text:
Help Desk
Work Request
A-Z Index
Academic Calendar
Event Calendar
ECU News Services
About Us
ECU Now Blog
Call for appointment:
(Video by Cliff Hollis)
ECU opens first dental community service learning center
By Doug Boyd
ECU News Services
A new way of teaching dental medicine and delivering dental care took a big step Thursday with the opening of the first East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine Community Service Learning Center in Ahoskie.
University and local officials cut the ribbon on the $3 million, 8,000-square-foot center June 28.
ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard said the center fulfills the commitment the university and dental school made to provide care in underserved areas.
"Not every university puts service first," Ballard said to a crowd of more than 100 gathered for the event on a warm, windy day. "I think for 105 years, ECU has put service first."
Make Slide Show by VisualSlideshow.com v1.6m
At the center, ECU dental faculty members, dental residents and students will provide care for area citizens. Meanwhile, students and residents will learn what practicing in a community setting is like.
The center has 16 dental chairs and will employ local staff members, including 1.5 full-time dental faculty positions, a business manager, five to six dental assistants, two to three dental hygienists and two general dentistry residents. Four to five students will be at the center for nine-week rotations.
At the center, patients may receive a variety of services, including general, preventive and emergency dental care as well as crowns, root canals and bridges.
The center will begin seeing patients in early July. It is built next to the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center, which provides primary care to low-income adults and children and should open later this year.
ECU hopes the dental center will help improve the status of dental health in the area while adding an innovative educational aspect to dental school.
"We are not only providing much-needed care, but we are also educating our future dentists in areas similar to where we hope they will practice," Chadwick said. "This marks the first time we've co-located a dental school facility and a federally qualified health care center together. We are very excited about our partnership with Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center and look forward to providing quality dental care to residents of Hertford, Bertie, Northampton, Gates and surrounding counties."
Ahoskie, a town of 5,000 near the Chowan and Meherrin rivers in northeastern North Carolina, was one of the first sites named for what will eventually be 10 such centers across the state. The other sites identified so far are Elizabeth City in northeastern North Carolina, Lillington in central North Carolina, Davidson County in the Triad, and Sylva and Spruce Pine in the western part of the state. Ahoskie is approximately 60 miles from ECU's Greenville campus.
Ahoskie and surrounding counties have fewer than 10 dentists. Overall, North Carolina ranks 47th out of the 50 states in the number of dentists per capita, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Many people without good dental care live in rural areas, where North Carolina averages three dentists for every 10,000 people. That compares to urban areas of the state, where the ratio is nearly five dentists for every 10,000 people. Three counties, all in the northeast, have no dentists: Tyrrell, Hyde and Camden.
Nationally, the ratio is six dentists for every 10,000 people.
The Ahoskie dental center is built next to the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center, at left. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
Kim Schwartz, chief executive of RCCHC, said the need for dental care is great among the area's low-income people.
"They pull their own teeth out (and) don't recognize the early dental needs for their children," she said. "It's a perpetual cycle." She also said the location of the dental and health center near Vidant Health wellness and behavioral health centers is beneficial.
She and leaders of the Roanoke-Chowan Foundation also announced a grant of $83,125 to help pay for dental care for the health center's sliding-fee-scale patients at the ECU center.
Officials also hope the center will help attract new dentists to a community where most dentists are at or near retirement age. Dr. Terry Hall said he came back to his hometown of Ahoskie more than two decades ago to practice dentistry.
"I'm back to being the youngest dentist in the county after 26 years," he said.
ECU admitted its first class of 52 dental students in 2011. Goals of the school are to improve access to dental care, to educate minority students and to produce dentists who have a desire to practice in underserved areas. The second class of 52 will start in August. All are North Carolina residents, and the school focuses on recruiting students from rural areas who want to return to those areas to practice.
ECU dental student Mark Dobransky is from Bertie County, next door to Ahoskie's Hertford County. He said the school's mission is to serve in rural towns. "It's nice to see a tangible feature in the community," he said of the center. "I know everyone in the school is excited."
The ECU and RCCHC facilities are built on land deeded to RCCHC and the university by Roanoke-Chowan Alliance.
For more information about the dental center or to inquire about dental services there, call 252-332-1904.
Members of the community enjoy a tour of the new ECU dental community service learning center in Ahoskie. (Photo by Jay Clark)
Untitled Document
East Carolina University
ECU News Services
1001 E. Fifth St.| Greenville, NC 27858 USA | 252.328.6481 |
Contact us
©2018 |
Terms of Use
Report a Barrier


text:
As people become more literate with graphs, charts, and other data visualizations, they also need ways to talk about them. You can help them through what I call "wedginess": giving a name to data shapes.
Check out this chart, for instance.
This chart depicts the numbers of jobs added or lost in the American economy, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Political journalist Steve Benen updates this chart every week when new jobs figures are released, but the chart didn't take off until Rachel Maddow labeled it the "bikini graph" on air in 2010.
"Bikini graph" is pure wedginess. You're wedgy when you use a word or phrase that describes a geometric or spatial quality of a line or a space on a graph as a stand-in for the phenomenon itself. Not just any word, either, but something with snap. A graph already is a tool for pulling lots of disparate data together, so maybe it seems odd to have a graph stick in the mind. But you still need a way to talk about the lines. So give it a name that's easy to say and easy to remember.
I call this "wedginess" because the "climate change wedge" was the first example I noticed. The wedge was introduced by Princeton University physicist Robert Socolow and ecologist Stephen Pacala in a 2004 Science article as a way to communicate about approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. Using a certain technology would reduce global CO2 emissions by a certain amount, and the distance between the line marking those projected emissions and the ever-rising line of projected emissions if nothing were done looks like a wedge-shaped chunk. Below is a graph from the National Resource Defense Council that show six of these "stabilization wedges."
Here are two more wedgy terms that you might have heard:
– Peak oil. Here the "peak" refers to the fall-off in petroleum extraction, not increases in petroleum depletion. The fall-off occurs because the price of extraction has risen too high. As a term, this is highly sticky, despite the fact that it's easily misinterpreted as oil depletion.
– Fiscal cliff. Contrary to the way "fiscal cliff" was wielded in recent US Congressional debates, the "cliff" originally described a line on a graph: a drastic drop in government revenue. "Fiscal cliff" was used this way by Henry Waxman in 1991 to describe a voter initiative in Oregon that limited property tax increases.
We live in a world of charts and graphs, but my sense is that wedginess doesn't happen enough. As a metaphor designer, I'm often trying to explain a phenomenon in itself. In some cases, it might be more effective to describe some visualization of data that a group or a field are pointing to.
Why? One reason is that it capitalizes on the picture superiority effect, where concepts are recalled more easily if they're presented in graphic form. The problem is, talking about graphs or other pictures can be unwieldy, if you're talking on the phone or without a drawing aid handy: "OK, so on your x axis you have time, and on your y axis CO2 emissions…" Wedginess aids the contagiousness of a message because it puts wheels on the picture superiority effect – it allows you to extend picture superiority into places like conversations, where there are no pictures.
Ultimately, wedginess helps you mobilize more resources on your side for making your point. Anthropologist Bruno Latour, who has studied the communication practices of scientists since the 1970s, made the same point about charts and graphs: "'You doubt what I say? I'll show you.' And, without moving more than a few inches, I unfold in front of your eyes figures, diagrams, plates, texts, silhouettes…" Wedginess is the tool by which you extend the power of these 2-D devices and move them back into the way that people talk and think.
Michael Erard is a linguist and author. He works as a senior researcher for the FrameWorks Institute, where he helps to design and test explanatory metaphors for science translation and social issue reframing. This post was adapted from a post on the FrameWorks' blog for framers. You can follow him on twitter @michaelerard.
If you're interested in writing a guest posts for this blog, please contact Gavin.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Paul Fraser — citing unique family connections — issued a statement Tuesday saying Northwest Territories conflict commissioner Gerald Gerrand will now handle a request by Independent B.C. MLA John van Dongen to investigate allegations the former Liberal is making against Clark.
Last week, van Dongen asked Fraser to conduct a conflict probe focusing on Clark, but when he found out a day later Fraser has a son who works for the Liberal government, he asked Fraser to step aside.
Fraser's son, John Paul Fraser, is an assistant-deputy minister within the B.C. government and is a personal friend of the premier's.
Fraser's statement said he considered van Dongen's request over the weekend and decided that due to his unique family connections, he should hand over the investigation request to Gerrand, who served as Saskatchewan's conflict commissioner from 2000 to 2010.
"I have concluded that given the very unique circumstances here — circumstances in which there is a familial connection to a part of the history in which a conflict appears to be alleged, combined with the acute political controversy that the BC Rail file has occasioned in this Province — it is unfair for me to ask the members of the legislative assembly or the public to bear the uncertain burden of my continued involvement in Mr. van Dongen's request," said the statement.
The two-page statement said Fraser's only further involvement in the matter will be to make sure Gerrand has the resources and people available to conduct his duties independently and file his report to the speaker of the B.C. legislature.
Last week, van Dongen filed an official request with Fraser's office to conduct an investigation to determine if Clark was in a conflict of interest nine years ago when the Liberal government sold the Crown-owned B.C. Rail.
But van Dongen said on Friday when he learned that Fraser's son works for the Liberal government he wanted the conflict commissioner to step away from the investigation on the grounds of possible bias.
Van Dongen, who said earlier he's spent $100,000 of his own money preparing the conflict request he submitted to Fraser's office, said the public is entitled to have confidence in the integrity of the conflict-of-interest complaint process.
He said knowing that Fraser has a son who works for the government could result in a "basis for a reasonable apprehension of bias." But van Dongen, who sits in the legislature as an Independent after bolting from both the Liberals and Conservatives earlier this year, said he is not alleging Fraser is guilty of bias.
In a statement, van Dongen said he welcomes Fraser's decision.
"I expressed my concerns, he has reflected on them and he has made the right decision," said van Dongen's statement. "'I agree with the Commissioner that the work of his office is 'important to… the maintenance of the ethical fibre of the legislative assembly.'"
Clark was the education minister and deputy premier in 2003 when the sale of B.C. Rail to CN Rail occurred, touching off a series of events that saw the police raid the legislature and two Liberal government aides plead guilty to corruption-related charges.
She said earlier she will co-operate fully with an investigation if one proceeds.
Van Dongen's investigation request alleges Clark contravened the Members' Conflict of Interest Act. He asks the conflict commissioner to investigate her activities related to the B.C. Rail file.
Van Dongen's Nov. 7 letter to the commissioner suggested that while Clark made known she was taking action to avoid a potential for a conflict of interest in relation to B.C. Rail on some occasions, there were instances where she did not.


