community level, a wide range of data sources conclude that average abundance, size, and habitat quality have declined substantially in many regions of the world ocean in recent decades.6
Marine biodiversity and fishery production
Long-simmering controversy about the state of world fisheries came to a head in 2006, when the scientist Boris Worm and colleagues reported the first comprehensive quantitative analysis of links between marine biological diversity and ecosystem services to human society.12 They concluded that disparate sources of data—from theory, controlled experiments, observed historical trends, and fishery catches—show a consistent pattern: marine ecosystems with fewer species, whether naturally or because of human impacts, have lower average productivity and stability. The greater fish productivity in more diverse ecosystems probably results in part from climate or resources that affect both diversity and productivity; however, such effects are less likely to explain the lower frequency of and faster recovery from collapse in diverse ecosystems.12 Although mechanisms remain speculative, the correlations of diversity with productivity and resilience probably result in part from a more efficient use of resources by diverse communities with broader functional capacity, and to the "portfolio effect," whereby a diverse group of stocks (whether fish or financial instruments) is more stable in the face of environmental fluctuations than any single stock.
The primary message of Worm and his colleagues that links biodiversity to ecosystem services was overshadowed, however, by another point made in the press release associated with the paper's publication, which was that if current trends continue, all currently fished marine species will have collapsed (fallen below 10% of their maximum historical harvest) by the middle of the 21st century. This claim generated worldwide attention and proved highly controversial. Much of the controversy centered on the use of catch data as a proxy for fish abundance. Critics pointed out, correctly, that catches may fail to track fish abundances because of changing markets, social factors, and management regimes.
While such factors can obscure population trends for individual stocks, however, no compelling evidence has been suggested that globally averaged catch data significantly misrepresent trends in global fish abundances. Indeed, one analysis concluded, "declining catches are an indication of declining stocks. Assuming otherwise would imply that all fishers or regulatory agencies in large marine ecosystems like the Mediterranean drastically reduce fishing of a species without the stock being in decline. Except for the World Wars, we are not aware of any such case."14 This same analysis showed that the number of new stocks entering global fisheries declined steadily over recent decades and that if current trends continue, the world's reservoir of unexploited fishable stocks will be exhausted by 2020. This general trend is consistent with the FAO's conclusion noted above. It seems reasonable, therefore, to conclude that we are at the threshold, or even beyond, the world ocean's capacity to provide fish and that significant changes are necessary to maintain this service over the long term.15
What do we want from the oceans?
Trawler hauling fishing nets near Galveston, Texas. Photo: Robert K. Brigham, NOAA.
Different parties can legitimately see statistics on the sizes of fish populations as showing a glass half full versus half empty. Beyond the disagreement about the data, debate involves fundamental values16: What do we, as a global society, want from the oceans? Are we content to treat them as essentially a planetary factory farm for inexpensive fish fillets (and mines and highways)? Or, do we want something more—a multifunctional, resilient ecosystem that provides a range of ecosystem services, and a stable reservoir of biodiversity, as well as commodities?
The consequences of different values can be seen most clearly by considering how we decide what the optimal abundance of fish in the ocean is.16 Fisheries professionals tend to see the ocean in economic terms as a producer of commodities, proteins, and jobs. They emphasize that fishery management explicitly aims to maximize long-term fish productivity (the amount of fish produced per year), which in theory occurs when a population is reduced to roughly half of its equilibrium biomass. This goal is called the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), and it is the basis of much fishery management legislation. By this view, fishery management has historically aimed to reduce fish populations to somewhat less than half of what they would be without fishing; although more recently, a precautionary approach has begun to advocate less extreme harvest.15
Critics of this exclusively economic approach, in contrast, tend toward a more holistic view of the oceans, and they emphasize the intrinsic value of biological diversity and its important, albeit poorly quantified, role in producing non-market ecosystem services such as waste processing, climate regulation, and carbon cycling.17 This idea has recently begun to penetrate fishery management in the goal of "ecosystem-based management," which aims for integrated, place-based approaches to manage the suite of human activities and interrelated ecosystem processes in a given area simultaneously.18,19 By this view, a long-term reduction by half, of multiple fish populations, is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the ocean ecosystem; although, these consequences are only now becoming well understood.20-23
The future of marine fisheries
While evaluating the future of fisheries depends in part on what we as a society want from the oceans, several issues complicate the more optimistic predictions:
Continued harvest stability is questionable. The theoretical target of MSY is exceeded in fisheries routinely— sometimes severely so3; yet, it is still poorly understood how such sustained high harvest levels affect stock stability in the face of natural and anthropogenic (i.e., human-derived) disturbances. Increasing evidence shows that both individual fish populations, and the more complex ecosystems in which they are included, can respond in a non-linear fashion to exploitation and other pressures; but these may cross a tipping point into a new stable state that is resistant to attempts to restore it to the original state.24,25
Demand will continue to increase. Global human population is increasing rapidly; it is likely to roughly double before stabilizing at an estimated nine billion. The average per capita resource use is increasing even faster, which means that the human population's already large demand for fish and other resources will undoubtedly increase a great deal in the coming decades.6,26
Current fishery projections are not all-inclusive. The more optimistic projections of the future of world fisheries are typically based on extrapolating a handful of examples of well-managed fish stocks within the territorial waters of rich, stable, and well-governed western democracies.27 This is a non-representative sample of the world's fisheries, nonetheless, and there will surely be formidable hurdles to spreading good management models through the rest of the world—particularly in the face of growing human population, per capita resource use, environmental change, and probable political instability resulting from global climate change interacting with these factors.
Indeed, the future of marine fisheries can be seen as a microcosm of the future of human society generally. Some basic questions include:
How important is abundant and inexpensive food, and the jobs associated with providing this food in the short term—relative to the many other tangible and intangible benefits that we receive from healthy ecosystems over the longer term? It is increasingly clear that many of these benefits cannot be achieved simultaneously.
How important is the availability of abundant fish now relative to long-term maintenance of a functioning ecosystem that can provide fish (and other ecosystem services) to our grandchildren and beyond?
What sacrifices, if any, are we willing to make now to ensure the long-term stability of that resource?
A recent consideration of how values influence the conflicting attitudes toward fishery management divided the major stakeholders in ocean ecosystems into consumptive users (i.e., fishers), government, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)16; however, they could as reasonably be characterized into present users and future users. When we consider the interests of "users" of the ocean two, three, or four generations down the line, the interests of fishers and governments and others become much more closely aligned. Policies that maximize fish production now—but endanger the production of fish and other important ecosystem services in the next generation—would not benefit tomorrow's fishers or any of the other citizens represented by governments and NGOs.
Potential solutions
As is true of environmental challenges generally, there is unlikely to be a single solution to making world fisheries sustainable. Effective marine conservation and management will involve several parallel approaches, among which three central proposed solutions should be mentioned.
1. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) recognizes and seeks to incorporate the complex interactions of fish stocks with one another and with the broader ecosystems that support them into fishery management.28 A related, more specific concept is the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF)—a form of fisheries governance that draws its conceptual basis and operational approaches from both conventional fisheries management and ecosystem management.29 The basic elements of both approaches involve maintaining single-species exploitation rates lower than would produce MSY and avoiding by-catch of non-target species. Thus, both EBM and EAF depart from traditional fisheries management, which focuses on maximizing productivity of individual stocks in isolation. Because complex indirect interactions are the rule in ecosystem dynamics, and are often unpredictable, EBM ascribes particular importance to precautionary measures that aim to avoid depleting stocks. Ecosystem-based management has been mandated by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act of 1981, in Australia, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (1996, reauthorized 2006) in the USA, and the International Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
2. Marine spatial planning is related to the concept of ecosystem-based management, and focuses specifically on better integrating management of the sundry, and often conflicting, human activities in the sea.30,31 Many of the challenges facing the oceans derive in part from uncoordinated governance. For example, fishing, mining, oil and gas extraction, marine mammal conservation, shipping, and other activities in U.S. territorial waters are regulated by more than 20 separate agencies in isolation from one another. Fixing this situation was a key recommendation of both the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the similar Pew Commission reports in 2004. Zoning has been used routinely on land for many years. Marine spatial planning can strategically site compatible activities together and separate incompatible ones, and it seeks to accommodate the plethora of potentially conflicting human uses such as recreation, fishing, and energy generation in an optimal way. Ultimately, marine spatial management must also coordinate with activities on land to develop adjacent coastal watersheds responsibly; to reduce inputs of toxic contaminants and nutrients; and to mitigate and adapt to human-induced climate change.
3. Improved incentive systems for sustainable fishing include, most recently, an exploration of dedicated access such as catch-share programs, as well as more effective governance at national and local levels.32 Fundamentally, managing fisheries involves managing the people that fish, which can involve both sticks (such as the restrictions historically used in management) and carrots (such as financial incentives to switch to less damaging gear). The latter involves appropriate incentive systems for making fishing sustainable.33 One such promising approach that is gaining momentum involves Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPP's), also known as "catch shares," in which a secure share of fish is allocated to an individual fisher, community, or association. The rationale is that because the shares are allocated before the season begins, fishers know how much fish they are allowed to harvest that year, and so there is incentive to do it efficiently, rather than in the counterproductive and expensive race to get the most fish possible that results under the often complicated, historic regulations. On the other hand, LAPPs limit access by definition, and therefore, these entail many difficult decisions about how shares are allocated, as well as the potential impacts of consolidating effort on both the environment and fishing communities.
Finally, no account of the future of fish would be complete without considering the rapidly growing global aquaculture industry, which accounted for more than a third of total global fishery production in 2006.1 Although aquaculture has been suggested frequently as a solution to the environmental impacts of ocean fishing, and it will surely be part of such a solution, the answer is not simple. Many farmed fish proposed for large-scale ocean ranching—notably salmon and tuna—are carnivorous. These operations can cause even greater harm than wild capture fisheries because such apex predators require large quantities of food, which comes from forage fish harvested from the ocean, and also because of their prodigious waste output, and the risk of disease and parasitism they pose to wild relatives.34,35 Moreover, farmed tuna are taken as juveniles from wild populations but are not recorded as catch in capture fishery statistics.
Thus, if aquaculture is to be part of a sustainable long-term solution, rather than part of the problem, it will need to focus on species low on the food chain such as catfish and tilapia, avoid transmitting diseases and genetic defects to wild fish, and produce minimal waste and habitat destruction. As in wild capture fisheries, achieving these goals requires effective management and policies that can adapt to a rapidly changing world.
© 2009, American Institute of Biological Sciences. Educators have permission to reprint articles for classroom use; other users, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com for reprint permission. See reprint policy.


