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City have 10 games remaining and know their title destiny is in their own hands.
Manuel Pellegrini's men climbed to third in the table by thrashing Fulham 5-0 on Saturday.
They still trail leaders Chelsea by six points but have three games in hand on the Londoners. They have also played two games fewer than second-placed Liverpool, whom they trail by two points.
The battle is tight but Zabaleta hopes City can pull through with a bit more to spare than when they famously clinched glory in the last minutes of the season two years ago.
Zabaleta said: "Hopefully, it won't be the same as last time we won the title because it is going to be difficult.
"But as I have said before, we just need to keep focused on what we are doing now.
"We need to try to win every game but everything is in our hands.
"We don't have an excuse now. We only have Premier League games and we have time to recover well between the games.
"We know it is going to be very tough until the end but we have a great team, we have belief enough to win this title.
"Everything depends on us. We just need to keep working hard and winning games.
"Hopefully we can celebrate something at the end of this season."
City face a test of their credentials with two difficult away games in the coming week.
They travel to fallen champions and rivals Manchester United on Tuesday before heading to fellow challengers Arsenal next weekend.
United have failed to keep pace with the leaders this season but Zabaleta expects the derby to have lost none of its edge and is anticipating a difficult night at Old Trafford.
The Argentina international, 29, said: "It doesn't matter, the situation of United. The game is special for both teams.
"We know how important it is to win the game for the players, the fans, the club.
"That is why we need to go there and try to win the game.
"We know Chelsea at the moment are on the top and even if we have got three games in hand we need to win there and see what happens next game.
"We have won at Old Trafford recently and hopefully we can do it again.
"But it is not just the United game. We need to win all of them."


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Boutin, Egener, Others Not Qualified
Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune is reporting that the Tampa Bay Lightning has tendered qualifying offers to restricted free agents Ryan Craig, Justin Fletcher, and Jay Rosehill, thus retaining the club's rights on these players.
Qualifying offers were not tendered to former second round pick Mike Egener, goaltender and former third rounder Jonathan Boutin, Zbynek Hrdel, Marek Kvapil, Ryan Munce, and recently acquired defenseman Mario Scalzo Jr., making them unrestricted free agents. Kvapil and Scalzo, along with Stanislav Lascek, had already signed contracts to play with European teams next season.
For more information, including news of a possible new contract for Vincent Lecavalier and Marc Denis' buyout, click here.
BP Notes: It's a shame to see the rights to Egener and Boutin released, though there was some doubt going into the offseason that they would be retained. Both are great kids but never were able to develop as expected (Egener) or show consistent improvement (Boutin). In Egener's case, the organization tried in vain last year to move him to forward to see if he had more to offer as a grinding fourth liner.
Fletcher being retained is a bit surprising as he was dealt to Rockford (AHL) late last year. Considering he was on a one-year deal, the move seemed to indicate there may not be interest in him. With the lack of offensive defensemen in the system, it appears Fletcher was a more desired commodity. He certainly has some upside to work with.
Also, as Erlendsson pointed out, with Denis' buyout and Boutin and Munce not being qualifies, Riku Helenius is the current No.3 goaltender. He won't be come September, of course, but this looks like a clear attempt to secure an AHL spot for Helenius to be brought along into professional hockey by a free agent signing of an NHL 2-way/AHL veteran goaltender.
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Alicia Keys - Like You'll Never See Me Again
Video For Alicia Keys 'Like You'll Never See Me Again' Off Of 'As I Am' In Stores Now
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Incoming 1Ls / Re: Microsoft OneNote - yay or nay?« on: September 03, 2007, 06:09:56 PM »
Does anyone know how to program One Note to insert standard symbols (like a Pi, Delta or the "section" symbol) without having to go to the menu bar to "Insert" ---> "Symbol" every time?Another trick similar to piggy bank's is Windows Character Map, which should work in any application (I don't think Alt-X does). The code for section, for example, is Alt-0167 (press and hold Alt, type 0 1 6 7 on the numeric keypad, release Alt). The caveat to this method is that it only works if you have a numeric keypad... so probably a no on a laptop.
I programed Word to put a delta every time i press "Alt +D", etc, but there doesn't seem to be a function allowing this in One Note...
Start Menu -> Accessories -> System Tool -> Character Map.


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With every unproductive run, ill-advised penalty and blown assignment, the Ravens hammered home the point Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden made during the week.
These Ravens are not the Ravens of old. Those teams got better as the season went on, made key plays late in games and played their best football after the bye week. They also always beat the Browns.
These Ravens proved incapable of accomplishing any of those things on Sunday, and as a result, their sagging playoff hopes took yet another hit. A head-scratching 24-18 loss to Cleveland before an announced 71,513 at First Energy Stadium featured all of the same elements that pop up every week and have been the difference in the Ravens (3-5) losing close games.
On offense, the running game and pass protection was nonexistent. On defense, communication errors hurt the Ravens early, and a failure to get off the field late ended the team's comeback hopes. A muffed punt by returner Tandon Doss led to a Browns' touchdown and completed the breakdown of all three phases.
"We just haven't been good enough," said battered Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco, who hit rookie Marlon Brown for two touchdowns as part of an uneven day.
Flacco's status as the team's leading rusher summed up the afternoon almost as well as his fluttering second-quarter interception in which he badly underthrew Jacoby Jones.
"They were better than us," Flacco said.
In 11 previous matchups against the Browns, the Ravens have never had to accept that reality. It was always the Browns that made the most mistakes and couldn't convert key plays with the game on the line. But Sunday, with their third quarterback of the season, Jason Campbell, encountering little resistance at times driving his team down the field, the Browns built a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter thanks to two Davone Bess touchdown catches.
Cleveland took a 21-10 lead into the fourth quarter and they held off the reigning Super Bowl champions from there, draining all but 14 seconds off the clock in their final drive before former Raven Billy Cundiff made a 22-yard field goal to give the home team a 24-18 lead.
The victory represented their first over a team coached by John Harbaugh and quarterbacked by Flacco. It was the Browns' first win over the Ravens since Nov. 18, 2007. But beyond that, it was the Ravens' third straight loss and their fourth in the past five games. The Ravens haven't won a game since Oct. 6.
"We have to win a game," Ravens defensive end Chris Canty said. "That's as simple as I can put it. We're in a situation where we have to win a game. That's our focus. We can't worry about what's going on around us, who can help us or whatever. My experience is you have to win a game and you have to take care of business. We haven't been doing that of late."
The Ravens fell into third place in the AFC North behind the Browns, though they didn't lose a whole lot of ground. The first-place Cincinnati Bengals, who come to M&T; Bank Stadium on Sunday, lost last Thursday to the Miami Dolphins to fall to 6-3. The San Diego Chargers, who went into the week in the sixth and final playoff position, also were beaten in overtime Sunday by the Washington Redskins.
But the Ravens acknowledged in the locker room that all that will mean very little until they can figure out a way to fix the issues that persisted through the first seven weeks and then clearly didn't get corrected despite the time spent on them during the bye week. The loss was the first in six season under Harbaugh after the bye.
"We got to get it going," right guard Marshal Yanda said. "It's now-or-never time for us."
Several players acknowledged that the frustration level in the locker room was extremely high though players seemed to be at a loss to explain why the same issues keep coming up over and over again.
The Ravens, who entered the week ranked 28thin rushing yards per game and last in rushing yards per carry, gained just 55 yards on 21 carries. Rice, who proclaimed himself fully healthy after the bye week, rushed for just 17 yards on 11 carries.
"We got to figure that out," Harbaugh said. "We cannot run the ball right now."
Flacco was battered for much of the game, sacked five times and hit eight total times as the offense again wasn't able to get anything going until late in the second quarter when Brown caught a 19-yard touchdown to cut Cleveland's lead to 14-10 heading into halftime. They were fortunate to be that close.
Continuing their trend of slow starts, the Ravens went three-and-out on four of their first five possessions and their sixth resulted in the Flacco interception by Haden.
"Just a terrible ball," he said.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors about midway through the third quarter when Doss muffed a punt, giving the Browns the ball at the 11-yard line. Two plays later, Campbell hit reserve tight end Gary Barnidge for a 4-yard touchdown and a 21-10 Cleveland lead. The score went uncontested as there was a communication error on the play and nobody picked up Barnidge, one of several missed assignments that victimized the Ravens' secondary.
Doss, however, took the blame for the entire sequence.
"Dropping that ball changed the game," he said. "You can't let that happen."
With all that and nine penalties for 80 yards, the Ravens still pulled within a field goal early in the fourth quarter. Flacco found Brown for a 7-yard touchdown, and then hit him on the two-point conversion to cut the Browns' lead to 21-18 with 12:09 to play.
The Ravens got the ball back and converted on a fourth-and-1 to get near midfield, before Flacco was sacked on third down, forcing another punt. There was still 6:44 to play and the Ravens trailed only by a field goal, but Sam Koch's 25-yard punt was the first of several plays that sealed the Ravens' fate.
Campbell scrambled for 12 yards on third-and-3. Then, on fourth-and-1 from the Ravens' 43, Campbell hit Bess for 3 yards. Two first-down completions to Chris Ogbonnaya then set up Cundiff's chip-shot field goal, which finalized a 15-play and 67-yard drive that ate up six minutes, 30 seconds.
It marked the third straight game where the Ravens' defense was unable to get off the field late in the fourth quarter.
"We just have to find a way to get off the field," Canty said. "Championship defenses are able to do that. We weren't able to do that today."
Rush linebacker Terrell Suggs, who declared that the Ravens were in a state of emergency when the Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago, declined to speak to reporters after Sunday's loss. Rice was not in the locker room when reporters were allowed to enter. Defensive end Arthur Jones bid good riddance to Ravens' fans who have lost hope, saying, "I appreciate the fans that stick with us and the ones that don't, they can go kick rocks."
Harbaugh, meanwhile, didn't hide from the challenge that now faces his team. His team has made the playoffs in five straight seasons, but as Haden said earlier in the week and as the Ravens continue to prove every Sunday, this is a different Ravens' team.
"We're 3-5," Harbaugh said. "The math says it's going to be a challenge. We're going to have to win some games. We're going to have to start winning close games. That's the No. 1 thing we've got to get done and you do that first of all by not losing the game. You can't make the mistakes that create opportunities for your opponent and we've done way too much of that."


