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I am a 30 year-old executive at a life science company. The blessings of my Asian genes is that I look about 10 years younger, but professionally it is my number one curse. I teach seminars around the globe, speak at universities and give regular presentations before the senior management of companies. Usually the audience is in shock when I begin speaking because they thought I was the intern or assistant. How do I establish credibility in as a public speaker when my looks work so dramatically against me?Just being different may make you feel--or prompt others to act--as if you don't have enough credibility to be speaking or speaking up. That can happen when there are big discrepanies between the audience and the speaker in terms of age, gender, race, even modes of dress. If you are the youngest person in the room, the only woman or person of color, or the casually dressed intern amidst the sea of suits (or the reverse of any of those situations), it's easy to feel like the "other," out of place and out of sync.
I'm not going to advise fighting fire with fire. Some public speaking coaches will tell you to wear glasses to look more serious, or, if you're a woman, to pull your hair back to look more serious, or to put on a suit like a suit of armor. But if those are not things you'd normally do, they may distract you even more.
I'm assuming, by the way, that your content is not the problem here. Most of my public speaking trainees who face this appearance issue have already nailed their content, and find that's not enough. So here are seven ways to boost your credibility with the audience and turn that tension into a dynamic presentation:
- Make sure the credibility problem isn't in your head. If you're also doubting your credibility, it's time to work on your confidence level again. Try these 12 tips on Confidence: Fake it until you make it.
- Check your voice. In addition to appearance, some young women find their vocal image gets in the way of credibility. Check out this guest post from vocal coach Kate Peters on figuring out your vocal image, and note that we tend to hear sentences that end with a downward tone as more decisive, and those that end with an upward tone as indecisive.
- Take charge of your introduction. In addition to these tips for making sure you've written (or are delivering) a worthy intro, in this case, I'd advise using your introduction and bio, if one is printed in advance materials, to prepare the audience. Make sure your photo is included, and if your bio can accurately say something that emphasizes your youthful accomplishment, do it: "Annie Smith is the youngest scientist at LifeMarkBio to be published in all three major journals in the field," for example. Put it right out there. Check these tips on introducing yourself to be sure you aren't over-promoting yourself in an effort to boost your cred.
- Make it more personal: If the group is small enough (a presentation to senior managers, for example), walk around the room before the meeting gets started to shake hands and introduce yourself one-on-one, or greet people at the door: "Good morning, I'm Annie Smith. I'll be sharing the new marketing data with you this morning. Looking forward to your questions." That gets it out of the way on an individual level, and you'll look composed and confident to boot.
- Clue the audience in before the talk. This may be a time to also consider building an online presence, a special web page for your presentation that includes advance materials, including your bio and photo, your slides, handouts, even a welcome video from you. Add links to your online profiles to show your credentials in more detail and encourage networking. Make sure your audience gets the link ahead of the event.
- Develop a relaxed, non-anxious sense of humor about the surprised reaction. You know it's coming, so have a couple of gently humorous--but not self-deprecating--comebacks ready if people gasp or otherwise react visibly and audibly to your appearance. (Make sure you're criticizing neither the audience nor yourself here.) "In addition to discovering the fountain of youth, I've been working on...." or "I was worried about that, too, but then I realized we're all aging at the same rate" might be two to try. The trick is to appear confident, not to recoil from a mention of your young years. Laugh if you want to, in a bemused "there you go again" kind of way. Then transition to your real content.
- Find something you have in common with your audience--that may not be on your resume. It might be location, an event going on nearby, or some other topic that will take people out of the frame of "us versus her" and create a bond. Work that into your remarks early on to build rapport. Or take a poll of the audience to find out what you all have in common.
Related posts: What's credible about you as a speaker? The answer may not be on your resume
Confidence: Fake it until you make it
When you have to introduce yourself
Take charge of your introduction
When self-deprecating humor doesn't work for you