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Symbols Can Not Be Loaded Because Symbol Path Is Not Initialized
If you are new to WinDbg (The Windows Debugger) like I am then you might struggle with some of the initial configuration items. I would suggest you do your best to get through the initial configuration issues so you can troubleshoot your Crash Dump files to analyze the issues on your computer. So far I am really happy with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit though I have had multiple BSOD's (Blue Screens of Death) which are frustrating. I am now doing what I can to get down to the bottom of each of the crashes so I can do whatever it takes to minimize any crashes and continue using Windows 7. Follow the directions below to configure the path to Symbols needed by the Windows Debugger (WinDbg).


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Latest media releases
UBS and PaineWebber announce merger completion date.
UBS and PaineWebber are pleased to announce that the closing date for their merger is scheduled for Friday 3 November 2000.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, the Election Deadline is therefore fixed at 5pm, New York City time, Wednesday 1 November 2000. This is the deadline by which all PaineWebber shareholders must submit to the exchange agent their forms of election indicating the type of consideration they wish to receive.
PaineWebber shareholders may elect to receive either cash or UBS shares in exchange for their PaineWebber shares, at the rate of USD 73.50 or 0.4954 of a UBS share per PaineWebber share, subject to the proration provisions of the merger agreement. Any shareholder who does not submit a form to the exchange agent by the Election Deadline will be deemed to have no preference as to the type of consideration they will receive.
Zurich / Basel, 27 October 2000
Please refer to the proxy statement/prospectus for further details about the procedures shareholders must follow.
Information concerning proxy materials:
This communication is not a solicitation of a proxy from any security holder of Paine Webber Group, Inc. UBS and PaineWebber have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proxy statement/prospectus which has been mailed to PaineWebber security holders and other relevant documents concerning the planned merger of PaineWebber into a subsidiary of UBS. WE URGE INVESTORS IN PAINEWEBBER TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors can obtain the documents free of charge at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. In addition, documents filed with the SEC by UBS are available free of charge from Investor Relations, UBS, Stockerstrasse 64, Zurich. Documents filed with the SEC by PaineWebber are available free of charge from Geraldine Banyai, Assistant Secretary, 1285 Ave of the Americas, New York, New York 10019.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are found in various places throughout this press release and include, without limitation, statements concerning the expected timing and benefits of the proposed merger. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgments and future expectations concerning the development of our business and the timing and benefits of the merger, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to, the inability to obtain, or meet conditions imposed for, governmental and other approvals for the transaction; and other key factors that we have indicated could adversely affect the merger contained in our past and future filings and statements, including those filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements regarding matters following the completion of the merger of UBS and PaineWebber are subject to such completion.


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Signup Deadline: Tuesday, June 18
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Volleyball teams will receive a different colored set of team shirts (1 shirt per player listed on roster). Captains can submit color preferences & size requests will be honored until the Sunday before the league starts.
Reserve your TEAM spot for just $100! Then use Team Payer to assign fees for each of your teammates to pay online directly to us! Team Payer is available until 6/2. No matter when you register, you'll get at least 5 days to use Team Payer!
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Bob Atchinson of the Kansas Forest Service suggests watering trees, even in winter, to counteract drought conditions.
Newly planted trees should be watered regularly for the first three years. Established mature trees should be watered every two to four weeks by soaking the top foot of soil under the tree's canopy. Atchison recommended using a soaker hose, drip irrigation, or slow drip bucket to spread water over the entire root area. He recommends two gallons of water be applied for every inch of tree diameter.
Pruning and fertilizing can have negative effects during drought, causing the tree to expend energy that could otherwise be spent on growth.
For other questions about tree care, contact the Kansas Forest Service at (785) 532-3300 or visit http://www.kansasforests.org.