text:
'T.R.H. Prince George, Prince Albert, Princess Mary, Prince of Wales & Prince Henry'
1 of 20 portraits by Ernest Brooks
© National Portrait Gallery, London
'T.R.H. Prince George, Prince Albert, Princess Mary, Prince of Wales & Prince Henry'
by Ernest Brooks, published by J. Beagles & Co
bromide postcard print, circa 1910
3 3/8 in. x 5 3/8 in. (87 mm x 138 mm) overall
Given by Terence Pepper, 2014
Photographs Collection
NPG x193185
Sittersback to top
- Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII) (1894-1972), Reigned 1936. Sitter in 420 portraits.
- King George VI (1895-1952), Reigned 1936-52. Sitter associated with 510 portraits.
- Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942), Naval and air force officer; son of King George V. Sitter in 166 portraits.
- Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974), Son of George V. Sitter in 179 portraits.
- Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood (1897-1965), Princess Royal; daughter of George V. Sitter in 294 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- J. Beagles & Co (active 1903-). Artist associated with 550 portraits.
- Ernest Brooks. Artist associated with 20 portraits.
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1910back to top
Current affairsGeorge V succeeds Edward VII to the throne.
The Liberals win narrow victories after calling two General Elections following escalating tension between the Liberal administration and the Lords reached crisis point with the Lords' unprecedented rejection of Lloyd George's 1909 budget. The budget included tax reform intended to fund social reform and a rearmament programme, but was seen by the Conservative Lords as an assault on property.
Art and scienceThe critic and Bloomsbury group member Roger Fry curates a ground-breaking and, at the time, shocking exhibition in London's Grafton Galleries, Manet and the Post-Impressionists. The exhibition introduces the work of contemporary European artists to the London art establishment, including Manet, Cezanne, Gaugin and Van Gogh, and Fry became a champion of modern art, coining the term 'Post-Impressionism'.
InternationalJapan annexes Korea as a colony, an indication of Japan's ambitious imperialist aims and attempts to control trade and influence in East Asia. Japanese occupation of Korea lasted until 1945, after Japan surrendered to the Allied forces at the end of the Second World War and Korea was divided in two by the United States and the Soviet Union.
Tell us more back to top
Can you tell us more about this portrait? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter's life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.
If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. If you wish to license this image, please use our Rights and Images service.
Please note that we cannot provide valuations.
We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.


text:
Officers Solve One Robbery, Prevent Another
December 7th, 2012 by milwaukeepolice
On December 3 at 6:23 p.m. Distrtict 2 Police Officers Ryan Foth and Matthew Diener stopped a subject loitering in an alley at 14th and Greenfield.
During the pat down search of the subject, the officers recovered a pellet pistol identical to a Glock .45. Officers Foth and Diener then checked the area and found a female who had made arrangements to meet and sell her cell phone to the subject they had stopped. The subject did not have money on him to purchase the phone and was arrested for loitering, carrying a concealed weapon and was conveyed to District 2. While at the district, Officers Foth and Diener spoke with Officer Christopher Agnew who had investigated an earlier robbery. The subject in Officer Agnew's incident matched the description of the subject Foth and Diener had in custody.
A photo array was then shown to the victim who positively identified the suspect as the person who robbed him. Through a simple well-conducted field interview, Officers Foth and Diener were able to clear one robbery and prevent another. Good Job!


text:
THE GREEK HOUSE: The Story of a Painter's Love Affair With the Island of Sifnos. By Christian Brechneff with Tim Lovejoy. FSG. 285 pages. $27.
Although his sampling is somewhat small — Athens and a few Aegean isles — artist Christian Brechneff is rather more successful at assaying the rapid changes that propelled Greece out of the Third World than he is charting his development as a painter.
Born in 1950 in the Belgian Congo and raised in the (for him) stifling society of Switzerland, Brechneff found liberation in the Mediterranean.
He first arrived in the early 1970s hoping to discover himself (and adulthood) in art. Over the course of the next 30 years, returning to Sifnos each summer, Brechneff became a fixture, though he learned local acceptance could be misleading. Being a foreigner, he had more freedom and leeway than the steadfastly traditional villagers who were his neighbors, acting the "perpetual juvenile lead" in a little Greek village play.
In "The Greek House" he dwells at length on his naivete and the feelings of isolation that beset him early on Sifnos and how he dealt with them through painting.
Too young and unformed for the Real World, he could set his own boundaries and live within them on this faraway sanctuary. Here, for the first time, he felt in harmony with his surroundings and at peace.
But transformation was coming: in the national mindset, in values and attitudes, incrementally at first, then briskly with the growth of tourism, immigration and Greece's entry into the European Union.
The artist knows better than most that tourism, especially, "is often like a cure that's worse than the disease, nearly ruining whatever it touches, more often than not destroying the very object of its interest and affection."
Long insulated by isolation, contemporary sensibilities invaded Sifnos abruptly. And Brechneff, a keen observer, discerned that "some delicate thread of tradition, of context, or connection between islanders and the past was breaking or already broken."
But for the most part, Brechneff himself lived an idyllic, even privileged life among the islanders, as well as amid his compatriots in the growing cadre of visiting artistes and well-to-do homeowners from the mainland, drawn to Sifnos' quaint pleasures.
No matter where he lived on the island, on the beaches or in small mountain villages, Sifnos always possessed a charged atmosphere for him: elemental and, especially, sexual.
Brechneff, now 63 and living in New York, chronicles his conquests, male and female, with great romanticism and minimal reflection.
Through the 1980s and '90s, he lived all but summers in London, later in New York, and gradually his island life became less vital to his happiness. Having stopped painting on Sifnos in 2000, by 2002, Brechneff realized his real life was now in America, with his lover (co-author Tim Lovejoy) and the art world.
He no longer needed a refuge to retreat to, especially one he hardly recognized. He already carried Sifnos within him: its colors, shapes and especially the light. In 2005, he put his once-beloved Greek house in the market.
Toward the end, he realized that he was not truly "Christo," a fictional character that he and the islanders had invented, a guise he had once loved, now ill-fitting and false. From being perceived as a poor young artist to that of a well-connected somebody, also proved a double-edge sword.
Apart from the occasional aside, Brechneff tells us little of his life between the ages of 30 and 50. Rather, he focuses on his self-absorption as a young artist and voracious omnisexual. Even a libertine might find Brechneff's book-length preoccupation with his sexuality a bit excessive.
That said, his candor is refreshing and hard to resist, as we follow his growth to worldly, accomplished adult.
Reviewer Bill Thompson is a writer and editor based in Charleston.


text:
NEW YORK -- Town Sports International Holdings Inc. (TSI) has launched at all of its facilities an EcoSteps initiative, a fully integrated sustainability program, the company announced.
"A healthy planet means healthy living for all of us, which is why we've made a company-wide commitment to lessening TSI's impact on the environment," COO Martin Annese says. "EcoSteps is a natural extension of our company's mission to improve health and fitness. More efficient, more environmentally sustainable clubs will give our members better opportunities to work toward both a healthier body and planet."
TSI aims to reduce energy usage by 20 percent, water usage by 5 percent and recyclable waste by 75 percent during the next three years. This long-term program, which TSI will be working on closely with community leaders and sustainability experts, will educate employees and members about how they can participate to help achieve these goals.
Annese continued, "The plan has been 24 months in the making and takes a holistic look at our entire operation to figure out how to not just "go green" but also how to become more efficient in the process."
TSI has established a Sustainability Steering Committee reporting directly to Annese.
Additionally, TSI has instituted energy management systems at more than 60 clubs throughout the 158-club network in the United States. It has completed lighting retro-fit projects at 20 clubs, with an additional 30 clubs under way. One hundred of TSI's clubs and its six regional corporate offices have recycling programs.
The company also is participating in the EPA's Climate Leaders program with five-year greenhouse gas emission reduction goals pending. In addition, TSI uses the Green Revolution, power-generating exercise equipment, and it has an 80-kilowatt photovoltaic solar platform at its Elmsford corporate office as part of a renewable energy pilot program.


text:
Former top-5 player Tommy Robredo, 85th-ranked Blaz Kavcic advance at Grand Prix Hassan II
CASABLANCA, Morocco – Former top-five player Tommy Robredo of Spain and Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia won the only first-round matches at the Grand Prix Hassan II on Monday.
Robredo, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in 2006 and is now at No. 72, beat Guillaume Rufin of France, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
The 85th-ranked Kavcic eliminated Moroccan wild card Mehdi Ziadi 6-2, 6-4 and will next face top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, the 2010 champion.
Two-time defending champion Pablo Andujar, ranked 56th, opens against a qualifier.
The red-clay tournament is entirely funded by Morocco's King Mohammed VI and is the only ATP World Tour stop in Africa.
Two Moroccans have won the title in their home country: Hicham Arazi in 1997 and Younes El Aynaoui in 2002.


text:
Welcome Back!Forgot your password?
New to Jet?
Create Account
Have an Account?
Log In
Create Account
Log In to ContinueForgot your password?
Not You?
Log In as a Different User
*JetCash is awarded for eligible referrals only, and will be pending in your account for 14 days after your Friend's purchase.
Have questions? Visit FAQ or Terms & Conditions


text:
Poggi Deciding Soon
"Michigan has been recruiting him very hard for a long time, as has Alabama," Biff Poggi, Henry's father and coach, told Steve Wiltfong of Wolverine247.com. "Those are the two schools recruiting him the hardest. He really respects both of the coaching staffs."
Poggi also listed Tennessee and Texas A&M among his final four. And, he is ready to commit.
"I think he'll make a decision soon," his father said. "Within the next 30 days."
Very interesting considering Hurst visits tomorrow.


