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LAST UPDATED: February 20th, 2017
I believe it was sometime around 2005 or 2006 when I first started to notice lighted arrow nocks popping up on my favorite hunting shows. Arrows that were once a quick flash in a dimly lit screen, leaving viewers to wonder if and where the arrow hit it's mark, were now streaming bolts of light streaking towards their target. Without question, the "cool factor" of lighted nocks was pretty high those first few years.
Like many bowhunters out there, I quickly rushed out and picked up the first pack of nocks I could find, slapped them in my arrows and began shooting. Of course I did little to no research on available brands or technologies, and even less research on how to properly install and use them. Much to my dismay, I was never able to achieve consistent results and my somewhat expensive experiment was given up after a season full of mistrials.
Now, some 6 years later I've finally come full circle with these fiery little gadgets. With a plethora of new options available to modern bowhunters , each with its own unique design, I decided I wanted to find out just how these new lighted nocks worked and which ones would be on the back end of my Carbon Express Maxima come October. After all, there are few things cooler in the bowhunting world than seeing the bright flash of a lighted nock as it rushes towards a deer's boiler room.
Lighted Nock Review – First Things First
To start things off I began to research the different brands and options available to me. Queue Google! A few savvy web searches turned up about ½ dozen major players in the lighted nock arena. I quickly set out to get my hands on them all and wound up with 5 different brands; Carbon Express, Lumenok, Nockturnal, Firenock and Tracer.
For my evaluation I decided to rate each nock on a scale of 1-5 in five different categories; Price, Ease of Use, Reliability, Brightness, and Weight. While this system does leave out a few features which may be important to some such as color options, replaceable battery, durability and advanced technology, I felt these were a good sampling of what's important to most bowhunters. Here's what I found out.
Carbon Express Laser Eye Lighted Nocks
The first lighted nock I tested was the CX Laser Eye. I purchased this 2 pack from an online retailer for a cost of $20 plus shipping. This is just slightly above some of the other brands, but not out of reach for most bowhunters.
When they are shipped, the nocks have a small plastic collar installed that prevents them from activating and discharging in the package. Upon removal from their plastic wrapper I took off the collar and slid the nocks into the back of my arrow shafts.
The fit was a little on the tight side, but I was able to get the nocks slide all the way down without too much trouble. Upon installation the nocks will activate and turn on as you push them down into the shaft. In order to deactivate the nock you pull it back about 1/16 of an inch until you feel a slight click. The nock will switch off and is then ready to shoot.
The only thing I don't like about this design is that the nock is not securely seated to the back of the shaft upon release. If for some reason you bump the nock, or click it onto your string too firmly, you can accidentally light the nock. Of course if it gets bumped in your case or quiver, it could discharge before being used in the field.
However, one thing I do like about the Laser Eye nock is that you can easily rotate the nock after it's installed. This makes fletching alignment much easier, if needed. With most lighted nocks, they manufacturer discourages rotating the nock in the shaft as to prevent damage to the wiring or circuitry that controls the light.
As for functionality, the Laser Eye worked perfectly. I took roughly a dozen shots out of my Mathews Helim and the nocks lit perfectly every time. They are extremely easy to turn off as well. Just pull them out a hair, and they turn right off. It's quick and easy.
The Lazer Eye nock is reported to weigh 18.5 grains, however my scale showed both nocks weighing in at just over 20 grains, which was still the lightest of all nocks tested. Of course weight becomes a concern for many archers, especially when added to the back of your arrow. When it comes to lighted nocks, the lighter the better.
Nock brightness was slightly below the rest of the tested nocks. From a distance of 25 yards during twilight hours, the nocks could easily be seen both in flight and once they got to their target. However put next to some other brands the Laser Eye was clearly not as bright.
My overall impression of the Carbon Express Laser Eye is that it's a solid nock that is extremely easy to use. If you're looking for something you can take out of the package, put in your arrow and go shooting, this is it.
Now for the scores:
Price: 4 – At $10/each they certainly aren't cheap, but are about average for most lighted nocks.
Ease of Use: 5 – pull them out of the package and start using them. It's that easy.
Reliability: 5 – worked every time, no problems turning them off
Brightness: 2 – slightly below average brightness
Weight: 5 – the lightest of any nock tested
Overall: 4.2/5
Nockturnal Lighted Nocks
Admittedly, I spend a lot of time on the Bowhunting.com Forums. When it comes to lighted nocks, the most talked about unit the past few years has been the Nockturnal. So when it came time to test these out, I was pretty excited to see how they would perform.
I picked up a 3 pack of these nocks for around $24 plus shipping, making them roughly $8 per nock. Of all the nocks tested, they are certainly on the more affordable side.
The Nockturnal's design is unique in that it features a string-activated switch embedded into the throat of the nock. When you release your arrow, the string forces the switch down and activates the nock. The Nockturnal comes completely assembled, and all you need to do is insert it into your arrow and start shooting. You can't get much easier than that.
Just like the Laser Eye, the Nockturnal activated each time it was fired from my bow without problem. The one issue I have with the Nockturnal is the method by which you turn the nock off. There is a small hole in the side of the nock where you must insert a small pointy object (I used a field point from another arrow)to slide the switch back into the place. Not only did I find this tedious, but one time I had to force the switch so hard that the entire nock came back out of the arrow. Of all the nocks tested, I felt this made the Nockturnal one of the least friendly to use. At the very least, Nockturnal should include some sort of small tool to use for this duty. Using field tips, or even broadheads, to deactivate the nock after your shot could very well result in some injured fingers if you're not careful.
My other concern with this design is the potential for water or moisture to get inside the nock and effect it's long term reliability. Of course I was unable to test for this, but it is something I felt was worth noting.
When it comes to brightness, the Nockturnal was on par with the rest of the nocks tested. The nock body itself is clear which they claim gives additional light output, but to the naked eye I couldn't tell a difference. These nocks are solidly in the middle of the pack when it comes to brightness.
My overall impression of the Nockturnal is that it is very well built product and easy to install, but the difficulty in deactivating the nock off after each shot was a real turn off (pun intended).
Price: 4 – At $8/each they're right in the middle of average cost
Ease of Use: 3 – Installation is a breeze, but turning them off is a chore
Reliability: 5 – worked every time, no problems turning them off. Long term reliability remains to be seen.
Brightness: 3 – average brightness
Weight: 5 – the 2nd lightest of any nock tested
Overall: 4.0/5
Lumenok Lighted Nocks
When it comes to lighted nocks, I believe Lumenok is the most widely known brand name out there. I'm not sure if they were the original lighted nock, but they certainly helped put them on the map. My 3 pack of Lumenoks cost $28, making them just over $9 per nock. Although I did find places online selling them for as cheap as $6 to $7 per nock. With these prices, they are among the more affordable options.
When it comes to using the Lumenok, it appears to be very easy at first glance. They come fully assembled and ready to go out of the package. However, even though the nock may be ready to go, your arrow shaft may not. You see, the Lumenok works when it is pressed securely into the back of your arrow shaft upon release, thus completing the electrical circuit needed to make it light up. If the back of your arrow is not completely square, or there is a material blocking the electrical charge, your nocks may not work.
In the case of my Carbon Express Maximas, I had a two step process to prep my arrows to ensure reliability. First, I had to glue my nock collars in place on the back of my arrow shaft. Second, I had to sand off the anodized finish on the back of the collar to reveal the metal underneath. While it did take a few extra minutes to prep my arrow shafts, it certainly wasn't difficult. Anyone should be able to do this at home on their own.
