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Tawa Naan (Without Tandoor)
April 2 2015 Manjula's kitchen
read full recipe » Naan is definitely the most popular bread in Indian restaurants. Traditionally, naan is cooked in a tandoor (hot clay oven). I have already done a naan recipe using the oven and I used pizza stone to give a tandoor texture. But I find at home "tawa naan" is much easier to make. Tawa Naan turns out really soft and it tastes great. It's hassle free because you don't need a tandoor or oven. Naan Goes well with chole, palak paneer or any gravy based dish. This recipe will serve 2. Ingredients: - 1 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour, Maida) - 1/4 teaspoon baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon of salt - 1/4 teaspoon sugar - 1/4 cup yogurt at room temperature - 1-1/2 tablespoons oil - About 1/4 cup look warm water - Also need 1/4 cup all-purpose for rolling For Garnishing - 1 tablespoon soft butter or ghee - About 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro - About 1 tablespoon chopped green chili (optional) - 1/4 teaspoon sea salt We also need tawa or skillet to make naan, nonstick skillet will not work for this recipe. Iron tawa or skiller works the best for making naan. Method - For garnishing mix all the ingredients, butter, salt, cilantro, and green chili Set aside. - Mix the dry ingredients together, add 1 tablespoon of oil and yogurt mix it well. Then add the water gradually to make very soft dough but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough well. Apply light oil to the dough and cover. Let the dough sit for about 3 hours in warm place. - Dough should be about 1-1/2 time, knead the dough again on floured surface. Divide the dough in four parts, lightly roll into the flour, cover the balls and let it sit for about five minutes before rolling. - Roll the naan one at a time on a lightly floured surface little less than 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the water lightly on one side of the naan. - Heat the tawa on medium heat, to check if tawa is ready sprinkle the few drops of water on tawa, water should sizzle. - Put water side naan over tawa, once the naan start bubbling and dough start drying, turn the tawa over flames keeping about 2 inch away from the flames to cook the naan from top. Note: yes naan will stick to tawa and will not fall of, this the reason you cannot use the nonstick skillet. - Once naan browned to your satisfaction, remove, and spread the butter mix over. Place in a on a plate and cover with a cloth to keep warm until serving. Naan is ready! Today I will be serving naan with Punjabi Chola The post Tawa Naan (Without Tandoor) appeared first on Manjula's Kitchen.
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|Exercise Help & Tips: Squats
|Starting Position
Begin this exercise by standing with your feet wider than shoulder width apart and your toes pointed forward.
INHALE: Slowly lower your body and remember to bend slightly at your hips. Keep your weight back on your heels and your back as upright as possible. Make sure your knees don't cross the plane of your toes.
EXHALE: Straighten legs and come up to the starting position to complete one rep.
Special Instructions
Do not go past 90 degrees at the bend in your knees because this causes additional stress on your joints. If you feel pain in your knees, just go down to where you don't feel pain and come back up. If you have difficulty performing this exercise you can also use a chair or wall to help with balance and the movement until you build sufficient strength.
Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes

subset: commoncrawl


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Explosion at GM supplier in China kills 68, injures 187 – USA TODAY
BEIJING — An explosion at an automotive parts factory in China that supplies General Motors left 68 dead and 187 injured Saturday, local officials said, in the nation's deadliest industrial accident in more than a year.
The blast hit at 7:37 a.m. local time inside a wheel hub polishing workshop at a factory run by the Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products Co. Ltd. in Kunshan city in east China's Jiangsu province, state news agency Xinhua reported.
A preliminary investigation suggests the blast followed a flame being lit in a dust-filled room, local officials said at a press conference Saturday evening, where Kunshan Mayor Lu Jun wept over the tragedy.
More than 250 people were at the site Saturday when the explosion occurred. Forty-four were killed immediately, and another 24 died en route to the hospital or after medial treatment failed, officials said. More than 130 of the injured were transferred to hospitals in the nearby cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong and Shanghai, Xinhua reported.
Two senior executives at Zhongrong have been placed under police custody, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has ordered safety checks on other factories, Xinhua reported.
Zhongrong, a Taiwanese company, was founded in 1998 in a part of China with significant investment from Taiwan. In a statement, GM confirmed that Zhongrong is a supplier to GM's global supplier Dicastal, the Associated Press reported.
Footage and cellphone images aired by Hong Kong's Phoenix Television and news websites in China showed a large plume of smoke rising from the factory, a truck loaded with corpses and survivors with extensive burn wounds sitting on wooden cargo pallets outside the factory gates.
The local government has asked citizens to donate blood, and medical staff have been sent from Shanghai to treat burn victims, said the People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's main newspaper.
Rising incomes in China have led to an automotive boom and record sales for U.S. carmakers, including GM and Ford who have significant operations in China manufacturing for the local market.
China's industrial safety record has improved in recent years, with a reduction in accidents that cause multiple fatalities, but incidents remain common.


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from IMDB:
A fantastic film with emphasis on lovingkindness.Chandar is a black leopard who lives near the beach of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) together] with his mother and his sister. When fishers arrive they have to leave and move to a temple in the jungle. When Chandra explores the new territory he falls into a river but the old Buddhist monk Sumana rescues him from the water. Three years later Chandar gets separated from his family during a forest fire and has to learn to live on his own. He meets Sumana again when the monk starts on a pilgrimage together with the young boy Dasa. They visit the old temples and statues of Ceylon and Sumana teaches him Buddhist philosophy and wisdom. Chandar follows them out of curiosity. During an elephant hunt Chandar saves the boy from the wild elephants but gets himself captured by the hunters and is sold to a circus. Some weeks later the boy frees the leopard from his cage in the circus. Meanwhile the police is searching for another leopard who killed a villager. When they see Chandar, they try to shoot him but he can escape by jumping down a cliff. Then Chandar meets a female leopard and they hunt together. The man-eating leopard attacks Chandar but he can defeat him. When Sumana and Dasa reach the end of their pilgrimage the man-eater attacks Dasa but Chandar kills him. When the police arrives the pilgrims convince them that Chandar is not the man-eater. The boy returns to his father and Sumana spends the rest of his life as a hermit in the jungle.


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COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The Colorado Rapids consolidated their wildcard playoff position with a 1-0 victory over visiting FC Dallas despite finishing the game with only 10 men.
With the win, the Rapids (10-9-12) now have 45 points with two games left while Dallas (13-10-7) remain on 46 points having played one game fewer than their Western Conference rivals.
Drew Moor scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute with a powerful header from Sanna Nyassi's corner [WATCH IT HERE]. Miguel Comminges, who had defended well with an important block inside the penalty area in each half, was sent off in the 74th minute after a second bookable offense.
The Rapids started the game brightly and Nyassi went close with a long-range shot in the 23rd minute that was tipped over acrobatically by Kevin Hartman in the Dallas goal.
After Moor's goal, the Rapids looked as though they might dominate, and Omar Cummings went just wide after a pass from Pablo Mastroeni.
But it was Dallas who finished the first half stronger. Brek Shea caused problems at the heart of the Rapids defense with a dangerous cross, Marvin Chávez forced a good save from Matt Pickens from long range, and Pickens was again called to action with a good save from Ricardo Villar's shot from just outside the penalty area.
The second half didn't contain as much fluid soccer as the first 45 minutes, though midfielder Jamie Smith went close for the Rapids in the 50th minute with a great shot after Mastroeni and Comminges combined.
Two minutes later, Nyassi had the best chance to consolidate the Rapids' lead when he was put through behind the Dallas defense by Smith. Unfortunately for Colorado, the Gambian midfielder shot wide of the onrushing Hartman instead of dribbling past him and into an empty net. The effort missed its target.
Dallas' Chávez then had an open net at his mercy in stoppage time with Pickens stranded on the floor, but he could only chip it onto the roof of the net.
The Rapids now have an near two-week break with their next game not scheduled until Oct. 14 when they are at home to Real Salt Lake. Dallas are away at Chicago for their next game on Oct. 12.
For full stats, visit the MLS MatchCenter.
COL -- Drew Moor 4 (Sanna Nyassi 4) 25
FC Dallas -- Kevin Hartman, Zach Loyd, Ugo Ihemelu, George John, Jair Benitez, Jackson (Daniel Cruz 34), Marvin Chavez, Daniel Hernandez, Andrew Jacobson (Ricardo Villar 31), Brek Shea, Maicon Santos (Fabian Castillo 67). Substitutes Not Used: Bruno Guarda, Ruben Luna, Jack Stewart, Chris Seitz.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Brek Shea 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Marvin Chavez 1, Ricardo Villar 1); FOULS: 12 (3 tied with 2); OFFSIDES: 3 (Marvin Chavez 2); CORNER KICKS: 6 (Ricardo Villar 5); SAVES: 2 (Kevin Hartman 2)
Colorado Rapids -- Matt Pickens, Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor, Miguel Comminges, Brian Mullan, Jeff Larentowicz, Pablo Mastroeni, Jamie Smith (Tyrone Marshall 77), Omar Cummings (Macoumba Kandji 85), Sanna Nyassi (Wells Thompson 81). Substitutes Not Used: Andre Akpan, Ross LaBauex, Scott Palguta, Steward Ceus.
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Sanna Nyassi 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (3 tied with 1); FOULS: 17 (Jeff Larentowicz 3, Jamie Smith 3); OFFSIDES: 3 (3 tied with 1); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Sanna Nyassi 2); SAVES: 2 (Matt Pickens 2)
DAL -- Jackson (caution; Dissent) 30
DAL -- Daniel Hernandez (caution; Reckless Foul) 39
COL -- Miguel Comminges (caution; Delaying a Restart) 62
COL -- Miguel Comminges (caution; Reckless Foul) 74
COL -- Miguel Comminges (ejection; Second Caution) 74
COL -- Drew Moor (caution; Reckless Foul) 80
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Referee's Assistants: -Daniel Belleau; Joe Fletcher
4th Official: Paul Ward
Attendance: 13,920
Time of Game: 1:55
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-82-degrees