text:
Quaker Transmissions For all your transmission needs including your boat or truck
There is no doubt about it, we depend on our vehicles. We need them to get us to and from work, school, family commitments, vacation destinations, errands and all the activities that make our lives move forward. When there are problems with those vehicles, we are subjected to undue stress, financial strain and often great inconvenience. With an increasing number of vehicle owners choosing to extend the lives of those vehicles, it is more important than ever to have a repair shop that you can rely on to provide expert, professional and reliable service. Quaker Transmissions in West Warwick is just that place. No gimmicks. No slick offers. Just 100% honest, affordable and highly skilled work for everything from transmission, clutch, and drive train repair work to tune-ups and general maintenance.
Co-owners of Quaker Transmission Rob George and John O'Hara are known for their technical expertise as well as the dedication and loyalty they have shown their customers since the business opened in 1961. If there is anything they know about, it is transmissions - whether you are repairing your late-model F-150 or your '07 Nissan Maxima, or even amping up your classic Nova - destined for the race track. From these older models to any of today's popular makes or manufacturers, Quaker Transmission is 100% committed to servicing your car with professionalism, efficiency and dependability. Quaker Transmission is known for the broad versatility in its service work, including not only cars, SUVs and vans, but also marine and truck transmissions.
Quaker Transmissions is known for its outstanding repair work on electronic, axle, 4 x 4, and transmission problems, as well as its expert replacement and repair of the clutches of foreign and domestic automobiles and light trucks. They handle all automatic and manual transmissions, and provide the ever-important preventive maintenance work to extend the life of your transmission. Quaker Transmissions offers free road tests and estimates on most cars. They also welcome extended warrantees, handle fleet maintenance accounts, and are available for towing.
As the temperatures are rising, more and more boat owners are also putting their marine craft on the water, and more and more of those boat owners are discovering that their marine transmissions need some work, from a minor repair to a full overhaul. Unlike many of its competitors, Quaker Transmissions services boats and Allison truck transmissions! Call for an appointment today and be sure your boat is seaworthy in time for summer.
Quaker Transmissions is located at 67 Tiogue Avenue, Route 3, in West Warwick. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. and on Saturdays by appointment only. Quaker Transmissions can be reached at 826-2800 (Fax 823-8310).
The crew here would like to wish its customers a safe and happy upcoming summer.


text:
Organizing, planning, remembering, noting. We carry planners and diaries with us all year long. Everyone of us has his personal organization patterns. Daily, weekly, weekly notebook, monthly notebook, diaries: here's a guide to find out what best matches your needs from the Moleskine 2010 catalogue.
Moleskine "Colour a month" Daily Planner - NEW
A daily planners with the comfort of a Volant. An individual Volant daily planner for each month of the year. Easy to collect: the 12 months are packed in a gift box.
Moleskine Project Planner - NEW
Based on "Moleskine japanese notebook" is made by 52 accordion pages: for planning, organizing and keeping track of long or short term projects and planning all your year easily.
Moleskine Panoramic Planner - NEW
With an horizontal layout, one week on two pages with space for keeping "to do"lists, contact information and notes. View the full month snapshot and the week in depth.
Moleskine Desk Calendar - NEW
The daily detachable pages count down and keep tract of "the days that count". An inner pocket is perfect for storing those days to remember.
Moleskine Daily Planner
A new page for each day to planning, rendezvous and notes. More than a Planner: a space to organize, plan and enjoy your days.
Moleskine Weekly Planner Vertical
The layout with the whole week on two pages has a in vertical organization that underlines each hour of your day.
Moleskine Weekly Planner Horizontal
The layout with the whole week on two pages has horizontal organization: it's perfect to take notes day by day and to have at the same time your weekly planning in your hand.
Moleskine Weekly Notebooks
A versatile Planner with the week in a page and a free page on the other side : it's a Planner with the freedom of a notebook.
Moleskine Monthly Notebook
A monthly layout on two pages and ruled pages for note at the months and year end for your notes and thoughts.


text:
Building affiliate sites can be difficult. What you want, is to make the maximum
amount Of Affiliate Profit, while spending the least amount of time, energy, and
money doing It.
Learn how to create landing pages and affiliate sites in minutes... using WordPress.
Using WordPress to create Affiliate Sites is tried and tested by incredibly successful
Affiliate Marketers. Most affiliate marketers get off to a poor start by thinking
that they can easily build their landing page. But without the help of expert tools
and opinions, they are guaranteed little or no success.
Affiliate Theme provides you with all of the best layouts possible, all within the
most powerful content management system in existence.
The foundation of our Affiliate Theme starts with WordPress, the platform allows you
to more easily input your offers, without having to know any code. Combine that with
the best landing pages from the top earning affiliate marketers and provide them to
you in a simple plug-and-play system with complete, personal support from Unique Blog
Designs, and you have a ready made affiliate site like the Pros.
All of Affiliate Theme's functions are easily performed within the WordPress dashboard.
This allows you to control every aspect of your site or landing page without amy hassle
and again I repeat, no code!
The Affiliate Theme Control Options Panel allows you to change nearly every aspect of your
landing page or affiliate site, with the simple click of a button.
You get
* Full control over graphics, and your layout! Easily change between Six different
layouts with one click.
* Add your offers and content easily. It's as easy as saving a Microsoft Word
* WordPress is built with Search Engine Optimization in mind, so your pages and
offers will be indexed and found within the major search engines!
* There is no need to understand HTML, CSS, or any types of code! If you can use
the internet, you can use Affiliate Theme!
* Save your time and your money by using WordPress to manage, develop, and
profit from your affiliate sites.
Their support is second to none you get
* Step-by step instructions on how to use Affiliate Theme
* A Support Forum, where you can gain knowledge from the community.
* Podcasts from the top affiliate marketers in the game! (John Chow,
Yaro Starak, and more!!)
* Video Tutorials, so you can see EXACTLY how to use Affiliate Theme!
* More than 50 pre-made header and background images for many popular offers!
I can't recommend Affiliate Theme highly enough, in fact I use it myself and your
welcome to check it out in action!
visit http://www.coriewallace.com/recommends/affiliatetheme
Or for more information go to http://www.coriewallace.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
Affiliate Landing Page Templates, Creator and Optimization Theme
Building affiliate sites can be difficult. What you want, is to make the maximum


text:
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2002-01-24 06:00 UTC The ARISS operations team wishes to announce the following very tentative schedule for ARISS school contacts. This schedule is very fluid and may change at the last minute. Remember that amateur radio use on the ISS is considered secondary. Please check the various AMSAT and ARISS webpages for the latest announcements. Changes from the last announcement are noted with (***). Also, please check MSNBC.com for possible live retransmissions (http://www.msnbc.com/m/lv/default.asp). . ISS Expedition 4 hams: Yuri Onufrienko RK3DUO Carl Walz KC5TIE Dan Bursch KD5PNU Butte High School, Montana, USA Week of 2002-01-28(***) 1st choice Friday 2002-02-01 @ 20:18 UTC via VK5ZAI (***) 2nd choice Wednesday 2002-01-30 @ 14:10 UTC via WH6PN(***) Quogue Union Free School District, New York, USA; direct via N2RBU 1st choice Friday 2002-02-08 20:49 UTC 82 degree direct 2nd choice Wednesday 2002-02-06 18:48 UTC 90 degree via VK5ZAI Vestal Senior High School, Vestal, NY, USA; direct via N2SPI 1st choice Wednesday 2002-02-13 19:13 UTC 80 degree direct 2nd choice Friday 2002-02-15 18:53 UTC 56 degree direct 3rd choice Tuesday 2002-02-12 20:11 UTC 49 degree direct Oberschule fuer Geometer "Peter Anich", Italy (***) 1st choice Wednesday 2002-02-20 13:12 UTC via VK5ZAI (***) 2nd choice TBD (***) Kursk's Technical University, Kursk, Russia; direct via RW3WWW Week TBD in February 2002 Harrogate Ladies College, Harrogate, UK; direct via GB2HC Week TBD in February 2002 Deep Creek Elementary School, Oregon USA; direct via K7RAT Week of 2002-03-04 Zeehan Primary, Zeehan, Tasmania, Australia; direct via VK7KHZ Mid March 2002 Currently the ARISS operations team has a list of over 40 schools that we hope will be able to have a contact during 2002. As the schedule becomes more solidified, we will be letting everyone know. Current plans call for an average of one scheduled school contact per week. 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors ---- Via the sarex mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe sarex" to firstname.lastname@example.com
AMSAT Home


text:
Jump to navigation
The Yale University Art Gallery stimulates active learning about art and the creative process through research, teaching, and dialogue among communities of Yale students, faculty, artists, scholars, alumni, and the wider public. The Gallery organizes exhibitions and educational programs to offer enjoyment and encourage inquiry, while building and maintaining its collections in trust for future generations. It holds a substantial collection of ancient objects, including material from Yale's excavations at Dura Europos.
Site Preservation


