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Town Square
PA Teacher "Party House"
Original post made by Amy, Old Palo Alto, on Oct 30, 2006
Comments (12)
a resident of Palo Verde School
on Oct 30, 2006 at 5:29 pm
On the reports, this sounds terrible. However, we don't want to condemn someone without knowing all the facts. Lisa Swagerty has been at Palo Verde School for many years and is a well liked and trustworthy teacher. This sounds so out of character that I would like everyone to wait and hear her side of the story before judging her too harshly. Even if this was just parents, I would say the same thing. The fact that Mrs. Swagerty is a teacher as well as a parent makes it even more important not to jump in too soon. And think what it must be doing to her students and their families, and to the school community as a whole.
a resident of Green Acres
on Oct 31, 2006 at 11:41 am
For the past four years I have been part of the Palo Alto Community Collaborative. Our mission is to help reduce underage drinking and drug use. As part of our campaign, we have surveyed students in both the middle and high schools as well as parents. Our Spring 2006 data reflects 4,676 student voices from our schools. Of these, 388 students reported that their parents allow them and their friends to drink alcohol in their homes. Exactly, 4,252 middle and high schools students (91%) surveyed stated that their parents do not allow them or their friends to drink at home.
I agree that we should never judge without awareness of all the facts. Serving alcohol to minors is against the law. Concern is warranted when the health and safety of our teens is at risk and hopefully, many conversations with each other will be generated from this incident. If anyone is interested in joining our Community Collaborative to help keep our teens safe, please contact me.
a resident of Palo Alto High School
on Nov 1, 2006 at 10:14 am
Thank you, Deborah, for providing us with some facts. By far, most parents do not permit underage drinking here.
Some parents, like me, appear to be receiving ridicule on another thread about this party when we state that not all Palo Alto teens get drunk/high. I think they think we are naive. Apparently, a lot of us do respect the law. I have been sorry to learn about the cynical, casual attitude of some writers (parents,mostly?) on the other thread. Even if you think me naive, surely parents should follow the law and have household rules that follow the law. Or is it a hands off parenting style that's best, students can do whatever they want on a whim?
Sure, some students are breaking the law, some parents in effect condone it (maybe even with lax attitudes, looking the other way), and what I wonder is why the police didn't enforce the law against the fleeing teens/drunk teens at this recent party? Note I do not include the sober teens who were there. Will other teens also receive this generous treatment if caught in future? In the interest of fairness, that should be the case, but what message does this send?
a resident of Palo Verde School
on Nov 1, 2006 at 12:59 pm
According to a post on a different thread on this subject, one of the responding officers found his own daughter attending the party. If this is true, it would explain a lot.
a resident of Palo Alto High School
on Nov 2, 2006 at 6:29 pm
I'm 17 years old and I attended this "disguting" and "angering" party and I can say honestly that the articles and stories heavily exaggerate the situation. I read one article that there were at least 75 kids there, and this is nothing but a complete fabrication. There were probably 40-50 kids at the peak point in the night.
Some articles imply that there was a keg present, which is not true. It implies that the house was strewn with vomit, which is not true. (Two girls vomited in the bathroom.)
All the articles are based solely upon the comments made by Officer Ryan; there are no other sources. Naturally, they will be pretty one-sided, since there is only one side.
The article also failed to mention that it was a Halloween party, making it a special occasion. These kinds of parties don't happen every weekened, despite what anyone might imply. And when they do happen, Saferide is always a valid option. I myself have Saferide's number in my cell phone.
What angers me the most is how this party turned into a scandal. Teenagers will have the capacity to party if they want to. Stovel and Swagerty only tried to provide a safe place where they could maintain a minimum level of control. They are good people that don't deserve this kind of attention and scrutiny.
a resident of Greenmeadow
on Nov 3, 2006 at 8:17 am
The facts about the party remain that 2 people, who are parents of a teenage girl and teachers in our community, hosted a party where a lot of underage teenagers drank. The parents had a responsibility to uphold the law and not allow underage teens to drink and they failed to do that. The fact that none of these teens were injured or killed is just luck. Had something tragic happened these parents would have to take the responsibility. They were just lucky that no one was hurt. There are reasons we have laws that prohibit young people from drinking. Alchoholism is a serous problem in our societly. It causes illness and death, ruins jobs, marriages and entire lives and it can take years to overcome. To ignore these facts is just plain stupid.
a resident of Professorville
on Nov 9, 2006 at 6:08 pm
Although I have also posted a comment related to this on another thread, I feel strongly about this issue - & so will also comment here. Yes, I agree that we need to have ALL of the facts in place. Innocent until proven quilty, etc. But if there was drinking @ that party, then the teacher should be terminated. And "Gee, I didn''t know" should never be accepted as an excuse. Any teacher that would allow a party held in her home to be attended by drinking teenagers - even if she didn't provide the alcohol - is irresponsible beyond stupidity. As the father of 2 middle schoolers, I would NEVER want such an [portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff]in the classroom with my children. Just because nothing horrible happened (such as a car accident) doesn't mean this couple should not be arrested. They were lucky, but should still be held fully accountable.
a resident of Palo Alto High School
on Nov 9, 2006 at 7:43 pm
Regarding the teacher/party hostess: let's just say the silence from the school district (and the principal of her school) on this matter is deafening.
a resident of Midtown
on Nov 10, 2006 at 1:08 am
Well, I'd like to inject some facts into the discussion. When you are 21 years old or older, you are assumed to be under the influence if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08 or above. If you are under 21, the required BAC to be deemed under the influence needs only be above 0.01. This means that someone who had just a few sips of beer to drink could be "legally" drunk because of a BAC of over 0.01, without being effectively drunk at all.
This would explain kids failing the breathanalyzer test at the party, even though they would not be drunk... they would still end up labeled as "drunk" by the officers and in the article.
The fact of the matter, and I know I will shock some people here, is that the current California laws regarding underage drinking are unduly and overly harsh. They don't make sense and are only the result of intense lobbying by M.A.D.
a resident of Midtown
on Nov 10, 2006 at 2:00 pm
It seems like the focus has been almost completely on the adults who permitted the party to take place, not on our teens' desire to drink too much. Teens who want to drink alcohol will find a place to do so. I overheard my daughter telling someone on the phone recently that some students showed up at the homecoming dance, obviously drunk. Didn't the chaperones notice? When younger teens see older ones acting like this and getting away with it, they begin to see it as normal behavior.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Nov 11, 2006 at 1:53 pm
I am wanting to hear from parents - what was their first reaction to this story. I have raised three children, and it only takes one to go in the wrong direction. All were raised the same, good family values, and with a good education will make correct decisions. But not the case. I have had the experience of being called at 12:30 am (police asking me to come to the department and pick up my "under age son.") I have gone to the Counseling Center (mentioned in the article). It was a long haul because TOUGH LOVE requires consistency and hard work. I now feel I want to go to various High Schools and talk with very real honesty about what teenagers need to hear.
I then read this article where the "parents" want to encourage sensible drinking habits. Please wake up and look at these sentences. Alcohol is addictive. I also know that the habits are inheritant. I wish we were talking about a group of kids experiencing the "example" of the parents exhibiting the way to treat others LIKE YOU WANT TO BE TREATED. I want to HAVE TEENAGERS LEARN HOW TO ACCEPT THE DIFFERENCES OF THEIR PEERS. I am hoping for a positive result from this incident. Is there anyone else in the community that is on my side? Teens are wonderful, creative and talented individuals. I want to support the positive examples that might be placed before them.
If I were teaching in the District, I would want understand what Lisa Swagerty hoped to accomplish (as a leader or an example?)
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Nov 12, 2006 at 2:00 am
My daughter went to that party that Saturday night. I seldom give her permission to attend parties, and what happened is exactly why.
A Palo Alto Police officer called and spoke to me about my daughter, and asked if I wished to come pick her up. I said no, that I wanted her to drive home. The officer said she would give my kid a breathalyzer test, then upon passing, let my daughter drive home. I agreed. I trusted my daughter that she hadn't been drinking, but all the same, if she had, I wanted to know if we have a problem. In fact, I called my daughter on her cell phone and told her to take it immediately, so she could leave quickly.
The officer was professional and pleasant, my daughter passed the test, and came home safely with no incident.
I am glad that the police dept. is taking these party calls seriously. This is the fourth kid I have put through this school system, and I cannot recount how many parties my other kids, or their friends, attended in the past, where the parents were HOME and allowed underage drinking, and more. Kids passed out, kids vomiting, kids driving home drunk.
From another party, another year, I actually have pictures on my computer downloaded from my daughters camera showing drunken kids toasting one another with beer cans outside on someones patio at a SOPHOMORE party, and in the background, you can see the parents in the livingroom. I was really not very happy about that at all. She begged me not to call those parents and give them the piece of my mind I was so close to sharing. I now wish, I hadn't relented.
I have lived in Palo Alto a long time and have seen the denial of many of the parents. I told parents personally when kids showed up drunk at my home only to be treated like I was the person in the wrong. I know parents who won't check their kids MYSPACE because it is 'prying'. If these parents started really checking into what some of these kids are up to every weekend, and what they also put on their MYSPACE, they would see we have a real problem in this City. Drug and alcohol problems, and promiscuity are displayed there for all to see.
I am no Puritan, but I think our kids have enough problems they will have to face in their lifetimes without getting such a headstart on these bad habits.
I this article will bring more parents some awareness of the possible consequences that can be visited upon them when they allow kids to engage in such destructive behavior in their homes.
When choosing which parties I allow my child to attend, that position of parental responsibility would have come into play, and how disappointing that it still somehow winds up being a bad decision.
I forgot to add that we hosted a party ONE TIME at our home, and when it started to get out of hand, and we couldn't get the kids to listen, we called the police on our own HOME to get the help we needed. THAT cleaned it up, and fast.
You can do this without causing yourself any harm, and it certainly helps prevent any harsher consequences after the fact!
The article states: 'While some parents might permit their underage children and their friends to drink, they would have to drive all the guests home to guarantee their safety, Ryan said. That's virtually impossible with large parties, and they'd still be breaking the law for letting the kids drink.'
I state, that if a parent ALLOWS my kid to drink at their home, even if they later drive her to REHAB, I am going to seek legal remedy.
No parent but myself has the right to decide if my child can drink alcohol or do anything else illegal on their premises.
If my child starts acting up like that, I either expect a phone call home, or at the very least, you ask the kid to leave.
Do NOT provide a safe haven in which to engage in illegal underage activity.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Emily, a 15-year-old ninth-grader, ran away from home in early November, and her parents are sitting at their dining table, frightened and inconsolable.
The parents, Maria and Benjamin, both school-bus drivers, have been searching for their daughter all along and pushing the police to investigate. They gingerly confess their fears that Emily, a Latina, is being controlled by a pimp.
I'm here to try to understand the vast national problem of runaways, and I ask if they have checked Backpage. com, the leading website for prostitution and sex trafficking in America. They say they haven't heard of it. Since I've written about Backpage before and am familiar with how runaways often end up in its advertisements, I pull out my laptop - and, in two minutes, we find an ad for a "mixed Latina catering to your needs" with photos of a seminude girl.
Maria staggers and shrieks. It's Emily.
A 2002 Justice Department study suggested that more than 1.6 million American juveniles run away or are kicked out of their home each year. Ernie Allen, a former president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, has estimated that at least 100,000 kids are sexually trafficked each year in the United States.
She's for sale at 15
Perhaps they aren't a priority because they're seen as asking for it, not as victims. This was Emily's fourth time running away, and she seems to have voluntarily connected with a pimp. Based on text messages that her family intercepted, Emily was apparently used by a pimp to recruit one of her girlfriends -- a common practice.
"Made about 15 or 16 hundred," Emily boasted to her friend in one text. "Come make money with me I promise u gonna be good."
So it's true that no one was holding a gun to Emily's head. Then again, she was 15, in a perilous business. And, in this case it turned out, having sex with a half-dozen men a day and handing over every penny to an armed pimp.
A bit more searching on the Web, and we find that Emily has been advertised for sex in four states: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The ads say that Emily (the name used in the ads, which is not her real name) is "fetish-friendly," and that's scary. Pimps use "fetish-friendly" as a dog whistle to attract deviants who will pay more for the right to be extra violent or abusive.
"We don't care what she did," says Benjamin, in a shattered tone. "We just want her back." The ads for Emily include a cellphone number to set up "dates," and we pass the information to the authorities. The pimp's phone number should make it easy to find the girl, so we wait to see what will happen.
Maria is bitter that the police haven't done more. She has been pleading for months for help, hounding the police - and now she finds that her daughter has been advertised in four states on multiple prostitution websites and no one seems to have checked or noticed.
"I feel very strongly that it was racism," Maria says. In fact, the Boston police force is admired nationally for its three-detective unit that fights human trafficking. This is the gold standard, yet, even here, a missing 15-year-old girl seemed to slip through the cracks.
Failings in society
Every day, more than 4,000 children run away or are kicked out of their home - and there's negligible interest. We feel outrage when Penn State or the Roman Catholic Church ignores child sexual abuse, but we, as a society, avert our eyes as well.
Partly the problem is that many see sex trafficking as serious only when the victim is dragged off in chains; we don't appreciate Stockholm syndrome or understand that often the handcuffs are psychological. Attitudes are changing, just as they have toward domestic violence, but too slowly.
There are failings here beyond law enforcement. You wonder about the men paying to have sex with a girl who looks so young. About the hotel clerks. And about why we tolerate websites like Backpage. com that peddle teenage girls.
A few hours after I sent police the link, officers located Emily in New Hampshire. Police raided a hotel, rescuing her and arresting a man, Andy Pena, 19, who, they said, was her pimp and took all the money she made. Police said that Pena was armed.
Pena is in jail in New Hampshire; his public defender declined to comment.
Emily is ambivalent about her rescue. She's in a group home, getting support from other survivors of human trafficking through a group called My Life My Choice. She's still rebellious, but it's a good sign that she hugged her mom. Maria wept.
Today Emily is safe, but there are hundreds of thousands of other runaways out on the streets. These are our kids, in danger. Shouldn't they be a national priority?
Contact Nicholas Kristof at Facebook.com/Kristof, Twitter.com/NickKristof or by mail at The New York Times, 620 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10018.


