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Strategic Tech Slideshow: HP's Outlook: 10 Things CIOs Need to Know
By Don Reisinger | Posted 08-24-2012
Look around your enterprise and chances are you'll see some sort of Hewlett-Packard products in use -- whether PCs, printers, cloud solutions, or software. Even as the company weathers leadership changes, massive layoffs and strategic shifts, HP is holding onto its No. 1 spot in global PC market share. But what's in store for the technology powerhouse remains to be seen. Lenovo is steadily chipping away at HP's PC market share. HP has struggled to define a clear strategy for its mobile platform, WebOS, which it is now reportedly spinning off into an independent company called Gram. The company will be jettisoning some 27,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years. As you plan your enterprise technology roadmap, you're probably wondering where HP fits. Here are 10 factors that could influence HP's future. You'll want to consider these as you weigh your options.
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SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 7, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- China Lodging Group, Limited (Nasdaq:HTHT) ("China Lodging Group" or the "Company"), a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China, today announced that it is scheduled to release unaudited financial results for fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2012 after the US market closes on March 6, 2013.
The earnings release will be available on the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.htinns.com/releases.cfm .
China Lodging Group's management will host a conference call at 8 p.m. EST, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 (or 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, 2013 in the Shanghai/Hong Kong time zone) following the announcement. To participate in the event by telephone, please dial +1 (855) 500 8701 (for callers in the US), +86 400 120 0654 (for callers in China Mainland), +852 3051 2745 (for callers in Hong Kong) or +65 6723 9385 (for callers outside of the US, China Mainland, and Hong Kong) and entering pass code 9824 7010. Please dial in approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled time of the call.
A recording of the conference call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call through March 13, 2013. Please dial +1 (855) 452 5696 (for callers in the US) or +61 2 8199 0299 (for callers outside the US) and entering pass code 9824 7010.
The conference call will also be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by all interested parties at the Company's Web site, http://ir.htinns.com .
About China Lodging Group, Limited
China Lodging Group, Limited is a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China. The Company provides business and leisure travelers with high-quality, and conveniently-located hotel products under five brands, namely, Joya Hotel, Ji Hotel, Starway Hotel, HanTing Hotel, and Hi Hotel. For more information, please visit the Company's website: http://ir.htinns.com .
CONTACT: Ida Yu Investor Relations Manager Tel: 86 (21) 6195 9561 Email: email@example.com http://ir.htinns.comSource:China Lodging Group, Limited

subset: commoncrawl


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LOS ANGELES – When the sun rises above Los Angeles on Saturday, residents in this car-dependent, traffic-choked city will see a rare sight: a 10-mile stretch of one of the nation's busiest freeways turned into a virtual ghost road.
Interstate 405, a freeway normally so clogged that locals like to joke that its name is shorthand for "traffic that moves no faster than 4 or 5 miles an hour," is closing for 53 hours for a major construction project.
As crews worked feverishly to get the freeway open in time for Monday morning's rush-hour, residents have been making plans for weeks to stay off local roads, lest they trigger what officials dubbed "Carmageddon."
Such an event could back up vehicles from the 405 to surface streets and other freeways, causing a domino effect that could paralyze much of the city.
With warnings having been broadcast through television, radio, social media and flashing freeway signs as far away as San Francisco, much of the city's nearly 4 million residents appear ready to stay off the roads.
Traffic through the section of freeway that will close was lighter than usual during Friday evening's rush-hour.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he thinks traffic will move smoothly if motorists take his advice to stay close to home throughout the weekend.
"We can either say we survived Carmageddon or we survived the Carmageddon hype," he said.
If people listen, there will be no shortage of staycation activities awaiting them.
They can snag free popcorn at movie theaters along the 405 or drop in on Michael Jackson's dermatologist for 25-percent-off Botox injections so that frazzled commuters won't look quite so frazzled.
Those who do want that real road warrior look might consider swinging by T-Man's Tattoos (located just off the 405) in the San Fernando Valley.
"If you come on in and mention you're in town because you're stuck from Carmageddon, you can get 15 percent off tattoos and piercings," proprietor Howard Teman said.
For those who do get caught in traffic, LA musician Ken Elkinson is offering free downloads of his boxed set, "Music for Commuting," a collection of soothing tunes.
For those wanting a laugh, Grammy-winning humorist Stan Freberg is planning to visit a mall just off the freeway to sign copies of his latest CD, "Songs in the Key of Freberg," which features a song called "Gridlock."
That is if he can get there.
"We could end up just toodling around in traffic in our Prius, playing 'Gridlock' ourselves," he said of himself and his wife, Hunter.
Along with all the gimmicky promotions and attempts to cash in ("I Survived Carmageddon T-shirts are being sold all over the place), there have also been months of planning.
Construction crews have been gearing up, but so have police, fire and medical officials seeking to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Or, if it doesn't, to ensure they are prepared to handle any emergency.
Heavy equipment needed to demolish a section of a 50-year-old bridge as part of a $1 billion freeway-widening project, was already in place Friday, hours before the 405's midnight closure.
Sections of the bridge's pilings that are being torn out had been marked and prepped in advance.
The city fire department put two dozen additional engines, fire companies and ambulances into service, placing them in neighborhoods that firefighters might have a hard time getting to from jammed roadways.
"Our biggest concern is gridlock, obviously," Battalion Chief Chuck Butler said Friday. "There are a lot of areas over in West L.A. and the San Fernando Valley that we expect to be impacted due to the closure."
Much of the section of freeway that is being shut down winds through a hillside pass near Beverly Hills and other communities that are susceptible to brushfires.
Wildfire season, however, hasn't reached its peak yet, Butler said. Besides, this weekend's expected humid weather should further reduce the threat of a fire.
The UCLA Health System, which runs the huge Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center located near the 405, put three helicopter companies on standby to transport patients and human organs.
The center also stockpiled extra medical supplies and 5,200 boxed lunches for its staff.
For those who do have to drive, a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center psychiatrist was offering advice on how to keep calm and stay safe.
Among Dr. Waguih William IsHak's advice: avoid road rage at all costs, apologize profusely to anyone you accidentally cut off in traffic, be sure to leave for your destination with a full tank of gas and a cell phone.
And, oh yeah, he said, don't forget to go to the bathroom before you leave.
Or, better yet, authorities say, stay at home.
For those who do, Time Warner Cable promised to have technicians in the affected area ready to fix any TV-related problem.
The company was also activating a special "Beat the Traffic" channel with 24-hour reports from the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center.
Some people were throwing Carmageddon parties at their homes, while others left for their destinations well before the freeway shut down.
Dan Haff, who lives in the northwest San Fernando Valley, far away from the construction site, was hosting five friends Friday so that the entire group could get to a planned paintball competition on time Saturday.
"They may have to stay with me for the weekend," he said.


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Nanotechnology Forum
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Jim Logajan -
Posted the thread Improvements to Transmission Electron Microscopes.ThreadInteresting to see TEMs have been improved to sub-ångström - the 3D reconstruction mentioned near the end of the article is particularly intriguing: wired.com/story/new-microscope…um-world-in-crazy-detail/


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King Penguin
(Aptenodytes patagonicus)
Facts about this animal
The King penguin is the second largest penguin, 100 cm tall and reaching a body-weight of 13-16 kg. The colour of the head is glossy black with a golden-orange, comma-shaped wedge behind the eye tapering towards the orange upper breast. The upperparts are-grey, and separated by a black margin from the white under parts. The bill is long and slightly decurved at the tip, with a broad tapering band of orange at the base of the mandible.
The breeding season of the King penguin is the southern summer, when food is more available. Each pair establishes a s small breeding territory of less than 1 m² within the very dense colony, which it defends vigorously against other penguins. The female lays one egg and hands it over to the male, which will start incubating. To this end, it has an abdominal fold, the "brood pouch", between its legs and lower abdomen. The female then goes to the open sea and will return in about 21 days to take her turn keeping the egg warm.
The chick hatches in about 54 days. It grows quickly during the warm summer weather and grows a warm brown fussy down of feathers and a thick layer of blubber to keep it warm during the winter months ahead. It is cared for by both parents for 30 to 40 days. At this time it joins a crèche for warmth and protection from predators. The parents will now hunt in the sea and from time to time come onshore to feed the young. In the following spring, the chick starts to grow its adult feathers and is ready to go off on its own.
King penguins feed mainly on fish. In addition they take smaller amounts of squid and crustaceans.
Did you know?
that adult penguins are countershaded (dark dorsal, light ventral) because this helps to conceal swimming penguins from predators such as killer whales, sharks or leopard seals? When viewed from above, the dark dorsal side blends in with the darker ocean depths. When viewed from beneath, the light ventral side helps in with the lighter surface of the sea.
|Name (Scientific)
|Aptenodytes patagonicus
|Name (English)
|King Penguin
|Name (French)
|Manchot royal
|Name (German)
|Name (Spanish)
|Pingüino rey
|CITES Status
|Not listed
|CMS Status
|Not listed
Photo Copyright by
Ben Tubby
|Antarctica and subantarctic regions: Argentina, Australia, Chile, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Southern Territories, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Uruguay. Vagrants also in New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay
|Pelagic, coasts, ice fields
|Wild population
|The global population is estimated to be in the order of 2,000,000 individuals.
|Zoo population
|422 reported to ISIS (2008), predominantly of the subspecies Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus
In the Zoo
How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 22 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Find this animal on ZooLex
Photo Copyright by
Mila Zinkova
Why do zoos keep this animal
The king penguin is currently not threatened with extinction. Zoos keep king penguins therefore primarily for educational purposes to demonstrate how the birds adapted to arctic and maritime conditions and thus became able to expand their range into the seas and the south polar zone. Of course the king penguin is also an excellent ambassador for its ecosystem and may serve as a flagship species for campaigns or educational programmes raising awareness about Global Warming.