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Jefferies makes first point for Pars
Jim Jefferies had to settle for a point in his first game as Dunfermline boss as the Pars came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 against St Mirren at East End Park.
In the 38th minute of a dull first half Buddies striker Steven Thompson headed the visitors into the lead from a Gary Teale corner and it looked like the woes of the rock-bottom Fifers would continue.
However, a half-time team talk from Jefferies worked wonders as Joe Cardle levelled within a minute of the restart and, although the home side could not go on to find a winner, they moved to within three points of second-bottom Hibernian, who lost at home to Dundee United.
Dunfermline are still looking for their first home win of the season, but Jefferies, who was given a good reception by the home fans as he made his way along the touchline to the dugout before the game, will have seen enough him to encourage him.
The former Hearts boss made one change with midfielder Mark Kerr coming in for Ryan Thomson who dropped out of the squad altogether.
Dougie Imrie and Paul McGowan returned to the St Mirren midfield with Hugh Murray and Steven Thomson both starting on the bench.
On the face of it, though, the Fifers had little to fear.
Jefferies, though, would have seen in the first half why his new charges were struggling at the bottom of the table.
In the third minute Pars striker Liam Buchanan had a weak strike from inside the box easily saved by Saints keeper Craig Samson before Andy Dowie headed a Cardle corner over the bar, but the early stages were largely uninspiring.
The home side were the more positive, but rather than patiently build they mostly attempted to find a way through via the power of Martin Hardie, who was having his share of success in his aerial duels.
The ball was too often in the air, however, for either side to gain the ascendancy, while Saints skipper Jim Goodwin, booked in the 12th minute for a foul on David Graham, skated on thin ice with some more robust challenges.
The Buddies were going nowhere fast, although in the 27th minute defender Lee Mair volleyed high over the bar from 12 yards when he ought to have hit the target.
Therefore, it came as something of a surprise, although perhaps not to the suffering home supporters, when St Mirren found themselves a goal to the good.
Teale fired in a corner from the left and Thompson had space aplenty to redirect the ball towards goal and it cannoned in off helpless Pars midfielder Gary Mason who had been guarding the back post.
Jefferies' team talk at the break did the trick.
After Hardie flicked on Mason's pass inside the box, Mair and Buchanan tussled for possession and, as the home fans screamed for a penalty, referee Alan Muir allowed play to continue long enough for Cardle to scramble the loose ball in from close range.
Moments later, as the rejuvenated Fifers pressed again, Carey cleared Mason's low drive off line before Samson had to make a save at his near post from Cardle.
Play swung from end to end as St Mirren shook themselves down and rolled their sleeves up again.
As the Buddies reasserted themselves Hasselbaink headed a Carey cross high over the bar.
In the 78th minute Thompson headed a Goodwin free-kick wide of the target before Dowie bravely put his head in front of a goalbound drive by McGowan.
Dunfermline fans roared their team forward in the final minutes, but it was McGowan who flashed an angled shot wide in injury time before Pars defender Alex Keddie had a shot blocked at the other end.
Source: PA
Source: PA


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The City of Lone Tree strives to provide companies with a quick, easy and affordable way to start or expand their business. Development plan reviews and construction permitting are typically achieved in in 90 days or less, a significant advantage over many other local and national jurisdictions. A single point-of-contact can also be arranged to handle all applications and requests.
Aside from low business costs, low taxes and an easily navigable approval process, Lone Tree businesses may also benefit from financial incentives offered locally and by the State of Colorado.
Read on for a short description of local and state incentives available to Lone Tree businesses, or contact us for more information.
State Incentives
Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit
The Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit provides a state income tax credit equal to 50% of FICA paid by the business on net job growth for each calendar year within a defined period of time. It is an incentive offered to businesses undertaking major job creation projects in Colorado.
Strategic Cash Fund
The Strategic Cash Fund Incentive program supports and encourages new business development, business expansions and relocations that have generated new jobs throughout the state. It provides performance based reimbursement to companies that have qualified and have created jobs in Colorado. In some cases, the Strategic Cash Fund may also be able to provide support to initiatives led by non-profit entities pertaining to key industries or regional development.
Job Training Grant Programs
The Colorado First and Existing Industry grants are jointly administered by the State of Colorado Office of Economic Development &International Trade (OEDIT) and the Colorado Community College system. The City of Lone Tree works closely with Arapahoe Community College on this program, which provides match funding up to $800 per employee for customized job training and retraining.
Regional Insurance Home Office Premium Tax Rebate
The Colorado Division of Insurance offers a 50% premium tax discount – from 2% to 1% - on qualified regional insurance home offices, which can be a significant benefit to a new or growing insurance company in Colorado. Qualifications include 150+ full-time employees and 30,000+ square feet office space.
Private Activity Bonds (Tax-Exempt Industrial Revenue Bonds)
Locally sponsored by the county and municipal governing bodies, up to $10 million of tax-exempt private activity bonds are available for qualified manufacturing projects through state wide allocation. Bond proceeds maybe used for land acquisition, site improvements, building construction,and purchase of machinery and equipment.
County and Local Incentives
Personal Property Tax Incentives for New & Expanding Businesses
The State of Colorado allows counties and special districts to provide incentive payments to new or expanding companies. These payments are negotiated with an individual county or municipality and can total as much as 100% of the amount of taxes levied by the jurisdiction on the personal property of the new or expanding business.
Sales/Use Tax Share-Backs for New and Expanding Businesses
The City of Lone Tree is committed to exceptional quality development within its boundaries and to achieve this goal, it has some of the most stringent design requirements in the Denver metro area. Lone Tree may grant a sales tax share-back to businesses that invest in the renovation and upgrade of the exterior of a building to meet these design standards.
Building/Permit Fee Rebates for New and Expanding Businesses
The City of Lone Tree is committed to exceptional quality development within its boundaries and to achieve this goal, it has some of the most stringent design requirements in the Denver metro area. Lone Tree may grant a building/permit fee rebate to businesses that invest in the renovation and upgrade of the exterior of a building to meet these design standards.
9220 Kimmer Dr., Suite 100
(303) 708-1818
© The City of Lone Tree


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Male CEOs with deeper voices get paid more, reports the WSJ's Melissa Korn.
After studying almost 800 male CEOs, professors from Duke and the University of California system concluded that CEOs on the deeper end of the vocal spectrum are paid, on average, $187,000 more in salary, than male CEOs on the upper end.
Male CEOs with deeper voices also run companies with $400 million more assets than the companies run by male CEOs with higher voices.
So…Want a deeper voice?
Try smoking.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, "Swelling of the vocal folds from chronic smoking is common. This will cause the voice pitch to drop."
But then again, smoking will also make you more likely to die of cancer.
So maybe don't try smoking.


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Apply through January 30, 2009, for a collection of 17 titles on the theme "Picturing America"
The National Endowment for the Humanities, in cooperation with the American Library Association's (ALA) Public Programs Office, is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the sixth We the People Bookshelf project. Part of the NEH's We the People program, the Bookshelf encourages young people to read and understand great literature while exploring themes in American history.
This year's theme, "Picturing America," explores the premise that a nation's literature, as well as its visual art, can be a window into its character, ideals, and aspirations. The We the People Bookshelf on "Picturing America" will be a literary complement to the NEH's Picturing America (SM) program—a free education resource that provides reproductions of 40 pieces of great American art to schools and public libraries to help educators teach American history and culture through our nation's art (PicturingAmerica.neh.gov).
Public and school (K-12) libraries are invited to apply online from September 2, 2008, through January 30, 2009, at publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf. In spring 2009, NEH and ALA will select 4,000 libraries to receive the 17 books for young readers, plus three works in Spanish translation, as well as bonus materials for readers of all ages. Libraries selected will be required to use the Bookshelf selections in programs for young readers in their communities.
The Bookshelf grants are part of the NEH's We the People program, which aims to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through libraries, schools, colleges, universities, and cultural institutions. NEH plans to offer a We the People Bookshelf each year on themes related to ideas and ideals unique to America. Since 2003, NEH has awarded 9,000 We the People Bookshelves to public and school libraries.
The "Picturing America" Bookshelf will feature the following books, selected by the NEH in consultation with members of ALA and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the ALA:
- Kindergarten to Grade 3: Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley; Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull; Cosechando esperanza: La historia de César Chávez by Kathleen Krull (translated by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy); The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Sweet Music in Harlem by Debbie Taylor.
- Grades 4 to 6: The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich; American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne; On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck; Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet; The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe by Roland Smith.
- Grades 7 to 8: The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving; La leyenda de Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (translated by Manuel Broncano); Across America on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
- Grades 9 to 12: Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis; Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange by Elizabeth Partridge; Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck; Viajes con Charley - en busca de América by John Steinbeck (translated by José Manuel Alvarez Flórez); Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville.
- Bonus: Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out by The National Children's Book and Literary Alliance; 1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough.
About the American Library Association
Established in 1992, the ALA Public Programs Office has an exemplary track record of developing library programming initiatives, including the acclaimed reading and discussion series "Let's Talk About It," film discussion programs on humanities themes, traveling exhibitions, LIVE! @ your library® and other programs. Recently, it has established the Cultural Communities Fund, an endowment created to help all types of libraries across the country bring communities together through cultural programming (www.ala.org/ccf). For more information about the ALA Public Programs Office, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.