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Unexpected discovery of the ways cells move could boost understanding of complex diseases
A new discovery about how cells move inside the body may provide scientists with crucial information about disease mechanisms such as the spread of cancer or the constriction of airways caused by asthma. Led by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), investigators found that epithelial cells—the type that form a barrier between the inside and the outside of the body, such as skin cells—move in a group, propelled by forces both from within and from nearby cells—to fill any unfilled spaces they encounter.
The study appears June 23, 2013 in an advance online edition of Nature Materials.
"We were trying to understand the basic relationship between collective cellular motions and collective cellular forces, as might occur during cancer cell invasion, for example. But in doing so we stumbled onto a phenomenon that was totally unexpected," said senior author Jeffrey Fredberg, professor of bioengineering and physiology in the HSPH Department of Environmental Health and co-senior investigator of HSPH's Molecular and Integrative Cellular Dynamics lab.
Biologists, engineers, and physicists from HSPH and IBEC worked together to shed light on collective cellular motion because it plays a key role in functions such as wound healing, organ development, and tumor growth. Using a technique called monolayer stress microscopy—which they invented themselves—they measured the forces affecting a single layer of moving epithelial cells. They examined the cells' velocity and direction as well as traction—how some cells either pull or push themselves and thus force collective movement.
As they expected, the researchers found that when an obstacle was placed in the path of an advancing cell layer—in this case, a gel that provided no traction—the cells moved around it, tightly hugging the sides of the gel as they passed. However, the researchers also found something surprising—that the cells, in addition to moving forward, continued to pull themselves collectively back toward the gel, as if yearning to fill the unfilled space. The researchers dubbed this movement "kenotaxis," from the Greek words "keno" (vacuum) and "taxis" (arrangement), because it seemed the cells were attempting to fill a vacuum.
This new finding could help researchers better understand cell behavior—and evaluate potential drugs to influence that behavior—in a variety of complex diseases, such as cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, developmental abnormalities, and glaucoma. The finding could also help with tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, both of which rely on cell migration.
In carcinomas, for instance—which represent 90% of all cancers and involve epithelial cells—the new information on cell movement could improve understanding of how cancer cells migrate through the body. Asthma research could also get a boost, because scientists think migration of damaged epithelial cells in the lungs are involved in the airway narrowing caused by the disease.
"Kenotaxis is a property of the cellular collective, not the individual cell," said Jae Hun Kim, the study's first author. "It was amazing to us that the cellular collective can organize to pull itself systematically in one direction while moving systematically in an altogether different direction."
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The month of March came and went, with Jon Kirby and myself both on the road seemingly as much as we were home, and then when we had some downtime, we both watched too much March Madness. (Even though our Tar Heels weren't where we wanted them to be, I suppose that some measure of civic pride can be found in the championship going to a fellow Tobacco Road team.) So there you have a couple excuses for our lack of posts these last few weeks, and we're now ready to ease back in with what will hopefully be the first of many images of vintage Carolina Soul jukebox tags. Those pictured above are the only ones I can recall having, and I'd like to propose that you, our audience, submit scans of any that may be in your possession.
If you're wondering about provenance, I'm sure I found that first handwritten Anthony Burns tag at the house of kind and helpful IBM employee turned record dealer Mike McKinley (R.I.P.) in maybe 2005, and the typewritten version came in the last year from a jukebox vendor that had been based in Greenville. Even though the deep soul two-sider "Try Me" b/w "Do Right Man" (Atlanta AT-4466) is quite obscure these days, the existence of the tags adds some weight to Mr. Burns's claim that upon its release, his debut record was a hot commodity in the towns along South Carolina's I-85 corridor, say from Anderson (his hometown) to Greenville. As for the "Doing What You Need To Do" tag, I'm pretty sure that a buddy found it in Burlington, NC, where Mr. Burns stayed briefly in the mid 1970s, cutting that great bass and drums-heavy funk (as heard on "Carolina Funk") in Charlotte before moving to Durham and then back home to Anderson.
On that day at Mike McKinley's, the James (Mr. Soulfingers) Arnold tag also came my way. Mr. Soulfingers Arnold, we've never managed to track you down, so if you're out there in Internet land, please drop us a line. We do know that the label of the Je-eeca Records release "Someone New" (a deep ballad) b/w "Your Chain of Love" (a mid-tempo groover) credits Melvin Burton—one-time husband of none other than Southern Soul heroine Ann Sexton—as "Arranger of Horns", which is a start, but we're still curious.
Can't recall where the Tams jukebox tag originated, and that's all for now, but please do let us know if you can share anything for a future post.
Oh! One more note, speaking of Ann Sexton, I just remembered that over at Paradise of Bachelors, a site that I'm a part of, we have an almost complete sheet for her 1971 debut on Impel Records. Check it out here, and you'll also be rewarded with a candid photo from the collection of her original producer David Lee, along with many images of him.
Posted by Jason at 04:54 PM. Filed under: Jukebox Tags • South Carolina • Anderson • Greenville, SC • North Carolina • Burlington •


