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President Obama said on Monday that "we are not a nation of deadbeats," but instead a people who "pay our bills."
A close look at the data reveals a very different story — and one that gets far too little airing in public discourse.
Far from paying our bills, the current generation of Americans — or some of them — have set records for default which probably have no parallel in the history of the human race. During the last five years, U.S. individuals have walked away from a staggering $585 billion in mortgages, credit card debts and other personal loans. That works out at about $6,000 per household.
And if the numbers are to be believed, there is probably a lot more to come.
Turn on any news program devoted to the economy and you will doubtless hear some Wall Street blowhard telling you that American households have been "repairing their balance sheets" and paying down their debts. They make it sound so virtuous, and they often then segue into sneering remarks about those degenerate Greeks and other Europeans who don't behave in the same responsible way.
The truth is very different. According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. household debts peaked five years ago at a gigantic $13.8 trillion. Since then it has declined to $12.9 trillion – a decline of about 7%. To put that in context, household debts today still exceed those seen at the end of 2006, near the peak of the bubble. They are three times what they were in 1998.
Furthermore, as our chart shows, the majority of that reduction hasn't come from people paying off their loans, but from banks writing them off.
The total debt reduction from the peak, says the Fed, is $954 billion. Loan write-offs, at $585 billion, account for 60% of that. In other words, for all the chest-thumping about how Americans are repairing their balance sheets and how we aren't a nation of deadbeats, in the last five years Americans have walked away from $3 in debt for every $2 they've paid off.
In the first quarter of 2010 alone about 13% of all credit card debt was just written off.
Households weren't alone. Corporations have defaulted on $35 billion to $40 billion in debt per year in recent years, according to Moody's.
Naturally this has occurred even while the federal government has bailed out bankrupt financial institutions, and flooded the economy with massive deficits, low interest rates and free money to make it all easier.
Heaven knows what the situation would have looked like under a system of honest money.
It's easy to get too sanctimonious. Once a country gets itself into a disastrous debt hole, write-offs may be the only sensible way out. After all, for every reckless borrower there was also a reckless lender. If a debt is not going to be repaid, a policy of "extend and pretend," let alone, say, debtors' prison, is not going to help. So maybe deadbeat economics is the way to go.
But let's go easy on the chest-thumping.
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Wattled Crane
(Grus carunculatus)
Facts about this animal
Physical Characteristics: Large grey, black and white bird with a distinct red facial patch and wattles hanging either side of chin. Wattles occur on both sexes and males and females are virtually indistinguishable, although males tend to be a bit larger. Secondary feathers of the wings extend nearly to the ground, giving the appearance of a long tail. Height: 172cm (6 ft) Weight 7.8kg (14lbs)
Habitat: In wetlands, Wattled Cranes feed largely on aquatic vegetation including the tubers and rhizomes of sedges and water lilies. In areas where Wattled cranes make use of agricultural land, the diet may include insects, grains and grass seed.
Breeding: The Wattled Crane is a winter breeding, wetland dependant species. Although breeding activity has been recorded year-round, peak activity occurs between May and August. Pairs are strongly territorial and defend a territory of up to several kilometres in size. Reproductive rates both in situ and ex situ are low. While clutches may consist of one or two eggs, generally only one chick is reared. Incubation is generally 36-40 days. Fledging success is roughly 62%. Juveniles remain with their parents for approximately 12 months, after which time they join a non-breeding floater flock.
Social behaviour: Cranes have very complex social behaviours and body language plays an important role in communication and reproduction. Courtship displays often include leaping, dancing and stick throwing. These displays can last from a few seconds to several minutes.
Threats: Loss of habitat due to degradation of wetlands constitutes the greatest threat to Wattled Cranes. Other threats include poisoning, human disturbance and collisions with power lines.
|Name (Scientific)
|Grus carunculatus
|Name (English)
|Wattled Crane
|Name (French)
|Grue caronculée
|Name (German)
|Name (Spanish)
|Grulla zarzo
|Local names
|Afrikaans: Lelkraanvoël
seTswana: Mogolodi
|CITES Status
|Appendix II
|CMS Status
|Appendix II (as Grus spp.) Included in AEWA
Photo Copyright by
Sara Hallager at the National Zoo
|South-central Africa, South Africa, Ethiopia
|Grasslands and wetlands
|Wild population
|6,000-8,000 individuals (2003) (Red List IUCN 2011)
|Zoo population
|236 (112.115.9) are registered by the International studbook (November 2008).
In the Zoo
How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 17 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Find this animal on ZooLex
Photo Copyright by
Sara Hallager at the National Zoo
Why do zoos keep this animal
Wattled cranes kept in zoological institutions around the world help to serve as a genetic reservoir in the event of catastrophic loss in the wild. Wattled cranes can be difficult to breed in captivity. Fertility, hatching and fledging rates are low compared to other species. Assisted reproduction techniques developed by aviculturist may one day prove useful to the success of supplementation and reintroduction efforts in Africa. Johannesburg Zoo is currently conducting a Wattled Crane Recovery Programme. Second eggs that are abandoned by the parents in the wild are collected for a breeding programme with the eventual aim of releasing the offspring back into the wild. For details, see www.wattledcrane.co.za.

subset: commoncrawl


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Geraldo Rivera shook up Twitter with a late-night selfie showing off the 70-year-old's surprisingly fit naked torso over a very low-hanging towel in a tweet he later deleted.
Conservative commentator Glenn Beck decided to mock Rivera by taking his own bathroom self-portrait.
"Okay 49 isn't 70. But still - check out my bathroom towel pic! Sorry ladies I just can't turn this off!" Beck tweeted.
Some people appreciated his modesty, unlike Geraldo, who apparently made some want to bleach their eyes.
LOL Glenn Beck's version of Geraldo selfie. Eye bleach not required like the original https://t.co/0GXcjcPQSP— Steve Klein (@SteveKlein62) July 22, 2013
But the photo of Beck with a towel around his waist and several layers of scarves and a coat and hat -- taken with his iPad in a large bathroom -- prompted mockery of its own, even from his fans.
@glennbeck did you move into Liberaces bathroom?— Michelle (@2blueeyesGBfan) July 22, 2013
In response, Beck tweeted, "Focus on ME baby. Us tv people need you to talk about US!! Stay focused!"
But no one could stop checking out his bathroom.
Okay. The bathroom IS over the top. I got it. It was the way we bought it.Now I feel like I should give a bathroom tweet tour to redeem!— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) July 22, 2013


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A 30-year-old southwest suburban man has died after being shot New Year's Day while sitting in his vehicle on Chicago's South Side, authorities said.
Myron Brown, of Bridgeview, was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m. Saturday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Brown was shot about 1:30 p.m. Jan. 1 while sitting in a vehicle in the 8700 block of South Honore Street in the Greshman neighborhood, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said.
An unknown shooter approached the driver's side of his vehicle and fired shots, striking Brown multiple times, Greer said.
No suspects are in custody in the shooting.
Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking


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Chip Reverse Engineering
From Tmplab
Thanks to Karsten Nohl presentation at Hacker Space Fest, there's an interesting DIY approach for reverse engineering.
These are the features we're looking for:
- 500x magnification
- 2 MP to 8 MP camera
- Objective table to move the chip slowly (i.e. not by hand, too much shaking and imprecision)
- Reflected (incident) lighting
Feature we DON'T NEED:
- Confocal microscope (it seems, because we'll abrase/grind away the upper layers anyway and the bottom layers are opaque anyway too)
- Friend of Phil will lend a microscope with camera
- not perfect but should enable us to do the first etching/abrasive steps
- Ebay? No perfect match yet.
- Microscope.fr solution
- Different leads from microscope.fr website
- Euromex
- Euromex XE.5627 Discussion Microscope (299 EUR)
- Euromex AE.5175 Ball-beared mechanical stage (169 EUR)
- either Euromex DC.3200 CMEX-3 DIGI CMOS Microscope camera (3 MP) (989 EUR) or Euromex DC.1300 CMEX-1 DIGI CMOS Microscope camera (1.3 MP) (469 EUR)
- Total: from 937 EUR to 1457 EUR
- Bresser
- Bresser Trino Researcher II 40-1000x Microscope (349 EUR)
- Included mechanical stage
- Bresser PC MicrOcular 3 MP (289 EUR)
- Total: 638 EUR
- http://www.microscopesinfo.com/olympusmicroscope/
- http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.techniques.microscopy/2005-10/msg00004.html
- Comparison of different microscope imaging solutions
- Adaptor for standard cameras
- Moticam review and some tips
- ebay search for adaptators
- Custom made camera couplers
- What kind of glue to use to attach the chip to solid/manoeuvrable support?


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Whispers In loud hushes
Breathe relief
Fragrant soul sounds of Holiness
A scribbling penner, with mysterious thoughts
The Power of Story
Shitty things with a tint of humour
♡|Thoughts|Beautiful Words|Motivation|Poem's|Quote's|Maybe Short Storie's|Happiness|Joy|Soul Pouring|An Escape Patch|Memories|Home|♡
Holiday Bargains & Recipes
Only as good as my word, and I often have pretty bad - or should I say poor - word choice.
A Lifestyle Blog Celebrating Life
Alex Markovich
Lifestyle Discovery Channel
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Psalms 19:1
Writer - Photographer - Daydreamer
WordPress Tutorials
Writing Life
Sometimes, life is like that.
viral quotes and pictures
Understanding Dreams and Visions
Fiction is the ONLY Reality.
Astronomical Poet
Emotional musings- firstname.lastname@example.com
Sharing unique images that I have captured from around the world. All images are copyrighted by Ravi Patel.


