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Cybex International Inc., Medway, MA, had higher net sales for fourth quarter 2010 and the full year, but it had a higher net loss for both periods, primarily due to a $66 million product liability suit, according to financials released by the company Thursday.
Net sales for the fourth quarter 2010 were $39.9 million compared to $34.8 million for the corresponding 2009 period, a 15 percent increase. The company's net loss of $57.1 million in the fourth quarter included a $46 million pre-tax charge to reserve for an unfavorable jury verdict in the product liability suit, Barnhard v. Cybex International Inc., and a $12.7 million incremental tax provision, also ultimately caused by the litigation charge. Net income for the quarter excluding these charges would have been $1.5 million.
For the full year, net sales were $123 million compared to $120.5 million for 2009, a 2 percent increase. Despite the increase, the 2010 net sales are still 17 percent below the 2008 net sales of $147.9 million.
The company's loss for the year was $58.2 million compared to a net loss of $2.4 million for 2009. The 2010 results included the fourth quarter litigation charge and the related tax impact, previously mentioned. Net income excluding these charges would have been $0.4 million.
In its annual report, Cybex blames the recession for the decreased sales in 2009 and 2010 compared to 2008.
"We believe that this sales decline largely reflected our customers' caution in making capital investment decisions due to economic conditions, both generally and in the fitness industry," the report states. "If these economic conditions persist or further deteriorate, our ability to generate future revenues and earnings and our business prospects, liquidity and financial condition could be materially adversely affected."
According to the company's annual report, its largest customer, after an independent authorized dealer that represented 13 percent of the company's sales last year, was Planet Fitness Equipment LLC, which represented 12.4 percent of the company's net sales for 2010. These customers represented 9.5 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively, of Cybex's accounts receivable as of Dec. 31, 2010. Sales to Snap Fitness Inc. or its franchisees represented 4.1 percent of the company's net sales in 2010 (down from 7.4 percent and 12.9 percent in 2009 and 2008, respectively). No other customer accounted for more than 10 percent of the company's net sales for 2010, 2009 or 2008.
The Barnhard suit—in which a piece of Cybex equipment fell on a woman, rendering her a quadriplegic—is an ongoing concern for the company. In January 2011, Cybex filed post-trial motions seeking a new trial or a reduction of the verdict. In February 2011, the trial court denied these motions. Cybex then filed an appeal with the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department, but the court has not yet rendered a verdict.
In the company's annual report, Cybex states that it "may be required to post a bond in a significant amount, up to the full amount of the judgment, in order to obtain a stay of enforcement of the judgment during the pendency of our appeals, and there is no assurance that we will have the financial ability to obtain such a bond. We do not have the resources to satisfy our obligations if the plaintiff is ultimately able, either due to our inability to post a bond or the failure of our appeals, to enforce a judgment in this matter unless the judgment is substantially reduced from the jury verdict. Even if we have the financial ability to obtain a bond or to pay a reduced judgment, such events could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, liquidity, financial condition and cash flows. The uncertainties of this matter may also negatively affect the willingness of others, including our customers, vendors and lenders, to do business with us."
Cybex also was involved in a second court case, United Leasing Inc. v. Cybex International, a suit brought by United Leasing, which provided a series of lease financings for the sale of Cybex equipment to a purchaser/lessee that has since entered bankruptcy. Many of the sales were made by an independent dealer that also is a defendant in the suit. United Leasing says it was induced to finance in excess of the purchase price for some of the equipment based primarily on alleged rebates to the purchaser/lessee made by the independent dealer. In January, Cybex agreed to a settlement, paying United Leasing $937,500.
Also in January, Cybex received notification from the NASDAQ Stock Market, on which it is traded, that it may be delisted because its common stock traded below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days. To regain compliance, the closing bid price of Cybex's common stock must meet or exceed $1.00 per share for at least 10 consecutive business days prior to July 20, 2011. The company's stock price has not been above $1.00 since early December 2010. It closed at $0.85 on Thursday. That's higher than the $0.72 to $0.76 it has closed at for much of 2011.
Cybex Chairman and CEO John Aglialoro said in a release from the company: "Cybex sales, which stabilized in mid-2010, showed strong growth in Q4. This trend continued in the first quarter, with Q1 2011 sales exceeding Q1 2010 sales by over 10 percent. Our focus on improving gross margins continued the trend throughout 2010 of improved margin results compared to 2009. I have never been more excited by our new product pipeline; and several new products and product lines at the IHRSA trade show in March were favorably received. We have also entered research partnerships with several prestigious institutions which will reinforce the Cybex exercise science legacy and generate the research results that will help Cybex to continue to develop innovative products that provide better results. We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves with respect to the product liability verdict, which we believe was in error. This process may result in a long and uncertain path, but we have faith that our judicial system can produce a reasonable resolution. In the meantime we are determined to concentrate on our business and hope to build on the momentum established in 2010."
The company will discuss the results in a conference call with analysts and shareholders at 4:30 p.m. ET on April 7.


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Surf Excel Goldbar Ads
Visits: 120 Home and Garden
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The stores listing their products on TheTradeBoss.com are subject to periodical reviews based on your feedback. If you wish to purchase any of the products listed on TheTradeBoss.com, you just need to click to go directly to the online store, where you can place your order.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Our truly original a-DOG-able® arrangement is an instant "Howl-o-ween" classic! This bewitching pooch is handcrafted using white carnations and Autumn-toned oak leaves, and comes complete with a witch hat to cast a spell on Halloween parties, October birthdays or any day you want to scare up a smile.
All prices in USD ($)
As Shown
As Shown - $49.99


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Strokes and Sprints
by, July 7th, 2010 at 11:00 AM (3407 Views)
I've decided that my 3/wk with the Libertyville Masters is just not enough anymore. While I do thoroughly enjoy swimming with them, I feel that I need/want more. So I've decided on any day I can (M/W/Sat) I'm going to do my own workout to help build technique and speed. My current focus is going to be on strokes (Back, Breast and Butterfly), and sprints (freestyle for now).
I'm operating under 2 assumptions: 1) Good form is built by proper execution of drills. 2) Form breaks down when fatigued unless good form is consciously sought after and executed carefully.
The idea behind all of my stroke workouts will be based on kicking and drills. If I build up strength and endurance in my kick, then it won't be as big of a fatiguing factor when I'm swimming. If I build proper form in my drills, then when I do take the time to combine it together, the proper form should (ideally) build on the experience from the drills and the strength from the kicking.
The idea behind my sprint workouts will be based on short distance (right now - 25y) and are to be executed with the following mindset: "move your arms as fast as you can and kick as hard as you can and breath as few times as possible." I'm not concerned with things like dolphin off the wall, or timing my flip turns right now. I want my sole focus to be building those fast twitch muscles in those sprint workouts.
The park district pool I currently swim in on my own is a 4 Lane 25 SCY pool, no lane lines or flags in the lap swim area. I usually am only one of two maybe 3 people, but the openness of everything makes it kind of tough to swim. Its pretty choppy compliments of the kids playing in the rest of the pool to the east, and the kids diving in the diving well to the west. (Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...)
My workout last Monday looked like this:
Warm Up:
600 swim
200 pull
100 catchup drill ([ame=http://forums.usms.org/showpost.php?p=33665&postcount=3]I don't use a kickboard[/ame])
Back Stroke Set
Due to the fact that there are no flags, I swim right next to the one lane line which is next to the kids playing in the pool so I can make sure I don't bash into the wall
8x25 kick
8x25 long axis drill (I need to learn more backstroke drills)
4x25 swim (no flags == kind of scary to turn)
Breast Stroke Set
8x25 kick
8x25 breast stroke pull with flutter kick (I also need to learn more breast stroke drills)
2x50 swim
Sprint Set
8x25 pull
2x100 easy swim
8x25 sprint
Cool Down
50 easy swim
1.5 Mile walk back home.
So from all of you who are far more experienced than me - would you care to give any suggestions? I'm all ears!


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It's been more than two years since California Motor Vehicle Code 23123 went into effect. That's the law that bans the use of cell phones while driving, unless you're over 18 and doing it hands-free with a wireless device. A year later, that law was followed by a new law making it illegal to write, send or read text-based communication while driving.
So how's it working? Chances are you're still seeing motorists everywhere ignoring the law. They're rolling around with the phone plastered to their ears making the act of driving little more than a casual endeavor. Even worse, you may have been in an accident or had a close call as a result of someone else's inattention. Frustrating isn't it?
Everyone knows the laws are in place, but few are taking them seriously. Why should they? After all, the fine for a first-time offense is only $20. Do it again and it's $50. Or is it?
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Should you find yourself on the side of the road with a cop issuing you a ticket, you might think about asking him how much the fine is. Don't even bother. It's the court, not the cop, that comes up with that number. According to the DMV website "with penalty assessments, the fine can be more than triple the base fine amount."
A motorist named Bud chimed in online saying he thought his fine would be $25. When he got his courtesy notice from the court, it was $127. Another motorist from Riverside reported a first-offense fine of $175. That's money shared by the state ($19 billion in debt) and counties.
Fines for drivers under the age of 18 tend to stay the same. I can verify that by the teenager in my own home who got a ticket in San Diego County for talking on the phone while driving. According to the DMV website, traffic accident rates for 16-19 year olds is higher than any other age group. It's been that way for a long time. Way before the advent of cell phones. Imagine how much more the risk is now. A new driver operating a 3,000-pound battering ram with one hand while yucking it up on the phone. Not a good combination.
According to a Harvard University study in 2002, 5 percent of accidents are caused by distracted cell-phone users. That was before any of us even knew what texting was. You can imagine the increase a more recent study might show.
Regardless of age, the cop on the street knows the dangers. His job is enforcement. Get caught and be ready to pay a lot more than you might have thought. Lawmakers know the dangers too, and you'll be scarce to find any of them trying to bring the fines down.