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Understanding a managed care organization
Understanding a managed care organization
Managed care organizations (MCOs) are companies that specialize in managing health care.
However, an MCO is not the same as the employer's health-insurance provider.
When employers apply for a workers' compensation policy, they must select a MCO to manage the medical portion of a workers' compensation claim. The MCO ensures that injured workers receive quality medical care. This includes:
- Evaluating the injured worker's current and future medical needs.
- Approving the injured worker's treatment.
- Paying the worker's medical bills.
- Providing rehabilitation referrals.
An injured worker will need to know the name of the MCO at each doctor visit. Use the Employer/MCO look-up to find the assigned MCO.
If you still have questions about the assigned MCO, ask the employer or call BWC at 1-800-644-6292.
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Interested in learning what luxury vinyl tile is made of? Is luxury vinyl tile better than laminate? How durable this luxury flooring is? Find answers to those questions and more below.
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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Farmland values in the U.S. Plains states jumped more than 20 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as farms sold at record-high prices, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Friday.
Irrigated cropland attracted the most interest, given the worst drought in 50 years in the world's top food producer, the Kansas City Fed said.
This was the seventh consecutive quarter irrigated and non-irrigated cropland values posted year-over-year gains of more than 20 percent as record crop prices kept demand for farmland hot, according to a quarterly survey of bankers by the Kansas City Fed.
"Persistent drought sparked a rush in irrigated farmland sales during the fourth quarter of 2012. Stronger sales vaulted irrigated cropland values in the District 30 percent above year-ago levels, with a 13 percent jump in the fourth quarter alone," the Fed said of its survey, which draws on comments from 232 district bankers.
Non-irrigated cropland and ranchland also posted strong annual gains between 20 and 25 percent.
The KC Fed district stretches across major wheat, corn and cattle states of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming along with parts of New Mexico and Missouri.
Farmland values are closely tracked by government economists as a gauge of the U.S. economy and health of the banking system. In recent years both crop prices and farmland prices have set records as the burgeoning biofuels industry and record food exports spotlighted the value of hard assets.
In turn, farm income has also set records. But skyrocketing land values have stirred banker fears about the possibility of a ruinous farmland bubble like the one seen in the 1980s U.S. farm crisis, when over-leveraged farmers lost their land when interest rates jumped.
The Kansas City district survey follows the Chicago and St. Louis Fed quarterly updates earlier this week covering the northern Corn Belt and central Delta states, with both reporting similar results - strong farm income aided by crop insurance and strong farm spending for land and equipment, partly due to year-end doubts about higher taxes in 2013.
Farmers remain the predominate land buyers, accounting for three-fourth of the sales in the Plains in the fourth quarter. Bankers said farmers used more cash to finance purchases compared to a year ago. Nonfarmers continued to buy land for investment purposes.
"Almost all recent auctions were sold to the largest farmers in the area wanting to get bigger. The buyers are strong and most are cash sales," said one banker from northwest Missouri.
Farm incomes rebounded in the quarter despite expectations that drought would hurt profits, the KC Fed said.
"Crop incomes remained high, as farm operations with irrigated cropland had less yield loss and sold crops at high prices, while many farm operations without irrigation received crop insurance payments, mitigating losses," the bank said.
Following the autumn harvest crop prices eased back as export demand weakened and ethanol production slowed, providing some relief to livestock producers through lower feed costs. Significantly, cattle and hogs firmed in the quarter improving profits in the livestock sector toward the end of 2012. The district contains the top cattle feedlot states, with the exception of Texas.
Higher farm incomes boosted capital spending and led to improved agricultural lending conditions, although overall loan demand remained low with many grain farmers flush with cash. Loan payment rates increased at a pace on par with a year ago while interest rates for operating and real estate loans edged lower, the bank survey said.
"Although fourth-quarter incomes were better than expected, bankers expressed concerns that drought could affect some areas further in coming months. Farm incomes were expected to drop in Kansas and Oklahoma, as pasture conditions generally remained poor due to ongoing drought. But strong farm incomes were expected to continue in areas with sufficient water availability," the Fed said.
"Water scarcity led to differing farm incomes and farmland-value gains by state," the bank added.
Reporting by Christine Stebbins; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Peter Bohan and M.D. Golan


