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This week is as good for new movies as last week was bad, with a great teen sex comedy, a gritty bank heist drama, a slew of docs -- including one of the year's best, and a couple of art-house standouts.
"Easy A"
Emma Stone stars in this unusually smart and funny teen sex comedy as a high school student mistakenly labeled a slut by her classmates, a reputation she revels in for both the economic rewards as well as the newfound attention. Not surprisingly, the new rep gets old fast. In theaters everywhere, read our full review and watch the trailer
"The Town"
Ben Affleck directed and co-wrote this bank heist thriller in which he also stars as the leader of one Boston's boldest gangs. The film features a great supporting cast with standout performances from Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively and Rebecca Hall. In theaters everywhere, read our full review and watch the trailer
"Alpha and Omega"
Stars the vocal stylings of Justin Long and Christina Ricci as two young wolves at opposite ends of their pack's social order who are thrown together in a foreign land and need each other to return home. It won't surprise you to learn that love rears its ugly head, further complicating things. In theaters everywhere, watch the trailer
Written by M. Night Shyamalan, this film finds five strangers in an elevator, which is one thing. But things get ugly when it becomes clear that Satan himself is along for the ride. In theaters everywhere, watch the trailer
A documentary about a young man living in New York City who goes on a road trip -- accompanied by his brother and another friend -- to finally meet the gorgeous woman with whom he's been having an online romance, is one of the most nerve-wracking roller coasters of the year. In limited release, read our full review and watch the trailer
"Jack Goes Boating"
The directorial debut from Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who also stars in this film as a bumbling man-child who is set up on a date with an equally awkward woman, played by Amy Ryan. Features great performances from supporting players John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega. In limited release, watch the trailer
"Kings of Pastry"
From filmmakers Filmmakers D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, a documentary about 16 French pastry chefs competing in the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de Franc -- Best Craftsmen in France. In limited release, watch the trailer
"Leaves of Grass"
Edward Norton takes on two roles, playing a pair of twins, one a renowned Northeast philosophy professor, the other a revolutionary marijuana grower in the deep south, in this mad-cap film from writer-director-co-star Tim Blake Nelson. Norton is great, but the story is a bit uneven. In limited release, watch the trailer
"Never Let Me Go"
Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield star in this haunting story about a group of friends who slowly learn the horrifying truth about the school they attend. Mark Romanek directed this adaptation of the beloved novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. In limited release, watch the trailer
"Picture Me"
Documentarian Ole Schell chronicles the rise of model Sara Ziff from fresh face to appearing on billboards and in magazines around the world. In limited release, watch the trailer
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
"Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo"
The title of this documentary pretty much says it all -- filmmaker Bradley Beasley goes behind prison walls to follow convict cowgirls on their journey to the 2007 Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo. In limited release, watch the trailer


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Steven Hoag, a former marine and employee of the North Carolina Department of Transportation was sitting in his truck, calmly talking to his sister. This wouldn't be remarkable, were it not for the massive tornado tearing up the landscape just outside.
The video on the front page of Reddit is over a year old and has been covered by many news sources, but it's worth re-watching if only for this line delivered in the calm tone of someone entering the warm liquid goo phase.
"Oh there goes a flash. It's blowing up some power lines now."

subset: commoncrawl


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Your Hilton Head Island Area Real Estate Connection
In the current complex real estate market we, at Premium Properties of Hilton Head, understand purchasing or selling a property can be a life changing and exciting prospect. It is important to work with an agent who knows how to listen and is capable of understanding what clients are looking for in a property, and how the current and localized market can influence every aspect of the process. The Premium Properties of Hilton Head real estate agents strive to always respect our client's positions with patience and work with diligence and respect. We strive to educate ourselves to understand the current market, to ease you with the highest level of knowledge and expertise available. We want you to feel comfortable and unwavering in your big decision. Excellence in service is a top priority. With our years of experience in the "old" markets, we hope to help you find the perfect property for your family in the "new" markets we face today.


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LANDOVER, Md. — There are only three active coaches with multiple Super Bowl wins.
LANDOVER, Md. — There are only three active coaches with multiple Super Bowl wins.
Two of them, Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan, will be on opposing sidelines for the second time this season Monday night when the Giants and Redskins play at FedEx Field.
While so much preseason hype in the NFC East focused on the Cowboys and the Eagles, it's the two head coaches with 126 years of life experience and NFL tenures seemingly just as long who have their teams in position to play meaningful games down the stretch.
Coughlin has six years on Shanahan, plus a two-game lead over Washington, as the Giants seek a regular-season sweep of the Redskins and a continuation of the dominance they showed following an impressive and stunning 38-10 victory over the Packers.
Two of the most successful coaches in NFL history have adapted to the times, albeit begrudgingly for quite some time.
Coughlin has become more of a players' coach in recent seasons, commanding the respect of his roster by instilling leadership in the locker room and providing them with a voice. Meanwhile, Shanahan has relinquished control of his offense — at least somewhat — by handing the reins to a wunderkind rookie quarterback named Robert Griffin III.
In reality, when it comes to doing what they have done best, teams coached by Coughlin and Shanahan rarely stray from what has worked.
Asked how far back he goes in studying film for tendencies of Shanahan-coached teams, Coughlin quipped earlier this week: "1996."
In other words, the season before Shanahan, John Elway and Co. won the first of back-to-back Super Bowls in Denver, and a season in which the Broncos led the NFL in offense.
Coughlin likely was only half-kidding — and maybe not at all, suggesting his team will leave no stone unturned in readying for Shanahan and the upstart Redskins, who have won their last two games by a combined score of 69-37.
Planning, preparation and hard work are the benchmarks of their legacies.
Above all else, with Coughlin and Shanahan, what you see is what you get — usually.
"You always put little wrinkles in here to give somebody problems, but at the end of the day, we understand that your players are going to find a way to win the football game," Shanahan said. "You want to make sure that whatever you do, they feel comfortable with it and you're just not changing to change. You might be doing something to give your team a little bit of an edge or a little bit of adjustment to help you from an X's and O's standpoint.
"You want to make sure that they believe in what you're doing and they can do it well."
Shanahan, 60, and Coughlin, 66, have three Super Bowl rings apiece: two as a head coach and another as an assistant. They trail only Patriots coach Bill Belichick (200) in career victories by an active coach (Shanahan 170, Coughlin 161).
As much as Washington has found a new identity with RGIII, rookie RB Alfred Morris and the option attack, Shanahan has put together quite an offensive library from which the Giants can study.
"They've always been a gadget team; they'll have something that they've utilized," Coughlin said. "They've done so in the past. You look at the Pittsburgh game, then the very next week there's RGIII running down the sideline with a ball thrown to him out of the backfield. Reverses off of different looks. Mike's always done that."


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I'm just back from the Codemotion 2012 held in Rome.
Here's the list of the most interesting technologies and startup companies I discovered there.
On the tech side I found these topics quite interesting:
- OrientDB, an very interesting graph database http://www.orientechnologies.com/.
- Three.js (http://mrdoob.github.com/three.js/) a very powerful javascript library to ease the use of WebGL.
- Near Field Communication, a new technology that allows devices and electronic tags to exchange data within a range of centimeters. I was not even aware of it. The standards, though, seem not to be totally interoperable.
- HTML5's storage solutions: Web Storage, Web SQL Database, Indexed DB and File API. Even though they are not so widespread supported by the main browsers at a level that I feel they should, to make me give them a try in a real world application.
- Backbone JS (http://documentcloud.github.com/backbone/) brings MVC on the client side. Is it SEO friendly too ?
Have to check…It does not seem to be SEO friendly at all, unless you don't follow this rules.
Here, instead, a bunch of interesting newco:
- http://map2app.com/ allows you to generate map based applications that can be distributed on various mobile stores.
- http://hypertvx.com they came out with a nice idea to synchronise a TV program with a stream of media on your mobile devices.
It could be worth to mention LVenture (http://www.lventure.it) a venture capital that funded some of the start up companies present at Codemotion.
Many thanks to Francesco for the beers we shared in the always awesome Rome nights.


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Consolidation Phase - What kind of cheese?
Consolidation Phase - What kind of cheese?
Any help would be appreciated!
- Newly Expressive
- Posts : 1
Join date : 2010-05-08
The dukaners forum is migrating on a dedicated website that we're fully administering. This is a very good new for us.
If you had previously an account on this forum, I'm kindly asking you to create your new account on
http://www.dukaners.com/ and introduce yourself again. If you don't have your new account,
you are invited to create your account on http://www.dukaners.com/
On 31st August, the dukaners forum on open-board.com will be closed and the users will be redirected to the new one.
The postings will remain readable, but no one will be able to post on the old forum. Once again, I'm sorry for those
inconvenients, but in the end, this is for a better future of our community. I'm sure you will understand and share
my enthusiasm. Thank you for helping me in doing this migration smoothly.
Christian Vanguers (aka Ewan)
http://www.dukaners.com/ founder