Once installed, I put my Lumenoks to the test. Just like the previous two contestants, they worked flawlessly every time. In order to deactivate the Lumenok you simply "wiggle" the back end just enough to break the electrical contacts. One problem with this method is that if you don't break the contact completely, the nock may remain dimly lit and run the battery down while not in use.
Similar to the Laser Eye, the Lumenok doesn't sit completely flush with the back of your arrow upon launch. Upon release of your arrow, the nock is pushed forward and seated into the shaft. While I don't think this effects accuracy much, if at all, it's something to be noted.
Where the Lumenok stands head and shoulders above the competition is in the brightness category. Of all the nocks tested the Lumenok was easily the brightest. When it comes to lighted nocks I feel this is the most important feature next to simple reliability. Lumenok truly puts the "light" into lighted nocks.
Price: 5 – At $6-$7 each (online) they are one of the most affordable lighted nocks
Ease of Use: 3 – Installation is a breeze, but prepping your arrows can be a bit of a chore
Reliability: 5 – worked every time, no problems turning them off
Brightness: 5 – brightest nock tested by far
Weight: 2 – tied for heaviest of nocks tested at just shy of 28 grains
Overall: 4.0/5
Firenock Lighted Nocks
For anyone who has met or spoken with Dorge Huang from Firenock, you know what a fire and passion he has for archery and technology. With that said, it's no wonder that the Firenock is far and away the most advanced, and complicated, of the systems tested. However, that technology does come at a price.
A 3 pack of Firenocks will set you back $56, while a single nock costs $22. However, it is worth noting that all Firenocks include practice nocks with match weights so you don't have to wear out the battery in your hunting units. The same cannot be said for most of their competitors. Additionally, if your battery does run dead you can replace it relatively easily, which again you can't do with some of the competing models.
So what are you paying for when you buy a $22 nock? Instead of a manual switch or simple electric circuit, the Firenock actually uses a very small 24K gold plated hermetically sealed circuit board to control and power the light. We're talking about the same type of circuit board that's found in military ballistics. Yeah, that means missiles. Because the Firenock requires a significant "G" force to activate it, there's no chance of accidental activation. The nock can only be turned on when launched from your bow, which means there's no chance of accidental activation while not in use.
Due to the nature of its design, and the hundreds of possible configurations available, the Firenock requires a little bit of work before it can be used. There are nearly a limitless combination of nock colors, circuit types, and even battery types to choose from. If you wish to change nock colors, circuit types or battery types there may be some assembly required. For some models, you must also glue a small stopper into your arrow shaft to prevent the battery from flying forward upon impact. While this isn't difficult work, it is certainly much more than a simple "plug and play" type design.
Additionally, Firenock does recommend that for those of us using CX arrows with nock collars that we glue the collars down in order to prevent damage to the nock. Since I already had mine glued down from the Lumenok test, I didn't have to do any additional work this time.
Once you have your Firenock assembled and installed, shooting it is a breeze. My Firenocks performed flawlessly each and every time I shot them. When it comes to turning them off, the Firenock has a unique shock system that requires you to drop it on a hard surface from about a foot or so. While this works great shooting in my backyard and bouncing it off my deck boards, I sometimes struggled to find a flat, hard surface to bounce it on while in the field.
Brightness of the Firenock was on average with the rest of the nocks tested. Slightly above that of the Tracer and Laser Eye, but not quite as bright as the Lumenok or Nockturnal. This was tested using the standard "S" nock with the "BL" battery.
My overall impression of the Firenock is that this unit isn't for everyone. As Dorge himself would say "The Firenock is the Mercedes S Class of lighted nocks." For the guys who love the absolute best performance, reliability and the ability to mix & match just about any color combination possible, and experiment with different circuit types, this is certainly your nock. Without question it is the most technologically advanced of all the lighted nocks on the market today. Although some archers may find the variety of nocks, circuitry and battery choices a bit overwhelming.
Price: 2 – At over $20 for a single nock, you don't want to lose these!
Ease of Use:4 – While it does require some assembly, once they're installed they turn off very easily
Reliability: 5 – worked every time, no problems turning them off or on
Brightness: 3 – average brightness
Weight: 3 – the 2nd heaviest nock at 26.2 grains
Overall: 3.4/5
Tracer Nock
The final nock tested was the Easton Tracer Nock. With an average cost of $8-9 per nock, these were right in line with most of the other nocks tested.
The Tracer nock works a bit different than others in that it actually uses a magnet to activate the nock as your arrow is shot. The magnet itself is mounted on the shelf of your bow, close enough to activate the nock but far enough away to not affect arrow flight. While the magnet installation isn't a major undertaking, my biggest concern is what happens if the magnet is dislodged and falls off while I'm in the field? If that happens, my $9 lighted nock just becomes all but worthless.
Magnet aside, the Tracer nocks are extremely easy to use. They come pre-assembled and ready to shoot. All you need to do is slide them into your arrow and start shooting. When shot out of my bow, my Tracer nocks turned on every time.
Now when it comes to turning your nocks off, you must pass them back by a magnet. Again, not a huge difficulty but it can be a little annoying. I kept finding myself wanting to turn my nocks off and put my arrows back into my quiver before picking up my bow again, but couldn't do that with the Tracer. Instead I had to pick up my bow, run each arrow by the magnet, then put them away.
Additionally, the Tracer's built-in functionality keeps the light on constantly during the shot and for several seconds after, and then the nock begins flashing. There is no way to change that or turn the flashing off if you want a solid light. I personally prefer a solid light rather than a blinking one, and it would be nice to have that option.
The other item I didn't care for was the sheer size, and specifically the length, of the Tracer nock. It appears to use a full size nock like you'd find on your dad's old 2317 arrows. I mean this thing is BIG. I'm sure that helps account for the fact that the Tracer was tied for heaviest nock shot at 27.8 grains.
My overall impression of the Tracer is that it's a good product, but just not up to today's standards. The size of the nock and requirement of adding a magnet to your bow just make it seem a bit antiquated.
Price: 4 – At $8-9 each, they are in line with other lighted nocks
Ease of Use: 3 – Installation of the magnet on your bow's riser brought this score down
Reliability: 5 – worked every time, no problems turning them off or on
Brightness: 3 – average brightness
Weight: 2 – the heaviest nock at 27.8 grains
Overall: 3.4/5
Final Thoughts on Lighted Nocks
Each and every lighted nock I tested is more than capable of getting the job done in the field. Seeing where your arrow impacts the animal you're shooting at is crucial to knowing how and when to take up the recovery. Nothing can help you with that decision quite like a lighted arrow nock.
I will say that the final scores of each nock can certainly be a bit misleading. Although the Firenock and Tracer scored the same, I will say the Firenock is far and away a superior product in just about every aspect. And although the Carbon Express Laser Eye scored the highest overall, it was one fo the dimmest lights. Below you can see a side by side comparison of all 5 of the lighted nocks that were tested.
When it comes to deciding which nock will work best for your application, you should evaluate your personal needs before making a decision. Your overall budget, amount of time to setup/tweak your nocks and importance of brightness should all be factored into your buying decision.
I still haven't quite made up my mind which I'll be shooting this fall, but you can bet the next time you see me loose an arrow on Bowhunt or Die you'll be able to track the flight of my arrow thanks to one of these lighted nocks.
Do you have an opinion on which lighted nock is best? Have an experience or tip you want to share with the community? Be sure to post your comments below!