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Last year's off-season after the Super Bowl was painful for Ravens fans, but now the team is being rewarded for its troubles and patience in free agency.
At the NFL Owner Meetings today in Orlando, the Baltimore Ravens learned more about their off-season approach in May as they received the league maximum number of compensatory picks possible for free agent losses.
The team received a third (99th overall), two fourth-round (134th, 138 overall), and a fifth-round pick (175th overall).
The picks were rewarded for the losses of DE Paul Kruger (Cleveland), MLB Dannell Ellerbe (Miami), CB Cary Williams (Philadelphia), and FS Ed Reed (Houston) in free agency.
Because the Ravens did not sign any unrestricted free agents in the 2013 off-season, the team was not docked any picks from their total.
DE Elvis Dumervil, DL Chris Canty, DL Marcus Spears, S Michael Huff, and MLB Daryl Smith were all signed after teams cut them or late into training camp.
All-in-all, the Ravens will have eight picks as their disposal in May.
Follow all your Ravens news on @WNST on Twitter! WNST-We Never Stop Talking Sports!


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One was that all of these new jobs will be a burden on the area and the infrastructure. I think most young people will be glad to have something other than Finance and the Tourist industry to employ them!
Another comment was that there may be unforseen consequences - that the turbines may produce a mist. Where is this sort of questioning when we are looking ar the unforseen conseqences of carrying on with our current energy production, or looking at new idea's like Nuclear?!! ( whatever your views on Nuclear, there is a lot more scope for unforseen consequences!!)
Consequences of our dependence on oil are not even particuarly unforseen. We all know what happens when there is an Oil spill:
And we all must take responsibility because we are all dependent on oil.
We all have to get fully behind renewable energy and support this brilliant opportunity for our area. It is a chance for young people to gain skills for the future that will be needed all over the world.


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LogitechUE will be showcasing their latest music lineup on October 25th at the legendary Capitol Records Tower. This is a rare opportunity for Splash Magazine readers to get a behind the scenes tour of Capitol Studios. Logitech UE has partnered with Splash Magazines to give five lucky readers each a pair of tickets to attend this amazing event.
This extraordinary evening will kick off at 7 p.m. with an intimate, private concert from Walk The Moon and Gold Fields at the legendary Capitol Records Tower. In addition you will receive an exclusive tour of Capitol Studios, where greats like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and The Beach Boys have recorded some of their biggest hits.
LogitechUE will also be showcasing their latest music product lineup including the award-winning Ultimate Ears custom in-ear monitors, used by industry professionals in the studio and 85 percent of the world's top touring musicians every night on stage. You will get to experience LogitechUE products as there will be demos of the latest speaker and headphone products. In addition guests will be provided an open bar.
This contest is open to anyone over the age of 21. To enter you must follow @SplashMagWW and @LogitechUE on twitter and retweet the following:
Retweet to enter to #win a night at #CapitolRecords from @LogitechUE & @SplashMagWW along with a tour on Oct. 25 http://tinyurl.com/cmlsff4