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Mobile VoIP Users to Reach 1 Billion by 2017, or One in Seven Mobile Subscribers
Leading Hi-Tech analyst house Juniper Research forecasts that there will be over 1 billion users of over the top (OTT) mobile VoIP services by 2017, reflecting a dramatic shift in how voice traffic is carried over the next five years.
A 'Second Wind' for Mobile VoIP
Juniper's new report found that improvements in network technology, increased competition and the move by telcos to join the OTT space will all come together to give the mobile "internet-voice" market a 'second wind'. However, as with Skype on the desktop, only a very small proportion will pay for the service, finds the report.
"Many subscriber sign up to an OTT service without ever planning to pay a cent for it, and some industry players do not have a short-term revenue model at all," notes the report author, Anthony Cox.
Key Findings
The report notes, however, that leading mobile VoIP players are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their service offerings and are developing more ways to monetise their services.
Further key findings from the Report, Mobile & Tablet Voice & Video Calling: Strategic Opportunities & Business Models 2012-2017, include:
- Specialist mobile VoIP companies are opening their Application Programming Interfaces to third parties including MNOs to gain revenues.
- The arrival of 4G will give further impetus to mobile VoIP take-up but potentially accelerate the decline in overall voice revenues.
- Despite market challenges, mobile video calling market leaders are finally beginning to monetise the mobile video calling sector through advertising and premium services.
- Circuit switched voice revenues will still continue to decline, but at the end of the forecast period will represent a substantial proportion of MNOs' revenues
The report includes a comprehensive analysis of the current situation in the mVoIP and mobile and tablet video calling markets and contains five year forecasts for mVoIP and mobile video calling users and revenues. It also contains mVoIP tablets forecasts as well as RCS and Circuit-Switched Forecasts.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump, Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump, Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump WHUMP!!!
So goes the rockin' and rollin' commute to remote villages along dirt roads – speckled with basketball-sized boulders, and craters large enough to swallow a small man (that's where the "WHUMP!" comes in).
Maneuvering these roads with a grin and gusto are FUDECOSUR's dedicated loan officers: Geiner Gonzáles Marín, Gerardo Barrantes and Danny Zuñiga. Our destination for each turbulent trip is one of FUDECOSUR's 45 village banks – which provide the only source of much-needed credit most clients have ever had. THANK YOU to all Kiva lenders who help make this possible!
As we zig-zag along winding roads trying to avoid the mammoth "WHUMPS!", we run into traffic. Blocking our path is a fearless bull unspooked by our roaring engine. He stares us down as if to say: "This is my road, buddy, and I refuse to moooooove". As we inch forward, gently nudging his bum with the bumper, he finally decides to amble on. Then our ascent is blocked by a bulldozer shoveling landslide debris off of the road.
While we wait, I savor the warm sounds of humming insects, and whispering laughter from palm leaves rustling in the wind. I take in the views of lush, green valleys and farmland terraced along the hills and rising mountains. Coexisting with carefully planned crops of fire red coffee beans, sugar cane, corn, and legumes, are patches of wild, unclaimed land full of sweet lemon trees (yes – the lemons here are sweet), bright fuchsia bananas (which are mostly eaten by the birds) and miniature yellow bananas (which humans find sweet and delicious). Wild avocado and coconut trees can also be found, and like the sweet lemons and baby bananas, they are free to those who wish to indulge. Have I landed in Heaven??
Our vehicle lunges forward, and I'm whisked out of my glassy-eyed daydream of staying here forever. We pass pristine waterfalls tumbling down the mountain, across the road, and down into whitewater rivers which snake through the valley below. Aaah… slipping back into my daydream again… I've grown so accustomed to the rhythm of the roads that the "Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump" now serves as my lullaby.
WHUMP! We arrive at the village bank.
Perched on a verdant plot of land amidst pastures of feeding cattle, or rising food crops stretching toward the sun, are many of FUDECOSUR's village banks. Some village banks are simple one-room structures with a burning tin roof shading us from the elements. Other village banks operate out of a farmhouse kitchen or living room. All village banks are a part of FUDECOSUR's mission to bring financial support to the doorsteps of disenfranchised populations.
Due to the isolated nature of the farming communities we visit, most residents have never had a savings account. The absence of national banks in these remote areas has excluded much of the agricultural sector from financial savings and borrowing opportunities. In order to qualify for a loan, national banks often require costly cash deposits – which most farmers can't pay, since they rarely have savings accounts. Without access to savings accounts, farmers often purchase a pig or a cow with remaining cash. These animals serve as the farmers' insurance plan, and are sold when large sums of money are needed for emergencies (such as unexpected medical expenses). While farmers are able to subsist without access to credit, it is extremely difficult, at best, to increase living standards or to recover from natural disasters (such as floods or blight) or major health emergencies.
Filling this vast credit void is FUDECOSUR (Foundation for the Development of Southern Communities) – A non-profit microcredit provider, dedicated to empowering Southern Costa Rica's agricultural sector.
Besides providing loans for expansion of crops and livestock, FUDECOSUR also provides Family Well-Being loans, which cover medical, educational and home renovation expenses. Such loan diversification ensures that struggling farmers are not forced to sacrifice one essential need (such as money to purchase seed and fertilizer) for another (such as money to pay for life-saving medical treatment).
To facilitate easy repayment based on agricultural development and sales cycles, FUDECOSUR offers loan terms of up to 3 years, with annual rather than monthly principal repayment terms. Loan terms are also restructured to help borrowers overcome crop and cattle losses from natural disasters (such as floods and blight), and financial losses due to health emergencies.
To ensure credit services are easily accessible, affordable and sustainable, FUDECOSUR literally brings banks to remote villages in need. Leveraging dedicated volunteer networks, existing social infrastructure and building facilities, FUDECOSUR maintains low operational and servicing costs, and minimal environmental impact, while building community cohesion, and opportunities for community members to thrive.
How The Village Banks Operate: Volunteer Power!
FUDECOSUR's Village Banks (also known as Credit Committees) are run by 5-7 dedicated volunteers, who are elected every 2 years by members of their community. Partnering with FUDECOSUR's loan officers, Credit Committees are responsible for disbursing loans to borrowers and collecting loan payments.
As farmers with intimate knowledge of the land, and personal experience with members of their community, Credit Committees are also charged with deciding which business proposals are most apt to thrive from a micro-loan. If an unprofitable business proposal is presented (such as planting crops in areas not conducive to successful crop production), the hands-on farming expertise of Credit Committees is leveraged, to help prospective borrowers come up with alternative proposals, which will generate positive growth, and help borrowers thrive.
Where The Village Banks Operate: Mi Casa Es Tu Casa!
To ensure zero resources are spent on office construction, rent or maintenance, Village Banks operate out of existing community structures, such as a tin-roofed central market shelter, or the homes of Village Bank (Credit Committee) members.
And, since Village Banks operate in villages where borrowers reside, clients avoid costly money and time expenditures, required for travel to distant towns or cities (where national banks reside). In short, the proximity of the village banks to clients ensures unprecedentedly easy and consistent access to credit services.
When The Village Banks Operate: After The Cows Come Home!
To accommodate the demanding work schedules of agricultural borrowers, Village Banks meet every 2 weeks, on recurring set dates (i.e.: every first and third Tuesday of each month). Bank meeting times start in the late afternoon (2pm, 3pm or 4pm) to allow borrowers to meet essential crop cultivation and livestock care demands. As such, borrowers are able to access credit services without sacrificing critical production tasks and wages.
At each meeting, debt principal and interest payments for existing loans are collected, while money for new loans is solicited and disbursed.
Homeward Bound:
After the 3-4 hour bank meeting ends, we bid warm farewells, with new loan profiles and hopes for better futures in hand (thanks to the generosity of Kiva lenders).
By the time the loan officer and I reach home (FUDECOSUR headquarters in San Isidro), a 10-13 hour day will have passed.
Once I reach my cozy, tin-roofed apartment, echoes of "Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump WHUMP!!!" serenades will lull me to sleep, and ring out again at the start of my next adventure.
Other Blogs:
- Village Banks BY Farmers FOR Farmers: A Micro Credit Labor of Love
Upcoming Blogs:
- Jungle Journals – Adventures in the Wilds of Región Brunca
- More Than Microfinance – FUDECOSUR's Free Community Development Courses
How YOU Can Help:
- Lend to a Kiva entrepreneur today!
- Apply for the Kiva Fellows Program!
- Join the FUDECOSUR lending team!
Julie Kerr is Kiva Fellow serving in San Isidro, Costa Rica. She currently supports FUDECOSUR (Foundation for the Development of Southern Communities). FUDECOSUR is a non-profit microcredit provider, dedicated to empowering Southern Costa Rica's disenfranchised agricultural sector.