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1. Re: DX79SI won't recoginize optical drives?rbmorse Jun 27, 2012 9:50 PM (in response to Ron Kopald)
Enter the BIOS setup (see your manual) and select the boot menu item. One of the settings will let you determine the order in which the BIOS attempts to find a valid boot sector on the devices it has detected during POST. Make sure the optical drive (the Plextor DVD writer) is the first device in this list.
I' don't have a DX79 board on hand so I can't verify this, but the item you're looking for is probably something like "boot device priority."
When you've made the appropriate adjustment, make sure a bootable disc is loaded in the Plextor and then press the "F10" key to save changes to the BIOS setup and reboot the machine.
2. Re: DX79SI won't recoginize optical drives?Ron Kopald Jun 27, 2012 10:54 PM (in response to rbmorse)
Thank you for the reply. It turns out I was supplying the BIOS with a boot drive disc that it didn't want.
It was looking for Windows to create the partition; thus being then able to recognize the ssd. Everything is up an 100% now. Chalk this one up to vague install instructions and a huge amount of operator error..
A tiny bit more guidance from the BIOS utility would have been nice, but not necessary. Thank you again.
3. Re: DX79SI won't recoginize optical drives?JFFulcrum Jun 28, 2012 9:32 AM (in response to Ron Kopald)
Remind also that is UEFI mode things are different from it was in past:
- If your HDD/SDD number 0 is clean, your CD/DVD/BD must have a disk with EFI-capable boot loader & OS, i.e. 64-bit Windows OSes Vista and newer, or specially marked Linux distros.
- If your HDD/SDD number 0 contain a EFI-installed OS, than boot device order in BIOS is ignored by default and installed system always boot instead. To boot from CD/DVD/BD you must either enter to installed OS boot loader utility and select exact drive to boot (drive must also contain EFI-capable boot loader & OS) or fire the BIOS boot menu key (F10 in our case) and select needed drive to boot (use 'EFI shell' marked entries for drives with EFI-enabled OSes and 'BIOS' entries for traditional Live CDs/sticks)


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John Yeomans Opticians
John Yeomans Opticians are based on Derby Road opposite the Walter Parker V.C Memorial Square.
Opening Hours:
- Mon – Fri: 9:00-17:00
- Sat: 9:00-17:00
- Sun: CLOSED
- 0115 939 2421
We try and keep the information on the business directory as accurate as possible. The last thing we want is a customer on their way to a business turning up to a 'closed' sign or not being able to book that last minute table or appointment!
If you think you've spotted a mistake on one of our pages let us know using our 'Submit a Story' contact form and we'll try to get it fixed as quickly as possible.
If you are the owner of this business and would like to add a little more to your bio, change a phone number or add some nicer pictures, please use the very same contact form 'Submit a Story' from the homepage or from HERE.


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natty_dread wrote:Like I said, all that I've noticed is that the dice are less predictable & less streaky. If you perceive that you're having bad dice, then you must have been relying on the streakiness of the dice earlier.
Not true. What I noticed before was that 1s did not kill 5s and 6s and just now a 7 on a regular basis, and now it happens all the time. This is not in my head. It really didnt happen very often, relatively speaking, but now it happens far past what it did before. And I didnt rely on any streakyness. I auto-attacked everything at will as I do now, on the presumption that they were random and it was irrelevant. Only now do I question that, and it was before I even read the announcement, that I noticed something changed.
I was able to use the actual odds when attacking ones before especially with bigger stacks and now, I expect to lose on a regular basis, which is quite a bit off from the 95-99% that Id expect to win them.


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BOSTON (MarketWatch) — In December, good things tend to come in small packages.
This December, given the fiscal cliff, euro zone and Middle East issues, I think such good things will benefit from a few investment lines rather than one big ticket bet. That way, if one position doesn't light up, you won't have to worry about your whole portfolio going dark.
I don't know what they call it in Canada, but here, I call it "unboxing day" — the day when I unbox all the lights to celebrate both Hanukkah's festival of lights and Christmas. Even before I open the boxes of lights I know that despite being put away in perfect coils and in perfect working order, I will resemble Laocoon struggling to untangle the lot. But, I no longer despair over the fact that one broken bulb can ruin a string of hundreds, I use bulbs that run on parallel wires rather than the traditional one wire. Even if one or more bulbs are out, the string of bulbs works fine, and makes the job of finding the duds as quick as a wink.
Unfortunately, I think investors are still suffering from the belief that if one holding, one policy change or even one economy burns out, their portfolio will short-circuit. I am less worried (which is not the same thing as saying I am not worried).
You know from years of reading this column that I like my "pairing" strategy approach; using two complementary positions (like owning the passively managed exchange traded fund, Vanguard Emerging Market VWO, +0.35% , and the actively managed no-load Fidelity New Markets Income FNMIX, +0.07% mutual fund), to pursue gains and reduce risk in virtually any space in every marketplace.
In December's marketplace, my proprietary seasonality charts suggest that domestic small- and mid-cap blends tend to fare the best in any macro market. Internationally, emerging markets tend to fare better than established foreign markets (but both trail the small- and mid-cap U.S. blends). Sector-wise, health care, telecommunications and tech stand tall while agriculture and coal glitter more than gold.
Now, you don't need to rush out and buy all the above. In fact, you likely already have many if not most of the above well represented in your current portfolio. But you could use that list to check out whether or not, and to what extent, you do own them. If you find yourself with a low wattage weighting in health care, for example, you could use my pick to bolster your portfolio's exposure to at least a market weight (regarding health care, I'd argue in favor of overweighting the stake by 2%-5% relative to the S&P 500's current 11% bent).
I continue to like health care and technology; the former is a defensive growth story and the latter is a more growth-oriented one, but both have global legs that gains should stand on. My preference would be for Fidelity's no-load, actively managed Select Healthcare FSPHX, +1.13% and Select Technology FSPTX, -1.36% , but both have year-end distributions that you'll want to avoid. Buying State Street SPDR Select Technology XLK, -0.16% and the Vanguard Healthcare VHT, +0.96% could be a smart money move here. The same can be said for emerging market debt — using the iShares Emerging Market Bond EMB, +0.15% instead of Fidelity New Markets Income in the short term. Similarly, given year-end distribution schedules in fund town, I'd opt for ETFs in the small- and mid-cap blend spaces: Vanguard Small Cap VB, +0.21% and State Street SPDR Dow Jones Mid Cap US:EMM could place some big presents under the tree. As for the most likely bulbs to get blown out, Market Vectors Coal KOL, +0.13% and Powershares Agriculture DBA, +1.04% (DBA), I would suggest a "blinking" strategy.
Own the former only intermittently: for December, then unplug it. Own the latter for the long haul: it will spark and shock from time to time, but the long-term demand arc for more soft commodity goods than any country seems to be able to produce enough of. That is an evergreen growth story no Grinch can deny.


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User account registration
If you already have an account but you have forgotten your password, click here to get a new password
Join the Forest Energy Portal
Fill in your information to create a user account for the Forest Energy Portal.
When you save your account, you will also receive a confirmation message to your e-mail, including the account details.
After creating the account you can also enter your information to the Expert Database.
If you already have an account for the Forest Energy Portal, but have forgotten your password, please click here to get a new password.


text:
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Russia declined to confirm or deny a media report that one of its submarines spent a month in the Gulf of Mexico without the knowledge of the United States.
The RIA Novosti news agency said the Defense Ministry brushed off inquiries about the report, which appeared on a U.S. Web site last week, and said questions should be submitted in writing.
The Kremlin's reaction came after U.S. officials denied outright the report that Akula-class sub sailed undetected around the Gulf in June and July. The report was posted by a conservative Web site, The Washington Free Beacon.
Military experts in Russia and Europe told the Moscow Times they doubted the sub could have spent so much time under the nose of the U.S. Navy because the Akula is not a particularly quiet piece of machinery. "They are unable to sit silently because their reactor cannot be turned off," said Christian Le Miere, a naval analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "A submarine of nearly 10,000 tons cannot easily enter coastal waters."
The Beacon stood by its report and dismissed contentions the story was designed to discredit President Obama's re-election campaign.
The report caught the attention of a U.S. senator, who called on the Navy to provide details of the supposed incursion and warned of what appeared to be a more aggressive military policy on the part of the Russians.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Sunday sent the letter to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert requesting more information on the purported incident.
"This submarine activity reportedly occurred in June and July, simultaneously with incursions by Russian strategic bombers into restricted U.S. airspace," Cornyn wrote.
"The submarine patrol, taken together with the air incursions, seems to represent a more aggressive and destabilizing Russian military stance that could pose risks to our national security," Cornyn said.


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Experimental Tropical SST Forecast Products
These experimental sea surface temperature (SST) forecasts are made using the Linear Inverse Modeling (LIM) technique and are a useful indicator of the status of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Updates are usually available by the 10th of each month.
|Current Projection of SST onto ENSO Optimal Structure
|Forecast Maps of Global Tropics SSTs (totals; numerical values available)
|Forecast Maps of Global Tropics SSTs (anomalies; numerical values available)
Please Note: If you acquire LIM Pacific SST Anomalies and PDO Forecasts products from our website, we ask that you acknowledge us in your use of the data. This may be done by including a citation to us such as "LIM SST Anomalies Forecast data provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Science Division and CIRES CU, Boulder, Colorado, from their website at https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/", in any documents or publications using these data. We would also appreciate receiving a copy of the relevant publication. This will help NOAA/PSD and CIRES to justify keeping the LIM SST Anomalies Forecast data freely available online in the future. Thank you!