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Challenging Family Detention
Starting in 2006 with the opening of the federal government's T. Don Hutto family immigration detention center in Taylor, Texas, the clinic has engaged in impact litigation as well as individual representation to end family detention practices. Working in collaboration with other groups, the clinic succeeded in ending family detention at Hutto in 2009.
The Documentary film The Least of These features UT Immigration Clinic's legal work on behalf of detained families at Hutto.
In 2014, the federal government returned to its family detention practices, holding mothers and children in massive detention facilities in Karnes City and Dilley, Texas. The clinic resumed its work to end family detention and to provide representation to detained families. Clinic students helped more than a dozen Central American families achieve release from detention so that they could be reunited with relatives elsewhere in the United States while they pursue their asylum claims.
Clinic students also won a refugee claim on the merits for a Honduran mother and her nine-year old son who were detained for six months, and the clinic continues to represent several other families who await their final hearings. In collaboration with the ACLU and the law firm of Covington & Burling, the clinic pursued federal litigation and won a reversal of the government's policy initially refusing to release families on bond.
The clinic also collaborated with the Civil Rights Clinic to engage in other advocacy efforts relating to family detention, including preparation of a brief to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

subset: commoncrawl


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You are here
For Third-Generation Entrepreneur, Family and Business Are Perfect Mix
Since 1823, New Hope Mills Manufacturing flour-based mixes have had the recipe for small business success. The company's stitched-top products have been a Central New York household name through the ups and downs of the last two centuries. Leland Weed purchased New Hope Mills in 1947 and built the company's brand with his hard work and strong salesman skills. Leland's sons, David and Dale, purchased the business when he was ready for retirement in 1980. The Weed family bonds are intertwined with the business; both David and Dale raised their families next door to the mill. Today, half of the third-generation works there under the new leadership of Dale's son Doug.
"I've worked for the company since I was able to walk," recounts Doug with a laugh. "I started at the smallest level of cleaning up after the production workers at the end of the day, taking care of the trash, and helping out in any way I could. One of my eighteenth birthday presents was a full-time job. I always had a strong connection to the family business and to my grandfather, so it felt very natural for me."
Seven years later, the business was bursting at the seams in the original mill in New Hope. Doug helped his father manage the transition of the company to its current Auburn location with minimal down time in 2004.
"We operated very efficiently at the old mill, but we knew we couldn't get any larger because of the tight space," explains Doug, "Since the move, we gradually increased its staff from 10 to 44 full and part-time employees in 2012."
On the manufacturing floor, employees hoist dry ingredients and sift spices into industrial size mixers, which then drop the mixed product into 2,000-pound canvas tote bags. Each batch is tracked on the company's computer system with bar codes and number strings for the list of ingredients required by a specific recipe. With four different kinds of buttermilk as just an example, employees must rely on the ingredient's ID number to avoid costly mistakes. The tote bags are then ferried to the production area, where the bulk of the employees work at up to four different production lines. The company's bar coding is replicated on each product and customized for the retailer where it will eventually be sold.
The nearby test kitchen can be found by following freshly-baked aromas of cinnamon, ginger and berries that waft from hot ovens. Every batch of mix is sampled by the test kitchen team, an exacting quality control practice that the company's customers appreciate in a world of increasing food recalls. New Hope Mills meets safety requirements with regular inspections by the FDA and NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets and certifications from Safe Quality Food (SQF- level two), the Orthodox Union for Kosher foods, and NOFA-NY for organic foods.
"Obtaining our food quality certification has solidified our place as a player in the marketplace. Retailers are now demanding certain food certifications to carry products in response to health scares from undeclared ingredients," says Doug.
In the test kitchen, the texture and taste of different recipes are compared in a relentless search for the best flavor combinations. The mix maestros have been busy in the last two years, adding Vanilla Chai, Pumpkin, and Gingerbread flavors to the pancake mix line. Besides their well-known pancake mix, New Hope Mills also makes waffle, crepe, muffin, cookie, scone, brownie and hot cocoa mixes. Many products are also available in organic, low carbohydrate, sugar-free or gluten-free versions.
Products with the New Hope Mills label can be found in the company's factory store in Auburn; bulk, natural or specialty stores; Amish and Mennonite stores; and regional grocery chains such as Wegmans, Tops and Price Chopper. As a small business marketing to large grocery chains, high slotting fees, navigating corporate structure and intense competition for shelf space remain challenges for New Hope Mills.
New Hope Mills manufactures more than its own brand of mixes, with private label products comprising 40 percent of the company's revenues. In 2010, the Weed family acquired the assets of New Hampshire-based competitor The Lollipop Tree, adding their flour-based mixes as well as Lollipop Tree brand jams, jellies and grilling sauces to the New Hope Mills portfolio. With extra manufacturing capacity available, making Lollipop Tree brand products in Auburn helped maximize production and significantly expanded the company's geographic footprint.
As part of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Emerging Leaders e200 program in Syracuse, Doug developed his Strategic Growth Action Plan to map out the company's direction for the next three years. Funded by the SBA, the free MBA-style program guides high-growth entrepreneurs through a nine-month course on topics ranging from financial dashboards and sales trends analytics to employee development and training.
With his sights set on the future, Doug says his experience in the e200 class of 2012 came at just the right time: "I have a vision of where I'd like to take the company. The e200 program helped me get serious about the things that I had to start doing to achieve that vision, which includes an updated website and lean manufacturing strategies. I plan to purchase the business by the end of 2012, as my father would like to retire and begin working on a new entrepreneurial venture."
Doug also found the peer mentoring groups instrumental to his success in the e200 program. He was grouped with other family-owned businesses who could share best practices and words of advice in a confidential setting. The challenge of "working in the business" at the same time as "working on the business" required a lot of time-literally hundreds of hours-but one that Doug believes was well worth it to ensure a successful transition.
"My work schedule is 7:30 a.m. to question mark, usually five days a week. You can never escape thinking about the business, even though you might not actually be at work. Sunday dinners with the family often lead to discussions about work-it's just part of who we are," says Doug, who has found family and business make the perfect mix.


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The Baconing Summary
The Baconing Review
A grilling.
Latest Updates
US PlayStation Store with NBA 2K12 and Burnout Crash! demo
This week on the New World's PlayStation Store update are demos for NBA 2K12 and Criterion's Burnout Crash!, which also releases as a digital title.
Resident Evil 4 and Saints Row 2 join the PSN catalogue, and Fallout: New Vegas receives it's Lonesome Road DLC, as does Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
EU PlayStation Store weekly update sizzles with The Baconing
This week's European update to the PlayStation Store heralds the return of DeathSpank in The Baconing from Hothead Games, plus Bodycount gets a demo.
The Resistance 3 Multiplayer Beta is up and running too as it ends Plus exclusivity. THQ's Warhammer 40k: Space Marine - Elite Pass is now on sale.
XBLA The Baconing August 31st
Prepare for sizzling DeathSpank action from Hothead Games and game veteran Ron Gilbert as The Baconing releases on Xbox Live Arcade August 31st.
That's the day after it hits the PlayStation Store frying pan. What happens when DeathSpank tries on all six of those power-imbued thongs at once?
Sony announces PSN Play
Sony has instituted its own version of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade with the unimaginatively titled "PlayStation Network Play". As with Microsoft's promotion, Sony will offer a game a week on every Wednesday for the next month, and buying all four titles grants a fifth free title.
The Baconing announced
Hothead Games has announced The Baconing, and no, it has nothing to do with a certain redheaded actor from Footloose.
Rather, it's the sequel to the funny action-RPG, Deathspank, as the titular character has gotten bored, and needs a challenge.


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By MICHAEL P. COLLINS, Author, Saving American Manufacturing
RETRACTION: When Chem.Info first published this article, it mistakenly claimed that Sixing Liu pled guilty to exporting defense department data to China. The author regrets this error and all mentions have been eliminated below. This is part two of a two-part piece. Part one can be found here.
RETRACTION: When Chem.Info first published this article, it mistakenly claimed that Sixing Liu pled guilty to exporting defense department data to China. The author regrets this error and all mentions have been eliminated below.
This is part two of a two-part piece. Part one can be found here.
4.) Cyber Spying
Cyberspace refers to the transfer of information via compact discs or email. It makes it possible to transfer enormous amounts of information instantaneously anywhere in the world. Examples abound of cyber espionage:
- David Yenb, an employee of Valspar, downloaded proprietary paint formulas valued at $20 million with the intent to sell them to China.
- Meng Dong, a DuPont Corp. research chemist, downloaded proprietary information on organic light-emitting diodes with the intent of sending them to a Chinese university.
- Yu Xiang Dong, a product engineer with Ford Motors, copied 4,000 Ford documents onto an external hard drive with the intent of transferring the data to an auto company in China.
- McAffe Company attributed an intrusion attempt by a company with a Chinese IP address to steal data from a computer system of a petro-chemical company.
- U.S. Intelligence agencies reported to Congress in November 2011 that both Russia and China steal technology information over the Internet as a matter of national policy. The report says that cyber espionage has focused on communications technology, scarce natural resources, clean energy, health care systems, pharmaceuticals, military data (especially maritime systems), and air and space technologies. This report is the collective assessment of 14 different agencies.
5.) Chinese Investments
There is evidence that the Chinese want to invest in building plants in America because it is another way of getting our technology. The Chinese technology giant Huawai tried to buy a small computer company, 3 leaf, for that very reason. Fortunately, the Committee on Foreign Investment of the U.S. screened the purchase and rejected the proposal on the grounds it was neither fair nor transparent.
6.) Tariffs, Regulations & Subsidies
Solar panels were invented in American in the 1950s, and many American companies have invested to take advantage of the need for alternative energy here and around the world. But, China also sees the demand and its central government wants to take over the U.S. market. The tactic is to offer its producers huge subsidies, exporting all of its production and dumping at low prices to gain market share
It is the same with wind towers. China has recognized that this is growing market all over the world, and they have decided to engage in predatory pricing and subsidies to capture it. A complaint by a group of American wind tower manufacturers lists 40 subsidy and assistance programs, ranging from cash grants and subsidized steel to tax breaks. The U.S. companies are asking for countervailing duties of up to 64 percent on their imported towers.
Recently, the Chinese decided that America's sports utility vehicles were being dumped on the Chinese market and they imposed a 22 percent tariff on all imported SUVS. The fact is that we sell very few SUVS in China. The Obama administration has formally complained about the tariff, but China's Commerce Minister said it was a legal tariff, and if "the U.S. thinks otherwise, it should sue."
The response from our U.S. trade representative was: "They want to talk to Congress and industry officials on how best to respond." It is these weak responses from whatever administration is in the White House that I think makes the Chinese thumb their noses at us, because they know there won't be penalties.
7.) National Security
The U.S. Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive issued a report that reads, "China is driven by its long-standing policy of catching up fast and surpassing western powers. In terms of military technology, China is focused on two areas: marine systems designed to jump-start the development of blue water navy and aerospace systems that will allow China's air force air supremacy."
In 2009, senior government officials said that Chinese spies infiltrated the electrical grid and left behind software that could be used for disruptions of the system.
A study by Michael Weber of the University of Texas shows 13 of 16 manufacturing sectors that support America's military arsenal suffered erosion because of off-shoring products like armor plate steel, integrated circuits and night-vision goggles, which are now obtained overseas. The dependence on foreign suppliers makes the nation vulnerable to shortages in emergencies. There is also the "danger that an overseas manufacturer could place a Trojan horse component with a virus or hard-to-detect flaw into critical equipment."
If innovation is the key to America's future and the only durable strength we have to compete, I wonder why more people aren't worried. There are two fundamental problems with innovation and technology. First, there are many signs that our once commanding lead is slipping. Recent reports (based on hard data, such as research and development [R&D] spending, new patents and venture funding) from the Boston Consulting Group show that the U.S. has slipped from its number one position to number eight in the world.
But an even more ominous scenario is the fact that we are losing some of the technologies we have already developed because of espionage, counterfeiting and outright theft. It doesn't make very much sense to continue to invest in education, training, and R&D by filling the gas tank from the top, while the technology and innovation is leaking out of a man-made hole in the bottom.
It is hard to say if China is still the red menace from the Cold War, or if they have morphed into a new form of winner-take-all amoral capitalism. Regardless of how you define their system or policies, China does have a clear framework on how they view the U.S., and they are very focused and unified in their policies towards us. Make no mistake about it. China's efforts to get our technology are a state-sponsored effort, and it is succeeding.
On the other hand, the United States can't seem to get beyond our political bickering and we have not formulated a coherent policy on our trade problems with China. I think China views us as a weak nation that can't get its political act together and is ripe for the taking. Why shouldn't they continue to take advantage of us with the same policies that have led to strong economic growth, as long as they are allowed?
I think it is becoming more obvious that we are indeed in a trade war with China and we are losing. Innovation and technology are our only real advantage in this world-wide struggle to stay on top as the leading economy. We have to find ways to capitalize on what we do best, and better ways to protect our inventions from countries that will try and get them any way they can. I think it is time to send a signal to China that we won't be bullied and draw a line in the sand.
A good first step is to test China's future intentions by appealing to the World Trade Organization for sanctions because of currency manipulation, and then to add surcharges to their imports. This might have enough leverage to get them to at least negotiate on their espionage activities.
To read part one of this two-part series, please click here. Michael P. Collins is the author of the book Saving American Manufacturing. You can find more related articles on his website via www.mpcmgt.com.