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It was City Attorney Tim McCausland's job to monitor the mounting bills last year after the city hired a public relations firm to help with fallout from a sex scandal at the Lakeland Police Department.
LAKELAND | It was City Attorney Tim McCausland's job to monitor the mounting bills last year after the city hired a public relations firm to help with fallout from a sex scandal at the Lakeland Police Department.
And McCausland said Friday he did just that, even as they hit nearly $130,000 for work from July through December.
But eventually, he and City Manager Doug Thomas should have sent out a warning about how high the bills had reached, according to four of six City Commission members interviewed Friday.
The firm, Tucker/Hall of Tampa, continues to work for the city. It was retained through GrayRobinson, a corporate law firm that regularly does work for the city. The law firm is working on an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission case filed by Sue Eberle, a former LPD crime-scene analyst at the center of the widespread sex scandal.
Lakeland Mayor Howard Wiggs said Friday it was "unfathomable" for city officials not to update commissioners on the bills for public relations work.
"What if it were $1 million that had been spent?" Wiggs asked.
Using a public relations firm isn't the way to bring trust back into the community, he said, although Thursday he admitted he may have been notified when it was hired.
"We have to do it by being truthful and transparent and up front," Wiggs said. "We have a long way to go to be trusted again."
City administrators should have worked more closely with city commissioners during the fallout from the scandal, rather than bringing in a public relations firm, he said.
Wiggs also questioned why the amount wasn't brought to commissioners after it reached $25,000. Wiggs said he thought there was a guideline that required city officials to bring an expense before commissioners if it reached $25,000.
Commissioner Justin Troller said commissioners were told about the firm's hiring but "maybe should have asked" about the expenses. It was the job of McCausland and Thomas to keep them updated.
"I didn't give a blank check," Troller said. "I'm disappointed and upset, and someone is going to have to answer for this at the administrative level.
"Something of this magnitude should have never slipped through the cracks."
Troller said McCausland should be responsible for the oversight.
Commissioner Don Selvage said he wants to hear more from city officials about the benefits that the firm provided to the city.
"I haven't made a decision on whether this was an exorbitant amount," he said when asked if he thought the figure was high. "I don't understand what we got in return.
"I've asked Tim (McCausland) and Tony (Delgado, deputy city manager) to show us if we've saved money."
Selvage mentioned former Mayor Gow Fields' statement that hiring the firm could have saved millions of dollars. But Selvage said that, in hindsight, McCausland and Thomas should have briefed commissioners on how much money was spent on the firm.
Commissioner Jim Malless wasn't sworn into office until January, so he wasn't there when the firm was hired. He said that, in the future, city commissioners may want to monitor expenses more closely once they reach a certain amount.
"That's been a weakness of this process," he said.
Commissioners Phillip Walker and Edie Yates said the figure wasn't too much money.
"I don't think it was exorbitant," Walker said. "It was just doing business."
Walker said commissioners should have known about the public relations firm's expenses because of McCausland's quarterly updates on expenses for outside legal work.
A review of those updates given during the last half of 2013, however, shows none of them mentions Eberle's case or Tucker/Hall by name. They only have general descriptions of GrayRobinson bills such as:
For October-December, "Eminent Domain, Red Light Camera Defense, Other Federal Court Litigation."
For July-September, "Presentment."
Finance Director Mike Brossart said bills generated at Tucker/Hall go to GrayRobinson and then to McCausland's office, which generates a request sent to accounts payable for payment.
Brossart said McCausland is responsible for scrutinizing the bills since he generates the requests for money.
Yates said it's not unusual for businesses to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on crisis-management teams.
She said the firm likely helped prevent lawsuits from occurring by coaching city officials not to say "something inadvertently."
"There are a lot of ways you can inadvertently say or do something," Yates said, and though the figure sounds like a lot of money "it was one of those things we needed to do."
She said updates on the figure from the firm weren't necessary.
"I think we gave the city manager authorization to do that," Yates said. "There is a fine line between when you micromanage and when you don't."
The other member of the City Commission, Commissioner Keith Merritt, did not return a phone message Friday.
The itemized bills from Tucker/Hall mention documents it "developed" for the city.
The Ledger has requested any such documents through McCausland since Thursday. McCausland wrote in an email Thursday that he didn't have any, "but GrayRobinson may have some, and I will request them in the morning."
A second, similar request Friday went unanswered by McCausland, though he responded to other questions.
Fields, the former mayor, denied recollections by some that it was his idea to hire a public relations firm in July to advise the city about matters connected with Eberle.
"The decision was a global decision," he said Friday.
City commissioners have said Thomas talked with them individually about hiring a public relations firm.
Fields said he first heard suggestions that the city should hire a public relations agency from two members of the Polk County Legislative Delegation. He declined to name the two legislators.
As far as which city official first brought up the idea at City Hall in July, Fields said he didn't recall.
And, he said, since state law prevents city commissioners from discussing city business outside of public meetings with each other, it could have been another commissioner who first brought it up.
The decision came at the same time as the highly publicized trial of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford.
The city of Sanford used a media-management company to help the city deal with the daily masses of media at the trial, Fields said. But he said he learned that from Thomas, not vice-versa.
[ John Chambliss can be reached at email@example.com and 863-802-7588. Rick Rousos can be reached at email@example.com and 863-802-7509. ]


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You are here: Social Security Administration > Research, Statistics & Policy Analysis > Research and Analysis by Author > George Aberle, Jr.
Research and Analysis by George Aberle, Jr.
Applicants for Account Numbers, 1960
from Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 25, No. 2 (released February 1962)
Applicants for Account Numbers, 1959
from Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 24, No. 1 (released January 1961)


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SOURCE: Chembio Diagnostics, Inc.
February 24, 2011 09:00 ET
Continuing Collaboration With the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI)
MEDFORD, NY--(Marketwire - February 24, 2011) - Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. (OTCBB: CEMI) ("Chembio" or the "Company") has been awarded a three-year $2.9 million Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue development of a simple, rapid, accurate, and cost-effective serological test for active tuberculosis that can be utilized in resource-limited settings. Chembio developed a prototype of this test in the Phase I work in collaboration with the Infectious Disease Research Institute ("IDRI"); this collaboration will continue in this second phase of the research and development grant as well. The grant is effective March 1, 2011.
Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease, with an estimated 2 billion people currently infected worldwide and several million new cases each year. Current methods of diagnosis are slow, unreliable, and/or impractical in the field settings where the disease burden is the greatest. New diagnostics are urgently needed to address this global health problem by improving control programs.
The prototype test developed during the Phase I work uses the innovative Dual Path Platform (DPP®) technology developed and patented by Chembio, together with selected antigens from a large panel of novel recombinant antigens identified at IDRI, a Seattle-based biotechnology research organization dedicated to technologies that address diseases in the developing world.
Chembio is budgeted to receive approximately 63.5% of the awarded amount, or approximately $1,842,700, if award funding continues over the full three years as is expected; IDRI would receive the balance as a subcontractor to Chembio. The grant award budget is approximately equal in each grant year, or approximately $967,000 per year. As in all such grants, award funding in the second and third years is subject to satisfactory progress and availability of funds.
The Phase I studies demonstrated the feasibility of developing a rapid and accurate test for tuberculosis with required diagnostic performance characteristics (sensitivity > 80%, specificity > 95%). Scientists at Chembio and IDRI have identified novel serodiagnostic targets involved in the antibody response in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and designed a set of polyepitope fusion proteins. Integrating these high-performing antigens in the Chembio proprietary DPP® technology resulted in developing a test prototype showing sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 95% in pilot evaluations of patients with active tuberculosis in endemic regions. In Phase II, the proposed rapid (15 minutes) point-of-care DPP® test for tuberculosis will be fully developed, optimized, and evaluated in multi-center clinical trials in several countries, followed by validation of production protocols, preparation for regulatory approval and commercialization.
Lawrence A. Siebert, Chembio's President, commented, "We look forward to completing the Phase II work so that we can provide a practical tool in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. We appreciate the outstanding work that Dr. Konstantin Lyashchenko, the Chembio TB project team and our collaborators at IDRI, have all done to receive this Phase II grant and to address a large global health need."
Dr. Steven G. Reed, IDRI's Founder and Head of Research and Development, indicated, "We at IDRI see this Phase II funding as validation that our proprietary reagents, combined with Chembio's DPP® technology, can contribute to more effective management of tuberculosis -- and a reduction in the burden of this dangerous disease. IDRI's collaboration with Chembio is a nice example of how public private partnerships translate good science into field-appropriate solution."
About IDRI
IDRI is a Seattle-based not-for-profit organization committed to applying innovative science to the research and development of products to prevent, detect, and treat infectious diseases of poverty. By integrating capabilities -- including early stage drug discovery, preclinical testing, manufacturing, and clinical trials -- IDRI strives to create an efficient pathway bringing scientific innovation from the laboratory to the people who need it most. For more information, go to www.idri.org.
About Chembio Diagnostics
Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. develops, manufactures, licenses and markets proprietary rapid diagnostic tests in the growing $7 billion point-of-care testing market. Chembio's two FDA PMA-approved, CLIA-waived, rapid HIV tests are marketed in the U.S. by Alere Inc., formerly Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. Chembio markets its HIV STAT-PAK® line of rapid HIV tests internationally to government and donor-funded programs directly and through distributors. Chembio has developed a patented point-of-care test platform technology, the Dual Path Platform (DPP®) technology, which has significant advantages over lateral-flow technologies. This technology is providing Chembio with a significant pipeline of business opportunities for the development and manufacture of new products based on DPP®. Headquartered in Medford, NY, with approximately 100 employees, Chembio is licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and is certified for the global market under the International Standards Organization (ISO) directive 13.485.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained herein that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Such statements are estimates only, as the Company has not completed the preparation of its financial statements for those periods, nor has its auditor completed a review or audit of those results. Actual revenue may differ materially from those anticipated in this press release. Such statements reflect management's current views, are based on certain assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to Chembio's ability to obtain additional financing, to obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner and the demand for Chembio's products. Chembio undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in Chembio's expectations with regard to these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors that may impact Chembio's success are more fully disclosed in Chembio's most recent public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts: Company Contact: Susan Norcott 631-924-1135 x125 email@example.com Investor & Public Relations The Investor Relations Group 212-825-3210 James Carbonara firstname.lastname@example.com
Contacts: Company Contact: Susan Norcott 631-924-1135 x125 email@example.com Investor & Public Relations The Investor Relations Group 212-825-3210 James Carbonara email@example.com
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Main Site - :: Why Won't God Heal Amputees? ::
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Being a Christian, I've made my decision. That decision offers no compromise; therefore, I'm closed to anything else.
heh. the author's name is Onan.heh.http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2038:8-10&version=NIV
Religions need books because they don't have gods.