text:
Yummy Chocolate Cake
Total TimePrep: 20 min. Bake: 15 min. + cooling
Makes16 servings
- 1 package chocolate cake mix (regular size)
- 1 package (2.1 ounces) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1-3/4 cups water
- 3 egg whites
- 1-1/4 cups cold fat-free milk
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 package (1.4 ounces) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed
- Chocolate curls, optional
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water and egg whites. Beat on low speed for 1 minute; beat on medium for 2 minutes.
- Pour into a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
- For frosting, place milk and extract in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a third of the pudding mix; let stand for 1 minute. Whisk pudding into milk. Repeat twice with remaining pudding mix. Whisk pudding 2 minutes longer. Let stand for 15 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Frost cake. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.
Nutrition Facts1 piece: 197 calories, 5g fat (3g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 409mg sodium, 35g carbohydrate (18g sugars, 1g fiber), 3g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1/2 fat.
Follow along as we show you how to make these fantastic recipes from our archive.
My Review
Oct 25, 2016
Yikes, trans fats in both the cake and the frosting! Puddings have trans fats and so do frozen whipped toppings.
Feb 2, 2016
I am diabetic, and I love this cake, give you a chance to eat something wonderful. My family did not even know it was, so that was better. Nest time, I will add toasted pecans to the top.
Jan 14, 2016
The best chocolate cake ever! So easy too! Love the calorie count.
Jul 10, 2015
Cake mix sizes have changed from 18.25 to 14 oz in the last few years. What was this originally made with and does it mKe a difference? It does with my pineapple upside down cake, I have buy 2 mixes and weigh them out.
Aug 16, 2014
The best cake ever! My frosting turned out great.....I refrigerated it for a short time before I frosted, so it would set a little. Perfect, and it lasted at least 4 days in the fridge. Perfect for groups of people.....they devour it. Use the 15x10x1 pan too......I think that makes a difference. This goes in my favorites!!
Jan 29, 2014
The cake is good and bakes up well (and I made cupcakes instead of a pan cake). However, the frosting ended up a soupy mess, even though I followed the instructions exactly and used low-fat frozen whipped topping, not fat-free. I cannot figure out how anyone could get frosting from these directions/ingredients. Because I made these for my husband's birthday, I had to use store-bought frosting (the sugary, unhealthy kind) which sort of defeats the whole purpose of this recipe. I will be looking for another frosting recipe to use with this cake.
Sep 8, 2013
I made this for company and everyone loved it. The cake comes out very moist and the frosting perfect. I love light desserts that taste good and this one is just that! Not too heavy, not too rich, just right!
Jun 15, 2013
This was a WONDERFUL CAKE! All who ate it loved it. Thanks La Donna for the great recipe.
Feb 11, 2013
I made this cake but not the frosting, I didnt eat thea ctual cake yet but it came out fantastic, the batter was delicious and its super easy to make. Plus no oil or egg yolks.
Jul 15, 2012
I used full fat pudding mix and 2% milk, but OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I'VE EVER HAD!! Everyone in my family had a piece (and my kids are very picky) and they all LOVED it!! I am adding this to my list of permanent recipes. Thank you Taste of Home!!


text:
About every 15 minutes, trains block a busy corridor in the near west suburbs — a problem so frustrating that state officials created a special board to oversee construction of a tunnel or bridge.
That was nearly 12 years ago. The agency has yet to move any dirt but spent more than $1.3 million on consultants, cars and rent while turning to taxpayers for more money to finish studying the project, the Tribune has found.
The obscure West Cook Railroad Relocation and Development Authority has covered salaries for an executive director, two project managers, a project liaison, a financial adviser, attorneys and accountants.
One consultant was given a $400-a-month car, and tens of thousands of dollars were spent on rent.
Two board members designated as secretary and treasurer were paid $6,000 a year, despite a three-year stretch during which they met for less than four hours total.
All of it was basically to push for one major construction project on the border of Bellwood and Melrose Park. So far, the authority has overseen preliminary studies on what to build — a tunnel — and how to build it. But even the preliminary work is not done.
The mayors of Bellwood and Melrose Park declined to answer questions about much of the authority's spending even though they have a hand in appointing the board and their towns have provided the money for administrative salaries and overhead.
Others who have been closely involved with the project declined to comment, couldn't be reached or have died.
New authority
The intersection of 25th Avenue and the Union Pacific line has been a traffic and development headache for decades. More than 90 trains chug across the busy road daily, often at a crawl as they pull in and out of the vast Proviso rail yards.
One recent morning, a 20-minute blockage was quickly followed by a stalled freight train that put a chokehold on traffic for at least another 45 minutes, even blocking two police cars with emergency lights flashing.
"This is the worst railroad (crossing) ever," utility worker Jim Burkart declared as he waited for the train to move. "This is almost … a daily thing."
Lawmakers created a small government in 1999 to do something about it.
The authority first consisted of Bellwood and Melrose Park officials appointed by the governor on recommendations from the mayors. Later, Maywood officials were added, along with a mandate to fix problem crossings in that town, but the authority has yet to study them.
The concept stemmed from an ultimately successful board that built an underpass at Grand Avenue in Franklin Park. State Rep. Angelo "Skip" Saviano, R-Elmwood Park, pushed to create both boards and said the Grand Avenue board hired only lawyers, engineers and construction firms, not multiple consultants and advisers.
"We didn't have any overhead," Saviano said of the Grand Avenue authority.
Overhead spending started immediately for the West Cook authority.
Since 2000, the authority has reported spending about $1.3 million in contributions from Melrose Park and Bellwood on administrative expenses, while using about $1.3 million in state grants for feasibility and engineering studies.
Spending started early with layers of administrators but has tapered off in recent years as officials pleaded with the state for more money to wrap up an initial engineering plan.
One of the board's first actions was to hire Gary Marinaro as executive director at $24,000 a year. Briefly a lawmaker in the early 1990s, he had recently lost his long-held post as the local township Democratic committeeman.
Constantine Stamatakos, former Melrose Park public works director, was hired as a project liaison to local businesses. His pay: $27,000 a year plus payments of $396.78 a month on a Ford Taurus. He died in late 2005 and was not replaced.
By law, the seven members of the board couldn't pay themselves, but they could appoint a secretary and treasurer from their ranks and pay them. And they did, tying $500 a month each to the posts, costing roughly $120,000 over 10 years. Records show the board met sometimes just twice a year for as little as 15 minutes.
Two project managers were also hired. One was a Chicago-based planning firm that eventually resigned in 2005. The other was a small firm run by suburban rainmaker Anthony Bruno — a consultant and heavy campaign contributor over the years to mayors in Melrose Park and Bellwood.
Bruno's firm was paid nearly $80,000 in 2009 even though he pleaded guilty in February of that year to tax fraud. The authority paid its project managers $540,000 over the last decade, financial reports show.
On top of it all, the authority paid about $35,000 to attorneys and $51,500 for a financial adviser — former Bellwood administrator Roy McCampbell. The Tribune revealed last year that McCampbell was pulling in nearly half a million dollars for various duties tied to his suburban post before retiring in 2010.
No records
Despite the various levels of management, records for the authority are lacking.
The authority didn't provide detailed spending receipts from before 2005. And yearly financial statements weren't created until last year, when a new project manager realized state law required them.
The authority also says it can't produce a lease for office space from 2000 to 2002 that financial statements show cost $108,000, or $30,000 to $40,000 a year. The authority first operated from an office building in Melrose Park but moved to space in the town's Village Hall, for which it paid $8,970 a-year.
Answers about why the overhead and extras were needed also are lacking.
Bellwood Mayor Frank Pasquale and Melrose Park Mayor Ronald Serpico declined to take questions and instead issued statements. Pasquale has been mayor since 2001 and Serpico since 1997.
The board chairman for the authority's early years, Ralph Salvino pointed questions to the project managers. He said the board spent what project managers said was needed to get the job done.
"The board members, basically, really didn't have anything to do with it," Salvino said.
The project managers and the executive director, Marinaro, couldn't be reached. The former financial adviser declined to comment.
Marinaro has been "inactive" with the authority for more than a year because of medical issues, according to the board secretary — who declined to answer questions herself.
The new project manager is Peter Tsiolis, Bellwood's chief of staff. He said he couldn't address any questions about spending before he came on board in 2010.
Pasquale was appointed to the board in early 2005 but didn't address the authority's spending in a statement that said, in part, he "inherited the authority as it was structured and staffed" but has since "streamlined the operation."
From 2005 to 2009, though, the authority paid for an executive director, a project manager and a financial adviser while also paying the treasurer and secretary.
Serpico issued a statement that characterized himself as an outsider to the authority's operations.
"The board members … must work in the best interest of taxpayers and accomplish the objectives given to them without delay," he said.
The project has hit delays.
A 2003 feasibility study settled on a tunnel to alleviate congestion, saying it would cost slightly less than $30 million. The price tag has since risen to nearly $50 million, if the tunnel can even be built.
More money
Red flags were raised early about the way local officials wanted to dig the tunnel, employing a mining technique not often used in Illinois or with the site's relatively loose soil.
A 2006 soil study found the site had "urban fill" up to 13 feet below the surface consisting of "gravel, cinders and building debris," ground not considered optimal for tunneling under railroad tracks carrying trains.
State transportation officials wanted more information, saying the initial tests didn't alleviate fears the tracks could come crashing down. It wasn't until 2009 that another round of soil testing was finally completed, but state officials say they still lacked the required analysis.
The board said it needed more money for that and embarked on a campaign to obtain an extra $250,000 from the state. Don Harmon, a top Senate Democrat from Oak Park, was one of the lawmakers to pen a letter asking for more money last year.
"This project is too important to ignore," Harmon wrote to the state's transportation chief.
Harmon said he was unfamiliar with the authority's spending details and declined to comment on the Tribune's findings.
The $250,000 came through this year, and the authority's new project manager said engineering is on track to be done around year's end, without the overhead.
"We still think it can be done without the layers," Tsiolis said.
Tsiolis said his firm will not be paid by the authority. The firm has a $900,000-a-year contract to run Bellwood.
Marinaro remains executive director, but Tsiolis said there are no plans to pay him. And the board secretary and treasurer haven't been paid since 2009 — though they are still on the books to each make $6,000 a year.
Once engineering is completed, Tsiolis said, the authority plans to try to tap another $12 million from the state while seeking federal funding to cover the rest of the $50 million.
Pasquale even met with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood last year to advocate for the project, Tsiolis said.
Construction won't come fast enough for commuters such as Wendell Johnson.
The 41-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Chicago said he gets trapped at the intersection almost daily. He longed for a tunnel while recently stuck in his car as a train chugged by for 10 minutes.
Told of the spending on administrators and cars by the authority charged with digging that tunnel, Johnson shook his head and smirked: "Typical Illinois politics."
Tribune photographer Chuck Berman contributed.


