text:
Is your course losing its shape?
Golf courses are not static. Changes over time significantly impact design and play.
Few golf courses today are the same as they were even 10 years ago when they first opened for play. It is safe to say that the older a course is, the less it resembles the original design. This is a fact that Augusta, Pebble Beach and Baltusrol attest to just as surely as the local country club or daily-fee course.
Change is inevitable - even without remodeling. Much of the change that courses undergo is a slow evolution that results from natural vegetative growth, ongoing maintenance practices and a lack of awareness that change is actually occurring.
Unfortunately, the changes that occur over time tend to soften the course and remove much of the original playing strategy. This can turn a visually interesting and exciting design into one that is common and boring. An old course presents little of the original design in most cases. That is one of the reasons why older courses are frequently stereotyped as mundane and boring. However, awareness of this evolutionary process allows golf-course superintendents to take necessary steps to prevent or minimize the change.
Forces of change The change that courses experience primarily is driven by two factors: maintenance practices and increasing play.
- Maintenance. Everyday maintenance practices alter the original course design. Sooner or later, inevitably, greens become smaller and rounder, sand bunkers become less visible, smaller and saucer or peanut-shaped. Putting surfaces tend to become flatter as do the basins of the bunkers. Tee tops often become smaller and less flat. Fairways begin to puddle more often, and worn tracks appear where cart traffic congregates. Fairways are narrower than before, as tree canopies expand with age. The grass near fairway edges, in roughs and often at teeing areas becomes thinner due to ever-increasing shade. More shade also promotes chronic wet areas that become compacted and reduce turf quality.
- More play. Increasing play volume is bringing more traffic to golf courses than existed 10 or 20 years ago. The increased traffic brings additional wear and tear that often emerges as compaction-related problems. More golfers means more revenue - a positive trend in the eyes of course managers. However, the direct relationship between excessive play and turf deterioration is sometimes overlooked. Greater levels of maintenance should accompany increasing volumes of play, but usually it isn't proportional. Too often, recognition of the need for greater maintenance occurs only after damage has become obvious and is beyond the help of simple remedial steps.
Creeping change I use the terms "green creep" and "bunker creep" to describe the most common causes of golf-course evolution. These events occur concurrently and actually begin from the first day of mowing at any new course. Maintenance techniques, climate, the type of grasses, soil conditions and the maintenance budget all contribute to the speed with which the changes occur. However, there is no way to prevent them altogether.
- Green creep. Maintenance personnel keep their jobs by not killing the grass. They're cautious about doing anything that might harm turf or create an unpleasant appearance. Thus, the person mowing the putting greens tends to leave a bit of uncut collar as insurance to prevent scalping the collar. Today's cut tends to be slightly inside yesterday's cut, and so forth, so the putting surface becomes smaller day by day. Eventually, the putting green becomes round or oval, and devoid of appealing shape or individuality. Greens progressively become more alike. Ten or 15 years after opening, greens are mostly the same, devoid of playing diversity or individual personality.
- Bunker creep. Bunker creep can occur more quickly than green creep. Often, superintendents give less attention to the original shape of the sand bunker than to greens; string trimmers and power edgers lend themselves to straight lines and circular outlines more than irregular curves; the person edging the bunkers often does not cut back all of the turf growth that has occurred since the previous edging. At peak growing season, especially with warm-season grasses, substantial growth can occur in a short time. If edging is insufficient, the turf eventually will occupy what was once a portion of the sand basin, especially on concave curves. The opposite effect can occur as well. Continuous edging can reduce or eliminate "peninsulas" of turf extending into bunkers.
Other factors can change bunker shapes. Inattentive bunker raking, especially with mechanized trap rakes, can distort the shape, pile sand at the edges and flatten the basin. Wind can force sand to accumulate at one side of the bunker, raising an edge excessively. Over-filling when topping a bunker with fresh sand can eliminate the preferred concave basin or add to an edge to encourage more grass inward growth.
As a result, bunkers become ever smaller. Such changes can be substantial. Movement of 5 feet or more is not uncommon in the absence of any effort to halt inward growth. Taking 5 or 6 feet off the sides of a sand bunker turns a large and meaningful hazard into an almost insignificant peanut-shaped spot in the fairway. The shifting of shape and position of fairway bunkers can influence, or stop influencing, how and where golfers aim their tee shots.
Perhaps most importantly, the inward growth of turf, raised edges and elimination of visible sand faces turn what was intended to be an obvious visible hazard into an unfair hazard nearly invisible to oncoming players. Blind hazards delay play and can result in lost revenue.
- Tees. As with greens, teeing surfaces also experience inward creep of their boundaries. Because the same traffic is concentrated on a smaller area, golfer traffic on tee tops is more intense than on putting surfaces. Larger tee areas, not smaller ones are the objective.
Inadequate attention to tee outlines also can lead to misalignment of tee markers, incorrectly aimed shots and more balls lost in the woods. Lost shots add to playing time and can reduce revenue. Topdressing divots instead of the entire tee top eventually can create uneven or irregularly sloping tee surfaces.
- Fairways and maintained roughs creep too. Reshaping fairway outlines, reducing excessive bands of rough (or perhaps growing more rough, where applicable) can be beneficial.
- Trees. The growth of trees around a course causes profound change over the years. Playing strategy, sun/shade relationships, air movement, frost problems, drainage problems and exposed roots also emerge as factors as the trees continue to grow and expand. These changes are seldom obvious because they occur so slowly.
Tree maintenance as an ongoing management practice is slim or none at many courses. Pruning and thinning, removal, root pruning, pest controls and periodic fertilization are beneficial but often do not fit into the budget or are just overlooked.
Creep affects play - and revenue
Green and bunker creep around putting greens can have considerable impact on play unless the original golf architect's design drawings are available or someone at the course retains some recollection of the original design. The changes may distort or totally alter what once was a shot-specific design for that site.
Bunkers generally creep away from the putting surface. Putting-green boundaries creep inward. The result are smaller, less-diverse putting surfaces with once-protective bunkers now farther away and much smaller. The change in shape and appearance of the bunkers often leads to obscured or invisible and blind bunkers around the green. At a private club, where most players are familiar with the course, blind bunkers may be tolerable. At a daily-fee, public or resort course, where new golfers are eagerly sought, blind hazards only slow play and increase aggravation. Greater distance from bunker edge to putting surface lessens the approach challenge for better players and continues to hinder those who have difficulty hitting the green surface in the first place.
Smaller putting surfaces yield fewer positions to set the pin. Perhaps the original design provided four or five distinct pin placement areas; now there are but two or three. This reduces the options the superintendent has to spread the golfer traffic around. Wear and tear becomes more obvious. Compaction and turf deterioration increase. Fewer pin positions also reduce the approach-shot options, making the greensite less interesting to play.
Applying the brakes to evolution Actions to forestall, limit or alter the creep of greens and bunkers are easy with some awareness and insight. Total reconstruction is not always necessary. An experienced golf architect can advise superintendents about what to do to counter green and bunker creep.
- Reshaping and re-facing bunkers can be an ongoing maintenance function or one that you can handle with temporary labor for a few weeks each year.
- To slow the process of green creep, superintendents can regularly over-cut the green edge apron by a few inches. A yellowish discoloration will be visible for a few days, so it may be necessary to educate the green committee. However, this tactic helps retain the originally designed shape and surface area. If you have access to original designs, use them to help demonstrate the need for this strategy.
- Tee-top reshaping can be unobtrusive.
- Tree maintenance by an experienced arborist can remove excessive growth and is worth the investment.
Do-it-yourself remedial action is not always the best or most efficient method, however. Situations exist where damage and design changes have become too extensive. Plus, other factors - dissatisfaction with the existing design, changing competitive and market factors - might dictate more far-reaching changes. The decision to implement a total remodel and upgrade may be the final result of evaluating course conditions.
In such instances, professional golf architectural assistance is essential. A detailed master plan to clearly guide the renovation or remodeling work should be the first step. Each remodeling or upgrading project should be customized and site-specific.
Whether your situation calls for modest changes in maintenance practices or complete renovation, the first step is simple awareness of the changes that inevitably take place on golf courses over time. Compare current conditions to the original design, if possible. Then you can decide what your course needs to turn back the hands of time.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2020 Penton Media Inc.