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You can be made in the shade with a SunSetter retractable awning—in fact, you can be up to 20 degrees cooler! Carter Fence installs manual and motorized retractable awnings that can be added to any deck or patio to transform your space into hangout central this summer.
If you want to install a retractable awning in Northern Virginia, contact the experts at Carter Fence by calling 703-255-0824!
Types of Retractable Awnings
When you choose the experts at Carter Fence to install your SunSetter retractable awning, you have two main options:
- Manual – a manual retractable awning is the traditional method for getting cool outdoor shade. These manual retractable awnings generally use a hand crank that operates smoothly and quietly—you can have you awning open in less than a minute!
- Motorized – with a motorized retractable awning, you can have shade at the touch of a button—literally! These retractable awnings operate effortlessly and open in seconds, allowing you to control the weather on your deck or patio. Each awning comes with a battery-powered remote control, and the holder can be located in your home or out by the patio for your convenience.
No matter which option you choose, you'll benefit from the exceptional quality of a SunSetter product. Their affordable and convenient retractable awnings will provide you with protection from the hot sun, UV rays, and the elements—all you have to do is call to schedule your free consultation with Carter Fence.
Our Retractable Awning Services
We believe that you should feel confident about your retractable awning installation, which is why we always start out by doing a free on-site consultation and estimate to provide you with the most reliable information about your services. The whole process takes about two to three weeks from the day of the estimate to completion, and the actual installation only takes about 3 hours.
Schedule Your Free Consultation Today
If you want to install a retractable awning in Northern Virginia, call the experts at Carter Fence. We can schedule your free consultation and estimate at a time that's convenient for you and help you choose a model that is perfectly suited to your lifestyle and budget.
Contact us online or by phone at 703-255-0824 to schedule your free estimate!
About Carter Fence
Carter Fence has been providing fast, friendly fence, deck, and awning services to the residents of Northern Virginia since 1986, and during this time, we've grown and expanded to meet the growing needs of our customers. You can rely on us for:
- Reliable installations because our techs will take the time to do a complete free consultation
- Accurate estimates for your project that are completely free
- Free consultation services because it's our responsibility to provide you with all the information you need to make a smart decision about your services
- Quality products and materials that you can depend on for years to come
- Fair prices that come from being a small, family-owned business—we treat our customers the way we'd like to be treated.
Let us put our 28+ years of experience to work for you—contact us today to schedule your retractable awning installation!


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You've come to the right place if you're looking for a national spokesperson to tell you about the great success of the We Can!® program and give you an overview of its more than 1,600 registered sites. Click on the names of the following spokespeople to get a full bio:
- Karen Donato—Coordinator of Overweight and Obesity Research Applications; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institutes of Health
- Janet M. de Jesus —Nutrition Education Specialist; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institutes of Health
If you're interested in speaking with people at the grassroots level—both program participants and site leaders—we can help set up those interviews, too.
For all interview requests, please contact the NHLBI Communications Office at (301) 496-4236 or e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.
For additional information, follow these links:


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Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home and make baked Alaska. With chunks of real Alaska! LET'S GO!
RINGER – 9:00PM (CW) I can't believe it! It's finally here! AN ACTUAL FALL PREMIERE! I never thought we'd see the day. I just thought the networks would air reruns and country music awards show until March! Color me mildly impressed that the fall TV schedule started just two weeks too late. Your big event tonight is Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy!) returning to TV at last in this high-concept CW thriller about an ex-stripper who masquerades as her well-to-do twin sister, who she thinks is dead but is actually hiding out in Paris because people are trying to kill her. Sounds sufficiently complex. I'm confused already. So dig in and celebrate Buffy's return to the small screen. ANTICIPATION: HIGH!
90210 – 8:00PM (CW) It's also a night for a couple of returning shows, including the CW's reboot of the classic 90's series, which hasn't quite taken hold of pop culture the way the original did. But maybe that's because I'm the wrong age. Maybe, twenty years from now, Bill Simmons Jr. will lace references from this show into a column about how much he adores the Lakers. ANTICIPATION: WHITE TEEN ISSUES!
PARENTHOOD – 10:00PM (NBC) Airing right after the first part of the AGT season finale, it's the season premiere of NBC's critically acclaimed drama. I'll always love the original film for giving me the diarrhea chant. "When you're sliding into first and you feel a sudden burst... Diarrhea. Diarrhea." ANTICIPATION: MATURE!
JACQUELINE KENNEDY: IN HER OWN WORDS – 9:00PM (ABC) A two-hour special featuring archival interview footage of the late Jackie O sitting down with historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. shortly after the assassination of JFK. Expect much poise and grace. ANTICIPATION: CLASSY LADY!
WEDDING FABULOUS: SHERRI SHEPHERD GETS MARRIED – 9:00PM (style) The lady from "The View" who doesn't believe in dinosaurs is getting the run-up to her nuptials televised. Watch as Sherri avoids natural history museums and tries to find a dress that supports her size FFF top. ANTICIPATION: WEDDINGY
Tuesday Watch List: Buffy Returns
Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home and make baked Alaska. With chunks of real Alaska! LET'S GO!


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The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) plays a key role in maintaining the integrity and accountability of America's postal service, its revenue and assets, and its employees. The USPS OIG achieves its mission of helping maintain confidence in the postal system and improving the Postal Service's bottom line through independent audits and investigations. Audits of postal programs and operations help to determine whether the programs and operations are efficient and cost-effective. Investigations help prevent and detect fraud, waste, and misconduct and have a deterrent effect on postal crimes.
With $73 billion in revenue, the Postal Service is at the core of a $900 billion mailing industry that employs more than nine million people. The 800,000 employees and contractors of the Postal Service comprise the largest civilian federal workforce in the country. The employees of the Postal Service impact every American on a daily basis.
We are sponsoring this blog and related discussion forums to facilitate an ongoing dialog on relevant issues affecting the U.S. Postal Service. We intend to gather and enrich ideas from a large number of perspectives to address emerging issues and attack critical challenges facing the U.S. Postal Service. We will also use this tool to explore complex Postal issues that are sometimes misunderstood.
We invite participation from Postal Service employees and customers, other Inspectors General, as well as colleagues from international posts and their audit and investigative organizations. Our goal is to add further value to the U.S. Postal Service. We want to hear from you!
What are some critical challenges facing the Postal Service that you would like to see us explore through this blog?
What could the Postal Service do to improve its service to you?
What could the Postal Service do to increase its revenues?
Do you view the Postal Service a business or a public service, and why?


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This week we're exploring surf culture on 1st Look and discovered P & R hardboards, our newest surf obsession.
P & R Handboards are handcrafted handboards made to help increase the velocity and overall experience of bodysurfing. By adding more surface area to your hand, the surfer is able to glide across the wave and make the most of the wave's energy. This product is mainly used for bodysurfing, but is geared towards any surfer and non-surfer alike ready to enjoy a day of wave riding.
Creator Rob Angelora is an East Coast body and board surfer based in Long Beach, NY. He has lived and surfed around the world for the past 10 years, in destinations including SoCal, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador, and Oahu. Business partner, Paul Romano, is an avid bodysurfer since childhood, and after Rob introduced him to these handboards, he's been hooked ever since.
The idea for the boards came about during a summer flat spell along the coast of New York, an area where the ocean doesn't always deliver. These boards since have been the solution for any surfer who wants to avoid those crowded summer blackball days, giving everyone a reason to get into the water!
Choose from five handboards:
El Primero – A board that's good for hollow beach break and holds high in the barrel.
The Platter – The most versatile board that works in small to medium size waves and its full nose and tail give extra lift for heavier riders as well.
The Scrap – A board for the experienced rider, it keeps you high and tight, right where you want to be in the waves.
Twin Peaks – The longboard of handboards whose size makes it extremely buoyant in the water giving the rider maximum lift, and the double concave helps to channel water and increase speed; a board great for newcomers or when the ocean isn't feeling to generous.
Fat Crab – The length and width of this board provide a large surface area for maximum buoyancy, ideal for the big and tall rider with excellent water flow for better lift and a faster ride.
In an effort to keep the carbon footprint minimal, each board is hand-carved and finished with natural oils; straps are made from used wetsuits. Visit the website for the online store, wetsuit donations, and additional product information.
Tune in to the "Surf City" episode of 1st Look this Saturday on NBC after Saturday Night Live.
[Pictured above: Rob Angelora crafting a handboard]
1st Look Loves: P & R Handboards
This week we're exploring surf culture on 1st Look and discovered P & R hardboards, our newest surf obsession.


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For the first year of our renovation we spent a lot of time and money gutting the property. We hired around 5 skips and loaded these with waste products from the house.
However we weren't able to load old plasterboard into the skip as this needed disposing off separately so we stored all of the waste plasterboard in the garage and borrowed a van to take this all to the local tip ourselves. Now that we are closer to getting the house finished we no longer have the need to have a skip on the drive however as we are still working on the house there is still waste products that need disposing off. Again we have saved all these up until we have a van load and taken them to the local tip at Newquay.
On arrival we see new fenced off areas which incur additional charges for disposing of waste. This includes Soil, Rubble, Plasterboard, asbestos and Tyres. When we moved into our house the access was completely blocked and had been used as a dumping ground and we removed 7 tyres alone not to mention the rest!
We've removed all the internal walls downstairs, the bathroom floor and ceiling all the upstairs bedroom walls and a lot of this was plasterboard. Had we taken this to the tip with the new charges this would have cost us a small fortune.
Now I am not happy about the charges as for first time buyers and renovators this increases the costs by quite a bit especially when it costs £4.40 per sheet to dispose of. When we ordered in the new plaster board sheets to renovate the whole house we ordered nearly 100 sheets and have added more since the beginning. Which means we have propably removed around the same amount and taking those to the tip now would cost us £100's of pounds to dispose of.
Whilst recently cycling around the local countryside we have noticed a lot more fly tipping going on especially car tyres and it's no wonder when small businesses are struggling to make money and now incur additionally charges to dispose of rubbish, I understand that items like asbestos require specialist removal and disposal however for the general DIY person or someone doing gardening and removing soil it suddenly becomes expensive to remove waste. We are lucky we are nearly finished on the renovation of our home and most of the work left to complete is decorating but had these charges come into play a few years ago the build cost would have gone up by a few hundred pounds.
I really hope that these charges do not increase fly tipping in the Cornish countryside, it already costs to gain a permit to access the tip for businesses and those in a van so this additional cost on top just makes things harder for small businesses and I just hope people can afford it and don't fly tip our beautiful region.


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The Easy Start 3 Kit for dsPIC33EP is a ready-to-use hardware & software bundle to get you started in developing a dsPIC33-based device while programming in C.
The bundle consists of the following items at a discount:
EasyPIC Fusion v7 is rich with peripherals. It contains Ethernet*, CAN, two USB-UARTs, USB Host and Device connectors, Piezo Buzzer, microSD card slot, LCD with touch screen, stereo MP3 codec with headphone and microphone jacks, sockets for temperature sensors, analog inputs and much more. Each microcontroller pin is connected to two male headers, push button and LED, making it ready for all kinds of development. The board is built with 4-layer PCB routing to achieve excellent signal quality, which is important for SPI and other communication lines running at high speeds.
* Ethernet is not supported by the dsPIC33EP MCU in this kit.
You can always add more modules using two provided mikroBUS host sockets. Choose between dozens of different Click Boards and bring a new functionality to your board easily.
There are more than 160 accessory boards you can find among the mikroElektronika Accessory Boards category and its subcategories that contain add-ons that plug into the IDC10 and mikroBUS interfaces on the EasyPIC Fusion board.
Each compiler license includes free upgrades and tech support for the lifetime of the product. The software features a Live Update service so you can get new features and improvements instantly.
The compiler is designed to be smart and efficient, so you can rely on it to do the hard work. It features SSA optimizations that can reduce your code size up to 40 percent. Standard header files are included that make it easy to port your code from other C compilers.
Please review the mikroC Order Page for a detailed list of features, documentation, and a downloadable demo version.
If you have a specific other dsPIC33, PIC24 or PIC32 microcontroller that you want to use, empty MCU cards are available for you to assemble with your own MCU and components.


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State law requires that a child be in a booster seat until they are at least 6 years of age and 60 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that a child remain in a booster seat until they are at least 8 years of age, 80 pounds or 4' 9" tall. Booster seats raise a child up so the seat belt will fit the child and provide a safe ride. The longer you can keep your child in a booster seat the better. Children ages 4-8 are 45 percent less likely to receive injuries in a car crash if a booster seat is used as opposed to seat belt alone. (Arbogast KB, 2009)
If you can answer YES to ALL five of the following questions, then your child should be ready to stop using a booster seat and start using just the seat belt. Keep your child in a booster if the answer is NO to any of these questions.
Visit the Arkansas CPS website at www.carseatsar.org to learn about becoming a child passenger safety technician, review upcoming child passenger safety courses available and find a CPS technician or check-up event in your area.
Need to have your seat checked? Contact the Injury Prevention Center at 501-364-3400.


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If you are interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree in Agriculture, you can take the first two years of classes at Northeast and then transfer to the four-year college or university of your choice. By starting at Northeast, you'll be taking advantage of our small campus atmosphere, caring faculty and staff, state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, and a huge savings in tuition dollars.
Our Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science degree concentrations include several general education classes as well as agriculture classes that transfer easily to baccalaureate programs at other colleges and Universities. We encourage you to meet with advisors regularly to ensure transferability of elective courses to the transfer institution. Northeast has articulated agreements with University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Wayne State College, and South Dakota State University- Brookings. You can obtain specific plans of study for these colleges from the Agriculture Division Dean's office.
An education in agriculture can lead to many different careers. Your preparation at Northeast can begin this exciting journey.
You can choose from these two available options when enrolling in this program of study.
Northeast Community College, 801 East Benjamin Ave, Norfolk,
Nebraska 68701
phone: 402-371-2020 | tollfree: 1-800-348-9033 | email:
© Northeast Community College 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Northeast does not discriminate based upon any protected status. Please refer to our nondiscrimination section and privacy statement for more information.


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Yes, I will admit that sometimes I am ridiculous about saving a couple of dollars. You don't have to tell me. But, what many people don't understand is that the challenge of saving those couple of dollars in fun in itself.
So there I am in Seattle, in the rain, carrying two sketchy cardboard boxes I built and taped together, walking to my bus transfer. I could barely get the boxes onto the bus and once I did I took up more than my fair share of space. Some might say I was abusing public transportation. At the airport I was dropped off pretty far from my terminal and my boxes had already begun to fall apart from dragging them ( only occasionally!). I decided to get a push cart, but they were two dollars! Insane. I tried to talk a worker into just letting me have one when he was putting them back, but he wasn't havin it. I searched for one as best I could without wondering too far from my boxes. Finally someone let me talk them into giving theirs to me when they were done. So many people wouldn't let me have theirs! Why is that? I got to my terminal, gave the usual lie about what was in my boxes, then proceeded to the security gates. I had put on extra layers and filled my pockets with stuff in order to lighten up my boxes and the workers at the metal detectors insisted, to the dismay of everyone behind me, that I take off layers down to my t-shirt. Finally on the plane off to PA.
Pennsylvania ruled as usual, good friends, good eats; if I only had better weather and more time…..
If I type too much about non-bike trip stuff I will feel like I am some regular online diary kid and get made fun of more than I already do. At least I am not on friendster.


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Hi, i'm one of the 25 lucky winners
"Congratulations! You are the winner of Fancy Characters!! You can click the link provided below to download the app, be sure to enter coupon code: BBOS25 Enjoy!"
The code you sent me maybe it's been shared so it doesn't work anymore, could you please fix this?
Thanks in advance, regards


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Turns out, there is no mention of her husband's books, but then, I didn't think she's have them shipped from Illinois to her new living quarters in Massachusetts.
I found it strange she didn't go through a lawyer to write the will, since her son, who lived nearby, was a lawyer. The will was filed January 25, 1904 and proved February 10, 1904. She died January 19th. This must be a record, as I've never seen a will proved so quickly.
I have seen several pictures of Fanny (one is above), but none with her wearing diamonds. It's nice to know several of her pieces remained in the family...not to my line though. My direct line, Annie got to share Fanny's silverware with her brother! Unfortunately, I've never seen the pattern, and I wonder who has it now. The same goes for the diamonds, it would be lovely to just see a picture of them.
My next steps are:
1. Contact several distant cousins to see if they want a copy of the will mailed.
2. Since I determined the relationships of all three witnesses, work on their lineage. They were were directly related to Fanny's sister, Alma. Although Alma isn't directly related to me, her parents were my 3rd great-grandparents.
3. Write a post about where Fanny lived in Brookline, MA.
I, Fanny M. Poole of the town of
Brookline, County of Norfolk,
and , declare
this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills and
testamentary writings by me heretofore made. Commonwealth
of Massachusetts
First, I desire that my just debts and funeral expenses shall be first paid.
Second, I appoint my son, William F. Poole the execution hereof, and Trustee for purposes set out in Section Third hereof, and direct that he shall not be required to give bonds.
Third, I hereby bequeath to my son, William F. Poole, as trustee, all my right titles and interest whatsoever it may be, in and to the publication known as 'Poole's Index to Periodical Literature' and all supplements thereof and abridgments thereto, and all rights to further publications which may be made in connection therewith, and all right title and interests in the name of said publication, and all agreements in connections with said Index, Supplements, and name and I direct him, as trustee, to pay the income from said property in equal shares to my children, Alice P. Holbrook, Annie Poole, Mary Poole, and William F. Poole. In the event of the death of any of the said children, then her or his share shall be paid to her or his children, then her or his share shall be paid to her or his children, if any; otherwise the said share shall be paid to the survivor or survivors of any said children in equal shares.
I hereby direct my said Trustee, or his successor, to transfer to the sole survivor of my said children, as soon as he or she shall become the sole survivor, the legal title to all the property herein shown in this action set out. For the purposes of this trust I give my Trustee and his successor the full legal title to and in said property and full power control over and management of the same. In view of the uncertainty of the productiveness of said property in future years, and the possibility that it may be advisable to dispose of said property or a part thereof. I hereby give my said Trustee or his successor full power and authority, at any time, if he deems it advisable, to sell and transfer said property, wholly or in part, in such way and under such terms as he may deem best, the proceeds thereof to be distributed among my said children in accordance with the terms of division of the income herein above set forth.
Fourth, I give the sum of Twenty Five Dollars each to each of my grandchildren as are living at my death.
I give my diamond pin to my grandchild Frances Poole.
I give my diamond ring to my grandchild Grace Holbrook.
I give my large vases to my sister Alma.
I give my piano, the large family clock, and such other of my household effects as he may desire to my son.
I give my silver ware to my daughter Annie and my son in equal shares.
Fifth, All the rest of my property, of whatsoever nature, kind and description, I give to my children, of which Mary and her heirs is to receive their sixths, and Alice, Annie and William F. and their respective heirs are each to receive one sixth.
In the event of the marriage of my daughter, Mary before my death, or in the event of her death, unmarried, before my death, then the property under this action shall be divided equally among my said four children and their heirs, the heirs of each of my children to receive according to the laws of descent the shares such child would be entitled to if living.
In testimony whereof I herewith set my hand and seal this tenth day of June A. D. 1901.
Fanny M. Poole
Signed and declared by the testatrix, as and for her last will and testament in the presence and sight of us, who at her request, and in her sight, and presence, and in the sight and presence of one another, have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.
Arthur K. Brown VF.
Sidney H. Goodrich
Elizabeth P. Brown


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Editor's note: For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these "amazing facts" are an homage.
(The Root) — Amazing Fact About the Negro No. 9: Who was George Washington's runaway slave?
Of our first five presidents, four owned slaves. Thomas Jefferson's slave-owning legacy has been covered in the news lately; however, the biggest slave owner among the four men was the father of our country, George Washington.
Washington and his wife Martha together owned about 200 slaves at the beginning of the Revolution, but at the end of his life the couple owned 317 slaves together. And at least two of these became quite famous, for very different reasons.
William "Billy" Lee, Washington's personal servant, was the only slave whom Washington freed outright upon the former president's death (all the others were to be freed upon his wife's death, though she freed them 12 months after Washington passed). He is depicted looking adoringly at his master in John Trumbull's famous painting of the president of 1780 (pictured above), standing faithfully by his side.
At the other extreme of attitudes toward the master of Mount Vernon, however, stands another slave. He was a fascinating rebel named Harry, whose life and times have been painstakingly recreated by the historian Cassandra Pybus. And Harry's dogged determination to be free suggests that not all of the slaves found Washington to be the benevolent master whom historians have depicted.
Harry's first escape from Mount Vernon occurred on July 29, 1771. Washington was not amused: He "paid one pound and sixteen shillings to advertise for the recovery of his property," Pybus tells us in the book The Human Tradition in the Black Atlantic, 1500-2000. Harry was returned a few weeks later. Undaunted and determined to be free, Harry awaited a second chance.
That would come in the early years of the Revolution, on Nov. 14, 1775, when John Murray, the fourth Earl of Dunmore and the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, issued an astonishing proclamation that freed any slaves who were willing to bear arms for the British Crown. Slaves ran away in droves. Dunmore himself reported that by the end of November, "two and three hundred already [have] come in and these I form into a Corps as fast as they come."
The historian Jill Lepore, in a New Yorker review of Simon Schama's fascinating book about the black Loyalists, Rough Crossings, estimates, incredibly, that "between eighty and a hundred thousand (nearly one in five [black slaves]) left their homes … betting on British victory." But Pybus insists that a more realistic figure is between 20,000 and 30,000 who defected to the British side during the war — still a stunningly high figure, since historians estimate that about 5,000 black men served the Patriot cause in the Continental Army (including my own fourth-great grandfather, John Redman). Many died of disease or in battle or were simply returned to their masters. Historians estimate about 15,000 former slaves left the United States with the evacuating British.
While Washington's plantation manager, Lund Washington, professed to having "not the least dread" that the general's slaves would join this mad melee and flee their supposedly benevolent master, Washington knew better, privately admitting that "the momentum of slave defections would be 'like a snow ball in rolling.' "
The general was right: Harry, seizing his opportunity and always fleet of foot, ran away in 1776, along with three white indentured servants. And they were not the last to do so: As late as April 1781, 18 slaves fled the plantation. Though the war was raging, Washington was determined to retrieve his property, hiring a slave catcher who managed to return seven, but not Harry.
Harry served nobly in Dunmore's all-black Loyalist regiment called "the Black Pioneers." He rose to the rank of corporal, participating in the invasion of South Carolina and the siege of Charleston, and serving in charge of "a company of Black Pioneers attached to the Royal Artillery Department in Charleston in 1781."
At war's end, with the British defeat, Harry was part of a black community consisting of some 4,000 people who found safe haven in the British zone in New York, nervously awaiting their fate, since the victorious Americans insisted in the peace treaty that all runaway slaves be returned. As Pybus reports, Washington, despite the victory over British tyranny, remained ever-determined to regain his escaped property. He instructed his army contractor, Daniel Parker, to do his best to find his slaves: "If by chance you should come at the knowledge of any of them, I will be much obliged by your securing them so I may obtain them again."
But the British kept their word: Onboard a ship named L'Abondance in July 1783, along with 405 other black men, women and children, a 43-year-old Harry set sail with his wife, Jenny, for Nova Scotia and freedom, in a settlement they named "Birchtown."
Nova Scotia, it turned out, was not to be the promised land that Harry and his compatriots hoped it would be. The weather was horrible, rocky land allocated to the black settlers was difficult to cultivate and white settlers often underpaid black workers. For some, it was another nightmare — better than slavery, but just barely. After protesting to the British government in 1791, half of the black settlers were relocated to Sierra Leone in Africa, lured by the promise of "20 acres for every man, ten for every woman and five for every child."
If Canada was not the promised land, neither, unfortunately, was Sierra Leone. Although Harry and his wife managed to start their own farm, the settlers suffered unduly from a tax imposed by the Sierra Leone Company called a "quit rent," which created a system of perpetual indebtedness that in effect was a British forerunner of sharecropping. When Harry — a revolutionary to the end — protested, he and his supposed collaborators were arrested, charged with "open and unprovoked rebellion" and tried by a military tribunal. Harry, now aged 60, along with 23 of his fellow rebels, was banished from his community "across the Sierra Leone River to the Bullom Shore" for life. And there, the historical record ends.
As always, you can find more "Amazing Facts About the Negro" on The Root, and check back each week as we count to 100.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research at Harvard University. He is also the editor-in-chief of The Root.


text:
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text:
Karen Szall
Get on the Bus–YOU really can win!
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Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing, was established in 1922 by six students at the Indiana University Training School for Nurses, now the Indiana University School of Nursing, to recognize scholarly achievement in nursing. The founders chose the name from the Greek words Storgé, Tharsos and Timé meaning "love," "courage" and "honor." Sigma Theta Tau represents excellence and promotes scholarship, inquiry, leadership, and quality in nursing practice, education, research and administration.
In 1966, under the dedicated leadership of Dean Amy V. Cockcroft, the University of South Carolina College Of Nursing founded Alpha Xi as the 36th Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau. To date, Alpha Xi has inducted over 1700 nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau International has inducted more than 400,000 members worldwide. There are 446 chapters on college campuses in Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania and the U.S. Alpha Xi inducted its first international member from the Netherlands in 1999.
The diversity of Alpha Xi Chapter membership is highlighted by our nursing educators, clinical nurses, researchers, practitioners, administrators, and students who all work together to promote the purposes of Sigma Theta Tau International.
The chapter has a distinguished history having received the Ethel Palmer Clarke Award for Chapter Excellence in 1985, the highest honor conferred by Sigma Theta Tau International. Additionally, Alpha Xi has been awarded the Chapter Key Award five times, most recently in 2007. The award, established in 1991 honors chapters that excel in chapter-related activities such as membership recruitment and retention, publicity and programming, and professional and leadership development.
Since 1978, the Chapter's Annual Viewpoints Conference, now known as the Mary Ann Parsons Lecture, has featured noted scholars and prominent leaders from across the US, making Alpha Xi distinguished for its outstanding educational programs addressing critical professional issues. A fundamental duty of the Chapter is the support of members to conduct research, innovative research utilization projects, and scholarly inquiry as well as leadership development at all levels of practice. Alpha Xi continues to be a proud sponsor of the S.C. Palmetto Gold Awards which honor nurses for their excellence in nursing practice and their commitment and dedication to the profession of nursing.