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"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons" (James 2:1).
Evidently the believers in the early church were much like us, in that they tended to honor and favor wealthy individuals in their congregations. James commands them to reject such partiality, and gives the reasons why.
The first reason is that God's perspective is just the opposite. He favors the one of low rank. "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom?" (v.5).
Next, we see that favoritism never impresses the rich--it always backfires. "Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?" (v.6). Showing favoritism is not practical.
Then, note that the favored ones are probably least deserving. In fact, often "they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called" (v.7). In doing so, they dishonor the Lord, in whose name we gather.
Finally, such favoritism is a violation of "the royal law," that summary statement of God's plan for our relationships: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (v.8). If the law is kept, "ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin. . . . For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (vv.8-10).
Peter had learned this lesson, first in a vision, and then in his miraculous ministry to the Gentiles. "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34).
As our text reveals, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and showing favoritism on any basis (not only riches, but color, education, ethnic, or national background, etc.) are not compatible. JDM


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I will just let the pictures tell you the story, its easily the loveliest, most rustic, romantic cafe I have ever come across. So, for your next trip, besides Ipoh taugeh chicken, Hakka mee, beef noodle, dry chicken curry nasi kandar @ Yong Suan, Funny Mountain taufoofar ... you should add burps&giggles to your Must Go To list.
the entrance
nostalgic knick knacks all over the place
go through the backdoor and you have a quirky yet sublime place called the "lazy lane", great atmosphere to unwind and enjoy an environment just like the 40s and 50s "concubine lane"
every corner, every angle is a photographer's dream .....
Food include a long list of premium burgers, pastries and sweets plus great coffee.
clever usage of lights and lamps to enhance the very cosy feeling
the foyer with high ceiling as they have removed part of the first floor
(behind Kong Heng)
93 & 95 jalan sultan yussuf


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Book a flight to Casablanca with Qatar Airways
A city of undeniable romance and adventure, Casablanca has been immortalised in film and literature. Nowhere does exotic like this Moroccan jewel, with its spice souqs and timeless architectural character.
A flight to Casablanca with Qatar Airways transports you to a city of wonder and charm that you will not soon forget.
Casablanca highlights
Spice souqs and movie-themed cafés are only the beginning; Casablanca is the home of the exotic – a French-North African blend that will live long in the memory.
Tourist attractions
While it is the commercial and economic heart of the nation, Casablanca also effortlessly juxtaposes the ancient with the modern. One of the most popular places to experience the spirit of the city is Old Medina (Bab Marrakesh), a small, traditional walled town in the north of the city.
The Mahkama du Pacha is a Hispanic-Moorish building that houses more than 60 ornately decorated rooms adorned in Moorish artwork. Delicately carved wooden ceilings, stuccoes and intricate wrought-iron railings are complemented by dazzling tiled floors, making this essential to your itinerary.
King Hassan II Mosque, while of relatively recent construction, is nevertheless an imposing structure. Commonly cited as the fifth largest mosque in the world, its minaret, at 210 metres, remains the world's tallest.
To see just how influential the French were in Casablanca, head to The Quartier Habous, also known as Nouvelle Médina. Constructed in the 1930s to solve a critical housing shortage, it is a sublime blend of the French and Moroccan cultures. It has a wide selection of bazaars, bakeries, cafés and boutiques, and although it is a slightly more modern twist on the classic Casablanca, it is still worthy of a visit.
When you travel to Casablanca you'll discover a rich variety of early 20th-century architecture, primarily designed by French architect Albert Laprade. He created the city's Central Park, a serene open space to rest your weary limbs. One of Laprade's finest additions to the city is the Phare d'el Hank lighthouse. Views from the top of the tower are a spectacular reward for the arduous climb.
Leisure activities
A trip to Casablanca doesn't begin and end with the city – it is a perfect base from which to discover North Morocco. Available excursions include those to Fez, the Atlas Mountains, or the inspiring desert landscape. Once back in town, try a stroll around the souqs.
In the winter months, the mountains are ideal for skiing. Enquire with La Fédération Royale Marocaine de Ski et Montagne, which has offices and information centres throughout the city. For a day at the beach, head to Aïn Diab Plage, which can be accessed via the Casa Tramway terminus.
Casablanca is known for cultural cross-pollination, which is reflected in its cuisine. French, Spanish and Moroccan delights await the hungry traveller and some of the best can be found in Nouvelle Médina. Local delicacies include fried eggplant, a variety of vegetable and meat dishes, and soupe Marocaine.
On the Blvd. Des Almohades, you'll find authentic Moroccan restaurants built within the remains of an old fortress, serving traditional Moroccan dishes fused with contemporary elements. There are plenty of vegetarian and vegan dishes on offer, most of which are based around that Moroccan staple, couscous.
Also check out tajine dishes (named after the earthen pots that they are cooked in), such as tanjia and harira, which can feature lamb, chicken or vegetarian options. You could also consider following in the footsteps of Humphrey Bogart, at a themed bar. The proprietors so revere the movie their city inspired that the pianist plays As Time Goes By every night.
An advanced course in haggling is advisable prior to your trip to Casablanca. For an authentic experience, head to the souq at Nouvelle Médina (Quartier Habous), which has plenty of local crafts on offer. If you don't fancy haggling, then stick to the more sedate surroundings of Morocco Mall, next to the beach in the Ain Diab district, which is said to be the second largest on the continent of Africa. For traditional Moroccan goods, such as tajines and leather goods, head for the area surrounding Old Medina. For high-end brands and luxury goods, the Maarif district is your best option.
Essential facts about CasablancaEnjoy a hassle-free journey with all the information you need to know before your trip
Visa information
Check visa and passport requirements before you fly.


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Direct Debit Guarantee
• This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits.
• If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit Survival International will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Survival International to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request.
• If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by Survival International or your bank or building society you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.
• If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Survival International asks you to.


text:
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Sécurité en TIA PORTAL via Step 7 Safety Advanced (F-TIASAFE)
Dates and Registration
Learning Path
The Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal) forms the work environment for integrated engineering with SIMATIC STEP 7 and SIMATIC WinCC. In this course, you will learn about configuring, programming, starting up, diagnosing and troubleshooting of the failsafe CPUs of the SIMATIC S7 Safety PLC (no H systems) and the failsafe, distributed ET200 systems. You will put your theoretical knowledge to use with the STEP 7 Safety Advanced software in practical exercises
After attending the course, you can do the following:
starting up failsafe CPUs of the SIMATIC PLC
programming of safety-related programs in the languages F-FBD and F-LAD
diagnosing and troubleshooting of safety-related programs.
This blended-learning course combines Web-based training on the Internet with a 3-day attendance course. For an optimized postprocessing of the attendance course you get the Web-based training course (WBTs) "SIMATIC Safety Integrated". By using these learning media, you increase your personal learning success in the attendance course.
Target Group
Service personnel
Commissioning engineers, configuring engineers
Overview and guidelines
Step7 Safety (principle, system configuration and I/O)
Configuring of the failsafe I/O with STEP 7 Safety Advanced
Programming of a safety-related user program
Failsafe communication PROFIsafe (CPU-CPU communication, master-slave communication)
Diagnostics facilities (CPU diagnostics, I/O diagnostics, advanced diagnostics)
Exercises for I/O configuration, communication, troubleshooting
Programming examples (emergency stop, protective door, safety-related shutdown, passivation, special programming features)
Basic knowledge of SIMATIC S7 according to the courses N-TIASERV2 or N-TIAPRO2
Additionally an online entrance test is available for you (http://sitrain.automation.siemens.com/sitrain/test/st_ppds/index.html). So you may assure that the course of your choice fits to your competences.
Course documentation: English
Trainer: French
If all trainees enrolled in this training speak the same language, the training will be held in that language (Dutch, French or English).
In this course you will work with the SIMATIC STEP 7 software based on TIA Portal.
The hardware used in this training will be a CPU 315F-2DP with central fail-safe I/O, combined with ET200S distributed I/O. The safety training in TIA Portal using S7-1500 is in development and not to be expected before 2015.
Face-to-face training
3 days
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The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded 1,327 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated wholesale value of $20 million Saturday in Miami Beach.
The drugs were discovered on April 21, when an aircrew aboard a Coast Guard Air Station in Miami spotted a go-fast vessel southwest of the Dominican Republic with suspicious packages on board. The Coast Guard Cutter Spencer sent an armed helicopter and boat crew to intercept the vessel.
Coast Guard crews found 25 packages on board that later tested positive for cocaine.
Two suspected smugglers were taken into custody and transferred to law enforcement officials in Miami.
On Friday, the Coast Guard offloaded $3 million in marijuana and cocaine at the base in Miami Beach. The estimated 2,100 pounds of marijuana and 35 kilograms of cocaine were seized in two operations earlier this month in the Caribbean Sea and near the Bahamas.
Last week, the Coast Guard offloaded $1.9 million of marijuana in Miami Beach. About $110 million in cocaine was offloaded in April.
Officials said $22 million in marijuana and $1.8 billion in cocaine were recovered throughout the Caribbean in 2013.