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On September 17 and 18, 2012, two panels of full-time faculty members from various disciplines explained the hiring process, offered general advice, and fielded questions. Here are notes from the discussion. Please note that all advice is the opinions of the panelists based on experience, and some of the requirements, procedures, and recommendations may not apply in every case.
Please also click here to download "Getting Past the Gatekeepers" by Dr. Nola Hadley-Torres and Edy Chan, a document produced for the Faculty Diversity Internship Program in 2008 full of helpful tips.
General Advice:
- Carefully read the minimum and desired qualifications in the job announcement
- Do research on the institution, both online and by walking around campus physically.
- In CV, cover letter, and interview, highlight parallel skills (e.g. grant writing, budget experience, conference presentations, etc.) even if they're not exactly teaching.
Hiring Process:
- Hiring committee writes rubric of desirable answers based on minimum and desirable qualifications for the particular job.
- Applicants submit forms to HR, and HR determines eligibility. Adjuncts in Peralta automatically get first interview
- Sometimes there is a second round of interviews with teaching demo
- 0-3 finalists are ranked by the hiring committee and sent on to final round with president, hiring committee chair, and academic senate president.
The president makes the final decision.
Application Forms
- Clarify exactly what type of institutions you have worked in and exactly how long and in what capacity you worked where
- Make sure all forms are clear, legible, current – have someone else proofread
- Double check that HR has received your application
Curriculum Vitae/Resume:
- When collecting info for CV:
- 2 bucket folders: 1 for applications, letters, etc. and one for ongoing activities
- Dates & institutions
- Flag or otherwise collect emails related to any possibly applicable activities so you don't forget anything
- Update CV continuously
Cover Letter:
- Highlight qualifications: educational background, what classes have you been teaching/what classes are you prepared to teach immediately?
- Clarify: What is your teaching philosophy? What is your goal in the classroom? Use appropriate terminology, but avoid unnecessary jargon.
- Have you had community college experience?
- Diversity: think in the broadest possible terms – race, gender, class, disabilities, LGBTQ students, learning disabilities, etc. – highlight groups you've worked with
- What have you done outside the classroom? Colleges want to know they're hiring people who have experience with curriculum development, advising students, TLC- type activities, assessment, anything that helps grow the college community
- Brief statement about academic standards
- Have a separate paper about teaching/grading philosophy, but don't fill cover letter with it.
- Particular contributions: e.g. service learning, specific department growth ideas
- No more than 2 pages
- Don't come with hair wet at last minute – arrive early, compose self
- Turn off phone!
- Put hands on bottom of table rather than fidget
- A little nervousness OK – expected
- Be yourself – if you aren't the one they want, you don't want them
- Familiarity – resist impulse to be chatty or familiar with any friends or colleagues on the hiring committee – keep everything at a high professional level. Act like interviewers are total strangers – essential to tell them everything even if they already know you. They can only score you based on what you say on the application and during the interview, not on what they already know about you. For legal reasons, hiring committee deliberately avoids giving verbal or nonverbal feedback during interviews. Be prepared for stone faces and don't take it personally. Can be off-putting or confusing and may be even more extreme by panelists who know you, in order to demonstrate their impartiality. You need to remain animated and interactive and still attempt to connect, even in the face of this.
- Don't make stuff up to fill space – save breath for questions you can wow them with
- Don't do phone interviews if you have a choice
- Be humble – make sure you seem like someone they can work with for years because you will help the department, be a good teacher, and are active in your field.
- Focus always on teaching: frame publications and outside interests in terms of how they help your teaching/what you bring to the college community
- Remember where you are applying – do research on the program or department – what classes are offered, who are the faculty – align with goals of program and school and think about what is realistic in community college
- Practice a lot – role play with friends
- Make sure you answer all questions, and that you really answer the questions asked! Your responses are scored on a rubric for thoroughness and being on-point – no points if don't answer – rubric is constructed from minimum and desired qualifications in the job announcement
- Ask to have a copy of the questions.
- Read each question and take a moment to think about it – formulate a thoughtful response, and ask for clarification if necessary
- You can go back if you forget something, or say "can I come back to that one?"
- You can also refer to previous examples from other questions to save time and get points in multiple sections of the rubric
- Keep it positive in all application-related interactions before, during, and after the interview, including any small talk while entering or leaving the room.
- Avoid the temptation to complain about being a part-timer – it's a given.
- Time management. There is a prescribed amount of time to answer all questions. Do not spend too much time on one question. Usually there is a timekeeper. If not, feel free to time yourself. Sometimes each question has allotted time, and sometimes there are several questions and one set amount of time for all.
- Have your resume or an abbreviated copy if in hand for reference, but don't recite resume. Instead prepare stories about successes & highlights, challenges, skills – be ready to use and modify according to the questions asked to make you memorable
- Hiring committees often ask the same types of questions including skills, challenges, and behavioral questions. Typical questions (look up more typical community college questions on web):
- Degree, academic background
- Leaders in field
- Experience with technology
- Diversity experience
- Work outside classroom
- Vision for college/department – where you see the department/college in 10 years
- How are you going to teach a kid who comes from high school and is unprepared?
- Books you've read
- Current events in education
- Do you have any questions for us? Do not ask about pay, schedules, etc. – have 5 or 6 questions in case some of them have already been dealt with. Here are some winners: tell me about the students, what are the expectations for tenure-track faculty here?
Teaching Demonstration:
- huge – may be the most important part of the interview process
- 10/15/20 minutes: Sometimes given topic for demo, sometimes given a choice. Your goal is to give sense of broader class in very short window: focus on one very small piece – bring in other materials to show how it's embedded
- do as much as possible in the allotted time – get straight to the real thing – many candidates run out of time after setting up the context and never get to the real thing. Don't waste time saying "I normally would do this" – just provide a sheet and point them to the relevant part
- Use technology, and demonstrate some student interaction or activity
- Some science instructors have used this technique for the teaching demo: pass out completed lab homework (as if it's the panelists' homework) & review it to show how you explain material/correct errors
- Treat the committee like students- stay in character during teaching demo
- Be prepared for deliberate curveballs – panelists interrupting, acting like problematic students
- Maintain professional credibility while admitting you don't know everything – emphasize willingness to find answers/learn from students
- sometimes there is a mock student conference – only respond to cues that make sense – here's what they're looking for: are you willing to investigate and take the time to show you care? You can reference student services in mock conference
Final interview:
Prepare to talk about other-than-teaching experience plans – how will you contribute to assessment, curriculum, shared governance, other committees that drive the school? Visit the school's website so you are familiar with institutional goals and the President's background, vision, and priorities.


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Governance & Risk Management , Incident & Breach Response , Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development
Defending the Attack Surface: Protecting Data and the Web Apps That Access It by Protecting Data Where it Resides and the Web Apps That Access it
As vast improvements in productivity are achieved by enabling information access to all those that need it, from wherever they are and whatever device they choose to use, traditional perimeter and end point protection tools have been shown to fail miserably in this environment.
In this session we'll look at two highly effective approaches to securing your data while still providing flexibility of access.
Data Location and Protection - you can't protect data if you don't know where it is or who is accessing it. In this segment we'll look at the criticality of data discovery and an intuitive policy enforcement platform for authorizing access to it.
Web Application Security - as many high profile breaches such as those at eBay, JPMChase and OPM have demonstrated, vulnerable web applications can provide easy access to your data. See in this segment how best in class web application protections can be put in place.