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Carry this denim foldover python leather clutch to finish off that casual chic look!
Hand dyed python skin body
Foldover magnetic closure
Soft fabric liningMeasurements:
Length 27.5cm; Height 16cm
Python skin, with its light, durable and soft nature, makes it a great material for almost any kind of bag, accessory or apparel. Each URBAN STORY item uses skin that has been hand dyed to bring out its intricate details and unique appearance. As a result, different pieces will vary in color and skin pattern.


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Former Continental CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann might be the happiest guy in the automotive industry right now.
Europe's largest automaker has created a high-level position specifically designed to capitalize on his expertise in the electrification of vehicles. He starts as Volkswagen's electric car guru on December 1.
It is nice to see the enthusiastic, talented executive land on his feet following his bitter departure from Continental due to irreconcilable differences with controlling shareholder Schaeffler Group. Neumann didn't like Schaeffler's meddling at Continental, a company that he helped enter high-growth fields such as telematics and the production of lithium-ion batteries.
Intimate knowledge
The 48-year-old German will help decide from which suppliers VW will get crucial components for its future lineup of electric cars. He could use his intimate knowledge of Continental to ensure his new employer gets the supplier's most advanced technology first -- and probably at a great price because he must still know all the key figures.
Another interesting development to watch is whether Conti's toughest rival, Robert Bosch, now will be at an advantage or disadvantage when bidding for VW's future electric car projects.
Will Neumann steer VW toward Conti products because he knows them and trusts them or will he decide to reward Bosch?
There is little risk in picking Bosch because under the guidance of auto division boss Bernd Bohr the world's largest supplier has spent millions to strengthen its portfolio of products for hybrids and electric cars.
Another supplier to factor into these discussions is ZF Friedrichhafen.
What all this means is that Germany's most powerful suppliers and its dominate automaker will be working toward a similar goal: leadership in future powertrain technologies.
Neumann will be at the center of this. This is good news for VW and good news for the German automotive industry.


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Radiation Induced Hematuria
Dear OncoLink:
I need information on chronic radiation induced hematuria and any treatments used to correct this?
Kenneth Blank, MD and John Han-Chih Chang, MD, Editorial Assistants for Oncolink, respond:
Dear OncoLink Reader:
Thank you for your question.
Radiation treatments can cause inflammation of normal tissue. When radiation is directed at the pelvic region (which is done for prostate and rectal cancer) the bladder will receive some of the dose. Even with the most advanced treatment plans using 3-D conformal therapy, it is impossible to completely spare the bladder because of its anatomic position next to the prostate and rectum.
One of the known side effects of irradiating the bladder is bladder wall inflammation. This may present as hematuria (blood in the urine), dysuria (pain with urination), frequency (more trips to the bathroom) and urgency.
Chronic radiation hematuria is uncommon. The inflammatory process that occurs with radiation subsides once the treatments are complete and most if not all of the symptoms subside as well. However, a small percentage of patients will continue to have chronic symptoms.
The most important step in treatment of chronic hematuria is to see a urologist to rule out other causes of hematuria. A cystoscopy - looking at the inside of the bladder with a endoscope - is normally performed as well as blood tests. If no other cause for the hematuria is discovered, treatment options include anti-inflammatory medications and "watchful waiting"; with time, the bleeding almost always subsides. Also, aspirin and other medications which inhibit clot formation may be discontinued at the advice of your physician.


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I wiped my phone using bbsak but then i cant load the os on to my phone. when Ive installed the os, it opens up apploader and freezes when i click next, and sometimes after ive installed the os it opens up a desk top manager window and asks me to select my device that i want to connect but it doesn't come up with my device. Even though my phone is plugged in. only one os has worked so far. However, some of the modules are missing. so i cant download stuff.
Can some one please help me with my problem.
Thank you


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[I'm at Indiana University, attending the 2009 IGERT symposium on evolution, development, and genomics.]
Tonight, we heard from Patrick Phillips and PZ Myers.
Patrick gave a broad overview of the past, present, and future of EvoDevo. The central question of EvoDevo is: how do developmental systems evolve? Conversely, we can ask: how does development shape the evolutionary process? Although EvoDevo has witnessed big progress in the last decade, these central questions are unanswered. Patrick consequently said, "[grad students], your future is secure!"
Patrick claims that EvoDevo lacks a central theory. In other fields, there is a unit of study: chemistry examines atoms, biochemistry examines molecules, molecular biology examines DNA, population genetics examines DNA sequences, population biology examines individuals, and community ecology examines species. For EvoDevo, Patrick asserts the unit of study should be (and is) the cell.
Finally, Patrick talked about experimental barriers for EvoDevo. The most significant barrier is that the genotype–phenotype map is still not completely understood. A large proportion of research is focused on simply finding genes, let alone understanding how they affect phenotype. Patrick used Hopi Hoekstra's work as an example of successful geneotype-phenotype mapping. (Hopi's lab revealed the genetic mechanisms controlling mouse coloration patterns). Although Hopi's work is seminal, but we still have a long ways to go towards understanding the genetic mechanisms that control complex phenotypes, such as behavior.
After Patrick's introduction, PZ Myers gave a talk titled, "Repelled and Fascinated: Coping with the Public Response to Evolution." PZ Myers authors a famous (or infamous) blog about evolutionary biology, and has lately become a lightening rod for attacks from the creationist and intelligent design community.
PZ started by showing results from pew polls, suggesting that about 50% of the U.S. public does not believe in evolution. Furthermore, about 16% of U.S. high school science teachers don't believe in evolution [citation: Berkman et al, 2008, PLoS Bio]. Although these numbers are alarming, PZ thinks the public is only nominally creationist and confounded by the loud voices of creationists.
PZ next gave a "pocket guide to creationism" in which he explained the history of the creationist movement. PZ traces creationism's roots to Archbishop James Ussher, who calculated the age of the earth using dates from the bible. Until the early 1900's, most of U.S. public was willing to accept the bible as metaphor. The *best* slide from PZ's talk was a phylogeny expressing the history of creationism. I include it here, but I'm sorry that it's slightly blurry:
[Note to PZ: if you'd rather I don't share this photo, let me know]
PZ went on to discuss some significant events in the history of creationism: the Scopes trail in 1925, The Genesis Flood in 1961, Edwards vs. Aguillard in 1987, and Kitzmiller vs. Dover in 2005. PZ claims that "scientific" creationism comes from Seventh Day Adventism, but is has been intellectually laundered to hide or sever it's Seventh Day Adventist roots. The most radical change in the creationist movement has been towards portraying evolutionary biologists as "evil."
In response to the increasing fundamentalism of the creationist movement, PZ asserts that we (evolutionary biologists) should be more active with our outreach. In particular, we should write blogs!


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Tonight, two legendary acts come together for one performance; Iron Maiden is playing with Alice Cooper at the Susquehanna Bank Center. Expect lots of head banging and moshing at this performance. You can purchase tickets here.
Also playing tonight:
R5 Productions presents Japandroids, who recently released their sophomore album Celebration Rock, play at Johnny Brenda's with rapper Cadence Weapon opening. The 21+ show begins at 9 PM, this show is SOLD OUT!
Jeffrey Gaines CD Release Party at the Tin Angel. Gaines will be celebrating his recent album Live in Europe, from his 2010 tour with Joe Jackson. Tickets to the 21+ show are $22, the show begins at 10 PM.
Umphrey's McGee plays with G. Love for a special outdoors performance at the Electric Factory at 8 PM. You can purchase tickets to the all ages show here.
Vintage Kicks play Upstairs at World Cafe Live. We just did a Key Studio session with them that you can check out here. Show at 8 PM; tickets are $7 plus processing fees.
- Categorized Under:


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ISPRS TC IV Symposium: Geospatial Databases and Location Based Services
The ISPRS TC IV Symposium 2014 - as one of the most important events of ISPRS Technical Commission IV - is to provide an inter-disciplinary forum for scientists, researchers and practitioners in the field of "Geo-spatial databases and location based services". The participants of the Symposium will present the latest developments and applications, discuss cutting-edge technologies, exchange research ideas, and promote international collaboration.
Location: Suzhou, China


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Meu SciELO
Serviços Personalizados
- Citado por SciELO
- Acessos
Desarrollo Económico (Buenos Aires)
versão impressa ISSN 0046-001X
MIGUEZ, Eduardo. "The argentinean failure": an interpretation of economic evolution in the "Short 20th Century".Traduzido porMarta Ines Merajver. Desarro. econ. (B. Aires) [online]. 2006, vol.1Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0046-001X.
This study reviews a representative though not an exhaustive set of representative explanations of the poor performance achieved by Argentinas economy between the Great War and the 1989 crisis. It analyzes the literature by dividing it in accordance with two different approaches: one that assumed that economic performance was conditioned by structural factors, and another that attributes it to decisions on economic policies and conjunctural circumstances. Regarding the firts approach, it highlights the importance of colonial legacies, the asymmetry of international relations, problems related to the formation of capital, and the flaws of the entrepreneurial class that led the industrialization process. Among the second approach, emphasis is laid on those who point to the lack of State intervention or the States belated decision to intervene, those who hold the opposite view by stating that it was precisely because of State intervention that the economic parameters favorable to growth and development became distorted, those who point to problems about political and social institutions, and those who attribute poor performance to a series of citcumstancial processes. The last part of the study intends to underscore the role played in this process by the distance separating initial levels of development (aided by natural resources) and the levels of societal general development, chiefly in relation to the available human capital and to the quality of the institutions involved.
Palavras-chave : Social theory; Economic history; Development; Argentinean failure; Human capital; Institutional quality; Argentina.