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If you're looking for a waterproof camcorder then the Sony Handycam HDR-GW55VE might be just the ticket. It was announced quietly back in March, and today we got our hands on the tough camcorder for a quick play.
The Handycam GW55VE takes the traditional pistol grip format, offering a flip out 3-inch 921k-dot touchscreen display.
The compact package offers 10x optical zoom, featuring Sony's Optical SteadyShot. The Sony G lens is 29.8mm at the wide angle and as well as offering you Full HD video, you can capture 20-megapixel still images too.
The camcorder is light at 188g, perfect to slip into your pocket, and measuring 32.2 x 105.5 x 70.2mm, it's perfectly portable.
Controls are clustered on the back so fall comfortable under the thumb, with Sony's Intelligent Auto taking care of the scene settings to get you the best results.
Making it's debut in a Handycam is Sweep Panorama, which Sony says will detect faces as you sweep to ensure that people are in focus. A clever self-portrait mode helps to compose your shot automatically for you, so you don't cut off your own head.
The Handycam GW55VE model also features a built-in GPS, so you'll be able to record your location on your travels, with waterproofing down to 5 metres, with dust and shock resistance.
We didn't have the opportunity to test the new camcorder to any degree, so you'll have to wait for a full review before we can evaluate how it performs. The £499 price tag looks a little steep, so that performance had better be good to justify the expense.


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Analyst Prep CFA Review has designed its practice questions and mock exams to replicate the difficulty of the actual CFA® Level 1 시험, so you will be more than prepared for the real deal.
You also get to customize your quiz sessions an unlimited amount of times and track your performance with the software that compares your score to thousands of other CFA candidates.
1. CFA Question Bank and Mock Exams
The best way to prepare for the CFA® exam is to practice. You can sign up for the free package and test out 150 of the practice questions before purchasing the full course. Once you decide that Analyst Prep is the right fit for you, you can upgrade and have access to 3,000+ practice questions and 4 mock exams (480 questions each).
2. Study Notes
The comprehensive study notes of Analyst Prep are perfect for those who are overwhelmed by the 5,000 page CFA® institute curriculum book. The study notes are designed to teach you the CFA® Level 1 curriculum in less time but not any less effective.
The notes have been created by CFA® Charterholders to summarize the most relevant information from every Learning Outcome Statement (LOS). You also get a formula sheet that you can memorize. The notes also include example questions to help your comprehension skills. You can review your study notes from anywhere on your mobile device.
3. Variety of Support Options
Analyst Prep has two different course packages, Premium ($129) and Coaching ($599). With the Coaching Package, you will have 5 hours with a personal tutor who will guide you throughout the course and other aspects of CFA ®preparation. Even if you don't want the 1 on 1 coaching (which is done via Skype with a CFA® Charterholder), there are other support options available.
These same coaches also offer email support and can help assist you in creating a personalized study plan. Analyst Prep makes sure you have a professional that can help review your progress and answer any questions you may have. And if you want a sense of community, there is an online forum where you can connect with other Analyst Prep studiers.
4. Track and Analyze Your Performance
With the built-in analytics software, you can easily see your tracked progress and monitored performance of test questions. The organized charts make it clear for you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. You can see your score by chapter, your strongest/weakest chapter, your day to day progress, a comparison with other CFA® candidates, and a time management chart.
With all these analytics readily available, it's easy to adapt your study method and improve your strategy in the areas that need more attention. Analyst Prep also lets you keep tabs on the competition by comparing your results with thousands of other candidates who are also studying for the CFA® Exam.
Only Level 1
Analyst Prep has undeveloped material and only provides a prep course for Level 1 of the CFA® Exam. Level 2 is under development now and will be released soon, as well as a mobile app!
Ideal User
This course is great for those that want support options as well as an adaptable self-study course. The $129 course option is also great for anyone who is on a budget. Although Analyst Prep is still developing courses for Levels 2 과 3, the Level 1 review course is a promising start that offers plenty of analytics and study tools, like the study-notes, to give you a streamlined study strategy that will have you studying efficiently and effectively.
My Suggestion
For the low price of this course, you certainly get a lot of bang for your buck. The comprehensive study notes, video lessons, and expansive questions bank can all be purchased for $129. This is great for the self-motivated learners, but for those that want more support and other perks, like a Final Review, you can purchase the coaching package for $599.
Try out the course by signing up for the free package to see 150+ practice questions, performance tracking, and the video lessons.
Price: $0
- 150+ Questions
- Performance Tracking
- Video Lessons
Price: $129
- 3,000+ Practice Questions
- 4 PDF Mock Exams (480 Questions)
- Performance Tracking
- Video Lessons
- Study Notes (1,500+ pages)
- Formula Sheet
- Unlimited Customizable Quizzes
- Pass Guarantee
Price: $599
- 3,000+ Practice Questions
- 4 PDF Mock Exams (480 Questions)
- Performance Tracking
- Video Lessons
- Study Notes (1,500+ pages)
- Formula Sheet
- Unlimited Customizable Quizzes
- Pass Guarantee
- 5 Hours of 1-on-1 Coaching
- Personal Study Plan
- FInal Review
AnalystPrep CFA® Breakdown
|AnalystPrep CFA® Review
|Question Bank and Mock Exams
|Study Notes
|Variety of Support Options
|Track and Analyze Your Performance


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London-native Jamie Waylett, who portrayed Slytherin bully Vincent Crabbe in six "Harry Potter" films was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of violent disorder and possession of stolen property at London's Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday, the Press Association reported.
During last summer's riots in London, Waylett was caught with a small gang on closed circuit television drinking from a bottle of champagne that was stolen earlier. He was later pictured holding a petrol bomb. He was cleared of charges of intending to destroy or damage property.
During sentencing, Waylett looked markedly different from his "Potter" character, with a shaved head and a goatee.
U.S. & World
He will be eligible for release after a year in jail.
Unlike several of the other young actors in the Harry Potter franchise, Waylett's career subsequently ended after the series concluded. The Harry potter films were the only ones the 22-year-old ever appeared in. According to his biography on the Internet Movie Database, he was hit by car at 9 and spent three days in intensive care- doctors then feared he'd develop brain damage. After a blood transfusion, his condition improved.
Waylett has a previous conviction for cannabis possession.
Suggested Reading: MSNBC, IMDB, Washington Post


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Cafe del Rey in Marina del Rey is offering a four-course prix fixe dinner menu created by Executive Chef Daniel Roberts along with a selection of Inception Wines' Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County on March 21 at 6:30 PM for $75 per person.
The menu will include passed Canapés of either House-Cured Salmon (wheat blini, lemon crème fraîche, and white sturgeon caviar) or Lobster Ceviche (mango, Serrano pepper, cucumber, vanilla, coconut water, and red bell peppers) with a '09 Chardonnay. Each course features wine pairings and include Burrata (herb salad, Kumato tomato, baguette crostini, blood orange-infused avocado oil, and saba), Seared Foie Gras (seared ahi tuna, black tea, brioche croûte, and currant compote, with a Pinot Noir reduction), Sonoma Lamb (herb marinade, warm quinoa salad, pomegranate, and an English pea and mint purée), and a duo of Whipped Brie and Vanilla Mascarpone Tart with Pinot Noir-poached cherries, truffle-salted carob, and blackberry. 4451 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292. 310-823-6395.
Photography provided by Lisa Cohen for CAFE del REY
To celebrate International Women's Day, The Pub at Golden Road Brewing in Atwater Village, CA is offering a flight of four beers: Golden Road Hefeweizen, Point the Way IPA, Valentin, and Vinaceous Old Ale for $9. The Valentin, a 6.5% ABV French Saison, is the first collaboration beer for the L.A. based brewery with Hangar 24 Craft Brewery from Redlands, CA. These flights will be available until 11:00 PM tonight and $2 will be donated to Planned Parenthood for each flight purchased. 5410 W. San Fernando Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90039. 213-373-4677.
After landing a spot in the top three during season two of Top Chef: Just Desserts, pastry chef Sally Camacho of WP24 is a recognizable figure in both the culinary world and to foodies alike. But chef Sally's accolades extend much farther than that as she placed third representing the United States at the 2012 Valrhona C3 World Competition in Madrid, a coveted international restaurant dessert competition. Additionally, Sally has competed and placed in other notable pastry competitions such as the National Pastry Team Championship and the Culinary Olympics. But what do we really know about Chef Sally? Read More
Temecula Valley's Wine Country showcases their growing popularity with their sold-out 'World of Wine' barrel tasting weekend
While Napa Valley may be the most popular wine destination in California, one shouldn't be so quick to forget the wineries of Temecula Valley – which has seen consistent growth in popularity over the last few years. This past weekend, the wineries of Temecula shared their finest with the 21st annual "World of Wine" event. From the big vineyards such as Wilson Creek to newer ones like Europa Village, over thirty wineries participated in this sold-out event. Read More
On March 9 at 6 PM, Ladyface Alehouse in Agoura Hills, CA will host chef Sandro Gamba (formerly of NoMi in Chicago), who won Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 2001, for a five-course beer dinner. For $75, attendees will be served dishes like local Pacific halibut and roasted chicken wings from the veteran chef. Beers from Ladyface will feature a preview of the newly brewed Trébuchet Golden Farmhouse ale, plus four more to pair with each plate. 29281 Agoura Rd., Agoura Hills, CA 91301. 818-477-4566. Read More
With many various food events taking place over the city, it's sometimes hard to find the ones that are worth attending. With a cooking demonstration by Julia Child many years ago, Planned Parenthood continues its annual food fare in Santa Monica Civic Auditorium today, March 8. Some of the notable restaurants and food establishments in the city take the lineup, including A.O.C, Waterloo & City, Angelini Osteria, Drago Centro, Salt's Cure, Public Bar + Kitchen, Lucques, Clementine, Church and State, Ammo, and Craft.
Popular food trucks such as the Border Grill Truck and Grilled Cheese Truck will also serve up their popular dishes. The event is a great opportunity for foodies and supporters of Planned Parenthood to sample great food and drinks all in one place. There will also be an online and live auction of prizes, such as dream vacations. Read More