text:
>The American Cancer Society recommends the following:
>1. Women 20 years of age and older should perform breast self-examination every month.
>2. Women ages 20-39 should have a physical examination of the breast every three years, performed by a healthcare professional such as a physician, physician assistant, nurse or nurse practitioner.
>3. Women 40 and older should have a physical examination of the breast every year, performed by a healthcare professional such as a physician, physician assistant, nurse or nurse practitioner.
>4. Women 40 and older should have a mammogram every year.
>Tumors are often removed surgically and treatment of malignant tumors may involve surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy - or a combination of two or three of these procedures.
>Both chemotherapy and radiotherapy can have toxic effects on the lung, surrounding tissue and body cells that have a rapid growth cycle such as blood cells.
>Fitness and Diving Issues
>Cytotoxic drugs (chemotherapy) and radiation therapy can have unpleasant side effects such as nausea and vomiting, and a prolonged course of therapy can result in greatly decreased energy levels. This makes diving while experiencing such side effects inadvisable. Radiation and some chemotherapeutic drugs can cause pulmonary toxicity.
>An evaluation to establish the safety of a return to diving should include an assessment of the lung to ensure that damage likely to predispose the diver to pulmonary barotrauma (arterial gas embolism, pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum) is not present.
>Finally, before diving, healing must have occurred, and the surgeon must be satisfied that immersion in salt water will not contribute to wound infection. Strength, general fitness and well-being should be back to normal. The risk of infection, which may have increased temporarily during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, should have returned to normal levels.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Age Friendly Cities project continues with community conversations
- Author: Thursday, January 24th, 2013
A five-year community-based research project to make Bowling Green more age friendly will enter its next phase this spring with a series of community conversations.
The project is part of the World Health Organization's Age Friendly Cities and Communities Initiative. In 2012, Bowling Green became one of the first seven cities in the United States – and the only city in south – to become a member of the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. The network has 105 members in 19 countries.
"This truly is a project that has international reach," said Dr. Dana Burr Bradley, director of WKU's Center for Aging. "The world really is watching, they want to know how we are doing it in the south, in rural communities like ours."
WKU's Center for Aging, the City of Bowling Green's Neighborhood Division and AARP Kentucky are the convening organizations for the project and for the upcoming Ask Bowling Green community conversations.
As part of a 50 Over 50 Citizens Academy last October, 27 people were trained as community experts and to help collect data and develop an assessment plan for the project. Members of the group reunited Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 22) at WKU's Knicely Conference Center to learn more about this spring's Ask Bowling Green sessions.
"AARP is really interested in Age Friendly Cities and in livable communities because this is about all people," said Patrice Blanchard, associate director of AARP Kentucky.
This spring's small group discussions will held throughout the community and will brainstorm answers to the question of "What kind of community do you want to live in?"
"In a way it's a visioning exercise," Blanchard said. "We're not trying to be problem solvers, we're not trying to identify what's wrong, we're trying to look at what's right in your best dreams and then helping make that happen."
In addition in May, WKU's Center for Aging will host a "Gathering" of service providers and organizations that work with older adults to share information, ideas and challenges.
"Why should Bowling Green care about being age friendly?" Dr. Bradley asked. "In less than two decades there are going to be more seniors over 65 than there are people under 18. One in five people will be over 65. Right now, every eight seconds someone turns 65 in this country."
Dr. Bradley noted, however, that community aging is an opportunity, not a crisis.
The project provides an opportunity for all community members to share their concerns and ideas; for WKU students to gain experience research experience as they collect and analyze data; for economic and business development; and for the community to identify its age friendly strengths and challenges.
"Anytime you can have community folks involved in thinking about their vision for the community and getting that feedback from them, I think it gives our elected leaders, staff and other leaders direction," Neighborhood Services Coordinator Karen Foley said.
The Age Friendly Cities Initiative looks at eight domains – outdoor space and buildings, transportation, communication and information, housing, respect and social inclusion, social participation, civic participation and employment, and community support and health services.
The data and information collected this spring will provide a baseline assessment of age-friendliness and the groups will develop an action plan to move forward, she said.
As a requirement of the Age Friendly Cities Initiative, the project must involve older adults in the phases of the project. "Older adults are the experts in what make a city age friendly," Dr. Bradley said.
Being age friendly isn't just about older adults, Blanchard said. For example, a curb that may present mobility issues for older adults also could be an issue for mothers pushing a stroller, she said.
"It's about making the community better for all of us," Blanchard said.
Citizens Academy member John Warnhoff said the World Health Organization project is vital as society ages. "We're all different people because of ethnic background, because of personal life experiences," he said, "but if we can combine all that and integrate it, then we produce a better community and better world."
Want to learn more?
- For those interested in hosting a community conversation this spring, send an email to email@example.com; the Center for Aging will supply a facilitator and a notetaker.
- To find out more about the AARP's Livable Communities resources, visit http://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/
- To learn more about the WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities, visit http://www.who.int/ageing/projects/age_friendly_cities_network/en/index.html or http://www.agefriendlyworld.org/cities-and-communities
Contact: Dana Burr Bradley, (270) 745-2356.
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.


text:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp's agreement with the Pentagon for 32 additional F-35 fighter jets is valued at around $3.8 billion, although the two sides are still finalizing details, a source familiar with the agreement told Reuters.
The price of each of the new planes in the fifth batch of F-35s would be less than 50 percent of the price of the planes in the first batch, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick


text:
Law enforcement is rethinking sobriety checkpoints when they find that many people are using Facebook and Twitter to tell others where they are.
Sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement used to have big checkpoints for hours, but now in our digital world news of sobriety checkpoints spread quickly, according to the Associated Press, and arrests dropped. So now, many law enforcement agencies in places like Missouri and Illinois are focusing on smaller operations on less-traveled roads.
At one 9:15 p.m. sobriety checkpoint in Hillsboro, Mo., stopped drivers quickly began texting. Within 45 minutes, one of the Jefferson County sheriff's deputies on duty received a text from his wife forwarding a Facebook posting which told where the sobriety checkpoint was.
"Check point at Miller and Vogel." Another Facebook user commented, "omg tonight ?!?!"
That's when vehicles began to trickle in and deputies moved to another checkpoint.
This throws a wrench into the works because sobriety checkpoints are supposed to catch and deter drivers who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Perhaps some people believe these advisory tweets and Facebook posts are helpful, but instead they simply let those who may have impaired judgment dodge the law.


text:
Critical Thinking: How Can Newspapers Regain The Trust Of Their Readership?
By: Nu Yang
Q: A recent Gallup poll revealed that only 25 percent of adults expressed a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in newspapers. At its peak in 1979, consumer confidence in newspapers was 51 percent. How can newspapers today regain the trust of their readership?
Elizabeth Bonner, 21, senior, Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.)
Bonner is a senior honors student and staff writer for The Auburn Plainsman student newspaper. She is majoring in journalism with a minor in political science. During the summer of 2011, Bonner was editorial intern for the New Statesman, a current affairs and political magazine in London. This summer, she interned as a reporter with The Tennessean in Nashville.
A: We live in a world of instant information. This creates an incredibly competitive atmosphere for any news organization. Newspapers can no longer stop at making sure today's big news appears in tomorrow's print. They must compete with TV, radio, and millions of online outlets to get the news to the people — and get it to them first.
This race to break has begun to take priority over some of the most fundamental pillars of journalism, most importantly accuracy.
In an effort to get the news out first, journalists are neglecting to get every side of the story and conduct basic fact checks, producing hasty reports with — if they're lucky — minor spelling errors or — if they're not — huge mistakes that raise suspicions of agendas and biases.
In live reporting of the Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health care bill, CNN and Fox News both announced false reports. CNN went on to publish a string of inaccurate information, confusing viewers and readers across the country. There is no pride in being the first to break the wrong news.
More recently, as America woke up to the tragic news of the Aurora mass murders July 20, ABC was quick to link the Tea Party's Jim Holmes to the crime when news of the suspect's name first surfaced. There is no excuse for reporting this type of unverified conclusion.
Yes, timeliness is an important piece of good journalism, especially in this day and age, but it is rendered completely meaningless if incorrect news is reported quickly.
Journalists must commit to reporting the truth and only the truth — no matter the extra time and effort it takes. This will help restore credibility to the news industry and begin the process of repairing the public's trust in the words that appear in their papers and on their computer and TV screens.
George Spohr, 31, editor, The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pa.)
Spohr began his career 14 years ago as a reporter while in high school. He later served as a business journalist before making the jump to management. His past roles include executive editor of The World in Coos Bay, Ore.; state editor of the Watertown Daily Times in Watertown, N.Y.; and business editor of the Times Herald- Record in Middletown, N.Y.
A: At a time when newspapers are competing against every blogger with a WordPress account, it's crucial that newspapers distinguish themselves from their online counterparts. One of the best ways to do that is to transition the best practices of print to our digital portfolios.
Most newspapers do a good job of correcting bad information in print, but when it happens online, it's done in a vacuum. The bad information quietly changes online, but you'd have to have before-and-after screenshots to know what changed.
The New York Times has a great model to address that, and it's one we're adopting here at The Sentinel.
When we need to correct information we've reported, we make changes to the story online, but we also append a timestamped editor's note letting readers know exactly what has changed. Readers instantly know what about the story has changed and, in some cases, why the mistake was made in the first place. Relatively few bloggers hold themselves to that standard.
It comes down to newspapers being much more transparent with readers online when we make a mistake. Credibility and accountability are some of the few tools we have to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
If you have a question you would like to see addressed, please send it to firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Hypothermia occurs when you have abnormally low body temperature. Normal body temperature is around 37°C (98.6°F), as measured by mouth. Hypothermia is defined as a drop in body temperature below 35°C (95°F). Young babies (because they have a greater surface area to body weight ratio) and seniors are the most vulnerable to developing hypothermia.
When the body becomes very cold, all physiological systems begin to slow down – eventually to the point that threatens survival. In some rare cases, though, hypothermia can save lives. There are cases where children who have fallen into freezing water were successfully revived even when there was no heartbeat. Their below-normal temperature slowed down their brain function and caused their bodies to use less oxygen.
Frostbite happens when a part of the body actually freezes. Mild frostbite doesn't leave lasting damage, but severe frostbite does cause permanent damage and may even require amputation of a body part.
Smokers and people with diabetes and other circulatory problems have a higher risk of developing frostbite.
Hypothermia can occur in a number of situations, most often where extremely cold weather is a factor. You're at risk if you're not adequately dressed for the cold, if you're outside longer than you'd planned or you can't move, if you fall into near-freezing water, or if your clothing gets wet.
Every winter, some seniors die from hypothermia in their own homes because they can't pay for adequate heating or their heating systems break down and they can't get repairs done.
Hypothermia can also happen in the summer. Many lakes never get very warm and swimmers who stay in cold water for too long can become hypothermic. These cases often involve fishermen who have fallen into the water.
Frostbite is caused when body parts, usually fingers, toes, noses, and ears, are frozen. Extreme cold, a wind-chill factor, altitude, and lack of proper protective clothing all contribute to quicker freezing of the skin. People taking beta-blocker medications such as propranolol* and metoprolol may also have a higher risk of frostbite.
Hypothermia can come on very slowly, making it difficult to notice that it's happening. When your body is cold, you try to protect yourself by shivering. When hypothermia sets in, the shivering stops as your body is now trying to conserve energy. This is one of the first warning signs of hypothermia. You might also begin to feel clumsy and disoriented as your body temperature drops. Other signs include forgetfulness, drowsiness, slurred speech, slow or irregular heartbeat, and shallow breathing.
One complication of hypothermia is that the heart becomes very sensitive and can be easily jolted into an irregular rhythm. If you try to rescue someone with hypothermia, you need to be as gentle as possible to prevent any sudden movements. As well, emergency personnel will monitor the heart during the re-warming process to watch for any irregularities.
How fast the signs of frostbite develop depends on the air temperature, wind-chill factor, and how well the affected body part is protected. It's possible to get frostbite within minutes during extremely cold conditions.
Mild frostbite (frostnip) makes the skin look white or waxy but the colour returns once the skin is warm again. Once thawed, the skin might turn red and it could take a while for the redness to go away.
Severe frostbite begins with white or waxy-looking skin, but the colour becomes grey or bluish as the damage progresses. The cold feeling disappears and is replaced with numbness, and blisters might form. At this point, it's very easy to cause other damage besides the actual freezing. For example, because you might have lost feeling in a foot that is frostbitten, you might not feel blisters forming and breaking. A frozen finger could break easily in a fall, and skin can burn very easily if it's not warmed up properly.
As a frozen body part warms up, the area may swell, itch, burn, and be extremely painful. Extreme frostbite will turn the skin black, and gangrene may develop, in which case amputation may be needed.
For both hypothermia and frostbite, a diagnosis is made based on the signs and symptoms described above and a history of cold exposure. In the hospital, a doctor will also do blood work and other tests to help determine the course of treatment.
Treatment of hypothermia needs to be done very carefully and under proper supervision because your body is very fragile in this state. In this situation, emergency personnel will warm you up with heating pads, packs, and special blankets while giving you warmed intravenous (IV) fluids and oxygen. They'll be watching very closely for any heart problems and will be ready to give the proper medications if needed. If you have no pulse when you are brought in, the doctors will still go ahead with re-warming before performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – many people have been successfully revived after severe hypothermia.
For frostbite, care must be taken not to further damage the frozen areas of the body. Doctors will warm the part up slowly and check for permanent damage. They will probably give an antibiotic, a tetanus shot, and possibly some medication to widen the blood vessels and allow more blood to flow through the frozen area. You might also need pain medication as this can be a very painful process.
Surgery to remove dead tissue or amputation might be necessary later on if some areas were permanently damaged by the freezing. Since frostbite often looks worse than it really is, surgery is rarely done immediately. Doctors usually take a wait-and-see approach to see if your body is able to heal itself.
If you're helping someone with hypothermia or frostbite, follow these instructions:
You can move the person out of the cold, provide indirect heat (but not directly on the skin), and wrap the frostbitten parts in sterile bandages and try to keep them from getting banged or hurt any further.
Hypothermia and frostbite are preventable. Be prepared for outdoor conditions by dressing warmly, covering exposed skin, and not letting the bright sun fool you in the winter. If the temperature is below freezing (0°C), consider yourself at risk and take the proper precautions.
*All medications have both common (generic) and brand names. The brand name is what a specific manufacturer calls the product (e.g., Tylenol®). The common name is the medical name for the medication (e.g., acetaminophen). A medication may have many brand names, but only one common name. This article lists medications by their common names. For information on a given medication, check our Drug Information database. For more information on brand names, speak with your doctor or pharmacist.
All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2019. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/condition/getcondition/Hypothermia-and-Frostbite