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Christian Beyer may only be considered a walk-on, but he�s proven to be one of the smartest basketball players in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Christian Beyer may only be considered a walk-on, but he�s proven to be one of the smartest basketball players in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Beyer, a Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise major, was named to the ACC All-Academic team.
To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.
Beyer, a sophomore, scored a point, had a block and grabbed two rebounds in 15 minutes in the Hokies� 90-79 loss at Wake Forest Sunday.
Beyer has played in 22 games. He is averaging 1.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
The Hokies (13-18) play N.C. State at 2 p.m. in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday.
NATHAN HEALY (New Bern) is a senior at Appalachian State. Healy scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 40 minutes in the Mountaineers� 65-62 loss to Davidson Sunday in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament.
He made six of his 14 field goal attempts.
Healy averaged 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
KAYLAH BLOUNT (New Bern) is a freshman atNorth Carolina Central.
Blount went scoreless and grabbed three rebounds in 12 minutes in the Eagles� 44-41 loss to Coppin State in the first round of the MEAC Tournament Monday in Norfolk, Va.
She played in 28 games, averaging 1.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
ALYSSA LUEBS (Havelock) is a senior forward at Mount Olive College. Luebs scored six points and had 10 rebounds in 34 minutes as Mount Olive beat Pfeiffer, 79-74, in the Conference Carolinas Championship game Sunday.
Luebs has played in 29 games. She is averaging 5.3 points and 7.1 points per game.
The Trojans (18-11) play Clayton State in the first round of the Southeast Regional of the Division II Tournament on Friday in Morrow, Ga.
MELISSA THOMAS (Havelock)is a junior guard at Queens University.
Thomas scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in the Royals� 75-59 loss to Pfeiffer in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament March 6.
Thomas scored 5.7 points per game.
TRAVONDA HADDOCK (Havelock) is a freshman at USC-Upstate. Haddock did not play in the Spartans 50-48 loss to North Florida in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Tournament Thursday. USC-Upstate finished the season with a 12-18 record.
Haddock averaged 2.1 point and 2.1 rebounds per game.
ANGIE HEALY (New Bern) is a freshman swimmer at Davidson College. Healy placed 17th in the 500-yard freestyle at the CCSA Championships in Athens, Ga. on Feb. 23 with a time of 5:04.39. Her 200 Medley Relay team finished fourth with a swim of 1:44.39.
SAMWILSON (New Bern) is a junior swimmer for the Gardner-Webb Runnin� Bulldogs. Wilson came in sixth in the 1,650-yard swim (16:03.12) at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association meet in Athens, Ga. Feb. 23.
Wilson came in seventh in both the 500 freestyle (4:36.99) and 200 freestyle (1:43.33).
MATTBURNS (New Bern) is a sophomore swimmer at Pfeiffer University.
ROBERT ARMENTROUT (New Bern) is a freshman swimmer at Lenoir-Rhyne.
BRETT WILLIAMS (New Bern) is a senior outfielder at N.C. State. Williams went 0-for-4 in the Wolfpack�s 4-1 win over Clemson Sunday.
Williams is batting .345 with three home runs, five doubles and 16 RBIs. He missed all last season with a torn ACL.
CODY MOLOSKY (Pamlico) is a freshman outfielder at Methodist. Molosky went 0-for-2 in the Monarchs� 4-1 loss to Piedmont Sunday.
Molosky has played in all 20 games.
He is batting .304 with a double, 21 hits and six RBIs. Molosky has scored 10 runs and stole 12 bases.
MATTSOLTER (New Bern) is a sophomore pitcher at Furman. Solter allowed a run on three hits in two innings in the Paladins� 10-9 loss to Appalachian State Sunday.
Solter has appeared in eight games. He has 10 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. Solter has a 3.18 ERA and four saves.
MATTTOWARNICKY (New Bern) is a freshman infielder at Furman. Towarnicky is 1-for-2 on the season.
TREVOR PENCE (New Bern) is a freshman pitcher at Wake Tech Community College. Pence is 1-1 with a 1.23 ERA.
WILL COOK (New Bern) is a sophomore catcher at the University of the South (Sewanee, Tenn.).
KYLE SMITH (Jones Senior) is a sophomore infielder at Lenoir Community College.
CHRIS JOYNER (Jones Senior) is a freshman infielder at Lenoir Community College.
ADAM WARREN (New Bern) is pitching in the New York Yankees organization. Warren pitched four innings in a spring training game against the Miami Marlins. He allowed four runs on six hits.
This spring, Warren has a record of 0-1 in three appearances. He has a 5.00 ERA in nine innings.
SHAWN ARMSTRONG (West Craven) is pitching in the Cleveland Indians organization.
ALEXWARREN (New Bern) is a senior for the Meredith Avenging Angels.
Warren went 1-for-7 in a doubleheader split with N.C. Wesleyen Saturday. The Avenging Angels won the first game, 4-2, but dropped the second, 9-7.
Warren is batting .208 with five base hits, two RBIs and five.
KELSEY SANFILIPPO (New Bern) is playing at Greensboro College. The junior pitcher threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in the Pride�s 6-2 win over Lake Forest Monday is Kissimmee, Fla.
Sanfilippo is 1-1 on the season with a 5.26 ERA and 33 strikeouts.
LEIGH WARD (Pamlico) is playing at Chowan. The Hawks� sophomore outfielder was 3-for-4 in an 8-7 win over Shaw Sunday.
Ward has played in 19 games.
She leads the team with a .431 batting average. She also has nine stolen bases and scored 14 runs.
ERICA SAGE (Havelock) is playing at Pitt. No stats are available for Sage.
MARYANN HOSKINS (HAVELOCK) is a freshman at Lenoir-Rhyne. Hoskins was chosen as the South Atlantic Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week after tossing three-straight shutouts last week.
Hoskins struck out six and gave up three hits as the Bears beat Anderson, 4-0, Saturday. She allowed four runs on eight base hits in Lenoir-Rhyne�s, 5-4, win over USC-Aiken Monday.
Hoskins has pitched in 14 games. She is 6-2 on the season with a 2.25 ERA and 68 strikeouts.
ELLEN TILLMAN (HAVELOCK) is a freshman at Indian River State College.
If you know of any other area athletes playing spring sports in college, contact Adam Thompson and 252-635-5669 or at email@example.com. Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_matic.


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New Google Glass Teardown Confirms Its Low Manufacturing Cost
Teardown.com had also recenty taken the Glass device apart and had estimated a total bill of materials of $80.
Does that mean that Google is pocketing a sky-high margin of 90 percent on each Glass sale?
IHS claims that a dissection of the product is a useful tool for understanding the component and manufacturing cost of electronics devices, but it doesn't always tell the whole story of the value of a product.
"As in any new product - especially a device that breaks new technological ground - the bill of materials (BOM) cost of Glass represent only a portion of the actual value of the system," said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS. "IHS has noted this before in other electronic devices, but this is most dramatically illustrated in Google Glass, where the vast majority of its cost is tied up in non-material costs that include non-recurring engineering (NRE) expenses, extensive software and platform development, as well as tooling costs and other upfront outlays. When you buy Google Glass for $1,500, you are getting far, far more than just $152.47 in parts and manufacturing."
IHS says that Google Glass carries a BOM of $132.47. When the $20.00 manufacturing expense is added, the cost to produce the head-mounted computer rises to $152.47.
Most of the integrated circuits (ICs) in Google Glass are mature when compared with recent flagship smartphone designs. For example, the Texas Instruments Inc. OMAP4430 apps processor used in Google Glass is made with 45-nanometer (nm) semiconductor manufacturing technology - two generations behind the 28nm chips employed in the latest flagship smartphones.
The use of more cutting-edge ICs could yield future Google Glass products that are smaller, lighter, more energy-efficient and less costly to produce than the current model.
The second most expensive single component in Google Glass is also its most defining feature: its head-mounted liquid-crystal on silicon (LCOS) projector display. IHS estimates the cost of the Himax Technologies Inc. LCOS projection element made by Taiwan's Himax Technologies Inc. at $20.00, accounting for 15 percent of the total Glass BOM.
Texas Instruments components dominate the Glass design, with the semiconductor supplier contributing the apps processor, power management IC, audio codec, battery fuel gauge and regulator ICs. Altogether, TI accounts for an estimated $37.90 worth of components identified so far in the Glass, representing 29 percent of the BOM.
Glass includes two accelerometers: one from STMicroelectronics and another from InvenSense Inc. Accelerometers are commonly used to detect motion in electronic devices, such as smartphones and video-game controllers. Given that smartphones generally incorporate just one multiaxis accelerometer, the use of two of these devices represents an interesting and unusual design choice that must be further investigated to be understood.
The frame of the Glass represents the single most expensive component of the device, at $22.00, or 17 percent of the BOM. The frame is made of titanium, a highly durable and expensive material used in high-performance military aircraft and in some eyeglass frames. However, titanium is rarely used in commercial electronic devices analyzed by the IHS Teardown Analysis Service.
Google Glass is not yet generally available through retail. The pre-mass-market status of Google Glass is evident by examining its design.
"Today's Google Glass feels like a prototype," Rassweiler said. "The design employs many off-the-shelf components that could be further optimized. If a mass market for the product is established, chip makers are expected to offer more integrated chipsets specific to the application that will greatly improve all aspects of performance, including processing speed, energy efficiency, weight and size. Future product revisions are sure to make strides in all of these areas."