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Did You Know? W Edition.
Since y'all are so great to put up with our facelessness day in and day out, W and I thought it would be fun if we each did a 'did you know' post about the other sister so you could learn a little more about us. I am going first and I came up with some juicy stuff about Ms. W!
This is W:
Blazer: Thrifted $4, Lace Top: Charlotte Russe $9.99,
Jeans F21: $9, Shoes: Thrifted $3, Necklace: F21 $8.99
Summary: W is 26, has been married 3.5 years, has a little kitty that she likes to hold like a baby, and she knows every word to every 'Friends' episode ever created.
Now for the good stuff.
Did you know....
W had a lazy eye when she was 6 years old and had to wear glasses with coke bottle lenses. We're talking a centimeter thick.
W is an extremely talented singer.
W is a major bookworm. That's why she is studying English in college.
W loves Diet Coke (if you haven't already gathered that from her posts).
W has had blonde hair her whole life, but has recently gone brown and rocks it.
W loved canned chili as a teenager, and would get caught eating it in middle of the night by the parents. Let's just sum this one up by saying the girl LOVES her processed foods.
W ran a half marathon and finished in great time. Which is really impressive because she is just a short little thing.
W always wants Almond Roca in her stocking for Christmas.
W knows the lyrics to almost every song ever.
W is my BFF.
Anything else you want to know about W? I know all of her deepest darkest secrets and I will dish! Mwahahahaha.
PS. Don't forget to enter the


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ZSURVEY 1.4 - Survey Engine for ASP.NET
|ZSURVEY is a web based survey engine and form builder toolkit for Microsoft .NET written in pure managed .NET C#. ZSURVEY combines XML and ASP.NET in one customized, easy to use and integrated component for .NET web solutions. The engine helps .NET developers save the time and effort in creating surveys, questionnaires, exams and custom forms. The engine provides a collection of web controls that can be easily embedded in any ASP.NET page with the minimum configuration steps. ZSURVEY uses XML to define the survey and collecting the user responses which add a great value in terms of integrating with other applications and analyzing the data.
- Create questionnaires, surveys, exams and custom forms in ASP.NET projects
- Offers up to 6 different question types
- Interactive AJAX Survey builder web control to build and design the surveys
- Grouping the survey questions in pages and wizard steps
- Define mandatory/optional questions
- Randomize question choices
- Display question choices in columns and rows
- Define maximum number of choices for multiple choice questions
- Attach Media files like images, audio and video to the questions
- Skip Logic and Branching Rules for the questions
- Show Progress Bar while the user answer the survey
- Define both surveys and responses in XML format
- Define active start date, end date and survey maximum responses quota
- Enable responding users to save the surveys and continue it in later time
- Survey statistics and responses tracking
- Export responses to CSV file format
- Ensure users responses integrity/Prevent users to respond more than once
- Rich events and programming APIs
- Store the surveys and responses in Microsoft SQL Database
- Create your custom look and feel for your surveys using custom CSS styles
- CSS optimized theme to display the surveys in iPhone and Andriod handsets
- Localize the web controls to your own language
- Change web controls text, labels and default wording
- Assesment and scoring feature to create exams and online tests
- Inline validation for the survey questions
- Browsers: IE 9+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari
- Available for .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0
New Survey Builder Rich Server Control
The new release of ZSURVEY has a new feature which will make creating surveys in your website easy and fun!
A new rich web control - ZSURVEY Survey Builder Web Control - is added to ZSURVEY to help your website users to design their own surveys and questionnaires. They can easily edit and update their surveys with few clicks, making it a very much fun!
The control uses AJAX and client scripting which make updating the survey details quick and simple, making it an amazing user experience while using the survey builder.
The control look and feel is fully controlled by CSS which you can easily modify to match the theme of your web site.
Branching & Skip Logic Rules
Control your survey audience traffic by designing your own branching and skip logic rules. ZSURVEY provides you with a collection of branching rules and options to control your survey flow, delivering more efficient surveys to your end users.
ZSURVEY provides several branching operators which you can apply to the user answer like: Equal, Not Equal, Greater Than, Greater Than or Equal, Less Than, Less Than or Equal, In List and Custom Regex Expression. You can also define an exit criteria with disqualification comment to your end users.
The variety options provided by ZSURVEY Branching feature will enable you to implement all the possible scenarios and flows you want to provide in your surveys and questionnaires.
Statistics Reporting
ZSURVEY is shipped with two reporting web controls to display the statistics of the surveys and questionnaires. The web controls help you in displaying the survey responses, the survey general statistics and the survey questions statistics. You can easily change the style of the controls to match your website theme and style.
Customize Text, Labels and Wording with Your Own Language
ZSURVEY will allow the software developers to change the default wording and text in the engine web controls. The default language used in the engine web controls is Enlgish, however, you can change it to your own language using the new localization features. The default wording can be easily changed by modifying an external XML localization file containing the text and words used in the web controls. ZSURVEY Standard License will be also shipped with localization files for several languages including: English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Danish and Arabic. You can use the localization files as it is in your application or modify it to suite your specific requirements.
ZSURVEY can be used as an assessment tool for exams and online tests. You can define a score for each question in the form.
ZSURVEY will accumlate the scores of the questions that the user has answered, and save the response with the total earned score.
Attach Media to Your Survey Questions
ZSURVEY will help the users to attach media files like images, audio and video to the survey questions. The user responding to the survey will be able for example to run some video before answering the survey question. The user can also attach audio files to listen before answering. User can also attach images to the questions as well.
This feature will open for much possibilities to create different surveys types or exams. This would help for example to create online exams that depends on images or shapes like IQ tests.
Mobile Enabled Surveys and Questionnaires
ZSURVEY provides a new unique features which will help you to target your mobile users. ZSURVEY can now display your designed surveys and questionnaires in the most popular mobile devices browsers like: iPhone and Android devices. The software package will contain a sample optimized CSS style sheet which you can use to display the surveys in web pages optimized for mobiles. You can also modify it to fit your brand style and theme.
Your users will be delighted with this feature. They will be able to display the survey and answer it on the go. This feature will give them better accessibility to answer the surveys on their mobiles. They don't need to check their PCs to answer the surveys. You just send them a link to an optimized mobile web page and they would be able to answer the survey. Their responses will be aggregated with the other responses of the surveys.
Simple, Efficient and Productive
ZSURVEY provides a collection of web controls to design and run surveys with very flexible and efficient programming APIs. You have two options to store the survey data: using XML files or Microsoft SQL Database.
In the first option, the survey data is generated in XML format which can be saved as phyiscal file on the server. This option is better for simple, quick to setup applications or for integrating with other systems such as Web Service Integration or Message Passing Architecture.
The second option is to save the survey data in Microsoft SQL Server Database. In this case, the surveys will be saved in a structured database tables. This option is recommended for high performace large scale data systems with complex data design or when you need to extend with more advanced reporting and data analysis tools.
This diagram shows how ZSURVEY handle the surveys data flow and the user interactions using XML.
Question Types
ZSURVEY provides a diversity of question types to serve the different needs in creating surveys and questionnaires. The following table illustrate the details of the supported question types in ZSURVEY
Single Choice Questions
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
Matrix Questions
Slider Questions
Text Questions
Essay Questions
ZSURVEY Web Controls
ZSURVEY is shipped with a collection of web controls which can be easily embedded in your ASP.NET pages. ZSURVEY Web Controls gives all what you need to create survey/questionnaires based solutions. The web controls will help you design, respond and analyze the surveys.
Sample XML Files
ZSURVEY Surveys and User Responses are both generated as XML. The following are sample XML used and generated by ZSURVEY:
Fully Customized using CSS
All the web controls are fully customized using CSS style sheets. This means you can change the colors, fonts and size of the web controls elements to fit your site overall style. You can for example modify the CSS files of the survey viewer to fit the mobile screens like PDA, BlackBerry or iPhone.
The package contains 3 sample CSS style sheets so that you can easily modify and use inside your website.
What types of surveys you can build using ZSURVEY?
You can design almost any types of surveys and questionnaires using ZSURVEY. ZSURVEY will give you the dynamic and flexible features to make accurate, efficient and robust surveys and questionnaires that can met your business needs. The types of surveys that can be made using ZSURVEY include:
Developers Guide
You're a developer who wants to use ZSURVEY inside the web projects and solutions. The following guides will help you explore the technical specifications of the product and start using it.