text:
Prince announces UK arena tour
Prince is to embark on a tour of UK arenas in May, following his intimate shows in February.
The Purple Rain star will hit the road with his 3RDEYEGIRL backing band for the Hit And Run Part II shows in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds.
They will be the star's first regional arena dates since 1995.
He previously played a sold-out residency at London's O2 Arena in 2007.
Prince will perform at Birmingham's LG Arena on May 15, before heading to Manchester's Phones 4u Arena on May 16, The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on May 22, and Leeds' First Direct Arena on May 23.
This will be the first time the 55-year-old has ever performed in Leeds.
His Manchester show follows two nights at the Academy in February.
Prince previously kicked off a number of spontaneous live shows in Lianne La Havas' living room, before surprising fans by taking to the stage at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London's Shepherd's Bush O2 Empire and at Manchester's Academy.
Tickets for the concerts go on sale on May 2 at midday from www.gigsandtours.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk.


text:
Winfield Sits Out Practice Again For Vikings
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield did not practice Thursday and plans to wear a bigger cast on his broken right hand in the playoff game against Green Bay this weekend.
Winfield wore a pad on his hand in the game on Sunday, but could not finish because it swelled up and was causing him too much pain. He sat out all three practices this week, but did some individual work on Thursday to test how the hand responded with a bigger soft cast.
Winfield says it was an improvement and he plans to play against the Packers.
So does quarterback Christian Ponder, who has been limited all week with a sore throwing elbow. Coach Leslie Frazier says Ponder will be fine for the game.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Professional Community for Car Dealers, Marketing, Advertising and Sales Leaders
I was recently asked to conduct a full online assessment of a dealership group. One of the things I found was that out of the 335 used cars on their website, 99 cars (30%) had stock eVox photos.
I wanted to get some feedback from the ADM community on this statistic. Is this normal? If not, what should be the rolling number?
I also wanted to see if anyone had a report or statistic on the impact of live photos on used cars vs stock photos on VDP views and engagement.
I found a statistic provided by Autotrader on the impact on adding new car photos to VDP's but not the specific question on used car stock vs used car real.
Any help would be appreciated.
Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Consulting
Views: 224
A number of things could be at play here... It certainly could be that their internal process OR outside company isn't efficient enough to photograph their vehicles timely. However, since that is easily fixable by finding a good company who will work with a dealer to service as frequently as needed or refining internal processes... I'll have to assume this is a matter of vehicles listed for sale on the website before they are actually on-site or in a state to be photographed. I have had experience with one of the nation's largest dealer groups where 20-30% of their vehicles were either in a state of transit (auction, internal trade), body shop, service or bullpen where they weren't yet in a state were they would be ... let's just say "photogenic"
Thanks Glen
In my experience in the dealer side and with Autotrader.com, the average dealer is much closer to 10% or less of their inventory missing used vehicle photos. A lot of dealers with Autotrader are at only 1-2% missing, these are dealers whose process requires all recon complete before photos are taken, or who detail and photo before the rest of recon takes place. The dealers who have near 30% missing generally fall into one of two categories. 1. They are poor merchandisers. 2. They have a policy of getting every vehicle listed online as fast as possible and they get actual photos up when they can. I agree with Glen that many of the vehicles may be in the recon process still, but the dealer at least wants the basic info out there to get some interest versus none.
If a dealer chooses to merchandise vehicle prior to them being retail ready, which I think I would do for the reason Matt states (creating some interest to improve turn rate rather than none), I would definitely add a stamp or vehicle description that said "Just traded" or "Too new for photo - check back soon" or even "Photo coming soon"...
We used to use Dealer Specialties and they did a wonderful job for us. About 2 years ago we brought it in house. We have a college right up the road and we hired a student part time to take and post pictures to our inventory management tool. Our used cars are pretty much posted the day they come out of service. If I had to put a number on it I would say it is Ivory soap, 99.9% of our used cars have at least 25 pictures or more. The #'s you are talking about Brian are more like our new cars. We probably have "live" photos. It is said that from a consumers point of view this is one of the most important things they look for so we need to give it to them. As Glen states...if a vehicle is "unavailable" or generally not "ready for it's close up Mr. Demille" then, yes put it up with a stock photo but I would add a "tile" such as Hold this car with a small deposit before it even arrives. Now if you want to do this even cheaper then consider an intern. If you are not sure how to go about getting an intern then click here.
Not really normal... But it depends how their DMS feeds to their data provider and whether or not the dealer chooses to send the data to 3rd party sites with or without a photo. Most data providers could hold the data they send if you set a rule in place (no photo or price set). Some dealers choose (or just don't know) to send their data as soon as it enters the DMS. These cars could be entered as soon as they are purchased at auction, in transit or traded in but not yet "ready" to be photographed. If this dealer group chooses to do it this way, they will have a higher "no photo" percentage but the advantage is that their cars will go out to the 3rd party sites faster and most of the time with an acceptable stock photo.
In my experience auditing 600+ sites per month over a 3-yr period, this is the Auto Industry and the norm. Review 100-random Dealer websites and you'll be lucky to find 10 that are @100% of all (NEW/USED) inventory. The most successful Dealer's (based on unit sales) have a process that strives to get cars online the day it hits the lot. Tools available today will allow photos to be shot at Auction and instantly uploaded to websites. Many Dealer's struggle with the reality that more people will visit your "digital lot" in a day, than will visit your "physical lot" in a week. The process described is equivalent to wasting almost 1/3 of all online "UPs" Website visitors don't click-through on Stock Photos, Coming Soon, In Detail, Just Arrived. All this means to a website visitor is you wasted my time, failed to provide the content I need, and I am going to shop. Your competitors website and 3rd party classified sites that include content to enhance click-throughs the fastest wins (exact year, make, model, trim) by virtue of "speed to market". The best process includes 24+ photos, great descriptions, and good call-to-action. In-House vs 3rd party data-collection is far more effective given that even the least visited auto dealer sites will get 70 to 100 online UPs/day. Why would anyone tasked with selling cars (quickly) have a process that is by design inefficient and wasting precious online opportunities?
Just to add a UK perspective. I reviewed from a customer perspetive the vehicles on a manufacturers web site for 26 manufacturers to establish what our KPI should be. The % without a photo was strongly correlated with manufacturers that had a strong certified pre owned programme where the vehicles were sourced through the manufacturer.
Dealers cited the cause of that manufacturers uploaded purchases CPO vehicles to the manufacturer main used vehicle locator which was visible on the manufacturer web site. The vehicle may take up to 2 weeks to arrive at the dealer site and hence had no photography, then add a few days for recon and it could easily be 3 weeks before the car is photographed (or re-priced). In these cases whether mainstream or premium the average % without a photo on a 250 car sample was between 32% and 37%. Some of these manufacturers tried to get round of this using library photos of a same colour same spec vehicle - but this become obvious to the trained eye as you notice the same location background for different dealers, and that these cars only have 1 photo - for one brand this was 37% of the stock on line.
In short the more vehicles sourced from the manufacturer in virtual auctions the greater the % with no photo seems to be the case. Interestingly although many manufacturer systems allow up to 9 photos of a car to be uploaded to the manufacturer used vehicle locator, 80% of vehicles in a 250 sample of had 6 or less photos - even though more photos creates stronger leads. Dealers cite time and effort the main causes.
© 2018 Created by Ralph Paglia. Powered by


text:
Daily Grind: 7 Rappers Who Need Their Own Music Days
The Artist: 2Pac
The Day: 2 Times 2Pac Tuesdays
Even after eight posthumous releases (and a gang of unofficial mixtapes!), 2Pac's got still new songs locked away in a vault somewhere. Why not release them to the world? If two new ones come out every Tuesday, we should be able to hear them all by—*crunches numbers* *carries the 2* *finds another hard drive full of new stuff*—2018 or so. Hmmm, how about Makaveli Mondays, too?


text:
FDA Warning for Zithromax (Z-Pak)
Elizabeth Davis -
The FDA recently posted a safety announcement that Zithromax (azithromycin)—the super-popular Z-Pak antibiotic—can cause potentially fatal irregular heart rhythms, or arrhythmias.
What does that mean for you?
If you have an existing heart condition, be aware and talk to your doctor about your options if you need an antibiotic. Other macrolide antibiotics (clarithromycin, erythromycin) and quinolone antibiotics (Cipro, Levaquin) have the same potential side effect, but there are other options out there and your doctor will best be able to weigh your risk against your need for a particular medication. See More


text:
In the last few years, many meeting planners have seen an increase in demand from their corporate clients for wine-tasting experiences guided by certified sommeliers. The following five factors may explain this trend and its likely continuation into the future.
1. Wine tastings are entertaining, educational and highly interactive.
Corporate leaders looking for engaging events for their teams find that a well-designed wine tasting can meet all of their objectives. The most popular wine-tasting experiences are wine flights paired with multi-course dinners; receptions with tasting stations; team-building exercises, such as a competitive blind tasting in which teams work to identify 10 key grapes or regions with the guidance of a sommelier; and seminars on the essentials of wine and wine etiquette for client-facing individuals.
2. Client-facing individuals benefit from a special study of wines.
Client-facing individuals often admit they feel intimidated selecting among dozens of bottles on a restaurant's wine list in front of an important client. Expert tips that cut through contradictory rules of thumb and inspire confidence during an important dinner meeting are highly desirable take-away values for those who entertain clients.
3. Wine is at the intersection of art, culture, geography, travel and history.
A quality wine-tasting experience is about more than describing the aromatic variations of different kinds of fermented grape juice. The story of wine encompasses so many of the world's most intriguing subjects that it acts as a medium of communication between people with otherwise highly divergent interests. This (and perhaps a bit of alcohol) can be the secret to relationship-building and an overall more enjoyable corporate retreat.
4. Americans' wine horizons are broadening, and so are their expectations.
But why certified sommeliers? With the development of American wine culture over the last few decades, it has become increasingly more common for American consumers to venture beyond the familiar wines of California to the Old World appellations of France, Italy and Germany. With the broadening of the American palate has come the need for more specialized expertise. High-end restaurants and resorts now routinely work with sommeliers to design their menus, tend their cellars, and assist guests with pairing choices. Previously only well-known in Europe, professional sommeliers are now a staple of the American luxury experience.
5. Independent experts offer a refreshing, unbiased tour of diverse wines.
But why sommeliers and not winemakers? Many of us have attended a tasting put on by a winemaker or distributor with a clear business interest in convincing us that his or hers are the most interesting wines in the world. These tastings can be enjoyable, but they are not a good way to learn about and appreciate a diverse set of wines. Only independent experts tend to guide clients through an objective world tour with no underlying pressure to buy or to speak admiringly of what's in the glass.
Joey Kleinhans is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine. He is the owner and chief sommelier of The Wine Elite, which provides sommelier-guided wine tasting experiences in southern California and Las Vegas, with a network of affiliated sommeliers covering events nationwide.