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Welcome back for day 2 of our February/March 2012 Release. If you are just joining us, be sure to start here at Day 1. All previewed items will be available for purchase on February 5th at www.wplus9.com.
Today, we are introducing another new stamp set and 2 more dies.
Spring Tags
- is a 4x6 clear photopolymer stamp set
- contains 15 stamps; 3 (1.75") circle tag images, 4 sentiments, and 8 accent images
- will be available for purchase February 5th for just $14
Circle Stackers 1 Die
- contains 3 stackable round shapes
- coordinates with the Spring Tags stamp set
- comes on a single die that can be easily snipped and separated
- will be available for purchase February 5th for just $15
Timeless Tags Die
- a classic tag shape in 3 graduated sizes
- comes on a single die that can be easily snipped and separated
- will be available for purchase February 5th for just $11
Spring Tags is an all around Spring must-have set. Personally, I usually shy away from "tag" sets, as I like things that are a bit more than one trick. When designing this set, I wanted to give you as many possibilities as possible. There are 3 1.75" classic round tag images included in this set that will fit onto one or more of the 3 shapes in the Circle Stackers 1 Die. But today, I wanted to showcase some of the other uses for this set. To show you how you can really stretch it.
For my first card, I've used many of the images included to create another Folk Art inspired pattern. Let me show you how I created this one. All of the images used here are included in Spring Tags.
I started by stamping my sentiment from Folk Art Florals in the center of a piece of Natural White cardstock.
I stamped the heart image centered above the sentiment and flanked it on either side with the vine heart image. I then mirrored this underneath the sentiment.
Next I added the birds to the top and bottom, and then framed the whole thing with the floral swag image at the top and bottom. So easy to create, yet it looks so detailed and amazing.
Up next, another homespun folksy creation with a modern twist. Here, bright colors and stark white give this a more crisp and clean feel.
To create the focal point, I used two of the circles from Circle Stackers 1. I stamped the row of bird houses onto the simple circle and stacked that onto the pointelle edged one. I used this die on one of my cards yesterday and opted to punch out the negative spaces for that card. Here, I chose to leave them in place.
For a little added interest, I stamped the floral swag onto our Scalloped Oval Die at the top and bottom. I then cut it in half and used it to frame the focal image. Many of the images from this release are scaled to fit nicely into this die.
A little background stamping with some help from Folk Art Florals, and this card is complete.
I love tags. Timeless Tags is the perfect set for me because I get 3 sizes of the same tag in one die. I am just that way, once I like something, I want it in every color, size, flavor, etc... My next project is a little spin on the banners that are so hot right now. I admit it, I like those banners. I could put a banner on anything. So why not combine that love?
Here I die cut several of the tags as well as some of our other dies including Love Notes and Hearts & Clouds.
And I strung them all together on a string. I embellished them, distressed them, and stamped the last one using Funky Flowers with "I miss you". And added a little butterfly (more on this tomorrow) just for good measure.
Last, but not least, a more mature Easter Card. I don't know about you, but I find that Easter has just not been hit with the "stylish" bug yet. You can find very tasteful and stylish decor and designs for just about every holiday...but good luck when it comes to Easter.
For this, I started by creating a woodgrain panel using Woodgrain Silhouettes for a backdrop. To create the scalloped frame, I cut two of our Scalloped Ovals and used the simple circle to cut a hole out of the center of one.
I stacked them all on top of each other, popping the top frame with foam tape, added the large bird from Folk Art Florals Die and matted it all with a Label Layers 2 Die. To create the scalloped floral border, I stamped one of the circle tag images multiple times horizontally and trimmed it out.
I added my sentiment from Spring Tags to the smallest tag from Timeless Tags and attached it with twine.
Easy, stylish, and fun.
Are you ready to see more? The Design Team is ON FIRE this month, be sure to stop by their blogs to see what they have done.
Would you like to win Spring Tags, Circle Stackers 1, and the Timeless Tags dies? Just leave a comment by 9:00 AM EST February 3rd to enter. I will select one random winner from all comments. Winners will be posted here.
The fun continues tomorrow with our last set and die!
Project Supplies
Close At Heart
Stamps: Folk Art Florals - available 2/5/12, Spring Tags - available 2-5-12 (Wplus9)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Real Red (Stampin' Up!); Thatched Straw (Tsukineko)
Paper: Kraft, Natural White cardstock (Wplus9 beta); Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink); Patterned paper (October Afternoon)
Dies: Folk Art Florals - available 2/5/12 (Wplus9)
Other: Scalloped border punch (Stampin' Up!); twine (May Arts); button, ribbon (Papertrey Ink); sewing machine (Singer); thread (Coats & Clark)
Easter Greetings
Stamps: Folk Art Florals - available 2/5/12, Spring Tags - available 2/5/12, Easter Greetings - available 2/5/12 (Wplus9)
Ink: Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger); Summer Sunrise, Purely Pomegranate (Stampin' Up!); Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White cardstock (Wplus9 beta); Aqua Mist cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Dies: Circle Stackers 1 - available 2/5/12, Scalloped Oval (Wplus9)
I Miss You
Stamps: Funky Flowers (Wplus9)
Ink: Close to Cocoa(Stampin' Up!); Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)
Dies: Layered Butterfly, Timeless Tags, Circle Stackers 1, Folk Art Florals - available 2/5/12 (Wplus9); Love Notes, Hearts & Clouds (Wplus9)
Paper: Natural White, Kraft (Wplus9 beta); Patterned paper (Authentique, October Afternoon)
Other: twine (May Arts); buttons (Papertrey Ink); Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Scalloped border punch (Stampin' Up!); sewing machine (Singer); thread (Coats & Clark)
Easter Wishes
Stamps: Folk Art Florals, Spring Tags - available 2/5/12, Defining Words, Woodgrain Silhouettes (Wplus9)
Ink: Cameo Coral, Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up!); Versamark (Tsukineko)
Paper: Natural White, Kraft cardstock (Wplus9 beta); Berry Sorbet cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Dies: Circle Stackers 1, Folk Art Florals, Timeless Tags - available 2/5/12, Label Layers 2, Scalloped Oval (Wplus9)
Other: twine (May Arts); sewing machine (singer); thread (Coats & Clark); embossing powder (Stampendous)


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Posted by Bob Skilnik on January 14, 2008
Anheuser-Busch and Cadbury Schweppes Team Up on Latin-Inspired Beers
ST. LOUIS (Jan. 14, 2008) – As one of the hottest new products to hit markets in California and Texas cities, followed by tremendous success in Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska, Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada will arrive in convenience stores, supermarkets and grocery stores nationwide today. Latinos, specifically those of Mexican descent, have been mixing beer with Clamato for decades. Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada honor that tradition by combining Anheuser-Busch's classic American-style lagers with the spicy, invigorating taste of Clamato Tomato Cocktail, made by Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB). Due to their tremendous test market success, adults across the country are clamoring to enjoy this convenient, great-tasting drink. "This is a recipe that combines cultures and flavors," said Ana Vitrano, product manager, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "Budweiser, Bud Light and Clamato are all highly respected brands that, when combined, produce the authentic-tasting recipe many Latinos love. It's la combinación perfecta!"
A savory beer, Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada were developed with the adult consumer in mind. Budweiser, a classic American-style lager, and Bud Light, a classic American-style light lager, are the world's best-selling beers, and Hispanics have been enjoying the great taste of Clamato since its introduction in 1969.
An estimated 60 percent of all Clamato is purchased with the intention of using it as a mixer, so the combination of the three brands means the adult consumer can more easily enjoy a recipe they already love. To best enjoy Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada, gently rotate the chilled can once before pouring. Then, serve cold, or pour over ice, into a traditional goblet-style glass and garnish with a slice of lime or celery stalk. Salting the rim of the glass or adding a dash of hot sauce to the beer allows adults to further customize Chelada. The beers also pair well with traditional Latino dishes such as ceviche, chicken enchiladas and tamales."The combination of Clamato with Budweiser and Bud Light provides a refreshing beverage – one that Clamato fans have been mixing themselves for ages," said Andrew Springate, vice president, marketing, CSAB. "This is a convenient way for consumers to enjoy the flavorful and authentic recipe they've come to crave."The launch of Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada marks the first time Anheuser-Busch and CSAB have worked together. The agreement between the two companies specifies that CSAB will supply Clamato to Anheuser-Busch for use in mixing the Budweiser and Bud Light Chelada, and that Anheuser‑Busch will produce, package and distribute the beers through its network of wholesalers. The name Chelada is a shortened form of the Spanish word michelada which loosely translates to 'my cold beer.' To order Budweiser or Bud Light & Clamato Chelada, one might say: "Una michelada con clamato, por favor." To shorten that but still keep the beer recognizable as the traditional recipe, Anheuser-Busch focused on the name Chelada."One look at the can and you know that this beer is the real thing – Budweiser and Bud Light mixed with authentic Clamato," Vitrano said. "This is a savory beer that will appeal to adult beer drinkers, particularly those who enjoy beer mixed with Clamato."
Brewed at Anheuser-Busch's St. Louis brewery, Budweiser Chelada contains 5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and Bud Light Chelada contains 4.2 percent ABV and is available in 24-ounce single-serve cans and 16-ounce, four-pack cans.
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser‑Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.4 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser‑Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country's best-selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2007. Anheuser‑Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world's largest recyclers of aluminum cans.
For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com Clamato is a leading brand in the beverage portfolio of Plano, Texas-based Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), a subsidiary division of Cadbury Schweppes plc (NYSE:CSG). CSAB is one of the largest producers of soft drinks and premium beverages in the Americas. CSAB's brand portfolio includes Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, Accelerade, Mott's Apple Juice and Sauce, RC Cola, A&W Root Beer, Sunkist Soda, Canada Dry, Hawaiian Punch, Schweppes, Diet Rite, Clamato, Mr & Mrs T Mixers, Holland House Mixers, Rose's, Mistic, Yoo-hoo, Orangina, IBC, Stewart's, Nantucket Nectars and other well-known consumer brands. For additional information on CSAB and its products, visit www.brandspeoplelove.com
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5 Responses to "BUDWEISER & CLAMATO CHELADA AND BUD LIGHT & CLAMATO CHELADA ARRIVE NATIONWIDE"
September 15, 2009 at 1:17 pm
[…] the Beer In Food comments section: clamato is the next best thing to a woman it is the best stuff i ever drank if […]