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No legal limit for bats?
October 22, 2010 5 Comments
Timeline, 2010: People with a blood alcohol level of 0.3 percent are undeniably kneewalking, dangerously drunk. In fact, in all 50 states in the US, the cutoff for official intoxication while driving is 0.08, almost a quarter of that amount. But what has people staggering and driving deadly appears to have no effect whatsoever on some bat species.
Why, you may be wondering, would anyone ask this question about bats in the first place? Bats are not notorious alcoholics. But the bat species that dine on fruit or nectar frequently encounter food of the fermented sort, meaning that with every meal, they may also imbibe a martini or two worth of ethanol.
Batty sobriety testing
Recognizing this exposure, researchers hypothesized that the bats would suffer impairments similar to those that humans experience when they overindulge. To test this, they selected 106 bats representing six bat species in northern Belize. Some of the bats got a simple sugar-water treat, but the other bats drank up enough ethanol to produce a blood alcohol level of more than 0.3 percent. Then, the bats got the batty version of a field sobriety test.
Bats navigate by echolocation, bouncing sound waves off of nearby objects to identify their location. To determine if the alcohol affected the bats' navigation skills and jammed the sonar, the researchers festooned a ceiling with dangling plastic chains. The test was to see if the animals could maneuver around the chains while under the influence of a great deal of alcohol. To their surprise, the scientists found that the drunk bats did just as well as the sober ones.
Some bats hold their drink better than others
Interestingly, the bats did show a human-like variation in their alcohol tolerance, with some bats showing higher levels of intoxication than others. But one question that arises from these results is, Why would bats have such an enormous alcohol tolerance?
As it turns out, not all of them do. These New World bats could, it seems, drink their Old World cousins under the table. Previous research with Old World bats from Egypt found that those animals weren't so great at holding their drink. Thus, it seems that different bat species have different capacities for handling—and functioning under the influence of—alcohol.
One potential explanation the investigators offer for this difference is the availability of the food itself. In some areas, fruit is widely available at all times, meaning that the bats that live there are continually exposed to ethanol in their diet. Since they can't exactly stop eating, there may have been some selection for those bats who could get drunk but still manage to fly their way home or to more food. In other bat-inhabited areas, however, the food sources vary, and these animals may not experience a daily exposure to intoxication-inducing foods.
Alcohol driving speciation?
This study may be one of the first to identify a potential role for alcohol in the speciation of a taxon. Bats as a group underwent a broad adaptive radiation, meaning that there was a burst of speciation as different bat species evolved in different niches. Factors driving this burst are thought to have included different types of fruit; for example, tough fruits require different bat dentition features compared to soft fruits. Now, it seems that alcohol availability may also have played a role in geographical variation of alcohol tolerance in bats. Bats with greater tolerance would have been able to exploit a readily available supply of alcohol-laden foods.
What's next in drunk-animal research? The investigators who made this unexpected bat discovery have a new animal target—flying foxes, which aren't really foxes at all but yet another species of bat that lives in West Africa. We'll have to wait and see how these Old World bats compare to the New World varieties when it comes to holding their liquor.


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Sunday was literally a wash since it rained on and off all day, but it gave me plenty of time to get a lot of blogging and picture taking in!! I was also able to make this incredible Chicken in a creamy Parmesan and sundried tomato sauce for dinner!!
Just like that it's Monday and a fresh start to a new week! Hope you all link up below to share what you got up to this weekend!


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All About Baby
During your 26th week of pregnancy, your baby-to-be opens her eyes for the first time. She'll open and shut her eyes as she gets used to her new ability. Your little one is still on the small side. Her body may look fully formed on the outside, but inside there's fine-tuning taking place, including her lungs and her brain. Your unborn baby still has some growing to do!
All About You
Looking for a fast way to relieve back pain and relax? Pelvic rocking is a great way to ease back pain, strengthen the pelvis for labor, and reduce stress. To rock your pelvis, stand against the wall with your knees slightly bent and, as you inhale, gently press the small of your back against the wall. Exhale and release. Repeat 10 times.
Managing Stress
You're almost done with your second trimester! You may have noticed swelling in your face, hands, feet, and ankles. This swelling, called edema, happens as your body retains fluid to keep your blood volume high. With more blood flowing, your vessels are forced closer to the skin's surface. Your tender gums may bleed when you brush your teeth. Drink plenty of water and try moderate exercise such as walking to ease swelling and help your circulation. Increased blood flow may also cause swelling inside your nasal passages, leading to congestion.
Pampering Yourself
You're past the midway mark and delivery day is around the corner — it's time for some R&R! Giving yourself a break doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. By learning how to relax now, you'll be more likely to use those same techniques later when midnight wake-up calls and endless feedings leave you needing a recharge.
Massage: Work out your knotted muscles with a massage. If you go to a professional massage therapist, ask first if he or she has experience with pregnant clients. Certain positions and massage techniques can be uncomfortable and potentially harmful to your unborn baby. Pregnancy-trained massage therapists will know just how to make your aching back more comfortable.
If you're not up for a full massage, try a manicure or pedicure instead. More convenient and less expensive, manicures and pedicures can help you feel more relaxed. Besides, you probably can't reach your toes to trim and paint them anyway.
Don't forget that your partner makes for an excellent massage therapist! Look for local couples' massage classes or ask your pregnancy masseuse if your partner can come along and learn some techniques. Check out books or DVDs from the library to figure out some simple massages you can do in the comfort of your own home.
Babymoons: One hot trend in pregnancy, babymoons. A clever take on honeymoons, babymoons have the same goal — to provide you and your partner some special time together. Many hotels offer babymoon packages with activities and extras with pampering in mind. Some packages include mini-fridges stocked with pickles and ice cream, or a couple's massage with a pregnancy-trained masseuse.
You don't need a "babymoon" package to get pampered though. Opt for a fine hotel to get the same service, or create your own babymoon atmosphere at home with your partner. Let your partner treat you to "room service" and have breakfast in bed — maybe even lunch and dinner too!
Prenatal exercise classes: Exercise may not sound like pampering, but choosing the right fitness class can give you a boost. For example, prenatal yoga classes will teach you relaxation techniques you can use during your pregnancy, labor, even after. Plus, you'll be surrounded by other round-tummied classmates who understand what you're going through.
Here's a fun pregnancy exercise you may have not considered: bellydancing. That's right, plenty of pregnant women are baring their bellies and learning moves that help them have fun and relax.
Ask your healthcare provider about prenatal classes in your area if you haven't found any on your own.
Cutting back on your schedule: One of the best ways to pamper yourself is to trim your schedule. Prioritize so you can get done the things you need to (don't add anything extra!). Enlist friends and family to help you accomplish what you'd like to finish — but that you don't have the energy for. Accept invitations for older children to play at friends' homes so you can get some rest. You should take breaks as often as possible so you feel energized and recharged.
What's happening in Week 26? Other women have wondered…
Q: What are ways that we can decorate a gender-neutral nursery?
Gender-neutral nurseries have come a long way from yellow, yellow, and yes, even more yellow. The good news is that now there are more and more cribs, changing tables, and nursery furniture that come in a variety of wood tones and various neutral shades, steering clear of pink and blue altogether. Read more ideas for a gender-neutral nursery.
Q: Why do I have shooting pains in my vaginal area and down my leg?
What you're describing sounds like the 'round ligament' pains of pregnancy. When the uterus (womb) is the size of a pear in the non-pregnant state, the round ligaments help hold the uterus in place in the pelvis. But as the uterus stretches out during pregnancy, they never recover their supportive strength after delivery. Read more about round ligament pains.
Your Partner
Learning to De-Stress
Will you be able to afford another little person in your life? Do you need to make changes to your home in preparation for Baby's arrival? Will you need to move? The more your partner shows, the more stressed you may feel. Why? Money is a significant stressor for many men. As fathers-to-be, we are programmed to believe we should be the financial providers for our families.
But stress doesn't end with the checkbook. You may also be concerned about your partner's health (as well as that of your baby). If you're about to become a dad for the first time, that is no doubt a source of anxiety as well. We hate to tell you, but when your little one comes into the world, you'll no doubt add her to your list of worries, too.
Now is the perfect time to start thinking about (and implementing) ways to reduce stress and refuel your tank so you've got the energy needed to face what lies ahead. Maybe it means taking more of your lunch hour to relax, read, or listen to music — something solely for yourself. Maybe it means finding podcasts, satellite radio, or music to listen to while working out, commuting, or working. Look for things that stimulate you and make you feel better. Don't forget exercise as a great stress reducer, too.
When your baby arrives, your life will become more chaotic and challenging. Learning coping strategies and figuring out ways to de-stress your life now will help you prepare for your new role. Leaning how to manage stress will also give you the tools necessary to interact more effectively with your spouse and your child.