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LU joins Clinton Global Initiative University Network
Lamar University has joined the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI U) University Network, a growing consortium of colleges and universities that support, mentor, and provide seed funding to student leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who are developing solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the mission of the CGI U is to turn ideas into action.
CGI U brings together college students to address global challenges with practical, innovative solutions. It is more than simply discussing problems – participants take concrete steps to solve them by creating action plans, building relationships, participating in hands-on workshops, and following up with CGI U as they complete their projects.
Lamar University is now one of more than 50 colleges and universities worldwide that have joined the CGI University Network.
Lamar University will provide $10,000 in funding to be divided among LU students who are selected to pursue their Commitments to Actions at CGI U 2014. Commitments to Action, a unique feature of the CGI U model, are new, specific and measurable initiatives that address global challenges across CGI U's five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. Lamar University will mentor student commitment-makers as they develop and implement their plans in the coming months.
"We are so pleased to be a part of this unique and committed organization," said LU president Kenneth Evans. "We are one of only two Texas member universities in the company of more than 50 other outstanding institutions that include Duke, Ohio State, Cornell, Brown, Arizona State, Chicago, Florida and UC Berkeley."
The CGI U model drives action among its members in the following four ways; inspiration, networking, knowledge building and collaboration.
Evans said that CGI U is an exciting opportunity for our students and their faculty mentors from numerous disciplines at Lamar, who have long been involved in the study, research, and solution of local, national, and global problems.
Since its inaugural meeting in 2008, CGI U has brought together more than 5,500 student leaders from 135 countries and more than 800 schools. Past speakers include Madeleine Albright, Jack Dorsey, Muhammad Yunus, Hawa Abdi Diblawe, and Jon Stewart.
"I personally am profoundly grateful that people care enough to show up and think of one more thing they can do to give one more person a better chance," said Bill Clinton. "And I hope that next year, you want to do it again."
Lamar University is a public, Carnegie Doctoral Research University and offers more than 110 baccalaureate and master's degrees and doctorates in nine program areas.
Degrees are offered through the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business, Education & Human Development, Engineering, and Fine Arts & Communication, and in addition our outstanding Honors Program has become a College as a result of a substantial new endowment.
The University is accredited by the Council on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and most programs which have disciplinary accreditation available have achieved that distinction.
Lamar is fortunate to be located in the center of one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the nation, in a region arguably the energy hub of the country. It serves the entire area as the focus for government, education, business, health care, entertainment, and culture, and is also the gateway to the Big Thicket National Preserve, a national eco-tourism treasure.
With a deep-water port, enviable rail infrastructure, abundant supplies of water, and a workforce capable of designing, building, and operating billion dollar investments, Beaumont has it all.
Lamar University, a member of the Texas State University System, has experienced a tremendous re-birth over the past decade, with enrollment steadily increasing to more than 15,000. It has been recognized nationally for its general education core curriculum, leadership in online education, being one of the 100 most diverse campuses in the country, and selection as a member of the Honor Roll of the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Great Colleges to Work For."
For more information about CGI U, visit www.cgiu.org.


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thanx... but where can i get 1.6.2 volume?
well it doesn't say where i can read it or i can get it at... it does say what volume it starts
ok um instead of buying vol 13 ^ is there a site where i can read it or download?
....worst part about this is that Im sure Walter gets dozens of e-mails like this a week.... !!
he gets much, much more worse ones...


text: The Pill: Sperm Fighting Superhero. birth controlGIFpregnancysexteens similar stuffFeb 26, 2015#MythbustingSHAREOct 30, 2013Becoming a parentSHAREFeb 10, 2015No Symptoms?SHAREAug 21, 2014Double-Bagging, Not for CondomsSHAREJul 28, 2014Wrap it UpSHAREDec 11, 2014Most STIs have no symptomsSHAREDec 2, 2014Morning Sickness or a Stomach Bug?SHAREMay 12, 2015How do you catch an STI?SHAREFeb 13, 2014Oral SexSHAREApr 23, 2014Emergency ContraceptionSHARENov 25, 2013Get RealSHARENov 10, 2014#MississippiProblemsSHAREDec 3, 2013The "Perfect" WeightSHAREOct 13, 2014ConsentSHAREFeb 19, 2014I love meSHAREApr 21, 2014Not all at onceSHAREApr 30, 2014"Can you actually have sex with someone and not get an STD?"SHAREMay 27, 2014Cleaners are not spermicides!SHAREMay 20, 2015Sharing isn't Always CaringSHAREOct 16, 2014Chlorine Doesn't HelpSHAREApr 25, 2014You're not immune foreverSHAREAug 7, 2014Internal Ejaculation Pregnancy ChancesSHAREJun 4, 2013No means no.SHAREAug 12, 2014Remember ThatSHAREAug 18, 2014#EndBullyingSHAREMar 27, 2013"Is it normal for women to have a vaginal discharge?"SHAREMar 24, 2014Don't be so hard on yourselfSHAREMar 20, 2015"How long can bacteria from a sexual partner stay in your body?"SHAREApr 10, 2015Insist on Using Protection!SHAREMar 27, 2013"Can you still be a virgin if you had sex one time? Also, how do you know if you have any disease(s)?"SHAREJul 13, 2015Mirena and Condoms?SHAREMar 11, 2015The Pill + A CondomSHARENov 12, 2015Condom SquadSHAREFeb 10, 2015Relationship StatusSHAREJan 13, 2015"Popping the cherry" + pregnancySHAREMar 17, 2015Don't test your luckSHARENov 13, 2013"Maybe I can't get pregnant?"SHAREDec 3, 2015When things move a little too fast.SHAREAug 19, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam:Consent…It Always Matters.SHAREMar 18, 2014Need Free Condoms?SHAREOct 29, 2013How to make a dental damSHAREAug 12, 2014Ask AmySHAREOct 7, 2015Respect Her LimitsSHAREJul 31, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Living in the SpotlightSHAREJul 14, 2014Natural Lubrication and The Depo ShotSHAREDec 8, 2014Trust YourselfSHARENov 5, 2013HIV + TeensSHAREJan 7, 2015Irregular Period, EC, and Pregnancy WoesSHAREJun 27, 2014Safely Store CondomsSHAREFeb 22, 2016I recently had a one night stand 2 days ago and didn't use protection, how long should I wait to get tested for a STD/STISHAREApr 11, 2013What is Emergency Contraception?SHAREMay 1, 2015Tested & Clean = Sex without a Condom?SHAREFeb 3, 2014Amy PoehlerSHAREOct 20, 2015Being Sure: Is Your Partner Free of STIs?SHAREApr 7, 2014Sexual Assault Awareness MonthSHAREJul 25, 2013Which would you rather buy?SHAREFeb 16, 2016Oral herpesSHAREFeb 6, 2014"Are spermicides safe to use with condoms and can you use flavored condoms for vaginal and anal sex?"SHAREOct 6, 2017SpongeSHAREJul 20, 2013FactSHAREJun 2, 2014"I know someone who is having unprotected sex and has been for a while…"SHAREMay 29, 2015Meet the FNF Real Talk Team!SHAREFeb 8, 2016Drinking + Birth ControlSHAREJul 24, 2014Infertility and Unprotected SexSHAREApr 7, 2017STI or STD ChancesSHAREMar 27, 2013"How long does it take for a girl to know she is pregnant?"SHAREMar 26, 201526%SHAREJan 4, 2016Love Yourself, Protect Yourself.SHARENov 4, 2015New CondomsSHAREFeb 3, 2014Selfies are:SHAREOct 6, 2017The RingSHAREMar 27, 2013"Can you be pregnant on your period?"SHAREOct 20, 2015Respect and RelationshipsSHAREJun 30, 2014How to be HappySHAREDec 11, 2013"Can you get an STD if you have sex but the guy pulls out?"SHARESep 23, 2014ShowdownSHAREMar 26, 2014what to do when the condom slipped offSHAREJan 27, 2015Protect YourselfSHAREMar 17, 2014What he said.SHAREMar 31, 2014The Breakfast ClubSHARESep 2, 2014Follow Your Own PathSHARESep 15, 2014MondayzSHAREFeb 9, 2015Take Pride InSHARENov 4, 2014How did I get Herpes?SHAREDec 31, 2015Don't be early to the partySHAREApr 7, 2017What age do I have to be to get treated for an STD?SHAREDec 7, 2015Can You Flush Out Sperm?SHAREOct 28, 2014STD WorriesSHARESep 26, 2014"What do I do if I still love and miss him?"SHAREOct 22, 2014#OuchSHAREFeb 25, 2015Use Protection Every TimeSHAREApr 24, 2014Double SidedSHAREFeb 3, 2014CookiesSHARENov 28, 2016Does urinating after sex prevent STDs?SHAREMay 1, 2014Be kind to each other!SHAREAug 5, 2014Don't "owe" your PartnerSHAREMar 27, 2013MythsSHAREJan 23, 2014YikesSHAREAug 27, 2014Unprotected Sex and The ImplantSHAREJun 9, 2014Did You Know?SHAREJun 17, 2014#MythbustingSHAREDec 10, 2015Knowing When You're Ready.SHAREApr 14, 2015Birth Control and Pimples?SHARESep 15, 2015NoSHAREApr 5, 2016Pre-Cum + PregnancySHAREJun 12, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Self ControlSHAREJan 26, 2016Two CondomsSHARENov 18, 2014Do I have Herpes?SHAREOct 6, 2017Internal CondomSHAREJan 29, 2014"I have little white bumps on my penis and got checked but they found nothing. Any ideas?"SHAREMar 30, 2015Stress + Your PeriodSHAREMay 26, 2015Always Check the Expiration DateSHAREApr 14, 2014Abusive RelationshipsSHAREMar 11, 2014"How could anal sex cause pregancy?"SHAREMar 4, 2014"My boyfriend and I are becoming physical…I've heard condoms break easily, is this true?"SHAREMar 7, 2016Are there any STIs you can't get tested for?SHAREMar 28, 2014Use a condomSHAREJun 16, 2014Bullying is NEVER AcceptableSHAREJan 5, 2016Keep calm and get testedSHARESep 4, 2014Bleeding + SexSHAREMar 27, 2013"Can you get pregnant from pre cum?"SHAREMar 5, 2014HeavenSHAREJan 27, 2014You MatterSHAREJun 10, 2014why STI and not STD?SHARENov 17, 2014Happy Monday!SHARENov 11, 2014Age + SexSHAREAug 4, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: What body parts are susceptible to STIs?SHAREMay 27, 2014Love Is….SHAREApr 24, 2014Wanting to WaitSHAREJul 16, 2013"In the process of dry humping, and the male ejaculates, is it possible to become pregnant?"SHAREMay 14, 2014Free CondomsSHAREFeb 18, 2015Take ControlSHAREAug 1, 2014Fingering can cause pregnancySHAREJun 20, 2013I will NOT be your fatherSHARENov 19, 2015Sex Ed ClassesSHAREMay 6, 2014Repeat after me…SHAREMay 9, 2014Chlorine isn't Birth ControlSHAREJul 24, 2014You MatterSHAREJul 28, 2014#HighFivesSHAREFeb 14, 2014Always use a condomSHAREJul 22, 2015Depo Side EffectsSHAREFeb 17, 2016The Friend Zone.SHAREFeb 11, 2014SmileSHAREMay 9, 2013The FNF Run-Down on SpermicideSHARENov 7, 2014Pregnancy Chances + The Implant?SHAREMay 9, 2014Be that one!SHAREJul 29, 2014"I don't love him anymore, what do I do?"SHAREMay 2, 2014Birth Control MethodsSHARESep 16, 2016What Does This Discharge Mean?SHAREFeb 17, 2014OptimismSHARENov 9, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: The importance of being an LGBTQ ally.SHAREOct 1, 2014You Deserve HappinessSHAREMar 27, 2013"STDs on my period?"SHAREDec 17, 2013Homework vs. TumblrSHAREJan 27, 2014If you're using condoms (yay for you!) then should you also be on another birth control method?SHAREJan 14, 2016It's onnnnnn!SHAREMar 27, 2013"Can you get pregnant from swallowing sperm?"SHARENov 20, 2015Can my clinic visit to get tested *really* be confidential?SHAREAug 6, 2013FactSHAREFeb 29, 2016What Consent Looks LikeSHAREJun 23, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Making a Protection PlanSHAREApr 13, 2016My STI wasn't the end of the world.SHAREJan 14, 2014"A lot of kids are into oral sex. Is it true that you can get an STI in your mouth also if a person is infected?"SHAREOct 6, 2017Cervical CapSHAREOct 12, 2015The More You Know: Condom EditionSHAREDec 3, 2013Know the FactsSHARENov 12, 2013The Pullout MethodSHAREJan 7, 2016Chlorine is no matchSHAREOct 1, 2014"If I have a yeast infection but don't get it checked out could it get bad or worse?"SHAREJun 5, 2013Ask the FNF Experts: What is an STD anyway?SHAREDec 8, 2014Me StudyingSHAREOct 2, 2014Use ProtectionSHAREMar 18, 2014#BeKindSHAREJul 1, 2014How to Practice Safe Oral SexSHAREJan 8, 2014Protect YourselfSHAREJan 2, 2014Achievement unlockedSHAREOct 28, 2015Period ScareSHAREJul 26, 2013Birth Control 411: The ShotSHAREMay 16, 2014The first to…SHAREDec 2, 2015Soda as a spermicide?SHAREDec 9, 2015Made it to the castleSHAREJun 24, 2014Use Condoms TooSHAREOct 21, 2015Emotional AbusersSHAREJul 25, 2013Protect Yourself!SHAREOct 13, 2014Take care of yourselfSHAREApr 2, 2014How to Talk to Parents about Birth ControlSHAREAug 4, 2014Do I have to tell my doctor my sexual orientation?SHAREMar 28, 2016Free CondomsSHAREJan 13, 2015#DidYouKnow: Condom EditionSHARENov 10, 2014Passionate about Safer SexSHAREFeb 15, 2016At what age should I go to the gynocologist?SHAREFeb 19, 2014NetflixSHAREOct 3, 2014Always Use a CondomSHAREMar 21, 2017Does HPV Result in Fever?SHAREFeb 16, 2015Demonstrating Proper Sock UseSHAREJul 2, 2014If you wouldn't say it to their faceSHAREMay 21, 2016Where should I put that?SHAREJan 7, 2014RightSHARENov 4, 2014Doing GreatSHARENov 28, 2016STDs + oral sexSHAREJan 27, 2016Things to double up onSHAREMar 7, 2014"What is the best way to make sure I don't get pregnant?"SHARESep 25, 2013FactSHAREDec 17, 2015Remove yourself from the equationSHAREJul 9, 2013"If a woman with HIV gives you oral sex will you get HIV?"SHAREAug 19, 2014Hepatitis InformationSHAREMay 20, 2014Positive Bunny PostSHAREAug 24, 2015HIV MythsSHAREMar 5, 2015Always Check the Expiration DateSHAREJul 7, 2015How to get a Birth Control PrescriptionSHAREOct 6, 2017The PillSHAREJan 20, 2015Sex Without A CondomSHARESep 30, 2013Birth Control 411: The ImplantSHAREJan 28, 2016Pinch the tipSHAREMay 12, 2015Protect YourselfSHARESep 8, 2015Hot Flashes and Stomach PainSHAREOct 1, 2014Bullying is NOT OKSHAREJul 8, 2013A Clinic JUST for Teens!SHAREMar 9, 2016Sex in PoolsSHARENov 12, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Finding the Time.SHAREApr 16, 2013FactSHAREApr 1, 2014Pullout MethodSHAREApr 22, 2015Sex During PeriodSHARESep 30, 2015Oral Sex MythSHARENov 4, 2014Different LubricantsSHARENov 7, 2013What is a genital HPV infection?SHAREDec 19, 2013CautionSHAREDec 19, 2013"If you have an STD and someone wants to go down on you, will they get it?"SHAREOct 14, 2013Dental DamsSHAREJan 20, 2016Myths about HIVSHARESep 18, 2014Irregular PeriodSHAREJul 16, 2013Life is too short.SHARESep 16, 2016How Does The Ring Work?SHAREApr 17, 2014Be careful what you shareSHAREDec 28, 2015What's the most effective type of birth control?SHAREJul 21, 2014No condoms & no birth control : Could I be pregnant?SHAREDec 22, 2014Will Sex Make Us Closer?SHAREApr 7, 2017Masturbation and STDsSHAREDec 10, 2014Prevent Condom RipsSHAREDec 10, 2014Dating after a BreakupSHAREFeb 11, 2015"Can you use flavored condoms for vaginal or anal intercourse?"SHAREOct 13, 2015Isn't Worth the RiskSHAREJun 25, 2013FNF Advice: Your Body + SexSHAREDec 18, 2014Let that sink inSHAREMar 17, 2014Separating Fact From Fiction: Bacterial VaginosisSHAREJan 16, 2015You asked, we answered!SHAREJan 26, 2015Sperm + AnalSHAREDec 15, 2014Mondays!SHAREDec 29, 2015Hey you: There's no shame in carrying condoms or birth control.SHAREJan 26, 2016Is "running out of sperm" a thing?SHAREDec 12, 2013MythbustingSHAREAug 22, 2013Birth Control 411: The PatchSHAREMar 18, 2015Do Condoms Always Work?SHAREApr 2, 2014Love sweetlySHAREOct 1, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Preparing for "The Talk"SHAREMar 25, 2015"If I am LGBT, does that put me at risk for STIs?"SHAREApr 4, 2014The best way to avoid pregnancySHAREMay 6, 2014Choosing to wait is totally okay!SHARENov 25, 2013LoveSHAREJan 9, 2014What happens if you swallow semen? Is that ok?SHAREOct 6, 2015How do You Know if You Have HerpesSHAREFeb 26, 2014"How long does it take for sperm to die after it leaves the body?"SHAREJan 31, 2014MythsSHARENov 11, 2013Pregnancy… How long does it take to know?SHAREDec 8, 2015Can I get an STI from just kissing?SHAREMar 31, 2014Depo Shot and Pregnancy WorriesSHAREJul 19, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Getting the ImplantSHAREFeb 27, 2015Fertility + Pregnancy ChancesSHAREAug 26, 2015Nexplanon and BleedingSHAREJan 23, 2015Which one do you want to openSHAREOct 15, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Putting a Stop to Domestic Violence.SHARENov 7, 2014TGIFSHAREAug 19, 2013Condom 101SHAREApr 5, 2016Deep Thoughts on the "In Crowd."SHAREJun 25, 2014Communication and CondomsSHAREOct 9, 2014"I think we're too young for sex. What should I do?"SHAREFeb 4, 2016Is my STI back?SHAREJan 17, 2014"Dear Experts: I'm a lesbian, so do I need to worry about STIs?"SHARENov 27, 2013The 411 on ConsentSHAREMay 2, 2013The HIV/AIDS FilesSHAREJul 10, 2014Eating Disorders + FertilitySHARESep 24, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: The HPV Vaccine and YouSHAREMar 30, 2016Alcohol Kills Sperm?SHAREMar 24, 2015HomeworkSHAREJun 18, 2014Condom SizingSHAREFeb 23, 2016Knowing when to pull out.SHARENov 25, 2015When Privacy Isn't Private.SHAREDec 16, 2014Bleeding + The Depo ShotSHAREJun 2, 2014Be Proud.SHAREDec 22, 2014#GuiltySHAREOct 26, 2015#FactCheck!SHAREJan 15, 2014One condomSHAREJul 14, 2014Got Consent?SHAREOct 6, 2017Fertility AwarenessSHAREMay 8, 2013Ask the FNF Experts: Sex with my Boyfriend..SHARENov 19, 2015Pregnancy prevention powerSHARENov 28, 2016Red Vaginal BumpsSHAREOct 21, 2015Can Sperm Be Washed Off?SHAREDec 15, 2014Guilty!SHAREMay 14, 2014You do youSHAREJul 30, 2014End of SummerSHAREApr 22, 2014Need Free Condoms?SHAREMar 7, 2014Condom Myth Busting!SHAREOct 2, 2013FactSHAREMar 7, 20163 Second RuleSHAREAug 12, 2013"Dear FNF Experts: In the process of dry humping, and the male ejaculates, is it possible to become pregnant?"SHAREDec 4, 2013"Can a girl get pregnant if I have semen on my finger and touch her vagina?"SHAREOct 13, 2015BC and DepressionSHAREFeb 10, 2016Time to focus on YOU.SHAREFeb 3, 2015Can it be Summer TomorrowSHARENov 9, 2015It Gets Better.SHAREMar 26, 2013SHAREDec 18, 2013Need a health center?SHAREJan 22, 2014"How long does it take for sperm to die after it leaves the body?"SHAREOct 6, 2017Emergency ContraceptionSHARESep 2, 2014"Should I have sex with my girlfriend to bring us closer together? I'm a virgin and don't want her to be disappointed."SHAREMay 14, 2015Stress Test to AvoidSHAREJun 23, 2013"Wondering / Hoping that I'm not Pregnant…"SHAREFeb 19, 2014Side effects of the Depo Shot?SHAREOct 16, 2014Vaginal TearingSHAREJan 13, 2014Safe hereSHAREOct 6, 2017SpermicideSHAREJun 25, 2013Ask the FNF Experts: "What do I do if I get an STD?"SHAREMar 27, 2013"Two condoms better than one?"SHAREMar 9, 2015ConsentSHAREOct 6, 2017AbstinenceSHAREJan 20, 2014Is it possible to get HIV from kissing?SHAREJul 1, 2013"Can UV Tanning Prevent Pregnancy Due To Destruction Of Eggs?"SHAREOct 14, 2016Red Bumps on PenisSHAREOct 20, 2015May the Odds be Ever in Your FavorSHAREJun 16, 2015Oral Sex and Itchy ThroatSHAREFeb 16, 2015This is how my week goes.SHAREDec 9, 2013No.SHAREOct 14, 2016How often can I use EC?SHAREJun 6, 2014NoSHAREJun 30, 2015Ready to Start a FamilySHAREJul 1, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Love Has Many Definitions, But Abuse Isn't One.SHARENov 24, 2015Six Whole Days?!SHAREApr 30, 2014Keep those friendshipsSHARESep 9, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Conquering Your Gyno FearsSHAREOct 8, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: I had an STI.SHAREAug 6, 2014ShowdownSHAREAug 8, 2013Birth Control 411: The PillSHAREDec 22, 2015Bacterial VaginosisSHAREDec 23, 2014Stay True to YouSHARESep 3, 2014Latex Condom 101SHAREMay 23, 2014Preventing condom ripsSHAREMay 5, 2015Be CarefulSHAREMay 13, 2015Keeping Condoms from BreakingSHAREFeb 25, 2016Free CondomsSHAREJul 10, 2013FNF Advice: Sexually Transmitted DiseasesSHAREOct 21, 2013Dear Experts: "Do you think I'm pregnant?"SHARENov 2, 2015Protect Yourself from HerpesSHAREFeb 4, 2015Do More of What Makes You HappySHAREJun 26, 2014Listen to your HeartSHAREOct 6, 2017The PatchSHAREJun 17, 2014Being Nice is CoolSHAREOct 6, 2017The ShotSHARESep 17, 2014Too big to fit?SHAREFeb 10, 2014"I had sex with a bi male should i get tested?"SHAREApr 25, 2013Ask The FNF Experts: "I wanna get sexually active with my boyfriend, but not have sex and not get pregnant or an STD."SHAREJun 16, 2014May I ask you a question?SHAREOct 6, 2017DiaphragmSHAREDec 15, 2015STI Protection + Same Sex CouplesSHAREApr 3, 2016Relationships 101: It happens when the time is right.SHAREMay 22, 2014Pulling OutSHAREJul 14, 2014Never Been TestedSHAREApr 21, 2015HIV SexSHAREJan 28, 2015Quest for the Golden EggSHAREJul 30, 2013Birth Control 411: The IUDSHAREJan 13, 2015Belive in YourselfSHAREJan 5, 2016How to make a dental damSHAREOct 6, 2017ImplantSHARENov 4, 2013Dental DamSHAREOct 24, 2013Dear Experts: Is HPV a big deal?SHAREApr 18, 2016Spot the STISHAREApr 7, 2014Wise Words from AmySHAREJan 28, 2014EnoughSHAREOct 6, 2017IUDSHAREApr 15, 2014Stay protected!SHAREMar 3, 2016My Life After an STI.SHARESep 16, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: BullyingSHAREMar 17, 2014Use Protection.SHARESep 11, 2013"Dear Experts: Where can I get free birth control?"SHAREDec 18, 2014Everything has BeautySHAREMar 27, 2013"I have a boyfriend now and I really like him, I want to have sex with him but I'm scared I might get pregnant. Please let me know what to do because I'm ready but not ready for a child. Can you help me?"SHARESep 4, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Setting the Record Straight on Sex MythsSHAREJan 14, 2015Know your status!SHAREApr 30, 2014It's Gonna be MaySHAREOct 6, 2017CondomSHAREMar 24, 2015#MythSHAREJun 12, 2013Ask the FNF Experts: "Can you get pregnant from being fingered?"SHARENov 2, 2015HIV + STI Connection?SHAREJun 17, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: It's a Guy's Responsibility, TooSHARENov 18, 2015Condom DishonestySHAREFeb 4, 2015You're the boss of your body.SHAREMay 5, 2014Those things really help you.SHAREOct 25, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Don't Turn Away and Pretend It's Nothing.SHAREOct 5, 2015Appointments to get TestedSHAREApr 29, 2015Doubling UpSHAREOct 23, 2013FactSHAREMar 18, 2014All Myths!SHARENov 10, 2014Whatever YOU Want!SHAREDec 17, 2013Need free condoms?SHAREOct 14, 2016Does Birth Control Cause Cancer?SHAREOct 24, 2014Buy a new oneSHARESep 3, 2015ChlamydiaSHARESep 4, 2013Ask the Experts: Vaginal Dryness after Depo ShotSHARENov 5, 2015Weird Food Intolerance = Pregnancy?SHAREAug 27, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: Having "The Talk" with Your ParentsSHAREJun 25, 2015Circumcision and STDsSHAREMay 6, 2014#NopeSHAREJul 23, 2013"Dear Experts: Is it normal to miss your period 2 months in a row? I'm not sexually active, so do I need to get on birth control to regulate it?"SHAREOct 21, 2014Unprotected Sex + Stomach PainSHARENov 6, 2014Excellent SurfersSHAREMay 30, 2013FactSHARESep 30, 2013to Store CondomsSHARESep 5, 2013Birth Control 411: The RingSHAREJul 15, 2015What STDs Can You Catch in a Month?SHAREJan 27, 2015ConsentSHAREAug 1, 2013"Dear Experts: How will you know if you're making love or just having sex?"SHAREMay 27, 2015I'm a Safety GirlSHAREOct 6, 2017SterilizationSHAREOct 22, 2015Too Big for a Condom?SHAREOct 7, 2013HPV + Herpes FYISHAREAug 26, 2014Periods + PregnancySHAREAug 13, 2015Plan B + AlcoholSHAREJan 24, 2014Can you say ouchSHAREMay 5, 2014STD or a Yeast InfectionSHAREJan 12, 2015Take Care of YourselfSHAREOct 8, 2014Self Control on LockSHARESep 16, 2016Gonorrhea TreatmentSHAREDec 30, 2013"What are genital warts and how do you get them?"SHAREJul 7, 2014Love Your BodySHAREMar 27, 2013"Is oral sex, sex?"SHAREOct 29, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: What if I have an STI?SHAREOct 20, 2015Should I Get Tested?SHAREMay 29, 2014OptimismSHAREOct 31, 2014No Pregnancy ScaresSHARENov 28, 2016Do I have to get a pap smear to get birth control?SHAREFeb 8, 2016Dental damSHAREMar 31, 2014AlwaysSHAREFeb 28, 2014The world needs more of thatSHAREJan 30, 2017Protecting Yourself From HerpesSHAREFeb 3, 2016Free condoms or testingSHAREJul 23, 2014Sperm are very DeterminedSHAREMar 27, 2013MS has the highest teen birthrateSHAREJul 21, 2015#FNFRealTalkTeam: The Gyno Isn't So BadSHAREOct 6, 2017The Pullout MethodSHARENov 26, 2014You can't become immune to STIs.SHARE