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Japanese art and Kamisaka Sekka: Rimpa, modernism and European influence
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The artist Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942) is one of the most mysterious Japanese artists to have hit the international world of art. This applies to his magical artwork which expresses the finer aspects of traditional Japanese art but fused with modernism and the impact of European art. Therefore, Kamisaka Sekka was an artist which belonged equally to the old world and new world of art which was impacting on the Japanese art scene.
Kamisaka Sekka was born in the cultural city of Kyoto and one can only imagine the splendor he must have witnessed in his early life. This similarly applies to the stunning reality of Kansai and places like Nara and Koyasan where religion, traditions and Japanese high culture, remains vibrant in the modern world.
The internal convulsions that hit Japan after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 radically altered the body politic of this nation. Indeed, Kamisaka Sekka lived in a period blighted by regional wars and major international wars. This reality highlights the convulsions that were sweeping through many nations whereby nationalism, capitalism, the colonial period, communism, technological innovations, religion, secularism, and so many different forces, were shaping the world for either the better or worse.
However, in the field of art then the same period provided enormous opportunities for Japanese artists to study various different art forms and to travel the world. Kamisaka Sekka would indeed travel to learn about new concepts and to open-up his artistic horizons to an even greater level. True to the nature of Kamisaka Sekka he gained enormously from his travels and studying about new art forms. However, he never lost sight of the power of Rimpa and the inner beauty of Japanese art.
From a very early age it was clear that Kamisaka Sekka was blessed with amazing artistic skills. In the early period he focused heavily on the traditions of Japanese Rimpa. However, he was always open to new art forms and styles. Therefore, modernism and traditions fused naturally together within his heart and this is the beauty of Kamisaka Sekka.
In an earlier article about Kamisaka Sekka I state that "In 1910 the Japanese government sent Kamisaka Sekka to the United Kingdom and while he stayed in Glasgow the Art Nouveau style would influenced him greatly. Kamisaka Sekka was also fascinated by Japonisme and he wanted to understand the attraction of Japanese art in the West and which areas appealed the most. Therefore, his time in Glasgow was most rewarding because his studies enlightened him in many areas."
Also, the trip to Glasgow in 1910 further cemented his deep admiration of aspects of European art. His earlier trip to Europe in 1901 had impacted greatly on Kamisaka Sekka because the Paris International Exposition opened up his eyes to new fresh ideas and concepts."
One can only imagination how the environment of Kyoto and his studies of Rimpa masters who blessed the Japanese art world had impacted on Kamisaka Sekka. Added to this were major Western art forms like Impressionism and Art Nouveau which reached his heart. Also, Kamisaka Sekka was fascinated about the impact of Japanese art on Western art. Therefore, in a world being torn apart by nationalism and politics you had artists like Kamisaka Sekka who studied the beauty of humanity and the power of different cultures.
The Art Institute of Chicago comments that "Centuries-old schools of art, such as the decorative Rimpa style with its quintessential Japanese literary and seasonal themes, had become unfashionable. To help keep the country's unique artistic culture afloat, the government established a policy to upgrade the status of traditional artists that encouraged them to infuse their craft with a dose of modernism. Consequently, in 1910 Sekka was sent abroad to Glasgow, where he was heavily influenced by Art Nouveau. He came home to teach at the newly opened Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts. Thanks to Sekka, the Rimpa tradition remains a signature of Kyoto design to this day."
Kamisaka Sekka highlights how individuals can learn new artistic thought patterns and art forms but remain within the initial environment despite fusing new ideas. He truly is an international artist who pushed new internal boundaries in order to produce stunning pieces of art. Therefore, when viewing his finest pieces of art you can feel many different things related to the past and modernity. This quality was done in a way which was not only natural but is strikingly unique and beautiful.
Many amazing artists have been born in Japan and without a shred of doubt Kamisaka Sekka belongs to the crème de la crème of Japanese art. His creativity and connection with the old world and modernism enabled him to reach new heights and to highlight many artistic angles.


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In addition, MyHeritage.com is racing ahead to index the entire 1940 U.S. Census and match their indexes to their existing Family Trees. My best guess is that they will have the entire Census indexed before anyone else is able to do so, including FamilySearch.org with their Indexing project. Why? Because they are already releasing the indexes. In addition, they will give you an email notification of the indexes as they become available. Isn't this duplication of effort? Not really. Where one indexer might read a record in one way, another might see something different. Checking more than one index of the census records is a very good research strategy.
MyHeritage.com already has a huge database of Family Tree information with more than 62 million registered users, billions of historical records, 22 million family trees and close to 1 billion profiles in 38 different languages. Look what they have done with WorldVitalRecords.com; increased the number of subscribers by 53% in the last four months. Look out Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, here comes MyHeritage.com.


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Dame Judi Dench, the Oscar-winning actress best known for being James Bonds' boss since 1995, is losing her eyesight.
"I can't read scripts any more because of the trouble with my eyes," Dench told the UK Mirror. "And so somebody comes in and reads them to me, like telling me a story."
The 77-year-old actress told the paper that she is the victim of a condition that also plagued her mother, macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness. She says she's undergoing treatment that she hopes will stop things from worsening.
U.S. & World
Dench says that she can do a crossword in bright sunlight, but that if a cloud passes by, "I can't see anything."
"I know there might be something going on but sometimes I can't see it and that infuriates me as I think I'm really missing out on something," she added.
She plans to invest in an e-reader that will allow her to make the text big enough for her to see, and start listen to more "talking books," which both her late husband, Michael Williams, and their daughter Flinty, have recorded.
Dench's new film, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," about a group of British retires staying at a hotel in India, opens May 4. She can next be seen as M, bossing 007 around, in "Skyfall" later this year


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While you may not be able to be "Friends" with actor Matt LeBlanc in real life, you can live in his home. According to the Los Angeles Times, LeBlanc is looking to rent out his lavish Pacific Palisades, California property for a whopping $12,995 per month (or in other words, $155,940 per year).
While the rental price is jaw-dropping for most, the actor has apparently been successful leasing out his pad for such an exorbitant amount. Two years ago Joey, errr… LeBlanc rented out his 1930s Spanish-style crib for $12,000 per month.
The "Friends" actor's Spanish-style pad boasts beamed ceilings, wood floors, original fixtures, ironwork and tile. With a library/den, updated kitchen, four bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms and a step-down dining room, the actor's home is pretty much everything one could want in a palatial rental. Well, except for one minor detail: LeBlanc, who is currently starring in "Episodes", is leasing out his Pacific Palisades pad unfurnished. $12,995 per month for an unfurnished house. Any takers?


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What is the diameter of the Sun?
The Sun's diameter is 1.4 million kilometers. But to most people, that doesn't mean a whole lot!
Imagine the last road trip you took. Even a trip across a state, province, or country can seem to take forever (even if your little sister isn't poking you). Think about how long it would take to travel around the whole Earth (say at the equator). It would take you over 100 times as long to drive around the Sun's equator. In fact, the Sun is so big that if it were hollow, you could fit over one million Earth's inside of it. Now your local McDonald's has probably sold more burgers than one million, but that is still A LOT!
(July 24,1997)


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President Obama is losing. So says the latest Gallup poll, and so do those swelling numbers in key states like Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia and Ohio.
Democrats say wait, he won the second debate. They are holding their breath, hoping polls next week will show that this week's debate brought the herky-jerk of the campaign back full swing, with Obama back to his September lead in the swing states and poised to win. But with two weeks to go, a sudden surge in voter support for a president as unpopular as this one, in an economy this weak, is simply hard to believe. Conservatives like Karl Rove note that this late in October, no candidate with support higher than 50 percent (see Mitt Romney: Gallup) has ever gone on to lose.
Perhaps Obama lost the presidency weeks ago, on Oct. 3, when he sleepwalked and scribbled through the first debate and helped make Romney a new candidate overnight. It was Obama's night to finish Romney off; behind in the polls, even Romney likely woke up that morning thinking it was over. But Obama underestimated the task, the challenger and the electorate — all in 90 minutes. So a win this week was critical but perhaps not decisive. There is no obvious reason for Obama's performance to reverse the course of the campaign and blunt Romney now. And though there is one final debate next week, a back-and-forth on national security and foreign policy isn't likely to make the sale for anyone who still cannot make up his or her mind.
Doomed! No reason Obama should be able to win! Pack it up! It's over! Gallup, libtard morons!
Into the file you go then. We'll see where we are on November 7.


text:
Join the Classic Castle alternate model discussion. Please post your opinions of the models' play ability, creativity, design, etc. Which models stand up to our catapult of critique and which ones crumble in shame!
This week's set is 7015 Viking Warrior Challenges the Fenris Wolf.
Viking Warrior Challenges the Fenris Wolf was released in 2005. A Viking armed with his axe and sword battles the fully posable Fenris Wolf. Various accessories such as a shield, spear, and jewels are included.


text: Back in the early 90's, I was in love two things: a cute girl named Christina, and a fathomless role playing game called Ultima 7. But because of my awkward appearance on the one hand, and our horrid computer on the other, I had no luck with either. I got dumped by one, and until I was able to shell out for four more megabytes of RAM, I'd have to play Ultima 7 on a borrowed computer. That was the way of it for a long time ago, but in the intervening years, the ONLY games I've come back to are Heroes of Might and Magic (see Palm Heroes) and Ultima 7. Ultima 7 was the pinnacle of computer engineering at the time and even today remains unrivalled for a complete role playing experience. Many today consider it the best computerised RPG ever. Unfortunately, it isn't truly playable on iOS devices for many reasons. The first is that EA hold the rights to it, and the second is that in order to run playably (in a virtual environment) on iOS devices, it needs a complete overhaul.


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Madonna has been anointed an even loftier title – God.
"You are our God," a young child at one of six Madonna-funded Malawi orphanages told the reportedly "bemused" pop star on Tuesday, according to Usmagazine.com.
"Where could we have been without you?" the orphan asked.
U.S. & World
The 51-year-old singer has been touring the AIDS ravished country since Sunday. Earlier this week, she marked the groundbreaking of a new girl's school funded by her charity by planting a tree.
Madonna has adopted two of her four children – David and Mercy – from the impoverished southern African nation. On Tuesday, she reportedly wept after seeing her 4-year-old's former crib at his old orphanage.
"It was an emotional moment," Lucy Chipeta, the director of the Home Child Care Center, told Us.
Next on Madonna's itinerary: a meeting with Malawi's president and Mercy's biological father.