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Who draws the lines?
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
West Virginia
Redistricting institutions
|Legislature alone
|Advisory commission
|Backup commission
|Politician commission
|Independent commission
- Redistricting Institutions
Different people are in charge of drawing the district lines in different states.
In most states, the state legislature has primary control of the redistricting process, both for state legislative districts and for congressional districts. 37 state legislatures have primary control of their own district lines, and 42 legislatures have primary control over the congressional lines in their state (including five of the states with just one congressional district).
In most of these states, district lines pass just like regular legislation, with a majority vote in each legislative chamber, subject to a veto by the Governor. Connecticut and Maine both require supermajorities, of two-thirds in each house, to approve a redistricting plan. And five of the states above -- Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, and North Carolina -- set district lines by joint resolution, without the potential for a gubernatorial veto.
- Advisory commissions
Five of the states above -- Iowa, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont -- appoint advisory commissions, to help advise the legislature about where the state legislative district lines should be drawn (there is a more detailed description of Iowa's special procedure here). Ohio (and, as of 2011, Rhode Island) do the same for congressional lines. (In most states, legislative committees draft initial redistricting plans, just like they draft most legislation. But in these states with advisory committees, non-legislators are also invited to formally participate on the initial drafting body.)
The legislature is not bound by what these advisory commissions recommend, but because the legislative leadership usually has a role in appointing the commission's membership, the commission's advice tends to influence the legislature's final decision substantially.
In Virginia, the governor issued an executive order in 2011 creating a similar advisory commission for his own benefit, but it is not yet clear whether the legislature will pay any special attention to this commission's input.
- Backup commissions
If advisory commissions influence redistricting maps before they go to the legislature, backup commissions have their influence afterward. In seven of the states above -- Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas -- there are special backup procedures to draw state district lines if the legislature does not successfully pass a plan. (Connecticut and Indiana use backup commissions for congressional districts.) Usually, a specific deadline in the state constitution triggers the backup commission's work.
These backup commissions all look a bit different. In Maryland, redistricting falls to the Governor's preferred plan if the legislature fails to act. In Oregon, the Secretary of State is the backup actor. In Connecticut and Illinois, the backup commission is composed of members selected by the legislative leadership. In Mississippi and Texas, the backup commission includes specific statewide elected officials, like the State Treasurer or state Attorney General. In Oklahoma, a 2010 citizen's initiative blended these models, establishing a backup commission composed of the Lieutenant Governor, and several members selected by the majority party's legislative leadership and the Governor.
- Politician commissions
In all of the states above, the legislature is primarily in charge of redistricting. Elsewhere, some other entity draws the lines. Seven states -- Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania -- draw state legislative districts with so-called "politician commissions," where elected officials may serve as members. (Hawaii and New Jersey use politician commissions for congressional districts.)
Each, again, is a bit different. In Arkansas and Ohio, specific elected officials have designated seats on the commission. In the other states, the legislative or party leadership nominates commissioners, usually with balanced numbers from each party, and sometimes with a role for the Governor or Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court to select nominees or appoint additional members of the commission.
- Independent commissions
The remaining states -- Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, and Washington -- all draw both state and federal districts using an independent commission, with regulations limiting direct participation by elected officials. (Alaska and Montana currently have only one congressional representative, and do not need to draw congressional lines.)
Members of these commissions are neither legislators nor public officials. Each state also bans commissioners from running for office in the districts they draw, at least for a few years after the commission finishes its work.
Some of the states further limit commission members' link to the legislature: Arizona and California, for example, also bar legislative staff from serving on the commission; California, Idaho, and Washington bar lobbyists from serving on the commission as well.


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The Master Bedroom Is Situated In The Lower Level And Is Complemented
Hello, buddies! How are things? Today, I wanna share with you about the contemporary residence. You will be amazed in this residence because you can see the beautiful sun trip in it. Curious with the design? Then, let's talk about this.
This residence has modern design. The modernity can be seen from facade. In the front yard, you will see the green garden. This garden is completed with beautiful plants and trees. The coconut trees also adorn the garden. With these green view, you can get the fresh air surrounding your residence.
In the front yard, you will find pool. This pool is designed in infinity pool and white floor tiles. From this infinity pool you can see the amazing sun trip in the border less ocean. What an amazing scene it is! The pool is also completed with black lounge chairs and table. When you want to enter the room, you will pass the white stairs which is completed with wooden fences.Read more »


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At the start of the semester I was approached by our Career Development office about my thoughts for connecting alumni, parents, students, faculty, and staff with each other professionally. They wanted Gettysburg people to be able to find other Gettysburg people in related fields. Although we have an alumni log-in community called myGettysburg it didn't connect all the audiences to each other.
We pulled together a collaborative group from my office, Career Development, Alumni, and Parent relations. After spending an hour putting LinkedIn to the test we decided that it was the tool for Gettysburg to use to connect our audiences professionally. We had about 1150 people in the Gettysburg College group on Feb 1. We renamed the group the Gettysburg College Professional Network and had a goal to increase the number of people in the group to 1,832 (the year the college was founded) by April 7 (founders day).
Our campaign was a huge success and we ended with over 1,900 users. As of today we have close to 2,100 users and have created an active community. Users have posted questions ranging from networking in a new city to what kind of events our regional alumni clubs should be hosting. Alumni are posting jobs available in their companies and younger alumni have reported finding jobs and contacts through the network.
One of the most interesting things that we have seen are the number of new Class of 2014 parents who not only want to join but already are asking to host internships on behalf of the College.
As a free tool that gives us the ability to connect all of our audiences we could not have designed a better system. Career Development and Alumni Relations have taken clear ownership over the network as well and have begun weaving it into their yearly communication plans.


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32 years in the early childhood field, working in the capacity of teacher, director, college instructor, NAEYC Validator, CDA Rep and Advisor, consultant, trainer, curriculum writer, and Director of Training for 2 national childcare chains.
Interactive, building upon the experiences and insights of participants; facilitator of the learning process; Mindful creator of the learning environment.
- Vice President and founding Board Member, Prevent Child Abuse Kane County - a chapter of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse. 1996 - 1999; - Secretary and Board Member, Marie Wilkinson Child Development Center. 1991 -1997; - Board Member, Fox Valley Association for the Education of Young Children. 1994 -1996; - Volunteer, Crisis Line of the Fox Valley. 1994 -1996; Family Support Center 1983 - 1985; - Volunteer Consultant, Herbie House Children's Bereavement Center. 1997 - 2001; - C.A.S.A. Volunteer (Court Appointed Special Advocate) 1994 - 1997; - DuPage AEYC "In Praise of Providers" Committee. 1991 - 1993; - Coordinated toy drive for Hesed House homeless shelter playroom. WOYC project 1992; - DuPage CCR&R Advisory Board. 1996 -1998; - Life Choices Teen Group Facilitator, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Elgin. 1997; - T.O.D.A.Y. Work with Youth Award. 1987; - Nominated - DuPage AEYC "In Praise of Providers" Award 1989; Received in 1999; - Fox Valley Child Care Committee. Secretary, 1984 - 1985; - Nominated for the 1985 Aurora YWCA "Woman of the Year" in the Education category; - President of the Waubonsee Child Development Club, 1981. Voted "Outstanding Member"; - Aurora Business and Professional Womens 1984 - 1985 "Young Career Woman"; - Awarded "Certificate of Merit" from the International Poetry Society, 2001, 2003. - Approved State of Pennsylvania TQAS Trainer; - NH Early Childhood Credential Mentor/Trainer Level III - Child Care Information Exchange "Panel of 300" member/participant; - Trainer for the Illinois Training Network - Registered, experienced court expert witness (Rominger Legal Services, TASA); - Included in the "Who's Who Among American Teachers", 2005 - 2006 edition;
MEd from Stafford University 6/04
Reside in McHenry, IL and currently work as a consultant and trainer. Can be reached at email@example.com Or 'friend' me on facebook for free offers and updates!!! Look under Learning Foundations. You will see my diva logo :) My website: www.childcarediva.com
PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Homeschool, Staff
English Language Arts, Specialty, Math, Other (Math), Science, Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Other (Science), Social Studies - History, U.S. History, Middle Ages, World Language, Spanish, Chinese, Arts & Music, Other (Arts), Other (Music), Drama, Health, Other (Specialty), Astronomy, Education, Theater Arts, Other (Social Studies - History), Other (ELA), For All Subject Areas, Literature, Classroom Management, EHS Training, General Science, Physical Science, Basic Math, Child Care, Holidays/Seasonal, Back to School, Thanksgiving, Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanzaa, Poetry, Autumn, Halloween, Winter, The New Year, Valentine's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Black History Month, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, For All Subjects, Summer


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Word: ephemeral [i-fem-er-uhl] adj. 1. lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory: the ephemeral joys of childhood 2. lasting but one day: an ephemeral flower ∞ n. 3. anything short-lived, as certain insects
Birthday: Martha Washington (1731), Marquis de Sade (1740), Thomas Hardy (1840), Johnny Weissmuller (1904), Sally Kellerman (1937), Stacy Keach (1941), Charlie Watts (1941), Jerry Mathers (1948), Gary Bettman (1952), Dana Carvey (1955), Lydia Lunch (1959), Kyle Petty (1960), B-Real (1970), Wayne Brady (1972), Nikki Cox (1978), Justin Long (1978)
Quotation: In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. – T.S. Eliot
Tune: Lately, I've been exploring my iPod and finding songs I'm not sure ended up on it. Some are terrible. Others are quite good. Here's "Innocent Violent Ordinary" by The Appleseed Cast. It's one of the good ones.
Gallimaufry: If you play the lottery on any kind of regular basis, this will drive you nuts. More proof there is really no justice out there. I wonder what the inept individuals ended up doing with all the money. ∞ Ghostbusters was one of the most successful movies of all-time. A classic. Irrefutably so. Ghostbusters II was a classic sequel. Kind of shitty, but you watch when there's nothing else on. Now years later, when everyone is remaking everything, the original creators of Ghostbusters decided to try something a little different. (Although it does seem there might be some interest in making a third movie.) Enter Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler) and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddmore) all contributed their voices to the game, set to come out June 16th for XBox 360, Playstation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS. Also involved were original cast members Annie Potts, Brian Doyle Murray and William Atherton. The game looks to be pretty sweet and has been met with some solid reviews. If you're wondering, yes, I'll be getting it. ∞ Hey, remember when Weezer used to be cool? Yeah, I don't either. But now there's a Weezer-inspired Snuggie called the Wuggie. Rivers Cuomo had this to say about it: "A Wuggie is basically exactly like a Snuggie, except it says Weezer on it. The people at Snuggie are doing it with us and promoting it with us. It's a totally legit Snuggie." If you were worried about it not being "legit," now you can rest easy. I'm pretty sure if anyone I know buys the Wuggie, I'll have to pull the plug on our association. You've been warned.
Incoming: Later today – I'll address the debacle that was The 2009 MTV Movie Awards.