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We are just finalising the purchase of a fermette in Normandy. Presently we have 8 acres of badly neglected woodland and I need to buy a book or see online advice on how to turn it around as our heating will be for the most part wood. Can anyone recommend a book or other resource?
Secondly, from what I have read, 8 acres of wood is a bit too small for the farmhouse. I would like to turn a few acres of the less animal-friendly pasture to woodland concentrating on fastest growth for firewood. I know nothing about trees (other than primary school stuff) so how should I choose the type to plant and which is the best economic age for a sapling? I would like to see the new woodland showing promise (i.e. capital value) within a decade albeit I don't expect to be able to cut it so early.
Many thanks for your input.


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It's almost time for the 2013 WitOut Awards for Philadelphia Comedy! As we get closer to the show, we'll be rolling out a series of posts to help you get more acquainted with this year's nominees. Read all about 'em, and then be sure to get your tickets for the big event on January 13th at World Cafe Live!
The nominees for Best Female Improviser are:
Jess Ross (Asteroid!, Hot Dog)
Kristen Schier (The Kristen & Amie/Amie & Kristen Show, Director of ZaoGao)
Emily Davis (Hot Dish, Soiree)
Maggy Keegan (Soiree, Whisper, Director of Davenger)
Amie Roe (The Kristen & Amie/Amie & Kristen Show)
Kristen Schier on Jess Ross:
"Jess Ross is a force. Her wild-eyed hilarity is as strange and intense as her beauty. Her unfettered goofiness paired with the deeper commitment of a talented actor is an unstoppable and delightful combination.
Allow me to brag: I have had the good fortune to work with Jess on a few improv projects over the years. I used to watch her shine in the N Crowd. We called her Moonbeam 'cause she was one. I also coached Jessica Tandy on occasion (and by coach I mean sit on Andy's couch and laugh) and I most recently worked with her in Myths and Monsters. You can trust her to bring the funny. What I am saying is, I know this improviser very well and she is good. Damn good.
It is no accident that other projects Jess Ross is involved in, like The Flat Earth, the aforementioned Myths and Monsters and Asteroid! are nominated too. Jess Ross is a fantastic ensemble member and she raises the caliber of the performers she works with—also, she is funny. Damn funny.
She said once that her comedic inspirations were the Muppets. Well, cheers to the closest human embodiment of Muppetry I have ever seen."
Maggy Keegan on Kristen Schier:
"I've been a huge fan of Kristen Schier since before I moved back to Philadelphia. Kristen's connection to her character's emotional truth, her sense of play, her use of the stage, and how she uses her whole body and soul to create is inspiring to watch. I mean, have you seen the Kristen and Amie Show? I could watch that every week. And her clowning? There has rarely been a time in my thirties where I have giggled like a schoolgirl in an audience out of pure delight and watching her as a clown is a joyful experience.
Not only is she a great improviser, she is also huge creative force in Philadelphia. She has taught and nurtured hundreds of Philadelphia improvisers through classes, directing, and through her innovative group ZaoGao. She has taken this scene to a whole new level.
I think we can also all feel Kristen's positive spirit whenever she enters the room. We are very lucky that she calls Philadelphia home because as she continues to create we are all the better for it."
Jess Ross on Emily Davis:
"Emily is always able to be surprising and exciting when she performs because she is amazing when it comes to really listening to her scene partner and responding from an honest place. She can pick up on things most people would fly past and sees what other people don't in offers that are given to her. She's already naturally such a witty and clever person, but the way she plays is what I think makes her so special and a stand out. She's the perfect combination of being really well educated on improv (she knows the structure of scenes, the piece as a whole, how to set things up, make people look good) and she is also able to be completely in the moment and organic. She's not forcing anything, she's using everything that's out there, putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and making it look really easy and fun while she does it. And that is why I love Emily!"
Emily Davis on Amie Roe:
"The first time I met Amie was in a diner. She came to meet some improvisers that I was with, and she scared the crap out of me with how funny she was. I can't remember why, but she was making lists of five things in various categories on her fingers, and I was completely intimidated. Each thing that she said was funnier than the last. I was pretty psyched when, later, she accepted my friend request.
Amie is a rare bird. She's an amazing improviser with a high reference level and an equal love of the low brow. She's really smart and naturally funny, and she puts herself completely out there on stage. She's a robot, a ninja, and a pirate. She's got great hair, an awesome wardrobe (I love her sweaters), and she's gorgeous. She's a freak.
So, here are a few lists of five to honor Amie's awesomeness and accomplishments:
Amie is an incredible performer, director, coach, teacher, and producer. Over the last few years, Amie has put together ambitious projects, made a lot of t-shirts, saved kids' lives, been a good friend, and acquired a nemesis. Amie has made improv better through her performances in The Amie and Kristen/Kristen and Amie Show and Brick, as one of the masterminds behind Duofest, through her level of commitment to everything she does, through the generosity and support that she offers to others, and by keeping everything fun, charming, and weird. Thanks for everything, and love you, Amie!"
Amie Roe on Maggy Keegan:
"What can you say about Maggy Keegan that isn't obvious from her radiant smile? A lot. Because in addition to having a beautiful smile, Maggy is also a really talented comedienne, and you cannot tell if a person is a great comedian from their smile.