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It's been just over 1 1/2 years since Joaquin Phoenix's memorably bizarre appearance on "Late Show With David Letterman," during which few intelligible sentences passed through his lips, all but obscured by a Unabomber-like beard.
Last week, Phoenix appeared on the rise again with the release of a somewhat cryptic trailer for his new movie, "I'm Still Here," which seems to be a continuation of him playing what we suspect (or at least hope) is the off-the-wall character who amused and bemused Letterman.
But these days, Phoenix's biggest challenge might be standing out in the crowd: Some 18 months after his talk show stunt (or meltdown), the entertainment world has turned increasingly absurd.
Or, more bluntly put: Joaquin Phoenix doesn't seem all that weird anymore.
Much has transpired since his Letterman visit. A couple seeking a TV show falsely reported their son was a stowaway on a homemade balloon, and got jail time. A couple seeking a TV show crashed a White House dinner, and got on a reality program.
Levi Johnston, the father of Sarah Palin's grandchild, filed papers this week to run for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. His campaign reportedly will be fodder for a reality show – a move that could almost be seen as an attempt at political satire if not for his overdeveloped opportunism and underdeveloped sense of irony.
And we learned this week from The Hollywood Reporter that "Jersey Shore" star The Situation stands to make $5 million this year – earning him more money than such actual acting talents as Edie Falco, Scarlett Johansson and Don Cheadle, the trade publication notes. This sum apparently doesn't count The Situation's reported upcoming gig on "Dancing With the Stars."
The ab man's ascension is hard to stomach, though there are signs, beyond his apparent financial acumen, that he might be more clever than he lets on amid the shirt-raising and fist pumping.
Funny or Die late last year featured a parody video with The Situation and cast mates Snooki and Pauly D, portraying them as actors discussing their parts after the cameras stop rolling. Snooki, as usual, doesn't seem to have a clue. Pauly D gamely tries to affect a British thespian's accent, though his tone more Cockney than Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Situation gets the best lines – and seems to actually get the joke. To paraphrase Shakespeare, all the world's a stage – and The Situation is a playa. ""I fear my character, The Situation, is like a lost orphan boy in the meadow and I know not how to get him home," he cries, in mock dramatic voice. "Every time I lift my shirt, a little piece of me dies"
In the "I'm Still Here" trailer, we see the still-bearded Phoenix variously rapping, visiting a church, doding paparazzi and generally acting strange.
It's hard to tell exactly what the film, directed by Phoenix's brother-in-law Casey Affleck and set to open Sept. 10, is about. The 35-year-old star, who has shown impressive acting chops in films like "Walk the Line," either should be hailed for committing to this oddball character – or perhaps be committed if this really isn't one big comic, performance art piece after all.
Though Phoenix and Affleck seem to be headed for "Borat" mockumentary territory, we're reminded more of Andy Kaufman, who also used the Letterman springboard for his surreal leap into the exposing the silliness of celebrity.
Not everybody got Kaufman's spoiled star and wrestling fanatic act, at least not right away. While he enjoyed a reasonably successful career, we're betting Kaufman never made $5 million a year.
Still, some 26 years later after his death from cancer at 35, Kaufman's antics still inspire debate, and, in some circles, a mix of reverence and laughter. Which may be what Phoenix is shooting for – and which is more, hopefully, than we'll be able to say for the likes of the Balloon Boy's parents, the White House Party Crashers, Levi Johnston and even The Situation a quarter century from now.
Meanwhile, check out Phoenix's trailer and The Situation's comic turn below, and decide which of these characters might be pulling the bigger ruse.
U.S. & World
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


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2nd in the Silver Ribbons in Memphis 2019. Many people have congratulated me for my finish, and then added that I should not be too disappointed that we didn't win. I play the game to learn about the game and improve my capacity to play it well. This result told me that I can play it well enough to win at that level, and the fact that I didn't actually win is totally irrelevant to me.
USBF Junior mentor (having a great time with a half-dozen [now 8] very eager youngsters from 12-16). Nearly made the top 500 in 2017, planning a stronger effort in 2019.
Occasionally play on BBO against Cayne and his pros, or Richard Pavlicek and partner. I enjoy the opportunity to play against that caliber of players. Win occasionally, too.
3♦ was checkback (3♣ would have puppeted to 3♦ to allow playing 3 of a suit).
The lead is ostensibly 4th best.
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text: Arts, Culture & Media A Tennessee Town and its Somali Refugees The World May 24, 2011 The town of Shelbyville, Tennessee has seen an influx of Muslim refugees from Somalia. It hasn't been a simple adjustment for many. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with filmmaker Kim Snyder and organizer David Lubell about overcoming tensions in Tennessee.


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Among the continued maturation of Cloud computing and increasing competition between tablet manufacturers, 2011 is expected to see higher use of multi-terabyte datasets for business intelligence and analytics, otherwise known as "big data".
According to statistics from IDC, data use is expected to grow by as much as 44 times, amounting to some 35.2 zettabytes (ZB - a billion terabytes) globally. However, the file size of individual datasets has also climbed, leading to an increased need for greater processing power to analyse and make sense of them.
Storage giant EMC notes up to 1000 of its customers currently utilise more than a petabyte of data on its arrays, a figure expected to grow to 100,000 by the year 2020. Some customers will also begin to utilise a thousand times that - an exabyte or more - within the next two years.
Read Big Data - Part 1.
"Every time we've estimated the growth rates, we've been wrong, and we've always been wrong in the wrong direction," president of EMC's unified storage division, Rich Napolitano, said.
"It's always growing faster. Use cases expand; it's been true for 30 years and the data types are richer and richer."
According to Melbourne IT CTO, Glenn Gore, the big data phenomenon has been on the radar for some 18 months already.
"A lot of our current innovation and research is around analytics of these big datasets and how you manage them, and how you get meaningful information from what has traditionally been too big to view or handle in traditional technology," he said.
The hosting company has seen various companies in the areas of health, geospatial imagery and digital media begin to build datasets that extend into multiple terabytes, often taking more than a day to analyse, split over several systems.
While current hardware is certainly capable, Gore said the awareness and commercial models used to handle such datasets were not yet being properly considered.
Some analysts have pinned continued data growth on disparate increases in video traffic over the internet but according to Ideas International storage analyst, Christian Ober, the rising feed of data from smart devices, such as new electricity meters, will likely contribute to a greater extent toward these huge datasets.
"It's about having a sea of sensors out there, having real-time data coming through to be analysed," he said.
"The wind is brewing around [big data]. My personal opinion is that the drive behind this is... probably from some of the very large US-based organisations - like Google - in terms of wanting to go through and get the compute working with the storage in a highly optimised way."
Vendors are vying for the prize too. IBM's $USD1.7 billion acquisition of Netezza in September last year coincided with simultaneous acquisitions from EMC of Isilon for $USD2.25 billion and Greenplum for an undisclosed sum between July and November 2010.
Oracle too has begun to build its optimised data warehousing and analysis capabilities, in hopes of securing contracts as soon as companies voice their requirements.
"We're already talking with a lot of companies in Australia and in other markets," president of EMC's Asia Pacific and Japan region, Steve Leonard, said.
"The expectation for us is, as we do a good job of communicating [big data] to the market, and as the market says 'we can do that', that's going to be one of those sort of growth slopes."
The vendor also hopes the new version of its flash caching technology will push the use of big data among large enterprises. The feature, which has been available since December last year, was beta tested by Melbourne IT among 60 others, including two global banks who, according to some at EMC, clamoured to get in on the trial.
On the other end of the scale, small storage arrays are also likely to increase in use throughout the year, with EMC's recently announced VNXe entry-level products taking on similar offerings from long-time rival, NetApp.
Though primarily targeted at small business users unable to afford larger arrays, Computerworld Australia understands representatives from the likes of Woolworths, Macquarie Infrastructure, Telstra and Melbourne IT expressed interest in utilising the smaller arrays for remote offices and areas with lighter on-site storage requirements.
James Hutchinson travelled to Singapore as a guest of EMC.
Follow James Hutchinson on Twitter: @j_hutch
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAu


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I'm afraid I got a little carried away this week, but there were so many good posts and news articles!
Judi Scott writes about her week-long adventure at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy as a student in the Advanced Genealogical Methods track, led by Thomas W. Jones. I'm so jealous. But someday, I shall be that student. Oh, yes, I shall.
Trouble with the genealogical terminology in Judi's post? Elizabeth Shown Mills' QuickLessons can help sort that out.
Randy Seaver writes about Pinball Genealogy using an example of how he handles Ancestry.com hints. Randy's inspiration for the post was DearMYRTLE's post, The pinball approach to genealogical research, which was itself inspired by her time in Tom Jones' Advanced Genealogical Methods track at SLIG. (Did I mention my envy?) The two debated this subject back and forth for several days after the initial posts. Be sure to read the follow-ups.
Sardis Methodist Church and Cemetery, located in the Buckhead community of Atlanta, have been listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.
For those following budgetary issues with the Georgia Archives, you may be interested in reading Vivian Price Saffold's post Governor's recommendation indicates small cut at Georgia Archives Matters. Judy G. Russell also discusses this on her blog, The Legal Genealogist. Sounds like we still have our work cut out for us!
Family History through the Alphabet is a new genealogy blogging meme for genealogists to share topics, heirlooms, stories, and so forth beginning with that week's letter. Julie Tarr's post on GenBlog for this week is Family History through the Alphabet – Books, an excellent listing of books available to genealogists both through the library or on the Internet, including a few less well-known resources.
But what happened to Marthy? by Michelle G. Taggart of A Southern Sleuth details a search for a distant relative, and the unexpected places the search led.
Michael Hait answers the question of When you find a document that may be about one of your ancestors, what do you do with it? His answer may surprise you!
New Hope Cemetery, an African American burial ground located near Franklin (in Macon Co., NC), was rediscovered by one of my son's fellow Boy Scouts, Andrew Baldwin, who is in the process of cleaning it up. Way to go, Drew!
Ok, ok, just one more. (I know I'm running a little long this week.) On The Migration of Jacob Wiley Eudy over at Job's Children, all I can say is, Wow! Look at those pictures!
Happy hunting!