text:
NWSB Insider and Northwest basketball blogger Steve Lee brings us his thoughts on his beloved LA Lakers getting his favorite NBA player Steve Nash, also a BC – Canada boy. One season removed from being outted early in their playoff run, the Lakers in one swift move have put themselves back in the thick of the championship hunt. Steve says the Lakers and Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant is the greatest combination since peanut butter and jelly.
Victoria BC's Steve Nash goes Hollywood-signs with Lakers
July 5, 2012 By


text:
South Dakota State's Layne Somsen is the Summit League Pitcher of the Year
South Dakota State is the number one seed heading into the Summit League Tournament, thanks in large part, to the top arm in the conference.
Senior Layne Somsen is the Summit League Pitcher of the Year after going 4-4 with a 1.91 ERA this season. He notched quality starts in his first 10 of 11 starts this season, recording 73 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. Opponents hit just .202 off the Yankton native in 2013.
The Jackrabbits put two other players on the Summit League first team: senior pitcher Stephen Bougher and designated hitter Daniel Telford.
Bougher was 7-2 overall 3.28 ERA, while Telford his .427 with five home runs and 31 runs batted in.
South Dakota State (31-21) takes on Western Illinois in the first round of the Summit League Tournament, Thursday in Rochester, Michigan.
The winner of the four-team, double-elimination tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.


text:
This weekend we spoke to Amanda Seyfried about the future of her role on "Big Love." While rumors have been flying that the actress is leaving the show to pursue her shiny new film career, the truth sounds much more pragmatic. Seyfried simply wants to be free of the holding pattern the show requires her to remain in, even when she isn't shooting.
"I love being on [the "Big Love"] set," she insisted. "I just don't love being at the beck and call of a job that I don't work nearly enough on. And they know that. It's an ensemble cast, it's not their faults." It's true that Sarah is sadly underutilized (so is Ben and they're two of the best parts of the show), but next week's epsiode looks like a stand-out one for her and we can't wait!
(Spoiler alert.) Seyfried revealed that her character, Sarah, the daughter of Bill (Bill Paxton) and Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) who has struggled mightily with her family's lifestyle, will leave in the the second to the last episode of this season. "I can't tell you where I go," Seyfried grinned, mischievously, "I just leave."
But will she be back?
"Probably," Seyfried nodded earnestly. "If they need me and I'm available, I'll go back. It's as easy as that. No commitment."
We pointed out that it's like she's in an opening dating relationship; she can see other people, but she'll always love her polygamist family. The actress hooted. "It's the best type of relationship. We love each other, we'll support each other, but if I don't want to come back, I'm not gonna. Cool? Cool!"


text:
|November 2, 2012
Contact: Whitney Ray
Phone: (850) 245-0150
|en Español
|Print Version
Jenn Meale
Phone: 850.245.0150
Katie Betta, Spokesperson for Senate President-designate Gaetz
Phone: 850.339.7087
Ryan Duffy, Communications Director for House Speaker-designate Weatherford
Phone: 850.487.8148
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi, President-designate Don Gaetz and Speaker-designate Will Weatherford today jointly announced their support for a plan for allocating the remaining $300 million that the Attorney General recovered for Floridians in the national mortgage settlement. The plan ensures that the entirety of these funds will be spent consistent with the terms of the settlement agreement, but also that the funds will be allocated through the legislative process. These settlement funds are in addition to the approximately $7.5 billion in expected relief that the national mortgage settlement provides directly to Florida homeowners.
At the next meeting of the Legislative Budget Commission, with the support of Gaetz and Weatherford, Bondi will seek approval for budget amendments to disburse $60 million of the settlement funds. Bondi anticipates proposing that the $60 million be used to fund down payment assistance for Floridians, foreclosure-related legal assistance and counseling, state court initiatives to ease the foreclosure backlog and Attorney General's office enforcement efforts.
The balance of the funds will be allocated through the appropriations process in the upcoming legislative session. Gaetz and Weatherford have agreed to support the appropriation of approximately $200 million for housing-related purposes, consistent with the terms of the settlement agreement. Although the specific appropriations must be determined through the legislative process, possible uses of these funds include foreclosure prevention, neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, homebuyer or renter assistance, legal assistance, counseling and other housing-related programs. Finally, consistent with the discretion afforded her under the settlement agreement, Bondi will designate approximately $40 million of the settlement funds as additional civil penalties.
"This plan gets much-needed assistance to the homeowners and communities suffering the effects of the foreclosure crisis, and ensures that the settlement funds are spent with the transparency, accountability and flexibility that comes from the legislative process," said Bondi. "I thank President-designate Gaetz and Speaker-designate Weatherford for working together with me to implement the mortgage settlement in a way that's in the best interests of our state."
"I am grateful to Attorney General Bondi and Speaker-designate Weatherford for working with us on a proposal which ensures that these funds are appropriated by the legislature in a transparent and accountable manner," said Senate President-designate Don Gaetz (R-Niceville). "Together with the approximately $7.5 billion in relief that will go directly to homeowners, this funding will play an important role in the multitude of state and federal efforts to provide relief for homeowners facing foreclosure."
"I appreciate the hard work of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Senate President-designate Don Gaetz both in securing the settlement for distressed homeowners and for representing the interests of the state," said Speaker-designate Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel). The framework that has been outlined today will enable the Legislature to fulfill its important duty as appropriators while also directing these funds to those who have been negatively impacted. I look forward to working together in the upcoming legislative session."
Attorney General Bondi formally entered a landmark $25 billion joint federal-state agreement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers over foreclosure abuses and unacceptable nationwide mortgage servicing practices. In addition to the funds described above, the agreement provides direct relief to homeowners and mandates extensive reforms of the banks' mortgage servicing practices. For more information regarding the settlement, please click here: http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/C13C72583D0EF5BB8525799F00595D99


text:
Rangers fall to White Sox on Phegley's walk-off
CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Josh Phegley singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.
Texas had its four-game winning streak snapped and wasted another strong outing by Yu Darvish, who gave up two runs in seven innings while striking out 11.
Avisail Garcia singled with one out and went to third on Dayan Viciedo's hit one out later. Phegley then hit a line shot to left off Tanner Scheppers (5-2) to end the game.
Nate Jones (4-4) pitched an inning for the victory.
Chicago trailed 2-0 before Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to tie it. Alex Rios had hit a two-run shot in the top half of the inning for the lead.
NOTES: As part of the Civil Rights Game proceedings, Aretha Franklin and Bo Jackson were honored during the pregame ceremonies. Franklin couldn't attend and former Tigers great Willie Horton accepted in her honor. … Before the game, White Sox manager Robin Ventura was asked how good Jackson might have been without the hip injury. "It's hard to describe him to people now of how strong, fast and smart of a baseball player he was," Ventura said. "He was good regardless. We'll never know, but I haven't seen anyone that's had his abilities since." Rangers RHP Nick Tepesch threw live batting practice on Saturday and reported no issues. … RHP Matt Garza (9-2), a former Cub, makes his return to Chicago Sunday when he faces John Danks (3-10) in series finale.


text:
Bargain Booze TV CampaignMay 22 2013 / Posted in news
Congratulations Matt Hulse & Chantelle Preistley, your new Bargain Booze commercial will run over the Bank Holiday, keep your eyes peeled!
Read On
October, 2018Happy Halloween!
September, 2018Timewasters 2
August, 2018Happy Pride!!
July, 2018Warner Leisure
June, 2018Hollyoaks
May, 2018Ladbrokes TV Commercial
April, 2018Centre:MK TV Commercial
March, 2018Dreams TV Commercial
February, 2018Random Acts for Channel 4
January, 2018Snow Patrol Music Video
December, 2017Victoria Christmas Special
November, 2017Doreen's New Christmas TV Commercial!
October, 2017Joe Griffith Gets Married!!
September, 2017Coronation Street At Industry HQ!
August, 2017Diana & I
July, 2017Veet TV Commercial
June, 2017Cold Feet
May, 2017Harte Hanks
April, 2017Little Boy Blue
March, 2017Britain's Got Talent Idents
February, 2017Cape Town Shoot!
January, 2017Betfred TV Commercial
December, 2016Festive Visit
November, 2016Festive Gathering!
October, 2016Bootea TV Commercial
September, 2016V-ZUG TV Commercial
August, 2016Stoneacre TV Commercial
June, 2016Vacancy Available
May, 2016Hillsborough Drama
April, 2016Transpennie Express TVC
March, 2016The A Word
February, 2016Exciting Announcment - Emmerdale!!
January, 2016Land Rover
December, 2015Key 103 Mission Christmas!
November, 2015Samsung TV Commercial
October, 2015Vacancy Available!
September, 2015Congratulations Lois!
August, 2015CBeebies Mr Tumble!
July, 2015Excellent Feedback!
June, 2015William Hill TV Commercial
May, 2015Dreams TV Commercial
April, 2015Glowing Sasha!
March, 2015Mercedes Benz Idents
February, 2015Visitor at Industry HQ!
January, 2015Cucumber New Channel 4 Drama
December, 2014The Mob Films Christmas Party!!
November, 2014Give Out Girls
October, 2014Tombola TV Commercial
September, 2014Mount Pleasant Series 4
July, 2014McDonalds TV Commercial
June, 2014Casting Networks Event!
May, 2014MALEFICENT
April, 2014Campaign Casting
February, 2014Orlando
December, 2013Christmas Spirit!
November, 2013Fun & Giggles!
October, 2013All At Sea
September, 2013Peaky Blinders!
August, 2013Yorkshire Bank TVC
July, 2013Stan James TV Commercial
May, 2013Bargain Booze TV Campaign
April, 2013REGULAR CORRIE FACTORY GIRL
March, 2013THE VILLAGE - COMING SOON!
February, 2013Frightened Rabbits Music Video
Check out our gorgeous Jazmine Darson in the new Christmas Meadowhall TV Commercial! Great work Jazmine! https://t.co/ji7a3sDCB6
Posted on 14 / 11 / 2018
Check out Rebecca Van Cleave's latest Freemans TV Commercial! Great work Rebecca! We love it!! @rebeccajoean https://t.co/9Xp3br3mut
Posted on 12 / 11 / 2018
We absolutely love the Behind The Scenes of Rebecca Van Cleave's latest Freemans TV Commercial!!! Rebecca had so mu… https://t.co/znP363DZQL
Posted on 12 / 11 / 2018