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Fight schedule
June 1
At The BBandamp;T Center, Sunrise, Fla. (FOXSN), Braulio Santos vs. Derrick Wilson, 10, featherweights; Daquan Arnett vs. Irving Garcia, 10, welterweights.
June 7
At Turning Stone Resort andamp; Casino, Verona, N.Y. (SHO), Jorge Melendez vs. Luis Grajeda, 10, junior middleweights.
At Little Creek Casino and Resort, Shelton, Wash. (ESPN), John Molina Jr. vs. Andrey Klimov, 10, lightweights; Farrah Ennis vs. Anthony Hanshaw, 10, super middleweights.
June 8
At The Bell Centre, Montreal (HBO), Chad Dawson vs. Adonis Stevenson, 12, for Dawson's WBC light heavyweight title; Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Darley Perez, 12, lightweights; Eleider Alvarez vs. Allan Green, 10, light heavyweights.
At Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif. (SHO), Marcos Maidana vs. Josesito Lopez, 12, for Maidana's WBA Inter-Continental welterweight title; Erislandy Lara vs. Alfredo Angula, 12, light middleweights; Demetrius Hopkins vs. Jermell Charlo, 12, for Hopkins' USBA light middleweight title; Yoshihiro Kamegai vs. Johan Perez, 10, welterweights.
At Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. vs. Roberto Sosa, 12, for Sanchez's IBF super flyweight title.
June 14
At Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, Pa. (NBCSN), Sergey Kovalev vs. Cornelius White, 12, light heavyweights; Bryant Jennings vs. Franklin Lawrence, 10, heavyweights; Ronald Cruz vs. Jaime Herrera, 10, welterweights.
At West Orange, N.J. (ESPN2), Arash Usmanee vs. Art Hovhannisyan, 10, super featherweights; Luis Ortiz vs. Travis Kaufmann, 10, heavyweights.
June 15
Valley Forge (Pa.) Casino and Resort, Harry Joe Yorgey vs. Julius Kennedy, 10, junior middleweights.
June 21
At Moscow, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk vs. Rakhim Chakhkiev, 12, for Wlodarczyk's WBC cruiserweight title.
At the Minneapolis Convention Center (ESPN2) Rances Barthelemy vs. Chiang Mai, Thailand, 12, IBF super featherweight title eliminator; Caleb Truax vs. Don George, 10, middleweights.
June 22
At Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. (SHO), Paul Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner, 12, for Malignaggi's WBA World welterweight title; Johnathon Banks vs. Seth Mitchell, 12, for Banks NABO and WBC international heavyweight titles; Sakio Bika vs. Marco Antonio Periban, 12, for the vacant WBC super middleweight title.
June 28
At Jacksonville, Fla. (ESPN2), Gregorza Proska vs. Sergio Mora, 10, middleweights.
June 29
MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Conn. (HBO), Gennady Golovkin vs. Matthew Macklin, 12, for Golovkin's IBO and WBA World middleweight titles; Thomas Oosthuizen vs. Brandon Gonzales, 12, super middleweights; Willie Nelson vs. Luciano Leonel Cuello, 10, light middleweights.
July 12
At Las Vegas (ESPN2), Chris Avalos vs. Drian Francisco, 10, junior featherweights; Glen Tapia vs. Abie Han, 10, junior middleweights.
July 13
At Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y., Bernard Hopkins vs. Karo Murat, 12, for Hopkins' IBF light heavyweight title.
At Monte Carlo, Monaco, Khabib Allakhverdiev vs. Souleymane M'baye, 12, for Allakhverdiev's WBA-IBO junior welterweight titles; Max Bursak vs. Prince Arron, 12, for Bursak's European middleweight title; Ilunga Makabu vs. Dmytro Kucher, 12, cruiserweights.
July 19
At Las Vegas, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina, 12, for Smith's IBF junior middleweight title.
July 27
At Macau, China (HBO), Evgeny Gradovich vs. Mauricio Munoz, 12, for Gradovich's IBF featherweight title; Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Milan Melindo, 12, for Estrada's WBO and WBA Super World flyweight titles; Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Joe Hanks, 10, heavyweights.
At San Antonio (SHO), Andre Berto vs. Jesus Soto Karass, 12, welterweights; Omar Figueroa vs. Nihito Arakawa, 12, for the interim WBC lightweight title; Diego Chaves vs. Keith Thurman, 12, for the interim WBA World welterweight title.


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After a while....I just couldn't stand how underpowered Dad's 1995 K2500 was! I decided to do some engine upgrades.
In the past I had used a small comp cam and with a lot of screwing around, got it to work OK with the TBI.
In case you don't know, GM TBI is a speed density system and is extremely sensitive to engine vacuum...which any aftermarket cam will mess with!
I ended up using the smallest Lunati cam in their voodoo series.
This 8600GVW LO5 is supposedly a little different than the the 1/2 ton LO5's in the it has 8.75 or 8.3:1 compression depending on what info source you use. It supposedly uses the old school GM 929 cam instead of the TBI peanut cam.
The install was pretty straight forward. The AC condenser will flip out of the way without disconnecting it and the cam is just too long to come out without removing the entire grill, dang it! And with the big floppy one piece oilpan gasket....I had to trim more of the "lip" edge off the timing chain cover than normal to get it back on.
Since it was a flat tappet cam I had to "run it in". With an oil pan full of Comp Cam break-in oil, we lit it off. Man I hate the pucker factor of firing something up and going straight to 2000/2500rpm for 20 minutes!!! (I saw after I pulled the intake this block was drilled for a roller cam.....I should have stopped what I was doing and found the parts for a conversion)
Like a rookie....I had the timing severely retarded....and the exhaust manifolds were glowing cherry red, but we got through it!
After I got everything running well, I added a throttle body spacer so I could use a flat bottom open element air cleaner and remove the "choke collar" under the stock TBI unit. I also set the fuel pressure to 13.75psi.
The last part of the story is....tuning! As I mentioned earlier, this speed density TBI will not tolerate ANY changes in manifold vacuum. The cam I use was listed as TBI compatible. It should be listed as TBI compatible WITH TUNING! It ran just fine without tuning, but there was no power increase over stock.
I stumbled on to http://www.gearhead-efi.com/ and got busy learning about TBI tuning! For a relatively small amount of money, you can datalog GM TBI with TunerPro RT and get A LOT of useful data! http://www.tunerpro.net/
This process isn't exactly plug and play.... You have to do some leg work. Silly things can foul you up. You need to get a ALDL cable, get the correct drivers for the cable then set the com port in your lap top for the cable. Its not as hard as it sounds and there is a ton of info on how to do it.
Next you're going to need to find your "BIN." file by reading the code of the chip in your ECM/PCM
This is where I ran into a snag.... The truck I was working on is an oddball because of the stick so there was no BIN. listed in any database I could find.
Enter Old School EFi. If you look around http://www.gearhead-efi.com/ you will find a user DaveW that answers a TON of questions. David runs Old School EFi and took on my tuning project.
I sent my chip to him so he could read the bin and then I could start the datalogging process.
David required about 100 miles of clean error code free datalogging to start the tuning process. (through my initial datalogging I discovered the O2 sensor was failing even though it wasn't setting a code)
David had the chip dialed in on the second try and the truck runs GREAT!! It is a night and day difference from the stock chip. It now pretty easily pulls 4th gear to 4K redline! Now, it not a rocket by any means, hell its still slower than a stock 5.3, but it feels soooo much better than before!
I will go out on a limb and say that 70% of the performance increase was from tuning alone. I really wish I had tried tuning it stock first to see what it felt like.
By looking at the stock BIN in tunerpro, the stock tuning had VERY limited timing advance. David fixed all that. And unlike off the shelf chips, the timing is only added where needed and not across the board.
I was really impressed with his customer service!
Dad is very pleased with the new found performance! Although....Its not just all for him....this is now a nice tow vehicle for me....to take the Shelby the drags!


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by Tom Utescher
The Chestnut Hill College women won't minding putting the 2012 portion of the basketball season behind them; last Wednesday they closed out the old calendar year at home with a conference loss that gave them an overall record of 1-9.
Coming out for the second period trailing by 13, the Griffins cut their deficit almost in half, but visiting Goldey Beacom College spread out the score once more to win the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest, 66-52. CHC slipped to 0-5 within the CACC, while the Goldey Beacom Lightning (from Wilmington, Del.) improved to 5-1 in conference play and 8-6 overall.
Few of the Griffins' losses this year have been full-on routs. They tend to give up points in small spurts, then can't quite come all the way back. Defensive stops at key junctures have also been lacking.
Immediately after Wednesday's contest, second-year head coach Laura Pruitt dashed out the door to catch a flight home to her native County Galway in Ireland. While in transit to JFK Airport, she e-mailed some comments to the LOCAL.
"I think the things we need to make better are, thankfully, things that we have control over and can be worked out in practice," she reflected. "I think offensively we need to execute a little better – the way we want to play is based purely on movement without the basketball. I have to do a better job as coach in maybe inserting a couple of set plays, so that when we get stagnant offensively we have something to go to."
Workhorse forward Lindsay Alexander is the only senior starter, and with the youth of the team, Pruitt recalled "I knew coming into the season the first half of the season would be rough. We want to continue to give our young players confidence, which comes from repetition in practice."
With both schools on holiday break, Wednesday's game began at noon, and the Griffins stayed within single digits of the Lightning until about midway through the first half, when the tally was 16-8. Then, in a little over three minutes, the visitors expanded the gap to 14 points at 24-10. With a short jumper and two free throws by junior forward Annie Farrow and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Randi Jo Farrell, Chestnut Hill stopped its slide, but still trailed by 13 at the interval, 34-21.
The Griffins got going in round two with another little "J" by Farrow, along with a transition lay-up and three free throws from sophomore shooting guard Olivia Gorczynski. When Alexander scored a lay-up off of a pump fake under the basket, the hosts had the lead down to seven points (37-30) a little over three minutes into the new period.
In a familiar scenario, the Griffins were unable to muster the defensive effort they needed to hold onto those gains. Lightning guard Devonne Richardson rang up back-to-back field goals, and Goldey garnered three point from the foul line in a little 7-1 run.
A field goal by CHC sophomore Lila Jones tightened the score to 46-38 with 11 minutes left, but after an lay-up at the other end got the gap back up to 10 points, the Lightning led by double figures the rest of the way. The margin reached 17 points (61-44) with four minutes to play, then Alexander scored eight of her team-high 15 points as the Griffins outscored their guests 8-5 down the stretch.
Richardson chalked up a game-high 24 points for Goldey Beacom, which made 39 percent of its field goal attempts while CHC came in at 24 percent.
Nevertheless, Coach Pruitt ended on an upnote: "We are going to be just fine if we continue to believe in each other and compete every day in practice and in games."