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I tried other place but I think the problem is relatively new but not sure. Any ways, I ran a java update on my work computer, update 1.6.0_29. I tried to run the dev instance of the application and the application freeze when it tries to connect to the database. The database is SQLServer 2008. No error is thrown the application just stops. The wired thing is that the application is running fine on the production server which is 2005. It wasn't occurring when I ran it through netbeans but then I realize it wasn't using the correct JDK for it. So, I download JDK1.6.0_29 and set it as my defualt platform in Netbeans and the problem occurred in netbeans to. I found a fix by using the old java product on my computer which is 1.6.0_27 but I want to find a way to fix it before others update their java. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.


text: Home Business Cards Business Card Holders Business Card Holders Steel Desk Business Card Holder Dress your desk for success with this sturdy steel holder. Holds up to 60 cards. Metal Business Card Holders This sleek, lightweight metal case keeps up to 12 business cards fresh and at your fingertips. Black Leather Vertical Business Card Holders Silver metal with black pebbled leather and a magnetic clasp make this flip-open case something special. Holds up to 25 cards. Black Leather Horizontal Business Card Holders Give the timeless style of genuine black leather. Holds up to 15 cards. Metal Mesh Business Card Holders This easel-back, open-sided stand is a sleek way to keep multiple business cards visible. Folded Red Leather Business Card Holders Dual pocket, red leather holder accented with black grosgrain ribbon. Fashionably holds up to 25 cards. Brown Leather Horizontal Business Card Holders Brown leather with contrast stitching and a magnetic clasp for a premium look and feel. Holds up to 15 cards. Engraved Metal Business Card Holders Make it personal for an unexpected gift or promotional item. Holds up to 12 cards.


text:
Jeremy Renner graced Saturday Night Live's living sketchbook last night, and the good news is that he wore a sleeveless shirt. The bad news? He didn't do his killer Jeffrey Dahmer impression, which, according to an NPR interview I heard this one time, is the whole reason Renner was considered for The Hurt Locker.
But never you mind all that. Last night's episode featured a holiday travel commercial for exotic and luxurious Your Hometown, where you'll get to stay in The Subdivision Home You Were Reared In as you do things like eat Hungry Jack pancakes with sugar-free Log Cabin syrup and watch your empty-nest parents parade around in their underpants as they slip into an inevitable and crushing senility. If that gets boring, though, you can go smoke weed alone on a park bench and see a movie, alone, because the whole point of the holiday season is to take a magnifying to drift aimlessly through your hometown as you open up old psychic wounds and visit with old friends who seem, for all their intransigence, much happier than you.


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that is common place with any FAL I have shot. I think you can find an ejection buffer for the FAL but you could also try turning down your gas a little.
Took a couple of FALs that I built out today for testing, once the gas valve was set correctly everything runs fine.
The problem Im having is that when the spent case is ejected it is hitting the top receiver just behind the ejection port, leaving a mark on the receiver, any advise on how to solve this is appreciated.
American By Birth, Southern By the Grace Of God
that is common place with any FAL I have shot. I think you can find an ejection buffer for the FAL but you could also try turning down your gas a little.
This is very common with FAL's. Regardless of your gas adjustment you will get "brass kisses". It is normal for the FAL. If it bothers you though, my advice is to adjust the gas so that you are cycling reliably, then take a small piece of black velcro tape (the fuzzy side) and stick it to the affected area. It's effective, easy to remove, and solves your issue.
You can "tune" your ejector to send the brass out at a different angle. It works, but I don't like filing away metal from a critical area that gets wear as it is.
+1 what Davesrb said, the velcro or even electrical tape is a good solution, and common, someone told me years ago, i dont like the brass dinging my receiver either
You can "tune" your ejector to send the brass out at a different angle. It works, but I don't like filing away metal from a critical area that gets wear as it is.
If anyone is interested in this approach here is some info. on the subject. Randy(ggiilliiee) has another article about this also that could be found by googling ggiilliiee ejector fix.
How to Fix FAL Rifle Brass Strikes
This is a normal occurance with the FAL.
I've know about the "filing/cutting" the ejector for a long time but...
Since my FAL has a one piece ejector, I've decided not to play around with this method.
I have used the Velcro method with mixed results, I'm in the process of trying an RTV/Semi-Liquid sealant at the ejection area but I haven't had a chance to try it out as of late.
See post...http://www.gunco.net/forums/f263/my-...0-yards-66604/
"It Takes A Strong Man To Be Kind", Sgt Nathan Wilson, 5th SFG (1970)
WOLVERINES! One of GUNCO's First Hundred!
Yup, normal....
This bugged me too. On one FAL, I made a deflector like what you see on an AR from a bit of aluminum scrap using a dremel, then riveted it using an old nail to the dust cover....Worked, very effective, and even kept the brass from getting too screwed up. Looked like shit though. Oh well.
Black tape is my go to now. Just a two inch long strip that I put on before the first shot, and take off when I clean.
Imagine whirled peas
Peace, Love, And Superior Firepower
I wish I'd seen this before I sold my FAL, mine did the same. Seems to be an easy fix, I'll try to remember this for the next one I get, and there WILL be anouther in my future someday soon.
Imagine whirled peas
Peace, Love, And Superior Firepower
I wondered if you still had them, the FAL's. bellson. Seriuosly,,,,,,,,IF I GET JUST 1 MORE GUN,,,,,, I'll need anouther safe, for real. I've got the racks and shelves out of the ones I got now (3 ) and a there stacked alternating one butt up one butt down now just so I can milk every inch of room out of them as it is!!! And can still JUST barley get them closed,Good Lord!!!! If I get anouther safe, then it will just end up taunting me, saying "FILL ME UP, FILL ME UP"!!!! And we ALL know what happens then!! Kinda like empty brass in the reloading room!! A slap in the face!!


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Zion's Call (Periodical)
The first official organ of the Defenseless Mennonite Conference (later Evangelical Mennonite and now Fellowship of Evangelical Churches) was a German paper, Heilsbote, begun in 1898. In the same year an English monthly was begun, edited and printed by D. N. Claudon, and called Zion's Call, for many years published in the interests of the Salem Orphanage. In 1913 it was adopted as the official organ. At first it was a 4-page monthly, and for several years, up to about 1918, in pamphlet form of 32 pages. In 1920 authorization was granted to publish Zion's Call with Good Tidings under the name of Zion's Tidings. Good Tidings had been a publication of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church. In 1953 Zion's Tidings and Gospel Tidings, a publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren (now Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches) were merged under the name The Evangelical Mennonite, the present name. Others who have served as editor were Ben Rupp, Aaron Sauder, and E. E. Rupp, until 1920. Then Amos Oyer was editor for a few years with G. P. Schultz as assistant, and E. E. Zimmer man as managing editor. About 1924 G. P. Schultz assumed the entire responsibility for printing. Following his resignation H. E. Bertsche assumed the duties. From ca. 1942 E. G. Steiner assumed the work as editor. While Bertsche was editor the paper was changed from an 8-page monthly to a 12-page and later to a 16-page. After the merger in 1953 E. G. Steiner was editor, C. A. Classen (from the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Conference) associate editor, and E. E. Zimmerman executive or general manager (since 1933). In 1955 there were 24 pages.
|E. E Zimmerman
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zimmerman, E. E. "Zion's Call (Periodical)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 4 Jul 2020. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zion%27s_Call_(Periodical)&oldid=93996.
APA style
Zimmerman, E. E. (1959). Zion's Call (Periodical). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 4 July 2020, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zion%27s_Call_(Periodical)&oldid=93996.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1033. All rights reserved.
©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