text:
|EWTN Catholic Q&A
|Holy Eucharist
Question from tjay on 10-29-2012:
Our local Priest has always stated fine to receive Eucharist twice a day. Are you saying not allowed. I looked up internet and read this.
Quote" Also when we say The Code of Canon Law (No. 917) stipulates, "A person who has received the Most Holy Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only during the celebration of the Eucharist in which the person participates, with due regard for the prescription of Canon 921, 2." Following this lead, Canon 921, 2 stipulates, "Even if they have received Communion in the same day, those who are in danger of death are strongly urged to receive again." Succinctly, a person may receive Holy Communion twice a daily." So does that mean I can receive twice a day without being near death. God Bless you thanks Tjay
So does that mean I can receive twice a day without being near death.
God Bless you thanks Tjay
|Answer by Richard Geraghty on 11-07-2012:
Dear TJay, Yes, you are allowed. Dr. Geraghty
Yes, you are allowed.
Dr. Geraghty


text:
Miley Cyrus is a Harajuku Girl
Miley Cyrus gives paparazzi a big thumbs up as she makes her daily run to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with her mom Tish in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The 15-year-old Hannah Montana star flashed her trademark peace sign while sporting a new set of bangs. Miley even showed off her new "peace" earrings and necklace!
The mother-daughter duo even bought cookies for all the waiting photographers before heading to the recording studio. How sweet of them!
10+ pictures inside of Harajuku Girl Miley Cyrus…


text:
DEAR TIM: I've always wanted a powered nail gun to do rough carpentry. They're expensive, but I feel I'll get value out of it for all the projects I've got in my future. There are air and gas-powered tools available. It can be pretty confusing. What are the pros and cons of the different tools? And do you have any tips to share? --Brian S., Buffalo, N.Y.
DEAR BRIAN: Oh, if I had a penny for every nail I've shot with my different framing nail guns, I just might give Sir Richard Branson an offer to buy his Necker Island paradise! I can tell you these tools are enormous time savers, and they're wicked machines that can be deadly. They must be treated just the same as you would treat a loaded handgun or a rifle.
Let's talk about what these tools can do first. Most of them shoot an assortment of nails that allow you to do just about every rough carpentry task I can think of. You can bang together stud walls, laminate structural headers, attach plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing to walls, roofs and so forth.
The tools can be adjusted so that you drive the nail the proper depth. Be certain that you always follow the building code requirements for both the type of nail, the shape of the head and the depth to which it must be driven. Be sure the nail gun you decide to purchase will work with code-compliant nails.
Thirty years ago, I was using the most popular and rugged nail gun that was made at the time. My Senco SN4 gun was an air-powered beast and drove thousands of nails per workday without jamming. It worked tirelessly from sunup to sundown. You just had to feed it a couple of drops of oil each morning, and it was happy as a clam.
My Senco gun got it's air from a gasoline-powered air compressor. This machine was an extra expense, it needed fuel and it required regular maintenance so that it would start. It was also noisy. Many carpenters use much quieter electric compressors. The advantage of my compressor is that it could be used where there was no electric.
Some years later, I switched to an impluse gas nail gun made by Paslode. Oh, my, did that gun become my favorite. To be free of the heavy compressor, the hoses, the noise -- that was really liberating. I could have 50 nails shot or more with that gun long before you would have my old Senco up and running. The impluse gun just needed its battery charged each night. It always had enough power to operate all day long.
You can get electric-powered nail guns, but the only ones I've seen in use are finish nailers. Something tells me it will take a significant advancement in technology to have a cordless battery-powered framing nail gun.
Before you make your final purchasing decision, be sure to calculate all the costs. If you decide to go with an air tool, you'll need a a compressor, hoses, fittings, etc. Think what will happen if you need to use the tool somewhere else and how you will get all that gear to the job site.
With my impluse nailer, the entire tool and everything you need fits into a small case you easily carry with one hand. I can take it anywhere I want. I can even use it at a remote site all day where there is no power. I just need to charge the battery pack at night back home or at a cabin.
Safety is something you must think about all the time with nail guns. They call them guns for a reason. People have been killed and seriously injured with them. On one of my jobs years ago, one of my helpers nailed his big toe to the sub-flooring because he was going too fast. I almost had a 16d framing nail shoot into my chest one day because I was doing something foolish.
On another job, an air-powered air nailer shot two nails in quick succession because of a hair trigger. The gun bounced off the stud, hit me in the head, broke my glasses, and knocked me off the ladder. When I came to, blood was streaming down my face. Three hours and four stitches later I was back on the job site. Do I have your attention yet? Treat these tools with the utmost respect.
Don't use these tools when you're fatigued. A mistake can be deadly. Always read the instruction manual, especially all the safety warnings. Don't ever leave these tools around children of any age. They're highly curious about tools, and these nailers will fascinate them.
If you keep your new nailer clean and follow all maintenance instructions, it should give you years of great service. I can tell you, when I have to hand nail just a few nails, I always wonder why I just didn't open up the case of my nail gun and use it. But doing it the old-fashioned way makes you really appreciate the luxury of these great tools.
You can watch numerous nail gun videos that show the different guns and how they work at www.AsktheBulider.com. Just type "nail gun video" into the AsktheBuilder.com search engine.
(Want free home-improvement information? Go to www.AsktheBuilder.com and sign up for Tim's free newsletter. Have a question for Tim? Just click the Ask Tim link on any page of the website.)


text:
Abortion Access
Planned Parenthood believes every woman should have access to the full range of reproductive health care services, including access to safe and legal abortion.
Our primary goal is prevention — reducing the number of unintended pregnancies. While teen pregnancy rates have declined significantly since 1990, the number of repeat teen birth rates remains high and we still have a lot of work to do. That's why it is important that every woman have access to affordable birth control, so she can choose and consistently use the method that works for her. At the same time, decisions about whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child must be left to a woman, her family, and her faith, with the counsel of of her doctor or health care provider — not to politicians.
Access to abortion is legal, constitutionally protected, and consistently supported by a majority of Americans; yet anti-women's health policymakers have made it increasingly hard for women to access through court battles, ballot measures, and burdensome legislative restrictions on abortion services. Some extremists even resort to intimidation, harassment, and violence against women and health care providers.
Planned Parenthood fights these efforts on every level. From courthouses to statehouses to Capitol Hill to the grassroots, we work to protect access to reproductive health care through education of elected officials, litigation, and mobilization of more than seven million Planned Parenthood activists, donors, supporters, and patients.
There's a lot we can and will disagree upon, but we should respect the real-life decisions women and their families face every day. Women don't turn to politicians for advice about birth control, mammograms, or cancer screenings or treatments — and politicians should not be involved in a woman's personal medical decisions.
It's a personal decision. Nobody knows a woman's specific situation — we're not in her shoes.


text:
In 1979, Richard Alderman, associate dean at the UH Law Center, decided that law schools should do more than just teach people to be lawyers.
"They should help people learn about how the law can help them in their everyday transactions, so I started the Center for Consumer Law in 1979," says Alderman. "That is, in essence, what we continue to do today."
Within the Center for Consumer Law is the Texas Consumer Complaints Center, which is designed to help consumers resolve their problems – and at no cost to the consumers. Under the direction of two attorneys, including the center's director, David Tiede, one paralegal and a handful of law students work to resolve hundreds of consumer complaints each month, everything from debt collection to automobile repairs to apartment leases.
"We make sure consumers understand where they stand – what they could do, couldn't do – and make suggestions for people to resolve complaints on their own," says Alderman.
Law students collect the facts and any relevant documentation, such as a copy of the lease in a landlord-tenant dispute. If the complainant can't resolve the issue on their own, the center will help them mediate with the other side to reach a resolution.
"To be honest, we have a huge success rate at this point," says Alderman. "We receive hundreds of complaints a month, and have recovered millions of dollars to consumers."
But it's not just the consumers who benefit from the center's free services. Law students who staff the clinic as a part of their curriculum learn important skills such as effective communication and time management, as well as legal knowledge that they will use in their future careers.
"By the time they finish the course, they learn how to communicate more effectively and how to get the information," says Alderman. "None of the students work on their own; they talk with the consumers and then immediately talk to one of the attorneys. They learn to mediate, and students get so excited when they come in and say, 'I just solved this!'"
To learn more about the Texas Consumer Complaints Center, visit http://www.texasccc.com/. To view questions and answers to common legal questions fielded by the Texas Consumers Complaints Center and other resources available to consumers, visit: http://www.peopleslawyer.net/qa/homepage.asp.