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Pippa Middleton leaves Daunt Books after doing some shopping on Thursday (November 8) in London, England.
The 29-year-old author recently made a surprise visit to London's Burlington Arcade with her sister, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Duchess Kate, her pup Lupo, and Pippa attended the Christmas Bazaar which benefited the Ormiston Children and Families Trust. According to reports, Kate, Pippa, and Lupo did some shopping around the shocked patrons during their surprise visit.
20+ pictures inside of Pippa Middleton heading out of Daunt Books after doing some shopping…


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3:10 to Yuma (US - BD RA)
Gabe's eyes are filled with true grit, and unforgiven pale riders, and he likes it...
Out of luck and money, rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) heads into Bisbee, AZ only to find himself an accomplice in the capturing of notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). Desperate for money, Evans volunteers to escort Wade to the town of Contention and stick him on the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. But Wade is a crafty prisoner, and like Hannibal Lector he worms his way into Evans' head while whittling down the rest of his escorts. With Wade's men only hours behind him, can Evans make it to Contention in time to catch his train?
The cover blub may be right, 3:10 to Yuma may be the best Western since Unforgiven, but we haven't had a lot to chose from since Clint Eastwood's final word on the genre swept the Oscars. From France came Blueberry, a psychedelic take on classic themes, from Spain came 800 Bullets, a post-modern reworking of the Spaghetti Westerns, from Australia came The Proposition, a grittily old fashion retelling of the themes, but none of them were as earth shattering or permanent as Unforgiven. Western themes were explored in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and even Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, but I wouldn't count any of these films as strictly western. So far the first and last words on Westerns in the new millennium was a television series called Deadwood, and depending on your affections, George P. Cosmatos and
Kurt Russell's Tombstone.
But it's 2007, Deadwood has been canceled, and we've got two all-star cast and critically acclaimed genre releases, 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James (both released in September). I'd love to do an in depth comparison between the two, but I still haven't seen the later. I'll just compare it to what I know. If Unforgiven was a revisionist's statement on the reality of the Western hero, and Deadwood was a gangland reapropriation of real life events, then 3:10 to Yuma is a classic genre tale told through modern action movie standards. This isn't a bad thing, not every specific genre or period piece needs to be an allegory or post-modern statement on film, and it just happens that a lot of the best Westerns are one or the other.
An impressively staged high way robbery at the top of the first act starts things at a sprint, and there isn't a lot of stopping the plot's momentum once it's rolling down the mountain. 3:10 to Yuma isn't bursting with angst and pathos like Unforgiven, but arch can be fun when a film embraces the tropes of a genre (the last time Russell Crowe made a Western it was for Sam Raimi, who's Quick and the Dead embraced the tropes times one hundred). Crowe revels in his arch-villain part, as Crowe is rather comfortable in larger then life roles, but he's also a smart enough actor to effectively charm his way into a hero's role. Christian Bale, a more method actor, doesn't handle thin characters as well. His performance is often at slight odds with the rest of the cast, but in the end his choices are the right ones, and his 'odd couple' relationship with Crowe makes a lot of sense. It also makes the cornball moments easier to swallow.
Around the half way mark all my bitchin' and moaning about lacking allegory doesn't make a lick of difference because the 'crackin' yarn' is too hard to resist. The simplicity of the story and characters become parts of a finely tuned thrill ride, and the final shoot-out/chase is just downright breathless. I'd like to say that the transparent buddy movie moments didn't have an effect on me, but I smiled through every sappy moment. Intellectuals may want to see through the guttural thrill of manly men and whizzing bullets, but the rest of us can let go and enjoy a meticulously crafted action film.
I've noticed that Lionsgate puts a lot more love into their more prestigious releases. Of the three Blu-ray releases I reviewed from the company for January, 3:10 to Yuma is the most impressive. The 1080p, 2.40:1 widescreen image is full of sharp details and crisp edges, but isn't entirely without some problems. The transfer isn't entirely consistent, darker scenes are grainy and loose some of the otherwise impressive detail, and unfocused backgrounds have issues with what appears to be compression noise.
Colours are magnificent, especially during daylight scenes. The overall film is baked in warm hues, except for some nighttime scenes, which are slightly blue. The film's colour pallet is very specific, and is well represented here. Blacks, on the other hand, are never satisfactorily black. A direct comparisons reveals the same problems on the DVD release, but with generally more edge noise and detail loss.
Again, I can't enjoy the uncompressed PCM 7.1 track, and I apologize. The Dolby Digital EX track is very tightly packed with gunshots, train bells, and Marco Beltrami's pseudo-traditional score. The track's balance is practically perfect in that even during moments of relative chaos minute details can still be effectively dissected. Dialogue is crystal clear and centered without any artificial production, and is audible even when the surround and stereo channels are bombastic. The score is warm, thick, and full of fidelity. Fans of surround effects will likely giggle with glee during the middle and last act shoot outs, which exact the effect of bullets zipping across one's ear from all angles.
James Mangold's commentary track is very intelligent, and it's good to know that I read the film more or less the way it was meant to be read. He covers his aims in making the film, the original '57 version of the story, western fantasy pulp in general, and his influences. A few obvious influence I'm happy to hear Mangold mention are Silence of the Lambs, and Spaghetti Westerns in general (though he rarely names specific films or filmmakers). There is very little wasted space on the track, and though he's a bit of an intellectual, Mangold doesn't come off as a snob, though claiming that people didn't like the movie just didn't 'get it' is suspect.
The featurettes start with a 20 minute behind the scenes exploration entitled 'Destination Yuma'. This featurette focuses mostly on technical aspects of the film, like the stunts, costumes, and set design. Everyone on set, even the curmudgeony Crowe, is obviously happy to be making a rock 'em sock 'em western. Considering 3:10 to Yuma was a medium budgeted feature (Lionsgate's got to spend its Saw dollars somewhere) I'm sort of shocked at the sheer volume of set construction involved in the film. Apparently the dozens of existing sites in Southern Arizona weren't quite what they were looking for.
'Outlaws, Gangs, and Posses' was a particularly fun little history lesson for me personally because of the focus on my hometown area of Southern Arizona, and my current home state of Minnesota. I've actually been to the places these bolo tied historians are talking about. The featurette sprints through Wild West history in a paltry 13 minutes, but is mighty fact filled.
'An Epic Explored' explores the allegorical and fantasy aspects of western films in general. The cast and crew all make intelligent statements about the genre and its history. In about 6 minutes the featurette more or less covers all the bases of entire books I've read on the subject. My bad.
'3:10 to Score' briefly explores Marco Beltrami's musical score. The score is an impressive interpretation of other classic western music, specifically the definitive western sounds of Ennio Morricone. Beltrami states that he was trying to avoid emulation, but his process is very similar to Morricone's, concerning the build of conventional and unconventional sounds, and a consistent gallop to the rhythm during onscreen action. The featurette runs about 7 minutes.
'Sea to Shining Sea' is a look at the Transcontinental Railroad, and its effect on America. The theme of the railroad killing the Wild West is, as stated, a common one throughout western cinema, probably the most common behind the American Civil War starting things. The specific facts of the effort and history, which run 20 minutes, are a fine edition to this surprisingly educational set of special features.
'A Conversation with Elmore Leonard' is pretty self-explanatory. I'm really not very familiar with Leonard, and I had no idea that he got his start writing pulp western shorts. Leonard did a lot of research when writing his westerns, and didn't have much interest in other western literature, which is most likely what set him apart. In case anyone didn't know, this is actually the second time his short story has been made into a major motion picture, but there isn't much time for Leonard to recall the process of selling his first movie subject in the featurette's five minutes.
'Guns of Yuma' briefly covers the different weapons seen in the film, and how they were chosen. Each gun was specifically picked for each character, and the actors all seem to have really taken to the firearms. It runs six minutes.
The deleted scenes are presented in widescreen with full HD video. The first two scenes deal with Wade's crew, fleshing the faceless monsters out a bit. Later scenes fill out Crowe and Peter Fonda's characters a little bit, and their relationship to each other. The longest deleted sequence involves Dan's son meeting the posse on the road shortly after leaving home, which would've made his later appearance a little less shocking to the other characters. The scenes, which all seem to have been trimmed for pacing reasons, total seven, and run about seven minutes.
The interactive western timeline is what the title states, and is solid stacked with factoids, divided by year and place. A trailer and trailers for other Lionsgate releases bring an end to the disc. I couldn't get the 'Inside Yuma' feature to work on my player, so I am unable to review that part of the disc.
The cover blurb is only partially accurate, it should read: ' 3:10 to Yuma is the best American studio produced western since Unforgiven, released before The Assassination of Jesse James, which may or may not be better'. It just doesn't have the same ring to it. Comparing 3:10 to Yuma to Unforgiven is misleading anyway, I'd compare this rollicking shoot 'em up to Tombstone or The Long Riders first. This is a fun and entertaining action film, and one I can see myself watching more then once. I can't say having the disc crap out a half dozen times when loading the menu was much fun, but that's most likely due to the shortcomings of Blu-Ray compatibility, not the disc itself.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date: 8th January 2008
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.40:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: PCM 7.1 English, Dolby Digital EX English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Extras: 'Destination Yuma', 'Inside Yuma' picture-in-picture, '3:10 to Score', 'An Epic Explored', 'The Guns of Yuma', 'Outlaws, Gangs & Posses', 'Sea to Shining Sea' ,'Historical Timeline of the West', 'A Conversation with Elmore Leonard', deleted scenes, trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda
Genre: Western
Length: 122 minutes
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"I be off the slave ship...building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs"
Kendrick Lamar - HiiPower
The other day, I told my fiance that Biggie's most underrated line ever was:
"Considered a fool because I dropped out of high school/Stereotypes of a Black man misunderstood, and it's still all good..."
It's probably one of the most perceptive lyrics ever from B.I.G. But Juicy is so melodic, you can just fly right past it.
It also makes me reflect upon our society's general lack of belief in Black men's ability to be introspective. Or that they can practice healthy forms of ethos. There are really strong efforts currently underway to change those generalized views of Black male inability. But there is also a history and tradition that can be referenced and pointed to, which provides examples of how it can be done: from Wright, to Baldwin, to Biggie and Pac, to Saul Williams, to even Obama. An intellectual, experiential, expressive one.
I think about Kendrick Lamar's young body of work, and on the politics of carrying on the tradition within the new realities and narratives. Kendrick has moments when he puts this new paradigm for introspection, ethos, and social commentary, together in the mold of the great Black social commentators - in the tradition of story-telling. And those moments are so dope.
A few months ago, Ta-Neshi Coates wrote in the NY Times about how important K-Dot's album "good Kid, m.A.A.D. city" is for understanding what Black males and residents in urban cities face; that elites don't get it; and thus Black males seek to treat this misunderstanding and alienation through other means. Coates decides to emphasize the means of music and criminality: 1) rappers are masters of violence, 2) they are authors commenting on the new social structures, and 3) music is where they make fantasy parallel to reality, as a way of explaining the rules and strategies for mastering the new structures. In this logic, mastery equals survival.
"Hip-hop originates in communities where such hazards are taken as given. Rappers generally depict themselves as masters, not victims, of the attending violence. Their music is not so much interested in exalting to our preferred values as constructing a fantasy wherein the author has total control and is utterly invulnerable."
Coates-"Hip Hop Speaks to the Guns
He attempts to contextualize and nuance Black male rappers - the presumption embedded in the piece - "mastery of violence" through music and strategy, in order to not demonize it. But that approach seems..."stereotypical." Just a very stereotypical way for analyzing the lived reality of misunderstood Black men.
Instead, I really wished that he would of emphasized how Kendrick represents the Black male as social commentator. The Black male that uses the local, as his text. The Black male that uses words, to convey ethos. The Black male, who is capable of not just commentary, but also analysis and introspection. Rather than continue to be implicit that he, Coates, is unique because he is all those things, why not be explicit about how Kendrick is all those things too? Kendrick's social thought is just as important as his words. This point needs to be exalted more, and it goes beyond Coates' piece.
There is something troubling I've observed as K-Dot's music begins to find a broader audience and pop culture acceptance: his music is being reduced to choruses that put together finely chosen words and turn them into catchy phrases. The skits, track order, and coherent narrative which was thoughtfully and intelligently put together, is now signified through liquor in swimming pools and bitches that kill one's vibe.
Kendrick, isn't just the next great West Coast rapper, and not just a hip-hop artist who's music has a penchant for fitting the Top 40 format. He also is in the lauded tradition of Wright, Baldwin, and Obama, and less recognized aspects of Tupac, Biggie Smalls, and many others.
And that he's been doing this way before "good Kid, m.A.A.D. city."
"Hiiipower: the three i's represent heart, honor and respect. That's how we carry ourselves in the streets, and just in the world, period. Hiiipower, it basically is the simplest form of representing just being above all the madness..."
Kendrick gives us an example of why we must listen closer. Not just for words, but for intellectual thought. Black men are capable of such. But they themselves, and us as a listening community, must begin the process of thinking and speaking like we believe it. And also behaving and acting in ways that develop what we have to say.
Study. Learn. Think. Respect. Remain Thoughtful. And Share. Let's call that HiiiPower.


text:
Head of Department: Mr S Quinn
Aims of the Course
To introduce and develop the following life skills and attributes:
- Learning to take responsibility
- Resilience
- Managing relationships
- Valuing diversity
- Health and well-being
- Developing independence
- Creativity
Course Outline:
Key Concepts
Developing resilience and the role of self-belief, how to maintain physical and mental well-being, how to manage strong emotions like fear and anger, the value of diversity and the reasons why diversity can sometimes lead to conflict.
Personal Safety
How to manage risk effectively, personal safety, basic first-aid, assertiveness and bullying.
The medical names and functions of the sexual organs, the signs of pregnancy, how to take responsibility for your sexual health, contraception, the risks of sexual activity, consent, exploitation, and how to maintain healthy relationships.
Where students can access information, guidance and support is highlighted throughout the course.


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The changes continue at Albany Broadcasting Co. in Latham.
Earlier this month, the radio company changed the format at WROW (590 AM) from talk and news to easy listening music. Earlier this week, it launched "The Bridge" at 100.9 FM, changing the format there to "adult hits."
Today, Albany Broadcasting unveiled "The Cat" at 104.9, which had been the rock music station known as "The Edge." The station is now playing "high-energy country music."
"Our research was pretty clear that when it comes to country, listeners want more music, and we're going to give it to them," said Chuck Benfer, the general manager at Albany Broadcasting.
The format switch is a direct challenge to county station WGNA (107.7 FM), which has long been the region's top-rated radio station but has lacked country music competition.
Benfer said "The Cat" is being launched with 10,000 songs in a row, commercial free. He also said that staff members at The Edge are being offered "an opportunity to stay with us at Albany Broadcasting at the same pay rate."
Albany Broadcasting, also known as Pamal Broadcasting, owns seven radio stations.


text:
Apple Threatens To Close iTunes
A ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board tomorrow could spell trouble for Apple's iTunes.
There are 8.5 million songs on the iTunes store
Apple have made a threat that they might axe their music store altogether if the US Copyright Royalty Board increases the price payable per track from nine cents to fifteen cents. Apple already pays 70 cents of each song purchase to the record companies, who aren't willing to pay for the increase themselves. Since they would essentially be operating the service at a loss, Apple would rather shut the store down than raise their prices beyond 99 cents per track.
Eddy Cue of iTunes says: "If iTunes Store were forced to absorb any increase in the mechanical royalty rates, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss - which is no alternative at all. "Apple has repeatedly made clear that it is in this business to make money, and would most likely not continue to operate iTS if it were no longer possible to do so profitably," said Mr Cue.
The National Music Publishers' Association has argued for the rise on the ground that Apple make a substantial amount of money from their hardware. "We don't make a penny on the sale of an iPod," they said.
The public have responded by saying: "it is a pathetic PR stunt to help their bargaining position so customers will put pressure on the Copyright Royalty Board to not increase the amount they want for each sale. It is no doubt that Apple has a fully-costed Plan B in place in case they needed to drop the store."


text:
Reserve online or call 01993 824 252
Start your shortlist by clicking on the icon next to any property
Viewpoint is a community of only 9 villas in an enviable position at the top of La Manga Club. This detached villa has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and enjoys stunning, uninterrupted views across the Mediterranean Sea from the south facing rear of the villa.
It is air conditioned throughout and has its own pool. Wireless internet access is also included in the price for this villa.
Enter the villa into the hallway and through into the kitchen/dining area. The kitchen is fully fitted and well equipped with dish washer, microwave, oven, hob and extractor, and fridge/freezer. Patio doors with a retractable awning overhead lead out to the pool terrace.
Also accessible from the hallway or from the adjoining kitchen is the living room, which has a wall mounted flat screen TV. Patio doors on 3 sides open to the pool terrace with sun loungers, table, chairs, and barbeque. From here you have fabulous views to the cliffs and the Mediterranean Sea.
Along a corridor from the front door are two bedrooms, one at the front and one at the rear of the villa, each with a ceiling fan. The front bedroom has a double bed, whilst the rear bedroom has two single beds and views to the pool and the sea. These bedrooms share use of a separate bathroom with twin washbasins. There is also a separate shower room in the hallway.
Steps down from the hallway lead to the fourth bedroom which has two single beds. There is a separate bathroom, and a utility room with washing machine and sink.
The master bedroom is on the first floor. This has a double bed, a safe, and an en-suite bathroom with twin wash basins. There is a dressing area, and patio doors on two sides – at the front to an open terrace with views across the resort to the Mar Menor in the distance, and at the rear to a large open terrace with views to the Mediterranean.
South facing terrace with sea views. Please note this villa does not have Golf & Sports Rights so public rates are payable for golf and tennis.
Weekly bookings only in July and August and all school holidays.


text:
posted by Thom Holwerda on Mon 3rd May 2010 13:47 UTC, submitted by Andreas Andersen
"The KDevelop team is proud and happy to announce that KDevelop 4.0 is finally available as stable release. KDevelop comes with lots of innovative features, even though many features from the 3.5 series were dropped due to a nearly complete rewrite. In particular the developers have focused on building an excellent C++ IDE instead of trying to integrate lots of languages and features halfheartedly. Of course KDevelop 4 also builds an excellent basis for other languages, the best proof for that is the PHP plugin that is released alongside KDevelop 4.0. KDevelop 4.0 has an excellent C++ code understanding engine, which allows the IDE to understand your code better than you do, and which is then used to assist you by releasing you from tiresome tasks."


text:
Collections Information Repository (CIR)
What is the Collections Information Repository?
The Collections Information Repository (CIR) is a web-based tool that gives federal agencies information on deposits and collections. CIR streamlines financial transaction information from all collections and settlement systems into one place.
Who uses CIR?
- Federal Program Agencies (FPAs) use CIR to get detailed and summary-level information on revenue they receive.
- The Bureau of the Fiscal Service uses CIR for reports and business intelligence information about collections processes.
- Systems and settlement providers use CIR to report collections data.
How do I enroll?
If you need access to CIR, contact a CIR Security User in your agency.
If you do not know who your Security User is, go to the Getting Help for CIR job aid.
If your agency has not yet enrolled in CIR, contact CIR Customer Support.
800-624-1373 (option #3) or internationally at 216-579-2112 (option #3)
How do I use CIR?
Learn from the resources in CIR
When you log in to CIR,
- review the various Help and Reference documents
- learn how to use CIR to find the data you need
Use CIR as your primary resource for data on collections and deposits. CIR gets data from all collections sources.
Contact Us
CIR Customer Support
800-624-1373 (option #3) or internationally at 216-579-2112 (option #3)
Related Resources
CIR Customer Support
- 800-624-1373 (option #3) or internationally at 216-579-2112 (option #3)
- firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Celebrate your wedding or special occasion in an atmosphere of understated elegance. Whatever the event, we can take care of the details and make sure everything is streamlined, stress free and quite unforgettable.
We want to make sure that every detail of your special day lives up to your dreams. Put your wedding in our hands and we'll make sure you'll enjoy every minute from start to finish.
Our in-house events team can recommend wedding planners to work with you in the run-up to your big day. We will work closely with them, looking after important details such as the catering and décor.
We offer couples the chance to use our wonderful wedding menu created by our expert Executive Chef Simon Larese. Alternatively, if you are looking for something unique we also invite couples to devise their own menu in conjunction with the Chef. Our sommelier is also on hand to help you with your wine selection, while our catering team are experts when it comes to wedding cakes.
We enjoy established relationships with some of the best photographers in Munich and will happily recommend someone to work with you. We can also organise flower arrangements with our talented in-house florist and co-ordinate linens to any colour scheme. In addition, we can arrange wedding favours, menus and place cards, and engage the services of a Toastmaster to help with the smooth running of your wedding.
With Weddings and Honeymoons by Mandarin Oriental, couples who wed at our hotel receive a complimentary honeymoon night and other special benefits at another Mandarin Oriental hotel in the Group.
We pride ourselves on our personal approach to every event. Because we are an intimate boutique hotel, we can offer tailor-made service and creative ideas to make your occasion one of a kind. From birthday celebrations and engagement parties to reunions, themed events, and baby and bridal showers, our talented Event Manager can help you organise them all.
Please provide us the details of your wedding or event and our dedicated specialists will contact you with a proposal that meets your requirements.


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New-look Rangers try to sweep home-and-home with Pens
The New York Rangers used some new faces to shock the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opener of a home-and-home series, but the Eastern Conference leaders will be out for revenge in Friday's finale in the Steel City.
New York slammed the visiting Penguins by a 6-1 score on Wednesday, as the Rangers ended a seven-game series' losing streak to Pittsburgh with their highest offensive output of the season.
Ryane Clowe scored two goals and assisted on another in a dazzling Rangers debut, while Derick Brassard delivered a four-point night just hours after being acquired by the club to help New York register the rout of the suddenly slumping Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
Brassard, one of three players who came over from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for three-time 40-goal scorer Marian Gaborik during Wednesday's trade deadline, tallied once and recorded three assists in New York's first six-goal effort of the season. Defenseman John Moore, also part of the Gaborik deal, lit the lamp as well in his first outing as a Ranger.
"You can see Brassard's skill and he has pretty good awareness," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. "He passed the puck and scored a goal. He was good on face-offs. Moore is the one I am really interested in because I know the least about him. He's a terrific skater and I thought he did a really good job defending and made some really good reads."
Brian Boyle also racked up a goal and three helpers for New York, while Henrik Lundqvist turned back 26-of-27 shots. The Rangers have won two straight and three of their last five and enter Friday tied with the New Jersey Devils for the eighth and final playoff seed in the East.
Clowe, brought in by the Rangers in a trade with San Jose on Tuesday, didn't have a single goal in 28 games with the Sharks, but played an instrumental role for his new club as New York dealt the Penguins a second straight setback following a 15-game winning streak that was halted with Monday's 4-1 home loss to Buffalo.
Both of those defeats came without the services of star center Sidney Crosby, who is sidelined indefinitely with a broken jaw sustained over the weekend. Despite the consecutive losses, Pittsburgh is still 16 points ahead of the New York Islanders for first place in the Atlantic and is also three points in front of Montreal for the conference lead.
"We have to find ways to do better than that," Penguins center Brandon Sutter said. "To a man here we know that's unacceptable. I can't explain why or why it went that way the last two games."
Pascal Dupuis scored the lone goal for Pittsburgh, which received 33 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury in the loss.
The Penguins, who acquired Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Douglas Murray in the week leading up to the trade deadline, picked up forward Jussi Jokinen in a deal with Carolina on Wednesday. Jokinen, who had six goals and five assists in 33 games with the Hurricanes this season, was acquired for a conditional sixth-round draft pick and he's expected to be in the lineup tonight.
Iginla has one goal in his first three games with the Pens, while Morrow has managed just one assist in five outings. Murray, the lone defenseman of Pittsburgh's new additions, has an assist in four games with the Penguins.
Wednesday's defeat was Pittsburgh's first loss against the Rangers since Jan. 6, 2012. New York will try to snap a three-game losing streak in Pittsburgh on Friday.
This evening's tilt is the final scheduled meeting between these Atlantic Division rivals this season.


text:
Insurance Quote
This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
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Browse by Author/Editor
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Number of items: 1.
Sheikh, Lumaan and Johnston, Shelley and Thangaratinam, Shakila and Kilby, Mark D and Khan, Khalid S (2007) A review of the methodological features of systematic reviews in maternal medicine. BMC Medicine, 5 (1). p. 10. ISSN 17417015


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Our Effects Pedals Of 2012
At Dolphin we love everything stompable that can enhance, mangle or otherwise make your tone stand out. There is a huge range these days, from classic analogue distortions through full featured Multi-FX all the way to unique digital effects which change the way you see the guitar. To help you find your own sound we've compiled this guide of the some of the best guitar pedals on the market.
Covering the complete world of guitar effects is Chord with their great value pedals. All with compact and heavy duty metal enclosures these are perfect for the stage or studio. Whether it's heavy distortion, deep modulation or a simple tuner you need Chord have you covered.
British Blues Breakup
If only real valves will do then check out the Blackstar HT-DistX, coming from the British Midlands, home of heavy metal, this is a no compromise distortion. Capable of crossing the Atlantic and doing great US tone as well as British, this really can be a one-stop shop for all your distorting.
American Creamy Tone
Full range
"Do you use any other pedals from the Hardwire range?
'I use all of them! My live setup is all Hardwire pedals and a Whammy. I've used DigiTech effects for years...'"
"In the studio I used the DigiTech Hardwire [DL-8]... the DigiTech Hardwire. A really clear, clean delay."
-Music Radar Interview
Looping around
Best Wah wah pedal
-Always fancied playing synth but not a keyboard, then try the Digitech XSW. One of the best value synth pedals on the market.
-Take your tone into the next dimension with Morpheus pedals. Transparent transposing, drop tuning and and some dive bombing that would make Tom Morello proud.
-Blend together your voice and guitar with the Elecro Harmonix V256 Vocoder. With up to 256 band vocoding, gender bender feature and transposition you can radically alter your voice and have it interact with your guitar playing. Be a one person Kraftwerk!


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Vision Quest
Last summer, pal J.T. and I spent a week canoeing down the Allagash. Afterwards, I noticed something strange: for a brief time, maybe a week or so, something about my vision was different. Better. Mostly I noticed it while driving on the interstate through rural Maine. I kept seeing things way back in the woods that I normally wouldn't have seen: an unusual shrub, a bit of bark texture on a tree, a distant leaf falling, a porcupine moving. A porcupine! The porcupine was what really hit me. I know with certainty that I wouldn't normally have seen that. Or noticed that. Or-- well, which was it? Seen, or noticed?
That is where my latest psycho-physical intellectual expedition began. I couldn't say whether I was seeing better, or noticing better, or both. I pondered what, on the canoe trip, could have changed my vision. Was it being outdoors, mostly? Was it being in so much daylight? Was it focusing more on distance, and less on near things (though I did do a lot of reading, at night)? Was it being in a canoe, with the entire world in motion for most of every day? Was it being on vacation, relaxed, unfindable by my patients? Was it the good company? Was it the Canadian whisky and chocolate puddings I'd consumed on the river?
Aside: My vision is horrid. I got glasses for myopia at age 8, and have worn them essentially every waking moment since. The prescriptions grew incrementally stronger, almost every year, for 30 years. I am long since past the point where, if it were not for corrective lenses, I would be "legally blind". A person with my vision could not possibly navigate the world normally. I have always considered myself extremely fortunate to live in this century, and in this society-- because if I lived in a time or place without opticians, I'm pretty sure I would be dead by now. The sense of having a severely defective body part (two of them, actually) has been a subtle but persistent part of my whole life. If my eyes were teeth, they would be sticking out of the mouth perpendicularly and useless for chewing. If they were legs, then would only bend halfway at the knees, or one would be 6 inches shorter than the other. Sometimes, it has made me angry-- but, because the problem can be "corrected" (and so miraculously well), and because so many others are walking around with the same problem, I never really considered it a "disability", or something to feel sorry for myself about.
Still, it has puzzled me enormously-- how did natural selection let this happen? How did my myopic ancestors manage to find each other in order to reproduce? How did my ancestors even survive long enough to reproduce? Why hasn't this been weeded out? Is there some unsung evolutionary advantage to being nearsighted, a silver lining like sickle cell anemia's protection against malaria? My dozens of past eye-care professionals have not been very interested in these questions. Mostly they have chalked my bad eyes up to, basically, "bad luck". The prevailing attitude has been, "Why worry too much about what caused the problem, when it's so simple to fix?"
Back to the post-canoe experience: Something was better. I realized that I could not at all say whether I was (physically) seeing better, or (mentally) perceiving better. I realized there might not be much difference. I thought about how the eyes are directly hard-wired to the brain with nerves almost half a centimeter thick. I thought of experiments in which people wearing distorting, inverting, or reversing lenses were able to adapt to seeing the world "normally" again. What else is possible?
This all led me to an obscure book by Aldous Huxley called The Art of Seeing, as well as unorthodox reading. I have a strange sense of optimism. More later.


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As Expected, RIAA Threatens Site That Claims To Let You Sell Used MP3s
from the dumb-in-almost-every-direction dept
And, indeed, the RIAA is now demanding that ReDigi stop allowing for the sale of used mp3s. I'm having trouble thinking which is the dumber idea: trying to set up a convoluted and useless marketplace for selling "used" MP3s (something almost no one will want to do), or the RIAA even bothering to call extra attention to ReDigi by threatening and potentially suing.
A tip to the RIAA: this was dumb. Almost no one cares about or was using ReDigi anyway. It would have just faded away. By threatening, you bring them back into the limelight. On top of that, you (yet again) make yourselves look like clueless luddites who wish to wipe out the First Sale doctrine. Even worse, you could end up in a lawsuit that reminds you that the First Sale doctrine does exist, and is recognized by the courts, and you could establish a precedent that "reselling" used digital content is legal. So why bother, other than this bizarre and shortsighted infatuation with the idea that if anyone, anywhere benefits without you getting a slice, it must be illegal?