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Tattoo-Inspired Wall Art & Laptop Decals
It's been a while since we put up a shopping post, and I thought today was fitting to do so as I just installed this featured product in sprucing up my place for Spring.
Check out BEEPART wall art & laptop decal on Etsy.
Beepart are designs influenced by tattoo, retro and other iconic imagery that are produced on vinyl to decorate walls, laptops, cars and other indoor & outdoor surfaces. Artwork includes sugar skulls, sacred hearts, swallows, koi fish, and pin-ups, among many others. I contemplated the Rock On wall art but felt the Hamsa was a better fit (yes, I know it does kinda match my tattoos). I was looking for something to decorate the wall near my shower that wouldn't be ruined by steam and vinyl decals do the trick.
I'm happy to say that installation is idiot proof. Which means that I was able to put it up all by myself (like a big girl) without it getting tangled in my hair or making me want to rip out my hair as I've done before in other attempts with removable wall art. I was surprised just how easily such a large and intricate pattern went on but I did follow the detailed instructions exactly.
Another plus: the price. The Hamsa only costs $28. Others range from $8 (for vinyl stickers) to $105 (for a wall full of beepart creatures). Right now there's a 20% spring promotion with this code: BEEP20.
Beepart decals are designed by artist and freelance illustrator Neil Jeffery of London, Canada. In his Etsy shop, you'll also find original mixed media and collage art. [More on Neil here.]
So, overall, thumbs up (or horns high) for beepart for prettying up my place cheap & easy as well as artful.
Tattoo TAGS:
laptop decal
Neil Jeffery
tattoo designs
vinyl decal
wall art


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It's abundantly clear that Playstaion Plus offers ridiculously good value to the consumer but generally speaking; a gain on the one hand is a loss on another. In this article we take a look at who, if anyone, is taking the knock for Playstation Plus. Is it possible that Sony has created a win-win-win scenario?
back then, i bought ps+ just because im too lazy to update my ps+ by myself
but now, just look at how awesome ps+ become
I just hope this continues onto the PS4 era.... I mean, they can copy Microsoft's model of just charging for online with no added value and it's likely to make more money than plus... sad but true..... I hope I'm wrong since I don't care about multiplayer and would only pay for plus if the games keep on coming with the same quality they did on PS3/Vita
Since this is an opinion article, and I have a PSN account I must say that PS+ is actually the worst value in gaming today. It's essentially the same thing as free PSN, but now they charge for it. True, there are "free" games now but rarely do they mean anything. You pay $50 a year for games that are typically very old/not worth it...or when the rare gem comes along it's over a year old, and chances are that if you are interested in it, you've already played and beaten it. Other than that, there really isn't anything special about PS+ at all, it hasn't been upgraded at all.
I've had ps plus for a couple of years now, for both US and EU and I have literally hundreds of games as a result. Initially it was a lot of PSone games (which I was happy with), now many more new titles. It's funny how people only realize how good it is after they are forced to use it.
Do you think it would be plausible to become a developer solely for PS+.
Meaning Sony would pay developers a set fee for a game to be release day 1 for free on PS+. This is basically what happened with Resogun.