text:
Sewing Up Steel - 125 Steps To Perfect Paint
Do-It-Yourself Tips And Tricks To Make Your Hot Rod Arrow Straight And Ready For Paint.
Sewing up SteelThough less common than your average ding or dent, tears or cracks in steel do happen, and putting the two sides back together correctly is a little more complicated than just a quick weld. When metal is torn or cracked, it's typically the result of some sort of fatigue or impact trauma, which always results in stretching and deformation. To erase the tear in the metal we'll need to not only bring the two edges back together, but also massage the steel back into its original form. For a quick tutorial on this we again tapped metal shaper Ken Sakamoto at Sunchaser Tools in Pasadena, California. Ken has a unique approach that relies on a tiny torch and his Friction System of metalworking. Depending on the cause of the tear in the sheetmetal, there could be a great deal of hammer-and-dolly work necessary to get it back to the point where the two sides will meet again. For simplicity's sake, we'll work with a basic tear around a mounting hole on a Model A fender caused by metal fatigue.
Ken began by cleaning the paint and rust off with a stripping wheel to prepare the area. To flatten out the twist in the steel and bring the edges level with each other, Ken used a general purpose body dolly and body hammer.
Ken worked the area until it looked like this. The edges of the split were matched up, but there was still a significant amount of stretching and warpage in the metal from the tear.
To prevent the crack from spider-webbing any further even after the repair, Ken drilled a 1/8-inch hole at the very end of the split.
Rather than using a MIG or TIG system, Ken prefers this tiny jeweler's acetylene torch to gas-weld sheetmetal patches. The torch's size makes it easy to maneuver, plus in Ken's words, "It doesn't put instant heat into the steel like a MIG welder." The torch and stand are available on Sunchaser's Web site. When working with cracks, first tack the ends of the split to anchor the steel where you want it to stay and then fill the rest.
All filled in, it should look like this. The split was repaired, but then we had to remove the stitching without leaving a scar.
The jeweler's torch doesn't leave a tall weld, but Ken first used a flapper-style sanding wheel on a standard 4-inch Makita angle grinder to flatten it down.
Next it's time to take the warp out of the steel with Sunchaser's friction metal-shrinking disc that comes in the Friction System kit.
Ken worked the disc back and forth across the welded area with a 15-amp Milwaukee angle grinder at 6,000 rpm to heat the metal, pinpointing precisely where he wants the deformed metal to shrink.
Just as with the dented fender, Ken only uses the disc for a few seconds before stopping and wiping the area with a damp rag and allowing it to cool down to roughly ambient temperature.
After a couple of sessions with the shrinking disc and allowing the area to cool in between, Ken switches over to a 100-grit sanding disc for a few brief passes.
Lastly, it's back to the abrasive stripping wheel to smooth the finish. After just a few rubs, this is what we're left with: a repaired fender returned to original shape with no low spots that's ready for primer and blocking.


text:
Coventry City fans are worried about the security of a cashless payment card introduced at the football club's Ricoh Arena stadium this season.
The system, intended to reduce the time fans spend queuing at matches paying for food and beverages, is one of the first of its kind. However the technology behind the SkyBluePass is based on the MiFare Classic RFID chip, the same system used by Transport for London's Oyster card.
A security paper due to be presented at a conference in October will show how it might be possible for a hacker to use a wireless RFID sniffer device to read an Oyster card and use this data to create a cloned counterfeit version that can be used as if it was the original.
A member of the team who conducted research into the possibility of hacking the Oyster card confirms that the Ricoh Arena card is based on the same technology as Oyster and is therefore potentially subject to the same security flaws. Peter van Rossum, of Radboud University in The Netherlands, came to this conclusion after examining a Ricoh Arena card sent to him after El Reg put him in touch with Coventry City fan Ben Darlow, who was the first to raise concerns about the technology.
"The [SkyBluePass] card is indeed a Mifare Classic; the 1K variant, to be precise - that's the most commonly used variant. Except for a few sectors, that likely don't contain sensitive data, all sectors are encrypted. Of course, an attacker can decrypt them if he listens in on a communication between a reader and a tag, but without a reader this is as far as I can get," van Rossum said.
"There are ways that the system can make this harder for an attacker, but I've never seen a system where that's actually being done," he added.
van Rossum added that the use of the potentially vulnerable MiFare Classic chip on the Coventry City card is a particular concern "especially since Coventry City seems to be going to use this as some kind of electronic wallet and that could easily present an attractive target for criminals". The use of the MiFare Classic chip is an unnecessary security risk, according to van Rossum, who notes that there are "cheap and secure alternatives available".
Coventry City fan Darlow adds that Coventry appear to be using the same MiFare technology for the club's new season tickets, raising the concern that season ticket holders could be vulnerable to having their tickets cloned and stolen.
"At first I only thought the cashless payment system was vulnerable, but shortly before the first match of the season the club announced that all season ticket holders would be given £7 credit. When I went to the match I saw that this was done using the season ticket cards themselves, so it seems a very plausible scenario that the season ticket cards are also Mifare Classic cards," Darlow told El Reg.
Neither van Rossum or other security experts have examined a copy of the season ticket which may integrate with a cashless payment system in the same way that an Oyster card can carry both a travel card season ticket and Oyster PAYG credit. "It's speculation on my part, but quite likely speculation," Darlow said.
The Ricoh Arena cashless card system system was installed by German integrator Payment Solutions AG. Neither Coventry City nor Payment Solutions AG have responded to our requests to comment on security concerns, first raised by Darlow, about the SkyBluePass system. ®