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Out Of The Wild: An Alaskan's Adventure To Find America
My name is John. I was born and raised in Alaska. I have been hearing how the American Dream is no longer possible for my generation; how the pursuit of a college education will leave my peers and me in crippling debt; and America is no longer the beacon of hope it once was. Too many of my generation believe what they are hearing. I am not going to surrender to such news.
Using my bicycle, a tent, and a camera I will tell this story in a documentary I call "Finding My America". I will begin in my hometown of Kodiak, Alaska on May 22, 2012. I am partnering with small businesses that will sponsor this trip. I am working with many Subway restaurant owners who are sponsoring me in exchange for a commercial I will make and post on the Internet.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Wyoming, Tetons, Bears, and Tacos :)


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Get out of town: earthquake's a-coming.
An alert for quakes akin to the ones for tsunamis, hurricanes, and fog is a dream as old as the 1868 Hayward earthquake -- but there are real-life 21st-century scientists working on such a device at this exact moment, and they promise that it's "close to reality," according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Brainboxes from the U.C. Berkeley Seismological Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey have devised a method to record p-waves, seismic shocks that preclude an earthquake by several seconds to up to a minute, according to the newspaper.
They don't predict quakes, per se -- as in they do not say, "these tectonic plates will slide and cause seismic activity Tuesday at 3 p.m." -- but they will give residents just enough time to dive under a table, avoid a pot of boiling water, or otherwise brace themselves for a quake, scientists say.
There's already a network of sensors in place along the West Coast which record seismic activity. Some are similar to a system that's been in place in Japan since the 1960s, where train systems are informed of quakes and shut down. BART is working on such a kill-switch right now, according to the newspaper.
A $6 million grant helped get this project going; before, scientists worked on a "shoestring" budget, the newspaper reported.


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A weekly feature wherein we contextualize TV ratings for national sports broadcasts. Data via Nielsen and Sports Business Daily. Viewership numbers represent approximate number of persons tuned to a given program; ratings share refers to the percentage of all households using a television who are turned into that program.
June 18:
No highly rated sporting events.
June 19:
NBA Finals Game 4 (ABC): 17.4 million viewers
NCIS: Los Angeles rerun (CBS): 7.0 million viewers
June 20:
NHL Awards (NBCSN): 183,000 viewers
So You Think You Can Dance? (FOX): 6.7 million viewers
Dogs in the City (CBS): 4.9 million viewers
June 21:
NBA Finals Game 5 (ABC): 18.4 million viewers
The Big Bang Theory rerun (CBS): 8.3 million viewers
June 22:
NHL Draft (NBCSN): 207,000 viewers
Phineas and Ferb (Disney): 3.8 million viewers
June 23:
Fox Saturday Baseball [multiple games] (FOX): 3.9 million viewers
US Olympic track & field trials (NBC): 3.9 million viewers
Crimetime Saturday (CBS): 3.4 million viewers
June 24:
Good Luck Charlie (Disney): 7.4 million viewers
The Mentalist rerun (CBS): 6.2 million viewers
NASCAR Sprint Cup at Sonoma (TNT): 5.2 million viewers
US Olympic track & field trials (NBC): 4.5 million viewers
Sunday Night Baseball, New York Yankees vs. New York Mets (ESPN): 2.9 million viewers
College World Series Finals, Game 1, South Carolina vs. Arizona (ESPN2): 1.5 million viewers
MLS Soccer, New York Red Bulls vs. DC United (NBCSN): 137,000 viewers


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The maze at Longleat House, Wiltshire, is three-dimensional, with six bridges allowing visitors to see the maze from above to appreciate its beauty
One of the few remaining hawthorn hearts, this one is in Oare, Wiltshire. The berry-like fruit of the hawthorn is prized for its aromatic sweet flavour when made into jellies, jams and syrups
The Sultan the Pit Pony sculpture in Caerphilly, South Wales, is more than 200m long and built from coal shale
A salmon farm in the Shetland Isles, Scotland. Salmon farming is a large part of the Scottish economy, supporting many remote and rural communities with jobs
sumber : daily mail


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Is it a bear walking upright or a man in a bear suit?
That is the question that some residents asked themselves as a black bear moseyed through their Oak Ridge, New Jersey neighborhood.
The video shows the bear walking for an extended period of time on his hind legs, like a human.
Facebook user John Leyden posted the below video to his page, and it's clear that one of the bear's paws may be injured, which would explain the animal not wanting to walk on it.