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BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama and Mitt Romney begin a 14-day dash to Election Day Tuesday after a final debate in which each called the other remiss in an unsafe world.
Obama was to deliver remarks at campaign events in Delray Beach, Fla., and Dayton, Ohio. Vice President Joe Biden was to join him in Dayton.
Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, and running mate Paul Ryan were to speak at campaign events in Henderson, Nev., and Morrison, Colo.
Those states are considered swing states, or battleground states, where neither Obama nor Romney has overwhelming support.
The Monday night debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., focused on foreign policy, but both candidates used their time to talk about domestic issues, including jobs, the economy and the budget. They also talked about the U.S. auto-industry bailout, school-class sizes and Romney's tax plan.
On foreign policy, Obama accused Romney of offering policies on the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and elsewhere that were "all over the map."
"I know you haven't been in a position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong," Obama said.
Romney countered that he didn't "see our influence growing around the world -- I see our influence receding, in part because of the failure of the president to deal with our economic challenges at home."
He congratulated Obama for the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, "But we can't kill our way out of this mess."
He said the Obama administration lacks "a comprehensive strategy" to diminish radicalism in the Middle East.
At one point, when Romney complained the U.S. Navy was "smaller now than any time since 1917," Obama said: "We also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater -- nuclear submarines.
"And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting slips," Obama said.
He criticized Romney for once saying Russia was the biggest geopolitical foe facing the United States.
"The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War's been over for 20 years," Obama said.


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Come on, you know it's true: breakfast gets the shaft. We direct much psychic and physical energy toward dinner (the accepted de facto dining ritual, portrayed by conventional wisdom as the ideal time to dissect the day over protein, a starch, and a vegetable). But in the thick of the morning rush, we often treat breakfast as a mere nutritional necessity.
Elevating breakfast doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. A current favorite in our house is
my "oatmeal brûlée": After cooking your oatmeal, add a pinch of salt, a swirl of honey or syrup, and some
nuts or raisins, if your kids like them. Then pour it into a ramekin, top it with a thin layer of sugar (about
1/ 8 inch thick), and finish it under the broiler until it's brown and bubbling vigorously (two to three minutes)
for a sweet, crunchy effect kids dig, and dig into, big time. It's high in fiber and protein, and it's filling, too.
Best of all, it's highly dramatic.
Rob Rosenthal is Short Order Dad.


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Dignity Health Medical Group is actively seeking a highly experienced leader to serve as Chair, Department of Family Medicine. The ideal candidate will be at the Professor Level or equivalent with 10+ years of proven clinical excellence in patient care. We are recruiting for a well-rounded and collaborative physician leader with a strong passion for research, teaching, and community outreach.The Department Chair will be primarily accountable for the departments overall success, through continuous improvement of the quality of medical care and resident/medical student education, while ensuring that care is delivered in the most efficient manner possible. This leader is also responsible for collaborating with Dignity Health Medical Group Administration to strategically plan the future growth and development of the department and the implementation of educational programs. This position serves as the liaison for quality and cost effective initiatives between the Dignity Health Medical Group and St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center.The Department of Family Medicine includes 11 physicians, 1 advanced practitioner, and 24 residents. Additionally, Dignity Health Medical Group has an academic affiliation with Creighton University School of Medicine, whose third & fourth year medical students (84) are currently completing their medical degree at the St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center by the DHMGs faculty. Included in this position is the opportunity for an academic appointment with Creighton University.In the Spring of 2021, Creighton University seeks to expand its Phoenix presence, bringing a four-year medical school, nursing school, pharmacy school, occupational/physical therapy schools, physician assistant school, and an emergency medical services program within a mile of the St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center campus. This expansion will ensure that Arizonaand DHMGare doing their part to contribute to top-notch training of future medical professionals.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
This position reports to the Chief Medical Officer of Dignity Health Medical Group for medical group activities. As a member of the medical staff at St. Josephs Hospital, the physician will also collaborate with the Chief Medical Officer of the Hospital for all activities related to medical staff services.
With over 240 physicians and 800 total employees, Dignity Health Medical Group - Arizona is a comprehensive, integrated, multispecialty, academic medical group that serves Dignity Health St. Josephs and Westgate Medical Centers, Chandler Regional Medical Center, and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center - a flagship region of Dignity Health currently headquartered in San Francisco, California. The physicians of DHMG - AZ are regularly involved with clinical duties, as well as academics and translational bench research, keeping the enhancement of care and the patient experience at the forefront of the work that they do.
Like its legendary namesake rising out of the ashes, the greater Phoenix area has emerged as one of the bright metropolitan areas of the 21st century. The Phoenix area encompasses more than 20 incorporated cities, including Glendale, Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa, and all serve as a timeless Southwestern backdrop to the spirit of Puebloans, cowboys, miners and visionaries. Recently, the Census Bureau named Arizonas Maricopa County, which includes the greater Phoenix metro area, the county with the nations highest annual population growth. Home to more than 4 million residents where everyone has a sunny disposition, the Phoenix area also ranks as the sixth-largest city in the United States. Phoenix is a premier destination offering the best of both worlds: a growing and diverse economy and a great place to live with more than 300 sun-filled days a year and an almost endless supply of attractions including:
The Phoenix area is also a destination for people from all over the world to receive outstanding healthcare. This is particularly true of Dignity Healths St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center - home to the world-renown Barrow Neurological Institute and The Norton Thoracic Institute - #1 lung transplant program in the U.S. - as well as many other world-class healthcare services and teaching programs.
Dignity Health Medical Group - Arizona: https://www.dhmg.org/arizona/
Arizona General Hospital: https://www.dignityhealth.org/arizona/locations/arizonageneral
Chandler Regional Medical Center: https://www.dignityhealth.org/arizona/locations/chandlerregional
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center: https://www.dignityhealth.org/arizona/locations/mercygilbert
St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center: https://www.dignityhealth.org/stjosephs/
St. Josephs Westgate Medical Center : https://www.dignityhealth.org/westgate/
City of Phoenix: https://www.phoenix.gov/
Downtown Phoenix: http://dtphx.org/
Phoenix Chamber of Commerce: http://phoenixchamber.com/
County Resources: https://www.maricopa.gov/
School Districts:
Phoenix News: http://www.azcentral.com/local/phoenix/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/CityofPhoenixAZ/about/


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It has been a crazy busy few days… crazy enough that I didn't even get anything posted for yesterday! I had this sign done and ready to post but didn't get the actual typing done.
This project was one of 4 signs/projects I base painted the other day.
This is a sign where I used an SVG cut file I purchased from an Etsy seller and some leaves and dragonflies I purchased from the Cricut Design space. I did the wording and then put the dragonflies down the sides with the leaves.
It might not be as fancy as some other patterns/projects but it was fun to experiment a little!
Once it was done, I sealed it because I knew it was going on the back deck/porch.
Hopefully I get the other two done today or tomorrow to post!


text: It's no secret that some British residents want an active-by-default internet filter to keep kids away from salacious content. However, the BBC now claims that the UK government wants to falsely imply that this filter already exists. According to a reportedly leaked letter, the Department of Education is asking internet providers to refer to their filters as "default on" without changing what's ultimately a voluntary system. As you'd imagine, the companies are supposedly quite unhappy: ISP sources believe the phrasing would mislead customers and encourage complacency. Officials have declined to comment on the demands, but we may know the truth soon enough as the Department of Education's letter says an announcement could come "shortly."


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Barnga—When Cultures Play by Different Rules
May 31, 2013 § 14 Comments
When it comes to cross-cultural simulation games, Barnga is an oldie but a goody.
Barnga was created by Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan in 1980, while working for USAID in Gbarnga, Liberia. During a coup, his team's vehicles were commandeered by the military, so Thiagarajan and his colleagues stayed in their compound, passing the time playing Euchre. Born in Chennai, India, Thiagarajan had moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where he'd learned how to play the card game, and as his Liberian coworkers hadn't played it before, he gave them a copy of Hoyles Games to read up on the rules. The trouble was, after their crash course, they all came away with different interpretations of how to play. Rather than clear up the arguments, Thiagarajan let the players work it out, and after three hours, the group had settled on their own, unique version of Euchre.
"This interesting episode presented me with a blinding flash of the obvious," writes Thiagarajan in Barnga: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes. "Serious conflicts arise not from major, obvious cultural differences, but from unrecognized, minor ones."
From this, Thiagarajan developed Barnga, one of 120 simulations and games that he has created during his career.
The concept of Barnga is simple (Spoiler Alert!): players are given rules for a card game called "Five Tricks." Unknown by the players, though, is that each set of rules is slightly different. When participants begin playing, the results are many and varied: confusion, accusations of cheating, frustration, assertions of authority, feelings of isolation, resignation, competitiveness, formation of alliances, etc.
The instructions for Barnga not only include how-tos for the simulation but also guidelines for directing the follow-up discussion—wherein lies the real meat of the experience. It's when people discuss how they feel about the game, and about each other, that the shift is made to the realm of cultural interaction.
Barnga works best with about 20 to 40 players, though it is possible with fewer than eight. Instructions—in four languages—are available from several sources, including Thiagarajan's website, The Thiagi Group, and Amazon, where several pages describing the game are available with the "Look Inside!" feature.
If you've played Barnga in the past, it may be worth another look, as the "25th Anniversary Edition" includes the following updates:
- the option of partnership play, which opens up discussion on the effect of moral support
- a subtle trick that reinforces the idea that everyone is using the same rules
- multiple tournament formats, and
- more debriefing prompts
And if Barnga whets your appetite for group activities, take a look at Thiagarajan's list of over 300 free "training games and activities," most of which also appeared in the Thiagi GameLetter.
(Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, with Raja Thiagarajan, Barnga: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes, Intercultural Press, 2006)
[photo: "Card Games," by Twaize, used under a Creative Commons license]
§ 14 Responses to Barnga—When Cultures Play by Different Rules
Hi Craig, Thanks for visiting and "liking" my latest post on CultureShuttle Diaries! Just stumbled on this while exploring your own lovely blog. Can't wait to try it on my gamer husband and his friends. (They LOVE analyzing and debating and reinterpreting rule sets, even when they do speak the same language. Curious to see how they manage the challenge.)
[…] Source: Barnga—When Cultures Play by Different Rules […]
[…] of us use to help with self-awareness and humility, like the "Crossing the Line" exercise and Barnga: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes — but other excellent teaching resources are out there, and the Cultural Competencies Committee, […]
[…] Here is a detailed explanation of the debriefing stage, which may be used by anyone willing to try their hand as a facilitator. […]
[…] Here is a detailed explanation of the debriefing stage, which may be used by anyone willing to try their hand as a facilitator. […]
[…] Barnga—When Cultures Play by Different Rules […]


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Deer Valley Rock Art Center in Arizona begins the spring season of events with an important panel discussion on vandalism to rock art.
The defacing of rock art sites in Arizona has become a distressing and persistent reality, which must be addressed swiftly. To promote public awareness and debate about the preservation of rock art sites, a panel of archaeologists will discuss a variety of topics, including recent vandalism at Keyhole Sink; debates over rock art conservation models; Native American concerns about the destruction of cultural heritage; and stewardship of archaeological sites.
Read more here for time and place:
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/a ... z1BhAZDVf5


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Homemade Banana Ice Cream [RECIPE]
Next time you have a hankering for ice cream (for me, that was 5 minutes ago, now, and 5 minutes from now), look no further than frozen bananas! You can make yummy raw vegan ice cream with just a few nanners – it's as simple as that!
Bombdiggity Homemade Banana Ice Cream
- 3 frozen sliced bananas
- peanut butter, chocolate sauce, nuts, strawberries, or anything else you'd like to use to kick your ice cream up a notch
Take 3 hella ripe, brown-spotty bananas, peel 'em, slice 'em (so they're easier to blend), and freeze 'em overnight. Throw your nanners in a blender with desired nuts/sauces/fruit/sweet treats and mix well until your "ice cream" is smooth and creamy (you can add a teensy bit of nut milk if your blender's acting fussy). Plop dat sweet ish in a bowl and top it off with some chocolate sauce, nuts, strawberries, or whatever your heart desires (in my case, ↑ it's JEM nut butters – SWOON!). ♥
Which toppings do you like to add to your banana ice cream?
About Sunny (Sunny's Profile)Longtime vegan, hardcore compassionate beauty junkie, serious cake aficionado, and lover of all things floofy and sparkly! If there's something in particular you'd like me to review, drop me a line at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Google +.
Filed in: vegan food
Comments (2)
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This is such a great idea and sounds so yummy!
You've just reminded me it's time to pull my Yonanas out again! Banana ice cream with vegan chocolate coated peanuts and chocolate sauce, sooo good 🙂


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Hi friends!
Thank you so much for all the feedback on the vegan challenge! I'm so excited to hear so many of you are keen to take part on the challenge and hopefully some of you have been inspired to at least consider adding a couple of vegan days on your week every now and then.
I have had a major craving for dips/spreads/purées of all sorts this week. These three colourful dips are my current favourites and they are perfect weekend food - dipped or spread on flat bread, crisp bread, wraps or enjoyed with fresh veggies.
Enjoy and I hope you have a beautiful weekend!
1. Place all ingredients in a blender/food processor and purée until the mixture is smooth, but has some texture to it. A little bit of crunch is good.
1. Cook the beetroot (with skin on) until tender.
2. Peel the cooked beetroot and chop into cubes.
3. Place all ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth (or crunchy, which ever consistency you prefer).
2. Purée all ingredients until smooth. Add water if you want the mixture to be thinner.


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There are no saints in matters relating to visas. And there are no heroes either.
2.We should avoid an immature and juvenile song and dance over the refusal of a visa by the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi to Shri Praveen Swami, who heads the Delhi office of "The Hindu", to enable him to accompany Shri S.M.Krishna, our Foreign Minister, during his just concluded visit to Pakistan.
3. Travel visa is not a fundamental or human right. Countries have a right to refuse visas to individuals and they don't have to give reasons for their refusal. Visas are often refused by all countries of the world on unadmitted political or national security grounds.
4. After we carried out our nuclear tests in 1998, our retired nuclear scientists wanting to travel to the US found it impossible to get a US visa. A retired Chairman of our Atomic Energy Commission found that the US Embassy in New Delhi, without saying no, sat over his application for a visa to attend a non-governmental conference in the US. He took the hint and withdrew his application.
5. Another retired nuclear scientist could not get a visa from the US Embassy in New Delhi because he had once visited Iran after retirement.
6. We are not trail-blazers in this matter. We can be as over-restrictive as any other country in the consideration of visa applications from journalists and academics. We have not only refused visas to journalists and academics---even from the US, our strategic partner--- but even harassed one or two after issuing them visas and allowing them to work from New Delhi.
7. A typical example is that of Alex Perry, the New Delhi correspondent of the "Time" magazine, when Shri A.B.Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. We issued him a visa to report from New Delhi, but when one of his reports was perceived to be uncharitably critical of Shri Vajpayee, the NDA Government had him harassed and humiliated through the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office on some ground or the other.
8.We have refused visas to journalists and academics from the ASEAN countries because of our adverse perception of their views relating to the Pakistani sponsorship of terrorism against India.
9. For a journalist, refusal of visa by a foreign country is an occupational hazard. Praveen and the rest of the country should take it in our stride instead of projecting it as one more instance of Pakistani cussedness towards India.
10. Praveen is one of our well-known reporters on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. There are others too who report on this subject, but they were issued visas to go with our Foreign Minister. One has an impression that the Pakistanis are unhappy with his reporting and TV interviews on Pakistani sponsorship of terrorism because they feel he is vicious in his reporting and interviews. We may not agree with this, but it is their perception.
11. Some ill-informed analysts have criticised the journalists, who had accompanied our Foreign Minister, for not raising the refusal of the visa to Praveen. One of the analysts has pointed out that only Ms Sheela Bhatt, the Executive Editor, Rediff, had the courage to raise it during her interactions in Islamabad.
12. Kudos to Sheela for her professional courage, but the fact that other journalists did not raise it does not make them professional cowards. If they feel the refusal of visa to Praveen is a matter between Pakistan and "The Hindu", one cannot blame them. They had a job to do in reporting on the FM's visit and their focus was on the larger dimension of their visit to Pakistan.
13.When the NDA Government harassed and humiliated Alex, other foreign journalists based in Delhi did not rush to his defence. There is now a slanging match between our PMO and the "Washington Post" on a negative report on Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh sent by its correspondent in New Delhi. Other foreign journalists in New Delhi are discreetly following the controversy without getting actively involved in it.
14.If at all foreign newspapers find it necessary to take a stand in such matters, their headquarters will do it and not individual journalists. ( 10-9-12)
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: email@example.com Twitter @SORBONNE75)


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Boston mayor proposes new downtown school
Tom Menino hoping for fall 2016 opening
The mayor of Boston wants to convert a building in the city's North End that once housed Mitt Romney's presidential campaign headquarters into a school to serve the growing number of families living downtown.
Mayor Thomas Menino says the goal is open the school to 500 students in kindergarten through the eighth-grade in the fall of 2016.
The city council must approve nearly $13 million to buy and then renovate the three-story, 42,000-square-foot building. The proposal will be presented to the council on Monday.
The Commercial Street building was constructed by the federal government in the 1960s, and has housed offices of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a law firm and a furniture store.
Menino says the need for the school is evidence of the school system's growing popularity among families.