text:
American Bolero Dance Company and Spanish Benevolent Society-Centro Español proudly present TABLAO FLAMENCO IN ASTORIA, Friday, January 9, 2009 at 8:30 pm.
Tablao Flamenco in Astoria is a series of live flamenco performances in a nightclub setting, taking place at Centro Español's Auditorium. On the first Friday of every month (with the exception of January 2009), Centro Español, located in the heart of Astoria's business district, invites the general public to enjoy the culture of Spain through its music and cuisine. Besides the generous assortment of tapas and Spanish wines, Tablao Flamenco, in keeping with American Bolero Dance Company's mission, presents a variety of Spanish dance styles, with emphasis in Andalusian Flamenco and Spanish classical dances, performed by various local and international artists.
Living up to this reputation, the January 9th show, the third installment of the series, will present Fandango, a classical Spanish dance with modern flamenco flair to the courtly music of composer Luigi Boccherini, the quintessentially Spanish Pasodoble, the deeply solemn Seguiriyas, the joyful Alegrías, and much, much more. This evening's performance will feature the expressiveness and elegance of dancer/choreographer GABRIELA GRANADOS, the compelling dancing of LA MEIRA, the melismatic singing of ALFONSO CID, the traditional playing of guitarist BASILIO GEORGES, the versatility of singer/dancer AURORA REYES, and the eclectic style of guitarist RAPHAEL BRUNN.
Performance date: Friday January 9, 2009
Show Time: 8:30 pm. Dinner Seating at 8:00 pm.
Cover Charge: $20. Tapas, Paella, and Spanish Wines available to order
Location: AUDITORIUM CENTRO ESPAÑOL, 41-01 Broadway (at 41st Street), 2nd Floor, Astoria, NY 11103. By subway: R or V to Steinway Street.
Table reservations and Advance Ticket Sales call: American Bolero Dance Company at (718) 392-8888 or (917) 288-7996.
For additional information, visit www.ambolero.com or www.centroespanolnyc.org.


text:
I would like to upload a .zip file which contains some project files. Is there a designated way to do that so other reads can download the file? Can I just attach the file to a forum post?
Moderator: 2ffat
2ffat wrote:A zip file will work but you may want to use an installer.
MyVCL2015 wrote:Can I just attach the file to a forum post?
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
Conservation and Environment in Kenya: Monthly Updates
Conservation in Kenya Monthly Update August-September 2013
Before reporting on our latest activities in the Kenyan bush, I would like to give you a little background on the work we are involved in.
Projects Abroad Kenya applies concepts of conservation through the involvement of volunteers and the locals by funding the application of sound wildlife management and ecological practises. Kigio Wildlife Conservancy was once a cattle ranch, which has since been transformed into a wildlife conservancy. The conservancy is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including 4% of the rare and endangered Rothschild's giraffe and hosting two of the big five – leopard and buffalo. As Kigio Conservancy is home to a significant percentage of the endangered Rothschild's giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi), Projects Abroad has partnered with the Giraffe Research and Conservation Trust (GRCT) in pioneering a study that link up these two critical areas of Kenya, all following the same methodology.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognises that this species is declining and without extensive conservation measures it will inevitably fall into the critically endangered bracket. The number of Rothschild's giraffes left in the wild is estimated at around 670. To counteract this decline further, research is required into the ecology of this species and its requirements in the wild along with the factors causing their decline.
The overall aim of this project is to provide an accurate and scientific overview of the ecology of the Rothschild's giraffe. The data collected will replicate data collected by the Giraffe and Conservation Trust (GRCT) within the Central Rift Valley. The on-going giraffe research in Kigio Wildlife Conservancy is monitoring a total of 22 adult giraffes and four calves, with each of the giraffes having its own individual identification kit. This monitoring programme will provide information on the principal browsing behaviour and a detailed overview of the diet and the key ecological requirements of the Rothschild's giraffe.
Giraffe populations are monitored using an individual ID-based approach in the conservancy. A research team of three to four volunteers is driven through the conservancy trying to cover as much ground as possible during each monitoring period. Typically a total of six surveys are conducted every week, equally split between the morning and afternoon. The monitoring team records a set of standardised parameters for each individual sighting, including: identity, time and date, GPS location (UTM Coordinate system), group composition, behaviour, age and sex. Photos of each individual giraffe were taken and used for identification as well. Individuals were recognised by a combination of several features: skin pattern, distinctive body marks, age and sex. All data was recorded on a standardised data collection form, which was later entered in a giraffe data base.
In addition, these surveys also covered the feeding behaviour of the giraffes by identifying and recording the plants that were being fed on. The diet was assessed and species contributing 5% or more to the diet will be considered principal forage.
While the IUCN recognises the Rothschild's Giraffe as a vulnerable species, hardly any research has been done on this sub-species in the wild. It is important for this sub-species to be researched more thoroughly because the differences in displayed behaviour due to absence or presence of predators are not known. This information is needed to make sound population management decisions, especially when giraffes are trans-located. Research in Kigio Wildlife Conservancy is interesting because of the absence of lions, probably the main predator of giraffes and the fact that each single giraffe in this area is well known. The aim of this study is to discover how Rothschild's giraffes spend their days without real predation risk. Besides that, this research will be done to find out which factors influence displayed behaviour.
For this research, each session takes 12 hours. The 12 hours is divided into four shorter shifts, with a two hour delay in between. In total, each shift takes 4 hours and 30 minutes. During the shifts, the behaviour of the giraffe is recorded every 5 minutes using a technique called "scan sampling". The start and stop time of a session should be different each time in order to obtain a 12 hour cover in the dataset. Because of the identification of the giraffes, it is possible to give exact information on the age, sex and if the females are pregnant or not.
During August and September almost 194 hours of behavioural observations were carried out by the volunteers. The data shows that giraffes spend most time on feeding, as 31% of observed time was noted as feeding behaviour. 17% of the time the observed giraffes were not seen, which is mostly caused by them walking away from the view of the volunteers. When giraffes are not feeding, they spend most time ruminating, transiting or standing, which together make up 44% of all the observations.
However in Kigio we do not just study the giraffes and it is important to understand the population dynamics of other species living in the conservancy. Bi-monthly animal counts are conducted six times a year to help us ascertain the abundance and population structures of all the local wildlife. Within the conservancy there are many species of mammals, many of which have yet to be positively recorded. Camera traps are a valuable means by which to survey secretive wildlife and elusive animals as they are non-invasive, effective and can be deployed for long-term studies. This technique is of great importance in the study and inventory of nocturnal and shy animals, especially leopards, hence the importance of the study in this conservancy. In order to achieve a more complete and reliable view of the conservancy's wildlife the results of this study are combined with a survey on animal signs, mainly tracks and scats, which is conducted on a bi-monthly basis. To date we have captured 18 different mammal species on camera and these include the leopard (Panthera pardus), buffalo (Syncerus caffer spp.) and serval cat (Leptailurus serval).
Our biodiversity studies do not stop with mammals and over the last few weeks we have been researching the birds of the reserve. To date we have recorded over 50 species of bird and we must now process these names and prioritise those on the IUCN red list (endangered/threatened) for further research. Our sightings included the magnificent long-crested eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis) and the brightly coloured amethyst sunbird (Nectarinia amethystine). In addition to diversity we are investigating species abundance and our most common sightings included the ring-necked dove (Streptopelia capicola), common drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) and crowned plover (Vanellus coronatus).
Our tree nursery project, started last year, is running extremely well and we hope to cultivate more than 30,000 trees annually for reforestation efforts in surrounding communities and local schools in a project entitled "Project Green". The selected species have many functions, such as timber, food stuffs, strong roots for erosion control and medicinal properties. To date we have planted our saplings in several neighbouring schools, such as Mwega and Ngumo primary schools. These activities get us involved with the local community and, more importantly, with young children whose generation will be responsible for the conservation of the area for many years to come.
Illegal hunting of bush meat is one of the major contributors to biodiversity loss and species extinction in Africa and has been a major challenge in wildlife conservation inside and outside of Kenya's protected areas. The driving force has been the need for cheap source of protein and hence trade in wild meat. Kigio Wildlife Conservancy borders human settlement in the north where there is a great need for a cheap source of protein. As a result, poaching can be an attractive method for some to attain game meat. Warthogs are the main species targeted because they are easy to hunt as they live in small burrows. The human settlement in the north has pushed away wildlife to the west and further from them hence Kigio is the nearest sanctuary for persecuted animals. This month volunteers have been tracking poaching activity and when a breach was found in the conservancy fence the Kenya Wildlife Service was contacted. Based on this information an individual poacher was apprehended soon afterwards and prosecuted by the law.
As you can see we have plenty of work on the project and as we collect more data our understanding of this wonderful ecosystem increases. As more and more volunteers come to join us, I look forward to reporting on more successes in the future.
Tonny Kipkurui
Conservation Manager, Kenya