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One of the most promising alternative-energy technologies has, in recent years, garnered more skepticism than praise. Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT), those massive, bladed towers that turn a windy day into clean energy for the grid, can also kill birds and bats, require expensive regular maintenance, have issues with efficiency and just generally annoy local residents with suddenly hindered views and undesirable (and possibly unhealthy) noise levels.
U.S. wind-farm installation has accordingly slowed, but an influx of government funding in 2012 may offer new hope for wind power [source: Hurdle]. Research has been yielding some amazing possibilities in features and generation methods; a lot of the machines on the drawing board look and function very little like the "windmills" we're accustomed to.
The future of wind may not be in blades, in farms, or even fixed to the Earth. Here are 10 of the most unique approaches to improving the ways we turn wind into electricity. Some are a wee bit dreamy, others in various stages of design and prototype, and a couple boast tentative dates for commercial sale.
We'll begin with one whose inventors say captures far more wind than conventional designs and may be on the market in 2013.
Collecting It First
Omni-directional has been done, with adjustable turbine blades mounted in traditional, vertical orientation that can move to accommodate directional change. The IMPLUX goes another way with the method, funneling air from multiple directions into a vertical-axis set-up.
The inventors at Katru have, in their working model of a rooftop wind turbine for small-scale energy production, created a device that captures more wind by collecting it before it hits the turbine blades [source: Yirka]. A round, slatted chamber acts as a 360-degree intake structure that takes wind traveling from all directions and re-directs it in just one: upward, to horizontally spinning blades (a helicopterlike orientation).
Because the turbine is enclosed, and the enclosure's slats are spaced close together, it poses no danger to birds and produces very little noise compared to current turbine forms [source: Katru Eco-Inventions].
IMPLUX would be mounted atop buildings to capture the relatively untapped energy flowing over urban centers. The latest model is just 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall and rated at 1.2 kilowatts; Katru's plan is to up that to a 6 kilowatt maximum by the end of 2013, when the IMPLUX is slated for commercial availability [source: Katru Eco-Inventions].
Next, on a whole different level ...
Sending It Up
Way, way above the ground, there's enough wind energy to power 50 globes, according to industry group Alternative Energy [source: Alternative Energy]. These high-altitude winds, historically beyond the reach of our technology and science, could be on the verge of feeding our grids.
Several companies are designing airborne turbines that would float thousands of feet in the air, converting high-altitude winds into electricity. Designs range from kite-type structures to blimps, essentially flying turbines that would capture wind, convert it to electrical power, and send it down to Earth by way of a tether.
Safety concerns abound, another reason why flying turbines have been a back-burner dream [source: Alternative Energy]. The Federal Aviation Administration has advised a limit of 2,000 feet (600 meters) for such structures, to avoid interference with air traffic, and designers have to prove that they can land their turbines safely should a tether fail or extreme weather cause other malfunctions.
High-altitude turbines are in various stages of development. They haven't yet been tested at the high altitudes for which they're intended [source: Alternative Energy].
Next, Tesla enters the picture.
Starting with the Tesla Engine
Inspired by an engine design patented by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1913, a company named Solar Aero has designed a wind turbine with no blades, a small footprint and, according to the designers, low enough maintenance costs to bring the price of its electricity down to coal-fired rates [source: Zyga].
The Fuller turbine uses thin metal disks to turn a generator. The airfoil-style disks are closely spaced and angled such that when wind flows through the unit, they spin, regardless of the direction or strength of the wind. Because the number of disks can be increased or decreased to achieve different power outputs and sizes, the Fuller turbine can be easily adapted to accommodate a wide range of locations.
Easy access to the disk-and-generator setup, along with reduced height requirements since blade clearance is not a factor, mean lower maintenance costs, according to Solar Aero. The removal of blade clearance from the equation also means the units can be placed closer together, so 20 Fuller turbines would require less land than standard, bladed machines [source: Zyga].
Like many other innovations on this list, the Fuller turbine takes birds into account: The entire moving system is screened in.
Next, another engine acts as muse.
Starting with a Jet Engine
A subsidiary of aerospace manufacturer FloDesign has taken the jet-engine concept into wind energy. The FloDesign wind turbine is smaller than current turbine structures but can, according to its inventors, produce up to four times more power [source: LaMonica].
Much like a jet engine, FloDesign has a set of fixed blades that sit in front of the moving turbine blades. They are spaced and angled to take advantage of variations in wind speed to produce a rapid-mixing vortex -- a vortex that sucks in additional wind (which would be missed by typical turbine designs) and speeds it up [source: Bullis]. It is this greater volume of faster-moving air that hits the movable blades, spinning the generator.
The unit's designers say FloDesign can produce as much energy as a HAWT unit twice its size [source: Bullis]. In 2011, the unit was installed on an island in Boston Harbor, and it performed well [source: Watt Now].
Next, eliminating friction ...
One of the reasons why wind turbines are relatively inefficient is the friction between moving parts [source: Fecht]. That friction wastes energy, reducing the turbine's output. If you could, say, levitate a turbine's blades rather than physically attaching them to the base, that friction would be eliminated.
This technology is available. Several companies, in various stages of development, are working on maglev turbines. Magnetic levitation, which has propelled clean-energy trains for years, has the potential to increase wind-turbine efficiency by up to 20 percent, according to China-based Guangzhou Energy Research Institute [source: Fecht]. These frictionless units can harness slower-moving wind, turn more of the wind power they capture into electricity, and face less wear-and-tear than traditional models.
U.S.-based Regenedyne and NuEnergy are both developing maglev turbines for commercial sale. The models are silent, safer for birds and are significantly less expensive than "windmill"-type units [source: NuEnergy]. Lifespan would have a lot to do with that: Regenedyne claims a maglev-turbine lifespan of 500 years, compared to about 25 years for current, friction-filled models [source: Off Grid Technologies].
Next up, wind energy goes recreational ...
Wandering in It
City planners in Abu Dhabi imagined a futuristic community in which clean energy would be more than energy; it would be enjoyed. Design firms submitted proposals, and a company in New York won first prize for its concept of a field of reedlike turbines that move in the breeze like stalks of wheat.
Atelier DNA envisioned slim, graceful turbines called Windstalks. Each LED-lit, 180-foot (55-meter) stalk sways in the wind, creating kinetic energy to drive a torque generator [source: Danigelis]. A slim, bladeless design allows for close spacing, safety for birds and bats and, most uniquely, a lovely evening stroll: Designers hope residents will one day take walks through a farm of swaying Windstalks, experiencing clean energy as something like art.
The idea turns the wind farm into a visually enjoyable installation, rather than one to put up with in the name of clean, renewable power. It's an innovative way of removing one of the loudest objections to wind farms today, imagining instead the possibility that in the future, people might actually want to live near acres and acres of turbines.
Next, calling on one of the oldest, most efficient ways to capture the power of wind ...
Starting with a Sail
One of the oldest ways to capture wind energy is the sail. Since the very first shipbuilders erected a mast, the simple sail has harnessed more of the kinetic energy in wind for human use than any other structure [source: Zaghdoud].
Sail as inspiration for a high-efficiency wind turbine, then, makes perfect sense, and Saphon Energy hopes to implement it in a sail-shaped turbine it calls Saphonian. Compared to a standard, bladed design, the more aerodynamic, lower-friction turbine can use up to twice the amount of energy in a given supply of wind, using it to create hydraulic pressure to drive a generator [source: Zaghdoud]. According to Saphon, its most recent prototype is more than twice as efficient as a typical windmill-style turbine [source: Zaghdoud].
As an interesting side note, Saphonian takes its name from Baal-Saphon, a wind deity in the religion of ancient Carthage. In particular, Baal-Saphon ruled the wind that would churn up the seas, and he was worshipped by Carthaginian sailors on their journeys [source: Saphon].
Next, at the blade's edge ...
Getting Flexible
Wear-and-tear is a serious issue in wind turbines, because repeatedly replacing expensive parts increases the cost of the power they generate. The Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy in Denmark is taking on one of the greatest wear-and-tear culprits: the extraordinary load placed on turbine structures when their massive blades rotate [source: Alternative Energy].
To reduce that load, Risø researchers have devised a different kind of blade -- or at least a different kind of edge for it. They believe that a trailing edge that can bend while the blade rotates, creating a smoother flow of air off the blade, will dramatically reduce the load on the support structure [source: Alternative Energy].
Researchers point to the flaps on airplane wings as an example of the concept: Those flaps alter the wing's shape to offer increased control over lift forces during takeoff and landing. A rubber trailing edge, through similar means, could increase the stability of spinning turbine blades, reducing the amount of stress on the components holding them [source: Alternative Energy].
Risø's flexible edge is still in the research and design phase.
Next, a new way to do it offshore ...
Shifting the Weight
Offshore wind farms offer huge potential in wind power, but potential drawbacks make their future uncertain. One of the greatest concerns is financial, especially regarding the cost of anchoring a wind turbine to the ocean floor. That price of that construction is so high as to raise doubts as to the viability of large-scale offshore power generation.
Many companies are looking for ways to decrease that cost. One of them, Technip, went at it from a center-of-gravity angle, turning the traditional turbine structure on its side. The effect is a structure that's more stable: The Vertiwind design moves the generator, the heaviest component, closer to the ocean's surface -- 65 feet (20 meters) above the sea, rather than the usual 200 feet (60 meters); it also makes the axis of rotation vertical [source: Gatto]. The combined result is a lower center of gravity that reduces the depth and complexity of anchoring requirements [source: Snieckus]. Ideally, Vertiwind turbines will not need to be fixed to the ocean floor at all.
As of January 2013, a 35 kilowatt Vertiwind prototype is ready for testing off the coast of France [source: Wind Power Intelligence].
That's not, apparently, the only way to go about it, though. One final wind-power innovation proposes another solution to high offshore costs.
Floating It
Wind-power collaborative WindPlus is also working on the anchoring issue. In this case, though, the turbine keeps its horizontal axis, like you see on most land-based structures; the big development here is a support system called WindFloat.
WindFloat is a semi-submersible platform held in place by a drag-embedment anchor. In drag embedment, there's no construction at the seafloor. Instead, an anchor is dragged along the floor until it embeds itself at the desired depth. The drag-anchored platform supports an offshore turbine like the ones commonly in use now. WindFloat can potentially allow the affordable installation of larger turbines than those producing offshore power now.
This floating-turbine design allows not only for lower installation costs but also lower assembly costs, since the entire setup, both platform and turbine, can be assembled on land. Current technology relies on assembly at sea, which involves far more unstable and logistically complex conditions [source: Macguire]. WindFloats are already in use off the coast of Portugal, and, as of December 2012, plans for installation off the coast of Oregon are moving forward [source: Recharge].
That Oregon project has been green-lighted in part by new development grants from both the European Union and the United States [source: Recharge]. New government funding for wind power, particularly the offshore variety, issued at the end of 2012 could mean big leaps in development. Hopes are that with the money to perfect design and implement more real-world testing, innovations like these could dramatically increase the viability of wind as a significant source of affordable, clean energy.
How Solar Panel Highways Work
Solar panel highways are explained in this section. Learn about solar panel highways.
Author's Note: 10 Innovations in Wind Power
There are countless innovative minds working to improve the performance of wind turbines, but here, I had to choose 10. There are so many out there, some heavy on adjustments for mechanical efficiency, others concentrating on eliminating "eyesore" issues and environmental damage, and many addressing both. I chose these particular innovations because I found them to be especially unique or surprising, or their bold claims have actually been borne out in field testing.
Each listed innovation, as well, may turn up in the work of more companies than I was able to include here. It's amazing how many inventors hit the same mark.
Related Articles
- Alternative Energy. "Airborne Wind Turbines?" June 16, 2010. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/airborne-wind-turbines/
- Alternative Energy. "Breakthrough in Small Wind Technology." Nov. 19, 2008. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/breakthrough-small-wind-technology/
- Alternative Energy. "Elastic Edges for Wind Turbine Blades." March 21, 2009. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/elastic-edges-for-wind-turbine-blades/
- Bullis, Kevin. "A Design for Cheaper Wind Power." MIT Technology Review. Dec. 1, 2008. (Jan. 4, 2013) http://www.technologyreview.com/news/411274/a-design-for-cheaper-wind-power/
- Danigelis, Alyssa. "Wind Power Without the Blades: Big Pics." Discovery News. (Dec. 26, 2012.) http://news.discovery.com/tech/wind-power-without-the-blades.html
- Fecht, Sarah. "8 Ways Magnetic Levitation Could Shape the Future." Popular Mechanics. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/extreme-machines/8-ways-magnetic-levitation-could-shape-the-future#slide-1
- Gatto, Katie. "Vertiwind: Floating wind turbine project launched." Phys.org. Feb. 7, 2011. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://phys.org/news/2011-02-vertiwind-turbine.html#nRlv
- Hurdle, Jon. "Energy Dept. to Underwrite 7 Wind Projects." The New York Times. Dec. 12, 2012. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/energy-dept-to-underwrite-7-wind-projects/?ref=windpower
- Katru Eco-Inventions. http://www.katru.com.au/
- LaMonica, Martin. "FloDesign's jet engine-inspired wind turbine wins prizes." CNET. May 15, 2008. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9945005-54.html
- Macguire, Eoghan. "Floating turbine buoys offshore wind potential." CNN. June 28, 2012. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/world/windplus-floating-wind-turbine/index.html
- NuEnergy Technologies. "MagLev Wind Turbine." (Jan. 4, 2013) http://www.nuenergytech.com/product-development/maglev-wind-turbine/
- Off Grid Technologies. "City of Evanston – Off Shore Wind Project (RFI)." (Jan. 4, 2013) http://www.cityofevanston.org/assets/OGT%20Evanston%20RFI.pdf
- Recharge. "Principle Power lands $43m funding double for WindFloat." Dec. 14, 2012. (Jan. 2, 2013) http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/wind/article329608.ece
- Snieckus, Darius. "Deep-water vertical-axis wind turbine gets last dry run." Recharge. Jan. 6, 2012. (Jan. 2, 2013) http://www.rechargenews.com/business_area/innovation/article296513.ece
- Vestas. "Vestas, EDP and WindPlus partners inaugurate the first offshore turbine installed on the WindFloat floating foundation." June 19, 2012. (Jan. 2, 2013) http://www.vestas.com/Default.aspx?ID=10332&action=3&NewsID=3107
- Watt Now. "FloDesign Wind Turbine. There's change in the wind." March 7, 2012. (Jan. 4, 3013) http://wattnow.org/1891/flodesign-wind-turbine-theres-change-in-the-wind
- Wind Power Intelligence. "FRANCE: Testing for 2MW Vertiwind floating offshore turbine to begin." Jan. 1, 2013. (Jan. 2, 2013) http://www.windpowerintelligence.com/article/GVj9cQ3mmA/2013/01/01/france_testing_for_2mw_vertiwind_floating_offshore_turbine_t/
- Yirka, Bob. "New omni-directional wind turbine can capture wind energy on building rooftops." Phys.org. May 16, 2011. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://phys.org/news/2011-05-omni-directional-turbine-capture-energy-rooftops.html
- Zaghdoud, Nébil. "Sail-inspired turbine promises cheaper wind energy." Nov. 5, 2012. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://www.scidev.net/en/middle-east-and-north-africa/news/sail-inspired-turbine-promises-cheaper-wind-energy.html
- Zyga, Lisa. "Bladeless wind turbine inspired by Tesla." Phys.org. May 7, 2010. (Dec. 26, 2012) http://phys.org/news192426996.html


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The Enveloper
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A must for cardmakers! This versatile tool from Crafters Companion lets you create envelopes in 9 different sizes. Simply place your paper on the acrylic board, determine your envelope size, score, turn and repeat on all four sides of your paper. Fold it up and glue to secure. Its easy!
Envelope sizes include:
- A 1/2 US letter size - 8 1/2"x5 1/2" (start with an 11 1/4 square of paper)
- A 1/4 US letter size - 5 1/2"x4 1/4 (start with an 8 1/4 square of paper)
- A 1/3 US letter size tri-fold - 8 1/2"x3 2/3" (start with a 10 square of paper)
- 1/2 depth tri-fold (start with 6 3/4 square of paper)
- 6 square (start with a 9 5/8 square of paper)
- 4 square (start with a 7 square of paper)
- 8 1/2x3 Slimline (start with a 9 square of paper)
- 5 1/2x3Short Slimline (start with a 7 square of paper)
- 3 1/2x2 1/2 ATC size (start with a 5 1/2 square of paper)
You can make standard size envelopes, mini envelopes and dimensional envelo-boxes, perfect for those 3-D cards with embellishments. Youll also have 4 embossing patterns to make decorative accents on your envelope flaps. Set includes a scoring tool plus complete instructions. Works well with all types of papers; including patterned paper, cardstock, glimmer paper and vellum.
Tip: Are you a scrapbooker? These envelopes are perfect for holding memorabilia on a scrapbook page, too!
Click here to see step-by-step photos on how to use the Enveloper.
Click here for 110 custom envelope sizes.Item #: 4001301
Customer comments
This is so so easy to use!! and they turn out perfect
Thanks Paula, Sarah, Theresa and all of you who do such a fabulous job on this
I make a lot of tht 6x6. and the 5 1/2x4 1/4.
This is the handest little tool I ever used. I just love it. All card makers needs one.
Thanks alot
Beverly Joseph
Thanks a Bunch,
Response from Sara:
Hi Amy!
Yes, the Enveloper does make an envelope to fit a 4"x6" card. You'll start with an 8 1/8" square piece of paper and score lines C and F.
Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions!
I've only had a chance to make one envelope so far but I love it. It's easy and fun.
Now I can have the matching custom envelopes for my cards that I've always needed. Thanks so much.
to make envelopes and this is it. Also
buying from paperwishes was A . Good price
fast shipping.
Thank You
Response from Sara:
Hi Karen,
Thanks for posting your question!
You'd asked if you have to use a 12"x12" paper for all envelope sizes. The answer is no, you dontthe largest envelope size is a 1/2 US letter size (or standard size) and it requires an 11 square of paper, but the smaller sizes use a smaller size paperfor example, if youre making the Short Slimline (which measures 5 1/2x3) youll start with a 7 square of paper. The ATC size (the smallest) uses a 5 square of paper. All of this information is in the packaging on the tool, too.
Your question made us realize we didn't share this information on our website, so we'll be making changes to that right away. Thanks for your question, and for helping to make our website better.
In the meantime, hope this helps and hope you have a great day.
Response from Sara:
Hi Agnes,
I assum you mean adhesive to seal the flap once the card is inside, right? In that case, Id probably place 2-3 pieces of double-sided tape on the flaps, keeping the liner on the tape. Then, once your customer has signed and inserted the card in the envelope, he or she can just peel off the tape liner and seal the envelope.
Another thing you might want to do is include a sticker (on its liner) that the customer could simply peel off and use to secure the flap.
Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions...Im happy to help! Thanks for posting and hope you have a great day.
Response from Sara:
Hi Tootsie,
You're right--we should have included information on the envelope sizes on our website. Thanks to your question, we'll change the product page on our website to show the sizes.
In the meantime, the 9 sizes you can make are:
A US letter size
A US letter size
A 1/3 US letter size (a trifold)
1/2 depth tri-fold
6 square
4 square
Slimline (8 x3)
Short Slimline (5 x3)
An ATC size (3 x2 )
I hope this answers your question, and please feel free to email me at email@example.com if you have any other questions...I'm happy to help. In the meantime, hope you have a great day and thanks for posting.
Response from Sara:
Hi Vi,
Thanks for posting. Your wish has been granted! We're adding step-by-step photos on the product page of the website today and my blog entry for Feb 20 will have them as well. Thanks for helping to make our website better!
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Fabulous Red Velvet Cake
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 2 ounces red food coloring
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- White frosting, recipe follows
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DirectionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar.
In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa and food coloring.
Add the paste to the shortening mixture.
Sift the flour and salt together over parchment.
Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions.
Add the vanilla extract.
Fold in the baking soda and vinegar.
Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans.
Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool on a cooling rack.
Invert the cakes from the pans.
Frosting: Over medium heat, cook the flour and milk until thickened.
Let cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Beat in the flour mixture.
Frost the top of the first layer with frosting and set the second layer on top.
Frost the entire cake with remaining frosting.


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Hi Friends!
Should I get a Fitbit? That's the question I'd been asking myself FOREVER! I knew lots of people that had them and talked about how amazing they were…but really, I just didn't want to spend the money- they are $99.
When my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I bit the bullet and asked for one! Ask and you shall receive. My brand new Fitbut Ultra showed up last Friday and since then I've fallen in LOVE!
In fact, you might go so far as to say I'm obsessed. Just as the hubby. In fact, hubby- you should stop reading this post right now. It's all about the Fitbit and I know you don't care how many steps I've taken 🙂
I thought I'd use today to share a little bit about the Fitbit with you guys in case you're on the fence about getting one like I was. We're skipping Fitness Friday one more time because I'm still finishing up my antibiotics for my sinus infection and after running three miles one day earlier this week and feeling like I was going to puke the whole time, I decided to focus my efforts on walking until those pills are gone.
So, I got my present in the mail Friday afternoon. I charged it up Friday night and was off to the races on Saturday when I used it for the first time.
The fitbit is small. It's about the size of a USB drive. During the day I usually wear it clipped onto my tanktop…or the waistband of my pants.
It's a simple device. It only has one button. You press the button once to light up the display and the first thing it shows you is your steps so far that day. If you press the button again, it moves to miles, then calories, vertical flights, a flower that grows based on how active you are, and the time. I know the pics are blurry but it doesn't stay lit very long!
When you go to bed, you clip the fitbit to a wristband that it comes with. It's super soft and closes with velcro so you can adjust it to fit your wrist.
When you're ready to go to sleep, you hold down the button until a timer starts. When you wake up, you do the same thing and the time stops. The fitbit tracks your sleep during the time when the timer is on.
The fitbit syncs wirelessly when you're within 15 feet of your computer, as long as you have the dock plugged into the usb port. This is what the charging dock looks like. I just leave mine plugged into the computer all the time and then every time I go near it, it syncs.
This is also what you use to charge the fitbit, but please note I've been using this continuously since Saturday, have not charged it yet and am still at medium battery!
To view all the info your fitbit collects, you visit your online dashboard at fitbit.com. All your info is automatically loaded there. You can see how many steps you walked on a particular day, floors climbed, miles traveled, calories burned and your active score.
The first day I wore it (Saturday), I didn't do anything extra. It was just a day of running errands with the hubby. I didn't go to work, I didn't work out, I didn't put in any extra effort and I only walked 5,800 steps.
Sunday, I decided I wanted to get at least 10,000 steps for the rest of the week. I went to work and even though it was a super slow day, I was shocked to see that I walked almost 6,500 steps while I was at work!
On Monday, I didn't work, but I walked to class and took the dogs for a long walk, did a tabata workout and did a bunch of stuff around the house.
Tuesday was by far my most active day. I went to work- it was busy so I walked about 7,500 steps there, plus I ran/walked 3 miles when I got home. I hit 15,000 steps!
For each day, you can scroll down even further and see charts and graphs about your activity level throughout the day. You can see calories burned:
You can see that when I was at work from 4-7 my activity level increased to fairly active, and then that I was very active while doing my three mile workout later that night. You can also see how imbalanced my days are. I tend to be not very active in the mornings when I'm blogging and working on schoolwork and then cram a lot of activity into the second half of the day.
And you can also switch from calories to steps/floors/active score and watch the graph change. The graph below shows steps:
Finally, you can see how you slept the night before. When you start the timer, it tracks how long it takes you to fall asleep- or basically stop moving. It keeps track of how many times you wake up, etc. As you can see, I wake up every night between 3 and 4 to feed the dogs. It's weird, I know…but it's just easier for me to do it then, then to try to fight them off until a more "normal" time. It also tells you your sleep efficiency. My score is always pretty high, which surprised me.
One thing I did notice is that since the fitbit isn't really hooked up to you and officially monitoring your sleep, more your movement, one night it thought I was asleep when really I was just lying in bed reading. So, after that I decided to not start the timer until I actually turn out the light and lay down to go to sleep.
Wednesday was another fairly active day. I didn't want to run, but I took the dogs on a two mile walk and then walked two miles on the treadmill.
This was a more typical night of how often I wake up throughout the night.
The fitbit also has a lot of other features that I'm not using yet. You can track your food and water intake, your weight, your blood pressure and glucose if you monitor those and you can write journal entries about how you're feeling each day.
I don't track my food so I haven't really done much with this, but if you do, and you use apps like My Fitness Pal, you can synch those with your fitbit so they all work together using apps. You can also use apps like EarnedIt where you get points for your activity levels and you can redeem those points for prizes.
You can also use apps to sync with your Nike+ workouts, set up alerts to get emails or texts when your fitbit battery is getting low or do more analysis of your sleep patterns:
There's also a fitbit app for your phone that you can use to track your water intake throughout the day. It shows your steps and all that info, but just like the webpage, it only updates when you're within 15 feet of the docking station.
Finally, you can always see your overall achievements, like your Lifetime steps, stairs, etc…as well as your best days for each. You earn badges for getting certain achievements and you can connect with other friends who have a fitbit. As you can see, I have no friends 🙁 Lol, but I haven't actually looked for anyone yet! If you have a fitbit, find me!
There's even a community section where you can join groups for support or just read the forums:
So there you have it. More than you probably ever wanted to know about the Fitbit.
I have to tell you guys, this little thing is making me do crazy things…like running in place in the basement, walked around while tweeting or reading my book, taking the long way to walk to class and leaving my laundry basket farther away from my dresser when I put my clothes away, just so I can get extra steps!!!
I LOVE the challenge of trying to get a certain number of steps each day and it's definitely motivating me to move more.
If you've been thinking about trying to be more active, I'd definitely recommend a pedometer. It doesn't even have to be as fancy as a Fitbit. Just get something that can track your steps. It can be a super motivating way to kick your butt in gear when you look down at 2pm and see you've only walked 1,000 steps for the day!
Do you wear a pedometer?
PS. I was not asked to write this review. I was not compensated for this review. Fitbit has no idea who I am. My mom bought this fitbit for the full retail price. All thoughts and opinons are my own. I just wanted to share this cool little gadget with you guys!


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Kyle Busch Signs Multi-Year Deal To Stay With JGR
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Kyle Busch has signed a long-term extension with Joe Gibbs Racing to keep driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed by JGR on Thursday.
Busch, who has won 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup races and made the Chase for the Cup five times since 2005, says he's staying with JGR after considering at least two other ownership groups.
Also, JGR will field the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota in the Nationwide Series for at least 25 races, with Busch serving as the primary driver. Busch has 105 career wins spanning all three NASCAR series, including 51 on the Nationwide Series.
Gibbs says with Matt Kenseth joining Denny Hamlin and Busch on his Sprint Cup team, "this is the most excited I've been going into a season."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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As a user of Family Tree Maker, I know that it has a Template feature that is based on Elizabeth Shown Mills book of the same name, Evidence Explained! I have a copy of the book on my desk, especially when working with a New Record Type or document. I even look at it, IF I can't figure our which Template to use OR what the Key Word might be, to get me to the right Template.
If you have read much of this blog, my goal for 2012 is to get ALL of my Sources into the FTM Template feature.
But I am stumped, when I find a Record that is an Index. That is, NOT the complete information, but the record that is found points to another document.
I have heard, from several genealogists, that we should not Cite an Index. Paragraph 2.12, on page 48 suggests that in Index is a Tool and not the record. I agree with that. But Index points to the source that would be "the record". I agree with that as well. BUT, what is not talked about, it the time between finding the Index and being able to actually see "the document or record".
My mind can't keep track of what Indexes that I look at, and the associated record. Now, IF, I found the index and immediately was able to see the record, I might have a different answer. But to try to be consistent, I WILL cite Index Information and use a Template to do so.
Generally, the Indexes that I have found, so far, are for government types of records. City Tax Records, Birth and Death Indexes, for example.
What is the important information that I will find in an Index, would be the name of the person and that the record can be found elsewhere.
Usually, what is found in the Index is:
- Database Title
- Website creater/owner
- Website title
- Year
The template calls for the data listed above.
Pulling up the Citation Screen, the Citation Detail is looking for:
Enter the date the website was accessed, description of the item, and credit line (how the information is credited on the website)That information is what is in the Citation Detail screen before you start to enter anything in that field. Likewise, the Citation Text says:
Enter pertinent text from the source and/or an explanation of the relevance of the data to your researchThe Citation Detail, will provide me with enough information to know what document I am looking for, and the Citation Text would remind me who I was looking for in that document.
For example:
Online publication - Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Maryland Tax Records Index, 1798-1808 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999.Original data - Baltimore City Archives. A Name Index to the Baltimore City Tax Records, 1798-1808. Baltimore, MD, USA: Baltimore, MD, 1981.
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Maryland Tax Records Index, 1798-1808 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999.
Original data: Baltimore City Archives. A Name Index to the Baltimore City Tax Records, 1798-1808. Baltimore, MD, USA: Baltimore, MD, 1981.
About Baltimore, Maryland Tax Records Index, 1798-1808
The largest city in Maryland, Baltimore boasted a population of over 60,000 residents in 1800. This database is an index to the earliest existing general property tax records in the city, dating between 1798 and 1808. It provides the names of individuals and organizations, along with year of assessment and reference to the original city tax record. Containing over 5700 records, it can be a useful guide to more detailed tax information for researchers seeking ancestors from Baltimore ancestors.
That information is what was on Ancestry.com's website for this Index Hit. If I wasn't interested in the Template feature, I could just use this information, and some of it, would be included in the Web Merge for this Index hit.
Now, I Copy and Paste that information into the Citation NOTEs for that Citation. But here is what I entered into the Citation Detail:
accessed 09 May 2012; tax year 1798; page 166; 1799-1800; page 439; 1801-1803; page 384The Citation Text would have:
index for Samuel Worthington; citing Baltimore City Archives, A Name Index to the Baltimore City Tax Records, 1798-1808, Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore, MD, 1981The Reference Note would not read:
"Baltimore, Maryland Tax Records Index, 1798-1908", database, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), accessed 09 May 2012; tax year 1798; page 166; 1799-1800; page 439; 1801-1803; page 384. index for Samuel Worthington; citing Baltimore City Archives, A Name Index to the Baltimore City Tax Records, 1798-1808, Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore, MD, 1981.So, I know what I am looking for, and who I am looking for.
Now the trick here is "how will I remember to follow up". That is where the Task List or ToDo list comes in.
I will Copy and Paste that Reference Note, into my ToDo List for that person. I have a ToDo Category of Locate Source:
My Locate Source list isn't that log, at this point, but I could create a Category for the Baltimore City Archives or the Maryland Archives. Then, when I go to either of those repositories, I would print my Locate Source Category To Do / Task List and I have what I need to locate that document.
To Cite an Index, is a User's Choice. Not required, but for me, It's important to keep track of those Documents / Sources, that I need to look for, but also to know when and where I found the information (Index) to look for that document.
The Bibliography Report also helps with the Identification of Index Records.
Copyright © 2012 by H R Worthington