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RALEIGH, N.C. - If a sign were placed on a piece of new ground intended for peanuts, Extension experts would simply have it read, "inoculate."
With peanuts going into so much new land over the past two years, inoculation provides the pathway to high peanut yields, says David Jordan, North Carolina State University Extension peanut specialist. "Last year's good yields, in many areas where peanuts were a new enterprise, demonstrated the benefit of inoculating."
On new peanut land in two North Carolina counties — Duplin, near the central coast, and Gates in the northeastern part of the state — inoculated peanut yields were increased two and three fold.
Without inoculant, peanuts languish for a lack of nitrogen. Inoculation provides a relatively inexpensive and effective way of providing the nitrogen-fixing power required for high yields. Otherwise, peanut farmers would have to apply nitrogen fertilizer. "This would be relatively expensive compared to the cost of commercial inoculants," Jordan says.
Simply put, inoculation puts appropriate strains of bacteria in the soil so peanuts can fix their own nitrogen. Peanuts "fix" their own nitrogen, but inoculum is rarely present in nature.
By inoculating the soil with bacteria, farmers help the process of converting nitrogen gas into a useable form so the peanuts can grow properly, Jordan says.
The bacteria infects the roots of the peanut plant, thereby beginning a relationship benefiting both the plant and the bacteria. The peanut is able to fix the nitrogen; the bacteria lives off of carbohydrates and other necessary nutrients and minerals supplied by the plant.
While native inoculant may be in the soil, especially in short rotations, peanut farmers most often apply commercial inoculants, Jordan says.
At small levels, inoculum is found in the field naturally.
Farmers can also inoculate peanuts in the hopper box at planting or with a granular application in-furrow or a liquid application in-furrow.
"In new ground, the response is amazing and clearly evident," Jordan says. "In fields that have had peanuts in them, there may not be an obvious growth response, but sometimes there is a yield response."
While it's important to inoculate in a field that hasn't seen peanuts, Extension also recommends inoculating every time peanuts are planted, regardless of rotation. "At the very least, growers should apply a hopper-box seed treatment," Jordan says. "If rotations are longer or if you are going into new ground, in-furrow sprays or granulars are recommended."
Stressing the importance of the practice, Jordan points to the consequences of not inoculating peanuts.
"Without inoculation, peanuts will have a severe nitrogen deficiency," Jordan says. "Nitrogen is required for all things to grow.
"Although there may be some residual nitrogen in the soil from organic matter breakdown or from fertilizer applied to the previous crop, this is generally insufficient to optimize yields," Jordan says.
The bottom line to not inoculating is serious. "Yields may be cut in half, if not more," Jordan cautions.


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Have you checked out the new updated Beaded Banners by Bonnie website? If not, check it out now at www.bannersbybonnie.com .
Beaded Banners by Bonnie has a large variety of beaded banner patterns including holiday, animals, sports and many others. All patterns are available to purchase as pdf files by email, hard copy patterns shipped to you, or complete kits with everything you will need to make a banner. Check out all the beaded banner patterns and remember more are being added all the time: http://www.beadedbannerpatterns.com/newpatternsmainpage.php .
Beaded banners are a very simple craft. Beaded Banners by Bonnie provides free instructions to download on the site. Check out the instructions and see how very easy it is to make beaded banners. I recommend creating the banner directly over the pattern. When you do it that way there is NO counting or following a graph. When building a beaded banner on top of the pattern all you have to do is react to the next color of bead and weave it on. Truly, this is a very simple craft for kids, adults, and seniors alike.
Check out the free beaded banner instructions here: http://www.beadedbannerpatterns.com/beadedbannerinstructions.pdf
Beaded Banners by Bonnie also provides some free patterns for you to try. No need to request the free patterns as they can be downloaded directly from the site here: http://www.beadedbannerpatterns.com/freepatterns.php
Beaded Banners by Bonnie also sells supplies for making beaded banners. Most importantly I sell the hard to find beaded banner rods and end caps (http://www.beadedbannerpatterns.com/Supplies.php ). I also sell end caps separately for those of you that have your own rods but need the end caps for the ends of the rods. Not sure if my end caps will fit on your rods? No problem! You can request sample end caps to try them out first. Check out how to request your free beaded banner end caps here: http://www.beadedbannerpatterns.com/freeendcaps.php .
Want to design your own patterns but don't want to invest money into the software needed to do it? No problem! Beaded Banners by Bonnie has beaded banner graph paper that you can purchase to design your own banners. The blank grid is available here: http://www.beadedbannerpatterns.com/blankgrid.php .
Need pony beads for your beaded banners? No problem! Beaded Banners by Bonnie sells pony beads that I currently have in stock in my Ebay store (http://stores.ebay.com/Beaded-Banners-by-Bonnie-and-More?refid=store ). Plans are to include a color chart on my website of all pony beads available and I will special order beads as you need them. In the meantime, if you have beads that you need that aren't in my Ebay store, just email me (firstname.lastname@example.com) your pony bead needs and I will order what you need.
Payment is simple on my website through Paypal. I have used Paypal since its inception years ago and love it! It makes paying online so simple and streamlined. No entering my information a bazillion times! Most orders are shipped within 24 hours during the week.
If you don't want to use Paypal or prefer to not order online, plans for the site include providing an order form to download and mail your order and payment to me. In the meantime, please feel free to email me about ordering offline.
Check out all the changes on www.bannersbybonnie.com and come back often! Thanks for looking and HAPPY BEADING!
Bonnie Matthews
Owner & Designer
Beaded Banners by Bonnie


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Brief SummaryRead full entry
The name Bacillariophyceae has been used in several ways: to refer to all diatoms (e.g. when the diatoms are trated as a class within the Heterokontophyta, as by van den Hoek et al. 1995), or to refer to the raphe-bearing pennate diatoms (e.g. Round et al. 1990), or to refer to all pennate diatoms (Medlin & Kaczmarska 2004). Here, we adopt the third of these: all pennate diatoms.
The pennate diatoms are characterized morphologically by the feather-like organization of their valve pattern, which is evident in the title illustrations. The distinction between this kind of pattern and the centric patterns found in other clades of diatoms was first discussed by Schütt (1896) and Karsten (1928). In pennates, a long rib or strip of plain silica runs along the length of the valve, subtending transverse ribs and lines of pores on either side. In contrast, the clades of centric diatoms possess a radial organization of the pattern. Electron microscopy has revealed that, at the centre of the radial pattern, there is a ring-like annulus (although the annulus can be elliptical or elongate in some species, such as Odontella sinensis and Attheya species: Pickett-Heaps et al. 1990, Stonik et al. 2006). Because of the resemblance of the pennate valve to the human rib-cage, the longitudinal rib or strip is called the sternum.
Most pennate diatoms have elongate cells, shaped like boats, rods, spicules or bananas and it is sometimes stated that this, rather than the organization of the valve pattern, is the essential feature of the group. However, elongate shape is not confined to pennate diatoms, being found in several clades of polar centric diatoms.
Pennate diatoms are monophyletic according to molecular phylogenies (e.g. Medlin & Kaczmarska 2004, Sorhannus 2007): the sternum has apparently evolved only once. Another autapomorphy of pennates is the loss of all flagellate stages: during sexual reproduction, fusion takes place between large amoeboid or motionless gametes, which are usually ± equal in size (morphological isogamy).
The pennates are more species-rich than other diatom groups. Most species are benthic, growing attached to solid substrata or moving through sediments and over surfaces, but the group also contains some common and important planktonic genera, such as the toxin-producing Pseudo-nitzschia, and the remarkable hair-like Thalassiothrix, which can grow up to 5 mm long.


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Time Warner promotes terrorism and anti-Christian bigotry in new leftist movie, 'V for Vendetta'
Editor's note: Dr. Tom Snyder contributed to this commentary.
It has only been two weeks since the Oscar ceremony celebrated left-wing politics and anti-Christian bigotry with such movies as "Brokeback Mountain" and "Syriana."
Today, Time Warner is continuing that policy by releasing "V for Vendetta" – a vile, pro-terrorist piece of neo-Marxist, left-wing propaganda filled with radical sexual politics and nasty attacks on religion and Christianity.
The ending of "V for Vendetta" celebrates terrorism when the movie's three most sympathetic characters carry out an evil plan to blow up England's Parliament building, one of Western Civilization's most enduring symbols of democracy and republican government with a small "r."
The whole movie, in fact, is a thinly veiled attack on the War on Terror now being waged by Prime Minister Tony Blair in Great Britain and President George W. Bush in the United States. The movie's story was actually updated from a graphic novel that attacked the conservative administration of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest political leaders of the 20th century.
During the final credits for the movie, viewers are treated to actual recordings of Malcolm X spewing racial hatred and violence (apparently the filmmakers never read the last chapter of Malcolm X's autobiography where he seems to renounce violence and racism). Viewers are also treated during the end credits to actual recordings of radical feminist Gloria Steinem spewing her brand of male-hating, Christian-bashing, androgynous sexual politics.
The rest of "V for Vendetta" not only depicts Christians as evil people who oppress and torture "innocent" people, it also depicts homosexuals as a persecuted, harmless minority of "nice" people. Both of these portrayals are hate-filled, false stereotypes, but the second one is actually contradicted by the secret stash of homoerotic pornography that one of the homosexual characters in the movie hides in a secret room in his house. If all homosexuals, and all homosexual activists, are such goody two shoes, how come so many of them resort to unsafe sexual practices that spread deadly diseases, and how come so many of them promote pornography, support the murder of unborn children through abortion and molest underage children?
Ironically, during the movie, the homosexual character who owns homosexual pornography also owns a banned copy of the Quran, the "bible" of Islam supposedly written by Muhammad, who was a murderer and an anti-Semite. The character calls the Quran and its poetry "beautiful."
Does that include the Quran's teachings against homosexuality? Or, does it just include the Quran's admonitions to kill Christians, Jews and Non-Muslims?
Where does all this abhorrent, pro-terrorist, atheist, pseudo-intellectual left-wing politics in "V for Vendetta" originate?
It stems from the communist influence of the Frankfurt School. The Frankfurt School was started in Germany in 1923 by a group of Marxist intellectuals, and modeled after the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow in the Soviet Union. When Hitler came to power in 1933, these Marxists fled to the United States to teach at famous colleges like Columbia University, Princeton and the University of California at Berkeley. Eventually, they became founders and powerful leaders of the counter-culture revolution in the 1960s. This revolution started the movement for "political correctness" in America.
America's education system, its government, its popular culture, its military, its business community, and its news media have been transformed by this insidious Fifth Column of "Cultural Marxism." We are now suffering the consequences of this quiet political correctness invasion. This is what the current Culture War in Hollywood and America is all about.
Paul Haggis – the writer/director/producer who picked up two Oscars for "Crash" – exposed this neo-Marxist, PC agenda on international television during the Oscar ceremony. Haggis quoted the Marxist playwright, Bertolt Brecht, saying, "Art is not a mirror held up to society, it is a hammer by which to shape it."
Of course, the Christian view of art, and the view of art in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament documents of the Bible, is that art should celebrate and promote the Good, the True and the Beautiful.
The Good, the True and the Beautiful do not promote such evils as blowing up civilian buildings, immoral sexual practices conducted outside the bounds of heterosexual marriage, political terrorism and atheist, pro-homosexual bigotry that creates vile, hateful stereotypes of Christians and their leaders.
The Christian view of art sees God as the ultimate ruler of all creation and all communication. The Christian view of art also sees Jesus Christ as the ultimate standard of all artistic excellence.
Armed with this basic theology of art, we can fight the evil influence of such movies as "V for Vendetta."
Knowledge of theology can lead to understanding, but the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. In other words, God hates it when institutions and people like Time Warner and the filmmakers behind "V for Vendetta" pervert mankind's ability to create art. When we behave so sinfully, we should all fear His righteous judgment.
To quote President Teddy Roosevelt, however, "If you educate a man's mind but not his heart, you end up with an educated barbarian."
Thus, our theology and philosophy of art must be informed by frequent reading and serious study of the Bible, which is the Word of God. Only God's Word can educate the heart to follow the Good, the True and the Beautiful that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, who redeems us from our sins and energizes our faith through His true and perfect love.