text:
Photography by Calum Toogood.
The Israeli Prison Service released on Monday Samer Issawi from Shita prison after his arrest in 2012. Thousands gathered in the streets of his hometown of Issawiya in East Jerusalem to welcome the 34 year old, who the local community hails as a hero for his 266-day hunger strike while in prison.
At 6pm on the evening of Monday the 23rd, family and friends of Samer Issawi gathered around the television in the Issawi's family home to see the first interview with Samer after his release. Singing and dancing broke out in the family home as the news was announced, as well as in the neighbourhood of Issawiya where the community eagerly awaited his return home from the prison.
A large presence of Israeli Border Police lined the entrance to the village, facing a mass of Issawi's supporters patiently waiting to greet him.
After a short stop in Jericho to visit various officials, including the Minister of Prisoners' Affairs and the head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, Issawi returned to his hometown of Issawiya late Monday night.
Upon his return, he was carried through the streets of Issawiya, followed by a group of hundreds of his supporters who marched to his home where Issawi was finally reunited with his family.
"My feelings are the same as any Palestinian in this country. Because all of them, they have been standing with Samer in his struggle and in his stride. I am very glad with them," stated Samer's father, Tareq Issawi, in a interview with Palestine Monitor.
"I think for all of the Palestinians, Samer has connected them—inside the West Bank, in Gaza, the Palestinians in Israel and Palestinians all over the world."
Issawi's notoriety is connected to his 266-day-long hunger strike carried out in protest of Israel's method of Administrative Detention—a procedure allowing Israeli Authorities to detain individuals without trial using secret evidence for renewable periods of 6-months. Issawi's 8-month hunger strike garnered huge support from both the local and international community.
Issawi began his hunger strike after he was jailed for a second time. He was originally released from Israeli prison in 2012 as part of the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners released during the prisoner exchange for Gilad Shalit. However, he was re-arrested in July of last year for allegedly violating the terms of the agreement. His hunger strike was begun in protest to what he described as his "invalid and illegal" detention.
On 22 April 2013, a deal was reached when the Israeli authorities agreed upon a date for his release as a direct result of Issawi's own actions. Issawi consequently ended his hunger strike. He went on to serve a further eight months in prison before his release in December.
Towards the end of his hunger strike, Issawi was reported to have come very close to death. In April 2013 he weighed as little as 45 kilograms and had a heart rate of 28 beats-per-minute.
Samer was arrested the first time in April 2002 in what the Israelis dubbed "Operation Defensive Shield," during the height of the Second Intifada. Issawi was imprisoned under charges of membership within an illegal organisation, attempted murder and possession of explosives.
Issawi is reportedly affiliated with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was given a sentence of 26 years.
In October 2011, Issawi was granted an early release as part of a prisoner swap deal for the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was being held in Gaza at the time.
Under the agreement for Samer's release, it was stipulated that he was not allowed to enter the West Bank territory outside of Jerusalem. Less than a year after his release, he was arrested in July 2012 at Jaba checkpoint, North-West of Jerusalem, under charges that he had violated the terms of his conditional release.
Samer was also being charged in court via article 186 of military order 1651, which held him on secret information unavailable to himself or his lawyer. If charged with this order he would have to serve the remainder of his previous 26-year sentence.
Back to Top


text:
Hi Ron,
Someone posted this image on Facebook and asked for who and where.
One person said that it was our Canadian Brothers during their Kape Tour in 1955.
I disagreed as the RHC P&D itinerary didn't have them in any Nissan Hut Camps.
My thoughts were the 6th/7th at Cultybraggan prior to Remembrance Parade in Crieff in 1956.
What are you thoughts please.


text:
Second Monday of the month, 6:30 p - 8:00 p, Room: B124
Circle of Friends Book Club
Join with other ladies from Cottonwood Creek for book club! Discussions will cover a new highlighted book each month. Be sure to invite your friends!
Cottonwood Creek Church
Second Monday of every month, 6:30p-8:00p


text:
Hi everyone! I'm back from my trip to the UK and more importantly my visit to Wing!
I'm going to try really really hard to finish a couple of outstanding projects (like the farms projects and the 1910 valuation books) and get those up on the website for you. You can also expect to see some things coming out of my visit – however those 735 photos I took in Wing (eeek) won't transcribe and arrange themselves onto webpages all by themselves so that'll be happening gradually. However I am going to try to let go of that perfectionist streak and upload a little but often, rather than waiting for a particular research project to be completely finished.
Apologies to those of you I wasn't able to meet up with while in the area. I did manage to fit in a visit to Heather who showed me round her charming several-hundred-year-old house in Wing, complete with bowed floors and ceilings, and doors formerly installed in All Saints Church. One Wing resident I had previously corresponded with was Vic Sirett and I was very sorry to learn he had passed away earlier this year – farewell, Vic.
For those looking for accommodation in the Wing area I stayed at Ivy Cottage Annex, a self-contained converted building in Burcott. This meant I could walk throughout Wing so was perfect for my needs, and was in a lovely rural setting with a neighbouring listed building (Ivy Cottage) to boot! My hosts Siewlin and Ed's daughter Fei Yen Ashton Waller is a talented artist who has sketched various buildings in Wing, and you can see an example of her work below. Another local accommodation option is Wingbury Courtyard Business Village B&B (formerly Upper Wingbury Farm), however this is further out from Wing towards Wingrave.
|Houses off High Street Wing by Fei Yen Ashton Waller


text:
DrPostman wrote:Can't wait to see your 3rd and some actual combat. If it were me I'd conduct more raids into Union territory.
Some of the loyalty might be low enough to take back some towns and cities. I think your plans for the Far
West are ill advised, given the distances and the manpower you have on hand. Just a few thoughts. Looking
forward to the next video!
DrPostman wrote:Having never played that scenario I didn't think about rangers. Can you recruit many?
How about RDG copperheads? They could come in handy too with those gold mines.
DrPostman wrote:Your Union opponent is being way too timid. Logan should have moved to threaten Atlanta and
Sherman should have moved South and hit your force there. I am curious though, why are most
of your garrisons in passive posture? Keep up the series. I'm enjoying it.
DrPostman wrote:Is the game still going on?
DrPostman wrote:Looks like things are going better than expected for the CSA. Enjoying the series.
DrPostman wrote:It appears that a lot of your units, especially garrison militia, are in PP stance. In my
experience that tends to lead to a slaughter without even putting up a fight. Still, you
are holding on and you might do better than historically. You're doing very well in Texas
and perhaps you could send some forces from there into Louisiana to cause him some
headaches. Enjoying the series.
charlesonmission wrote:I'm not sure what else to do with the garrison militia except PP. Maybe defend retreat is better.
At this point, since I can't move the capital, if he takes Richmond that is the end of the game. It's been a tough series and I've had a few unlucky breaks.
DrPostman wrote:Your opponent is pretty smart. Did you notice he's using pure artillery divisions? Don't think the war
is going to last much longer for the South. One good push and he can take Richmond. Good series.
DrPostman wrote:That was a short video. Is your force in Richmond not a corps? If not why not? Also, it looks that
while you put a lot of forces on your West flank in Alabama your East flank is going all but un-
protected. Good series so far. Don't think it will go too many more turns though.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
Please note that all orders are sent with FREE Delivery*.
Orders £100+ are automatically sent via Next Day Special Delivery, this will require a signature upon arrival.
If your order is less than £100 but need it delivered* via Special Delivery, please choose "Special Next Day Delivery" at the Checkout.
- FREE Delivery – Standard
- Special Next Day Delivery = £7.25
On orders placed before 4pm we aim to dispatch the same working day. Please allow 1-3 working days for delivery.


text:
Silvana's Mediterranean & basil pasta
Nutrition and extra info
- Vegetarian
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal452
- fat8g
- saturates1g
- carbs86g
- sugars1g
- fibre7g
- protein14g
- salt0.1g
- 2 red peppers, seeded and cut into chunks
- 2 red onions, cut into wedges
- 2 mild red chillies, seeded and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, coarsley chopped
- 1 tsp golden caster sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
Olive oilol-iv oyl
Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…
- 1kg small ripe tomatoes, quartered
A member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies), tomatoes are in…
- 350g dried pasta
Pasta is the Italian name for Italy's version of a basic foodstuff which is made in many…
- a handful of fresh basil leaves and 2 tbsp grated parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), to serve
Parmesan is a straw-coloured hard cheese with a natural yellow rind and rich, fruity flavour. It…
To roast the veg, preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Scatter the peppers, red onions, chillies and garlic in a large roasting tin. Sprinkle with sugar, drizzle over the oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, toss in the tomatoes and roast for another 15 minutes until everything is starting to soften and look golden.
While the vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to packet instructions, until tender but still with a bit of bite. Drain well.
Remove the vegetables from the oven, tip in the pasta and toss lightly together. Tear the basil leaves on top and sprinkle with Parmesan to serve. If you have any leftovers it makes a great cold pasta salad – just moisten with extra olive oil if needed.


text:
Category Archives: June Turkey Lover Month
Turkey Gifts for June National Turkey Lover Month
November is the month for Turkey eaters but June is the National month for Turkey Lovers. Some people raise turkeys, others just love the Turkeys because they are so unique. At Virginia Tech their mascot is the Turkey or as they call it the Gobbler. Wild Turkeys can fly whereas domestic Turkeys live their life in turkey coops. Historically George Washington recommended that Turkeys should be the national bird, our founding fathers of course settled on the Bald Eagle. For whatever the reason if you are looking for Turkey Lover Gifts you can choose from Turkey blankets, plush stuffed animals, toy miniatures, neckties, crossing signs, mugs and t shirts. Pictured is the conservative but fashionable Turkey necktie. The Turkey toy miniature is perfect for education, school projects, or turkey decor.


text:
'Brilliant show by Bhajji under current circumstances'
Colombo: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was all praise for comeback-man Harbhajan Singh, terming the spin veteran's four-wicket haul in the World Twenty20 match against England as a "brilliant one under current circumstances".
"I believe I have seen Harbhajan bowl better but under current circumstances, it was a brilliant performance. He was making a comeback and got a chance to prove that he is good and under these conditions, one tends to get desperate," Dhoni told mediapersons during the post-match interaction after India thrashed the English by 90 runs.
"I would have even been happy had he got two for 24 but I believe he can bowl better," he added. Asked what he liked about Harbhajan's bowling, Dhoni replied, "He (Harbhajan) didn't bowl any short deliveries and invited the batsmen to drive. He used the variations like top spinner and doosra effectively.
"He showed an aggressive mindset and wasn't bothered too much about field placements. He was very focused on his job," the skipper said. Although he was non-committal about whether he is now ready to shelve his seven-batsmen theory but there were indications enough that Harbhajan is now very much in the scheme of things.
"I would say that this problem of plenty is better than not having that one extra bowler. Obviously, I don't know who all will play in the next game but obviously Harbhajan, with his ability to slog down the order, gives us an option of playing a batsman less," he answered. Dhoni also lavished praise on Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir both of whom have done well after considerable amount of time. He said that if conditions remain the same, Rohit might again be promoted up the order ahead of Yuvraj Singh.
"I personally rate Rohit very highly but that doesn't mean that I don't rate Yuvraj highly. Rohit is one batsman who has all kinds of shots and is our best T20 player alongside Suresh Raina," Dhoni said.
"Today, we got a good start and the platform was ideal to send Rohit up the order. If the situation demands and we have a 70-75 runs added in the first 10 overs, you might see him again going up the order," he stated. "I am very happy for Gautam as he had planned his innings beautifully. He is someone who has had to struggle a lot to play for India. He is quite an aggressive character. He is a match-winner for us."
Dhoni clarified that both Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag had been requested to rest and they had agreed. He said that it's the initial wickets provided by Irfan Pathan that set the ball rolling for the 2007 champions.
"Irfan's two wickets were very crucial as we are a team who tend to leak a few runs in the Powerplay overs. So it becomes very important for us to get a few wickets which compensates for the runs we concede." Piyush Chawla, whose selection has been criticised by all and sundry, had an impressive outing and the captain seemed mighty pleased with the UP lad.
"Chawla is one bowler who has got a brilliant wrong 'un. He can get the batsmen with his googly if they miss out." Dhoni observed that playing spinners in England is easier than in the sub-continent as there are subtle but important adjustments that need to be made.
"In England, even when the ball turns, there is a lot of pace in it and one can play it easily. But in the sub-continent, the ball turns as well as stops. In case, one is a little early into the shot or is a little late, then there is either a slip or a short cover waiting to take that chance. But England are a team who have done well across all formats over past one year and will only improve."


text:
Geoff Gray realizes there's a golden opportunity in front of him to claim a starting spot on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' offensive line.
He's just not spending too much time thinking about it.
"I'm not worried about that," Gray said Wednesday after his first rookie camp practice. "I'm just trying to play my best. I just want to have a good training camp and feel really good about what I put on film."
The 24-year-old hometown boy has been pencilled in as the starting right guard for the Bombers this season after the team lost all-star Sukh Chungh to free agency in the off-season.
Gray was a first-round draft pick out of the University of Manitoba in 2017 and spent two years pursuing work in the NFL before signing with the Bombers late last season. He spent time around the team and got into the last game of the season for few plays. Though he's participating in rookie camp, Gray believes he has a bit of a head start.
"That little bit at the end of the year definitely helped me because for the most part the playbook is the same so I feel like I'm coming in with a lot of knowledge," Gray said.
"It has been longer than what I'm used to since I last played real football. I got in for a couple of plays at the end of last year, but it's been a long time since I've had pads on and really been going. It's not like I'm nervous or apprehensive about it but it just feels good to get back into it."
Gray could get a challenge for a starting job from another first-round draft pick.
Drew Desjarlais, picked fourth overall out of the University of Windsor just a couple of weeks ago in the CFL draft, signed a contract with the Bombers Wednesday and was on the field later in the day.
He's a top prospect at guard and some observers believe he's ready to start right away.
"Training camp is full of opportunities and every day you're trying to win that spot," Desjarlais said. "I wouldn't expect anything less than a great competition.
"That's kind of what drives the game of football, winning that spot, not wanting to lose, winning that game, winning that play."
Even before the draft, Desjarlais believed Winnipeg would be a good destination for him, as the Bombers lost both Chungh and all-star centre Matthias Goossen (retirement).
He said he plans to bring the same kind of game he displayed at Windsor to the Bombers offensive line.
"Just the run-game nastiness," he said. "That's been my reputation through the whole process and I'm sticking with that. I like that."WAIT TILL NOVEMBER
It was pouring rain, windy and a 11 C when the Bombers took the field for the first time Wednesday, prompting some newcomers to wonder if it's always that cold.
That drew a laugh from Winnipegger Brady Oliveira, a running back who was drafted in the second round this year out of the University of North Dakota.
"When we were walking over here, they were saying 'Oh, it's cold out here, how are you wearing short sleeves?' Oliveira said with a laugh.
"I said 'This is nice weather right now. It's not cold out and there's no snow on the ground. This is perfect weather for football.'"
In other words, you ain't seen nothin' yet fellas.DREAM COME TRUE
Oliveira was grinning from ear to ear after Wednesday's practice session, his first with his hometown team.
"You have no idea how much fun I had out there today," the 21-year-old former Oak Park star said. "It's a dream come true for me to be back in my home town, wearing this blue and gold."
While he grew up in Winnipeg, Oliveira has been playing four-down football for the last four years and Wednesday brought the first chance for him to get reacquainted with the three-down game.
"Being in the U.S., I kind of forgot how much fun the Canadian game is, with all the motion and stuff," Oliveira said. "I really did enjoy it.
"It took me a little bit of time to know that I'm never staying still in the backfield, I'm always motioning. It is a lot of fun and it definitely causes a lot of confusion for the defence."AAF EXPERIENCE A BIG HELP
It has been quite the whirlwind for quarterback Kevin Anderson these past few months.
He started at the Alliance of American Football training camp in January, won a job and served as the backup with the Orlando Apollos, saw his team go 7-1 to contend for a championship, suffered like everyone else when the league abruptly folded and then started all over again at a Blue Bombers free agent camp last month.
The 24-year-old from Fordham University impressed Bombers scouts enough to earn an invitation to the team's mini-camp the next day in Bradenton, Fla., then did enough there to earn a contract.
Now he's in Winnipeg, taking part in rookie camp and hoping to land a job in the CFL.
"I showcased enough for them to at least give me a shot to come and earn something here," Anderson said.
"I'm used to going through training camp. I was just in training camp three months ago. It's not like I'm just going from college, seeing guys move a college level. At least I got to see some pro speed and now you add another defender and it is slowed down for me."
Anderson didn't play much in the AAF. He only went in when his team was way ahead and mostly handed the ball off. He ran a wildcat package a couple of times and threw just one pass that fell incomplete.
But he's got a strong arm and the Bombers have had their eye on him for a while. He could contend for the third-string quarterback role this season along with veteran Bryan Bennett and fellow rookie Sean McGuire.
He's hopeful that his AAF experience will give him an edge.
"We competed super hard," the Boca Raton, Fla., native said. "More than half my AAF team is already in the NFL. All those guys were very vocal in helping me get better and the coaching staff really believed in my talent to get better. They really saw an opportunity for me and I took it and ran with it."
He believes he can do it again, and hopes to have a chance to learn as much as possible from Bombers starting quarterback Matt Nichols.
"He seems like a great guy," Anderson said. "I just met him today. He's very down to Earth and very approachable. What he's been able to do as far as efficiency and not turning the ball over is something I strive for."


text:
Ed Morrissey reflects on what it will take to get anything done in the latest version of Congress. I suspect he's overly optimistic:
Democrats want to pass comprehensive tax reform to increase revenues, for which they need normal-order budgeting, for political if not parliamentary reasons. Republicans have an interest in reforming the tax code as well: Broadening the tax base and removing the distortions that come from social engineering in the tax code. With revenue increases from a broadened tax base that will result from real tax-code reform, Democrats should be able to marry that to entitlement reforms that at least begin to reduce the juggernaut of future unfunded liabilities for the federal government. That would produce enough mutual benefit to find a middle ground for both parties that can easily be projected in principle from almost any vantage point on the political spectrum.
This will only happen when both sides see short-term political advantage in consolidating some gains and backing off of all-or-nothing demands, through cooperation and normal order, over obstructionism and brinksmanship. Republicans, who had hoped to have increased leverage after the November elections, appear to have seen the reality of having control of only one lever of power in Washington (the House) while Democrats have the other two (the Senate and White House), and have accordingly adjusted their approach. Will Democrats adjust theirs now that they realize they can't dictate outcomes either, and return to the normal-order budgeting needed to end the Age of Cliffs? That is the question, and it remains to be seen whether Cantor's optimism is an artifact of a sunny day or the acknowledgment of a changed Washington.


text:
BofA rejigs Europe financial services advisory team
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has reshuffled the senior ranks of its team advising financial institutions on mergers and financing in Europe, as it renews efforts to bring in more investment banking fees from that industry.
Henrietta Baldock, who had already been in charge of the European financial institutions group (FIG) since 2009, will now become chair of the FIG investment banking division, an internal memo seen by Reuters showed.
Continue Reading Below
Michael Frieser and Marc Tempelman have been appointed co-heads of financial institutions corporate and investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
"With this leadership team we are looking to significantly build our market share in this sector," Christian Meissner, the global head of corporate and investment banking, and Bob Elfring, one of Meissner's European deputies, said in the memo.
Bank of America's investment bank has been hit by a series departures and undergone a series of reshuffles this year, with Meissner only moving into the top corporate and investment banking job in January.
The division is in charge of overseeing advisory activity on merger and acquisition deals and stock and debt underwriting.
Earlier this week, BofA ML named capital markets specialist Rupert Hume-Kendall as chairman of corporate and investment banking in EMEA to bolster its coverage of key clients.
BofA ML's financial institutions franchise in particular was hit after star dealmaker Andrea Orcel left for UBS in March.
Orcel counts banks such as Spain's Santander among his biggest clients, and BofA ML had scored a lead role underwriting a bumper rights issue for Italy's UniCredit before his departure.
Baldock, who has been at BofA ML for 12 years, has worked on some big bank deals alongside Orcel, including the ultimately ill-fated acquisition of ABN Amro by RBS , and is also known as an insurance specialist.
In her new position as chair, Baldock will assume a more ambassadorial role rather than a hands-on management job, liaising with key clients and trying to win new business.
The financial institutions industry has remained a big focus area for investment banks even as they cut back in other areas as the flow of deals slows.
In the first nine months of the years, global investment banking fees in the financials sector were just over $15 billion, while income from deals in the energy and power industry for instance brought in $8 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
(Reporting by Anjuli Davies; Editing by Mark Potter)


text:
Nursing excellence at a very personal level
One family's very personal story of care
During her summer break this past year, 8-year-old Cadence Stamper experienced something very few children ever do – a stroke. It left her paralyzed on her left side and unable to sit, stand or walk.
That was until she spent the rest of her summer at UC Davis Children's Hospital. Over the course of six weeks, a team that included occupational, physical and speech therapists, physicians and nurses helped the gymnastics enthusiast to regain strength and mobility. When Cadence was discharged, she was able to walk out of the hospital on her own.
Her parents, Amy and Leroy Stamper, were ecstatic.
"Because of UC Davis' doctors, therapists and the best nurses you could ask for, Cadence and our family had the support we needed to stay strong and hopeful," Amy Stamper said. "Most importantly, they helped give Cadence the confidence she needed to walk again, and to know that one day with hard work she will fully recover."
Dedicated nurses
Cadence's nurses were a key to her progress, her mother said. They encouraged her to work hard, praised her efforts, helped her maintain a positive attitude and lifted her spirits, often through high-fives in the hallways.
View video with Amy Stamper on Cadence's care at UC Davis
Children's Hospital
This therapeutic relationship between the nurses and their patients and families is instrumental in exceptional, compassionate health care, and is an important component in the professional practice of nursing. It is also one of the many reasons UC Davis Medical Center was recently honored with the nation's ultimate credential for nursing excellence.
In January UC Davis Medical Center, which includes the children's hospital, earned the much-coveted from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Only about 7 percent of U.S. health-care organizations gain Magnet status, recognized nationally as the "gold standard" of nursing excellence.
Achieving Magnet Recognition®
Magnet Recognition distinguishes organizations with quality care, nursing excellence and innovations in nursing practice. Organizations must demonstrate that they outperform national benchmarks for patient satisfaction, employee satisfaction and nursesensitive clinical indicators, among other requirements.
As part of the process, the Magnet team at UC Davis detailed several initiatives that use interdisciplinary collaboration to improve patient outcomes, such as an early mobility program for intensive-care patients and a formal collaborative effort to reduce sepsis.
The application highlighted initiatives and outcomes from throughout the health system, including ambulatory care areas, perioperative services and the emergency department.
During a November site visit, four Magnet appraisers validated, verified and amplified what was submitted in the Magnet application. Magnet appraisers heard upbeat, positive stories from many of the more than 1,300 individuals – including nurses, medical and ancillary staff members; patients and their family members, community members; and medical and nursing program leaders at the medical center with whom they met.
For Cadence and her parents, their experience with the care and support she received from the nurses and her entire health-care team is reward enough. Six months after leaving the hospital, Cadence is back doing gymnastics, continuing her journey to full recovery.


text:
Naresh Babu is expected to provide impetus to the Divisions of Bangalore Complex for timely completion of ongoing Projects/Programmes like Hawk, LCA, IJT, etc. His emphasis will be on Customer Satisfaction and speedy implementation of programmes like MMRCA, Jaguar Darin III Upgrade and Mirage Upgrade. He will focus on increasing Production, Export and Turnover of HAL's Bangalore Complex in the coming years to attain a global foot print.Naresh Babu joined HAL in November 1976 as Technical Management Trainee, after graduating in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He began his career at Overhaul Division, Bangalore as Engineer looking after the Repair/Overhaul activities of Instrument and Radio Accessories pertaining to the then projects viz., Canberra, Marut, Devon, Packet, Ajeet, HT-2 Aircraft. Subsequently, he worked in various Departments of Overhaul Division. He became General Manager of Overhaul Division on 01.07.2008. At Overhaul Division, he spearheaded Repair and Overhaul of aircraft like Jaguar, Kiran, Mirage, etc. In December 2008, he was moved to Corporate Office as General Manager (Planning). At Corporate Office his job profile was assessment of new projects of the Company, evaluation of business viability of the projects, monitoring of production and design programmes of all the Divisions and R&D Centres of HAL.
Follow @MACHINISTIN
Follow MACHINIST.IN on Facebook


text:
With 60% of the American people already on some form of taxpayer subsidized healthcare, the mass hysteria over SCOTUS upholding Obamacare is most interesting. America is already a socialist nation and most Americans absolutely do demand government provided healthcare and support for Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs remains quite strong. Americans are just like everybody else – they want something for free (translation: at the expense of somebody else) but there is no such thing as a free anything and anything the government does is very costly, inefficient and life threatening. The left is angry because it wanted a single payer healthcare system (some Dems really wanted Obamacare declared unconstitutional). The right is angry because a piece of Democrat legislation was declared constitutional.
The healthcare mandate was hatched by the conservative Heritage Foundation back in the late 1980's. Republicans made several attempts to pass it but the Democrats opposed it because they were holding out for a single payer system. Well, the Republicans got their dream mandate – it's named Obamacare. Even neocon bat shit crazy Fox News acknowledged today that the individual mandate was a Republican idea.
The mandate, requiring every American to purchase health insurance, appeared in a 1989 published proposal by Stuart M. Butler of the conservative Heritage Foundation called "Assuring Affordable Health Care for All Americans," which included a provision to "mandate all households to obtain adequate insurance."
The Heritage Foundation "substantially revised" its proposal four years later, according to a 1994 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. But the idea of an individual health insurance mandate later appeared in two bills introduced by Republican lawmakers in 1993, according to the non-partisan research group ProCon.org. Among the supporters of the bills were senators Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who today oppose the mandate under current law….
In 2007, a bi-partisan Senate bill authored by Senators Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, contained a mandate….
In 2010, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that put into place an individual mandate.
Read the rest here
Fox News
Let's start with heathcare costs. America spends more on healthcare than any industrialized nation on the planet and by a very wide margin.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries/
It is extraordinary that "liberals," "progressives," "Democrats," whatever they are, are defending a "health program" that uses public monies to pay private insurance companies and that raises the cost of health care.
Americans have been brainwashed that "a single-payer system is unaffordable" because it is "socialized medicine." Despite this propaganda, accepted by many Americans, European countries manage to afford single-payer systems. Health care is not a stress, a trauma, an unaffordable expense for European populations. Among the Western Civilized Nations, only the richest, the US, has no universal health care.
The American health care system is the most expensive of all on earth. The reason for the extraordinary expense is the multiple of entities that must make profits. The private doctors must make profits. The private testing centers must make profits.The private specialists who receive the referrals from general practitioners must make profits. The private hospitals must make profits. The private insurance companies must make profits. The profits are a huge cost of health care….
The beauty of a single-payer system is that it takes the profits out of the system. No one has to make profits. Wall Street cannot threaten insurance companies and private health care companies with being taken over because their profits are too low. No health-provider in a single-payer system has to worry about being displaced in a takeover organized by Wall Street because the profits are too low.
Because a single-payer system eliminates the profits that drive up the costs, Wall Street, Insurance companies, and "free market economists" hate a "socialized" medical care system. They prefer a socialized "private" health care system in which public monies flow into private insurance companies.
To make the costs as high as possible, conservatives and the private insurance companies devised ObamaCare. The bill was written by conservative think tanks and the private insurance companies. What the "socialistic" ObamaCare bill does is to take income taxes paid by citizens and use the taxes to subsidize the private medical premiums charges by private health care providers in order to provide "private" health care to US citizens who cannot afford it.
The extremely high costs of ObamaCare is not "socialistic medicine." ObamaCare is high-cost privatized medicine that guarantees billions of dollars in profits to private insurance companies.
It remains to be seen whether such a ridiculous health care scheme, nowhere extant on earth except in Romney's Massachusetts, will provide health care or just private profits.
America spends more on health care than any nation on earth and by a wide margin, and heath care costs continue to soar in America. Yet, our longevity rates are not commensurate with our healthcare expenditures. Besides government mandates that drive up healthcare costs and the insatiable trial lawyer lobby, Americans themselves are a huge part of the problem because Americans have more lifestyle diseases than any nation on earth. Furthermore, Americans do not want to be responsible for their health and demand that somebody else pay for their disastrous lifestyle choices. Therefore, there is no amount of healthcare intervention that can save folks from themselves or extend their longevity. Longevity is far more related to lifestyle choices that are by far the most significant factor in living a long life. An MSNBC article titled U.S. ranks just 42nd in life expectancy lays out some startling facts about Americans. The article is dated 2007 and our condition is much worse now.
Americans are living longer than ever, but not as long as people in 41 other countries. For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings oflife expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles...
Among the other factors:
•Adults in the United States have one of the highest obesity rates in the world. Nearly a third of U.S. adults 20 years and older are obese, while about two-thirds are overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
•"The U.S. has the resources that allow people to get fat and lazy," said Paul Terry, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta. "We have the luxury of choosing a bad lifestyle as opposed to having one imposed on us by hard times."Kids are eating high calorie, low nutrition diets that primarily consist of simple carbohydrates, sugar, corn syrup, fats and sodium. Much of what kids eat in the schools is taxpayer funded garbage. Even more horrifying is that Migration Information reported that schools actually sell advertising to junk food purveyors by signing ""pouring rights" contracts that permit snack and soft drink companies to advertise to children on school vending machines, scoreboards, book covers, t-shirts, and news programs shown on televisions in the classroom., here.
Only in America do we kill our kids for profit and do it with our tax dollars!!
A group called Healthyamericans.org reported in June 2009 that "Today, we spend nearly $800 billion on health problems that are directly linked to lifestyle and poor health habits each year-about one third of our total health care spending…" and that article was quoting a congress critter, here.
Meanwhile, America remains the laughing stock of the world for spending the biggest percentage of our GDP on healthcare than any nation on earth and the only thing we have to show for it is a nation of fat people with chronic obesity, lifestyle related diseases and diminishing longevity relative to other nations, including 3rd world nations.
If a doctor in America told a patient that they were sick because they were fat or they smoked or they drink too much or they ate bad food, the doctor would, in all probability, have his medical license suspended, be hauled before a tribunal for committing a crime against humanity, be sued for a gazillion bucks for telling a bitter truth that offends someone's self esteem, be forced into bankruptcy and/or be prosecuted for violating somebody's Civil Rights.
What the American healthcare system desperate needs is a heavy dose of tough love.
Consider: a non-employer-based family policy for four in Kansas City, Mo., costs about $170 per month while similar coverage in Boston tops more than $750 a month.
Why the price difference? Many states dictate the type of services and providers. New York, for instance, requires that the services of a podiatrist be covered. It's a commonly quoted statistic that the average person walks about 150,000 miles in a lifetime. Let's hope the majority of this journey is on healthy, bunion-free feet. But should every insurance policy in the Empire State really be required to include podiatric services? Acupuncturists are mandated in 11 states, massage therapists in 4, osteopaths in 24, and chiropractors in 47, driving up the price of even the most basic insurance plans.
The federal McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 empowers states to regulate "the business of insurance." Nothing prevents Congress, however, from allowing interstate sales. The foundation of such a bill would be the Constitution's Commerce Clause. Individuals would then be able to shop around and find a low-cost policy - an affirmation of free-market principles since interstate restrictions now leave many Americans at the mercy of a small number of local health insurance carriers.
Presently, a 25-year-old male in Texas would pay $248.79 for a health insurance plan that he could get in Alabama for only $77.65 a month. Perhaps these price differences are responsible for the stark contrasts in the uninsured rates in these states. According to the U.S. Census Bureau Survey,in 2006, 23.9 percent of Texans were uninsured compared with only 13.5 percent in Alabama. Not coincidentally Alabama only imposes 19 mandates compared to Texas' 55...So now that we know why Texas has such high health insurance costs and so many uninsured, why doesn't the state of Texas fix it? It's a valid question. Congress isn't the only body of legislators owned by lobbyists. Health insurers in Texas fill campaign coffers of state legislators to get those lucrative mandates. It's that simple. The Texas Legislature refuses to fix the problem because it's corrupt to the core.
Let's stop and recap. The mandates are indeed the root cause of our healthcare nightmare and it validates the argument of Paul Craig Roberts. The heathcare industry does indeed buy politicians and is responsible for driving up the cost of healthcare with mandates. With Obamacare, the health insurance industry only has to lobby 535 Congress Critters instead of the legislatures in all 50 states. Obamacare merely federalized the insurance industry mandate schemes but Obamacare also includes over 20 new taxes that will further subsidize health industry corporate profits.
1. Costly mandates
2. Avoidable lifestyle diseases
3. Treating people with late stage terminal illnesses.
In nearly all advanced modern nations with single payer cost effective healthcare systems, a person diagnosed with a late stage terminal cancer or disease is simply told "you are going to die, we can't cure you and all we can do is make you as comfortable as possible". In America, we don't do that; in fact, we believe that everyone no matter how terminal their condition must be treated with no expense spared until the day they finally expire. Americans don't know how to accept death. Of course, the folks die anyway and the only beneficiaries are the treatment providers.
The mandate could work but only with free market health insurance options that can be sold across state lines. Most folks would simply opt for low cost major medical coverage and voluntarily agree to pay for everything else out of pocket, including prescriptions and doctor visits, that would probably be much lower in cost because of competition. But the health insurance industry, Big Pharm and the American Medical Association have conspired to destroy competition by creating monopolies. Moreover, Americans are literally addicted to Big Pharm so long as they aren't paying the bill. America is the most medicated nation on the planet.
At this juncture it's highly unlikely that free market medicine will ever take root in America simply because Americans have an extraordinarily high expectation of government subsidized healthcare. That said, I could reluctantly live with a reasonably sane single payer system modeled on the most efficient and cost effective model of those run by other industrialized nations providing I could get liberals to agree to:
1. Abolish the Federal Reserve and restore sound money 2. End the damn wars and kill the military industrial complex and 3. End all corporate welfare.
Liberals already hate the banksters, the wars and corporate welfare.
Just ending the wars, corporate welfare and restoring sound money would vastly contribute to an increase in liberty as well as a much improved economy for the American people.
Besides, taxpayers shouldn't be paying for hair transplants for bald old men or their viagra and penis pumps. Nor should tax dollars be used to subsidize a female's sex life by providing free birth control or pay for their abortions. Nor should taxpayers be paying for in vitro fertilization that cost tens of thousands of dollars or sex change operations. Nobody has a right to a taxpayer subsidized sex life or even taxpayer funded parenthood.
For a single payer system to work in America would required a whole lot of tough decisions and even more tough love which is precisely what the American people need. If folks want to eat themselves to death, let them. If folks want to drink themselves to death, let them. If folks want to screw themselves to death, let them. If healthcare is furnished by the taxpayers, the taxpayers are not obligated to subsidize lifestyle choices.
Also, America absolutely needs to change its food stamp program by only allowing the purchase of meats, veggies, fruits, dairy and staples for home cooking (ban subsidizing soda, sugary cereals, packaged foods and most of what folks buy with their public assistance). Subsidizing obesity and then subsidizing the healthcare problems created by government subsidized junk food is about as insane as it gets.
Above all, the American people need to be forced to accept that they are indeed responsible for their own health and that the government just can't save them from themselves.


text:
I must admit that two of my favorite things in the food world are avocados and breakfast. I could eat the soft, green fruit (yep, it's a fruit) on just about anything and even by itself, and breakfast to me isn't just a meal that can only be eaten during one time of the day.
Recently, I've been pondering: How can I incorporate avocados into breakfast? Yeah, I could chop it up and put it on top of my eggs or slather it on toast, but what about using an avocado as the star attraction on my morning plate? Then it came to me. Instead of putting avocado on top of the eggs, why not put the eggs into the avocado? So I baked an egg inside an avocado half. Think 'Toad in a Hole' minus the toast and replaced with an avocado.
Now I'll admit that I'm nowhere near the first person to attempt this, but the recipe I used below is a fresh and jazzed up way to eat huevos en aguacate (free Spanish lesson for ya there). By itself, the dish is a bit plain, so it definitely needs to be topped with a salsa or sauce. I whipped up a batch of pepita (pumpkin seed) pest with basil and cilantro, and the culinary marriage was a match made in heaven, as the tangy pesto cuts through the fattiness of the avocado and egg. Finish it off with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or hot sauce and you're set.
Now don't limit this to just a breakfast — this could easily serve as a lunch or dinner main dish as well. It's also very filling, so one half of an avocado and one egg per serving is plenty. Bonus: for you folks with dietary issues or on special diets, this recipe is vegetarian, gluten- and nut-free, and perfect for someone following the Paleo diet.
Read the rest of this entry


text:
Visit our sister company, Home Styles, for convenient shipping options and the latest in home furniture including kitchen, sunroom and outdoor collections.
For even more home products visit our sister company, Home Styles. With the latest in home furniture including kitchen, sunroom and outdoor collections, and convenient ready-to-assemble packaging and shipping, Home Styles has something for you.Go
The Thunderbird Sofa is Back!
You heard us right. Flexsteel is bringing back one of the most iconic sofas we've ever created…the Thunderbird Sofa.
We create comfort from consistency.
In our factories, every small step matters. We carefully consider each element that goes into our furniture.
Be the first to know about new product and trends.


text:
Last month I showed you my "woman's world" collection of representation of women at work from all over the world.
We can't leave the guys out, so here is my other shelf representing the world of men.
Yes, 'men have different rules'… thank goodness!!
The photo is one I took as Himself (far right) and his team mates were coming back from a HALO jump. They call this their "Right Stuff" picture.
This is a Native American carving from Alaska. I believe the body is carved from Alaskan jade, the face is fossilized ivory, the hood is a bit of fur, and the drum is a slice of caribou antler.
Another Native American piece from Alaska. This one is carved from a bit of driftwood.
This is a small (very small) Kachina doll. He is Hopi made but not one of the exquisite ceremonial style.
The next two clay sculptures are from Mexico.
This sweet little boy with the bird makes me smile…
… as does this mischievous pair with the burro. One little guy has a cactus spine in his foot.
These are Maasai items. They represent the warrior age-set called the Moran. They are from our visit to Kenya. We sponsor a Maasai boy thru Compassion International and hope that he will finish school before he takes off for his time as Moran.
On one of our US trips, I surprised Himself with a stop in Dyersville, Iowa at the "Field of Dreams". It was a fun stop. We bought the baseball at one of the gift shops (the baseball field is actually owned by TWO competing families… each with their own gift shop!). We had a game of catch, which is how it got so scuffed up. There really is a corn field there and Himself picked up a few kernels lying on the ground in the outfield.
We've had a lot of fun collecting our ladies and gentlemen over our various trips.