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As many of you read in your Meet PointsPlus 2012 books, one of the changes Weight Watchers has made to the new system is that they are encouraging members to work towards reaching an Activity PointsPlus Goal each week. The base goal is at 14 PointsPlus which is 2 PointsPlus of activity a day.
Almost everyone, deep down inside, wants to be more active. Sometimes getting started can prove to be challenging. One of the biggest mistakes that is made is to set your goal too high. Let's face it. If it's been 3 months since you've done any activity, but yet your goal is to get up every morning at 4:30 am and do an hour workout at the gym…the chances of you being successful is probably less than 1%! Be realistic. Like your daily PointsPlus goal, your activity goal is flexible.
Now having said that if you are already earning 14 PointsPlus in a week than instead of saying "woohoo I'm done", challenge yourself to do more. Bodies adapt. Beginners may continue to improve their fitness level for up to 12 weeks using the same routine. However, seasoned exercisers may need to make changes as often as every four weeks. Changing routines can challenge your muscles and make further improvement more likely.
Now to help get your mind in the right place for activity here are a few exercise myths that have been busted:
Myth 1: Performing sit-ups gets rid of fat around the stomach
Spot reduction doesn't work. Exercising specific muscle groups in particular parts of the body doesn't burn fat primarily from that area. Think about it...if spot reduction worked, all chronic gum chewers would have thin faces.
Fat is lost gradually from all over the body. Although sit-ups won't melt fat specifically from your tummy, they will help strengthen and tighten the muscle under the fat, which makes it worthwhile.
Myth 2: Muscle turns to fat when you stop exercising
Muscle and fat are completely different tissues that are not interchangeable. Instead, there are two key reasons why people perceive that muscle turns to fat when they stop exercising.
· Muscle goes from firm to floppy when it's not used. It also decreases in size, hence the saying, use it or lose it.
· Many people stop exercising but don't adjust how much food they eat. The reality is, when you exercise less, you have to eat less.
Myth 3: You have to exercise for 20 minutes in order to burn fat
Wrong! Each one of us has a different point where our bodies start burning fat. This is partly determined by genetics but mostly by fitness level, time and intensity of the workout. What matters at the end of the day is that exercising allows you to burn calories and if you burn more calories than you take in you will lose weight. Any physical activity has an impact on burning calories so every time you move, it's worth it.
Myth 4: Resistance (weight) training impedes weight loss
Weight training is a great add-on to cardiovascular exercise because it helps maintain or even increase muscle mass, boost metabolism and reduce fat. After age 45, the average person loses about 10% of their muscle mass each decade. This is primarily due to people becoming more sedentary with age and therefore using their muscles less leading to loss of muscle mass.
In addition, we lose both fat and muscle during weight loss, particularly when relying solely on dieting. So relying on an eating plan without upping exercise levels will mean greater muscle loss. Weight training can help you keep the muscle while you lose the fat, particularly on the upper body, which isn't loaded much by walking, jogging or cycling. Weight training can also help you achieve your fitness goals. If gyms aren't your thing, keep in mind that as far as your muscles are concerned, lifting garden gnomes, bricks or even bags of laundry can have the same benefits as lifting weights.
Myth 5: If you exercise before breakfast you burn more fat
There is a little evidence to support this theory. According to the updated physical activity guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), healthy adults under age 65 need 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity five days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous intensity activity three days a week to stay healthy and reduce risk of chronic disease, regardless of the time of day that you exercise. From a practical perspective, mornings can be a great time because it's done first thing and your activity PointsPlus® values are in the bank.
Myth 6: Exercising after meals is better than before
There isn't a right or wrong answer here. Exercising before or after meals is OK; the main thing to consider is that you do not skip meals and that you leave enough time for digestion before your workout. For a large meal this could mean about 3-4 hours, and for a small meal about 2-3 hours. However, some people can snack right before a workout as well, so it really depends on the individual.
Myth 7: People who are very overweight should avoid exercise
Wrong! Just start out easy. First, concentrate on increasing daily activity. Rearrange your house or office environment so that it makes movement mandatory. Check out more everyday ways to get moving.
Use a pedometer to measure your average daily step count and increase from there. Record the daily steps you take for seven consecutive days then calculate the average. Use the average as a baseline and gradually increase your daily step goals of around 5 to 10 percent per week.
For example, if 3,000 steps is your current daily step average, the goal for next week will be 3,300 steps per day, and 3,630 per day the following week.
If you are a monthly pass subscriber go online to your etools account and take the activity assessment to see what weight watchers recommends for your personal weekly activity pointsplus target. Remember any activity you can do is going to help boost your weight loss. 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there can really add up. Very few of us will actually have 30 min to set aside at a time. So, do the best you can with what you're given.
This week especially really focus on getting in some activity. Remember the average American will consumed 4000 calories on Christmas day! Any activity pointsplus you can earn will really pay off!


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You know the United States Army is hard up for recruits when they start poking around in the unicorn-filled virtual world of Linden Labs' Second Life.
The Army will be setting up two islands in the virtual world. One is a recruiting center with information and means to contact the recruiting office in case you feel so inclined, and the other will be filled with activities like parachuting and rappelling with weapons, both of which are activities you can already perform in SL, only afterwards you can go and relax at a dance club dressed as Optimus Prime with a unicorn for a penis.
"Over the next 30 to 45 days you might, if you're one of them Second Life avatar dudes, that likes to go populate islands within Second Life, you will find an Army island in Second Life," Gen. William S. Wallace, the commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), said during a presentation at the 26th Army Science Conference.
"Second Life avatar dudes"? This is obviously a man who is in touch with the pulse of America's young men and women from 15 years ago.
Trust me General, this is not a place to find people to defend your country. Not only is there a huge population from countries not exactly pleased with the U.S., any able-bodied men you might find are only interested in the type of hand-to-hand combat you might find during a romantic tryst with a sexy avatar piloted by a woman in her late 30's to mid-40's.
I'd daresay that a large portion of the populace of Second Life will resent such an intrusion, as most people that spend the majority of their time in the game are there to escape real-world concerns.
Our government Lindens at work.
Army Builds Fantasy Island in Second Life [Wired Blogs]


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Cross channel approach increases advertising efficiency.
Cross channel approach enables advertisers to exploit synergies among multiple channels. Furthermore, managing Display, Video, Social and Search from a single point simplifies execution and improves optimization.
Cross channel advertising follows perspective customers through their purchasing paths:
- creates brand or product awareness through high reach on relevant websites and high impact and engaging ad formats such as video and engagement ads,
- stimulates consideration and purchase intent with display and social and
- ensures presence within purchase decision phase with performance advertising, Search Engine Marketing and Re-targeting.


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哥斯達黎加的環保義工項目: 每月更新
Conservation in Costa Rica - Monthly Update February 2012
As each month passes we are gradually increasing the rhythm of the Macaw project so that eventually, when we reach April/May we are there 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This month we have been visiting twice a week at times and have even finished coordinating for night time visits as well.
The main times that we need to be watchful for poachers is during the night, so we are hoping that our presence will be noticed from now on and will persuade people not to bother the nests this year! We have not even seen other people around the area so far this year, but we are fairly confident that farm hands, the people living at the entrance to the farm and the farmer himself will talk about the group of volunteers who are coming into the farm each week to look after the nest which will be a good deterrent.
It hasn't all been plain sailing this month though, we are fairly sure that nest 2 has eggs now but nest 1 is still behaving a little strangely. On a couple of occasions this month we have not even seen the birds until 5pm, when they flew back from what looks like the Tempisque river area. This is a strong indication that there is nothing to protect or look after in the nests and on another day we even saw a group of wasps trying to make a nest inside the macaw nest! Luckily we saw the Macaws return and clean the nest out quickly before the end of the day so we are fairly sure that they will lay soon!
Hopefully in the next couple of days/week we will start to work at night on the project as well and this will give us a more complete picture of what is going on and when and where the macaws are flying to during the day. This will start to give us much needed practice/training on running the project for 24 hours a day.
The dry season is one of the hardest times for wildlife in Guanacaste, with the harsh dry weather, the strong winds and the general lack of humidity, it's hard for a lot of wildlife to survive and reproduce during such a hard time. The maximum temperatures we get during this of the year can reach the mid-high 30's in the shade and on some days has reached low 40's!
One of the hardest things about this time of the year is the forest fire risk we have in the area. This February there have been 4 forest fires. Guanacaste is one of the areas that is most affected by forest fires in Costa Rica due to the long period of dry weather, the high winds and customs of the local farmers in burning the land they are going to use for farming. This practice is something that has been done for many years.
It is very difficult to tackle these fires as well. The fire fighters have to use different tactics to stop fires in such hard terrain, the use of fire breaks and setting controlled fires are the main tactics of the area, trying to get in front of the fire and taking the fuel away from it are the most effective things we can do here and most of the time this is very good at stopping the fire from spreading too much. Of course, we leave the actual fire fighting to the experienced staff and the volunteers are not put in any danger.
We have also been working on a new butterfly project for the next few months thanks to Marsha Jacobs. She has come to us to do an extension of the Butterfly project for her University course. The project has been designed to see if we can complete or get close to completing the species list here in Barra Honda. So far we have around 60 species identified and we are expecting to find another 20-25 species in the area due to what has been found in other areas.
There could be many reasons why we have not found all of the species yet, the height at which they fly, the food that they eat, the locations/type of forest the like, the season they are most abundant and luck as well! With the extension of the butterfly project we are now running we are now using different types of bait to see if we can capture some of the species we are missing.
Until now we have used banana, faeces, rotten fish and mud which have all given us different results but we cannot make too many conclusions from these results yet because of the short time we have been collecting the new data.
Richard Munday
Conservation Coordinator
Barra Honda National Park
February 2012


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It's too bad the One Ring can't protect its master from getting sick.
Peter Jackson, the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and its long-awaited, two-film prequel, The Hobbit, is recovering from emergency surgery to repair a perforated ulcer, reports E! Online.
Jackson, 49, was admitted to a Wellington Hospital in his native New Zealand after reporting acute stomach pains. A statement released by The Hobbit's publicist, Melissa Booth, said that Jackson is expected to make a full recovery.
U.S. & World
"Peter's surgery is not expected to impact his directing commitment to The Hobbit beyond a slight delay to the start of filming," she wrote.
Waiting is nothing new to fans of Middle Earth.The film's original director, Guillermo del Toro, backed out last May and part of a production stage burned in a fire in October. Given those setbacks, a "slight delay" shouldn't send Tolkien fanatics into a frenzy.
But there's been good news of late: LOTR vets Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Cate Blanchett have all signed on to reprise their roles from the first three films.