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Today it's a very special Wearing It Today because I'm taking part in a very important found raising for the people of Japan. The amazing Tory Burch has launched a great initiative to raise money to help and I am very proud to be taking part of this campain. Please read below and buy one today!
The We ♥ Japan T-shirt is $29 and sold on www.toryburch.com 100% of the net proceeds of every Japan Relief T-shirt sold through September 15, 2011, will go to the American Red Cross to benefit the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami relief efforts.
|Click HERE to buy


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Asthma patients are dying needlessly as a result of poor care, a damning new report has found.
Experts identified " major avoidable factors" in two thirds of asthma deaths examined.
Patients are receiving inadequate information, education and advice on managing their asthma, according to the document.
Meanwhile medics are failing to spot key signs which point to patients not managing their condition well.
These factors are leading to a large number of deaths which could otherwise have been prevented, the report says.
In the UK, three people die from asthma every day and every 10 seconds someone suffers from a potentially life-threatening attack.
Experts from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) examined 195 asthma deaths, including 28 children.
They identified at least one "major potential avoidable factor" in 67% of the cases.
GP Dr Mark Levy, RCP's clinical lead for the report, said: " It is very sad that people are not aware that asthma can kill.
"Doctors, patients and their families failed to recognise life-threatening danger signs of asthma.
"We identified major avoidable factors in two-thirds of the people who died."
The review found that m any of the patients who died had excessively used their reliever inhalers in the months running up to their deaths - indicating that they were not managing their disease well.
Medics should have spotted that they were repeatedly prescribing these inhalers and taken action, the authors said.
Meanwhile one in 10 of those who died had been admitted to hospital for an acute asthma attack within four weeks of their death.
The report found that 45% of those people who died following an asthma failed to call for help or obtain help during their attack and the vast majority of children died even before they reached hospital.
Dr Levy said: "It might be that in these cases people were complacent about their asthma and we feel that the majority of these people did not know what to do - they did not recognise the danger signs they did not know how or when to call for help."
He said that three quarters of those who died did not have a personalised asthma plan which would have provided them with this information.
The experts said that half of those who died were being treated for mild or moderate asthma at the time - indicating that neither patients or medics realised how serious the cases were.
The report concluded: "The review found deficiencies in both the routine care of asthma patients and the treatment of attacks.
"In many instances neither doctors nor patients recognised the signs of deteriorating asthma; they also did not react quickly enough when these were seen."
The authors called for an end to "complacency" around asthma care.
Charity Asthma UK said that prescribing errors were detected in 47% of the deaths studied.
It said that it was "shocking" that experts identified "room for improvement" in 83% of the cases.
Kay Boycott, chief executive of the charity, said: "This confidential enquiry has identified prescribing errors of a frankly horrifying scale and is a damning indictment of current routine practice.
"In many of these cases the warning signs were ignored; past attacks are a clear risk factor for future attacks but more than two thirds of the people hospitalised in the month before they died didn't get properly checked up afterwards.
"Parents of children with asthma will be especially horrified that the confidential enquiry showed that children fared worse than adults in multiple aspects of care, and fell well below expected standards in almost half of child deaths.
"Above all, we need leadership at every tier of the health system across the UK to challenge the complacency about asthma and prevent life threatening asthma attacks.
"Every 10 seconds someone has a potentially life threatening asthma attack and this report reinforces the need for vigilance in managing your - or your child's - asthma especially if you've recently had an attack, been in hospital or if your asthma is waking you at night."
The report, which is released to coincide with World Asthma Day, s ets out a series of recommendations for healthcare workers including the introduction of an electronic surveillance system to be set up to show doctors and pharmacists when people excessively use reliever medication and do not use enough preventative medication.
And anyone who has been taken to hospital as an emergency should be reviewed within 48 hours.
The authors also said that more must be done to educate people about their condition. Every health care organisation should have one named individual with a responsibility for asthma care, they added.
Dr Levy also said there were also pressures on prescribing costs.
"Doctors are trying to prescribe economically and not necessarily with the clinical efficacy," he said.
"In the National Health Service we have got costs issues so there are pressures right from the top to try and prescribe economically, now that doesn't mean doctors are being told not to prescribe effective medication, they are being told to prescribe medication which is effective and helping people."
In 2012, 1,242 people died from asthma. There are 5.4 million people in the UK who suffer from the condition.
Professor Mike Morgan, NHS England's national clinical director for respiratory services, said: "These statistics are a call to action for commissioners, health professionals and patients.
"Every patient should have a care plan which should be regularly reviewed and patients should be supported to manage their asthma, including effective inhaler technique and knowledge of their condition.
"Treatment should adhere to clinical and prescribing guidelines. In February last year, National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) produced a set of quality standards which make it clear that local commissioners should integrate services so that asthma sufferers receive a consistently high quality service from childhood to adulthood."


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Jun 9, 2020 | Uncategorized
Bright Ideas is an initiative that recognizes creative and promising government programs and partnerships. The initiative is offered through the Innovations in Government Program, a program of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. For more information, click the Bright Ideas logo!


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I've been seeing a lot of talk online lately about the new IPA beer glass that Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada collaborated on to design with Spiegelau. The new glass is supposed to showcase the aromas of an IPA as well as improve the flavor and mouthfeel. I'm a huge fan of IPA's and this glass is trying to make my favorite style even better, I had to order one and see if the glass really does improve the drinking experience.
To make this a true test, I asked my wife to assist me. I poured 2 Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA's, one into the new IPA glass and the other into a standard pint glass. I then blindfolded myself. Because I could not touch the glassware without knowing which glass I was drinking from I had my wife first hold each glass to my nose so I could smell and compare, she then held each glass so I could take a sip. I then made my determination as to which glass was the IPA glass and which was the standard pint. Based on smell and taste I was able to determine which glass was the IPA glass.
Obviously being the same beer in two different glasses the smell was very similar, but the beer in the standard pint glass seemed muted, the hops in particular were more intense in the IPA glass. The taste test revealed similar results, the standard pint glass was hoppy with a nice caramel body, everything I expect from a Dogfish 60 Minute, but the IPA glass was again more intense, the hops were stepped up a notch and the malt flavors more pronounced. Removing the blindfold I find the carbonation is livelier in the IPA glass; the Dogfish logo etched in the bottom was sending plenty of tiny bubbles to the surface.
I'm convinced. Not that I didn't believe the folks at Dogfish and Sierra, they do produce some excellent IPA's and definitely know the style, I just had to see for myself. I look forward to trying other IPA's in my new glass, especially heavily dry hopped IPA's.
Now for the fun stuff, I have an extra Dogfish Head IPA glass and I'm going to give it away to one of you! To win the glass simply comment below this post and tell me what your favorite style of glassware is (one entry per person please). You have between now and Thursday, February 21st at 6pm, when I will randomly select a winner. Check back here or on the Facebook page where I will announce the winner by 8pm on the 21st.