text: HTTP 418. To most highway drivers, it looks like a random collection of characters -- the kind of mud-spattered jumble you'd see on any car. But to Phil Dokas, it's a really good joke. And he's right. His "HTTP 418" vanity license plate is one of geekiest license plates ever attached to the back of a car -- and that's one of the highest compliments Wired could ever give. A couple of years ago, Dokas chose "HTTP 418" as the vanity plate for his Volkswagen Jetta. An HTTP 418 is an kind of internet status error, but it's not likely to turn up on your web browser. It was created as part of a 1998 April Fool's joke by those madcaps at the Internet Engineering Task Force, the people who define the internet's underlying protocols. More Geek PlatesLive Free or Die: The Origins of the Geek License PlateGreatest Geek Plates: Readers' PicksHTTP 418 is part of the "Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol standard." It's the error you get when you try to make coffee in a teapot over the internet. According to a draft of the standard: "Any attempt to brew coffee with a teapot should result in the error code '418 I'm a teapot.' The resulting entity body MAY be short and stout." When the vanity plate arrived at his home, Dokas pulled out his camera. "I took a photo of it and put it online knowing full well that someone was going to eventually say: 'Hey, I get this. I think it's amazing." It took six months, Dokas says, but someone finally got the joke. Dokas eventually hung up the license plate when he sold his car and moved from Michigan to the Bay Area to take a job as a developer at Flickr. But if you pass by his cube, you can still see it on the wall. No license plate could ever match the genius of the HTTP 418. But many come close. Click through the images above to see them in all their splendor.... Photo: Phil Dokas/FlickrThis is the license plate that inspired Phil Dokas to get his "418" vanity plate. To most drivers, "CTHLHU" looks like some weird consonant-starved name, but to H.P. Lovecraft fans, this is a fiendishly funny plate. Lovecraft's Cthlhu is a scaly winged, tentacle-faced demon. In short, a completely evil creature with a whole different idea about "kids first." Photo: Pete Tosacano/FlickrA great user error message, popular in tech support shops: "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair." Photo: Jessamyn West/FlickrYou know you're a badass when you drive a Porsche with a Linux license plate command that could completely wipe all the files off that jerk who's tailgating you. Photo: Michael Ford/FlickrLast spotted in May 2005. We think it is some sort of Google social network beloved by people in Brazil. Photo: Peter Kaminski/FlickrA subtle hat-tip to trolling. In Windows, Alt-F4 closes the window you're typing in and is a favorite troll tech tip to knock newbies out of online games and chat rooms (i.e., having trouble with your computer? Try hitting Alt-F4). Photo: Brandon Debes/FlickrIf you think trigonometry on a license plate isn't cool, you are sadly mistaken. Photo: Mary MacTavish/FlickrA beloved Unix command that somehow works perfectly on the back of a car. It means "file system check." Photo: Nathanael Burton/FlickrA tip of the hat to the old syn-syn-ack three-way handshake that's used to set up a TCP/IP connection. Photo: Tim VandegriftEveryone will be wanting one of these babies ... someday. Photo: Phil Hollenback/FlickrTechnically, it's an all-white license plate. This geek-joke license plate is the hexadecimal HTML color code for white. Photo: Jon Canady/FlickrWe spotted this Legomobile parked in Oracle's parking lot a few months back. Photo: Wired/Robert McMillanThere is a metaphor here. We're just not 100 percent sure we know what it is. Photo: J. Chris Vaughan/FlickrNo matter how hip Microsoft tells us that Windows 8 is going to be, a Microsoft license plate will always be geeky. Photo: Christina Dulude/FlickrOK, "Dad of 3" is not a geeky license plate. But this license plate really does belong to Mr. Linux, the King of Geeks: Linus Torvalds Photo: Wired/Jon Snyder


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Capra demon
Skills: Leaping strike*, Single slash, Double handed slash
Times died on 1st playthrough: 3
A month has passed already since the last dark souls post....how time flies. Anyway, one of my 3 major assigments are down and I have only 2 left, so I'm free of some load for now. So...heres a post. Heres the 3rd boss I fought for my playthrough. Straight after the taurus demon I went to challenge the bell gargolyes and got my ass handed to me, so I looked for another alternative, I found myself at the capra demon. Take the key in undead parish and head back to undead burg, open up the door in before the dragon, and head on in, finding the capra demon at the end behind a fog gate. Hes not so tough, but definetely different from the previous 2 bosses before him. Capra demon is the 2nd boss of undead burg.
|Your first real legit boss fight, show me your moves!
The capra demon is the 1st boss in the game that you will fight legitly with no tricks whatsoever. You cannot jump stab him, and theres no exploit to beating him, you can only finish him off 1 on 1, man to man. Unfortunately though, he has 2 poison dog pals, and they pose a huge problem. They arent very tanky so finish them off ASAP before the 3 of them start ganking on you. Here's a quick rundown on the Capra demon's attacks.
Leaping strike*- His killer move. This attack is probably unblockable unless you have godly stamina and will do a huge chunk of damage. Even if you have a good shield, you will be staggered after this move. Simply move away as you see him prepping for a jump.
Single slash- He swings his blade normally, doing moderate damage. Easily blocked, you can dodge it too. He may swing twice, but it shouldnt make a difference.
Double handed slash- Another dangerous move, but not as scary as leaping strike. He swings at you with both blades, doing huge endurance reduction if blocked, may even guard break you. It has the same range as single slash so dodge accordingly.
The only potentially difficult part for this fight is the beginning, with the capra demon and the 2 dogs charging towards you at full force. You won't be able to take them all on at once, and trying to block them all is suicide. Climb up the stairs and lure the dogs up there, finish them off. If you find yourself cornered with both of them you can jump down and climb up again to reattempt killing them as many times as you want. This is actually the most difficulty part of the fight, you can try many things, including firebombs and magic if you need to, since these should one shot the dogs. Just make sure the capra demon isn't tanking the hit for the dogs.
Now the real fight starts, and without the dogs, the fight will go on much smoother. The capra demon isnt the tankiest of foes, and he will surely fall after a few short combos. Any decent weapon should be able to take him. Fight him on the lower area below the stairs, the arena is rather small, but its better than fighting on a small stairs and a narrow pathway. Take note that when you need to heal take the stairs up and gulp down a few flasks before going down to continue your manly battle.
Fighting the capra demon is a matter of patience. Alone, his attacks arent hard to dodge, but they hit rather hard and he is VERY VERY hard to stunlock. Take things slowly and hit him once or twice, then back off. There is a slight opening after each of his moves, where you can land a hit or two. His leaping strike is the one to look out for, it hits the hardest, but leaves you the biggest opening. After leaping strike you can land 2 hits. Single slash and double handed slash would only give you the opening for one hit. If you're feeling adventurous you can try to go for more, but be prepared to either take some damage or roll away quickly.
|Fight the battle to its epic conclusion!
All in all its not too bad. If you drag the fight out and do it the safe way, you should emrge victorious. He hits hard, but he doesnt have alot of moves, and he has no OMGWTFBBQ mode where he goes super saiyan when low on health. Beathing him earns you 6000 souls according to darksouls wiki, in the old patch he only gave about 1000 souls or something, lucky new players. There really is nothing much to this boss, beat him and get the sewer key, but don't go there yet, we have alot more bosses to beat before we venture deep below!