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Hundreds of fabric choices in store
Overall Dimensions: 96" x 96"
Seat Height: 20"h | Back of frame Height: 33"h | Top of back pillow height: 35" | Seat Depth with back cushion off: 29"d | Seat Depth with back cushion on: 25" | Arm Height: 28"h | Leg Height: 7"h | Arm Width: 4"w
Button tufting on seat and back cushions.
All removable and reversible cushions
Foam in back pillows helps hold shape
All frames are made of solid wood.
We use 2.0 lb. medium density foam in seat cushions. Thickness of foam core varies from 4.5" to 5.5" depending on style, with 3/4" Crown on Top & Bottom of foam core and 1.5" Kodel book wrapped.
We use 8 guage no sag sinuous springs in base of sofa to create a strong and stable seating area.


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[S]ince Sen Kerry abandoned his presidential aspirations this year, many of his leading advisers have yet to align themselves with any of the other candidates.Interesting. I'd love to see Gore in the race myself. He's got more substance than those others, more weight. That is... oh... I mean...
They were expected to join the campaign of Sen Edwards, who was Sen Kerry's running mate last time.
The former aide, who has himself signed up with Sen Edwards, said: "The question is: where have all the Kerry people gone? The answer for most of them is nowhere. Now ask yourself why."
James Carville, President Clinton's former strategy chief, suggested last week that Mr Gore, who has piled on the pounds, could shed weight over the summer to make himself more media-friendly for a White House run.You know how Al Gore is always talking about his "carbon footprint" or whatever? Here's a calculation I'd like to see. Maybe somebody here can figure it out. How much is one's carbon footprint increased by the consumption of food? Isn't everyone who is overweight overconsuming? I'd like to see a number representing the environmental damage we do for each excess pound we carry.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he lost 15lb or so," said Mr Carville. "And I think if people thought he could get us out of the mess we're in with Iraq, they wouldn't care how fat he is."
And this is not just for the purpose of tweaking Gore (whom I kind of like!). It's a serious matter that's got to be at least at the level of leaving the wrong kind of light bulbs on when you're out of the room. Plus, it might help people lose weight if they could reenvision their problem in terms of environmental responsibility. And if you're going to say to me that it's bad to shame people into good behavior, then are you against all the other shaming we are subjected to about the environment?
UPDATE: I still don't have an answer on my "carbon footprint" science question, which I'm quite serious about. But in the comments dpb says "isn't all that fat he carries just a form of carbon sequestration?" Fascinating point! So fat people are carbon sequestrating devices. If lots of plants are grown to feed people, and they just bulk up and hold it all inside, that's good environmentalism. Sure, they may die from being fat, but as long as they are buried, they have removed the carbon permanently. Remember: No cremation!
But there are many other factors here. The production and transportation of food requires the burning of fuel. If you were to eat only the amount of food that would maintain your ideal weight, rather than the extra 1000 calories a day (or whatever) that you do eat, then there would be less fuel burnt to supply your habit of overeating. Also, if you weigh more, your car is consuming more fuel carrying you around. Fat people in cars has got to be as significant as incandescent light bulbs.
Do you think this is insensitive and in poor taste? Let's just call it an inconvenient truth.


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"This is an infinite, celebratory novel, containing multitudes in the space of each rich sentence—a masterpiece of Caribbean literature that certainly deserves the badge of the classic." —World Literature Today
"Most striking about this book is how magical the story is, even at its darkest. The Bridge of Beyond is a lush and entrancing fable about history and family and love. It is, truly, a hallmark of Caribbean literature." —The Nation
"An immersive experience and a very fine translation by Barbara Bray from the original French." —The Guardian (UK)
"It is like a fable in the form of a ballad, which is to say it is poetical but not always clear. Its languorous sense of ease, dangerously close to delusion, gives scope to Simone Schwarz-Bart's considerable gift for describing the trees and flowers of her native island." —Paul Theroux, The New York Times
"In a literary field saturated with messianic heroes, be they poetic or proletarian, The Bridge of Beyond plunges us into a fabulous story of women, the chronicle of a mythical line of matrons: the Lougandors. Yet something would be lacking if we saw it merely as, for example, a rewriting of [Jacques Roumain's] Masters of the Dew, where a family of women are playing their version of Manuel. In comparison with these pre-texts, Simone Schwarz-Bart innovates. She innovates by metamorphosing the Creole oral tradition." —Maryse Condé
"Her stories seem to gleam with the polish of re-telling and are a distillation of passion and experience in which every trace of whimsicality and affectation have been squeezed out by the knowledge of real suffering. The virtues are, of course, not [the character] Toussine's but the author's, but so natural is this that it is easy to forget that it is a work of fiction; it is a very fine achievement." —The Irish Times
"The book's gift of life is so generous, and its imagery so scintillant in the sunlight of love, that we believe every word."—John Updike, The New Yorker
"There's magic, madness, glory, tenderness, above all abundant hope." —Financial Times
"The language…is as luxuriant as the foliage of the Antilles." —The Times (London)


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Charles W.(Chuck) Bryant co-hosts the 'Stuff You Should Know' podcast along with his trusty sidekick, Josh Clark. He was born in Atlanta in the early 1970s under the sign of Pisces. Twenty-four years later, he earned an English degree at the University of Georgia. He spent the next decade traveling, pursuing creative endeavors and getting street smart. He and his wife-to-be moved back to Atlanta in 2004, with four pets in tow. He hooked up with HowStuffWorks.com shortly after co-host Josh was hired, and the pair bonded immediately over their love of Hunter S. Thompson, the fight-or-flight response and dive bars. In his off-time, Chuck enjoys hanging out with his wife, cooking and playing in his old-man band. He loves his neti pot and hates cold bathroom floors. You can find Chuck on Twitter at @SYSKPodcast and on Facebook at the official Stuff You Should Know page.
To learn more about Chuck Bryant and his contributions at HowStufWorks.com, check out the next page.


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The rupee rose on Thursday, snapping three sessions of losses, on bunched up dollar sales by foreign banks after public holidays and inflows from a state-run utility.
The rupee was also helped by a slight recovery in the euro which halted a five-day losing streak, although the common currency looked vulnerable to concerns about slowing growth and uncertainty over aid for Greece and Spain.
The partially convertible rupee ended stronger at 54.70/71 to a dollar as against its Monday close of 54.88/89 to a dollar. It traded in a 55.08-54.68 band in the session.
However, the outlook for the rupee remains weak. The local unit fell in early session to as low as 55.08, close to its two-month low of 55.12 hit on Monday, as concerns about slowing economic growth weigh on the currency.
Data on Wednesday showing headline inflation unexpectedly easing to 7.45 per cent in October helped improve the mood somewhat, though it was still seen high enough to be a headache for policymakers struggling to balance the need for growth with taming prices.
"The euro zone worries will guide the dollar globally. I do not expect anything major on the domestic front. The current account deficit and IIP were dampeners but inflation was a pleasant surprise," said Hari Chandramgathan, a senior foreign exchange dealer with Federal Bank, referring to industrial output.
"The rupee can touch 55.20 in the near term. I expect the pair to hold in a 54.50 to 55.20 range next week."
Indian forex markets were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for Diwali holidays.
Dealers cited dollar sales by foreign banks as well about $100 million (Rs. 547.67 crore) in inflows from a state-run utility as key reasons behind the rupee's recovery.
In the offshore non-deliverable fowards segment, the one-month contract was at 54.97 while the three-month contract was at 55.54.
In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar/rupee on the National Stock Exchange and the MCX-SX closed around 54.92 with total traded volume of $3.54 billion (Rs. 19,388.34 crore).
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters


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Things That Are Worse than Paul Reiser…
After a mere two episodes that had the same effect as a handful of Ambien chased by a fifth of Knob Creek, Paul Reiser's triumphant(?) return to network television lasted about as long as a Milton Bradley welcome party.
I guess this is undeniable truth that US America just isn't mad about you, Mr. Reiser (*RIMSHOT*).
But don't worry, Paul, there are plenty of folks out there who are WAY WORSE than you. And of course, the RSBS interns have been working furiously to bring you the shortlist. Shall we?
Chone Figgins
After signing a $43.5 million deal to be the ignition in an otherwise defunct offense, it only seems fitting that the fate of the Mariners took another giant step backwards as Mr. Figgins continues to be the only thing that smells worse than Pike's Place fish market. Last year he topped off his .259 batting average with a debilitating case of bad attitude. This year, he seems to be on track for more of the same, only, Wakamatsu ain't there to box the boy's ears. Therefore, Chone is definitely worse than Paul Reiser.
Jim Skinner
Since he is the CEO of the McDonald's Corporation, I think it's important that we call out Jim Skinner and everything his company stands for: taking advantage of the masses' inferior intellect. I don't care what you do to the labeling, the packaging, etc., "food" that comes from McDonald's is not f***ing good for you. In fact, it's killing you… it's killing you and the rest of US America. When I first swore off fast food (about 7 years ago) I was surprised at how my body reacted by feeling good most of the time. After a year of zero Big Macs, I decided to give it another try. I had a Big Mac, large fry and a Coke. An hour later, I threw up… from both ends. That was my body's way of saying STOP THE INSANITY. I did and I've never felt better.
Also, people are using Jim's restaurant as a place to throw down. Not cool. So Jim is definitely worse than Paul Reiser.
2010 Jason Bay
This lucky (and smart) Canadian managed to work out a $73 million five-year deal with the Mets after the 2009 season. He followed that trip to the bank by hitting 6 homeruns in 95 games, before he got hurt and missed the rest of the season.
He was bad. So bad that he is STILL worse than Paul Reiser.
Muammar Gaddafi
NATO wants him dead. That doesn't make him bad, that makes him SOOP-UH BAD… or, WORSE than Paul Reiser.
Oliver Perez
I really hate to pick on the Mets here, but, well, the Mets have done a lot of dumb things in recent years… like, y'know, pay Oliver Perez $12 million a year to throw baseballs like my athletically-challenged and oft persnickety colleague, Mr. Krause throws softballs.
Not very good.
Of course, Ollie's situation comes in way WORSE than Paul Reiser's, because Ollie is STILL getting $12 million from the Mets this year, even though he's not on the team.
All of the above are bad. In fact, all of the above are really bad.
But they are also UNANIMOUSLY rich beyond my Joe Plumber @$$, so… the moral of the story, once again, is be bad. Get paid.
Congrats on making the team, Paul Reiser.
Hate me 'cuz it's legal, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.