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State: Go to store for gun-safe tax refund
People thought Ed Peruta was crazy when he sued a supermarket for charging him 48 cents state sales tax on a roasted chicken a decade ago.
But his lawsuit, which was eventually settled out of court, shed light on the fact that grocery stores in Connecticut were improperly collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers for such take-out items.
Peruta, director of a nonprofit group dedicated to Second Amendment rights, has been following the stories about gun owners who were improperly charged sales tax on gun safes purchased at Walmart stores in the state, even though firearms safety equipment has been exempt from the levy since 1999.
With gun-safe purchases reaching high water marks nationally after the December 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, questions have been raised about the amount of money Walmart and the state have taken in, and how it will be returned to consumers.
"The state of Connecticut should consider the fact you've already burdened us with registrations and everything else," said Peruta, who now works as a legal investigator for a Torrington attorney. "Come to our defense and get the tax dollars back."
While a Walmart spokesman continued to insist that the retail chain, which has 33 stores in Connecticut, does not charge sales tax on exempted items, the state Department of Revenue Services is planning to issue a press release clarifying the issue and explaining how anyone who has a receipt showing they paid it can get their tax money back.
"If you think this happened to you, go back to the store and say, `I have my receipt, it says I made this purchase and you charged me sales tax,' " DRS Commissioner Kevin Sullivan said.
Along with the increase in firearms purchases over the past two years, there has been a corresponding rise in the sale of safes to secure them, said Ron Southwick of Southwick Associates, a Florida firm that conducts economic and market research for the hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation industry.
"We know from 2012 to 2013, shooting accessory sales went up because firearms sales went up," Southwick said. "There was a 10 to 12 percent increase in gun safes alone."
The dollar value of the sales, and a breakdown by states, wasn't available, But Southwick said "big-box retailers" such as Walmart, Sam's Club and K-Mart, account for about 15 percent of the market, with Walmart alone responsible for about half that amount.
"The sales of gun safes have been very brisk," agreed Mike Bazinet, a spokesman for the National Shooting Sport Foundation, a trade group for the firearms industry based in Newtown. "We've come down from the peaks, but the valley floor is higher."
Walmart spokesman Brooke Buchanan said she could not provide the company's sales figures for gun safes, because the retail giant is "in a quiet period until Thursday," when it will announce its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2013.
She said the incident reported by Hearst Connecticut Media on Sunday -- in which a Brewster, N.Y., man paid more than $30 in sales tax on a gun safe purchased at the Walmart in Danbury less than three weeks ago, despite showing proof that the sale should have been tax-free -- was an error that was quickly corrected and "not representative of company policy."
But a Ridgefield man subsequently reported that he had also been charged sales tax on a safe he purchased at a Walmart in Norwalk in December.
On Monday, a Hearst reporter visited the Connecticut Avenue Walmart in Norwalk, where two sporting goods clerks said they didn't have any knowledge that gun safety devices might be tax exempt.
The store doesn't have gun safes in stock, but sells perhaps one or two a month on the Internet to customers who pick them up at the store, the employees said. One of the two employees, who said he has worked at the store for seven years, said, "We don't have the option to not charge taxes."
The other said, "We haven't heard of anyone telling us about that. Anything you sell, there are taxes on. Nobody ever told us that. We only do what the register tells us to do."
A manager at the Connecticut Avenue store declined to be interviewed, referring all questions to the stores's highest ranking manager, who the manager said would be back in the store on Tuesday.
Hearst previously contacted all 33 Walmarts in Connecticut, and 16 that carried the gun safes said they were taxable items.
State Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, the ranking member on the Legislature's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and a gun owner, said that while the situation was unfortunate, the amount of tax dollars at stake might not be as much as some might assume.
"Typically, if you spend a lot on a gun safe, you're not going to buy it from Wal-Mart," he said. "Walmart sells very low-end guns safes for handguns, a shotgun or two."
Sullivan declined to comment specifically on Walmart, but outlined how his agency generally would approach any business under similar circumstances.
"First -- stop doing it. Second, you owe all the people who come to you and produce a sales receipt a refund of the sales tax. And third, if we got a sense it was in many locations ¦ we'd ask for their sales records and try to determine whether they had remitted the tax (to the state)," Sullivan said.
"If somebody makes a mistake we're mostly interested in correcting it going forward and getting the taxpayer their taxes back. However, if it does appear tax was collected and not sent in, that's a different story and that starts to get on the edge of fraud.
"This happens not a lot, but it does from time to time," Sullivan said. "Most of the time it's innocent. Somebody's made a mistake, got sloppy."
Peruta said he learned during his lawsuit that the Department of Revenue Services doesn't have an incentive to crack down on improper application of the sales tax.
"The state of Connecticut has a financial advantage to saying, `We're getting more money, let's just keep our mouth shut,' " he said.
"I'm glad a consumer was smart enough to figure out something was wrong and chose to go to the media," Peruta said. "That's the only way you get to inform other consumers ¦ That's the only way to have a check on government."
Staff writer John Nickerson contributed to this story.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-731-3342


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There once was a town called Limerick.
Dreamers hoped it would prosper and quick.
Electric cars and lights,
Factories within all sights.
But soon the money died and so did Limerick.
Okay, after that hapless attempt at limericking, here is the story of the brief life of Limerick, Georgia. To understand how Limerick came to be, or almost came to be, we must go back to the early years of the 19th Century.
Situated at the northwestern corner of Montgomery County was the place where an old Indian trail running from Indian Springs to Savannah crossed the Oconee River. The old timers called this place "Sandbar." There was sand everywhere - primarily along the bluffs of the east bank of the river. When the river was low, there sand bars crept into the water. You can still see the sand on the banks and well inland, if you know where to look.
When Georgia seized control of the lands west of the Oconee River, she created more counties, one of which was named Laurens. The land around Sandbar and east of the river was annexed into Laurens County in 1811. Dublin, the new county seat, was situated on a high ridge opposite Sandbar.
For decades, Sandbar was nothing more than the place where travelers crossed the ferry into Dublin. But, when the railroads came in the 1880s, so did the speculators. Dr. R.H. Hightower owned the best high lands, some 341 acres between Keen's Mill Creek and the Savannah Road. When the rails of the Dublin and Wrightsville Railroad were laid to the river bank in 1886, Hightower's land became instantly and immeasurably valuable. Protracted litigation ensued over the railroads' rights and endeavors on the east side before the railroad bridge and passenger bridges were completed in 1891.
In the spring of 1896, Thomas M. Cunningham, treasurer of the Central of Georgia Railroad, led the formation of Oconee Investment Company. W.W. Mackall, Walter Charlton and several others joined in the venture to capitalize on Dublin's explosive growth.
By the end of the 19th Century, Dublin had grown into one of the state's largest metropolitan areas. With cotton related businesses as the core of the city's economy, factories of Agra-related businesses sprang up between the center of town and the river. One of these factories was the Dublin Hame Works, where J.A. Spain and his employees had a fine business supplying local farmers with hames for their horses and mules.
At the dawn of the 20th Century, Oconee Investment Company announced its plans to establish a new town, Limerick, which they named after Ireland's fourth largest city. The owners of the company hired Spain to run their new enterprise. For any businessman, property taxes and license fees are always crucial issues. Spain began to think of ways that he and the other factory owners like him could minimize their cost of doing business. The owners logically deduced that if they owned their own town, they could exempt factories from taxes and license fees as they saw fit. Cunningham, on the other hand, also knew that his company could erect warehouses, which new factories could use to store raw materials or finished goods, all of which would hopefully be shipped in and out of Dublin by his railroad.
The owners of the new company devised a scheme to build a new town on their land opposite Dublin. To survive, any town needs people. Plans were drawn to lay out streets and set aside neighborhoods where new residents could buy or rent homes. New families would require new schools and new churches.
City dwellers need infrastructures. The company promised that an artesian well would be dug to tap into the vast underground caverns of pure spring water in the area. A sufficient series of water works was designed to get water to the factories, homes, schools and churches.
Manager Spain made arrangements to establish electrical service throughout the new town. Before a single gasoline-powered automobile ever clinked and clanked in the city, the promoters of Limerick were promising prospective Limerikians that they could ride into their sister city on fancy new electric cars. To sweeten the deal, newcomers were lured with the promise of "every conceivable convenience they could imagine."
Cunningham, Spain and Mackall wanted everyone to know that they bore no animosity toward Dublin. Moreover, the opposite was true. They hoped that Limerick's industries would compliment and further accelerate Dublin's business boom. They just didn't want to pay their taxes into the Emerald City's pots of gold.
For some unknown reason, the town of Limerick never came to pass. Dublin's Prussian entrepreneur and honorary Count, H.E. Kreutz, paid $300.00 for a half dozen lots. James Brack bought the land where his house was. The bulk of the lands were sold for $2500.00 to Mrs. Fannie Brady in 1906. Brady hoped to capitalize on the idea of new a town. Jackson, Madison, and Marion Streets were extended into the new town. The old road leading east from the ferry was renamed Savannah Avenue. Five north-south avenues, numbered one through five, were laid out.
Mrs. Brady's plans also never materialized. She sold the bulk of the western part of East Dublin to Dublin attorney G.H. Williams in 1927. Williams took the plans for a new city a step further. He hired a surveyor and laid out 25' x 100' lots for small houses and larger lots for commercial enterprises. New north-south streets were Park, Maloney, Felder and Dorsey. East-west streets beginning at the railroad and going north were Bowery, Jackson, Macon, and Dudley.
The third attempt to make a city out of Limerick was somewhat successful. Twenty-five years later, the place they once called Sandbar, North Dublin and even "Booger Bottom," and hoped to call "Limerick," would officially and forever be known as East Dublin.


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Brief SummaryRead full entry
BiologyIn summer, the goitered gazelle lives in small family groups of no more than 10 individuals, whilst in winter, large herds of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands (in Asia) of animals congregate together (2) (9). This herding behaviour coincides with the breeding season from September to January, during which solitary adult males become territorial and use urine and dung to mark and indicate ownership of their territory within this herd (2) (16). Males also use their expanded throats at this time to emit hoarse bellows, and glandular secretions are smeared on surrounding objects (2) (16). Meanwhile, sub-adult males form bachelor groups of up to five individuals, without individual territories. By contrast, females and young gather in herds of 10 to 30 gazelles during that time. Mating is polygamous, with males chasing females only inside their territory. Territorial males chase females to keep them in their territory and banish any other males, including yearlings. While most males mate with 2 to 12 females, rarely more (to 30 females in some cases), some do not gain access to any females at all. After the rut, goitered gazelles gather in large, often mixed groups of up to 50 individuals, but by spring, males leave mixed groups, and males and females form groups independently. Pregnant females leave their (female) groups and become solitary as it gets close to the time of birth (4) (17). Gestation lasts 148 to 159 days, with calving occurring from March to July, although most females give birth during several days in May (April in Saudi Arabia, and June in Mongolia). Young and old females have a single newborn, but most adult females (75%) have twins, which is rare for other gazelle species. After birth a newborn hides alone while its mother grazes or lies within 50 to 500 m from him. Females lead their infants to new hiding places after each nursing, and twins are bedded 50 to 1000 m apart during the first four to six days. Young start following their mother regularly at the age of 2 to 2.5 months (Kingswood and Blank, 1996), and are weaned after four to five months (2). Some young females have their first oestrus at the age of six months, although most do not begin to breed until 18 months. Males may sire offspring at the age of 10 to11 months, but usually begin to breed only at 2.5 to 3 years of age. (11). Males are reproductive until 10 to 11 years old, though usually they do not live more than five to six years in the wild, and females can bear until the age of 13 to 14 years old (18), typically living 8 to 12 years in the wild (5). During the summer months, goitered gazelles graze most active in the early morning and late afternoon, feeding on grasses, leaves and shoots (2), but in areas with heavily poaching they become to be partly nocturnal (19) (12). Every gazelle eats 6 kg of forage a day, about 30% of its body weight and daily water intake is 2 to 4 litres (11). In the midday heat, these animals shelter in the shade and keep cool by excavating shallow pits to lie in, where the earth is cooler. This midday break is significantly reduced or even eliminated during the cooler winter months (2) (4) (11).