text:
"Uhh...that's cool!"
That trademark phrase, first uttered by one half of MTV's famous mid-90s, high-school slacker duo, is coming back to the airwaves this summer as the music video network plans to resurrect "Beavis and Butt-Head," reports Gawker.
The cartoon, which aired from 1993 to 1997 and spawned a full-length motion picture, was known for its ridiculous cast and its biting societal and music video critiques. It also became a cultural lightning rod at times, becoming embroiled in controversies over its depictions of wild, teenage behavior (Beavis' obsession with flames and chant of "FIRE! FIRE!" was partially blamed for the death of a small child whose brother lit their trailer ablaze after watching the show) and its perceived misogyny.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
The updated version promises to retain the same animation format and series creator Mike Judge, who went on to create "King of the Hill" and direct "Office Space," will once again be involved with the show's production.
So make sure to hide the sugar from the Great Cornholio and settle in to hear the boys muse about, say, "Jersey Shore."


text:
Trick or Treat! Thank you! Happy Halloween! Bye!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Happy Halloween!
Trick or Treat! Thank you! Happy Halloween! Bye!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Happy Birthday Cheeky Monkey!
Happy Birthday Cheeky Monkey!!! We ended up having 2 parties (even though we swore we wouldn't do that again).
Popo made him this dinosaur cake. He did not want to cut the stegosaurus so we had to cut around it. Needless to say, it was really hard to share this cake
Our next party was with hubby's side of the family. Everyone came to our place and the kids put on their costumes. Monkey was Batman and Bunny was Superbaby. We couldn't find a Superman bucket so Bunny has a Spiderman bucket to go with his Superman outfit.
Making trouble...
Monkey loves his new table hockey game
Taking a walk with Dada
They went to a lot of effort!
Here he is looking at a witch. Not sure if he's scared but he is definitely waiting for something to go into the Batman bucket.
Happy Birthday Sweet Cheeks! Now we can look forward to one more round of Trick or Treating and then it's time for Santa!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Fall Leaves
It's starting to get cooler here but today was a nice day!
The kids were really happy to be playing in the leaves
More playing...
Baby Bunny loves soccer balls
Ooh... there's the pinky finger again! (he still eats with this little finger sticking up!)
Kids are the best!!!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
It's always nice when you know someone is looking at your ETSY shop. But it's even nicer when someone groups together your item with a bunch of nice things!
Here's a link to the treasury or just take a peek at the snapshot below.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Our Tree has Arrived!
This past spring, I asked the City to plant a tree on the boulevard in front of my house. I should have done this a long time ago as my house is the only one without a tree out front. In September, someone came by to look at the property but then said we "might" get it this fall or we "might" get it next spring. How specific...
Well, we heard a truck outside of our house and it sounded a lot like a garbage truck. It wasn't garbage day but we were curious and when we looked out our window, we saw this
This is what we ended up with.
Baby Bunny is still a little wobbly
So easily distracted...
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Pumpkin Surprise
Today we had a little surprise waiting for us on our doorstep. The pumpkin fairies dropped off one carving pumpkin and two little baby ones. Thank you Nonna and Nonno!
What a nice way to cheer us up... especially since both kiddies are sick and the weatherman was wrong again. No sun today.
Baby Bunny has a fake pumpkin in the toy room. He can't say pumpkin yet but we know his word for pumpkin is "bum bum ba". He also same "bum bum ba" when he wants us to read Hop on Pop. It sounds slightly different so only we know what he's trying to say. He's really trying to catch up to big brother. He can say ball, spoon, socks, ma, da and understands so much.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Practicing for Halloween
We love Halloween and even more so now that we have kids.
Cheeky Monkey was Superman/baby for his first Halloween and a Toronto Police Officer last year.
We picked up this scary guy at our local Walmart.
I guess I better hurry up and start sewing his costume
Thursday, October 20, 2011
My City: Ontario Science Centre
This week we went to the Science Centre. After going to Science Class, Cheeky Monkey was really excited to be going to the Science Centre.
Lots of cool things to read about and touch on the way in
GPS station - definitely wasn't an exhibit when I was growing up
Some very old trees!
Special exhibit
One of these guys is named Fred
Because the kids love to go grocery shopping at their height level. The only rule is that you have to put the food back. Feel free to put on an apron and get behind the register. The kids can punch in how much food should cost and the register drawer actually opens. Lots of fun here until a gaggle of bigger kids showed up. Baby Bunny is really oblivious to all but Cheeky Monkey noticed the kids.
Where we would be without one of these machines?
Maybe it's better not knowing...


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Jelly Belly has some weird jellybean flavors, but its latest may take the cake -- draft beer.
The iredescent gold-colored candies are modeled after a German Hefeweizen, with a wheaty taste and a slightly "yeasty" smell, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Sound disgusting?
Apparently, beer is a flavor Jelly Belly customers have been requesting for decades, the company said.
"It took a few years to perfect, but we think we got it right," Rob Swaigen, Jelly Belly's vice president of marketing, told TODAY.com.
Other cocktail-inspired flavors include pina colada, mai tai and strawberry daquiri.
None contain any alcohol.