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PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy — Survivors who escaped a luxury cruise ship that ran aground and tipped over recounted a scene reminiscent of "Titanic" on Saturday, describing a delayed then panicked evacuation, as plates and glasses crashed around them and they crawled along upended hallways trying to reach safety.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea off the tiny island of Giglio near Tuscany where the Costa Concordia ran aground with 4,200 people aboard late Friday, tearing a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in its hull.
There were reports that three other people had died but those reports were not yet confirmed, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo.
By morning Saturday, the ship was lying virtually flat off Gigio's coast, its starboard side submerged in the water.
Passengers complained the crew failed to give instructions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many of them to be released. The evacuation drill was only scheduled for Saturday afternoon, even though some passengers had already been on board for several days.
Authorities still hadn't counted all the survivors by the time they reached mainland 12 hours later. Helicopters plucked to safety some 50 people who were trapped on the ship, some survivors were rescued by boats in the area, and an official said some people jumped from the ship. Coast guard rescuers were continuing to search the ship for passengers.
"It was so unorganized, our evacuation drill was scheduled for 5 p.m.," said Melissa Goduti, 28, of Wallingford, Connecticut, who had set out on the cruise of the Mediterranean hours earlier. "We had joked what if something had happened today."
"Have you seen 'Titanic?' That's exactly what it was," said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles who was traveling with her sister and parents on the first of two cruises around the Mediterranean. They all bore dark red bruises on their knees from the desperate crawl they endured along hallways and stairwells that were nearly vertical, trying to reach rescue boats.
"We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing," her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61, said. "We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls."
She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall.
"He said 'take my baby,'" Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. "I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her.
"I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby," she said.
"I wonder where they are," daughter Valerie whispered.
The family said they were some of the last off the ship, forced to shimmy along a rope down the exposed side of the ship to a waiting rescue vessel.
Survivor Christine Hammer, from Bonn, Germany, shivered near the harbor of Porto Santo Stefano, on the mainland, after stepping off a ferry from Giglio. She was wearing elegant dinner clothes — a cashmere sweater, a silk scarf — along with a large pair of hiking boots, which a kind islander gave her after she lost her shoes in the scramble to escape. Left behind were her passport, credit cards and phone.
Hammer, 65, told The Associated Press that she was eating her first course, an appetizer of cuttle fish, sauteed mushrooms and salad, on her first night aboard her first-ever cruise, which was a gift to her and her husband, Gert, from her local church where she volunteers.
Suddenly, "we heard a crash. Glasses and plates fell down and we went out of the dining room and we were told it wasn't anything dangerous," she said.
Several passengers said crew members for a good 45 minutes told passengers there was a simple "technical problem" that had caused the lights to go off. Seasoned cruisers, however, knew better and went to get their life jackets in their rooms and report to their "muster stations," the emergency stations each passenger is assigned to.
Once there, though, crew members delayed lowering the lifeboats even thought the ship was listing badly, they said.
"We had to scream at the controllers to release the boats from the side," said Mike van Dijk, a 54-year-old from Pretoria, South Africa. "We were standing in the corridors and they weren't allowing us to get onto the boats. It was a scramble, an absolute scramble."
Passengers Alan and Laurie Willits, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, said they were watching the magic show in the ship's main theater when they felt an inital lurch, as if from a severe steering maneuver, followed a few seconds later by a "shudder."
"And then the magician disappeared," Laurie Willits said, saying the magician left the stage and panicked audience members fled for their cabins as well.
Things didn't improve for passengers once aboard life boats.
"No one counted us, neither in the life boats or on land," said Ophelie Gondelle, 28, a French military officer from Marseille. She said there had been no evacuation drill since she boarded in France on Jan. 8.
As dawn neared, a painstaking search of the 290-meter (950-foot) long ship's interior was being conducted to see if anyone might have been trapped inside, Paolillo said.
"There are some 2,000 cabins, and the ship isn't straight," Paolillo said, referring to the Concordia's dramatic more than 45-degree tilt on its right side. "I'll leave it to your imagination to understand how they (the rescuers) are working as they move through it."
Some Concordia crew members were still aboard to help the coast guard rescuers, he said.
It wasn't immediately known if the dead were passengers or crew, nor were the nationalities of the victims immediately known, Paolillo told The Associated Press in Rome by telephone from his command in the Tuscan port city of Livorno. It wasn't clear how they died.
Some 30 people were reported injured, most of them suffering only bruises, but at least two people were reported in grave condition.
Paolillo said the Concordia was believed to have set sail with 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew members.
Some passengers, apparently in panic, had jumped off the boat into the sea, a Tuscany-based government official, Grosseto prefect Giuseppe Linardi, was quoted as saying. Authorities were trying to obtain a full passenger and crew list from Costa, so they could do a roll call to determine who might be missing.
The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny island of Giglio, a popular vacation isle about 18 miles (25 kilometers) off Italy's central west coast. Those evacuated by helicopter were flown to Grosseto, while others, rescued by local ferries pressed into emergency service, took survivors to the port of Porto Santo Stefano on the nearby mainland.
Passengers sat dazed in a middle school opened for them, wrapped in woolen blankets with some wearing their life preservers and their shoeless feet covered with aluminum foil.
Survivors far outnumbered Giglio's 1,500 residents, and island Mayor Sergio Ortelli issued an appeal for islanders — "anyone with a roof" — to open their homes to shelter the evacuees.
Paolillo said the exact circumstances of the accident were still unclear, but that the first alarm went off about 10:30 p.m., about three hours after the Concordia had begun its voyage from the port of Civitavecchia, en route to its first port of call, Savona, in northwestern Italy.
The coast guard official, speaking from the port captain's office in the Tuscan port of Livorno, said the vessel "hit an obstacle" — it wasn't clear if it might have hit a rocky reef in the waters off Giglio — "ripping a gash 50 meters (160 feet) across" in the side of the ship, and started taking on water.
The cruise liner's captain, Paolillo said, then tried to steer his ship toward shallow waters, near Giglio's small port, to make evacuation by lifeboat easier.
But after the ship started listing badly, lifeboat evacuation was no longer feasible, Paolillo said.
Five helicopters, from the coast guard, navy and air force, were taking turns airlifting survivors still aboard and ferrying them to safely. A coast guard member was airlifted aboard the vessel to help people get aboard a small basket so they could be hoisted up to the helicopter, said Capt. Cosimo Nicastro, another Coast Guard official.
Costa Cruises said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.
It said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members.
The Concordia had a previous accident in Italian waters, ANSA reported. In 2008, when strong winds buffeted Palermo, the cruise ship banged against the Sicilian port's dock, and suffered damage but no one was injured, ANSA said.
D'Emilio reported from Rome.


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As a laptop gets older, it starts to slow down a little. You may notice that pages load slower, videos take longer to start playing, and general slowness of the machine. Unfortunately, thousands of people a year replace their laptop batteries without performing any monthly recalibration on it at all. If you want to get the best performance out of your laptop, here are a few steps to follow.
- Charge your laptop's battery all the way to 100%.
-Once the laptop is fully charged, unplug it and let the battery drain. Feel free to use the laptop during this period, as it will help it drain more quickly. Once you see that the battery is almost empty, save your work and close any open pages. Then let the laptop shut itself off.
-Let the dead battery sit for about 5 or 6 hours, or overnight. This will help eliminate any leftover charge the battery may have, and lets the battery start over from zero.
-After you've let your laptop sit, plug it back in and let it charge all the way to 100% before using it again.
Battery maintenance is an important process that many people neglect. Recalibration should be done monthly if possible to ensure best results. If done on a regular basis, you should notice greatly extended battery life on your computer, and hopefully postpone the purchase of any replacement parts.