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Injunction hearing Thursday in St. Vincent's permit appeal
Norwich — A federal judge in Bridgeport on Thursday will consider the Diocese of Norwich's request for an emergency injunction to stop the city from closing the St. Vincent de Paul Place soup kitchen at the former St. Joseph School on Cliff Street.
St. Vincent and St. Joseph Polish Roman Catholic Congregation filed an appeal Friday in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport challenging the city planning commission's ruling Dec. 18 denying a special permit for the soup kitchen to remain permanently at the former Catholic school. St. Vincent's six-month temporary permit expires Saturday.
Along with the appeal, St. Vincent asked the court for emergency relief to remain at the school during the appeal process. Judge Warren W. Eginton has scheduled a hearing on the injunction request for 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bridgeport federal courthouse.
"It's obviously important for St. Vincent de Paul that we get some stay if we can on the building permit," attorney Timothy Bates, representing St. Vincent, said Monday.
Attorney Michael Zizka, a land-use specialist at the firm Murtha Cullina, will represent the city in the appeal.
Without court approval of an injunction, city officials are prepared to issue a notice of violation Monday to the soup kitchen, ordering the facility to vacate the former school, city Director of Inspections James Troeger said Friday.
After two lengthy public hearings this fall, the Commission on the City Plan voted unanimously Dec. 18 to deny a special permit to allow the religious and charitable facility to remain permanently at the school, located in a residential zone. Neighbors told the commission that patrons had trespassed, littered and used foul language in response to homeowners' requests that they leave their properties.
In the lawsuit, diocese attorneys said the commission bowed to "anecdotal evidence" rather than the expert testimony of other witnesses.
They also argued that the diocese has a First Amendment right to carry on its religious ministries on church-owned properties that always have been used for similar purposes.
The soup kitchen had been located at the former train station behind Main Street, but the need for structural repairs forced the facility to move last summer.


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Cakewalk and Roland special offers this August - Free SONAR X2 upgrades and V-Drums freebies!
We have some very special offers throughout August including free Cakewalk SONAR X2 upgrades and offers on Roland V-Drums TD-15 and HD-3 models.
Buy SONAR X1, Get SONAR X2 Free!Until October 31st, when you buy any full version of SONAR X1 Production Suite, Producer, Studio or Essential, you will receive a free upgrade to the equivalent version of SONAR X2.
Whether you're a bedroom producer or studio professional, there is a version of SONAR X1 for you. And now you can take advantage of all the features in SONAR X1 without worrying about the new version around the corner.
How to claim your free upgrade
- Purchase one of the qualifying versions of SONAR X1 listed below.
- Register your product on the Cakewalk website before October 31st, 2012.
- When the new version becomes available, you will receive an email with instructions on how to download your free upgrade.
For more details about this great offer, visit Cakewalk online
Free SONAR X2 upgrade with any set of Roland TD-15 V-Drums
The Roland TD-15K and TD-15KV V-Drums Electronic Drum Kits inherit technologies from the top-end TD-30 models including SuperNATURAL sounds and Behaviour Modelling. And throughout August, if you buy one of the TD-15 models, you'll receive an upgrade to SONAR X2 for free!
SONAR X1 users can simply register their new V-Drums with Roland to receive a free upgrade to SONAR X2 when it becomes available.
Buy Roland HD-3 V-Drums and receive a free UM-1G USB MIDI Interface (worth £39)
The Roland HD-3 V-Drums Lite range is ideal for beginners, offering a compact footprint but a massive sound at a great price. Throughout August, Roland are giving a free UM-1G USB MIDI Interface worth £39 to anybody who purchases one of these great value kits.
All you have to do is register your purchase with Roland to receive this free gift.


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The following free public walks will be offered this summer.
All of them will be held on Wednesday afternoons, from 2:00 to 4:00.
They are free! No advance registration required!
Programs will be led by Robert Culbert, Beach Manager, County of Dukes County
For more information please call 508-696-3810.
Wednesday July 6 Piping Plovers and Other Nesting Birds
Meet at the Big Bridge on Joseph Sylvia State Beach.
You will get to see piping plovers and will learn about the management actions we use to protect this state and federally protected species. Close looks at least terns and American oystercatchers are also likely.
Beach Dynamics and Erosion Along the South Shore of Martha's Vineyard
Meet at the left fork parking lot at the end of Katama Road.
You will learn about coastal processes, including the seasonal and long term patterns of erosion and accretion along the South Shore of the Vineyard. We will walk out onto Norton Point Beach for a detailed look at dune restoration and the effects of human use of the beach.
Wednesday August 3 Erosion and Beach Nourishment
on Joseph Sylvia State Beach
Meet at the Little Bridge on Joseph Sylvia State Beach.
You will learn about coastal processes, including the history of erosion and beach nourishment at the north end of State Beach, the effects of jetties and groins, and the complexities of dune restoration on a heavily used public beach.
Wednesday August 17 Identification of Migrating Shorebirds
Meet at the left fork parking lot at the end of Katama Road.
You will see and learn how to identify numerous species of shorebirds, including gulls, terns, sandpipers and plovers as we explore the tidal flats of Norton Point Beach. In the photo on the right, leader Robert Culbert is teaching shorebird identification on this walk in 2004. (Photo by Patrick Bradley)


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Emma Roberts engaged
WENNEmma Roberts and her boyfriend, Evan Peters, are planning a 2014 wedding after becoming engaged. The 26-year-old actor popped the question with a pink gold and diamond ring over the holidays in New York City, according to "Extra." The couple then rang in 2014 in London. Roberts was spotted wearing her ring in Los Angeles over the weekend. The happy news comes almost six months to the day of Roberts' arrest in Canada following an alleged hotel fight with Peters in Montreal. The actress was detained by police following the altercation, but released hours later after Peters, who was left with a bloodied nose, refused to press charges. A representative called the incident a "misunderstanding" and insisted the stars are "working together to move past it." And it appears they have done just that, and Roberts is now determined to marry for life. She told Nylon magazine last year that she would only wed when she met the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, explaining, "I've been with people in the past who lie about what they're doing or whom they're with, and you always find out about it. "I've grown up in a business where we're taught to think that relationships don't last, and that people are supposed to be married a bunch of times. But I come from the school of getting married once. ... Everyone kind of rolls their eyes at me, but I still believe in the romantic movie outcome."Keep clicking for more photos of the happy couple ...© Microsoft


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Shawn Chrystopher - Catch Me If You Can [Unsigned Hype]
Off the album "You, And Only You"...(Download album for FREE
at www.YouandOnlyYou.com)
**PURCHASE** http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/catch- me-if-you-can-single/id387920584"
Twitter: @shawnchrys
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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Available To: Students
Students can create web sites at NAU utilizing the Dana server.
The Dana server can be used to set up a web page (located at http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/your_userID) or as cloud storage which holds up to 500MB of data. You can connect to Dana to upload your files a number of different ways (all of these methods require that you connect to the NAU VPN first):


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Car Recall
Ford Recalls 2013 Escape SUVs
- Ford is recalling 8,266 units of its 2013 Escape
- An interior trim piece could interfere with the brake pedal
- The recall began July 23, 2012
Ford recently issued its first recall for the freshly redesigned 2013 Escape compact SUV. The automaker and the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently announced the recall, which affects more than 8,000 vehicles in the US.
According to the NHTSA, incorrectly positioned carpet padding in the Escape's interior could cause a center console trim panel to become dislodged from its position. As a result, clearance around the SUV's pedals may be reduced, leading drivers to mistakenly contact the side of the brake pedal while moving from the accelerator. The government agency says this may lead to lengthened stopping distances and increase the risk of a crash.
Ford says it discovered the issue when an employee reported a concern relating to the space between the brake pedal and the problematic trim panel. The automaker says it has not yet received any reports of accidents or increased stopping distances on affected Escape models, which were manufactured at Ford's Louisville assembly plant from March 8, 2012, through June 7.
The automaker says it began mailing recall notices to owners of affected Escape units on July 23. The mailings urge drivers to bring the SUV in for service, where dealers will remove the carpet padding and trim panel and replace both with new parts that are unlikely to become dislodged during normal operation. While the recall notices will clearly detail the reason for the action and explain which vehicles are affected, owners with questions can call Ford at 1-866-436-7332 or the NHTSA's recall hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
The 2013 Escape marks the first year of the compact SUV's third generation. Featuring a sleeker design than its predecessors, the Escape offers shoppers a choice of three engines: a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder carried over from the old model, a fuel-saving 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder, and a powerful 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder designed to replace last year's V6. The 2013 Escape also offers several new convenience features including Ford's MyFord Touch infotainment system and an optional hands-free liftgate that lets drivers open the SUV's rear hatch by swinging a foot under the rear bumper.
What it means to you: If you own a 2013 Escape, be prepared to respond to the recall notice in your mailbox.