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Managing nuisance ants on golf courses
Ants can be a real nuisance on golf courses when their nesting and mound-building occur in high profile areas. Ant mounds disrupt the smoothness and uniformity of putting surfaces, dull mower blades and can smother closely-mowed turf.
Golf superintendents often report problems eliminating these pests with conventional insecticides. Further, ant problems in turf seem to be increasing nationwide. One theory to explain this is that residues of chlordane and other highly persistent turf insecticides used in the past have finally declined. Another theory is that replacement of diazinon (which is highly active on ants) with more target-selective soil insecticides has allowed ants to gain a foothold on golf courses. Whatever the reason, many superintendents need effective ant controls to reduce mound building.
Lately, my research team has been testing new approaches to managing nuisance ants using delayed-action baits and new classes of insecticides. The results have been promising and some of these new products are already catching on with superintendents. We are also studying the beneficial aspects of turf-infesting ants, especially their importance as predators on eggs and larvae of other insect pests.
The primary nuisance ant pest of turf is Lasius neoniger, a species that is widespread in the United States. In many areas, Lasius seems to be responsible for most, if not virtually all, ant hills on putting greens. Problems arise when the worker ants excavate underground nest chambers, pushing up small mounds of soil. Lasius is also common in roughs, fairways, lawns and other sunny turf sites; although there, the mounds are less conspicuous than on greens and tees.
Habits of Lasius neoniger
To manage these pests, you need to understand their habits. Like all ants, Lasius neoniger is a social insect. It lives in colonies consisting of hundreds or thousands of sterile female workers, but only one reproductive queen. The nest consists of shallow, interconnected chambers, seldom more than 10 to 15 inches deep. Each passage to the surface is topped by a small mound. The number of mounds varies from just a few to 10 or more per nest, and generally increases from early spring to late summer as the colony grows. The queen ant, with her eggs and larvae, remains underground and is fed and looked after by the workers.
How do ant infestations get started on putting greens? As colonies build in late summer, new queens and males are produced. These winged reproductive ants swarm out of the nests for their nuptial flights in late summer or autumn (August to October). After mating, the young queens shed their wings, burrow down, and excavate a small cavity in the soil. They remain underground over the winter and normally don't start laying eggs until the following spring. Successive broods are then produced until at last the colony is large enough to produce its own winged reproductive forms. Individual queens and colonies may persist for several years.
Lasius workers forage on the surface for small insects, insect eggs and other protein-rich foods. They also tend subterranean root aphids — just as ants "farm" aphids on plants above ground — to obtain the aphids' sugary excrement, called honeydew. Lasius is beneficial in most turf settings because it is a voracious predator of eggs and small larvae of cutworms, sod webworms, grubs and other pests (see photo, bottom right).
Our research has shown how important this predation can be. For example, when 1,600 newly hatched cutworms were released, one by one, near Lasius nests on collars or putting greens; the ants attacked and killed 62 percent of the larvae before they could escape. In another test, turfgrass cores on which black cutworm moths had laid eggs were implanted into fairways or roughs of two golf courses, and the fate of the eggs was monitored. Lasius ants consumed as many as 85 percent of the eggs in untreated roughs in 24 hours. In treated fairways where ants were less abundant, many more cutworm eggs survived to hatch.
Control methods
Regardless of their beneficial aspects, ants quickly become a nuisance when they nest on putting greens (see photos, top right). Controlling them is difficult because fast-acting insecticides usually kill only a portion of the workers foraging on the surface, but fail to eliminate the queen. Pyrethroids and organophosphates (see the "Insecticide Update" on page Golf 7 for a list of chemicals registered for turf use) often will suppress mound building for several weeks after treatment, but then the colony recovers and new mounds appear.
Pest control operators who deal with nuisance ants around homes have found that commercial ant baits are an effective remedy. These baits contain delayed-action insecticides formulated on granules with attractive food substances. The worker ants carry the bait to the nest, where it is fed to the queen and her brood. Once the queen is eliminated, the colony dies out and the mounds are not rebuilt. However, ant species differ in their feeding preferences, so the type of bait is critical. We tested a range of bait types against Lasius on golf courses. We started with choice tests to learn which baits are most readily taken by Lasius, and then evaluated spot-treatment of nests on putting greens and tees.
Our research showed that Maxforce Professional Insect Control Fine Granule Insect Bait (Clorox Co.) containing the active ingredient hydramethylnon, and Advance Granular Carpenter Ant Bait (Whitmire Micro-Gen) containing abamectin, are highly effective against Lasius neoniger. Note that a similarly named product, Advance Granular Ant Bait, was not as effective in our tests.
Both baits worked equally well, but Maxforce is better suited for use on putting greens because of its smaller granule size and dark brown color (the Advance bait is yellow and more conspicuous). Sprinkled around the mounds, a small amount of bait will eliminate a nest in about 2 days. Then, once the mounds are raked or knocked down by mower blades, they will not be rebuilt. We're still testing minimum effective rates, but about ⅛ teaspoon of bait per mound worked well in our trials. Lasius workers forage during both day and night, so bait can be applied whenever it is convenient. However, baits that become wet lose their attractiveness, so withhold irrigation for at least 8 hours after treatment.
These baits are too expensive for broadcasting on fairways, but they are cost-effective for spot-treating putting greens. Superintendents who have tried them also report good results. Neither bait is specifically marketed to the golf industry, but their labeling does allow use on golf courses. They are available through distributors who carry products for the structural pest control industry. Maxforce is sold in a bulk container, as well as 10-ounce shaker cans that are convenient to use. The bulk container can be used to refill about 10 shaker cans. Never transfer baits or any pesticide to any unlabeled, or food, container. As with all pesticides, specific restrictions may apply in some states, particularly California. Spot-treating with bait allows selective control, while preserving beneficial ants in fairways and roughs.
Golf superintendents in the South now have another option for ant control. Recently, Chipco/Aventis announced registration of TopChoice, a granular insecticide for control of imported fire ants (Solenopsis spp.). It contains fipronil, the same active ingredient used in Chipco Choice for mole crickets. Applied at just 1.8-pound active ingredient per acre (87 pounds of product per acre), a single broadcast application in fall to early spring (November to March) will control fire ants for up to a year. That same rate also provides season-long control of nuisance ants (e.g. Lasius neoniger) and mole crickets. Those pests are listed on the label as secondary targets.
Fipronil is relatively slow-acting, an advantage for ant control. Foraging workers that contact or feed on the material do not die right away. This allows them to return to the underground nest where body grooming and exchange of food among nest-mates transfers the insecticide throughout the colony, including the queen and her brood. So, in this case, slower is better. Granular fipronil often provides 95 percent control of existing ants within four to six weeks after application, with enough residual to eliminate developing queens and also new, winged queens that may enter the landscape.
Fipronil represents a new class of insecticides called phenyl pyrazoles. These compounds target the GABA receptors of insects, a unique mode of action. GABA acts to "switch off" nerve impulses-blocking this action disrupts the insect's nervous system. Fipronil binds about 100 times more tightly to insect receptors than to those of mammals, providing useful selective toxicity. In fact, fipronil is also the active ingredient in Frontline on-animal flea control products.
TopChoice is presently labeled for use only in the 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, where imported fire ants occur. The label wording is vague with regard to nuisance ants. It states that "The primary purpose of this product is for fire ant control" but also lists nuisance ants as secondary targets. Thus, federal regulations allow its use for nuisance ants. State requirements may vary, however, so be sure to check any supplemental state labeling.
For now, controlling ants with fipronil is only an option for southern turf managers. The manufacturer is seeking to broaden the fipronil label, so that granular products for nuisance ant control on northern golf courses may be available soon.
Regardless of whether you use baits or conventional insecticides, ants usually are easiest to control in the spring, soon after the mounds appear. At that time, the colonies founded by new queens are still small, and nests persisting from the previous year are weakened from overwintering. By controlling nests early, you may be able to avoid the buildup of mounds on putting greens that often occurs in late spring and summer.
Dr. Daniel A. Potter is professor of turf and landscape entomology at the University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.). His book, "Destructive Turfgrass Insects: Biology, Diagnosis, and Control," is available from the GCSAA and PLCAA bookstores, or by calling Ann Arbor Press (800-858-5299).
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