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Friday, March 4, 2011
Benita's new friends
12 comments:
- MsBelinda said...
Benita seems to have enjoyed being hand fed by her new friends :)
- March 4, 2011 at 11:39 PM
- David L. Secor said...
Damn Yankees, why do you led'um down here?
- March 5, 2011 at 12:31 AM
- John Wells said...
it's OK David...they aren't crazy enough to what to stay here like us.
- March 5, 2011 at 9:03 AM
- tffnguy said...
I'll take the Yankees over FNG any day! (Coming from a True Texan)
- March 5, 2011 at 9:35 AM
- tffnguy said...
BTW the verification word for my last message was baract ;( A little too much like a name!
- March 5, 2011 at 9:39 AM
- ezrablu said...
Benita and Mr. Floppy will never know they were schmoozin with yankee NY photographers...they are just another extended hand of kindness. Nice post JW...and wonderful photos.
- March 5, 2011 at 10:00 AM
- denziel56 said...
Hello JW,
Been awhile...
Here is a fire link that you will find useful in the future.
I'm producing about 13.5kwh per day as I use the system more,hope to achive 20kwh per day under full load including fridge and freezer.
Have you given any thought to getting your ham radio technician license for 2 meter radio .You have access to a great repeater system linked from Big Bend to Ft Stockton and further. A HT is a low investment for such a great tool. KF5JWO
Hope all is going well in South county.
- March 5, 2011 at 1:54 PM
- neil said...
HT = Handheld Transmitter
73 - m0jos
- March 5, 2011 at 4:35 PM
- citybuddha said...
Old question, I'm sure. What do the numbers at the conclusion of your posts mean?
Lovin' the mundane here
- March 9, 2011 at 5:29 PM
- Taoshum said...
I got to this blog via the NYTs. Been to Terlingua twice... once in 1980 on a Beemer in June. It was 120 in the shade so we stopped at every opportunity and soaked our clothing from head to toe, then took off going 70 mph and were dry again in 10 minutes but cool for a few moments. We stayed at the mobile home motel that was at the edge of BBNP. After sundown, we found a local "bar" and had some beer. The next morning, at breakfast, the sheriff, found us and wanted to know who sold us beer. We were gone to Presidio in a flash.
The second time I came with a new wife in December, probably 1994 or so. We stayed at the motel and played golf, went to the restaurant and shopped. Much more tranquil.
What a place! I applaud your courage and stamina. thanks.
- March 10, 2011 at 2:57 PM
- completelybaked said...
Looks like a fine arrangement you got there, Mr. Wells. Also looks like your web traffic is up by a factor of 10. I hope you are not plagued by fame and fortune.
I just spent three hours reading your blog and enjoying your photos. Nice work. The webcam is fun, too. Benita and Mr. Floppy do not disappoint!
Good to see someone doing something real for a change. Keep it up, and enjoy your Texas springtime.
-- Jim
- March 10, 2011 at 6:21 PM
- Drivebys said...
John, I found your blog in the NYT story and want to thank you for sharing your extraordinary adventure. I've been to West Texas several times, so your blog and photos bring back good thoughts.
- March 11, 2011 at 1:14 AM


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BadHands71 wrote:"I'm like a duck: calm above the water, and paddling like hell underneath." ~ Fred Shero
Malkamaniac wrote:Too legit. Too legit to quit.
Gaucho wrote:Malkamaniac wrote:Too legit. Too legit to quit.
skullman80 wrote:"We Came, We Saw, We Kicked it's Ass!"
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Jesse wrote:"Im too drunk to taste this chicken." - Colonel Sanders
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64GB iPhone caught on camera [Video]
If you haven't already heard, there were reports of 64 GB iPhone 4s being sold in Hong Kong (Mong Kok's Sin Tak computer plaza) several days ago. Well M.I.C gadget has now gotten their hands on an earlier iPhone 4 prototype with this very capacity spec and captured it on camera. The site goes on to say that this particular iPhone was leaked from a Foxconn factory in China:
Apparently, this 64GB iPhone 4 is not for sale in grey markets of Hong Kong. The owner of this engineered prototype told us that he got it from a source who has a small quantity of these prototypes. They are definitely leaked from Foxconn's factory in Shenzhen. What's more, according to the owner, he believes that the next iPhone will bring 64GB storage capacity to users. Well, we think Apple is planning to update the iPhone 4 with small upgrades, at least featuring a new 64GB model.
There's no telling whether this opens the door for an iPhone 5 with 64 GB (or even for the iPhone 4), but at the very least, it shows that Apple is considering the possibility. It's certainly not hard to imagine how popular a next gen iPhone with 64 GB storage space would be amongst users – I know I'd be all over that. Full video after this space.
[MIC Gadget via 9to5mac]


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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Team Krista #6: THE FALLEN PRINCESS
21 comments:
- Michelle Mason said...
Art, love and intrigue? Count me in! Go #TeamKrista!
- May 17, 2012 at 9:48 AM
- Noelle Henry said...
I really love the idea of a princess who paints illuminated manuscripts! What a great idea! You've done a fabulous job of incorporating unique details into this opening as well!
- May 17, 2012 at 11:11 AM
- Sarah Henson said...
I may be a bit biased, since my story involves art too, but I love your premise. Go Team Krista!
- May 17, 2012 at 11:38 AM
- Becky Mahoney said...
This looks right up my alley. As Michelle said, bring on the art, love, and intrigue!
- May 17, 2012 at 12:46 PM
Great work! Go Team Krista!
- May 17, 2012 at 1:26 PM
- Suzi said...
This sounds like a great story. Good luck to you.
- May 17, 2012 at 1:36 PM
- Unknown said...
Sounds like a great romance! I love the tension that you bring into the very first scene.
- May 17, 2012 at 2:01 PM
- Lisa K. said...
You hooked me at the painting of illuminated manuscripts...and the excerpt is beautifully written! Go Team Krista!
- May 17, 2012 at 2:57 PM
This is a world I would very much like to visit!
- May 17, 2012 at 3:10 PM
- tlbodine said...
Best of luck to you!
- May 17, 2012 at 6:48 PM
- Ben Spendlove said...
Nice job with the query. It's hard to sum up a complicated plot well, but you did. And talk about high stakes!
- May 17, 2012 at 7:04 PM
- Jennie Bailey said...
Poor Delfina! I love that she has to charm him and win back his heart. I'm a sucker for a good fantasy with a strong female MC and you've got it!
- May 17, 2012 at 7:16 PM
- TYHatch said...
I enjoy a strong female MC. Yours seems very interesting.
Good luck!
- May 17, 2012 at 11:01 PM
- Becca C. said...
I love this - I feel like the query has just been taken up a notch since the last version I read. It looks so great!
- May 18, 2012 at 1:45 PM
- Leigh Ann said...
1. Okay, just the GENRE of this one makes me want to read.
2. Darclor sounds delicious.
3. This girl has ATTITUDe.
Love it. Good luck!
- May 18, 2012 at 2:32 PM
- April Wall said...
From the query alone, I'm desperate for these two to end up together! Good luck!
- May 18, 2012 at 3:01 PM
- erica m. chapman said...
Great concept!! Love a good love story ;o)
- May 18, 2012 at 4:23 PM
- Valerie said...
These pages hooked me in. I'd love to read more. I sense a very tense scene to follow! :)
- May 18, 2012 at 9:21 PM
- Kimberly Gabriel said...
I love the illuminated manuscripts - I'd love to read more of this. Great opening scene! Good luck to you!
- May 19, 2012 at 12:08 PM
- Tricia Quinnies said...
When Delfina set down her
squirrel-hair brush I was hooked.
Good luck!
- May 20, 2012 at 7:32 AM
- Tara Dairman said...
#6 The Fallen Princess
Illuminated manuscripts! Avoiding arranged marriage! You sucked me in right away. =)
In the first sentence of paragraph 3, cut the comma between "Karavai" and "to marry…" Later, to keep things firmly in the present tense, you might revise to "the humiliation she HAS caused him." And in the last sentence, I'd go with a colon instead of the em-dash.
First Page:
I like the scene overall—you do a nice job of setting it—but I wasn't enthralled by the first line. In fact, from the first paragraph I thought that this would be a third-person story, since there's nothing in there that seems to be specifically filtered through the MC's consciousness. I think that inserting some kind of detail in there to make it more personal (a very bad example: "The breeze hit my face as the door to the palace workshop burst open…") might be worth considering.
Also, you seem to be going to great pains to avoid dialogue tags. I don't think that one or two would be out of place, especially when the MC is speaking—since this is a room full of people, it's not always 100% clear who's doing the talking.
- May 22, 2012 at 7:57 AM


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Learn about and manage your OMERS defined benefit Pension Plan
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We are by our members' and employers' sides every step of the way - whether it's the start of a new job, a change in their career path, or the day they retire and start something new.
Please join us for a discussion with Blake Hutcheson, President and Chief Pension Officer; and Annesley Wallace, Senior Vice President, Pension Services. Blake and Annesley lead the team that oversees service to our 1000 employers and 500,000 plan members across the province.
They are touring Ontario on a roadshow to meet the people who matter most - you! You will have an opportunity for questions and answers after the presentation. A great opportunity to meet your pension leaders.
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Sponsored By
VOTE: Media Madness - Round One
Michigan's McGary Plans To Wake Up Today And 'Get Back At It'But he sidestepped one big question -- Will he return to Michigan next season?
Louisville Beats Michigan 82-76 For NCAA TitleRelentless Louisville rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat Michigan 82-76 in the NCAA championship game Monday night.
Wolverine Fans Praise Team After LossUniversity of Michigan basketball fans in Ann Arbor took the heartbreaking loss as well as could be expected.
Does 'Underdog' Michigan Have Cardinals Right Where They Want Them?National media carried on about the Syracuse zone like they were 1985 Bears and gave Michigan little chance.
Officials Facing Dilemma With Video ReviewIt happens seemingly every game of the NCAA tournament, most of the season, for that matter: Officials blow their whistles, huddle, then head over to the TV monitors to review a play.
NCAA Announces Pool Of Officials For Final FourThe NCAA has announced the pool of 10 officials who will work the Final Four.
Syracuse Focused On Journey To Final 4Overcoming all sorts of adversity has been the norm for the Syracuse Orange of late.
How to Call in Sick to Work
Michigan Gets Top-Seeded KU In Return To Sweet 16Michigan coach John Beilein briefly lost track of how long it's been since the Wolverines reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.
La Salle's Dream Run Ends In Sweet 16The dream run was bound to end. La Salle had defied so many odds to reach the Sweet 16.
Syracuse Upsets Indiana 61-50With its 2-3 zone defense disruptive from start to finish, and Michael Carter-Williams pouring in 24 points, fourth-seeded Syracuse upset No. 1 seed Indiana 61-50 Thursday night to reach the NCAA tournament's East Regional final.
Michigan State's Payne Improving On And Off CourtMichigan State's Adreian Payne blocked a shot and made a long jumper on ensuing possessions, providing another glimpse of his vast potential and boosting his stock as an NBA prospect.
A Look At La Salle-Wichita StatePreviewing tonight's La Salle NCAA Tournament game against Wichita St.


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The deer tick or black-legged tick poses a threat all winter long. The tick carries lyme disease and other infections.
When fall and winter banish the sweltering heat, more Floridians head for the woods to hunt or hike. But even though the annoying hordes of mosquitoes may be gone, another disease-carrying culprit remains.
The deer tick or black-legged tick poses a threat all winter long. The tick carries lyme disease and other infections.
State health officials say people are often surprised to learn how many cases of tick-related illnesses are reported each year in Florida. At least 129 were reported in 2011, and the bulk of those occur in North and Central Florida, in a region that includes Volusia and Flagler counties.
"We'd like to get the word out that these diseases do exist in Florida and it's important to be aware," said Dr. Carina Blackmore, bureau chief of environmental health for the Florida Department of Health and the state public health veterinarian.
Local residents who suffer from or have family members with lyme disease say they also wish more people were aware of the diseases that can come from ticks.
Troy Eckhardt, 42, has been bitten by ticks many times. The Glenwood resident who suffers from chronic lyme disease said he first noticed he was sick in July 2005.
"If you are bitten by a tick and all of a sudden you come down with flu-like symptoms, I would go to the doctor right away," said Eckhardt.
Paul Tomazin of Samsula is also among those trying to spread the word.
After years of testing to explain his daughter's undiagnosed health troubles, Tomazin said their family finally learned last summer that Amanda Tomazin, 15, suffers from chronic lyme disease. The family believes a tick may have bitten the girl nearly 10 years ago.
"You don't realize until you experience it how difficult and challenging the whole thing can be," said her father. "You can't really imagine what it's like," he said, to go from a daughter who is super active, smart and funny to bedridden.
Overall Florida ranked 25th nationally in the number of tick-borne illnesses reported in 2010 and 2011. Though many cases occur in patients bitten by ticks in states where the diseases are more prevalent, at least four tick-borne illnesses can be contracted in Florida.
Health officials suspect lyme disease might be on the rise in the state, mirroring a national trend. It's the most common insect- or arachnid-borne illness in the nation, but its diagnosis and treatment remains challenging for patients and doctors.
It's not uncommon for a diagnosis to be delayed because physicians and patients aren't aware that lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses are a threat, Blackmore said.
One of the challenges in diagnosing a tick-borne illness is that patients often have vague symptoms, such as chills, muscle pain, fever and headache, Blackmore said. If a rash occurs, it might point a doctor in the direction of a tick-borne illness, but if it doesn't, it might look like any other flu-like illness, because the symptoms are associated with a number of diseases.
"It's important to be aware and it's important to be diagnosed properly," Blackmore said. "If you do develop a fever-like illness after being in the woods, it's important to tell a doctor."
Most tick-borne illnesses in Florida cases occur in the counties in and around the Ocala National Forest. State health officials "don't fully understand" why but suspect it's because habitat in the region is tick-friendly, with more deer and people in the woods.
Volusia and Flagler counties have more cases of tick-borne illnesses than most Florida counties. They are tied with Polk and Collier counties for seventh place in terms of the number of tick-related illnesses reported so far this year. In addition to lyme disease, Florida also sees cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, human anaplasmosis and human ehrlichiosis.
Overall, the diseases are still considered rare. But, Blackmore said all can be "relatively severe" if not diagnosed and treated properly.
"It's always a good idea to wear repellent when you're in the woods," she said. And, it's "a good idea to do tick checks" when you leave the woods.
Ultimately, she said, tick checks may be the best line of defense because a tick has to be embedded in its victim for 36 to 48 hours before it can transmit the bacteria.
"A different child"
Amanda Tomazin of Samsula developed a skin disease when she was about 6. Through the years she experienced episodes of dizziness, blackouts and the inability to walk because of severe joint pain.
Her father said tests were always inconclusive and doctors could not explain what was wrong. The symptoms would subside and Amanda would return to her busy life, playing soccer, taking music lessons and learning to drive.
On May 11, she woke up "a different child," said her father, Paul Tomazin. She had a severe headache, body aches, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.
They saw 10 doctors in the next two and a half months. Then, a friend recommended they watch a documentary on lyme disease, "Under Our Skin." Even though a previous test for lyme disease had been negative, Tomazin said the documentary described his daughter's troubles exactly. They convinced a doctor to do another test and send the results to a California laboratory with experience testing for the disease.
This time, the test results came back positive. The family finally had their long-awaited diagnosis for their once lively teenager, who's now "pretty much bedridden" and leaves home only to go to doctor's appointments.
"She was an avid reader and an excellent student," Tomazin said. This year she was unable to start school and has lost about 30 pounds.
The Tomazins managed to get an appointment with a lyme disease expert in New York and flew up to see him in mid-October and have started an aggressive treatment regimen.
A benefit for Amanda Tomazin is set for Dec. 2 at the SNPJ Lodge in Samsula from 2 to 6 p.m. A dinner, silent auction and raffle are planned.
FYI: Ticks and what to do
To prevent a tick bite
• Wear enclosed shoes and light-colored clothing.
• Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails.
• Use insect repellent containing DEET on skin or clothes.
• Do a full-body tick check at the end of the day, also checking children and pets.
If you're bitten:
• Use a pair of pointed precision tweezers, grasp the tick by the head or mouthparts right where they enter the skin, not by the body.
• Monitor the site of the bite for a rash beginning 3 to 30 days later.
• Watch for other symptoms.