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Corbett National Park
Earth : Asia : South Asia : India : Himalayan North : Uttarakhand : Corbett National Park
Corbett National Park is in the State of Uttarakhand in the Himalayan North region of India. The park is open to visitors from mid-September to mid-June.
Once inside the park, one gets to enjoy a spectacular panorama of the jungle, reminding one of Kipling's Jungle Book. Apart from this, one can see, observe, and photograph several many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, flora, etc.. The Corbett National Park has been the hot favorite getaway for the tourists, wildlife fans, and adventure seekers since many years. However, only a few selected regions of the Corbett Tiger Reserve are open for the tourists to explore its spectacular scenery and the varied wildlife. In recent years the number of people coming here has increased dramatically. Presently, every season more than 70,000 visitors come to the park from India and other countries.
The park was originally named the Hailey National Park after Governor Hailey and was created on August 6th 1936. It was India's first National Park. After independence, the park was renamed, this time after the Ramganga River, and was hence called the Ramganga National Park. The park was renamed again in 1957. It was named after James E. Corbett who helped to set up the park and spent most of his life in the area.
The area of the park was increased in 1991 when the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary was added to the park.
Flora and fauna
Flora: There are almost 488 different types of species of plants in the park; some of the main species found here are Bel, Chbilla, Dhak, Bakli, Pula, Bamboo, Semal, Khingan, Sal, Khair, Sissoo, Ber, Kuthber, Kharpat, Rohini.
Fauna: This Park has almost 33 different species of reptiles, 7 different species of amphibians, around 7 different species of fish and 37 different species of dragonflies.
There are three well defined seasons in the winter season which lasts from November to February, the summer season which lasts from March to June, and the rainy season which covers the rest of the month. The summer rains cause flooding in the park. The temperature in the Winters can go down to 4 degrees centigrade at night and the entire jungle is dry in the summer months as the temperature goes up to 44 degrees centigrade. The annual rainfall in the park ranges between 1400mm and 2800mm.
Get in
It is normally accessed from the town of Ramnagar, and is a two hour drive to the north.
The main areas (Dhikala and Bijrani) of Jim Corbett National Park are closed from 16 June - 14 Nov for the monsoon season. Jhirna & Sitabani (Buffer Zone)remain opened all year round.
At the office in Ramnagar you can buy the tickets to get into the park. One can also enter the park through Kotdwar which is situated on the other side of the park.one can travel on his own vehicle from Kotdwar towards Jim Corbett .
While inside the park, better not to use your own vehicle because only a trained professional have the idea where about to go. And Best to hire a taxi (Gypsy) which is fully open. And it cost about Rs 1800.00-2500.00, depends upon the negotiation for two days.
Get around
In Ramnagar you can organize a 4WD with a driver.
Keep in mind that in order to actually see a tiger, you will need to plan on taking more than one day of the safari, because there aren't that many tigers. Chances of sighting tigers can be significantly raised by staying at Dhikala Forest rest house & leaving early morning for Safari, as Dhikala is rest house is in the core area of jungle.
It is one of the most popular destinations in Jim Corbett National Park for tourists. Dhikala, located near to Patil Dun Valley, offers an amazing and uninterrupted view of the valley. There is a watchtower near Dhikala, which gives more imposing view of the valley.
Bijrani area was once formed part of a shooting block. This shooting block area covers the entire in and around area of Bijrani. This place was most famous during the British time for hunting. Bijrani terrain is drier in comparison to Dhikla and it also has more diverse vegetation then Dhikla
Jhirna is a rest house which lies inside the south area boundary of the park. This rest house is located on the road from Ramngar to Kalagarh. The landscape in this area is drier than Dhikla. Jhirna was one of the farming village till 1994 and after that it was taken under project tiger.
Corbett Museum: Tourists can know about the life history of Mr. Jim Corbett and see some of his belongings in the museum.
Elephant Safari: Elephant ride is the major attraction in Jim Corbett National Park 1. Tourists feel like a royal person, while sitting on an elephant and going into the grasslands and jungles in search of tigers or wild elephants. This safari is arranged twice in a day which starts from Dhikala, once early in the morning and once late in the afternoon.
You can go for an elephant ride, see documentaries at Dhikala, visit the museum or just soak in the wild environment.
Jeep Safari: This is one more way to explore the beauty of this national park. Jeeps to visit the park can be taken on rent from the Ramnagar, from the various travel agencies.
You can buy souvenirs and books at the canteen at Bijrani.
Finger licking food is available at canteens in Guest Houses ( Dhikala, Gairal, etc) and also at the entrance gates (Dhangari).
Drinking alcohol is prohibited inside the park.
Few guest houses are available. Dhikala and Gairal being the most sought after. Advance booking can be done at the tourism office on Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. On the spot booking can be done at Ramnagar. The stay is very reasonable. Around Rs.2500 charges for double bed room with all basic facilities. (At Dhikala forest rest house). This rest house is high in demand so it is always advisable to book well in advance. Maximum stay of 3 nights at a time is permitted. Electric fences are present around the housing area.
There are several camps you can choose to stay at. The facilities in these camps are in surprisingly good condition: Hot buckets, nice food, and good beds.
Stay safe
Get out


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Fynbos, South Africa
A plant paradise
When you first look across an expanse of fynbos, you may not at first be impressed by the collection of low scrubby plants and a few bushes. But when you look a bit closer you will see the sheer diversity of these numerous species found nowhere else in the world.
The country's national flower, the king protea (Protea cynaroides), is perhaps the most famous species of fynbos, along with ericas and reeds.
Paradise lostA large number of fynbos species are very rare and in danger of becoming extinct.
Constantly under threat from invading plant species, particularly wattle and acacia trees from Australia, as well as from urban expansion and land conversion for agriculture, WWF is committed to protecting the biodiversity of the Cape floral kingdom through a number of conservation projects and by supporting the Cape Action for People and the Environment programme.
Parts of the fynbos have also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and protected in a number of reserves.
Not just about plants
Where is Fynbos?
View WWF Critical Regions of the World in a larger map


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Hop-On Hop-Off Tour + Alcatraz
This 4-in-1 Hop-On Hop-Off package is the ultimate sightseeing experience in San Francisco. It gives you access to four diverse tours, so you can explore Downtown San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge & Sausalito and Golden Gate Park with unlimited hop-on hop-off use for 72 hours.
You are free to hop on and off the bus at any of the designated City Sightseeing stop to explore San Francisco's many sights on your own pace. In the evening you can also enjoy the incredible views of the city during the San Francisco Night Tour.
This 3-day package also includes a visit to the infamous Alcatraz Island!
Alcatraz Tour (requires a pre-booked date!)
As part of your 3-day Hop-On Hop-Off 4-in-1 tour you also get a tour to Alcatraz Island, which includes round-trip ferry from Sam Francisco to the imfamouse prison island, 'the Rock. Here you can enjoy the award winning audio headset tour inside the prison cellblock. The tour is a self-guided tour so you can stay on the island as long as you like. Departure time for the ferry to go to Alcatraz will be given to you upon redeeming your voucher on the day of the tour.
The date you choose, when booking your Hop-On Hop-off 4-in-one package, is day of your Alcatraz tour.
Downtown Tour:
On the Downtown San Francisco Tour you get to enjoy an entirely live narrated 90-minute tour of San Francisco's most famous attractions on an original open top double decker bus in the Downtown area. This tours highlights include: Fisherman's Wharf, Barbary Coast, Financial District, the Ferry Buildning, South of Market, City Hall, Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Lombard Street and Pier 39.
Golden Gate Park Tour:
The Golden Gate Park Tour departs from Union Square and heads towards Civic Center with its impressive City Hall, the Asian Art Museum, the Opera House and the San Francisco Symphony. Then we drive along Hayes Street where you can find countless shoppings opportunities and restaurants. We further drive into the Golden Gate Park, which is one of the largest man-made havens in the world. Within the park, you can visit such a renowned attractions as the De Young Museum, the Japanese Tea Garden and the mulit-million dollar California Academy of Sciences. On our way back, we visit Alamo Square, home to the famous 'Painted Ladies' Victorian houses. Before returning to Union Square, we pass San Francisco's Japan Town and St. Mary's Cathedral.
Golden Gate Bridge & Sausalito Tour:
Departing from Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge & Sausalito tour lasts approx. 90 minutes. First stop is the Palace of Fine Arts, from here we continue towards the Godlen Gate Bridge, passing Crissy Fields and stopping at South Vista Point for a 10-minute photo stop with beaufitul views od the San Francisco skyline and Alcatraz. Then the tour heads towards Marin County and stop in the charming Sausalito, where you can go for a stroll, visit art galleries or just share a nice lunch by the water. The bus heads back across the Golden Gate Bridge into Presidio National Park with the mansions of Pacific Heights.
San Francisco Night Tour:
Departing from Fisherman's Wharf, the San Francisco Night Tour is a 90-minute live narrated tour of San Francisco by night. The tour takes you through the most vibrant neighborhoods of the city, such as the Financial District, Chinatown, North Beach, Union Square, Nob Hill. Alamo Square and the Embarcadero.
Important information:
- Your booking is on request, so it can take up to 48 hours before we can confirm your booking. If confirmed you must print out your voucher/e-ticket we send to your e-mail address and bring it with you to be redeemed with City Sightseeing.
- Once your e-ticket have been redeemed for tickets, you can just jump on and off the bus at any stop as often as you like for up to 72 hours.
- Children's tickets are available between age 5-11. Children under 5 are free, when accompanied by a paying adult.
- Please note that the Alcatraz tours often are sold out in advance and reservations are necessary. The date you choose, when booking your Hop-On Hop-off 4-in-one package, is day of your Alcatraz tour.
- Please note that due to National Park regulations we can't give you a specific departure time for your Alcatraz tour until you pick up the tickets at the City Sightseeing office on the day of the tour.
- Alcatraz is closed on Thanksgiving Day (November 27, 2014), Christmas Day and New Years Day.
Reserve tickets
Hop-On Hop-Off Tour + Alcatraz
You must redeem your e-ticket/voucher at this address:
City Sightseeing
1331 Columbus Avenue (between North Point St. & Beach St.), San Francisco, CA 94133
Hop-On Hop-Off Tour + Alcatraz
The bus runs daily from 9 Am to 6 PM. Alcatraz departure time will be given on day of the tour.
Once your e-ticket/voucher has been redeemed for tickets, you are free to hop on and off the bus at any stop as often as you like for up to 72 hours.


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The Bear Went Over the Mountain Children's Song | Cullen's Abc's
For preschoolers a great song for using large motor skills when "hiking." Singing songs with your child is wonderful for many reasons. The most important reason is that singing is it is fun and children love to sing. Songs are great for increasing vocabulary and pronunciation. Using hand and body movements with songs and rhymes helps preschoolers learn to control their bodies. There is even research that has shown that children who are actively involved in music do better in reading and math when they start school, are better able to focus and control their bodies, play better with others and have higher self-esteem. So sing a song now! For free ideas to support your child's development at home, free patterns and a short overview video of Cullen's abc's go here: http://www.cullensabcs.com
Length: 01:13


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10 Most Beautiful Speakers You Won't Want to Hide
Speakers for your home audio system come in many shapes and sizes, some more decor-friendly than others. Here are 10 speaker designs that make listening a visually inviting experience. Just remember, always make sure to audition speakers before you buy - as we all know, looks can sometimes be deceiving.
(Image: as linked above)