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EDF has been a long-time supporter of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) SmartWay Program and we are proud to announce that tomorrow EPA will honor EDF with an Affiliate Challenge Award. This award not only recognizes our commitment to the program, but also our significant efforts to promote, advance, and strengthen SmartWay. The voluntary program is a public-private initiative that promotes freight sustainability through efficiency and fuel reductions. The program first began with a focus on reducing fuel consumption from long-haul trucks, and in 2011 was expanded to increase sustainability from the trucking sector operating around marine ports.
Over the course of its 10-year history, SmartWay Partners have saved 120.7 million barrels of oil. This is equivalent to taking over 10 million cars off the road for an entire year and has helped to protect the health and well-being of locals residing close to transportation hubs. Additionally, the SmartWay Program has reduced 51.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide so far, which contributes to our nation's economic and energy security. EDF is excited about these achievements and proud to support these clean air efforts.
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I have had two HIV tests in my life. I have not been involved in adverse sexual activities but being a dentist, I have had a few pricks during practice which happened around Jan/Feb last year. Also, I never had unprotected sex with any1 and ive been careful. Last year in August, six months after the august, I was reading about HIV and then got worried, keeping in mind the fact that there may be no symptoms during the course of the disease, I got an HIV test which was a rapid test and got the results in 20mins. But the horror of HIV infection never got out of my head and after 4 months again, I did another test which was basically a CMIA test. It was negative. The cut-off rate was 1.00 mine was (0.13). so it was negative according to the lab report. Two tests have been negative. Its still in my head. The report of the CMIA test indicated the range of 0.13 although the cut-off rate was 1.00. My question is .... Why were my values 0.13 ? Do i need to worry. I havent had any sexual activities of pricks from clinic practice since lets say 8 months. I'm still worried, Im paranoid.
"Adverse sexual activities"??? What might they be??? Perhaps the opposite of propitious sexual endeavors?
Do you need to worry about a 0.13 signal-to-cut-off value? No, absolutely not. Anything less than 1.0 would be considered a negative test. See below.
". . . I'm paranoid." I absolutely agree. Your problem is not virologic. Rather it's psychological! HIV is not your problem. No way. No how. But you do have a problem: irrational fear of HIV. I recommend you seek psychological counseling to help you confront and conquer these totally unwarranted and completely irrational fears of HIV.
Good luck with your future endeavors, be they adverse or propitious.
Dr. Bob
HIV Test and Index Value (SIGNAL-TO-CUT OFF RATIO) (INDEX VALUE) Dec 17, 2008
I am sending donation for your grate service. I would like to know about Index Value in HIV 1&2 Antibody Test. After six months from the possible exposure I have conducted a HIV 1&2 Antibody & p24 Antigen Compo Test. The Test Result is:- Index Value 0.11 (Non Reactive)
Index Value < 0.90 0.90 -1.00 Borderline Provisionally Reactive, > 1.00 Provisionaly Reactive.
What it meant. I am negetive. What are the posibilities to Postive at this 6 months.
Response from Dr. Frascino
Your test result at six months of "0.11" is "nonreactive." That means you are definitively and conclusively HIV negative. The "index value" (also called the "signal-to-cutoff ratio") is a technical term having to do with how this type of HIV-antibody test is conducted. Values less than 0.90, like yours, are definitively negative! Values between 0.9 and 1.0 would be equivocal or borderline. And values above 1.0 would be preliminarily positive. These preliminarily positive (or provisionally reactive) tests require a confirmatory test before someone is told they are HIV positive (infected). However, none of this applies to you, as you are conclusively HIV negative.
I'll post below some questions from the archives that discuss the signal-to-cutoff ratio ("index value").
Happy Holidays. WOO-HOO!
Dr. Bob
I'm sure you haven't been asked this before! (SIGNAL-TO-CUT OFF RATIO) Dec 8, 2008
Dear Honorable Dr. Bobalicious!
I just want to clarify a few things regarding my previous posting in which you told me that you could not determine of my HIV status based on my storyline.
I did some research on your website (the postings) and found 2 postings with your answers that I found to be contradicting each other. Too bad I could not find the other 1 posting, but managed to find the other one. The postings are about Condom Breakage / Condom Left Inside The Vagina.
As for my story, let me make it clear, short and simple for you because its been killing me for the past week or so. I hope you can help me this time around.
I went to a local massage place in Batam, Indonesia, to entertain a client of mine. When I went inside after choosing a girl in her 20s, she began to undress me and herself. I went into the bathroom to wash my dick. While she also washed her vagina, in which she said, Your dick is clean already. My vagina is clean too. I could see it was trimmed neatly and there was no foul smell whatsoever coming out of her vagina. Here, I thought she was quite careful about cleanliness, so I guessed shes at least care about the cleanliness of her guests personal groin areas, as well as hers, therefore low risk of STDs.
Then she performed oral sex on me, in which did not touch her teeth at all. I assumed she was a pro and that raised my risk for HIV. I ejaculated some semen before she put on the condom. But then all of a sudden, my dick got all limpy. She then put on the green DUREX condom on my dick (half-limp), then put it inside her vagina (in which she licked with her salive to make it wet first). Then, with just 2-3 thrusts, I came inside her, I could still feel the loose condom on my dick (or not sure), then when I pulled out my dick, I did not see the condom anymore! It stayed inside her vagina, in which she said, Oh.. the condom stuck inside. She then took out the condom and then washed it off, a clear sight that I ejaculated inside the condom. I was damn afraid that during the slight pull-out my dick was exposed to her vagina.
And then, 1 week (7 days) after the exposure of the slipped-condom, I went to a diagnostic lag to get my blood tested for HIV. I got my blood withdrawn, and the test came back Non-Reactive with an index of 0.28 (Its <0.90). I know that this test is not conclusive and I plan to get my blood tested again at the 3 months mark, its just that I could not stand the torture of waiting.
Heres my questions:
- What is the chance of my risk getting HIV here? 2) What does the index ratio 0.28 means? Does it mean that as the number get bigger, the chance of getting HIV is greater too? I read somewhere that the index ratio number does not mean anything.
I am sure nobody asked you this kind of question with Index Ratio before right? So, please answer me this time, with thorough replies, as it will definitely ease up my worries. Please, I am waiting for your reply.
Where can I send my donation too? Considering I am in Batam. Can I just wire-transfer it?
Worried Sick,
Response from Dr. Frascino
Hello James from Batam,
Thanks for clarifying (somewhat) your situation. However, if you are "not sure" if the loose condom was around your limp dick, I certainly have no way of knowing either! Since the condom remained entirely within the love canal, I would suggest you consider your HIV risk the same as unprotected insertive penile-vaginal sex. The estimated statistical risk for acquiring HIV from unprotected insertive penile-vaginal sex with a partner confirmed to be HIV positive is 5 per 10,000 exposures. Your estimated statistical risk would be less, as we do not know the HIV status of your Indonesian masseuse.
As for the signal-to-control-index ratio (also called the signal-to-cut off ratio), what you read is correct. If it's less than the cutoff value (in your case, less than 0.90), then the test is negative. Whether the number is larger or smaller doesn't matter as long as it's less than the cutoff value. Negative is negative! As for nobody asking me these types of questions before, see below! The range and scope of questions I responded to over the years is impressively vast.
Since this confusion surrounding signal-to-cut off ratios comes up fairly frequently let me take a moment to try and explain it once again. The signal-to-cut off ratio varies from laboratory instrument to laboratory instrument and it also varies with each run of the test assay. A cut off value is analogous to a noise signal from the instrument when a blank sample is run. The "signal" is a real signal coming from the anti-bodies that are being tested in the plasma. If the ratio greater than or equal to 1, it means that the anti-body signal is equal to or higher than the threshold value, which also means that there are significant amount of anti-bodies in the sample being tested.
On the other and, a signal-to-cut off ratio is less than 1 (any value less than 1) means that the signal from the anti-bodies is much less than the baseline value (value from a blank run). The test is designed such that when it detects the anti-bodies, the minimum value it records is 1. A true positive test is usually higher than 1. Values close to 1 can indicate infection or more likely a false positive. The bottom line take home message is that if you have HIV anti-bodies in your blood, you will see signal-to-cut off ratio values greater than 1. Values less than 1 indicate HIV antibodies are not present. (It doesn't matter how much less than one 1. A ratio of .22 is not "more negative" than a ratio of .45.
As for making donations to the Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation from Batam (or anywhere), yes, bank-to-bank wire transfers work well. The wiring instructions are: Mellon Bank Pittsburgh, P.A. ABA # 043000261 Credit ML Account Number 101-1730 Further Credit to: Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation Account # 830-04C48 For international transfers add: Swift number MELN US 3P Additional information about donations can be found on the foundation's Web site at www.concertedeffort.org. We accept credit cards, PayPal, checks, money orders, cashier's checks, cash, diamond mines, oil fields, alien spacecraft, you name it. Good luck!
Dr. Bob
Irrational fear?? oral rimming hiv please help me Dr Robert! Apr 29, 2008
Dear Doctor Robert. First I really gotta say you are an angel! I admire your patience and dedication to inform us about the facts. You really make a difference in people's lives and I'm sure you have brought so-much-needed peace of mind and night-sleep to thousands of people out there! The world needs more people like you. I live in a very catholic and conservative society and I can't talk about this to anyone and it just makes this experience worst. My parents would never forgive me if they find out what happened. I've read the forums over and over and I somehow started developing this sort of 'friendship' feeling towards you because reading this forum and your answers is the closest I have to actually talking to someone about this. I hadn't plan on writing because some questions are already answered but I really need your help now. I actually was trying to get some rest right now (3.40am) but I just had a panic attack and I really need to 'hear' from you. Your words about if I should worry or not could really make the difference in my life. I can't sleep and I started shaking of fear! My mouth is so dry that it hurts. I'm having even suicidal thoughts and that is just so not like myself!!. Its horrible. I think I'm being irrational and I can't recognize myself. it makes me want to cry. literally.
I had a bi-curious experience about 4 weeks ago. It was with a guy from whom I don't know his hiv status, and we had: - oral sex (both ways) with a latex sensitive condom -deep kissing (and our bodies rubbed to each other, I had a 'healing pimple' in my abdomen but we were still wearing a condom) and I don't think anything other than his skin from his abdomen touched it -and he performed rimming on me. I suspect he might have spitted saliva from his mouth there to 'lubricate'
It was my first and probably last experience with a guy because I realized it wasn't my thing. Everything was fine, I thought I did good for having experimented in a 'safe' way and find out if wetter I was really Bi or not, but with days I started worrying I could have caught an STD. I was really worried that I got hepB or syphilis (because of the rimming)and I started stressing sooooo much. A week ago I woke up with a white coating and red sores. So now my worry was HIV. First I was worried it was thrush or Oral Hairy Leukopia and It was horrible . I felt so bad for what I had done!! I lied to my parents to get out that night and I feel extreme guilt. I went to the ER next day and doctor there wasn't really very 'open-minded' but told me white coating must have been caused for antibiotics I took just the week after the 'exposure' (I was on 2 pills a day clarythromicyn for 10 days for a sinus I had before)and the extreme stress i was going through for the situation. She didn't know exactly what the white coating in the tongue was (I suspect now it can be hairy geographic tongue based on google pics, but its first time in my life that it happens. coincidence?? see i hate my mind for making those questions), so she told me to get an HIV test (blood taken just 3 weeks after the experience), a syphilis and a hepB test
All the hepatitis b, syphilis and HIV elisa test they all came negative. My worries started AGAIN when I saw my hiv test negative (..3 weeks I guess was too soon) but with a Signal to cut-off ratio (S/co) of 0.42. If the number equals to 1 or above, is positive. Below is negative. But the 0.42.. Is that number relevant?? Having seen that number brought fears on me again because after just 3 weeks I would have expected that number to be lower. Now I'm fearing that number at the 3rd week (so soon in the window period) means I'm 40% into being a HIV positive
I'm so worried ever since that I can't sleep. I can't concentrate in my studies and I can't do anything else in the day than thinking about HIV. I have to wake up in 2 hours for uni and still i can't go to sleep thinking about that. I know its not the end of the world if they detect hiv on me, but still it is serious enough to worry me and making me feel so bad. I decided to stop reading about hiv symptoms because that just made my anguish worst
Please tell me if my experience was risky!! Do I have to worry about it? Do you think that if i wouldn't be so worried I would actually need an HIV test? sorry if its a dull (and long!) question but I swear I need your help. I'm feeling so lonely and worried right now. You are my hope to get back to sanity :'(
Please help me!!
Sincerely yours, Me
Response from Dr. Frascino
Hello Me,
Your post is just one of many that I receive on a routine basis from "very" Catholic ("Christian") conservative communities in which the writer emphatically states their parents "would never forgive me if they find out what happened." This unfortunate combination of guilt and fear can, and often does, lead to incredible emotional anguish, anxiety and desperation. Your 3:40 AM panic attack, stemming from your having absolutely no one to even confide in, is lamentable. Even more tragic are your "suicidal thoughts," which are present even though you clearly realize you are being irrational. Correct me if I'm wrong, but having grown up Catholic, it is my understanding the entire religion is based on forgiveness. Christ dying for the sins of all believers, right? That's why I find it so curious that parents like yours would be so "un-Catholic" as to "never forgive" their own son! Perhaps you aren't giving them enough credit. Perhaps they really would understand your predicament if you gave them a chance. However, I do realize many ultra-religious folks would not. How sad it is their un-Christ-like behavior could (and sometimes does) drive their children to commit suicide! Parents like that should have a very nasty surprise waiting for them when they reach the Pearly Gates! OK, back to your problem!
Your HIV-acquisition risk is insertive and receptive oral sex and getting rimmed. Oral sex carries an extremely low risk for HIV transmission. There are no documented cases of HIV transmission from rimming or getting rimmed.
Next, the inevitable "symptoms" (induced by guilt and irrational fear) began appearing. Your HIV test, syphilis screen and hepatitis B test at three weeks were all negative. However, you are now completely freaked out because your signal-to-cut-off ration (s/co) was 0.42. How unfortunate no one explained to you that an s/co ration less than "1" is negative and that the exact ratio below 1 has absolutely no diagnostic significance! The s/co ration has to do with the specific test assay and in my opinion probably shouldn't even be reported out on the lab slip. The only relevant point is the cut-off value, i.e. above one: positive; below one: negative. That your value was 0.42 does not mean you are 40% on the way to being HIV positive!!! No way. No how! (Just like you can't be partially pregnant! You either are or you "ain't"!
My advice is simple:
If you are worried, and clearly you are, get a rapid HIV test at the three-month mark. (HIV-antibody tests taken prior to the three-month mark are not considered to be conclusive.)
Whether you are straight as a lawn dart or gay as the Christmas windows at Macy's, I suggest you get some psychological counseling to explore sexual orientation issues. "Bi-curious" is often a stop along the way to understanding and accepting your true sexuality, which in turn is crucial to your ultimate long-term health and happiness.
Consider doing something to change the constrictive and unhealthy atmosphere fostered by your "very Catholic" environment. Begin talking about HIV/AIDS awareness to your friends and family.
Consider getting a more compassionate and competent physician with whom you can discuss any issue or problem. I'd also recommend you get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B.
Read through the wealth of information and testimonials on this Web site to increase your basic understanding of sex, safer sex, HIV acquisition/transmission, HIV prevention and HIV diagnostic tests.
Good luck.
Dr. Bob