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The Southern Plains is known for not only how dry it is, but also its fierce winds. Last week,the winds were even more brutal than normal, topping 60 miles per hour, shutting down roads and even closing schools.
A video taken by a viewer in Dumas, Texas, which was right in the middle of the dust storm, shows just how ruthless the winds have been. Couple the wind with the extreme drought, and conditions have been unbearable outdoors, making farming in areas of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas extremely tough.
U.S. Farm Report Meteorologist Mike Hoffman says if the winds seem worse than normal this winter and spring, it's because that's been the case.
"Well, I think it goes back to the winter pattern, and that ultimately goes back to the North Pacific where we had a very warm pocket of water," says Hoffman. "That created a ridge in Alaska and then the big trough over Alaska and Central portions of Canada, and that brought the winds and the cold air down continuously all winter, and that's coming over very dry ground."
Hoffman says that could soon change with the forecast for a major change in the weather pattern.
"Going forward, we're looking for that to weaken and an El Nino to start to set up by fall and winter," he says. "And that should change the overall pattern and kind of put a stop to that."
While some forecasters are predicting a strong El Nino, Hoffman doesn't expect that to be the case. Any relief will be welcomed for the Southwest, where the dryness and wind has been too much for the area to withstand.


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A boost for veterans, long-term unemployed
Finding a job in this economy isn't easy.
But it's even harder if you've been unemployed for a long time or are a veteran.
Even though overall unemployment is coming down, the figures for the long-term unemployed and veterans are not coming down as quickly.
But a program launching in San Diego on Wednesday aims to give veterans under 30 and long-term unemployed people over 50 a boost in the job search.
Platform to Employment - privately funded by several corporations and foundations - is a free, five-week program of job training at the South Metro Career Center. After training, participants are placed with an employer, with the first four weeks on the job subsidized by the program. San Diego is one of 10 cities across the country to host Platform to Employment, which started last year in Connecticut.
The initial class includes 20 people over age 50 who have been unemployed for six months or longer, and four veterans under the age of 30.
Since national unemployment peaked at 10 percent in October 2009, the number of Americans unemployed long-term has fallen by 130,000. However, the long-term unemployed still made up 39.6 percent of the jobless in March.
People who are unemployed long-term face more challenges in finding a job because employers may wonder why they have been out of work for so long, and could be concerned their skills have diminished. This program aims to retool those abilities.
"People who have flipped over into long-term unemployment really run the risk of never becoming re-employed in traditional employment," said Emily Allen, vice President of the AARP Foundation, which is putting up $100,000 for the program locally. "You're 59 years old, you're just kind of holding on until you take Social Security at 62, but the long-term impact is that's a lower amount of Social Security throughout your life course, and you tee yourself up for long-term instability."
Gustavo Bidart, regional director of Citi Community Development, based in San Diego, said his group is supporting the financial planning lessons that will be part of the curriculum.
"You have all these unemployed individuals who are trying to get back into the workforce – there are probably financial issues that might have crept up during unemployment," he said, noting the lessons would be provided by the nonprofit Community Housing Works. Across the country, Citi Community Development is kicking in $400,000 for the lessons.
The unemployment rate for veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq is 9.2 percent in March, down from 14.2 percent in March 2010 (those figures are not seasonally adjusted). Veterans can face challenges in "civilianizing" their resumes, for example, turning surveillance in the military into a term that can be relevant to a job.
San Diego County's February unemployment rate was an unadjusted 8 percent, lowest in more than four years. The March numbers will be released Friday.
A nonprofit called TheWorkplace founded the program last year in Bridgeport, Conn.


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Raw Footage: Guy Tries To Take On 3 Dudes But Gets Mobbed On In A Mall At San Bruno, California! (Security Just Watches)
This took place at the Tanforan mall in Cali
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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There are no permanent ups and downs in politics. The grand old man of the BJP, L K Advani, who had chosen to stay in the political background over Narendra Modi's elevation to the national scene amidst growing clamour for him to be named the party's prime ministerial candidate for 2014, is back with a bang.
While Modi was spending time contemplating his next big move, the ageing lion roared again. Sensing the mood of the nation that has lost faith in the UPA Government at the Centre, Advani decided to hit the Prime Minister where it hurts the most -- corruption and economic chaos -- and challenged him to seek a fresh mandate.
While other leaders had not pressed for mid-term polls, Advani took the initiative and invited the old guard and both Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament and unfolded his strategy. Yashwant Sinha was summoned from his constituency and requested to draft a memorandum to be submitted to President Pranab Mukherjee. It included asking Pranab to advise the Prime Minister to go for an early polls.
Even before the UPA Government could pat itself for getting the BJP's support to hustle through the first hurdle of getting its two key election friendly aam aadmi legislations -- the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill -- passed in the Lok Sabha, the BJP planned to spoil the party. Advani used his personal equation with Pranab to secure an early appointment.
After the BJP took on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in both the Houses over his statement on economy, they went to the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 2 pm on Friday. Advani led the delegation. Those who were chanting the 'Modinama' were conspicuously missing. Sources said the idea to reach out to the President came about when Finance Minister P Chidambaram blamed his predecessor (Pranab) for the economic mess during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. According to sources, there was an unease in the UPA as well and senior Cabinet ministers, including Sharad Pawar, expressed surprise and disapproval. The BJP veteran advised his parliamentary party to work on this faultline within the government.
Advani is learnt to have discussed the idea with his senior party colleagues to play out on the wedge between Pranab and Chidambaram, as the former could not have reacted on the charge. Emerging from the meeting, Advani said: "If the country is rid of the present government and people are given a fresh opportunity to elect a new government it would be in the best interest of the country."
The carefully crafted memorandum hit the nail on the head. "The country can ill-afford at this moment of crisis a government which is paralysed; a Prime Minister who never speaks; a Finance Minister who wrongly blames his immediate predecessor, who is unable to defend himself; a supreme leader who does not care about where the money will come from; and a bureaucracy which is frozen and unable to act. The ministers of this government are unbridled and working at cross-purposes. The relationship of the Central government with the State governments, specially the non-UPA ruled States, and with the Opposition parties, is at its nadir," it said.
"Our move, urging Pranab to counsel Singh on holding early polls, do not have constitutional backing as the President cannot ask for early elections," Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad later explained. "We, however, hope that the President would advise the Centre. This is upto the government to accept or reject it," he said.
Party sources, however, said it made sense to reach out to Pranab as he would be the key person after results to 2014 elections were announced. In case of a fractured mandate, Pranab's role would gain added significance. They added that Advani has been pushing for cornering the UPA.
After Chidambaram put before the Lok Sabha a 10-point formula to revive the economy, the BJP decided to press for Singh's statement on the state of economy, and stalled the house on Thursday, after it met after Janamashtmi break on Wednesday. It was decided that the party would stage a walkout after the Singh's speech on Friday and not let him take all the glory. When the prime minister did not wait to listen to Sushma Swaraj's reply after his speech, the BJP staged a walkout.
The current Parliament session has been seeing Advani's increasingly reinvolvement in the BJP's parliamentary strategy. The broad contours are decided at the parliamentary party meeting held every week before the session begins. Until now, the party has been able to embarrass the UPA Government on the issue of poor economy, Telangana, national security, and missing coal files.
This session has witnessed an upbeat Advani, breathing fire in the House as in old times. His experience as a parliamentarian and former deputy prime minister came handy after Defence Minister A K Antony euphemistically stated in the House that attack on Indian jawans were by people dressed in Pakistani army uniforms.
When it comes to the food Bill, Modi had tried to set the agenda by writing to Singh asking for discussion with the chief ministers before taking up the Bill. However, in Parliament the BJP adopted a slightly different strategy, which was reportedly conceived by Advani. Instead of being seen stalling the Bill, it supported it to avoid the anti-poor tag. However, during the discussion on the Bill, the BJP leaders sold the Chhattisgarh model of food scheme as a better model.
The BJP circles might have been abuzz with Modi's likely announcement as prime ministerial candidate ahead of the elections to the five states - Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram, but Advani has not shied away from reminding everyone that propriety should still hold.
When Modi chose Independence Day to attack Singh, many within the party felt uneasy.
Only Advani articulated it publicly as he said solemnity of the day should have been respected.