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Long-time Raiders such as defensive tackle Tommy Kelly, cornerback Stanford Routt and free safety Michael Huff are on the brink of playing a meaningful game this late in the season for the first time in their NFL careers.
Coach Hue Jackson said Monday that he and his players are grateful for the opportunity to play for one of six spots in the AFC Playoffs, be it as the AFC West champion or the second wild-card berth.
"There's been a struggle to get to this position," Jackson said. "(Everybody) knows this. It's been well documented. But at the end of the day, to say that at the last game of the regular season, that you have a chance to have something special happen, that we've all talked about since Day 1, that's what you want."
Jackson says his players understand what's at stake. How they prepare this week counts for just as much, if not more, as how they play Sunday.
To that end, Jackson and his coaches are making sure that the players approach practice, film study and everything else in the proper manner.
"I don't bring up the playoff stuff, I bring up preparation," Jackson said. "How we prepare every week is what gives you a chance. How you practice and get ready for a game."
Jackson still is working on getting across to quarterback Carson Palmer the importance of throwing away the ball or even taking a sack when a play breaks down and there isn't an attractive alternative.
Palmer succeeded so well in that regard against the Detroit Lions, one week after he was intercepted four times by the Green Bay Packers. On Sunday, Palmer had two passes intercepted in the first half.
On the first one, Jackson said Palmer was trying to throw away the ball, but the ball "sailed" on him after he got hit in the process of throwing.
The second one came when Palmer attempted a deep pass, with three Chiefs defenders in position to make a play on the ball. Those are the ones that bother Jackson.
"It goes back to a point, sometimes you don't even have to throw it away," Jackson said. "I told him, and he understands, and he will, sometimes you just take the sack. And I'm OK with it. Our opportunity to win a championship is tied to our ability to take care of the ball and to get turnovers. That's what we have to do."
At the same time, Jackson said, Palmer is to be commended for a 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Denarius Moore in the third quarter and a 53-yarder to Darrius Heyward-Bey in overtime.
"How about that pass to Denarius Moore? Have you guys seen a prettier long ball than that? No," Jackson said. "How about the one to Darrius Heyward-Bey in overtime? Look, I have great expectations of Carson, but he's human, just like the rest of us and every now and then, things do happen.
But the guy is playing good enough football for us to win and that's what matters. I'll shape him up and get him to where he needs to be here in the next week so that we can play good."
Jackson said Palmer's play is a big reason why the Raiders are in the position they are in right now.
Jackson said he will be "disappointed" if kicker Sebastian Janikowski isn't selected to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday.
Janikowski is in the midst of, perhaps, the best season of his 12-year NFL career. He had solid seasons in the past, yet wasn't selected. Jackson thinks Janikowski is the only logical choice in the AFC.
"The guy is the best kicker in football," Jackson said. "Are you kidding me? In my opinion, hands down. If he doesn't make the Pro Bowl this year, then something is wrong. He should already have stock over there in the Pro Bowl and he doesn't. He should. I'd be very disappointed if his name doesn't show up. He's as good as there is in football. Period."
Jackson won't mind the Raiders setting the league records for penalties and penalty yards, under one condition: that the Raiders make the playoffs.
The Raiders committed 155 penalties for 1,294 yards through their first 15 games. They are four penalties and 11 yards, respectively, away from eclipsing the NFL records, set by the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs.
"It's disappointing," Jackson said. "I don't have the answer, obviously. I talk to the team about it all the time. I don't just talk. I yell, I scream, I threaten. I've done everything. I get a bunch of letters of people telling me other things I should try, too. And please don't send any new ones because those things don't work.
"But we're going to continue to work at it. I get frustrated. I'm very frustrated by it because that's something I don't believe in. I don't believe that you can be a champion and continue to get those kind of penalties."
Jackson promised to get the problem under control by season's end. He's out of fresh ideas for how to fix the issue that surfaced in the regular-season opener, when the Raiders committed 15 penalties, and continued through Sunday's game, when they tacked on 15 more for 92 yards.
He said he isn't running from the issue, that he is searching for something that works. Eventually, it is going to get sorted out, he believes.
"At some point in time, it's going to go the right way for us," Jackson said. "And just like anything else, if you continue to work at it, you make it an area of emphasis and you continue to do so, something good's going to come out of it. When it's going to happen, I can't tell you. … Our players understand that, in order to play good, you need to play penalty-free football. But that's not who we are right now. That's my fault."
Jackson has no idea whether running backs Darren McFadden and Taiwan Jones and wide receiver Jacoby Ford will be able to play Sunday. He won't have a firm idea until Wednesday, when he sees whether any of them are able to practice for the first time in a long while.
One thing is certain: Jackson won't play anybody who isn't able to practice this week. He also said that he won't allow someone to play Sunday just because it's a big game.
"If they're healthy enough to play, then they're going to play." Jackson said. "If a guy could play this week, he should have been able to play last week. That's the way I see it."
Care to know what Jackson was thinking as Janikowski's 36-yard field-goal attempt sailed through the uprights against the Chiefs to give the Raiders a 16-13 overtime victory over the Chiefs?
Plenty, as it turns out.
"I was praying," Jackson said. "I'm not going to kid you."
Jackson added that he keeps the faith, even when others are quick to abandon ship and give up on his team.
"I have faith in what we're trying to do here," Jackson said. "I always have, even when (others) have always doubted us, and I understand that, and deservedly so. When I say that, deservedly so. I understand that. But I'm a man of faith, and I believe in things. I have unquestionable belief in what we're trying to do. And it doesn't look pretty all the time. It's not sexy, it's not what everybody wished that it is, but it's the way we are, and it's the way we are right now."
Follow me on Twitter: @corkonthenfl