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Head coach Ben Cabell, on win: "It was nice to be at home and get a win. Any W we can get right now is good for the team and our confidence. We were also able to win without our No. 2 player, Myra Davoudi, out of the lineup also so I am proud of the effort."
Cabell, on play of Casey Knutson: "Casey keeps stepping up her game every match. Today was no different. She is setting a great example for the rest of the team for how to play the right way. I have been very impressed with how she continues to get better."
Cabell, on Meghan Madden's match: "Every player has to get through matches like that in her career. Meghan had not been through one of those matches before so it was good to see her get through it. She did not get down and she kept on competing to the end to get the win."
Senior Casey Knutson, on her play recently: "This is my last season so I know that I only have a few matches left so I want to play as well as I can. I want to play well for my teammates and finish my career doing the best I can. That is really motivating me."
Knutson, on win: "We all felt comfortable out there today and got a solid win. We needed a good match today to get our confidence up. Hopefully, we can keep it going this weekend."
Knutson, on doubles with Erika Barnes: "We are playing well together, but I have to credit Erika. She makes it so easy for me because she is such a good doubles player. We have a lot of confidence in each other right now and we feel like we can beat anyone. We need to take that mindset into the rest of the matches this season."


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If you haven't had many opportunities to attend HIV-related conferences, you might wonder just what happens at these gatherings. Four women in our community wrote about their experiences at various conferences over the past year, and shared some of the information they gathered. This is one of those accounts.
Over the past few years our knowledge of HIV and HIV treatment has advanced quickly to create several paradigm shifts in our efforts to treat and prevent HIV. The search for a functional cure offers hope for an end to 30 years of the AIDS crisis. Treatment as prevention and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) potentially offer individual prevention strategies where affordable and appropriate. Novel research of how HIV affects the immune system, organs and bodies of people with HIV may show us how to limit the devastating short- and long-term effects of the virus. The reemergence of the study of immune-based therapies may present methods to control the immune system's response to the virus and limit inflammation.
The National Association of People With AIDS sponsored a treatment forum at last summer's 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, presenting novel research that is largely overlooked by the HIV medical and activist community, but holds widespread potential.
In this day and age, it's often possible to observe a conference from afar on a computer screen through online abstracts, slides and even videos of many of the presentations. This forum and conference, for instance, took place in Rome, Italy, but the organizers provided ample information for people like me who were following the conference from offsite.
The forum, organized by NAPWA and AIDS treatment activists, was led by longtime activist and Treatment Education Coordinator at Health People in the Bronx, New York, David Miller. Mr. Miller received an award for his work as a treatment activist and his longtime dedication and unwavering hard work in fighting the AIDS crisis and supporting novel drug development. According to Miller:
The therapies presented at the NAPWA Treatment Horizons Satellite Symposium represent some of the most promising advances in the art and science of antiviral research. From the initiation of this community-driven series of presentations by NAPWA at the 18th IAC, the goal has been to afford every opportunity to provide researchers, policy makers and activists, the often overlooked clinical developments by small biotech companies in finding new therapeutic approaches to HIV and associated complications that affect PLWH/A's globally.
There are many unanswered questions about HIV, its effects and how to stop or slow the virus. Efforts such as this satellite symposium are vital to HIV research as they familiarize us with research and therapies in development which may not be receiving the types of support necessary for conclusive investigation and advancement of promising therapeutic options.
Readers should be aware that many of the following study summaries are highly clinical in nature.
HIV Inflammation
Inflammation continues to occur in people with HIV despite viral suppression and increases in CD4 counts with the use of antiretrovirals (ARVs). Inflammation is believed to be the cause of many non-AIDS-related conditions that people with HIV both on and off ARVs are experiencing such as cardiovascular, bone, kidney and liver disease and neuro-cognitive disorders. Many drugs and compounds are being studied to see if they can reduce the amount of inflammation associated with HIV.
Tobira Therapeutics is looking at its dual chemokine antagonist as a means of lowering inflammation in addition to achieving viral suppression. Cenicriviroc (TBR-652) is a dual chemokine antagonist in Phase IIb clinical development. Cenicriviroc is a once-a-day therapy that may be well suited as a fixed-dose combination. Its unique CCR5/CCR2 dual activity has the potential for cardiovascular/metabolic benefits to address HIV-associated, inflammation-driven morbidity and mortality.
Previous studies have shown cenicriviroc to be synergistic with other ARV classes, to have a long half life, to be safe and well tolerated as well as produce a 1.8 log reduction in viral load. MCP-1 is the primary ligand for CCR2 and a potent chemo-attractant for monocytes/macrophages. The concentrations of MCP-1 are reduced with cenicriviroc, demonstrating a potential decrease in HIV inflammation.
Protocol 652-2-202 is a Phase IIb randomized, double-blind study presently under way in 150 CCR5-tropic, treatment-naive people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. This study will measure long-term safety and tolerability, dose selection and viral load suppression at 24 weeks. Secondary endpoints include tropism changes, drug resistance in patients with virologic failure, change from baseline in inflammatory biomarkers and immune function at weeks 24 and 48 and change from baseline in metabolic parameters at weeks 24 and 48. Cenicriviroc will be measured at 100 mg with Truvada (tenofovir/FTC) and at 200 mg with Truvada against 600 mg of Sustiva (efavirenz, Stocrin) and Truvada. Cenicriviroc shows potential in changing the way HIV is treated by addressing not only viral replication but inflammation as well.
Therapeutic Vaccine
Vacc-4x is a peptide-based therapeutic vaccine which in previous clinical trials showed an extended period of time off HAART. The latest phase IIb trial did not show the same results but demonstrated a statistically significant treatment difference in viral load compared to placebo among patients who achieved a six-month ART-free period and a decrease in viral load set points (viral load before the initiation of HAART).
According to Maja Sommerfelt, Ph.D., senior vice president and chief scientific officer at Bionor Pharma ASA, Vacc-4x is designed to target immune responses to conserved domains of p24 since sustained immune responses to p24 have been shown to be associated with delayed disease progression. Read the latest news on Vacc-4x.
MARCH 2012 UPDATE: Final analysis of the Phase IIb study confirmed a 60 percent decrease in viral load set points.
According to the Bio Pharma website, a new study is planned in conjunction with Revlimid, a cancer drug. The study will measure Vacc-4x's ability to improve immune function on HIV positive people with CD4 cells between 250 – 400 despite successful ARV treatment, as well as Revlimid's ability to boost the effect of Vacc-4x.
No information as to when this study will begin enrollment is available.
Another promising therapeutic in this class is Pennvax-G, a phase I HIV therapeutic vaccine. An NIH-sponsored clinical trial found Pennvax-G produced potent antigen-specific T-cell responses. This agent utilizes a new form of vaccine delivery called Electroporation. Electroporation delivers the vaccine to the cell in a more effective, productive manner. A second NIH-sponsored trial is pending.
HIV Latency
Purging HIV from latent reservoirs is an area of great interest as a potential functional cure, achieved by activating HIV in resting cells and killing them off with HAART. Aphios presented on Bryostatin -1 (APH – 0812) with which they will be initiating trials on HIV latency in Spain. In vivo, Bryostatin revealed antiviral activity against R5- and X4-tropic viruses in receptor independent and partly via transient decrease in CD4/CXCR4 expression. Bryostatin at low nanomolar concentrations also robustly reactivated latent viral infection in monocytic and lymphocytic cells. Bryostatin provoked T-cell reactivation making it a compound worth much further investigation and attention.
Also a therapeutic vaccine, VRX-1273 has thus far been studied in monkeys to ascertain whether it can be utilized to eliminate virus in sanctuary regions. VRX-1273 is made with a lentiviral vector with HIV's genetic material gag, pol and rev inside. When introduced into the immune system, VRX-1273 provokes an immune response to HIV which results in activating CD4 and CD8 cells, lowering the amount of HIV present.
A simian analog of VRX-1273 was given to five macaque monkeys before they were infected with SIV. Two of the five monkeys were 'functionally cured' with an undetectable viral load in the blood and very low levels of the virus in the lymphatic and intestinal reservoirs. Phase I clinical trials in humans are expected to take place over the next 12 to 15 months.
Novel Research
HIV infection causes immediate damage to the gut during acute infection with a mediated loss of Th17 cells, impairment of mucosal integrity and the innate defense mechanisms. It is known that microbial translocation correlates with chronic immune hyper-activation. Could maintaining a healthy gut be key to reducing the pathogenic potential of HIV due to compromised flora and subsequent barrier disruption resulting in elevation in inflammation? Can probiotics help to maintain a healthy gut, resulting in decreased damage to the immune system by HIV infection?
Fifty percent of HIV-positive people develop gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, and many more develop GI complications. Bio-K+ probiotics was presented as a means of controlling common problems such as diarrhea, malabsorption, abdominal pain and weight loss, as well as certain conditions. These conditions include villous atrophy (when the villi on the walls of the stomach erode and leave a flat surface), dysphagia (difficulty and/or pain when swallowing) and odynophagia (painful swallowing in the mouth or esophagus which can be caused by esophageal candidiasis or immune disorders).
Bio-K+ probiotic formula contains two forms of friendly bacteria: Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285® and Lactobacillus casei LBC80R®. These forms of bacteria help to rid the gut of harmful bacteria which cause infection and GI problems, by repopulating the gut with good bacteria which then diminish the bad by competing for nutrients.
Several clinical studies showed Bio-K+ to help clear diarrhea, particularly antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) as well as Clostridium Difficile Associated Disease (CDAD). CDAD is a disease which causes diarrhea and other intestinal conditions such as colitis, which is characterized as inflammation of the colon and results in tenderness, pain, bleeding and fever. Bio-K+ was found to reduce AAD by 56 percent as well as significantly reduce abdominal pain, bloating, liquid stools and ileus (bowel obstruction).
In this presentation it was proposed that probiotics could aid in drug absorption which in turn could reduce drug resistance. By reducing the common GI side effects of many ARVs, compliance to HIV drug regimens would likely increase. Data presented at the 5th IAS conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in 2009 showed the important role of the gut in HIV pathogenesis. This presentation presented many logical arguments for the use of probiotics and the study of the effects they could have not only on the gut but on HIV itself.
"Bio-K+ has demonstrated its capacity to restore the intestinal mucosa and prevent damages from pathogenic microorganisms, and could be an important factor in controlling such damage to the gut and immune system by HIV infection," stated Mathieu Millette, Ph.D., director of fundamental research for Bio-K+ International, Inc.
MARCH 2012 UPDATE: More interesting research on probiotics and HIV is ongoing. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is studying the ability of another probiotic, Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 (made by Ganeden) to reduce inflammation resulting in an increase in CD4 cells and a decrease in the proliferation of HIV. Another study on probiotic supplementation was presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in early March.
Jeannie Wraight has been an HIV treatment advocate for over 14 years. She has attended more than 75 HIV conferences around the world and writes for several HIV publications.