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Later in this post we will discuss this man:
The following table represents my interepretation of the Zachman Framework:
I have taken this framework and applied the following de Bono metaphor:
I also incorporated my own metaphor to differentiate the axes:
These two modifications produced the following table:
This is where I had an "aha" moment. I asked myself what the entities would be:
I also recognized that in each column these entities were related hierarchically allowing the creation of a six dimensional hypercube. In creating the hypercube it was possible to look at a variety of "slices". For example:
The table above combines Motive with Person. We can see that Motive is verbal while Person is a noun.
Next we will combine Function and Data to create another slice:
Again, Function is a verb and Data is a noun.
Let's look at one final slice:
Here we see that nodes and time have many possible states.
But, why am I doing this exhaustive analysis of the possible combinations in the Six Hats, Six Coats hypercube?
Let's go back in time for a moment and look at this table:
When Dmitri Mendeleev created this table to describe periodic behaviour of the elements, many of the elements had not been discovered. However, the table projected what the properties of those elements would be making the search much easier.
The Six Hats, Six Coats hypercube is also a form of periodic table. Its entire collection of possible cells are called the framework space. Many of the cells in the hypercube do not yet exist, however their properties can be predicted. This makes their search and discovery of system components systematic instead of random or organic.
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Rumor: Hornets trading Collison to the Pacers for Jones, Rush, and/or Hansbrough?
"Speaking of Collison, the Pacers have reached out to New Orleans about the former UCLA point guard."
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Indiana and New Orleans are two of the NBA's smallest markets. Both have limited budgets. Yet, both are desperate to upgrade their roster.
And this is Corporal/Commissioner David Stern's post recession problem: his league has become increasingly fractured and polarized into have and have-not franchises.
The have franchises – think Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York – will spend their summer trying to land big-ticket free agents.
No expense will be spared. Mayors, politicians, celebrities, rap icons and even a president have tried wooing the game's elite player to their club of choice
The have-not franchises – think Indiana, Minnesota, New Orleans, Milwaukee, and Memphis – will spend their summer scheming up creative and cost-effective ways to compete.
With this in mind, a Darren Collison deal would make some sense for the Pacers and Hornets.
Larry Bird's club has to get better at point guard. TJ Ford – and his $8 million dollar salary – isn't the answer. And Jamaal Tinsley's $5 million pact is still on the books, even though he was released years ago.
Collison, a lightning quick table-setter, filled in admirably for injured superstar Chris Paul. Best of all, the UCLA alum has three years remaining on his rookie pact.
Meanwhile, reports that the Hornets and Paul were considering parting ways are false. Team and player are apparently committed to each other and sticking together.
However, New Orleans was always a poorer NBA market. Then Hurricane Katrina hit. Then The Great Recession came. And now there's the Gulf Coast oil spill.
All contributed to the city's struggling economy, which means there's less disposable income for citizens to spend on disposable goods –like NBA tickets and luxury boxes.
So the Hornets can't generate the revenue to sign high or even medium priced free agents. Their best and only option this summer is trading the young and inexpensive Collison for other young, and inexpensive players.
Enter Indiana.
They've got lockdown defender Dahntay Jones, athletic swing Brandon Rush, and blue-collar bruiser Tyler Hansbrough.
All are young. All are cheap. And all could play a role in The Bayou. Perhaps, Bird, Indiana's head suit, lets New Orleans pick two of these three players.
That said, nothing is imminent between the Pacers and Hornets. Expect them to keep talking. As mentioned, in today's NBA, their options are limited.
Get at us with thoughts on this deal?


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Raw Organic Nori Seaweed Sheets 200 pack
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Raw Organic Nori Sheets - 200 sheets (4 packs)
Our Raw Organic Nori is:
- Certified Organic by both USDA & EcoCert
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- 100% Radiation and contaminant Free - tested in the USA every batch!
- FREE of most common allergens
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- Sealed in packages of 50 sheets for Freshness
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Full size sushi sheets 8.5" x 7.5"
We use only 1 species (Porphyra Yezoensis) in ALL of our Nori production. This species is in the Red/Purple Algae family and considered the Highest in Nutrition. ALL of our Nori Sheets, Flakes, and Powder are made from Porphyra Yezoensis and only the top 15 to 20 percent of Harvest makes our grade for item production.
For Complete Nutrition Information, Safety Information, Certifications, ALLERGY information, and more, please visit ABOUT OUR NORI
- Nori Sheets are close to 40% protein by weight. That's twice the protein of Soy Beans and 4 times the protein of Beef Liver.
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- Nori is found to contain anti-oxidant compounds such as Chlorophyll and Phycoerythrin, and is a great source of Polysaccharides, which help modulate immune response. It also has beneficial effects on gut function and micro biota, acting as a Prebiotic.
- Results suggest that Porphyrin from this species effectively decreases LDL cholesterol, which increases high density lipoproteins or "Good Cholesterol."
- Nori is very high in Omega 3, and in fact, is 16 times higher in Omega 3, than Omega 6, which makes it one of the best sources of Omega 3 available. Just one sheet (3 grams) of Nori has more Omega 3 than 2 full avocados. The polyunsaturated fats play an important role in regulating inflammation and proper brain and nervous system functioning.
- Nori is considered one of the best sources of biologically available nutrients. It is high in iron, magnesium, potassium, and in fact is much higher in vitamins (A, B1, B2, C) and antioxidants than nearly all vegetables.
- 4 packs = 50 Sheets per pack, 200 sheets total. Zipper Top Resealable package.