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Senator plans to fix juvenile justice system
Sen. Brad Ashford to introduce bill in legislature
A state senator has big plans to overhaul Nebraska's juvenile justice system. Next week, his six years of work will go to the floor of the state legislature.
Sen. Brad Ashford is authoring a bill that would up-end parts of Nebraska's juvenile justice system. Among the ideas is a new agency called the Office of Juvenile Assistance, which would consolidate the state's separate juvenile programs under one bureaucratic roof.
The bill calls for a plan to extend juvenile court services from age 18 to 21, if a court chooses, and to establish more county-based community diversion programs for kids to try to keep them out of the state's juvenile detention centers. The plan also calls for a greater commitment to mental health.
"The sooner we can get to these kids, obviously we're going to reduce the violence, reduce the injury, but we're going to save an awful lot of money," Ashford said.
Ashford has the support of Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine.
"We've seen plenty of cases that have been very violent in nature where a young person had a mental health history, and maybe even some prior contacts in juvenile court, that maybe didn't get the necessary services that they needed," Kleine said.
An example of these juvenile cases is the 19-year-old shooter who killed eight people at Westroads Mall in December 2007. Robert Hawkins had a history in juvenile court, but once he turned 18, his contact with the court abruptly came to an end.
Ashford said Omaha witnessed violence perpetrated by a young person who clearly needed a lot of help. He and his staff are still finalizing the bill and plan to introduce it in the legislature in about a week.


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The County Tax Collector is as independent government agency and is elected for a four-year term in the Presidential election year. It is essential that a County Tax Collector is independent to ensure that it can serve the taxpayers, local businesses and local and state agencies correctly.
The duties of a County Tax Collector are:
• Collecting property taxes for every local government agency with the power to levy taxes
• Serving the state as an agent for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Revenue and others
• Managing local revenue programs, such as issuing occupational licenses and collecting tourist development taxes
The County Tax Collector is a vital link between the citizens and the diverse programs that affect them and they have the authority and resources to manage both state and local revenue programs.
A County Tax Collector can have collections and distributions of billions of dollars annually. Handling this requires conveniently located offices, skilled employees, and innovative data systems to ensure that the County Tax Collector functions efficiently and, most importantly, works accurately.
Even though the revenues collected by the County Tax Collector are mostly taxes, the County Tax Collector is not funded from tax dollars but is a fee office. The fees collected for the services provided by the County Tax Collector are used to fund the operating budget, which is approved by the State's Department of Revenue. Unfortunately, the work volume of a County Tax Collector, along with cost-effective operations, normally results in fee revenues that are well in excess of the budget. The excess fees are returned to the local government agencies in proportion to the amount they pay by the County Tax Collector so that they receive tax collection services at the lowest possible cost.
Amongst other issues, the County Tax Collector bills and collects real and personal property taxes for the Department of Revenue. The actual amount of the tax is based on the assessed value of the property and the mileage rate, which is set by various taxing authorities. They also issue state motor vehicle licenses and processes applications for titles on automobiles, trucks, mobile homes, and boats on behalf of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.


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State NRB approves wolf hunt quota
37 percent higher than last year
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' board has approved kill limits for the state's second wolf hunt.
The DNR proposed a quota of 275 wolves, up from 201 in last year's inaugural hunt. The state's Chippewa tribes would be entitled to up to 115 wolves within the ceded territory.
The DNR would issue 2,750 permits, but that may drop to offset the number of wolves the tribes ultimately decide they want. The Chippewa are fiercely opposed to hunting wolves, though, and chose not to kill any of the 85 they were allotted last year.
The Natural Resources Board approved the package unanimously during a meeting Wednesday in Wausau.
The hunt is scheduled to begin in mid-October and run through the end of February or until the kill limits are reached.
Republican lawmakers passed a bill last year establishing a wolf hunt that would run annually from mid-October until the end of February, or whenever hunters and trappers reached their kill limits.
The first hunt last fall was one of the most contentious outdoor issues Wisconsin has faced in years. Farmers tired of wolves preying on their livestock praised the move. Conservationists argued the state's wolf population was too fragile to sustain a hunt. Animal rights advocates blasted the hunt as inhumane.
A group of humane societies filed a lawsuit challenging provisions that allow hunters to use dogs to go after wolves. A Dane County judge banned training dogs on wolves but allowed their use during the hunt. The Chippewa, meanwhile, tried to launch a night deer hunt despite the DNR's long-standing ban on the practice as unsafe. The bands pointed to language in the wolf hunt law that allows hunting at night as justification; a federal judge blocked the Chippewa's season but the case is still pending.
The DNR ultimately shut the season down two months early after hunters and trappers killed 117 wolves, one more than their quota, by December.


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It's peak of the rut, the magical moment man and deer wait for all year. Hormone-overloaded bucks are chasing hot does through forests, across highways — sometimes right under our deer stands.
Most does, their brief period of fertility precisely set in motion by the diminishing hours of the November sun, will mate only one day and not again until next year if they're impregnated. Normally phantom-like, bucks will throw caution to the wind to find them. They must not miss this limited opportunity to mate with as many does as possible. Celibacy awaits them for the next 11 months.
The bow hunter, seeing his best chance of the year this week, now sits high, silent, motionless and hopefully undetected in his tree stand. He walked to it in darkness, along a trail subtly marked with light-reflective tacks to guide him through the labyrinth of fallen tree from the recent storm. With each step, he tried to avoid the betrayal of cracking branches, tripping roots and treacherous rocks. The hunter worries that deer will see his light, hear his footsteps, or smell his scent on the way in. Their nasal alarm-blow can signal his intrusion, prematurely sabotaging his hunt.
Relieved to arrive undetected at his tree, he put on his coat, which — along with his backpack — he carried to avoid overheating and sweating, two sure ways of getting detected and later chilled. He placed his bow and pack on a rope suspended earlier from his stand. After climbing carefully, avoiding clanging any metal, he pulled them up, and putting his arms around the trunk, attached his safety harness to his special tree. The bow hunter is literally and figuratively the ultimate tree hugger.
He then sat — there is little standing in a tree stand — and readied an arrow, observing Mars and Mercury and all the stars in their fading brilliance, waiting in silence for the first shooting light a half-hour before sunrise. Meanwhile, his ears interpreted the waking drama around him.
In the eternal pas de deux of predator and prey, deer — having patterned our daily movements — have learned to live in the shadows of time. Adjusting to man, they hide and rest by day, feeding freely at night. At dawn and dusk, they move to and from their secret bedding areas. But during the urgent rut, they can move at any hour.
Hoping for a chance rendezvous, the bow hunter follows their schedule, beginning and ending his day in darkness. He may hear the vocalizations of the great horned owl, just before dawn as it signals its readiness to sleep, and 12 hours later when it awakens, ready to hunt again. Then the howls of coyotes, and raccoons come out of hiding to forage. Between those times, the bow hunter's fascinating world unfolds.
Sunlight reveals an unpredictable drama of surprising characters and uncertain endings. The hunting red-tailed hawk will scream his drawn-out "keeeer!" while migrating geese honk overhead, drowning out a small, disorganized chorus of white-throated sparrows, chickadees, jays, titmice, hermit thrushes, winter wrens and nuthatches foraging for breakfast.
The cacophonous riot of crows mobbing a hawk or owl and the massive movements of migrating blackbirds attending seed-rich fields likely will catch his notice. In the distance, he'll hear the emphatic two-syllable blast of a goose hunter's 12-gauge as waterfowl make their first flight of the day, and the soft, high-pitched calls of foraging kinglets and brown creepers, the latter always spiraling up a tree trunk to feed. Adjacent to fields, amid the young aspens and birches, he'll note the distinctive wing flutterings of our last migrating woodcock.
On warm autumn days, the bow hunter will hear cicadas, spring peepers and other vocal amphibians reluctant to burrow in the mud for their long winter sleep. He may note the drop of a few remaining acorns and apples, the wild candy that deer find irresistible. A fisher, mink or weasel will deftly scurry over a nearby stone wall, hunting its crevices, while the forest's confetti of leaves falls by the dozens.
Always listening for deer, unless he falls asleep or succumbs to the temptations of his smart phone, the bow hunter is often fooled by scampering squirrels that periodically help keep him awake. Their quick, erratic, rustling tempo is quickly differentiated from the sound he most loves to hear — the slow, regularly rhythmic, heavy crunching of dry leaves by the hooves of an approaching heavy deer.
From pianissimo to crescendo, this wild, most fundamental percussion music that for thousands of years thrilled our ancestors stimulates his adrenaline, increases his heartbeat, shortens his breath, and heightens his awareness — all hopefully climaxing in the burst of his arrow.
But on too many days, his efforts will be unrequited: Deer movements can cease with excessive winds, high temperatures, or too much moonlight. When deer do appear, they often will pass too far away for a shot — or when close, may be blocked by an intrusive branch or trunk. He must develop patience as much as stealth and shooting skill. The bow hunter must always get close. Winds, deflecting branches, and a deer's potential movement all can conspire to foil long shots.
Intimate encounters present the greatest challenges, but offer the greatest rewards. All the great bow hunters are skilled woodsmen, benefiting from extensive knowledge of prey, persistence and periodic luck. The bow hunter is privileged by his efforts to see the white margins around a deer's penetrating eyes, the nervous shifting of its ears, independently seeking out danger, the upper lips of a buck lifting to taste the air for female pheromones. He will get close enough to burn each kill into his memory forever.
The bow hunter must deal with repeated frustrations and failures. His season becomes as much a mental challenge as a physical one.
But when his arrow flies true, and his big buck falls, the heavy price for his passion becomes a bargain, willingly paid every autumn.
Today — New England Fisheries Management Council Meeting, Newport (R.I.) Marriott. Info: (978) 465-0492.
Tomorrow — Roads & Water: Maintenance and Protection, Massachusetts Association of Conservation Committees' fall conference, Clark University, 8 a.m. to noon. Info: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Tomorrow — Vermont rifle season for deer opens.
Sunday — Salisbury bird walk, Forbush Bird Club. Meet at boat ramp at Salisbury State Park at 8 a.m. Leader: Paul Meleski (508) 757-2950.
Tuesday — Muzzle-loader season ends in New Hampshire.
Wednesday — Shotgun and rifle deer season opens in Connecticut. Hunters are no longer required to register deer at a check station during the first four days of the season. Instead, register harvest online or by telephone.
Wednesday — Firearms deer season opens in New Hampshire.
Thursday — Forbush Bird Club special program: "Marine Birds and the Great Whales." Speaker: Peter Trull. Mass Audubon Broad Meadow Brook, 414 Massasoit Road, Worcester, 7:30 p.m.


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These days, people bank online. They shop online. They even file taxes online. So why can't Illinoisans register to vote online, as voters do in other states?
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn wants to modernize state election law by allowing would-be voters to skip visits to the courthouse or village hall by registering on their home computers.
"We must move our election process into the 21st century," Quinn told legislators last week in his State of the State address.
Supporters say the measure could benefit two million people in Illinois who are qualified but have not registered. They say the option could be particularly attractive to 18- to 24-year-olds, more accustomed to using the web. And other states have adopted it and put in place systems to address concerns about voter fraud.
Proposals to lessen the burden of voting have at times been viewed skeptically by Republicans as efforts to benefit low-income and minority voters who mark Democratic ballots. But many states that allow online registration are Republican leaning, and Illinois' GOP leadership doesn't object to the governor's proposal — though questioning whether it should be a legislative priority at a time when the state has its plate full with so many serious financial challenges.
"The more people voting, the better for us," Pat Brady, Illinois state GOP chairman, told The Associated Press. "But to spend three breaths or a nickel ... to work on this is just nothing but a waste of time."
Democrats and Republicans have repeatedly said legislators must focus all their efforts on fixing Illinois' worst-in-the-nation pension crisis. The state is about $96 billion behind in pension contributions and owes billions in backlogged bills.
Quinn, who is up for re-election next year, hasn't actively been exploring the online voting issue. His office hasn't proposed any details for how an online system would work.
His spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said the general concept is that voting-age individuals would be allowed to register online if their registration information, such as date of birth and citizenship, is verifiable. The applicant also must have a verifiable signature on file with the secretary of state's office or a statewide voter registration database.
Secretary of State Jesse White hasn't been consulted by Quinn, White's spokesman Henry Haupt said. Neither has the Illinois Board of Elections, spokesman Jim Tenuto said. However, Tenuto said the measure could be helpful in beefing up registration rolls.
"It's a matter of making it easier," he said.
A former state elections chief, Ron Michaelson, said preventing fraud should be paramount. He said voters wanting to register online should be required to cast their ballot in person the first time they vote to verify identification. That requirement already is in place for anyone who registers by mail.
At least 15 states, including Colorado, California and Nevada, allow voters to register online.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has estimated that nearly 769,000 people nationwide registered online to vote in the 2010 midterm elections. The number went up by almost 78,000 compared to the 2008 presidential election.
Democratic leaders in Congress have introduced proposals to force states to have voter registration websites, but the measures face a tough battle in Washington's partisan climate. Some opponents argue that election matters should be decided by individual states, not Congress.
Under California law, an individual's online application includes date of birth and the last four digits of the Social Security number, which is checked against a driver's license or identification card kept by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles. If the information matches, an electronic image of the applicant's DMV signature is added to the application at the end of the process.
Colorado launched its registration website in 2010. The site allows individuals to register and amend their information. The site was used by 162,000 people the last day before the deadline to register for November's election, said Richard Coolidge, spokesman for the secretary of state's office, which administers the website.
While easing the registration process, Coolidge said the online process also reduced costs for county offices, which no longer have to hire temporary staff to process a crush of applications close to the registration deadline.
"Clerks (used to be) delivered stacks upon stacks of voter registration forms," Coolidge said.
Colorado's site was upgraded to allow people to register using smartphones and tablets.
Anderson, of Quinn's office, said the online option could help prevent data entry mistakes. Sometimes county personnel have difficulty reading an applicant's handwriting when copying the information into the voting rolls. Other times applications are missing information and registration can't be completed.
The cost of the website hasn't been determined. Nevada's site cost $248,000 but took advantage of federal funding. It went live statewide last fall.


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Indicative Rate * AU$165 to AU$355
BreakFree Peninsula wish to advise the painting of the building from Monday 11 June to Monday 31 December. Please note the outdoor pools will be closed until Monday 3 September, the indoor pool and spa will remain open for the duration of the project. Works are expected between the hours of Monday to Friday 7am to 5pm. They apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
At BreakFree Peninsula you can experience the ultimate Gold Coast holiday and take in the sights of Surfers Paradise from your high-rise apartment.
Stroll down the road to Cavill Avenue (the main shopping, dining and entertainment hub of Surfers) or laze at one of the resort's swimming pools and spas.
There's affordable accommodation for singles, couples, families and groups at BreakFree Peninsula, with fully self-contained 1, 2 and 3 Bedroom Apartments. Enjoy the surrounding views from up high on your private balcony, with most apartments overlooking the ocean.
The One Bedroom Apartments have a balcony and most have ocean views. Also included in the facilities is a fully equipped kitchen with a dishwasher, along with a laundry featuring a washing machine and dryer. Air-conditioning is available on request.
Two Bedroom Apartments are available with one queen size bed and two single beds. Features an ensuite to the master bedroom, air-conditioning (on request) and Foxtel television. All rooms include balcony (most with ocean views), and are fully self-contained with a kitchen and laundry.
Three Bedroom Apartments are available with two queen size beds and two single beds. Features ensuite to the master bedroom, air-conditioning and Foxtel television are available on request. All rooms include balcony with ocean views, full kitchen and laundry.
Note: Information on listed products and services are provided by the operator and were correct at the time of publishing. Rates are indicative based on the minimum and maximum available prices of products and services. Please visit the operator's website for further information. All prices quoted are in Australian dollars (AUD).


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If we can all forget M. Night Shyamlan's atrocious The Last Airbender (I went through a lot of counseling in order to do so), we can perhaps go back a little further and appreciate the original Nickelodeon show Avatar: The Last Airbender. Last year it was announced that the saga would continue with the miniseries Legend of Korra. There was a panel for the miniseries this year at Comic-Con but unfortunately we were unable to attend. The good news is that the teaser trailer they showed has now gone online!
The central premise of Legend of Korra is that it picks up 70 years after the original series and Korra of the Water Tribe is the new Avatar. Because the Avatar must learn all four elements, that's a bit of a problem seeing as Aang was the last airbender so who can teacher Korra airbending? As you'll see in the trailer, she's at least got waterbending and firebending down pretty well. No official release date has been announced for Legend of Korra, but we'll let you know as soon as it's announced. Hit the jump to check out the trailer and to learn more about the upcoming miniseries.
UGO reports that Korra's friends are Mako, "a handsome Asian man with some crazy sci-fi hair" and he has a brooding, "Zuko-ish" attitude. His brother Bolen is a little goofier. They come from the United Republic, "a city founded by Aang and Zuko meant to be a multicultural metropolis where people from all the Tribes live together. (A 1920s jazz age Shanghai with industrial revolution-era colors.)"
Whereas Aang and his crew rode around on a sky bison, Korra's animal-vehicle of choice is a polar-bear dog named Naga (right, image via this Airbender fansite). She also has "a wormy-looking Red Panda/Black-Footed Ferrett called a Fire Ferret."
As I mentioned, Korra's challenge to becoming an Avatar is how to learn airbending. The secret lies with Kenzen, Aang and Katara's son. According to UGO, "Kenzen, an Airbender, is key to Korra's development, as Air is the last element for Korra to master." Furthermore, "Kenzen is married to Pemma, a blonde woman, and they have three kids: Genora is a bookworm-y daughter, Ikki is a motor mouth daughter and Milo is a goofy boy who kinda looks like Aang. (I may have the spelling wrong on these, but just go with it.)"
The antagonists this time around are"The Revolution", masked men who are anti-Benders called "Chi-Blockers". They don't much care for bending in any of its forms and their mission is to defeat Korra. Furthermore, Toph's legacy of metalbending has yielded two complications for Korra. First are the "Metalbender Cops" who look like samurais but with metal cables coiled up on their backs. More surprising is that the Metalbenders are led by Toph's daughter, a sexy-looking bad-ass who's functions as the de facto sheriff of Republic City.
This all sounds terrific and I can't wait to see more.