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Nuclear Power Is Expensive and Bad for the Environment … It's Being Pushed Because It Is Good For Making Bombs
Nuclear Energy Is Expensive
Forbes points out:
Nuclear power is no longer an economically viable source of new energy in the United States, the freshly-retired CEO of Exelon, America's largest producer of nuclear power [who also served on the president's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future], said in Chicago Thursday.
And it won't become economically viable, he said, for the forseeable future.
"I'm the nuclear guy," Rowe said. "And you won't get better results with nuclear. It just isn't economic, and it's not economic within a foreseeable time frame."
U.S. News and World Report notes:
After the Fukushima power plant disaster in Japan last year, the rising costs of nuclear energy could deliver a knockout punch to its future use in the United States, according to a researcher at the Vermont Law School Institute for Energy and the Environment.
"From my point of view, the fundamental nature of [nuclear] technology suggests that the future will be as clouded as the past," says Mark Cooper, the author of the report. New safety regulations enacted or being considered by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission would push the cost of nuclear energy too high to be economically competitive.
The disaster insurance for nuclear power plants in the United States is currently underwritten by the federal government, Cooper says. Without that safeguard, "nuclear power is neither affordable nor worth the risk. If the owners and operators of nuclear reactors had to face the full liability of a Fukushima-style nuclear accident or go head-to-head with alternatives in a truly competitive marketplace, unfettered by subsidies, no one would have built a nuclear reactor in the past, no one would build one today, and anyone who owns a reactor would exit the nuclear business as quickly as possible."
Alternet reports:
An authoritative study by the investment bank Lazard Ltd. found that wind beat nuclear and that nuclear essentially tied with solar. But wind and solar, being simple and safe, are coming on line faster. Another advantage wind and solar have is that capacity can be added bit by bit; a wind farm can have more or less turbines without scuttling the whole project. As economies of scale are created within the alternative energy supply chains and the construction process becomes more efficient, prices continue to drop. Meanwhile, the cost of stalled nukes moves upward.
AP noted last year:
Nuclear power is a viable source for cheap energy only if it goes uninsured.
Governments that use nuclear energy are torn between the benefit of low-cost electricity and the risk of a nuclear catastrophe, which could total trillions of dollars and even bankrupt a country.
The bottom line is that it's a gamble: Governments are hoping to dodge a one-off disaster while they accumulate small gains over the long-term.
The cost of a worst-case nuclear accident at a plant in Germany, for example, has been estimated to total as much as €7.6 trillion ($11 trillion), while the mandatory reactor insurance is only €2.5 billion.
"The €2.5 billion will be just enough to buy the stamps for the letters of condolence," said Olav Hohmeyer, an economist at the University of Flensburg who is also a member of the German government's environmental advisory body.
The situation in the U.S., Japan, China, France and other countries is similar.
"Around the globe, nuclear risks — be it damages to power plants or the liability risks resulting from radiation accidents — are covered by the state. The private insurance industry is barely liable," said Torsten Jeworrek, a board member at Munich Re, one of the world's biggest reinsurance companies.
In financial terms, nuclear incidents can be so devastating that the cost of full insurance would be so high as to make nuclear energy more expensive than fossil fuels.
Ultimately, the decision to keep insurance on nuclear plants to a minimum is a way of supporting the industry.
"Capping the insurance was a clear decision to provide a non-negligible subsidy to the technology," Klaus Toepfer, a former German environment minister and longtime head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said.
Interestingly, Harvey Wasserman reports that – even though everyone assumes that the new nuclear power plants approved under Obama will be built – economics might kill them before ground is broken:
The only two US reactor projects now technically under construction are on the brink of death for financial reasons.
If they go under, there will almost certainly be no new reactors built here.
Georgia's double-reactor Vogtle project has been sold on the basis of federal loan guarantees. Last year President Obama promised the Southern Company, parent to Georgia Power, $8.33 billion in financing from an $18.5 billion fund that had been established at the Department of Energy by George W. Bush. Until last week most industry observers had assumed the guarantees were a done deal. But the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group, has publicly complained that the Office of Management and Budget may be requiring terms that are unacceptable to the builders.
The climate for loan guarantees has changed since this one was promised. The $535 million collapse of Solyndra prompted a rash of angry Congressional hearings and cast a long shadow over the whole range of loan guarantees for energy projects. Though the Vogtle deal comes from a separate fund, skepticism over stalled negotiations is rising.
So is resistance among Georgia ratepayers. To fund the new Vogtle reactors, Southern is forcing "construction work in progress" rate hikes that require consumers to pay for the new nukes as they're being built. Southern is free of liability, even if the reactors are not completed. Thus it behooves the company to build them essentially forever, collecting payment whether they open or not.
All that would collapse should the loan guarantee package fail.
Bad for the Environment
Alternet points out:
Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis at the Vermont Law School … found that the states that invested heavily in nuclear power had worse track records on efficiency and developing renewables than those that did not have large nuclear programs. In other words, investing in nuclear technology crowded out developing clean energy.
Many experts also say that the "energy return on investment" from nuclear power is lower than many other forms of energy. In other words, non-nuclear energy sources produce more energy for a given input.
And decentralizing energy production and storage is the real solution for the environment … not building more centralized nuclear plants.
BBC notes:
Building the [nuclear] power station produces a lot of CO2 ….
Nuclear power … would do nothing directly to reduce CO2 from transport ….
Indeed, while it is admittedly an unusual argument, an International Forum on Globalization report – written by environmental luminaries Ernest Callenback, Gar Smith and Jerry Mander – have slammed nuclear power as catastrophic for the environment:
Nuclear energy is not the "clean" energy its backers proclaim. For more than 50 years, nuclear energy has been quietly polluting our air, land, water and bodies—while also contributing to Global Warming through the CO2 emissions from its construction, mining, and manufacturing operations. Every aspect of the nuclear fuel cycle—mining, milling, shipping, processing, power generation, waste disposal and storage—releases greenhouse gases, radioactive particles and toxic materials that poison the air, water and land. Nuclear power plants routinely expel low-level radionuclides into the air in the course of daily operations.While exposure to high levels of radiation can kill within a matter of days or weeks, exposure to low levels on a prolonged basis can damage bones and tissue and result in genetic damage, crippling long-term injuries, disease and death.
David Swanson – discussing the report – writes:
The energy put into mining, processing, and shipping uranium, plant construction, operation, and decommissioning is roughly equal to the energy a nuclear plant can produce in its lifetime. In other words, nuclear energy does not add any net energy.
Not counted in that calculation is the energy needed to store nuclear waste for hundreds of thousands of years.
Also not counted is any mitigation of the relatively routine damage done to the environment, including human health, at each stage of the process.
Nuclear energy is not an alternative to energies that increase global warming, because nuclear increases global warming. When high-grade uranium runs out, nuclear will be worse for CO2 emissions than burning fossil fuels. And as global warming advances, nuclear becomes even less efficient as reactors must shut down to avoid overheating.
Good for Making Bombs
If nuclear energy is expensive and bad for the environment, why is it being pushed so heavily? And why did the Fukushima reactors use plutonium – instead of just uranium? We need a little background to understand the answers.
Virtually all of the nuclear reactors in the U.S. are of the same archaic design as those at Fukushima. This design was not chosen for safety reasons. Rather, it was chosen because it worked in Navy submarines, and produces plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.
Indeed, safer designs – such as thorium reactors – were left on the shelf because they don't produce weapons-grade plutonium.
Governments have been covering up nuclear meltdowns for 50 years in order to protect the nuclear plant production of weapons-grade nuclear material. They have also suppressed the findings of their own top scientists about the health risks of radiation. Indeed, "nuclear regulators" are really just promoters for the nuclear cycle.
As veteran investigative reporter Joseph Trento – who has received six Pulitzer nominations, worked for CNN's Special Assignment Unit, the Wilmington News Journal, and prominent journalist Jack Anderson – notes in a new report, the U.S. circumvented national and international laws to secretly give Japan nuclear weapons:
The United States deliberately allowed Japan access to the United States' most secret nuclear weapons facilities while it transferred tens of billions of dollars worth of American tax paid research that has allowed Japan to amass 70 tons of weapons grade plutonium since the 1980s, a National Security News Service investigation reveals. These activities repeatedly violated U.S. laws regarding controls of sensitive nuclear materials that could be diverted to weapons programs in Japan. The NSNS investigation found that the United States has known about a secret nuclear weapons program in Japan since the 1960s, according to CIA reports.
[Japan] has used its electrical utility companies as a cover to allow the country to amass enough nuclear weapons materials to build a nuclear arsenal larger than China, India and Pakistan combined. This deliberate proliferation by the United States fuels arguments by countries like Iran that the original nuclear powers engage in proliferation despite treaty and internal legal obligations.
That secret effort was hidden in a nuclear power program that by March 11, 2011– the day the earthquake and tsunami overwhelmed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant – had amassed 70 metric tons of plutonium. Like its use of civilian nuclear power to hide a secret bomb program, Japan used peaceful space exploration as a cover for developing sophisticated nuclear weapons delivery systems.
Political leaders in Japan understood that the only way the Japanese people could be convinced to allow nuclear power into their lives was if a long line of governments and industry hid any military application. For that reason, a succession of Japanese governments colluded on a bomb program disguised as innocent energy and civil space programs.
Until the March 2011 tragedy, the Japanese nuclear industry had largely remained hidden from critical eyes. The less than thorough InternationA nuclear-armed Japan would relieve much of the drain on American military resources. The need to keep two divisions on the ground in Korea, as well as nuclear armed ships and aircraft in the Pacific as a hedge against China and the missile bases in the Soviet Far East detracted from the Pentagon's chief mission – preparing for all-out war on the plains of Central Europe. The Reagan administration's strategy was to push the Soviet war machine until it broke, taking the Soviet Union and its satellite regimes with it. The less than thorough International Atomic Energy Agency, the world's proliferation safeguard agency, also turned a blind eye.
In a rare glimpse of a Japanese industry that has remained top secret for so many decades, our investigation raises serious concerns about Japanese and Western nuclear policies and the officials who shaped those policies during and after the Cold War. International corporations and officials sacrificed the safety and security of the public to carry out the deception. Under the guise of a peaceful nuclear power program, they made huge profits.
Both the Monju fast-breeder reactor in 1995 and the Tokai reprocessing plant in April 1997 suffered serious, accidental radiation leaks; both accidents were the subjects of attempted cover-ups. Most egregious was the fire and leak of radioactive sodium at the Monju FBR. Japan's Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC), the government corporation that operated Monju, lied repeatedly to the public about the accident. PNC attempted to suppress video footage that showed the cause of the accident: a ruptured pipe in a secondary cooling system that had spilled an estimated two to three tons of radioactive sodium – the largest such leak in the history of fast-breeder technology. One of the reasons PNC gave for releasing the misinformation was that Monju was too important to Japan's energy program to jeopardize the reactor's operation. In other words, the public's safety was secondary to the breeder program.
Had it not been for a courageous act by a group of Fukui prefecture officials in the early morning of December 11, PNC's attempted cover-up probably would have succeeded. Suspecting a cover-up, the officials entered the plant and secured the videotape. The action came as a direct result of a previous accident at Fukui's Tsuruga Unit I reactor in the early 1980s. Fukui prefecture officials were not permitted to investigate that mishap. When the Monju accident took place, the officials were determined not to be turned away a second time. Following revelations that the agency itself had been involved in trying to withhold the video, a PNC executive committed suicide.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster was not Japan's first close call with nuclear weapons grade plutonium. Japan came very close to contaminating the Chilean coast on March 20, 1995, when the Pacific Pintail, laden with enough waste plutonium to build hundreds of nuclear bombs, tried to head into the protection of Chilean waters during a storm [with] 40-foot waves crashing over her bow, the spray flying away horizontally in the storm. He was in the midst of an Antarctic gale off Cape Horn at the tip of South America – the deadliest ocean in the world….
BBC notes:
A veteran of the nuclear industry wrote this: "What the industry needs to regain the support of the British public is… something akin to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission."
It needs to be admitted that governments and industry lied to the public about the links with the military programme" ….
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