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After extended stays in Ohio the past two seasons, the 49ers could be headed overseas next year.
As Sports Illustrated Peter King reported, the NFL will announce Thursday which opponent the Jaguars will face on Oct. 27, 2013, in London. Jacksonville, which will play one "home" game at Wembley Stadium from 2013-16, could host the 49ers, Chiefs, Cardinals, Chargers, Titans, Colts or Texans.
Since the league is unlikely to schedule the Jaguars against one of their AFC South foes, the list of candidates is presumably the 49ers, Chiefs, Cardinals or Chargers.
The NFL has never had a contest between teams from the same division since it began playing one game per year in London starting in 2007. In addition, only one of the six international games, last year's meeting between the Bears and Buccaneers, has pitted teams from the same conference. This season, the Rams will host the Patriots at Wembley on Oct. 28.
In 2010, the 49ers beat the Broncos, 24-16, in London in a "home" game before a partisan San Francisco crowd. To avoid making the 5,300-mile trek from the Bay Area to London, the Niners played at Carolina the week before meeting Denver.
In 2013, the 49ers will visit Tampa Bay, which would be a logical game to play the week before a possible trip to London.


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What's Yours Is Google's Mine?
Google may have found one more clever way to squeeze juicy data out of its users: Get them to catalog their possessions online. There are some potential advantages to the user, of course, including having a nice tidy inventory for insurance purposes and setting up sharing and bartering opportunities with friends. Those probably pale in comparison to the advantages for Google and its advertisers, however.
Google is internally testing a new service, Google Mine, that will be integrated with Google+, according to the Google Operating System unofficial blog. It will let users list their belongings, post photos to a Mine album, and share and track their belongings with friends.
Think of it as Craigslist on steroids with a homey touch.
"It'll be like an eBay for sharing," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, "but the groups are pretty tight — and only people you'll want to know what you have will know it."
Google Mine will be available online and on Android, according to GOS.
Concerns already have been raised that Google Mine is just one more way for the company to indulge its insatiable appetitie for user information.
"They know where you live, they know what you're reading, they know where you are at the moment, and now they'll know what's in your underwear drawer," remarked Andrew Eisner, director of community and content at Retrevo.
Google was noncommittal, saying it had nothing specific to share but acknowledging that it's always experimenting with new features.
What Mine May Offer
Google Mine apparently will let users catalog what they have, list it to share with friends in their Google+ circles, post photographs of their possessions in a Mine album, track conversations, send requests to borrow friends' possessions, share their possessions, find people to give their stuff to, track their belongings, and follow, browse and search what their friends are sharing.
Users will be able to change the status of the objects listed to, for example, "lent," "given away," "got back," or "lost it."
Google Mine will let users post videos about their belongings, write reviews of items, add items to a wishlist, and ask other people to send them stuff by creating a post to their Google+ stream that's visible only to both parties.
"I'm not sure people will want to share their jewelry, though there are people who want to share guns," Enderle told TechNewsWorld. "You'll probably see them sharing products in sports and gardening, and sharing tools."
It's likely that the service will work best between friends who live relatively close by, he continued.
New Blood For Google+, Perhaps?
Google Mine could be yet another in a long list of attempts by Google to inject some life into its flailing Google+ service, which had about half as many active users as Facebook, according to eMarketer.
"They're looking for an angle to differentiate Google+," Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research, told TechNewsWorld.
"I think it could be a good opportunity [to boost Google+] if it catches on," Retrevo's Eisner commented, "but I'm a little skeptical about its catching on because Google+ is still struggling."
All Your Data Are Belong to Us
Google's business model, like that of Facebook and other Internet companies, is to gather as much data about users as possible to let advertisers target them tightly, and it's possible that Google Mine will help refine the considerable amount of data Google has on its users even further.
Whether Google Mine will give rise to privacy issues is yet unclear. Google has had its struggles with privacy, especially after it combined all data on its users from all its services, and it is currently being targeted by privacy advocates in Europe.
"I don't see how privacy advocates can complain if people are willing to do something," Tirias Research's McGregor said.
"Anyone who uses this service should understand that the information can and will be used by Google. I just don't see the value to the consumer other than to brag about what they have," he added.
"This could be a gold mine for Google," Retrevo's Eisner told TechNewsWorld, because it will let the company provide more fine-grained data to advertisers. "But not so much for users."


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NSA's 'sophisticated graphs' targeting Americans inaccurate: Gen. Alexander
WASHINGTON — National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the NSA is not using its vast databases to create profiles of Americans' locations, friends and other personal information.
A weekend New York Times article reporting that the NSA is "exploiting its huge collection of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans' social connections" is inaccurate, Alexander said.
It was revealed in June that the NSA has been collecting the telephone metadata of millions of Americans as well as online information on Americans abroad. The article said the NSA was using social network analysis to track patterns.
"Is NSA compiling profiles of the American people for the use of intelligence authorities?" Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper responded that this was the case only in the context of "plots foiled." Alexander also noted that the article should have specified that the analysis was only used to target foreigners, not Americans.
"We aren't creating social networks on our families," Alexander said, calling the metadata system the "least intrusive."
Leahy argued otherwise.
"I would say that it's the most intrusive," Leahy said. "Americans elect their security but they elect their privacy, too."
Leahy has introduced legislation to eliminate Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which authorizes NSA's access to metadata. Leahy said the provision has led to an "unprecedented scale" of collection that violates Americans' privacy.
"In my view, it's time for a change," Leahy said. "Additional transparency and oversight are important parts of that change, but I believe we must do more."
In his written statement, Leahy said that the NSA violated a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court order by regularly searching the database of phone records without meeting court standards.
"Just because something is technically possible and just because something is deemed technically legal does not mean that it is the right thing to do," Leahy said.
Same story, different day
Both Clapper and Alexander had similar messages when they testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last Thursday.
"As Americans we face an unending array of threats," Clapper said. "We focus on the secret plans of terrorists. What we don't do is spy unlawfully.
Clapper said the NSA will continue to declassify more information, which he believes is the only way to reassure the public about the metadata collection system.
"I was totally wrong"
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reflected back to 9/11 when she said she attended a meeting where she was informed by former Director of Intelligence George Tenet that there was a major possibility of a terrorist incident within the next three months.
"I never believed there could be training schools for pilots who would teach pilots to fly and not to land in this country. But I was totally wrong," Feinstein said. "That can never be allowed to happen in the U.S. again."
She said the intelligence programs still too often operate hierarchically rather than collaboratively, which makes it unable to collect enough data to be able to target the whereabouts and timing of a potential terrorist attack.
"Our great strength in protecting this homeland is to have the kind of technology able to piece together data while protecting rights," Feinstein said.
Feinstein proposed many measures of increased transparency for the program during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing last week, but said this week that she will "do everything (she) can do to prevent this program from being canceled out."