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for Cynsations
Highlights of this week included two book launch parties, featuring Liz Garton Scanlon with Happy Birthday, Bunny! (Beach Lane, 2013) and Janet Fox with Sirens (Speak, 2012). Both events were hosted by BookPeople in Austin. The former featured a picture book. The latter featured a YA novel. Each modeled great ideas for authors/booksellers planning an in-store launch event.
First, let's peek in on Liz:
|Modeling Happy Birthday, Bunny! (Beach Lane, 2013) with Lindsey Scheibe and Carmen Oliver
|Author Liz Garton Scanlon talks about the book!
|Making bunny ears at BookPeople in Austin!
|In-store display
|Liz and her mom decorate the food table
Takeaway Strategies for a Picture Book Bookstore Launch
- A prominent display of the books as customers first walked into the store
- Economic, but colorful costuming provided in the form of paper "bunny" ear hats
- Tie-in refreshments--sweets (a birthday cake for bunny), healthy celery and tie-in decorations (carrots in a vase)
- A presentation/reading with participation opportunities, geared to the youngest fans
- A chance to move around -- "The Bunny Hop"
- Takeaways: the tie-in elements offered unity; the kid-friendly approach offered fun
Now, let's check in on Janet:
|Learn more about Janet's books!
|Janet models her new novel.
|Swag, my pretties! Swag!
|Dolled up with Janet, 1920s -- style!
|Janet in a Q&A with Austin's own Bethany Hegedus
|Sean Petrie, Anne Bustard, Janet, Bethany and Greg Leitich Smith at Opal Divine's Freehouse.
Takeaway Strategies for a YA Novel Bookstore Launch
- A prominent display of the books as customers arrived at the YA department/event area
- Tasty refreshments--sweets and drinks
- Thematic 1920s costuming (and contest)
- Tie-in prize swag
- Giveaway bookmarks (don't forget the backlist books)
- Conversational presentation (local-draw author, plus out-of-state author)
- A more intimate after-party with personal friends
- Takeaways: embrace the fun; don't forget the grown-ups (who're a big part of the YA fan base)


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July 04, 2013
By Troy Tieuel
Contributing Writer
The city of Compton has turned another corner in its historic legacy by adding what has been deemed as "the first woman mayor in 40 years" by Master of Ceremony, Honorable Judge Kelvin Filer, as its inauguration of Mayor Aja Brown went under way this past Tuesday in the courtyard behind Compton's City Hall.
An impatient crowd sat through five different Compton City Post inaugurations, including Isaac Galvan, the first Latino American to hold the office of Councilman for the District 2, and Craig Cornwell as City Attorney. Galvan, who was sworn in by Los Angeles Sheriff Leroy Baca, said "I just want to make one thing clear, just because I am the first Latino, doesn't mean that I only represent the Latinos. I am here to serve the entire community. It's a great day to be a resident of Compton."
Among the other oaths of office taken was Yvonne Arceneaux, councilwoman for District 3 for her sixth term. "This is not about me, it's about the citizens of Compton," said Arceneaux, "I'm excited about serving the next four years with our new elect Mayor Aja Brown and Councilman Isaac Galvan. They are young and energetic and can bring new ideas to the city and to the city council. I know we have a wonderful four years ahead of us, and I'm excited about working with you to do what's best for the community."
"It's a history making day in Compton," said County Supervisor, Mark Ridley-Thomas, who swore Mayor Brown into office. "I'm delighted to be a part of it, with a new mayor, a new city councilman, a leadership team that is poised for success."
According to Mayor Brown's campaign website, she is a quality community development professional with over 10 years of experience working in urban communities. Her plan is to address youth development, economic development, crime Reduction, reform, rebranding Compton, and a concept that she calls 'VISION.'
Swearing in Brown was County Supervisor, Mark Ridley-Thomas, who spoke boldly about the positive future for Compton with her leading it.
"We are here to celebrate a new day for Compton," added Ridley Thomas, "One that will be marked by hope, integrity and opportunity.
When we can look forward to better jobs, better schools, safer neighborhoods and a stronger civic culture, [it is] a new day. A new day, where Compton will rise to meet the promise as one of this region's truly great cities. I believe Compton can do that under the leadership and with the guidance Mayor Elect Aja Brown. We will come to know her as a person of great character with a passion for the city that is matched only by her capacity to make that vision a reality."
Taking the oath, Brown stood with her mother who looked proudly as she raised her right hand, placing her left hand upon the bible and repeated the oath of office for the position as the youngest, at 31, to ever be elected as mayor of Compton. "I was focusing on the words and the meaning of the oath," recalled Brown regarding how she felt during the oath of office, "that I was taking in front of God and the residents of Compton."
Brown talked about Compton's future and her admiration for the people who elected her.
"It is an honor to be before you today," she said.
"I have my beautiful mother here besides me, who has truly been my example of what integrity, character and what true leadership is, in my life. My mother always said that 'We have a plan, and we have a vision and that we are a team.' And that that's really where I came with the concept of 'True Vision,' because without vision, the word of God said in Proverbs 29:18 that 'Without vision, people parish.' There's another translation that says, 'Without vision, people dwell recklessly and cease to keep the law.' And here in the city of Compton, we have gone through a lot…I look forward to restoring order to the city of Compton, to insuring that the citizens of Compton receive the services that they so faithfully pay for.
"This is not just my victory. But this is truly your victory. I would not be here without you. I represent thousands of people who decided that I was the best person for the job. And I say this, without any reservation, that being the second woman to serve over the city of Compton is truly an honor. I believe in bestowing honor to whom honor is due. So when I went to the former mayor, the first woman mayor for the city of Compton, Doris Davis, and asked her for her support, she freely gave it."
Brown thanked the other public officials that serve the city of Compton, her team and the people of Compton for electing her mayor.
"I look forward to providing a true vision for the city of Compton, so that we know exactly where we are going," said Brown.
"I look forward to making sure that we change the image of the community of Compton, because that of 'Gangster Rap' does not represent the honest and hardworking people of this community."
A mariachi band played post inauguration and the crowd cheered as Compton's newest mayor strolled towards the City Hall building and into her first City Council meeting.
For more information about Mayor Aja Brown, go to www. visionforcompton.org or www.comptoncity.org.


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Having just survived eight days of an all-vegetarian retreat — I may never eat field greens again! — it got me to thinking of the best meals (and, yes, drinks!) I've ever enjoyed.
The food we ate wasn't bad at all, and in fact beautifully presented, healthy, full of vitamins. The cheese/fennel scones were perfect little pillows; the berry crumble lovely; the crispy green beans just the right color and texture…
But still.
Here are some of my favorite meals:
In a port-side cafe in Concarneau, Brittany, cold, fresh oysters, a baguette with sweet butter, tiny hot sausages and a crisp glass of Muscadet.
Street-vendor food in Bangkok.
My late granny's Christmas goose.
My mom's hamburger smash — ground meat, salt, pepper, carrots, potatoes — all mixed up in a frying pan.
The sweetie's blueberry pancakes with, of course, real maple syrup.
A spectacular fish soup I ate on a frigidly cold winter's day in Old Montreal — in 1987! It was that good.
The peach crumble with sour cream at Stash Cafe, also in Old Montreal.
On my first visit to England, when I was 12, eating clotted cream right from the bottle.
Some hellaciously good barbecue in Fort Worth.
At a rooftop party in Paris on New Year's Eve, fistfuls of fresh oysters shucked right in front of us.
At Los Almendros, in Merida, a fish dish so good we went back the next night and ate it again.
The tiny perfect sweet mussels our friend Celia made for us for dinner when she lived in Paris, served on her rooftop.
The stew my Dad and I made in Ireland from mussels we picked ourselves from Galway Bay.
My friend Mary's Brooklyn roof-top open-air feasts, with a bottomless tureen of lethal/delicious caipirinhas.
Hot, fresh churros with a melting chocolate center, bought from a Mexico City roadside stand our driver Gerardo took us to.
The spaghetti carbonara, eaten at the bar, at Morandi in New York City.
The tacos al pastor and homemade guacamole at Toloache, also in Manhattan.
My first pisco sour, at Carlin, in Lima.
At Casa de Piedra, a long-gone and lovely hotel in Cuernavaca, my first and unforgettable taste of sweet chestnut paste. Not to mention their enormous, salty home-made potato chips. (Here's a link to a replacement every bit as lovely and charming, Casa Colonial.)
How about you?


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Lee Freddie Gaines II sentenced to time served
A former Modesto police officer initially charged with sexual assault after being accused of forcing a prostitute to have sex with him while on duty has avoided any additional jail time after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.
The Modesto Bee reports that after pleading no contest to misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution and petty theft for having sex with the 37-year-old woman while on duty, Lee Freddie Gaines II on Friday was sentenced to time served.
He'll also be on probation for 30 days and will have to pay the city $32.57 in restitution for taking an hour of his work time while having sex with the woman.
Prosecutors say they dropped the sexual assault charges because there was insufficient evidence and the woman - who has admitted to working as a prostitute - changed her version of the events.


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Check out this rather cool looking tech in the form of touch screens!!
Basically it is Minority Report.. but real
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/152 ... ology.html
Moderator: General Mods
That link needs some flash updated crap... but i think its that thing with the blocks that you put on a screen, and can drag crap between them? Saw this on fh about a year back. If it is, its very limited, you have sepcific block types that only work in specific ways and the thing is rear projection, you just put the blocks on and it projects upwards. You can't for example put one block on any particular part, if you see them when they aren't being projected onto they have a faint outline on them.
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