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Mee Tai Mak/ Bee Tai Mak is one of the many forms of rice noodles that we eat in Asia. Very much like a shorter and more wriggly cousin of the Japanese Udon, the cantonese name of this noodle (Loh Shu Fun) literally translates to mean Rat's Noodle. Not too difficult to understand for the tapering shape of the noodle does somewhat reminds one of the wriggly tip of a rat's tail...
Interestingly though, I had always referred to the noodle as Mee Tai Mak/ Bee Tai Mak when I was growing up. It was only until when I was much older , a widely reported outbreak of food poisoning in Malaysia exposed me to the more colourful ratty term. The food poisoning was traced back to a batch of contaminated Mee Tai Mak. The papers were rife with reports and stories of how people would fall sick after they ate Lou Shu Fun..( the pronounciation of the term can also be interpreted as rat's powder / rat's poison). I was dumbfounded when I read the reports and started to ask my friends why on earth would those people in Malaysia want to eat Rat Poison?? Only then, did I learn that the Rat Poison was actually Mee Tai Mak...
I was invited to join a bloggers' gathering last weekend. Initiated by ZY of Baking Library, it was a small gathering among some of the Singapore food bloggers whom I have come to know over the last 2 years. I knew I had to bring a savoury dish for the event (I brought Mee Rebus for our first gathering last year) as most of the others I knew would be bringing sweet treats.
Fried with XO sauce and prawns, this is a relatively easy dish to prepare. However, dishes like these (as is true for most Chinese dishes) would taste best when cooked over strong heat. The Mee Tai Mak especially needs to be tossed very quickly over high heat to prevent it from turning soggy and mushy over prolong stir frying. Hence what I did was, I first poached the noodles in boiling water for 5 seconds before frying them quickly in small batches over very high heat in my wok. As a result, I had to divide and fry my potluck portion into 3 lots.
If you are only cooking for a small family at home, this is definitely more manageable - just make sure the wok is very hot.
Overall, I think my efforts were met with reasonable success... good enough to open shop? Maybe but I am still not consistent from batch to batch and I wouldn't want to stand in front of a blasting hot wok the whole day... :)
Recipe :
Mee Tai Mak 200g (enough for 2)
Prawns 6 -8 medium to large size prawns, shelled and deveined.
Spring Onion 4 stalks, chopped
Chili Padi Chopped finely. (you can also replace with sambal chili paste)
Bean Sprouts 50g (poached for 10 seconds in boiling water. For this post, I ran out of bean
sprouts, so I omitted them)
Eggs 2, beaten
Oil 1 tbsp
XO Sauce 1 tbsp
Oyster Sauce 1 tbsp
Sugar 1/2 tbsp
Light Soya Sauce 1 tbsp
Dark Soya Sauce 1/2 tsp
Sesame Oil 1/2 tsp
White Pepper Dash
(For those who prefer a stronger taste, the seasoning portion can be increased in proportion)
Method :
1. Poach Mee Tai Mak in boiling water for 5 seconds, remove from water with a slotted spoon and set aside. (do not over cook Mee Tai Mak)
2. Heat up the wok until smoking. Add 1 tbsp oil and add beaten eggs. When eggs just begin to set, scramble with frying ladle and add Mee Tai Mak, Prawns, Spring Onion, Bean sprouts and seasoning.
3. Fry until prawns are cooked. (turns pink)
4. Dish out the noodles and garnish with more chopped spring onions and sesame seed (optional). Serve immediately while hot.