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Donna is the granddaughter of Fanny Elizabeth Ross (married Phibbs). This is my Great Grandfather's sister. Quite an interesting find. Amanda and I were planning on going to out see Howard Ross in Bluefield, West Virginia. Howard thought after the shootings at Blacksburg we better wait since Montgomery County would be too busy to go sightseeing and visiting. But prior to going I e-mailed his nephew John Ross who is a doctor in Beckley, West Virginia. I told him we were coming out and I would like to see him. I knew Howard Ross had given John all his research papers and I was very interested in a copy of them. John is a busy Dr and said he would just mail them to me. So I received a stack of papers about 6 inches high of research letters, notes, and other various things. This letter was in that stack. Most of the stack is on Howard's Adams lines which doesn't interest me. So some of the stack is quick moving. I am glad when I find those things related to my bloodline.
PO Box 1894
Burney, Ca 96013
Aug. 13, 1985
Dear Howard,
Your letter arrived in the mail yesterday. I have also wondered about Nancy Adeline's life but it is very hard to understand from our perspective. It's hard for us to really understand the hard life they had. I find people today do not very often understand what I tell of my life as a child in a small town farming community in Idaho. And that was only 50 years ago and I'm still here to tell about it. We lived on a small two acre place with no running water and we had an outhouse. All drinking water had to be carried from the neighboring farm where they had a well. And all water for washing or bathing was carried from an irrigation ditch that ran along one side and down one portion of another side before it went through a culvert under a road to the farm across the road. We did have electricity and we had electrically run appliances such as a wringer type washing machine and a refrigerator. Also, living here in Burney which is about 250 miles from San Francisco I find people who think of San Francisco as "Sin City", but I grew up there and love it. There are somethings I don't like about the city and it is always changing, but I have many good friends who still live there and also many cherished memories of my life there. There are murders and drugs and everything that I abhor and do not want in my life right here in this small remote mountain town of Burney.
I say all this as I think its very hard to put ourselves into the scene or time and place that Nancy Adeline lived. My mother's father's mother was
also born out of wedlock in Carroll County Virginia. Her maiden name was BOLT and I had heard she was born out of wedlock before from her own son. I didn't think to question him I knew him to be a good man and honest. He had served as a Missionary for the church and prior to that when I was about twelve years old had lived with us in San Francisco. He was divorced from his first wife who came to our home and raised a ruckus one night while he was there. After he came home from his Mission he married again. This time to the divorced wife of his own brother. His brother had a problem with drinking. Aunt Bertie's children, and she had fifteen, can't seem to accept her decision. I was told when we were visiting Carroll County in 1972 the following "The Bold women were beautiful blue eyed blonde women and considered the most beautiful women in the area." I was also told my great grandmothers mother was never married. But the census records indicate she had four children. She also had at least one or two sisters who never married but had some children. I recently asked John Perry Alderman, is a Federal Judge at Roanoke. But he was District Attorney of Carroll County and had his law offices with his father also John Alderman when we were visiting there in 1972.
Life certainly can get complicated can't it? While someone in the future may be able to construct some of my life from a few legal documents I know they would not be able to know all about me. My life has been full of things that are not written down. It's also true of the Bible and that is
why there are so many religions with each on interpreting according to their own interpretation right? I hope all this makes sense to you. At any rate I cannot judge Nancy Adeline (SHEPHERD) ROSS nor can I judge my other great grat grandmother Adeline BOLT. I understand you are a little closer to the situation than I am in that Nancy was your father's mother. And your family name hinges on the truth. I really have no answers except the few legal documents that we uncover. I have no knowledge as to who is the older, your father or my great grandfather. I only saw James Thomas Ross Meredith on the one occassion a few months before he died in Fresno, California in 1951. His mind was very clear and he told us a little about his life. Such as he had been born out of wedlock and that his real father was James Meredith who had adopted him when he was about 4-6 years old. He also said the courts gave him the name James Thomas Ross Meredith. He said he was raised by his real father. I do not recall his telling anything about his brother or even knowing that he had one until years later. When he went to the temple for his Endowment and had an Endowment done for Damey Catherine Graham he gave his birthplace as Snowville. The Temple Index Bureau tells me there was no sealing done. He did tell us that he reverted to the name Ross in order to save his mother from embarrassment with the Missionaries.
When he was married his name was listed as J.R. Mearideth and his death certificate shows James Meredith with his father as James T Meredith. But all of his children were brought up as Ross and his sons brought their children up as Ross. He didn't go back to the name Meredith until years
later. Damey Catherine's death certificate gives her last name as Ross and she died in 1933. So it was after that time. Evidently, Nancy Adeline also lived with James and Damey for sometime while they were living in West Virginia as my great uncle John Phibbs whose mind was also very clear when I interviewed him about 1958 remembered James Rosses mother. Uncle John was a friend to the Ross boys Uncles Bob and John Ross in particular and said he lived with the Ross family for a time. He thought she was about 90 years old and that couldn't have been, but then many young people believe old people to be much older than they actually are, right? He said she was a strong old lady and could carry heavy sacks of coal and or potatoes slung over her shoulders. I'm convinced most of us are weaklings compared to our ancestors even if we are much larger in general.
Mrs. Clarita Morgan said, she believes Nancy had an incredibly hard life. She said women were put in jail for having children out of wedlock. She
also said James was taken away from Nancy when he was bound out to James Meredith. She got this from the Count Orders Book of Pulaski County. She just stated that Nancy was in the poorhouse at that time. Mrs. Morgan's husband became critically ill last spring and she has promised me as soon as she can to get back into the records for me. She has seen the original will of Frederick Shepherd and said while it mentioned his wife Elizabeth there was no mention of any children. I have recently sent her more information regarding the marriages out of her own book showing the marriage of John Shepherd to Levica Martin naming his parents as Felty and Elizabeth Shepherd, as well as telling her that we believe that John was a brother to our William Shepherd as well as Levica Martin being a sister to Nancy Martin Shepherd. I also sent her the copy of the records from the Tennessee Civil War Veterans on Calvin Sheppard. You will note that it is copyrighted and not to be reproduced. But it gives a good description of his family that we would find hard to get anywhere else. I spoke to Mrs. Morgan after that and she said "Why that Shepherd/Sheppard Family is a very old one here". She then said "It is hard to imagine that he treated Nancy like he did. Meaning that he took her son but didn't marry her." She also told me she has some more information for me but has not gotten back into the records yet.
Nancy Martin Shepherd, could have been married to her daughter Charlotte's father Jackson Bryant. Those records would evidently be in North Carolina. I'm trying to check the 1850 Census for Surrey County at least I have it on order. I'm wondering if I can find William and Polly (Bayes) Martin there. Do you know? I recall you also had Nancy Adeline as possibly born in Ashe County North Carolina. Until I find them and a marriage record for William Shepherd to Nancy Martin or Bryant, I don't know too much. It appears from earlier records that William was married in the 1840 Census with a family. But who can tell for sure perhaps they were both married before they married each other. William Shepherd is listed in Pulaski Co., in 1850 with wife Nancy and two children older than our Nancy Adeline. They are William Shepherd and Charlotte also listed as a Shepherd. But we find from Charlotte's marriage record while Nancy Shepherd was her mother her father was Jackson Bryant. But William Shepherd the son disappears and we don't know if he is also Nancy's son or if he is William's son from a former marriage. Until we can find more evidence that remains a mystery. But it is great that we have Calvin's record telling us who his parents are and also mentioning his grandfather William Martin. And it is apparent from that record that William Martin was married before he married Polly Bayes.
None of this is unusual there were some divorces in those days but lots of people died much younger and of all kinds of diseases in those days that we don't have now. And many people remarried.
I also believe that the Census Takers were not qualified to always know whether a person was "Idiotic or wahter." I have two adopted children and both have Cerebral Palsy. People as well as Doctors have labeled them. Cerebral Palsy, therefore mentally retarded for years. It isn't necessarily so. David will be 20 years old in October and he walks with a limp and is called Moderate Cerebral Palsy. Since he was in an institution for mentally retarded from 3 years until 12 and 1/2 years he picked up some traits which appear to be those of a mentally retarded person. Had he been in a home with a loving family all those years he would probably not have had those characteristics. I've had a young woman who has Cerebral Palsy and lived with her family who was married and had a child and worked for the Cerebral Palsy Office in Oakland, California tell me, "Oh yes people always think we are mentally retarded." It's obvious to me that is not so. My daughter Noel (pronounced as Noelle) is called Mild Cerebral Palsy and it is not apparent to most people that she has any anything. I think it is between that person and the Lord. I am not angry at you for any of your thoughts and I understand it is normal to wonder about all of these people. But it is also FASCINATING to find whatever information we may be able to find regarding our ancestors.
Charlotte's last name was shown as Martin though and that does lead one to believe she was born out of wedlock.
The John Perry Alderman that I mentioned before has done a wonderful job of research spending over 25 years and is publishing books on the Carroll County people. I have his book called, CARROLL 1765-1815 THE SETTLEMENTS. I have found several of my early lines in there the
SHOCKLEY'S-BOLT'S-FRANKLIN'S-WORRALL'S and the NEWMAN'S. He did it from the Deed Books the Will Books the Census the Marriage records as well as documented information that has come to him from descendent sources. It is all well documented. My PHIBBS FAMILY didn't come into Carroll until the 1840's from Guilford County North Carolina and he doesn't know much about them. But I have some Guilford records on them and I belong to the Guilford County Genealogical Society. In addition to all of this I am gathering information on my fathers lines. His father's is in Central Pennsylvania and his mother's is a Vermont and New England Family. As well as doing research on my hunsband's family. His Perry family came from Ohio after 1855 to Iowa from there to Kansas after 1882 to California by 1910. His Warrren line from somewhere in Virginia (wife born Germany) to Ohio to Missouri to Washington to California. Another Vliet from Virginia to Illinois to Kansa to Washington Territory, Mrs. Vliet's – Wheeler Family, her father came from South Carolina and mother from North Carolina their older children were born in Tennessee but their daugher Louisa my husband's children were born in Tennessee but their daughter Louisa my husband's 2nd great grandmother was born in Illinois where she and Garrett Vliet married. And on his mothers side her father came from Sweden and luckily some
relatives over there have sent quite a lot of that information. Then his mothers mothers line Beard came from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to Ohio to Indiana to Iowa to Missouri and finally to California before 1880. His third great grandfather Beard was born in Sept. 1799 in Pennsylvania and died in the 1890's near Fresno California. He is buried in an old Pioneer Cemetery at a place there called Academy, there had been a school there that was the Academy. He also has ancestors who were married in Santa Clara County California in 1856, the husband was born in Ohio in the late 1820's and his bride in Iowa in the 1830's. Well enough of that, but I am working on all of these lines. Plus helping a few friends here and there. That story you told me of the woman who killed her baby. I have heard that before and the story was told by Grayson and Laura (Adams) Graham. They said it was Mary (Graham) Deane. I would have to do some digging to be sure of her married name. It may have been Dean (this is correct). They said she overlaid or rolled over her child in the night and it died. That was a fairly common occurance, with babies sleeping in the same beds with their mothers. Mary was a sister to Grayson and my great grandmother Damey Catherine Graham. It was a tragic incident.
I hope this is of some help to you. It appears Nancy Adeline was never married to anyone but Harve D. Ross. I agree the marriage was undoubtedly commsumated. After all they were listed as living together with her parents in 1860. Obviously, Nancy was capable of having dhileren and could have born them. Perhaps the trouble lies with Harve unless he is actually your father's father and anything is possible including that not everyone gets pregnant right away. It is possible Nancy Adeline worked as a domestic in the Meredith home and was forced into an uncompromising position. Women were treated like chattel in those days and I don't know if her parents were still living at that time or if they had left Pulaski County. She was listed as you said with her Aunt Levica and what had become of John Shepherd. Were these men in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. It is said that Damey Catherine Graham's father William Addison Graham was enlisted at age fifteen three days before the War ended. I can find no record of him through the National Archives but then they can't tell me about William's father Robert A Graham either who also served from Pulaski County. Mrs. Morgan says she has records of those from Pulaski County. I have also checked with Richmond as they may have been in the local militia.
The National Archives also had nothing on Calvin Shepherd/Sheppard. The problems which resulted in the Civil War was going on for years before and the effects lasted years after.
I lived in San Francisco during World War II and even though I was 11-15 years old I was aware of much of what was going on around me. We moved from the small farming community in Twin Falls County Idaho (a dry state) to San Francisco California in early 1942. I had spent two weeks in California in July of 1941 before I turned eleven. I was aware alcohol was sold everywhere. I had never seen anyone drunk until I came to California.
Talk about CULTURE SHOCK. At any rate it was quite an experience and I will never forget it. I had a very straight laced grandmother who had never smoked or drank in her life. But I found out many years later she had been about six months pregnant when she was married. I don't love her anyless, she was special to me. My grandfather her husband like to go to a place called the pool hall. No respectable woman would be caught dead there. When we arrived in California and the first evening (this being July 1941 and I was 10 years old) and I heard my own grandmother (mother's mother) Fannie Elizabeth (Ross) Phibbs, day she would go with them to buy liquor. I was shocked!!! Many of the family on that side consider me a snob to this day. It was just CULTURE SHOCK. My grandmother Fannie and two of her daughters died of Cirrhosis of the liver or alcohol related deaths. Another who was only six months older than I committed suicide by shooting herself through the head as her father my grandfather did. She had had an injury and was given some drug by prescription for it but she also drank some and as we know they don't mix. Aunt Florence as you will remember is the oldest and she turned 78 in June of this year and she looks better than my 73 year old mother and both of them are very clear. Mother needs hearing aids for both ears (she was just checked out last week), but we have been aware that
she needs them for a while. She fought the idea I think it was more the expense than anything. They have one other sister who is younger who is
still living and she is in good health. She is Viola and she just turned 67 last month. There are three brothers also living Bill will be 65 in October
and he is okay. He had some problems which resulted in his not being able to use sugar and it was not diabetes. They said he was bad until they found what the problem was. He dosn't smoke or drink at all and hasn't for years.
Then there is Orval, he is about 62/3 years of age, he is dying of cancer of the lung. I haven't seen him for years another brother Arthur died of
cancer of the lung two years ago he was only 57 year old at the time. The youngest brother is Rick and he will be 58 on Dec. 25th, and he is not in
very good shape he is rather crippled up I don't know what from. Again I haven't seen him for years. But he writes every Christmas and sends a card to me. The only other brother they had died in 1977 and he Jimmy was the eldest of the boys, he was born in 1916 and he died of the disease that the Baseball Player Lou Gehrig died of. He was sick for quite a few years, he drank quite a lot and smoked besides.
I'm glad we have the principal of repentance and forgiveness or I'm sure none of us would ever make it. We have all made mistakes and I'm told by church authorities once we make the proper repentance if need by through our Bishop, we don't owe anyone an explanation. It is between ourselves and our Heavenly Father. So if the Lord can be that gracious to me or any other person who makes a mistke I'm sure he understands Nancy Adeline (Shepherd) Rosses and Adaline Bold's and my grandmother Dorothy Ketcham (Balis) Beachell's and my grandmother Fannie Elizabeth (Ross) Phibbs and anyone elses problems and I am glad to leave it up to him to decide since each case is different and individual.
When James Thomas Ross went to the temple in Salt Lake City to be endowed it was June 20, 1935. He gave his name as James Thomas Ross, born 22 Sept. 1870 at Snowsville, Pulaski, Virginia. Father was given as James Thomas Ross and mother as Nancy Shepard. He also gave his baptism date as 17 Apr 1898 and Damie Catherine Graham as born 25 Nov. 1873 born Pulaski Va. died 3 Feb 1933. Father Wm. Addison Graham mother Elizabeth Miles. He didn't give a marriage date but said she had been married to him. He gave her baptism date as about 1897. When my grandmother was sealed they took down her information as follows: Name in full Fanny Ross born 18 Nov. 1893 at Radford, Radford, Va. Father Jas. F. Ross mother Damy C. Graham. She was endowed 20 June 1923 and her baptism is given as 5 Jul 1906. I have understood she and her brother James Thomas Ross were baptized the same day at Welch, McDowell, W. Va. This brother was called Tom Ross, but I have his death certificate and it says James Thomas Meredith aka (also known as) James Thomas Ross born Oct 19, 1895 in Virginia died July 16, 1964 at Los
Angeles County General Hospital. My grandmother was baptized the same year she was married. She was married in Dec of 1906. I have talked to someone in Salt Lake at the Genealogical Society and they said I should write it all down and send it in. He probably didn't realize in 1935 how important it would all be to be so accurate ect. In a book of records kept by my grandfather he gives my grandmothers birthplace as Reed Island, Virginia.
I've also worked in hospitals doing nursing ect and I have personally seen people die of Cirrhosis of the Liver and know it isn't any too pleasant,
I've often said I have no illusions.
I've certainly written a long letter here. I hope it is of some help to you. I'm waiting to hear from Mrs. Morgan again and I hope it won't be too
long. And I hope we will be able to gain further knowledge regarding these families. Mrs. Morgan lives behind a Phibbs relative of mine in Pulaski
City. They are good friends and she told me to come and stay with her if I get back there. She also said you are going to write a book aren't you? I haven't gotten to that point yet. Anyway I had better stop here and get my family fed.
Happy Hunting,
Your Cousin
Donna (Beachell) Perry


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Blu-ray Disc players and HD TVs will drive the domestic take-up of internet video services, it has been claimed.
Market watcher IMS Research has said that, worldwide, internet video device shipments will leap 78 per cent year on year during 2010.
While set-top boxes, games consoles and media extenders will play a part, it'll be Blu-ray players and internet-enabled TVs that really win over consumers, the researcher forecast.
However, it's worth noting there's a US slant to all this. IMS Research's Rebecca Kurlak said: "With nearly all Blu-ray players manufactured with IP connectivity enabling access to VoD libraries like Netflix, Amazon, Vudu and CinemaNow, Blu-ray players are more compelling for purchase consideration than they have been since their market debut."
All those services are aimed at US consumers, and there's a marked lack of similar offerings over here. That said, internet-connected tellies from the likes of Panasonic, for example, do at least provide YouTube feeds.
No major Blu-ray Disc player maker is touting internet video feeds over here right now, but Humax Freesat boxes now offer a link to BBC iPlayer, and satellite set-tops from other vendors will follow. Freeview HD boxes will likely do the same. Games consoles already do.
In the UK, then, it looks like these other devices will do more to bring internet video into the living room than Blu-ray boxes will. ®


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The Software Composition Group carries out research in programming language design and software reengineering with the goal of facilitating the development of flexible, open software systems. The SCG is led by Oscar Nierstrasz and is part of the Institute of Computer Science (INF) at the University of Berne.
NB: No MSc courses or seminars offered in Spring 2020 due to sabbatical semester.


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Discover beautiful venues for the perfect Italian wedding
The rolling hills, medieval hilltop villages and endless vineyards of Tuscany have made it one of Italy's most popular regions, whether you love art and history, picturesque scenery, great wines or the beaches lining the coastline.
So couples looking for a destination wedding in Italy will have endless reasons to choose a wedding abroad in Tuscany: the only decision is what style of ceremony you want.
For city chic, Florence mixes stunning architecture and the beautiful river Arno with some of the world's greatest artistic masterpieces, while civil ceremonies can be held in one of its grandest palazzos.
For another historic spot, Siena's ancient streets have been declared a Unesco World Heritage site in their own right or choose a more intimate setting at one of Tuscany's famous hilltop villages, their medieval buildings so well preserved, you'll feel like you're stepping back in time. Marry under the towers and turrets of San Gimignano and Cortona or in the medieval palace of Montepulciano.
Away from the cities and towns, Tuscany's farmhouses are equally enticing with their olive groves and endless rows of vines, growing the sangiovese grapes used in the area's unmatchable wines. With outdoor venues, you can say 'I do' while gazing out onto the hills, along with the castles you'll find nestled in the Chianti hills.
And while beach weddings are rare in Italy, as most civil ceremonies take place in town halls or other licensed venues, Tuscany is one of the few regions where they're permitted in some places – imagine standing barefoot on the sand, exchanging your vows as the sun sets over the sea.
More About Getting Married in Tuscany...


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Parking Plan Presented For Downtown Pittsfield
|Ralph De Nisco of Nelson Nygaard along with Lisa Jacobson presented the plan to city officials and residents on Wednesday.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There are 1,337 public parking spots downtown but less than half of them are being utilized each day.
"Everybody wants to be in the same place and then saying there is a parking problem," Ralph De Nisco, a principal with the consulting firm Nelson Nygaard said Wednesday night.
The firm was paid $75,000 by the city to take a comprehensive look at the parking situation downtown — a study required in part of a state grant the city received to reconstruct the McKay Street parking garage.
The findings show that the city particularly needs change the value of various lots.
"It is a chance to step back and look at all of the things going on in downtown Pittsfield," De Nisco said. "It is not just a question of 'do you have enough parking?'"
Of the total parking — 6,332 spots — 62 percent of the parking downtown is privately owned. City-issued permit spots equal 1,337 spots and the rest vary with time-based restrictions.
"There is no pubic parking space available for a customer or visitor for more than three hours," he said, adding to the point of the city having many restricted areas for visitors.
The firm looked at the city's busiest night — a Third Thursday street festival — and found only half of the city's public spots were being used. Some of the lots were full or nearly full while others were nearly empty.
"There are spaces available in the garages," De Nisco said.
Meanwhile, according to senior associate Lisa Jacobson, during a typical day 80 percent of the downtown employees surveyed say they park within a block of their work. While 47 percent of all residents surveyed say they don't come downtown often because parking is "inconvenient."
The First Street lot is an example of that, the consultants said, and they suggested that those who work in City Hall park elsewhere or pay a premium price for specific spots.
The survey and a public meeting also found confusion over where motorists can park or what the regulations are in the various spots.
"We even heard several times from people who live in town who didn't know if the McKay Street garage is open to the public," Jacobson said.
The consultants made an array of suggestions on how to manage the parking better. The first and most important, according to the firm, is to revamp the pricing to reflect lot demand, increase signage, establish clear oversight of parking and match zoning with the city's goals.
"You can't just pick one of these," Jacobson said of the plan, which is designed to have all aspects of the changes working in tandem with each other.
First, the consultants say the city needs to place a premium price on parking right on North Street. Instead of limiting the on-street by time, they said raise the price to 50 cents an hour. However, they added that parking for less than 30 minutes should be free.
"Those spaces on North and South Street are your most valuable spaces. They are at the doorsteps of your businesses. And right now, those aren't being treated that way," she said.
What that increase — coupled with increases and different value on the side streets — will do is encourage people to park further away from their destination to save a few bucks. Thus, that will open more spaces on North Street.
Further, the survey and study shows that residents want to stay longer than three hours so if they want to, let them, the consultants said. But, they'll be paying a premium price for it until 8 p.m.. Otherwise, there are locations costing less and even free.
"We think there are some off-street lots and garages that should have a fee and some that shouldn't," she said.
The top floor of the McKay Street lot is recommended to be free with no time restrictions. Hopefully, this will encourage people who plan on staying for a full day to fill up those spots. All off-street lots should be free after 4 p.m., Jacobson said.
|On the busiest days, only half of the available parking spots are used.
The second important thing is to add and make signage clear. De Nisco said even people who live here don't know they can park in many of the public facilities.
The whole system is designed to tell people where they can't park instead of showing them where they can.
Jacobson said the city needs to revamp signage by putting them in strategic places and then adding signage to direct people around the downtown after they park.
Additionally, the city's website contains no information on parking, various downtown companies provide different information and the best map the consultants found wasn't properly labeled. They said there needs to be a live map that can be shared through the website so visitors know where they can park before even coming to the city.
When it comes to managing the parking situation, De Nisco said there are various departments heading different areas. There isn't a clear person responsible for parking issues. The city needs to create a parking committee to implement these changes, update the parking ordinances to match the changes and then put staff directly in charge of all parking.
Later, the city should look to form a parking authority and should establish a fund for parking revenues downtown to go directly back to the downtown. This will help for long-term maintenance and building the base for any long-term repairs or new facilities.
The final piece to the puzzle is to change the zoning regulations regarding parking to match the various types of business. Parking won't help attract visitors, he said, businesses do. But the zoning regulations for parking requirements could keep businesses from coming, he said.
Those will make the most immediate difference in the downtown parking situation, they said. But, there are also secondary and supportive strategies to continue to build from that point.
After establishing the new plan, the creation of a parking benefit district would direct the use of the funds generated. This would be coupled with signs explaining to people that the money is going right back in. These revenues will go for increased lighting, improving alleyways, increased snow removal and more.
"If you do have a parking crunch and you do need to build a garage, this would be the start of the funding stream," Jacobson said.
The consultants also say the city needs to plan ahead of time for event parking and at these peak demand times, put extra signage for out, provide maps with ticket purchases and establish drop-off and pickup zones.
Next, enforcement would be re-envisioned. Instead of just writing tickets, enforcement personnel should act as an ambassador to look out for safety issues and help guide visitors. Jacobson added that by changing the parking to be mostly metered without time limits, the enforcement labor is decreased significantly.
The city should also begin to look at areas where parking supply could be added if needed. She said there are places to add spots and that private lots could also be leased. The First and Fenn Street lot should be completely redesigned to reduce the number of curb cuts, easing traffic circulation and adding spaces.
Lastly, as "supportive" measures, the city should also look at the alleyways and pedestrian routes.
"Even just some lighting, some paint, maybe a mural, and some seating can really go a long way," Jacobson said.
The city should keep in mind the peak times for multiple uses — such as a residential unit that uses parking mostly at night while a doctor's office is used during the day — to maximize the use of lots.
And the city should eventually look to encourage public transit and biking if the demand begins to grow too dramatically.
The study will be more defined if residents and city officials feel the proposal is going in the right direction.
"These are viewed to be preliminary. This isn't a done deal. We want to get your input on what to do next," said the city's Director of Community Development Douglas Clark.
The ultimate implementation will be up to city leaders. De Nisco said similar recommendations have been implemented in just months but if leaders and residents are in disagreement, then it could take years.
Tags: downtown, parking,


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I don't know if it has been a slow week in the areas that interest me, or maybe I have been too busy to really notice all the gems.
So, I just have a handful of links and notes to toss out this week:
Microsoft Phone and Fax
I've been caught several times where I have had to join an extended conference call with just a cellular or cordless phone The whole time I groan and hope my battery survives.
I even realized that we don't have a "wired" phone at out house, for emergencies if the cordless ones go out. I've got to remedy that soon.
I did figure out that if I have access to an "analog" line and one of my laptops I can make calls through it, made even easier with a USB headset.
Microsoft Windows XP - Phone Dialer overview
John Barnett's Windows Vista Support: Launch Phone Dialer
XP does come with a fax service as well. Since I have an analog line for my laptop at work, along side my digital phone, I've been using the XP fax service to test remote fax machines as well as do "emergency" scanning of documents by sending them through our traditional fax machine to the analog number associated with my laptop dock station.
I was surprised to find that Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium do not come with any Microsoft fax service like can be found in XP. That's a real shame. It does ship with Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate versions.
Windows Vista: Features Explained: Windows Fax and Scan
Free Foreign Language Lessons
Sign up with a valid email address. There are eleven languages currently including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese. Each language has 100 lessons.
They are beneficial as the audio allows you to get a good feel for the pace of the spoken language.
JCB Song Video
Need a lift?
Check out Nizlopi's animated video of the JCB Song.
There is something cute and precious about it. Ahh to be young again....
--spotted via Drawn!
Software of Note
CDBurnerXP Version 4 - (freeware) - This fantastic CD burning media has just received a major release update. Features include, burn all kinds of discs, audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks, burn and create ISO files, create bootable discs, bin/nrg → ISO converter, dual-layer DVD support, disc-to-disc copy, and program size reduced from over 10 MB to around 2 MB.
It can even run off a USB stick if .NET 2.0 or higher is on the "host" machine.
Supports Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista.
For other removable media management tools look into these three freeware offerings:
Need to make a copy of a disk? Use LC ISO Creator.
Need to turn a set of folders into an ISO? Use Folder2Iso.
Need to burn an ISO to CD/DVD media? Use TeraByteUnlimited's BurnCDCC.
Need a bit more substance? Look into these freeware utilities. ImgBurn for advanced disk burning and IsoBuster for advanced CD/DVD file recovery, ISO creation, disk/ISO structure review, and file extractions.
Minimal Yahtzee - (freeware) - Teeny-tiny and portable. This single-player Yahtzee game is great. My memories are filled with playing this game with my maternal grandparents in their Airstream trailer over the long summers I got to spend with them. It remains a fun game at our home, even today.
Engcom Virtual Slide-Rule Program - (web) - Dating myself, I am old enough to know what a slide-rule is and what it is used for, but young enough to never have used one myself in school.
From what I understand, they were the power-calculators of their time and no good engineer would be caught without one. Today we have digital hand-held calculators and computers to run circles about them. But they have always seemed a mysterious thing to me.
Engcom's site lets you play with a virtual version of the slide rule to see just how it functions.
--Spotted via OgasaWalrus.com
Slide rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
International Slide Rule Museum


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New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana—forgive us if you didn't need that detail, but Santana hasn't pitched since the middle of last season—was accused last year of sexual assault on a golf course in October 2009. The woman said Santana approached her and raped her, as she was pleading with him to stop, while Santana said the sex was consensual, and that the lady was "very excited" during it.
Now the case is finally approaching trial, so Santana is seeking an order to hide all testimony and evidence from public view.
The Smoking Gun has more:
In a motion filed last week in Circuit Court, the New York Mets pitcher requested a protective order barring Deanna Williams and her lawyers from the "publication or dissemination" of a variety of material associated with the case.
In his August 17 motion, Santana notes that since the civil case "has received national and local media attention," there is "heightened potential for this normally private exchange of information to become public."
Don't flatter yourself, Johan and attorneys. Local and national media really have no interest in reporting on the Mets.
Mets Star Wants Judge To Cloak Sex Case Records [The Smoking Gun]


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One of my first "big assignments" for the Local was covering the Democratic primary for 8th District Council in 1999. There were five candidates for the office, including the ever-present Germantown activist Greg Paulmier and former councilman Al Stewart. In 1999, we invited each candidate to the Local offices and I wrote extensive profiles of each.
I recall Donna Reed Miller, running for her second term at the time, as a very warm and likable person. She was an easy interview. The only question that bothered her was when I asked her age.
"Now why do you need to know that?" she asked.
Even then, dissatisfaction with Miller was very strong, particularly in Chestnut Hill. In her primary victory, she received little support. I interviewed her after the election and she seemed genuinely hurt by the snub.
Perhaps the divide was inevitable. The 8th District is incredibly large and diverse. It extends from Philadelphia's poorest communities to its most affluent. It spans race and class divides that are not terribly easy to bridge. The Germantown politics in which Miller rose to her position are very different than what more idealistic, educated voters in Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy expect.
Miller certainly did her part to earn the suspicions of voters. In 2008, former aide Theresa Pinkett pleaded guilty to bribery. Her former chief of staff Steve Vaughn was convicted for his part in a $60,000 tax shakedown — the same that netted Mt. Airy Muslim cleric Ali Shamsud-din Ali. She was closely affiliated with Germantown Settlement, the neighborhood nonprofit that declared bankruptcy and has been ordered to shut down by court order after squandering millions in taxpayer dollars.
None of these scandals linked directly to Miller. She remained popular with her core constituents by focusing on concerns important to them – she was out front in the city on issues of gun control, domestic violence and police misconduct. As soft-spoken as she might seem, she was never afraid to tackle these issues head on.
Despite the scandals and discontent of many in her district, she never failed to win her seat in a primary election.
This year, voters in the district have a chance to replace Miller, who announced last week that she will not run again. I'm sure this news has been welcomed by those who have worked hard to replace her during the last 14 years.
The question of course, is who will her replace her? Will 8th District voters rally around a real political reformer? Or will politics- as-usual remain the rule? Many good candidates for the office have been dealt losses by the consistently crowded field pitting reform-conscious voters against each other.
There's plenty of work ahead for whoever wants to take over for Miller. For every hardship faced by Chestnut Hill residents, there are five for residents in Germantown and North Philadelphia. It's a diverse constituency that will demand real talent to work broadly – to make sure that all voters in the district believe they are being served by their representative.
It's going to be an interesting year for Northwest Philadelphia politics.
Pete Mazzaccaro


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We've talked before about the pros and cons of painting wood trim and brick walls/fireplaces. Although there's no doubt that a fresh coat of paint can do wonders for the look of the piece, one of the biggest disadvantages is that you're covering the natural appearance, texture and grain of the material.
What about hardwood floors? I can't take credit for this project, as it was completed by a previous tenant of my loft. I have hardwood floors throughout the unit, but they're not sealed and a little … er … rustic looking, if you will. I do love them, but they're so tough to keep clean!
Our bathroom, however, is a different story. The wood is painted a light gray, with artful black swirls applied on top. Thankfully the former tenant chose a relatively neutral palette that could work with a lot of bathroom decor (and fits our current black, white, red and gray scheme beautifully!).
And the paint acts as a seal, meaning there are less cracks exposed between the planks, making them easier to clean. I love a project that has both aesthetic and practical applications!
I'm not sure I'd commit to painting the entire floor of the loft, because the dark wood does have its own character and beauty. But in a small room like a bathroom, it's an interesting addition.
What say you, readers? Would you ever paint hardwood floors, or is that a DIY no-no?


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located within Myakka River Watershed
Explore general as well as scientific information about the movement, chemistry and biology of area surface water environments.
This information shows the approximate number and diversity of aquatic plants in and around your lake based on the rapid assessment of your waterbody's vegetation. Learn more about the plant species inventory »
Vegetation sampling is the identification and quantification of plant species and communities. Vegetation sampling is a tool used in environmental assessments and can inform a myriad of assessment goals including biomass availability, water quality concerns, management benchmarks, and determining the introduction and establishment of invasive species. Sampling can be conducted via destructive or non-destructive methods. Learn more about vegetation sampling from the links and documents listed below.


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*E-SPF®50+TM for all Crizal® Sun UV lenses except with Essilor Orma® lenses without UVX (E-SPF®25 TM). E-SPF® is a global index rating the overall UV protection of a lens. ESPF® was developed by Essilor International and endorsed by 3rd party experts. Lens performance only. The E-SPF® index excludes direct eye exposure that depends on external factors (wearer's morphology, frame shape, position of wear).
Children test the durability of their glasses.
Scratch and impact-resistant lenses with high
UV protection is a must for young eyes.