text:
Posted on: March 20, 2018 | Posted By: Home Inspiration Ideas Design Ideas
Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2 is one of from many awesome home design ideas to get great and perfect home. The Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2 is also one of the popular designs for home design categories on March, 2018. Moreover Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2 has been created by awesome architecture.
The Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2 is best of best from
Unbelievable Blue Bathroom Awesome design and has been built with best color stunning, amazing for detail art of architecture, and with perfect design ideas to increase value art of your Home Ideas home.
You can use Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2 for your inspirations home design and get best home ideas with great architecture, other references about Home Ideas you can find
Free Blue Bathroom 9, Incredible Blue Bathroom 8, Amazing Blue Bathroom 7, Unbelievable Blue Bathroom 6, Best Blue Bathroom 5, Unusual Blue Bathroom 4, Sensational Blue Bathroom 3, Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2, Perfect Blue Bathroom 1, Terrific Blue Bathroom 0,
Another reference about Home Ideas , easily you can look at our gallery about Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2.
Any image from this gallery can be best solution and inspiration for your Home Ideas home
which has been built with brilliant ideas from best architecture designers, perfect color combination, elegant detail architecture, modern and contemporary design for Home Ideas and of course it is easy to apply for your home.
You can use Hilarious Blue Bathroom 2 to make great your Home Ideas home design.
Free and Best Selected Home Design and Decorating Ideas


text:
(928) 474-2287
Write a Review
201 S Beeline Hwy, Payson, AZ 85541
Find out how Chase can help you with checking, savings, mobile banking, and more. Deposit products provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
Be the first to write a review! Write a Review »
©2018 Cox Search, Inc. All rights reserved. Data provided in part by Localeze and Valpak.


text:
Growers, dairy operators, agency representatives, agricultural commissioners, policymakers and other community members will gather for half-day forums in June to discuss management of agricultural nitrogen. The forums will be held in Sacramento on June 11 and in Tulare on June 18. The California Department of Food and Agriculture and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources will be hosting the two community forums to explore solutions to nitrate in groundwater and the role of policy.
The report "Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water" released in March by the State Water Resources Control Board concluded that more than 90 percent of human-generated nitrate contamination of groundwater in the Tulare Lake Basin and the Monterey County portion of the Salinas Valley has come from agricultural activity.
(For more, see: Groundwater nitrate issue dumped in agriculture's lap)
Plants need nitrogen to grow, but nutrients that are not used by the crop may move below the root zone. Nitrate, a byproduct of nitrogen, may infiltrate to groundwater. "The report found that farmers have already begun employing numerous techniques to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer available in the soil," said Doug Parker, director of the California Institute for Water Resources and leader for the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources water strategic initiative. "At the forums, we will be discussing how those efforts are proceeding and exploring additional solutions to protect groundwater quality. We'll be asking the agricultural community what additional research and education they need from UC."
At the forums, UC Cooperative Extension specialists will describe methods of managing nitrogen on dairies and cropland. Members of the agricultural industry and representatives of statewide and regional programs will discuss the practical aspects of adopting nitrogen management practices. To wrap up the sessions, Parker will present a case study on the effects of policy on nutrient management in the Chesapeake Bay region in the Northeast and lead a discussion of the role of policy in nitrogen management in California.
The June 11 forum will be held at the CDFA main auditorium in Sacramento from 8 a.m. to noon, followed by an optional farm and research tour in the afternoon. The June 18 forum will be held at the UC Cooperative Extension office in Tulare from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.


text:
Stocks rose out of negative territory after rallying earlier in the sessions as the dollar rose, and investors absorbed the meaning of a large batch of earnings reports and economic news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 10 points, after rising as much as 100 points earlier in the session. The Dow has moved 147 points this session, from as high as 11,213.54, to as low as 11,066.19. Today's volatile session comes a day after stocks rallied on a previous batch of positive earnings results.
Home Depot and United Technologiesrose, while Bank of America and Alcoa fell.
The S&P 500 Index rose slightly, while the Nasdaq fell just before the close. TheCBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell below 20.
Among the key S&P 500 sectors, consumer discretionary, industrials, and consumerstaples advanced, while telecom fell.
The dollar , which has had a strong effect on the stock market in recent weeks, rose after trading lower earlier in the session.
A drop in claims for new unemployment benefits, as well as a Federal Reserve report that the economy grew at "modest pace" between September and early October, may be giving investors reason to halt the rally in stocks, said Todd M. Schoenberger, managing director, LandColt Trading.
That's because the somewhat brighter economic news evident in these reports could mean the Fed elects to either not buy assets to boost the economy, or buys fewer than the market has been anticipating, Schoenberger said.
"That would explain why stocks are selling off: people are looking at the data, and saying, this just doesn't make sense," he said.
Caterpillar , a barometer of health in the construction and housing industries, easily beat expectations with its earnings and raised its full-year outlook, although its stock sank. The company attributed emerging market growth for its boost in profitability, and said growth in the U.S. and Europe is likely to be about 2.5 percent next year.
AT&T fell although it matched analyst expectations of 55 cents per share. Fellow Dow component Travelers also beat estimates and saw its shares mover higher.
McDonald's rose after reporting earnings exceeded estimates by four cents a share. Amazon , another consumer discretionary stock, rose ahead of its earnings release Thursday after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised the stock to "buy" from "neutral," saying the Internet retailer is likley to have strong holiday sales. The brokerage raised its price target for Amazon to $190 from $176.
Netflixsky-rocketed after it reported strong results Wednesday as it added subscribers.
Ebay shares, meanwhile, jumped to the top of the S&P 500 after reporting quarterly profit and revenue that beat expectationsafter the close on Wednesday.
Nokia topped earnings for the third quarter, thanks to demand for cheap smartphones. The wireless phone maker also said it would cut up to 1,800 jobs.
Among consumer staples stocks, Kellogg was lower after being one of the few companies to disappoint with earnings. The cereal maker struggled with a recall of some packages of Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Froot Loops and Apple Jacks cereals, as well as weak sales for some brands. Kellogg now anticipates 2010 earnings per share to rise between 4 percent and 5 percent.
Xerox's third-quarter profits, meanwhile, doubled on strong revenues, a sign that businesses were spending.
Continuing the good news for airlines, Southwest Airlines posted a profitfor the third-quarter Thursday, compared with a loss a year earlier, as demand returned.
Also United Continental's shares were down after the airline reported better-than-expected profits at United and Continental, the airlines that merged to form the new company on Oct. 1. The company said capacity in the fourth quarter would rise 3-4 percent.
Shares of JetBlue , meanwhile, fell despite posting record third-quarter profits and revenues.
Materials stocks were not faring well as the dollar rose, and the price of gold slippedto its lowest levels since August. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold was down slightly despite a 30 percent jump in third-quarter profits. As a group, metals and mining stocks fell nearly 1 percent.
Among regional banks, profits for the third-quarter doubled at PNC Financial ServicesGroup on lower loan losses, and the sale of a back-office unit to Bank of New York Mellon . Revenue at the bank fell 8 percent, however.
SunTrust Banks also had a surprise boost in third-quarter profits.
Swiss bank Credit Suisse said earlier on Thursday its third-quarter net profit tumbled 74 percent as sluggish equities trading halved investment banking earnings from the previous quarter.
Banking shares came under pressure in Europe after the Credit Suisse numbers. Uncertainties about company earnings and economic numbers prompted investors to move into food, beverages and personal goods shares, traditionally seen as defensive.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is considering paying back the $5 billionWarren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway invested in the investment bank during the financial crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the situation.
And KKR shares jumped after news the firm is launching a new long-short public equities unit with nine traders from Goldman Sachs' proprietary trading desk. The group, led by Bob Howard, begins at KKR in January.
Janus shares sank to the bottom of the S&P 500 after as investors remained concerned about persistent outflows from the investment management firm's mutual funds. Janus's third quarter profit rose to $32.5 million from $8.2 million a year earlier thanks to higher fees and cost cutting.
UPS , meanwhile, also posted better-than-expected third-quarter profits and revenues, thanks to growth in international air freight and cost controls.
And shares of Union Pacific fell despite posting better-than-expected profits on rising volumes for rail travel. The company also said it was beginning to rehire furloughed workers, and to hire new employees, according to Reuters.
Eli Lilly posted better-than-expected profits, thanks to costs savings, but revenues fell short of estimates. The drugmaker earned $1.3 billion, or $1.18 a share, compared with $942 million, or 86 cents a share a year ago when Lilly had several special charges. Global revenue rose to $5.65 billion, shy of the $5.77 billion expected by analysts.
Shares of the New York Times rose after news an investor group is interesting in buying the Boston Globe, a year after the publishing group decided to no longer pursue a sale of the newspaper group, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Office Depot shares fell after news the company has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission that executives at the office supply retailer with improperly disclosing information to analysts. Office Depot paid a $1 million to settle the charges, and did not admit or deny wrongdoing.
In economic news, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Survey, a measure of factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, came in lower than expected at 1.0 in October, after a reading of minus 0.7 in September, though a reading above zero indicates expansion and suggested a slight improvement after two months of contraction.
Also, the Leading Economic Index rose 0.3 percent last month, after a revised 0.1 percent gain in August and a 0.2 percent increase in July, according to the Conference Board.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell23,000 to 452,000 for the week ended Oct. 16, the Labor Department said Thursday. The forecast was for claims to drop to 455,000, down from a revised 475,000 the week before, according to analysts surveyed by Reuters.
Investors also digested data showing China's growth cooled in the third quarter even as inflation edged higher.
The major indexes in Europe were broadly higher, as money moved into defensive stocks.
On the Calendar Next Week:
THURSDAY: ECB Meeting, natural gas inventories, money supply, Kansas City Fed President Hoenig speaks, CBO Director Elmendorf speaks; after-the-bell earnings from American Express and Amazon.
FRIDAY: G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governor's Meeting; before-the-bell earnings from Verizon, Exelon, Ingersoll-Rand and Schlumberger.
More From CNBC.com: