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In the beginning was the mop; in the middle was the mop; and, we still have the mop.
The basic tools used to clean rooms, even hospital rooms, haven't evolved a great deal over the past decades.
This lack of evolution is unfortunate because the bacteria and viruses that cleaning destroys have evolved quite a bit.
It is now understood that the environment plays a critical role in infection control in healthcare and other settings, such as cruise ships.
What is needed now are new tools to allow environmental services (EVS) workers to attain a total room clean without creating additional burden or adding to turnover time.
Moving Goalposts
In the healthcare setting, the original job of the cleaning team was to make the hospital room look good.
Emphasis was placed on efficiency and turning over rooms quickly.
Rooms were expected to be fully ready for the next occupant in 38 minutes or less, which is a challenging feat by anyone's standards.
As researchers learn more and more about how the environment can contribute to infections, that goal is changing.
At recent conferences, the term "pathogen-free room" has been suggested as the new goal of the environmental services team.
This, of course, is a necessary and noble goal: to make certain that the environment cannot harm the patient.
Of course, it is also a challenging goal: to make certain that no infectious bacteria or viruses are left behind in a room.
Unfortunately, one thing was forgotten when this goal was created; the cleaning team wasn't given any more time or any new tools to accomplish the goal of the "pathogen-free room."
The same efficiency standards are in place, but the stakes have changed.
The resources are the same, but the goalposts have been moved far away.
Room Cleaning: A Matter of Life and Death
The average person who cleans a hospital room today must be familiar with an alphabet soup of bacteria: MRSA, VRE, CRE, C. diff, MDRO, GNR, NDM-1, etc.
For some of these organisms, there is essentially no treatment for the infection they cause.
CRE, for example, has been described as a "nightmare bacteria" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
To make matters worse, these organisms can also be resistant to the average disinfectant, forcing the use of bleach, which damages surfaces and can create a harmful environment for personnel.
"Housekeepers" are rapidly becoming disinfection experts.
Room cleaning has truly become a matter of life and death.
Acute care hospitals are leading the charge to create safer environments.
Environmental service directors sit on the infection control committee and are seen as an essential component of patient safety.
Recent changes in reimbursement now link these infections directly to payments to the hospital by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance.
We know it is critically important to disinfect every hospital room, every time — what is needed are new methods and tools for accomplishing that goal.
No Touch Disinfection
No touch disinfection is a category that is rapidly emerging in the hospital environmental cleaning space and will likely expand into other areas in the near future.
The category is so new that there are a wide variety of names for it: room disinfection, automatic disinfection, total room cleaning and more.
Hospitals seem to be settling on the term "no touch disinfection" to describe a number of different technologies that automate the disinfection of rooms and equipment.
There are essentially three main technologies used for no touch disinfection: hydrogen peroxide vapor, mercury-vapor lamps and pulse xenon lamps.
The first uses a familiar disinfectant — hydrogen peroxide — and applies it in a vapor or mist throughout the room.
The next two use different methods to produce ultraviolet light in the germicidal spectrum.
Mercury vapor lamps produce germicidal ultraviolet in a narrow spectrum around 253.7 nanometers, while pulsed xenon produces ultraviolet that covers the entire UV germicidal spectrum (from 200-280 nanometers).
Each technology, based on the published literature, takes a different amount of time to accomplish the goal of disinfection of bacterial spores — for example, the most difficult organism typically found in hospital rooms, C. diff. with hydrogen peroxide vapor taking at least 2.5 hours per room, mercury ultraviolet taking at least 50 minutes and pulsed xenon taking at least 15 minutes total.
All of the technologies work, but each has a different profile in terms of the total disinfection and the total time required for disinfection.
Recently, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) came out with new guidelines for the control of C. diff.
These guidelines include references to "no touch disinfection" systems and examine the role of these new technologies in infection prevention in the hospital.
These guidelines show the acceptability of "no touch disinfection" in hospitals.
It should be anticipated that these technologies will be coming to nursing homes, cruise ships and other markets in the near future.
Real-world Expectations
In order for any of these systems to protect patients and reduce infection rates, it must integrate into real-world situations without excessive costs or disruption of patient flow.
In a busy hospital, a disinfecting system that is too slow, complex to use or is costly will not be used often enough to have a meaningful impact on hospital-acquired infection (HAI) rates.
No touch disinfection systems do not operate themselves. Someone has to move the devices around the hospital and operate them.
Who that person is will be a very important consideration in choosing a no touch disinfection system. Some of the no touch disinfection systems can be operated by a housekeeper and others require a more in-depth technical training.
Look for a system that has been designed specifically for use by the EVS team — easy to transport and easy to use.
Results Matter
Most importantly, evaluate and consider the demonstrated impact the no touch disinfection systems are having on hospital infection rates.
As these new technologies are deployed in real-world settings, the hospitals that deploy them may or may not report on the resulting infection rate changes.
Devices that have been deployed for years without any reported infection rate impact may warrant cause for concern.
Pulse xenon UV lamp systems already have demonstrated several in-hospital infection rate reductions.
For example, Cooley Dickinson Hospital was able to achieve a 53 percent drop in C. diff infections after implementing a pulse xenon room disinfection system.
The mop isn't going anywhere (yet).
But, the good news is that new technologies (new tools) are here and allow EVS workers to attain a total room clean without creating additional burden or adding to turnover time.
As pathogens evolve to resist treatments, EVS tools must evolve to protect patients.
We are seeing the start of that evolution today.


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Thanks for all of your entries in the Hexa-Go-Go book giveaway! I am pleased to announce that the winner is Amy of [Amy's] Crafty Shenanigans, who said:
"It is a lovely book. Am I brave enough to try hexagons? I think I am - I've seen so many amazing things made with them that this book would encourage me to be brave :) Thanks for the chance."
Congratulations, Amy! Please email me with your contact information to redeem your prize.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
University Archives Policy
The mission of the University Archives is to collect, arrange, describe, preserve and make accessible Global Campus records of permanent, historical, and administrative value and to disseminate information about the holdings of the Archives through research, campus publications, exhibits, and online resources. The ultimate goal of the Archives is to create a permanent, living record of the historical heritage of the University's unique role in the development and evolution of continuing and adult education.
Definition of Records
All documents created or used in the course of Global Campus business are institutional records, and as such are the property of Global Campus .
Use Policies
- The University Archives will serve all patrons with a legitimate use of the materials, including students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and off-campus researchers.
- Arrangements will be made to view archival materials.
- Food and drink are not permitted in the Archives.
- Pencils only can be used to take notes. Ink is not permitted.
- Archives materials do not circulate, except through special permission via the University Archivist or ILS Associate Provost. All materials are used within the Archives facility.
- After completing the request form, routine requests for basic factual information contained in such publications as catalogs, Commencement programs, and other university publications will be filled within 48-72 hours of request.
- In-depth requests by non-UMGC patrons for information contained in non-published materials or copies of photographs, will require a detailed outline of purpose and special permission from the President of the University to use the materials. Those materials that are considered sensitive will not be available to anyone without special permission from the President. Any access restrictions on collection materials as instructed by the donor will be respected. Photocopies of materials can be made on a selective basis, upon approval by the University Archivist or ILS Associate Provost, by ILS staff and such requests will be filled within one week of approved request.
- Copyright permission must be taken into account when publishing research conducted in the University Archives.
NOTE: The Archives will NOT house financial, student, or faculty records. Disposition and relocation of these records will be determined by the records retention schedules established by the University of Maryland System in conjunction with the Global Campus records manager .


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Illuminate the Path to Biodiscovery
Reporter gene assays are invaluable for studying the regulation of gene expression by cis- or trans-acting factors, or for measuring activation of cell signaling pathways. In these assays, the reporter gene acts as a surrogate for the coding region of the gene under study. The reporter gene construct contains one or more gene regulatory elements being analyzed, the structural sequence of the reporter gene, and the sequences required for the formation of functional mRNA. Following introduction of the reporter construct into cells and experimental treatment, expression levels of the reporter gene are monitored by quantitating the reporter protein enzymatic activity, which is used to characterize regulatory sequences, transcription factor activity, cell signaling, or signaling pathways.
NovaBright™ Chemiluminescent Reporter Gene Assays
Assays based on enzyme-triggered 1,2-dioxetane chemiluminescent substrates offer several important advantages compared to alternative systems. The inherent low background and high signal intensity result in exceptionally high assay sensitivity, enabling femtogram levels of enzyme detection with a wide dynamic range of typically up to 5–6 orders of magnitude. Rapid signal generation together with extended-glow light emission kinetics permit fast assay completion, often in less than 1 hour, with flexibility in read time and compatibility with batch-mode processing. These reporter gene assays, discussed below, are widely cited in scientific literature for their numerous applications in research and high-throughput screening applications. See Table 1 for a comparison of NovaBright™ chemiluminescent reporter gene assays offered by Life Technologies.
Table 1. NovaBright™ chemiluminescent reporter gene assays.
|Reporter Gene
|Detection Limit
|Incubation Time
|Signal Half-Life
|Phospha-Light™ assay
|10 fg
|60 min
|2.5 hr
|Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP assay
|10 fg
|20 min
|2.5 hr
|Gal-Screen® assay
|1 pg
|60–90 min
|4–5 hr
|Galacto-Star™ assay
|10 pg
|60–90 min
|4–5 hr
|Dual-Light® assay
|10 pg
|30–60 min
|3 hr
|Luc-Screen® assay
|50 fg
|10 min
|4–5 hr
|Dual-Light® assay
|10 fg
|30–60 min
|3 hr
* Secreted placental alkaline phosphatase.
Phospha-Light™ and Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP Assays
Secreted placental alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) is secreted by cells directly into the culture medium, enabling the nondestructive assay of culture medium samples, preserving cells for additional assays and enabling time-course monitoring of gene expression. NovaBright™ chemiluminescent SEAP reporter gene assays exhibit remarkable sensitivity and ease of use.
The Phospha-Light™ and Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP reporter gene assays are used in transiently transfected cell lines and primary cells, stably expressing cell lines, and serum from transgenic animals for gene expression assays, gene knockdown/RNA interference readouts, virus expression assays, and protein secretion pathway analysis. Both systems offer highly sensitive assays that can be completed typically in less than 1 hour and preserve valuable cells for further experimentation.
The next-generation Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP reporter gene assay has a higher signal intensity and higher signal-to-noise performance than the original Phospha-Light™ assay system (Figure 1). All reagents are provided ready to use. The assay can be performed directly on the culture plate or on supernatant transferred to a separate plate. The Phospha-Light™-EXP assay is ideal for enabling multiparameter detection from a single culture plate, demonstrated by quantitation of SEAP expression from cell culture medium aliquots, followed by measurement of cell viability in the cell culture plate with the PrestoBlue™ Cell Viability Reagent (Figure 2). Time-course monitoring of gene expression is possible by removing multiple culture medium samples from a single cell culture plate (Figure 3). Since this leaves the cells intact, they can undergo multiple experimental treatments, be processed for imaging, or be subcultured post-analysis for SEAP expression.
Figure 1. Phospha-Light™ and Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP assay performance. Assays were performed on cell culture media sampled from NIH/3T3 cells transfected with pCMV-SEAP, using Lipofectamine® 2000 reagent, and plated at multiple densities. The Phospha-Light™-EXP assay provides higher assay signal-to-noise ratios than the first-generation Phospha-Light™ assay, and both provide higher-sensitivity detection of SEAP reporter enzyme than alternative chemiluminescent assays.
Figure 2. Multiparameter assay capability with the Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP assay. NIH/3T3 cells were transfected with pCRE-SEAP (cAMP-inducible SEAP expression) using Lipofectamine® LTX reagent with PLUS™ reagent. Cells were treated with forskolin for 24 hr to induce cAMP production. Samples of cell culture media were removed and SEAP induction was measured with the Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP assay. Cells were then assayed for viability using the PrestoBlue™ cell viability and fluorescence detection.
Figure 3. Time-course expression analysis with the Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP assay. NIH/3T3 cells were transfected using Lipofectamine® LTX reagent with or without PLUS™ reagent with pCMV-SEAP (constitutive SEAP expression) with high or low final DNA concentrations. Culture media samples were serially removed from wells at the indicated times after transfection and assayed with the Phospha-Light™-EXP assay. Data were obtained from a single 96-well plate. and expressed as signal (RLU) from wells containing transfected cells divided by signal from wells containing mock-transfected cells.
The Gal-Screen® and Galacto-Star™ Reporter Gene Assay Systems
The Gal-Screen® and Galacto-Star™ assays set the standard for ultrasensitive quantitation of β-galactosidase (β-Gal) in both mammalian and yeast cells. Chemiluminescent assays exhibit up to 1,000-fold higher sensitivity than colorimetric assays, enabling picogram to femtogram levels of detection. Unlike other luminescent β-Gal assays, our assays provide direct detection of β-Gal activity and do not rely on other enzyme cascades. Both assays can be used with β-Gal reporter as a readout for traditional gene expression assays in many cell types and tissues, or as a functional readout for viral function, immune cell activation, cell death, and mRNA processing. In addition, they are used for highly sensitive detection for β-galactosidase enzyme complementation assays used for monitoring of protein–protein interactions, protein translocation, and receptor dimerization/activity, including high-throughput screening of compounds for receptor activation. High sensitivity makes these systems ideal for detecting low levels of expression and for transfection normalization.
The Galacto-Star ™ assay provides a simple procedure: following culture media removal and cell lysis, reaction buffer containing chemiluminescent substrate is added. The Gal-Screen® assay provides the simplest protocol, designed for use in high-throughput screening workflows: a single reaction buffer that provides cell lysis and chemiluminescent substrate is added directly to cells in the presence of culture medium (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Gal-Screen® assay detection of ψ2BAGα cells. Gal-Screen® assays were performed on ψ2BAGα cells, which constitutively express β-galactosidase. Assays were performed in multiple microplate formats, in media with or without phenol red (PR).
The Luc-Screen® Reporter Gene Assay System
The Luc-Screen® assay conveniently couples cell lysis in the presence of culture medium with a high-sensitivity assay that exhibits extended-glow light emission kinetics. The assay system is designed for mammalian cells with maximum assay flexibility in a high-throughput format. It has been used for gene expression assays, compound screening, and large-scale promoter function assays. Light signal can be measured in as little as 10 minutes following reagent addition and remains nearly constant for up to 4–5 hours, providing flexibility in the time between reagent addition and measurement. The high sensitivity of the Luc-Screen® assay system enables detection of as little as 50 fg of luciferase, with linear signal over 6 orders of magnitude (data not shown).
The Dual-Light® Reporter Gene Assay System
The Dual-Light® assay system is designed for rapid and sensitive detection of both firefly luciferase and β-galactosidase reporter enzymes in a single sample. This microplate assay system is widely used with transfected cell lines and primary cells. The Dual-Light® assay system is designed for transfection normalization, using two reporters: one as an experimental reporter (typically luciferase), and the other as a constitutively expressed transfection control (typically β-galactosidase) to accurately quantitate activity from experimental reporter constructs.
Luciferase activity is detected via an enhanced "flash" luciferase reaction; then, following a 30–60 minute incubation and addition of a light emission accelerator, β-galactosidase activity is measured. The combined assay, completed typically in 1 hour, detects femtogram levels of each enzyme, enabling detection of low levels of reporter produced by weak promoters or poorly transfected cells. With over 6 orders of magnitude, the wide assay dynamic range offers measurement over a broad range of reporter enzyme expression levels (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Detection of purified firefly luciferase and β-galactosidase with the Dual-Light® assay.
NovaBright™ Reporter Gene Assays.*
|Cat. no.
|Phospha-Light™ and Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP Reporter Gene Assays
|Phospha-Light™ Reporter Gene Assay System
|1 kit, 200 assays
1 kit, 600 assays
1 kit, 10,000 assays
|Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP Reporter Gene Assay*
|1 kit, 192 assays
1 kit, 960 assays
|Gal-screen® and Galacto-Star™ Reporter Gene Assay Systems
|Gal-Screen® System for Mammalian Cells
|1 kit, 200 assays
1 kit, 1,000 assays
1 kit, 10,000 assays
|Gal-Screen® System for Yeast or Mammalian Cells
|1 kit, 200 assays
1 kit, 1,000 assays
1 kit, 10,000 assays
|Galacto-Star™ Assay System for Mammalian Cells
|1 kit, 600 assays
1 kit, 1,800 assays
1 kit, 15,000 assays
|Galacto-Star™ Assay System for Yeast Cells
|1 kit, 600 assays
1 kit, 1,800 assays
1 kit, 15,000 assays
|Luc-screen® Extended-Glow Firefly Luciferase Assay System
|Luc-Screen® Assay System
|1 kit, 200 assays
1 kit, 1,000 assays
1 kit, 5,000 assays
1 kit, 10,000 assays
|Dual-Light® Reporter Gene Assay System
|Dual-Light® Reporter Gene Assay System
|1 kit, 200 assays
1 kit, 600 assays
1 kit, 4,000 assays
|* Phospha-Light™-EXP SEAP Reporter Gene Assays can be ordered here. All other NovaBright™ Reporter Gene Assays can be purchased at www.appliedbiosystems.com.
For Research Use Only. Not intended for any animal or human therapeutic or diagnostic use.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.


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At Crystal Clear Plumbing we are dedicated to providing our customers the very best in service for your plumbing needs. We are a locally owned and operated company with over 25 years of industry expertise. We specialize in a wide variety of plumbing services and take pride in the attention to detail put into each of the projects we're involved with from start to finish.
As a customer satisfaction driven company we're known for the quality of our work, commitment to outstanding results, and the integrity of our business. We take the time to listen to your needs and answer your questions, as we believe a well-informed customer is a confident customer.
At Crystal Clear Plumbing you won't find 'scare tactics', gimmicks or pressure sales, just straight answers and honest advice. We know that daily schedules are busy so our consultations, estimates and service appointments can be tailored to meet your needs. We know you'll be satisfied and look forward to building a long term relationship with you.
All of McHenry County and these surrounding communities; Antioch, Barrington, Deer Park, Fox Lake, Gilberts, Grayslake, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Lake Barrington, Lake Zurich, Lindenhurst, Volo, Round Lake, Sleepy Hollow, South Barrington, and Wauconda.


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By Michael Lynch
Recent years have seen a number of solid historical books on the scope of war's destructiveness and the forces that either escalate it or rein it in. Mark Grimsley's Hard Hand of War was one of the seminal works in this scholarly conversation; other contributors have included Mark Neely and Wayne Lee. John Fabian Witt is the latest historian to examine Americans' attempts to regulate and legitimize warfare in Lincoln's Code: The Laws of War in American History. His portrayal of the history of rules to govern nations and individuals at war leaves the reader with the distinct impression that such rules have exacerbated warfare's violence as often as they have reined it in.
The regulation of war has been an important force in American history from its very beginnings. The American Revolutionaries prided themselves on adherence to the mores of restrained, civilized war that were fashionable during the Enlightenment, and with independence won, the country's leaders expended considerable effort upholding the right of neutral shipping as a component of the law of nations.
War raised legal questions involving the behavior of individual soldiers and civilians as well as countries. When American troops campaigning in Mexico found themselves subject to attack by guerrillas, and as U.S. reprisals against Mexicans threatened to escalate this conflict to frightening levels, the novel situation of dealing with military transgressions overseas led American commanders to develop important innovations, particularly the use of military commissions to try enemy personnel.
But it was the Civil War which proved to be especially fertile ground for the growth of military law. In Witt's portrayal, Lincoln and his advisers emerge as consummate pragmatists, shifting from one set of standards for conducting war to the other depending on the Union's particular needs at any given time. This flexibility led to some thorny contradictions; subjecting the Confederacy to a blockade was a convenient means of employing commonly recognized principles of the law of nations, but also made it difficult to prosecute blockade runners as illegitimate pirates.
A thorough and systematic presentation of the rules governing Union armies emerged out of the messy nature of this war that was both a contest between parties claiming the status of sovereign nations and a rebellion by one section against the rest of the country. The man responsible for crafting it was Francis Leiber, a Prussian immigrant to the U.S. and military philosopher whose notions of the boundaries of proper behavior in war differed markedly from those of most eighteenth-century thinkers. Whereas Enlightenment thinkers believed that an army gained its legitimacy from its conduct rather than the cause for which it fought, Leieber argued that proper ends could legitimate extreme means. Lieber was also a proponent of the idea that sharp wars were ultimately more humane because their severity convinced a foe to yield quickly and thus saved lives, a stance shared by some of the Union's most prominent leaders (including hard war practitioner William T. Sherman). When the Confederacy began incorporating partisan guerrillas into its regular forces, the Union government tapped Lieber to create guidelines for determining the status of prisoners. In Dec. 1862, Union authorities turned to him again, this time to craft a more comprehensive code of regulations to govern the behavior of armies in the field. The result became General Order No. 100, which turned Lieber's notions of aggressive, pragmatic warfare into official Union policy.
This aggressive turn to the Union war effort developed alongside Lincoln's policy of emancipation. War had been a corrosive agent against slavery since the time of the Revolution and the War of 1812, but to Americans of the time, the loss of their slaves ran counter to contemporary notions of the sanctity of civilian property in war. But the exigencies of the Civil War allowed Lincoln to take the extraordinary measure of freeing slaves in rebellious territory. This extreme act, which prompted howls of outrage from earlier Americans who saw their slaves abscond with British armies, became justifiable within the framework of an aggressive war effort because it served a laudable end. Emancipation thus conformed to Lieber's concept of aggressive war measures legitimized by the goal in sight.
The same notion of aggressive war was practiced by Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt, who upheld Lincoln's use of war powers and the use of military commissions to try those accused of transgressing the laws of war. Most of these commissions tried guerrillas and non-combatants instead of Union soldiers, and for a wide variety of offenses. The pragmatic philosophy of aggressive war out of military necessity also lay behind Sherman's destructive march to the Georgia coast and then into South Carolina.
Lieber's Code outlasted the war it was created to regulate. The expansion of the scope of military authority shaped post-war policies regarding the treatment of Lincoln's assassins, prominent ex-Confederates, and the former Confederate states as a whole. The U.S. also found an aggressive military code useful in dealing with Indians. Whereas earlier American armies used the notion of Indians as outside the customs of civilized war to justify harsh measures against them, after the Civil War the use of military commissions legitimized the use of the death penalty against these enemies whose exact status was open to question. Thus the code gave official backing to the killing of captured foes, an act that earlier armies had handled in an extralegal manner. Similarly, American troops in the Philippines invoked the standards contained in Lieber's code to justify an aggressive imperial war in that island nation, even as some of them transgressed that code with the use of torture, which Lieber himself had refused to include in his range of permissible behaviors. And it was not only Americans who found in the laws of war a pretext for harshness, as European statesmen used the Lieber Code as the basis for a new body of international military laws. Leaders of the strong, modern nations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries balked at the notion of circumscribing their armies with strict standards of behavior, but were open to Lieber's more aggressive approach.
Witt thus puts the evolution of war-making during the Civil War within a broad historical context, both backward into the Enlightenment and forward into the modern era. Lincoln's Code demonstrates how the use of emancipation, military courts, the Anaconda Plan, and Sherman's "hard war" developed out of questions that arose early in American history, and how consequential the Civil War proved to be on several different political, legal, and moral fronts.
Some of the most prominent recent scholarship on the destructive nature of the Civil War has emphasized that destruction's limits rather than its scale; the "hard war" was an escalation, but it was neither wanton nor unrestrained. Witt's emphasis is more on what the aggressive code of war allowed than on what it prohibited. Time and again, he explains how politicians and commanders found that laws of war actually magnified their power and the power of the armies under their authority. Laws and regulations were ambiguous in their effects; they drew lines which armies are not allowed to cross, but the very act of drawing lines legitimized behaviors on the other side of them.
The law of war, as Witt presents it, has therefore served to give official sanction to the escalation of violence as well as condemn it. In this age when American leaders are once again grappling with issues relating to soldiers, enemy combatants, and civilian populations, scholarly attention to the problem of regulating a government's power to wage war is especially timely. Lincoln's Code is a comprehensive, readable, and incisive examination of this problem's historical dimensions.
—Michael Lynch graduated from LMU with a degree in history, worked at the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum as an assistant curator, and now teaches survey-level history courses on campus. He holds an M.A. in history from the University of Tennessee and blogs about historical topics at pastinthepresent.wordpress.com.


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January 3rd is the birthday of former The War on Drugs member and current solo artist Kurt Vile who released the fantastic album Wakin' On A Pretty Daze last year. Here's the semi-title track off of that album "Wakin on a Pretty Day", and here's to hoping you all get to experience something nearly as calming as this song you start your collective day.
Wakin' in the dawn of day
I gotta think about what i wanna say
Phone ringin off the shelf
I guess he wanted to kill himself
Wakin on a pretty day
Don't know why i ever go away
It's hard to explain
My love in this daze
You can say i've been most all around
But honey i ain't goin nowhere
Don't worry bout a thing
It's only dying
I love along a straight line
Nothin always comes to mind
To be frank, im fried
But i don't mind
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah
Been diggin
Layin low, low, low
I'm diggin
Layin low, low, low
Dig, dig in
To these lives that we are livin
Livin low
Lackadaisically so
Risin at the crack of dawn
I gotta think about what wisecrack
I'm gonna drop along the way today
Phone ringin off the shelf
I guess somebody got somethin they
Really wanna prove to us today
Wakin on a pretty day
For any place
No use sayin nothin
To explain it
To my loved ones today


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Dear Judge Koh: Competition Is No Reason To Ban A Phone
from the that's-ridiculous deptWe already had mentioned that Apple had succeeded in getting a rare pre-trial injunction against Samsung's tablets, but now it's also succeeded in blocking the Galaxy Nexus phone as well, though the judge's reasoning is a bit bizarre:
"Apple has made a clear showing that, in the absence of a preliminary injunction, it is likely to lose substantial market share in the smartphone market and to lose substantial downstream sales of future smartphone purchases and tag-along products," Judge Koh said in Friday's ruling.First of all, this seems to be yet another admission by Apple that it just can't compete in the marketplace against Samsung. Such a ruling seems to scream out to potential buyers: hey, check out the devices that even Apple admits you'd want over its own. But, more importantly, "losing substantial market share" is what competition is all about. If someone comes out with a better product, then the other company should lose substantial market share. That doesn't deserve an injunction. That harms the market, who clearly -- even by Apple's own admission, apparently -- wants the other product more.
The fact that two phones will compete is no reason to ban a phone. Let them compete. Let the market decide.
Even more bizarre is why an injunction should be issued at all. Following the MercExchange decision, courts are only supposed to issue injunctions in exceptional cases. If it's an issue that can be dealt with by requiring a royalty, then there's no reason to issue an injunction.
Samsung, of course, is appealing this and asking that the injunction be put on hold until that appeal is heard. In the meantime, some are pointing out that, for all of Apple's insistence that Samsung copied the designs of its phone and tablet from Apple, you could easily make the argument that Apple got some inspiration from Samsung as well:
Filed Under: android, competition, injunction, iphone, lucy koh, patents
Companies: apple, samsung


text:
It's the early 1980s, and you're an equipment manufacturer for the fledgling personal-computer market. For years, modems that send data over the telephone lines have been stuck at a maximum rate of 9.6 kilobits per second: if you try to increase the rate, an intolerable number of errors creeps into the data.
Then a group of engineers demonstrates that newly devised error-correcting codes can boost a modem's transmission rate by 25 percent. You scent a business opportunity. Are there codes that can drive the data rate even higher? If so, how much higher? And what are those codes?
In fact, by the early 1980s, the answers to the first two questions were more than 30 years old. They'd been supplied in 1948 by Claude Shannon SM '37, PhD '40 in a groundbreaking paper that essentially created the discipline of information theory. "People who know Shannon's work throughout science think it's just one of the most brilliant things they've ever seen," says David Forney, an adjunct professor in MIT's Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems.
Shannon, who taught at MIT from 1956 until his retirement in 1978, showed that any communications channel — a telephone line, a radio band, a fiber-optic cable — could be characterized by two factors: bandwidth and noise. Bandwidth is the range of electronic, optical or electromagnetic frequencies that can be used to transmit a signal; noise is anything that can disturb that signal.
Given a channel with particular bandwidth and noise characteristics, Shannon showed how to calculate the maximum rate at which data can be sent over it with zero error. He called that rate the channel capacity, but today, it's just as often called the Shannon limit.
In a noisy channel, the only way to approach zero error is to add some redundancy to a transmission. For instance, if you were trying to transmit a message with only three bits, like 001, you could send it three times: 001001001. If an error crept in, and the receiver received 001011001 instead, she could be reasonably sure that the correct string was 001.
Any such method of adding extra information to a message so that errors can be corrected is referred to as an error-correcting code. The noisier the channel, the more information you need to add to compensate for errors. As codes get longer, however, the transmission rate goes down: you need more bits to send the same fundamental message. So the ideal code would minimize the number of extra bits while maximizing the chance of correcting error.
By that standard, sending a message three times is actually a terrible code. It cuts the data transmission rate by two-thirds, since it requires three times as many bits per message, but it's still very vulnerable to error: two errors in the right places would make the original message unrecoverable.
But Shannon knew that better error-correcting codes were possible. In fact, he was able to prove that for any communications channel, there must be an error-correcting code that enables transmissions to approach the Shannon limit.
His proof, however, didn't explain how to construct such a code. Instead, it relied on probabilities. Say you want to send a single four-bit message over a noisy channel. There are 16 possible four-bit messages. Shannon's proof would assign each of them its own randomly selected code — basically, its own serial number.
Consider the case in which the channel is noisy enough that a four-bit message requires an eight-bit code. The receiver, like the sender, would have a codebook that correlates the 16 possible four-bit messages with 16 eight-bit codes. Since there are 256 possible sequences of eight bits, there are at least 240 that don't appear in the codebook. If the receiver receives one of those 240 sequences, she knows that an error has crept into the data. But of the 16 permitted codes, there's likely to be only one that best fits the received sequence — that differs, say, by only a digit.
Shannon showed that, statistically, if you consider all possible assignments of random codes to messages, there must be at least one that approaches the Shannon limit. The longer the code, the closer you can get: eight-bit codes for four-bit messages wouldn't actually get you very close, but two-thousand-bit codes for thousand-bit messages could.
Of course, the coding scheme Shannon described is totally impractical: a codebook with a separate, randomly assigned code for every possible thousand-bit message wouldn't begin to fit on all the hard drives of all the computers in the world. But Shannon's proof held out the tantalizing possibility that, since capacity-approaching codes must exist, there might be a more efficient way to find them.
The quest for such a code lasted until the 1990s. But that's only because the best-performing code that we now know of, which was invented at MIT, was ignored for more than 30 years. That, however, is a story for the next installment of Explained.
JD Rucker
January 20, 2010
How would this fit in with quantum computing?
Tom Schneider
January 21, 2010
The article has an error: one cannot reach zero errors with a finite message. The channel capacity theorem is that one may have as few errors as desired. See my web site http://alum.mit.edu/www/toms for how this theory applies to biology and, indeed, how information theory is a theory about biology.
Thanks. In the sixth paragraph, we've changed "achieve zero error" to "approach zero error." Elsewhere, I think, I was fairly scrupulous about saying "approach."
--Larry Hardesty
Jarek Duda
January 21, 2010
About "achieve zero error" or "approach zero error" - it's a bit more complicated: while using blocks of finite length, there is always nonzero probability that the amount of errors will exceed some threshold above which we cannot correct properly.
The better would be "approach asymptotically zero error" - with block lengths going to infinity. For such potentially infinite blocks, correction complexity should be rather linear (like in correction trees).
chandrasekaran karuppannan
March 26, 2015
1) is it must that i have to use error control coding to reduce BER in the noisy channel even if i send the data much below the capacity of the channel ?
2)If i say the channel has the capacity 1000 bits/sec ( as per Shannon – Hartley Equation)
this 1000 bit/s is ( information + error control data) OR information alone ( excluding error control data)..?
Thank you


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BARRINGTON – Sound Advice Hearing Center, Inc. recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their membership with the Greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce. Sound Advice Hearing Centers provides comprehensive hearing and hearing aid services.
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The City Council's Sustainability and Transportation Committee will discuss embarking on a collaborative climate action planning process with the City of South Portland tomorrow night, and will consider recommending an ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. The goal of this process will be to develop climate action and adaptation plans for both cities based on a joint vision of deep carbon reduction. The Committee will meet at 6:00 PM on Thursday, February 15 in Council Chambers.
Development of the climate action and adaptation plans for both cities would take place over the next 18 months. Each city is proposing to pay $110,000. Pending budget approval, the cities will recruit a qualified consultant to assist with the facilitation of community and stakeholder meetings, perform technical analysis, and to draft the final plans.
"The Committee looks forward to discussing this issue on Thursday night and I hope that the public will join us," said Councilor Spencer Thibodeau, Chair of the Sustainability and Transportation Committee. "I think this process will allow us to address climate change from a more regional perspective, and I'm excited about the prospect of what the two cities can accomplish together."
Portland City Manager Jon Jennings recently met with South Portland City Manager Scott Morelli to discuss the collaboration. Both managers agreed that it makes a lot of sense to work together to minimize costs by sharing a consultant, and to help align plans to achieve the CO2 reduction goals that both City Council's have established.
Climate Commitments:The Portland and South Portland City Councils have signed onto the Mayors Climate Agenda, which pledges that each city will take actions to comply with the the Paris Accords. Leading cities see this as reducing CO2 emissions 80% by 2050. By signing the agreement each city has pledged to these actions:1. Developing a community Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventory2. Setting near-and long-term targets to reduce emissions3. Developing a Climate Action Plan aligned with the City's targets.The Portland City Council passed a resolution stating a commitment that the City of Portland will run on 100% renewable power by 2040.
Community Greenhouse Gas Inventories:In order to understand the amount of energy used by residents, businesses, and industry, the cities would work with GridSolar to develop a detailed map documenting the energy use in each city. This company most recently conducted a project on the Boothbay Peninsula to meet the energy needs of the businesses and residents there without the installation of new power lines.
Their mapping exercise will provide essential data that will help determine the best ways to curb emissions and the best locations to deploy renewable energy including solar, renewable thermal technologies, and micro-grids."It will be very important to engage the residents of Portland and South Portland in this planning process," said Troy Moon, Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Portland. "Reducing our collective greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero will require us to look at our daily activities and figure out how to do them with less energy and fewer resources. It will take the creativity of the whole community to figure this out."


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Our iPCMP software platform and our services combine to offer an integrated, single solution for the whole supply chain.


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Ben Meadows:
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My Reaction to Woman Receiving Ticket on I-95/Laurel for Driving 63 mph in 65 mph Zone
Readers, I'm going to share with you a message that I sent to AAA spokesperson John Townsend on March 20 in reaction to his comments about a shocking ticket-issuing. Some of you may agree, some may disagree. But I need to put this out there because sentiments are high on both sides, and I want to know what you think. Let's continue this dialog. Please see below:
Greetings! I politely disagree with your comments in this news story that this ticket is sending the wrong message to the public.
I think it's sending exactly THE RIGHT message — one that we should have been sending for a very long time now — that it is completely unacceptable to impede traffic in the left lane.
Too much emphasis is on the fact that the lady was adhering to the speed limit and shouldn't have been given a ticket. I'll give that she was not exceeding the speed limit (I will come back to this in a minute). But, she was also impeding the flow of traffic, which is a much worse offense. The main reason is that it incites road rage — guaranteed every time. Drivers get very aggressive and start to jockey for position to go around her, which has the potential to cause many horrible/fatal accidents. Her actions were disturbing to what would ordinarily be a calm driving environment. Her actions created a hostile atmosphere that put everybody around in real danger. THIS KIND OF RECKLESS DRIVING IS THE REAL CAUSE OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, NOT NECESSARILY DRIVING FASTER. Realizing this, AAA should support and speak out in defense of driving habits that are safe, not incitable.
Coming back to the point I was making earlier, the real problem is that we have traffic laws that are totally contradictory in this country. On one hand, we have laws that permit and encourage officers to issue tickets for "speeding" because "speeding" has been demonized and oversimplified as "dangerous driving." To support this, people drive the speed limit in all lanes and feel justified in doing so — after all, they are just obeying the law. On the other hand, we have always been taught that the left lane(s) should be preserved for those who are passing all traffic on the right. In order to obey this law, you will have to surpass the speed limit. Further, we also have laws that permit officers to issue tickets when drivers are impeding the flow of traffic. These contradictions make the whole ding dang proposition flawed! Who should be considered right under any of these circumstances???
To drive on certain European highways, drivers are required to take more classes to handle their cars SAFELY. They are trained to be better drivers, not simply penalized for driving faster. They support the mantra that highways were built to move people/goods in the most expedient way possible, so the unhindered flow is maintained by always urging slower traffic to keep to the right, regardless of speed. Consequently, there really is no speed limit. But they do have an advisory speed limit. European authorities are also more enlightened in that they realize the term "reckless driving" should be assigned to someone who is carelessly driving, not merely driving faster. You can adhere to lower speed limits and still kill/harm people due to inexperience and driving in ways that disregard the safety of all who are around! Hello, cellphones!
By saying this, however, please note I am not saying that higher speeds are not a contributing factor to worse accidents. I am also not saying that there should be no speed limits on U.S. highways. I am simply saying that U.S. authorities are causing major problems because they are contradicting themselves, oversimpifying the issue, and encouraging worsened traffic congestion by en/forcing everybody to drive slower because of lower highway speed limits. The focus on speed has been all wrong for too long! And the problem has gotten worse as populations have increased!
Rather than saying this ticket issuing sends the wrong message, how about looking at this using the Europeans' model, which would argue that this woman's actions were reckless and inconsiderate to all the other drivers on the road. And, if she wanted to drive slower to feel safer, she should just keep to the right. The solution to this problem is higher quality, continued driver training and enforcing the law that "slower traffic keep right" on our highways instead of issuing tickets to and demonizing those who are just trying to expediently get from Point A to Point B.
By the way, I am a Premium AAA member, I maintain a blog that discusses these and similar issues, and I passionately advocate for expedient travel that gets everyone from Point A to Point B SAFELY.
Nneka Jenkins (trafficfrustrationblog.com)
As of the writing of this blogpost, Mr. Townsend has not responded to this letter.


text: The Zapier integration provides a number of SurveyMonkey actions, triggers, and searches you can use to automate processes and connect SurveyMonkey with other apps by creating a Zap. A Zap is a connection between two apps made of a trigger and an action or search. Whenever the trigger event happens, Zapier will automatically make the action or search event happen for you!


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LU Radiance Shines
March 2, 2011 | Lynchburg, VA
The chill of the rink. The tingle of adrenaline. The audible slice of blades cutting the ice. The red fingers and numb noses. The bloody knees. The unforgiving audience. The glory.
This is not hockey. It's synchronized skating at Liberty University. Meet LU Radiance.
Headed by captain Sarah LaRoche, and coached by Tatiana Gomez, LU Radiance is currently the only college team in Virginia.
There are eight skaters in LU Radiance, the minimum number required for competition.
"It is definitely a team sport," member Lindsey Wethington said. "If a person skates how they want to, it throws off the count and will mess everyone else up, causing the routine to look bad."
The team has to practice multiple times a week to perfect their synchronization and to get a routine down.
"We currently practice two to three times a week," Wethington said.
Practices are from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.
"Team members must be motivated and passionate about the team and the sport so that they will be committed to coming to practice on time," Gomez said. "Dedication is definitely my number one requirement of my skaters."
LU Radiance competes in the Open Collegiate section of the United States Figure Skating Association synchronized skating division. The team goes head to head against teams all over the country, including Boston College, Northeastern University and the University of Delaware. LU Radiance hosted an Eastern Regional competition and traveled to Lake Placid for the Eastern Finals competition in February.
Gomez said skaters simply have to make themselves aware of what everyone is doing, and then be able to do the exact same movements. It's all about teamwork, not skating as a singles skater.
"A skaters ultimate goal is to consistently improve, to reach certain levels, pass certain tests and strive for the overall goal of being a better and stronger team as a whole because of everyone's individual hard work and practice," Gomez said.
Wethington has been skating for seven years and doing synchronized skating for five years. Many of her team members have also been skating for multiple years she says.
"I would recommend this sport to anyone," Wethington said. "You make a lot of friends, and it's a lot less scary than skating by yourself."


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This is just me stating some personal feelings about it, but I am also worried about the climate that's been going on around the new movie, as well as the controversy around Scarlet Johansson's role in the movie. Even I'm wondering if it was wise of them to hire her for the lead role.
I am pretty sure this whole thing is all really just projecting based on "whitewashing" and I love the character, but if you have seen her image, I warn you... I wasn't impressed myself to say the least and I like the Stand Alone Complex version of Ghost in the Shell better, IMO. What are your thoughts about this? You can tell me about it in the comments and yes, the source of this topic is at the bottom over there.


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Occasionally I'll head over to eBay just to see what history-related items they have. Lincoln-related items are usually easy to come by; I got my set of the Collected Works by online bidding. Today I typed "Abraham Lincoln" into the search field and encountered this listing: "Abraham Lincoln RARE Heirloom Tomato 50 Seeds for 2009."
And here it is. Being unaware of any connections between Lincoln and tomatoes, I did a search and uncovered a plethora of information. According to one source:
'Abraham Lincoln' was introduced in 1923 by the W. H. Buckbee seed company of Rockford, Ill., which named the tomato in honor of the state's favorite son. It was released without much fanfare, but over the years it has proved itself to be one of the great tomato classics that happily survived the big shift to hybrids during the 1940s. After the demise of the Buckbee firm, the tomato was continued by R. H. Shumway of Randolph, Wis.
I'd always drawn very broad distinctions between tomatoes; you've got your big ones that you slice and put on sandwiches and your little ones that you add to salads. Apparently, though, this is a very serious business. Tomato varieties are "released" with or without fanfare, and then "continued" in the same manner as automobile models or limited edition porcelain figurines. "Don't be confused with Abraham Lincoln improved," urges the eBay vendor. "In my opinion, it isn't as good as the original!"
At the very least, this is a cheaper alternative to collecting original Lincoln documents or artwork.


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BIM streamlines road improvement project
Project Summary
Multiconsult AS, a leading firm of consulting engineers and designers in Scandinavia, used Autodesk Building Information Modelling (BIM) solutions to develop early-stage designs for a large transportation route expansion that also included a new bridge. Using InfraWorks civil infrastructure design software, the team developed multiple alternatives and visualisations more quickly and cost-effectively.
Norwegian Public Roads Administration route expansion
Insightful preliminary design
Using Autodesk BIM for infrastructure workflows, the team was able to quickly aggregate data from disparate sources and then develop and simulate multiple preliminary design alternatives in the context of the existing environment.
Create compelling proposals
Using an intelligent model, instead of 2D tools, gave the team time to develop 17 road alternatives and 8 bridge designs. Multiple alternatives provided more insight earlier in the planning stages.
Exceed client expectations
Unlike presenting in 2D, the data-rich 3D visualisations made possible by Autodesk BIM for infrastructure software provided a clearer view of the design concepts, raising the quality while meeting time and cost limits.
Improve engagement with stakeholders
Multiconsult demonstrated how different options could reduce traffic congestion and how the bridge would look from various locations. High-resolution animations were posted on the website to help explain the proposals.
The full story
Multiconsult case study


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eestor ultra/super capacitor
eestor ultra/super capacitor
For that range, the caps would have to be so big there's be no room for anyone but the driver in the car.
The true value of caps is their ability to buffer peak and spike loads in and out of the batteries.
EESTOR is a scam. Has been a scam for a while.
I do believe EESTOR is a scam as they have been 3 months away from an offical launch for at least 2.5 years now. As a general rule when it is too good to be true it is smoke and mirrors.
Here's a May 2011 update:
The smoke is thinning, and the mirrors are smudged.
Sorry, I am a bit late to post...
Well, all might be possible, (range and charging time etc.) But I see the problem to transfer such an enormous amount of energy in such short time.
Any installation using the grid of an ordinary household wires would be stressed. Who has 100 Amps or more available?!
The best info I have about EEstor is 1) it is not a scam, in the sense that anyone has gained anything from the effort of the EEStor company. 2) the CEO of ZENN Motors has taken leave to help EEStor in any way he can to bring their device to market. Thus he
has apparently seen the device work and believes in the technology. On the other hand, the defense giant that had a stake in EEStor has not stepped forward with any more cash, meaning that apparently they don't think the device will ever work. I do not understand why the Dept of Energy has said nothing about all this.
Quite frankly, the EEStor story has yet to be told. At this point,I don't believe what anyone says, except that it's obvious that the device is not being produced at this time and not finished. The last heard from EEStor's chief is that "We are so close."
@Ramon123 The last heard from EEStor's chief is that "We are so close."
That's what they have been saying for last few years, with no result.
What convinced me that EEStor is a scam was when they announced that they had reached the milestone of demonstrating the purity of the material they intended to use as the dielectric for their capacitors, and at the same time were promising to deliver EESUs to Zenn in sufficient numbers to build the Zenn City Car in three months.
Three months to go from demonstrating the purity of the dielectric material to mass production of the finished product??? They'd still have to demonstrate that the dielectric actually works in a capacitor; then demonstrate its safety*; then develop mass-production methods; then build the manufacturing facility; and then turn out enough EESUs to meet Zenn's requirement.
It was around this time that a friend told me not to even consider lithium batteries since lithium would be obsolete in three months when EEStor's EESUs became available. This was, IIRC, around 3 years ago.
* Safety is not a trivial issue: If the dielectric in a capacitor is breached there is an explosive release of energy. While I have confidence that this issue can be solved, it is not trivial and will require considerable research and testing. Three months is not going to do it.
It was this promised time line that convinced me that the whole thing was a scam. To a lesser extent, the promise that EESUs would be significantly less expensive than batteries of the same capacity, also put up a red flag for me.
I still hope that ultracapacitors will one day be developed. They would allow for faster charging. (As fast as the available electric service can deliver the energy.) And more efficient charging and discharging, among other things eliminating the bottleneck for regenerative braking and virtually eliminating the charging and discharging losses experienced by batteries.
I believe EEStor is a scam, and I believe that Zenn got scammed. I would dearly love to be wrong.
BTW, imitating first posters post "the A123 Lithium ion batteries would allow an electric car to charge in about 5 minutes, have a driving range of 250 miles and have a speed of about 180 miles an hour"
It just requires a really big battery and engine. Notice the "1" in front of 80. EESTOR, even if true, would be downgrade to batteries using those measurements.
What makes ultracaps so tempting is the durability and extremely high power density, more like 5 second charging, not 5 minutes. That would require something like superconductive cables for charging though. Charging 100kWh in 5 seconds would mean 120MW connection. One small power plant entire power for five seconds.
Yeah, I think somebody watched "Back to the Future" a few times too many and came up with the whole EE-whizz. The grifter's main tools and resources are people's greed and hope (wishful thinking).
you should nickname your friend, "Any Day Now". I wouldn't be able to resist. >:)
Brian: My friend is a radical optimist. An all-around good guy with a commitment to electric transportation and a high level of technical competence. But he is insufficiently skeptical of radical claims. He is very good-natured and reluctant to call anyone a fraud. I trust him to work on my car, but not to give me investment advice.


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*Contact Beckman Coulter technical support for a full list of qualifying instruments.


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Just Opened: Meatball Hawaii
Left: Crispy rice balls and beef balls with polenta; right: meatballs and spaghetti
Photos: Fern palabay kanda
Balls and sauce from $8.50
Hoagies from $11.25
Add-ons and side dishes from $3
The fact that Chef Robert McGee opened a place called Meatball is probably the most perfect thing ever. Not that The Whole Ox, his last eatery that we loved, wasn't its own kind of perfection. But really? A chef and butcher from West New York making meatballs? And that he's making meatballs in Honolulu, a decidedly meatball-less city? Downright brilliant.
McGee, who's been practicing his culinary craft in Honolulu for about five years as an executive chef and chef consultant for a number of restaurants including Apartment 3, The Whole Ox and Indigo, has built a reputation for being a solid chef with a serious penchant for meat and a keen focus on sustainability, farm-to-table dining and buying and eating local. His Meatball joint is all of that, rolled into a fast-casual dining experience that takes the best of the East Coast-y meatball shop culture and fits it into a cool old space on Kapahulu Avenue.
"The meatballs and recipes are very much what I grew up with, and the menu and the concept is very locally relevant," says McGee, sitting in the whitewashed 30-seat dining room of his restaurant, which is La Bamba's old digs, two days before his big opening last Saturday. "In New York, you wouldn't be able to look at a meatball menu and build a loco moco, but here you can."
Or you can build a hoagie. Or a meatball and risotto dish. With a side of crispy calamari or a salad of "gathered greens." The concept of choosing your main protein (beef, pork, chicken, seafood and even veggie balls are on the menu) then choosing your sauce, then choosing your starch vehicle (hoagie, spaghetti, shells, polenta) for your balls and sauce and then adding a side (wings, fried eggplant, fries) to essentially build your perfect ball-centric meal hasn't really been done here, and we say: It's about time.
Meatball opened March 15. It's located at 845 Kapahulu Ave., with parking off of Mokihana Street, in the lot behind Waiola Shave Ice.
Meatball, 845 Kapahulu Ave., 739-9229, meatballhawaii.com.


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Christ Is Risen!
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As far as casualities, that's just part of the game, it's accidental to the question at hand.
Quote from: greekischristian on April 06, 2006, 05:48:06 PMAs far as casualities, that's just part of the game, it's accidental to the question at hand.Where can I find that Patrisitc teaching?
I concur. The statement certainly doesn't jive with a generally accepted Orthodox reverence for the sanctity of human life.
Where can I find that Patrisitc teaching?
I'd start with St. Justinian the Great, followed perhaps by St. Constantine the Great, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and St. Theodosius the Great. I can specifically recall from St. Justinian the doctrine that as the Emperor is the vice-regent of Christ on Earth, any attack or insult offered to the Empire, and thus to the Emperor, is an assult against Christ himself. Also, that as the entire earth is Christ's, the proper ruler of the whole world is his vice-regent, the Emperor. I can't think of the exact reference off the top of my head, but I'm sure that if I look I can find many recurrences of this throughout the history of the Empire.As far as killing in war not being a sin, that would be St. Basil.
psst: bizzlebin: he didn't mention the EP in his post.... just the Empire.
Well, I'd be much more comfortable seeing the quotes in full, with references of course. And didn't I say this was about historical events? How do you always manage to relate everything to the EP and the Byzantine Empire?
Isn't GiC's reference to the Christian Roman Empire appropriate? In terms of historical events it is a pretty big slice of applied Orthodoxy to the "real world". The Emperors and the people often fell short of their ideals (as do we), but there really isn't any better historical example of how States should conduct themselves within an Orthodox framework is there?
I am not sure if there has been a better system in practice, but Constantinople still wasn't very good. The "Christian" Byzantine Empire martyred saints just as well as during the non-Christian period. Hence, why I asked for Patristic references.
Where can I find that Patrisitc teaching?I concur.  The statement certainly doesn't jive with a generally accepted Orthodox reverence for the sanctity of human life.
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On July 1st I leave on an epic trip that will take me through La Crosse, Copper Harbor, and Marquette, until we finally arrive in Escanaba. The Finno-Italian City on the Lake, former home of summerin' Chicago mobsters, is my father's hometown, and I am traveling with him to see the sites. I will not return to South Dakota until July 5th.
I've queued blogspirit so tdaxp should have one new post a day for those five days. They will be section 4.3 of my thesis, A Computer Model of National Behavior.
4.3 Entity Attributes
4.3.1 Introduction
4.3.2 Places
4.3.3 Nations
4.3.4 Nations-in-Places (NPs)
4.3.5 States
Will it be interesting? Not really. But at least it will keep tdaxp "fresh."


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Trust me, I do not know what half the title says but these are delicious!
Bad picture …….once again, but these are good!!
Bread Baking Babes have been steaming this month. Trying to produce the best flower buns and each one's a looker. Mine's not a looker but was so good. Karen of Bake My Day steamed up a recipe from Global Baker by Dean Brettschneider.
I read all the bread baking babes blogs before I went ahead with the recipe. This recipe calls for Chinese Flour which should be low gluten. I made a trip to our Chinese Store , got all the ingredients and that's the best thing I did ;-). These came out perfect ……absolutely bread like……no chewiness……perfect soft breads. I was absolutely surprised….how could steaming create such fabulous buns……it was a transformation. Unfortunately, I do not have a cut shot, that would have said more than I can write. We were all so hungry, we just ate it up and forgot all about pictures :-). Anyway, bottom line, if you want to make these……get Chinese Flour :-).
Low Gluten Chinese Flour……called "Weak Flour"
The Recipe:
makes 10 buns
"Everywhere you go in China you see people eating steam buns, also known as mantong Typically Chinese, a sweet bread is combined with a savoury filling, such as red bean paste and barbecued pork, but take care and avoid using too much filling or the bun will fall apart during the rising and steaming stage. The baking powder helps to open up the texture and gives a little tenderness to the eating quality of the buns. If you can, use imported Chinese flour from a specialist Asian food market or store".
300 g chinese flour (use low gluten flour such as cake flour)
15 g sugar
15 g butter
good pinch of salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
150 ml chilled water, placed in the refrigerator overnight ( I just put mine in the freezer for 15 minutes )
rice bran oil, for brushing on dough (I used good old extra virgin olive oil 🙂 )
40 g finely chopped spring onions or chives
25 g finely chopped red chillies
salt to taste
To make the dough, place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and, using your hands, combine to form a very, very firm dough mass. Don't be tempted to add any water or the steam buns will be flat after steaming.
Place the dough on a work surface and, using your rolling pin, roll out to a thin strip, fold this in half and roll again. Repeat this 10-15 times with a 30 second rest in between each time. This is a way of mixing a very firm dough, the dough will start to become smooth and elastic as a result of the rolling process.
Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warmish place (23-25C) for 15 minutes. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece to a 25cm square. {{this is strange…he never states that you divide the dough in this stage, so use and roll the one ball of dough you have}}
Brush the dough surface lightly with oil and sprinkle the chopped chives and chillies evenly over the dough. Season with salt.
Fold the dough in half and then cut into 2.5cm strips so that you end up with 10 folded strips. Stretch each strip and, starting at the folding edge, twist the two pieces of each strip over each other to form a rope.
Take the twisted rope and tie into a double knot, tucking the loose ends underneath. Place each bun with ends facing down on a 5cm square of non-stick baking paper** and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Prove for approximately 30-45 minutes in a warm place.
Bring a wok or saucepan of water to the boil with a bamboo steamer sitting on top. Remove the bamboo steamer lid and place the buns on the paper in the steamer 3-4 cm apart to allow for expansion during steaming. Replace the steamer lid and steam for 20 minutes. Repeat until all the buns have been steamed and are firm to the touch.
Karen's Notes: you might want to adjust the steaming time from 10-20 minutes, keeping the water at a low blub.
the paper: the pics in the book show him using paper circles, sort of perforated. (as in: paper circles with rather large holes in them). I'm using a regular steam pan with a metal insert and I preferred oiling the base of the metal insert not using any paper, re-oiling when needed. Another thing: I used a tea towel between the lid and the pan to catch any condensation.
I forgot all about the paper and just plain steamed mine. No problems ;-).
I am absolutely in love with garlic chives from Chinese store and so of course I got the authentic stuff.
I also made a couple for the kids with turbinado sugar and they were gone in no time.
Chinese Flower Buns with Turbinado Sugar
I will certainly be making these again. Thanks a lot Karen. All I wish is that the recipe would at least not have butter and sugar in grams. It's painful to measure such small quantities in my manual scale which has been even suffered in the hands of my kids 🙂 .
Chinese Flour…….500 g……….. Chinese Store (Hua Xing)………….$ 2.39
Chives…………….1.03 lb……….Chinese Store (Hua Xing)………….$ 2.21
Total……………………………………………………………………..$ 4.60


text: Thanks very much to have digitized this anglo-saxon dictionary and to maintain the site alive, Ondrej. I am a french writer and the understanding of the anglo-saxon texts which I studied was much easier with this digital edition of the Bosworth-Toller Dictionary. I did not miss to quote you as source in my book. Thanks to Charles University in Prague too.


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Heaven Fest, which features 70 artists on seven stages, released its schedule today, enabling festival-goers to map out their listening strategies before the July 31st event.
But it will take some tough decisions to see some of the festival's bigger names.
I know I will have a tough time deciding who to see. The reunion of Petra on the main stage or Disciple on the rock stage? Group 1 Crew on the hip-hop stage vs. Kutless on the mainer? BarlowGirl or Mary Mary OR KJ-52, hmmm? Mr. Del, Thousand Foot Krutch or Casting Crowns? And that's only looking at three stages.
A nice surprise is Arvada's Everfound will be moving up to the main stage this year. I'm excited for the band of brothers.
The July 31st festival will be at a new location — Union Reservoir in Longmont – this year. Tickets are whatever you can afford – a nice touch in these tough times.


text: When I'm not just sitting and drooling or yelling at the kids to get off of my lawn, I actually like to go back and look thorough and even listen to some of the old vinyl laying around that I have held on to. What I truly miss with the advent of CDs and then digital downloads is having the actual record and the amazing art and creativity that goes with some of the covers. This thread is all about the covers - even if the music inside sucked, here we can appreciate the cover art. Edit: Please post the artist name and album name for those of us who are seeing new things here I'll start with some real classics (none of these sucked... ): The Beatles :: Sgt Pepper The Beatles :: The Beatles The Beatles :: Abby Road Pink Floyd :: The Dark Side Of The Moon


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White and Lavender Rain, White and Frosted Jade, White and Antique Pink.
The femininity and strength of a woman; a feminine liberation.
White is the most important color for spring 2014. I pair it with almost every color in this collection
The Ivory scalloped lace dress with flared skirt. It is a feminine and flirty piece that you can dress up or down.
I would paint an accent piece in the color Blue Hydrangea. It is a strong, yet serene, shade of Blue.
1.866.PANTONE • Pantone LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated. © Pantone LLC, 2020. All rights reserved.


text:
Zero-Gravity Simulator
With NASA once again planning to send people to the moon, space exercise specialists are starting to think about how astronauts will exercise in one-sixth gravity on the lunar surface. Shown here is a Standalone Zero-gravity Locomotion Simulator under development at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio as a way to train future moonwalkers. See the simulator in motion here.


text:
On Friday, Feb. 20, the 2004 and 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox will again lend their time and talents to raise awareness and funds for The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. This Children's Hospital's signature fundraising event takes place on the beautiful championship golf courses of The Forest Country Club, located at 6100 Club Boulevard in Fort Myers.
Many residents of The Forest Country Club devote tireless hours to the events each year and look forward to opening their courses to host veteran Red Sox players as well as some of the hottest new rookie talent each year.
Though the final celebrity player list will not be released until the day before the tournament, past participants have included fan-favorites Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka; newly-elected Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice, former Red Sox great Luis Tiant and 2007 World Series hero Josh Beckett.
In addition to the golf tournament, fans can also attend The Boston Red Sox "Tee Party," being held at The Forest Country Club on Thursday, Feb. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. (the evening prior to the golf tournament).
The Boston Red Sox "Tee Party," this year celebrated with a Mardi Gras theme, allows tournament participants and their guests to mix and mingle, enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and bid on one-of-a-kind sports memorabilia items, trips, game tickets and restaurant gift certificates.
This year's live auction will include spectacular travel and ticket packages to three of the most celebrated sports events of the year: The Masters at Augusta, The Kentucky Derby (including tickets to the exclusive Mint Julep Celebrity Gala) and The Final Four Championship in Detroit.
This year's event MVPs (Most Valuable Patients) will be Neonatal Intensive Care Unit success stories Will and Olivia Galloway, 7-year-old twins who will be attending the events along with their parents Robert and Tracey Galloway, all of Fort Myers.
All funds raised will once again be matched dollar-for-dollar by a generous philanthropist and long-time Boston Red Sox fan. Funds raised last year (also directed toward the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) totaled more than $655,000.
Sharon A. MacDonald, Chief Foundation Officer for Lee Memorial Health System, praised the commitment by the Boston Red Sox players and management and the generous matching opportunity offered each year.
"It is so important that we are able to keep families together and close to home when they are faced with the critical care needs of a premature infant," said MacDonald. "We are so grateful to our matching donors, the entire Boston Red Sox Organization and The Forest Country Club residents for their continued commitment to supporting the lifesaving mission of The Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit."
Prime corporate sponsorships, golf slots and "Tee Party" tickets are now available.
For more information on the Boston Red Sox Children's Hospital Celebrity Classic, or tickets to the "Tee-Party," call the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation office at 239-985-3550 or visit www.leememorial.org/foundation .


text:
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text: This Learn English With Photos lesson is based on photos taken during a visit to Stonehenge in 2012. Learn some interesting facts about one of Britain's most famous historical monuments and improve your English vocabulary at the same time. There's also a speaking activity at the end. You can download a transcript and glossary here.


text:
Flat Leaf Parsley bunch, grown on a pesticide free farm.
Packaging: the unfortunate plastic sack. (Sorry- freshness and VIHA say we have to!)
Grown at Ladybug's Mew in Yellow Point. An established farm in Yellow Point – producing pesticide free berries (Cascade berries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries), vegetables, herbs and a variety of handcrafted items (soaps and sachets, etc.) utilizing herbs and flowers from our 12.7 acre paradise. FD (Farmer Doug) and TOF (The Other Farmer) are often asked "what is a Cascade Berry?" It is a tender, tart and juicy berry… believed to be a cross between a Loganberry and a wild Oregon blackberry, although much larger and more prolific (very common, we understand, as a backyard crop in the 1960's). Our Cascade berry vines come from a long-time resident of Ladysmith whose family has grown them for decades.


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CARSON, Calif. (Friday, March 21, 2014) – The LA Galaxy announced Friday that the club has loaned Rafael Garcia, Bradford Jamieson IV, Jack McBean, Raul Mendiola, Charlie Rugg and Oscar Sorto to LA Galaxy II. LA Galaxy II kick off their inaugural season against the OC Blues at the StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium on Saturday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. PT. The match will be shown live on lagalaxy.com.
In addition, Bruce Arena has loaned Galaxy players Kyle Venter, Kofi Opare and Kenney Walker to Galaxy II for the USL PRO side's home opener.
A number of first team players will help make up the roster for Curt Onalfo's club that will include both Galaxy first team players as well as players independently signed specifically to LA Galaxy II. The first of its kind program in MLS which offers playing time and development opportunities for players within the LA Galaxy player development structure will open up their inaugural 28-game campaign tomorrow night against the OC Blues.
McBean, 19, has spent the last three seasons with the Galaxy since being signed as the second Homegrown Player signing in club history in January of 2011. After making just two appearances in his first two seasons with the club, the forward made career-highs in appearances, starts and assists in 2013 with 15 games played, seven starts, one goal and two assists. McBean became the youngest player in club history to start a game and score a goal in the 2011 season finale when he scored against the Houston Dynamo at 16 years and 312 days old. During his three seasons with the Galaxy, the Newport Beach, Calif. native has excelled in CONCACAF Champions League play with five goals in eight appearances. A frequent contributor to Onalfo's back-to-back MLS Reserve League West Division winners, McBean has tallied six goals in 14 appearances with the reserves.
Garcia, 25, has made 10 regular season appearances with a single start in two seasons with the Galaxy since being drafted in the second round of the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft with the 38th overall selection. In 2013; Garcia made a career-high 16 appearances in all official competitions for the Galaxy including his first career MLS start on June 19. The defensive midfielder was also a regular in Onalfo's Reserve League sides that won consecutive West Division titles. During his two seasons with the club, Garcia has been a frequent contributor to the club's CONCACAF Champions League campaigns making a total of six appearances. Prior to being drafted by the Galaxy, the former member of the club's U-20 side spent four seasons at Cal-State Northridge winning All Big-West honors in his senior season in 2011.
Jamieson IV, a former U.S. U-17 international, was the sixth Homegrown Player to be signed from the LA Galaxy Academy. A native of Los Angeles, California and senior at Santa Monica High school, Jamieson IV has tallied three goals in 11 appearances for the LA Galaxy Academy U-18 side in the 2013-2014 U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy season. The forward also made three appearances for the LA Galaxy during the 2013 MLS Reserve League season as LA retained their West Division crown for a second straight year. Prior to joining the Galaxy Academy, Jamieson IV completed four semesters with the U.S. U-17 Residency program, making 25 appearances for the youth national team and a two-time NSCAA All-American selection. Jamieson IV was accepted into the Residency program in 2011, following a successful stint with the U.S. U-15 Boys National Team and an illustrious youth career with Santa Monica United FC and LAFC.
Mendiola, 19, signed a Homegrown Player contract with the Galaxy in February 2014 after spending the past three seasons with the Galaxy Academy. Mendiola, who featured in nine MLS Reserve League games in 2013 including two starts as the Galaxy repeated as the Reserve League West Division champions with a 5-1-4 record, was the back-to-back U-16 Development Academy Player of the Year in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons. The 19-year-old forward was named to the Development Academy Starting XI for the third time in 2013, and is the seventh player overall signed from the LA Galaxy Academy. Mendiola, a native of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, scored 13 goals in 26 games en route to the team's second consecutive division title and a 20-7-4 record, earning USSDA Western Conference Under-17/18 Starting XI honors in the process during the 2012-2013 USSDA campaign.
A product of Roslindale, Mass., Rugg was drafted 19th overall by the Galaxy in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft from Boston College. In his first season as a professional, Rugg, 23, made six appearances in all official competitions for the Galaxy with four games in MLS, one in U.S. Open Cup, and one in CONCACAF Champions League. Rugg started in two of his six MLS appearances for the Galaxy and once in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play. Rugg's rookie season saw him score his first professional goal which helped the Galaxy earn a surprising 2-0 victory away to Real Salt Lake on April 28. Prior to being drafted by the Galaxy, the 23-year-old scored 28 goals and added 18 assists in 76 games and helped his team qualify for the NCAA Tournament during all four years of his college career. He ranks fifth in Boston College history with 28 goals and he was the first player in school history to earn a spot on the All-ACC First Team in three consecutive seasons as well as a three-time All-ACC First Team selection while with the Eagles.
Signed in January 2013, Sorto became the first defender signed from the Galaxy Academy after a successful academy career that included helping LA Under-18's win the 2011-12 SoCal Division title. The 19-year-old Sorto made a pair of appearances for the Galaxy first team in his rookie season, both starts which came during the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. Sorto was an integral member of Onalfo's Galaxy reserves side in 2013, making eight starts as the team won the Western Division for a second consecutive season. During his rookie year, Sorto was also a member of Tab Ramos' United States U-20 side at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. The Los Angeles native made a pair of appearances during the campaign.
Season tickets for the 2014 MLS season are on sale now, starting at just $250. Becoming a Galaxy Season Ticket Member gives fans the opportunity to see every Galaxy home game as well as number of additional benefits such as access to Town Hall meetings with Galaxy leaders, discounts on additional single game tickets, entrance into the club's new Season Ticket Member loyalty program and much more as well as discounts at all TEAM LA locations and on select camps at the Galaxy Soccer Center in Torrance. For more information about becoming a Galaxy Season Ticket Member, please call 877-3GALAXY (342-5299) or visit www.lagalaxy.com/tickets


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Best Travel Shots of the Week
Summer is in full swing, so there's no excuse to not be out there taking photos.
If you've got travel images to share, consider joining our other readers on the canada.com Travel group on Flickr. Even if you don't take photos, it's worth it to check out the group to see the talented people who contribute to it.
Each week we highlight our favourites right here on canada.com. We'd feature more, but some people restrict the sharing options on their photos. It's okay if you do that, but if you want us to highlight your photos here, be sure to set your Flickr sharing options to allow it.
Flickr changed its membership rules so you can no longer sign on with third-party accounts, such as Facebook or Google. You now have to have a Yahoo account to sign up. If you're reluctant to set up yet another user account, consider this, Flickr give users one free terabyte of storage for their photos. That's hard to beat.
If you like taking photos with your mobile phone, Flickr's iPhone app is excellent and they have equally good apps for Android and Windows phones. They were also just redesigned so they are better than ever. You can even have them automatically back up all of your photos to Flickr's huge amount of storage space Check them out.
Here are this week's Top Travel Shots. Be sure to vote on your favourites in the poll at the bottom:


text: Embossing shapes like swirls and curls make fun backgrounds that take your projects to the next level. It's easy to do using the Swirls & Curls Embossing Folder.It's easy to make a great impression! Just place flat cardstock in this embossing folder, run it through a die-cutting and embossing machine, and out comes cardstock with a bold textured design. Embossing Folders make deep, crisp impressions—great for card fronts and accents.* 1 folder * 4-1/2" x 6-1/4" (11.4 X 15.9 cm) * Use with a die-cutting and embossing machine


text:
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text:
Under normal circumstances, Seattle's CenturyLink Field rocks from the noise of the 12th Man.
Imagine how far across Puget Sound the crowd's cheers will reverberate when the Seahawks host the 49ers on Sunday night.
The NFL flexed this one to prime time, and it was a wise choice. Although the 49ers (10-3-1) still can win the NFC West even if they fall to Seattle - a win in the finale against Arizona would do it - there's no way they'll take Pete Carroll's Seahawks lightly.
Niners coach Jim Harbaugh and Carroll had a bit of a feud going when they were college coaches, Harbaugh at Stanford and Carroll at Southern Cal. That hasn't diminished much in the pros.
``It's a big division finish for us and we'll see how it goes,'' said Carroll, whose team is 6-0 at home and hosts St. Louis in its last game. ``All we can do is focus on this game right here. We'll have no trouble focusing. They're a great team, and coming home and all that it will be exciting to get ready.''
Seattle (No. 7 in the AP Pro32) is on quite a roll, winning three in a row and five of six. Its defense has allowed 219 points, second only to the 218 yielded by the 49ers (No. 2, AP Pro32). And all the offense has done is put up 58 and 50 points the last two weeks. Seattle (9-5) is the first team since 1950 to score 50 or more points in consecutive weeks, impressing the oddsmakers enough to make the Seahawks 2 1/2-point favorites.
But the 49ers also have done something rare, going into New England and, after blowing a 28-point lead, beating the Patriots 41-34. They have lost only one of their last eight games.
``I think the thing that the players were feeling and probably anybody that was watching it was feeling was that there were two teams - two very good teams, two hard-hitting teams, two teams that have a lot of pride in how they play - really came out to see who's better,'' Harbaugh said of the Patriots game. ``And wanted to be better and wanted to win that game, and it showed.
``This game will be the same, I really believe that.''
So do we, but without the scoreboard being overworked.
No. 25 Tennessee (plus 10 1/2 ) at No. 6 Green Bay
Packers have NFC North clinched, probably won't find way to No. 1 seed. Still ...
No. 17 New Orleans (plus 3) at No. 12 Dallas
Saints damage Cowboys' playoff hopes with high-scoring win.
UPSET SPECIAL: Saints, 31-30
No. 4 Atlanta (minus 3) at No. 28 Detroit, Saturday night
Falcons can grab NFC home-field advantage with a win. Consider it grabbed.
No. 13 Cincinnati (plus 5) at No. 15 Pittsburgh
One of these teams will be in playoffs. Shockingly, it will be Cincinnati.
No. 3 New England (minus 14) at No. 31 Jacksonville
Patriots are an angry bunch, will take it out on weak Jaguars.
No. 11 Indianapolis (minus 6) at No. 32 Kansas City
Colts secure wild-card spot against NFL's worst team.
No. 8 Washington (minus 4) at No. 29 Philadelphia
Redskins have come too far to stumble here.
No. 18 St. Louis (plus 3) at No. 20 Tampa Bay
A pair of teams to perhaps watch in 2013. As for right now ...
No. 9 (tie) New York Giants (minus 1) at No. 9 (tie) Baltimore
Tough to explain Giants' and Ravens' inconsistencies.
No. 14 Minnesota (plus 7) at No. 5 Houston
Adrian Peterson's pursuit of rushing record could get stymied here.
No. 23 Cleveland (plus 12) at No. 1 Denver
Broncos are looking at 11-game win streak to finish season.
No. 16 Chicago (minus 5 1/2 ) at No. 27 Arizona
Injury-ravaged Bears have enough left to stay alive in wild-card chase.
No. 30 Oakland (plus 8) at No. 21 Carolina
Panthers might have saved Ron Rivera's coaching job with recent spurt.
No. 26 Buffalo (plus 5) at No. 19 Miami
Who cares, Part I?
No. 24 San Diego (plus 3) at No. 22 New York Jets
Who cares, Part II?
Against spread: 7-8 (93-114-7). Straight up: 8-8 (134-85-1)
Best Bet: 6-7-2 against spread, 10-5 straight up.
Upset special: 10-5 against spread, 8-7 straight up.
Online:http://pro32.ap.org/poll andhttp://twitter.com/AP-NFL


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The State Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed "Chelsea's Law," legislation aimed at tightening parole procedures for sexual predators and imposing life sentences on those who commit offenses against minors. The vote was 65-0.
The bill was authored by State Rep. Nathan Fletcher, R-75th District, who represents the parents of 17-year-old Chelsea King, a Poway High School senior who was raped and murdered in February by paroled sex offender John Gardner.
Gardner pleaded guilty to the crimes last month, along with the 2009 rape and murder of 14-year-old Amber DuBois, an Escondido High School freshman.
"What's happened is every parent's worst nightmare, every parent's worst fear," Fletcher said on the Assemby floor before votes were cast. "The primary responsibility of government is the protection of the innocent, the protection of our children. I think this measure goes a long way to insuraing that we have a system that better protects our children."
"The one-strike provision in this bill may be controversial, but it is smart and it's targeted and it manages a particularly violent class of predators," said State Rep. Marty Block, D-78th District.
The measure now moves to the State Senate's legislative process for consideration later this month.
Among concerns cited by skeptics are prison, parole and administrative costs estimated by state analysts as ranging from tens of millions of dollars annually in early years under "Chelsea's Law, to hundreds of millions of dollars annually.