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Across Asia and Europe, worry that the US economy is deteriorating sent stock indexes plummeting Monday – in some cases by percentages not seen since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.Typical was Japan's benchmark Nikkei, which closed down 3.9 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 5.5 percent. India's Sensex lost 7.4 percent, its second-worst drop in history. At midday, the FTSE in Britain was down by 3.9 percent. Oil futures prices, however, fell to a six-week low of $89 a barrel in electronic trading.Above, a passer-by in Hong Kong glances at a display showing the Hang Seng numbers.
In Europe to try to win backing for his governing strategy, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pledged that the Feb. 18 election in his country will be "fair, transparent, and peaceful." But he said Pakistan needs time to "reach what you have reached" in terms of democracy and human rights because "our environment and your environment are very, very different." Musharraf (above, l., at a news briefing in Brussels with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana) also sought to assure European leaders that Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal is secure under his rule and beyond the reach of terrorists and other extremists.
A boycott of businesses owned by allies of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki was called by opposition leaders, along with a new round of street protests against his disputed reelection. The latter are scheduled to begin Thursday. Kibaki's government blasted the boycott as "illegal and an insult to Kenyans." It also summoned Britain's ambassador for a dressing-down because his government has yet to recognize Kibaki's election victory.
New turmoil erupted in Lebanon Monday as two vehicles owned by relatives of political figures were heavily damaged in a grenade explosion. There were no injuries, however. One vehicle belonged to the wife of a judge, the other to the family of a pro-Syrian general jailed in connection with the 2005 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The incidents came one day after parliament announced its 12th postponement of the election for a new national president. The vote, which was to have taken place Monday, was rescheduled for Feb. 11.
Human rights activists reacted angrily to the appointment of a war-crimes suspect in Sudan to a senior post in government. The Federal Affairs Ministry said Musa Hilal, a clan leader and the alleged coordinator of janjaweed militias in Darfur Province, will serve President Omar al-Bashir as an advisor. Hilal has denied any wrongdoing, but is under financial sanctions and a UN ban on foreign travel. Human Rights Watch called his appointment "a slap in the face" to victims of the atrocities in Darfur. Bashir disputed the allegations and said Hilal "has contributed to peace and stability."
A unlicensed coal mine that authorities had dynamited shut four years ago exploded in China's Shanxi Province Sunday night amid efforts to reopen it secretly. The official Xinhua news agency said at least 20 people died in the blast. They were trying to take advantage of a heavy snowfall to hide their work, the Xinhua account said. The accident was the first of its magnitude to be reported in China this year. Last year, mining accidents there killed almost 3,800 people.
A scale model of the world's first solar-powered, car- and waste-free city was to be unveiled Monday in Abu Dhabi, site of the World Future Energy Summit. Plans call for the city of 50,000 people to be built using traditional Arabic architecture but the most advanced technologies for electricity, refrigeration, transportation, and other systems. Critics say the No. 1 challenge to building the city will be whether enough engineers, scientists, and other manpower can be lured to the oil-rich emirate, where summer temperatures can reach 120 degrees F.


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Before we move into a weekend that promises to be full of manatees and football, I want to visit 13HF filings one more time. As expected, the rock stars of the investing world are getting all the attention: The largest hedge fund managers' quarterly moves are being watched like a hawk by the media. While I do review those filings, I find this activity less useful than I did years ago, when no one else was paying attention to them. These days, I get more value following the results from those firms that have great track records, but not as good a press agent.
One of the managers I follow each quarter is Donald Smith & Co. Mr. Smith has been a value investor for three decades, and has a style very similar to my own. The firm buys stocks trading below tangible book value that haven hidden or undervalued assets, as well as the potential for significant earning potential over the next two to four years. A little digging around the Web tells me the firm has delivered solid returns to investors over the past 30 years, and has better than doubled market returns. As with so many of my favorite managers, Mr. Smith has direct ties to the father of the value-investing discipline -- while at UCLA, he volunteered to help Ben Graham research stocks with low price-to-earnings ratios.
The firm was more active than usual in the third quarter, taking profits in some stocks that have seen pretty good moves over the past two years. Refiner Tesoro (TSO) has been a huge winner over the past several years, and Mr. Smith reduced his stake in it by more than 60%. He also owned shares of Kimball International (KBALB), one of my favorite holdings in 2012. The stock has more than doubled, and the firm reduced its stake in it by one-third. He appears to share some of my concerns about utility stocks, as he also reduced his position in Avista (AVA).
He continues to add to his gold-mining stocks, as well. I have talked about this sector a few times in the past couple of months. I do not believe in gold as an investment, but when you value the miners as businesses, some of them look cheap. Jewelry, industrial and perhaps misguided investment demand should provide solid demand even as mine output continues to decline. That should help margins for the surviving companies. Mr. Smith's funds were buyers of AuRico Gold (AUQ) in the quarter.
One of his newest positions will look familiar to Real Money readers. Over the course of the summer, the firm bought Nabors Industries (NBR), the world's largest land-drilling contractor. The company has seen weak oil and gas prices cap revenue and profit this year, and the fourth quarter may see delayed spending as customers near the end of their 2012 drilling budget. Drilling trends will remain soft into 2013 unless we see an increase in natural gas usage activity from a cold winter. However, Nabors will be the first to rebound when activity does pick up. In the meantime, the stock is very cheap at 70% of book value.
Another new buy for the quarter also trades at the 70% of tangible book level. Stancorp Financial (SFG) is an Oregon-based company that offers insurance programs and asset management services. The firm has seen some weakness in its group insurance business because of the weak economy and lack of job growth. Like most insurance companies, Stancorp is also being hurt by the low-interest-rate environment and a resulting decline in investment income. However, the company has been able to grow book value, and it recently raised its dividend by 4.5%. The business environment is difficult, but the stock is cheap and the company has a good balance sheet. When we see job growth on a consistent basis in the future, this company should see strong growth on its top and bottom lines.
Mr. Smith appears to still be a big believer in the future of airlines, as he increased his stake in Southwest Airlines (LUV) and JetBlue (JBLU) in the quarter. He also owns share s in U.S. Airways (LCC), Air France and Republic Airways (RJET). In addition, his fund purchased more shares in aircraft-leasing firm Aircastle (AYR) during the three-month period.
It is highly unlikely we will see Donald Smith or any of his associates on the cover of the financial weeklies anytime soon, nor are we likely to see them on television every few days. However, it is quite probable that these stock picks will continue to be a valuable source of information and potential profits for long-term investors.


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[youtube=http://youtu.be/lZCgGz1o6iI]Comcast, the nation's largest Internet service provider, today announced it is increasing the speeds of two of its most popular XFINITY Internet speed plans, Blast! and Extreme 50, in Washington state for no additional cost. Customers will enjoy more than twice as fast Internet speeds on multiple devices, allowing them to surf, chat, stream HD movies and TV shows, or game online with double the speed. Also for no additional cost, Comcast is increasing the speed of its widely used Performance plan by more than 30 percent.
"As customer demands and technology evolve, we continue to increase our broadband speeds to deliver the best, fastest and most reliable Internet experience possible for our customers," said Len Rozek, senior vice president of Comcast's Washington market. "Whether chatting, surfing, streaming, gaming, skyping or downloading, families will get the superfast, high-performing Internet service they need, with no extra charge."
- The Blast! plan is increasing download speeds from up to 25 Mbps to speeds up to 50 Mbps and upload speeds from up to 4 Mbps to up to 10 Mbps
- Extreme 50 customers will receive download speeds up to 105 Mbps (formerly 50 Mbps) and upload speeds up to 20 Mbps (formerly 15 Mbps).
- The Performance plan is increasing to speeds up to 20 Mbps from 15 Mbps downstream and to 4 Mbps from 2 Mbps upstream.
To activate the new speeds, customers just need to re-start their cable modems.
For the third year in a row, the Federal Communications Commission has shown that Comcast delivers speeds to customers that are even faster than the advertised speeds. Comcast is not only delivering the nation's fastest Internet, but it is also providing the fastest in-home WiFi with its latest Xfinity Wireless Gateway, an all-in-one device that gives customers reliably fast speeds with the most coverage in their home so everyone can get online and do more on their devices all at the same time.
For more information on Comcast's XFINITY Internet services, customers can call 1-800-XFINITY or visit www.comcastcorporation.com.
Q. How will customers know when they have the new speeds?
A. They will receive a direct communication, either by email or letter or both, to let them know.
Q. Do customers need to do anything to get the new speeds?
A. Customers simply have to re-start their cable modems, which will download new software that enables the new speeds. No other action is required.
Q. How do I restart my cable modem?
A. For more information about how to power-cycle your modem, please see the website here and the video here.
Q. Will this require new customer equipment to be installed?
A. For the overwhelming majority of customers, no. However, there may be a small number of customers who will need a new cable modem. We are conducting an inventory of who those customers are now and will proactively reach out to them in the coming weeks. If they lease a cable modem from Comcast and need a new cable modem, then we will replace their current one for free.
Q. How do I know what kind of modem I have?
Here is a website where customers can go and look up by their model number to see what type of modem they have: http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/
Q. Will this cost more money?
A. No, these increases are being offered for no additional charge.