text:
Over the next 12 days, I'm partnering with Neutrogena to offer my readers the chance to win some pretty fabulous products – both from Neutrogena and some of my other favorite fashion and beauty brands! Check back every day for your chance to win another amazing prize.
I really love American Eagle Outfitters boots. I own three pairs already, and I see no end in sight! And this season, my favorite pair is far and away the AEO Studded Moto Boots. They're so rocker cool, thanks to the pyramid studs and the buckle details.
And today, one lucky winner has the chance to receive a pair of her very own! This giveaway has a retail value of $79.95. Here's how to enter.
NOTE: PLEASE ONLY LEAVE ONE COMMENT! Do not leave additional comments about Facebook or Twitter entries or mention them in your one comment -- those are counted separately and you do not need to mention them here. Thanks!
1) Leave a comment below.
Be sure your entry includes your email address or it will be disqualified.
2) Like The Beauty of Life on Facebook and leave a comment on the Facebook post about this giveaway telling me why you want to win these boots.
If you are already a Facebook fan, be sure to leave a comment for your Facebook entry to count.
3) Follow me on Twitter and tweet: I need the @AEO Studded Moto Boots from @BeautyChick101! #beautychick101lovesneutrogena http://tinyurl.com/c375d6l
Be sure you are following me or your entry will be disqualified.
4) Follow me on Instagram and like my photo of the AEO Studded Moto Boots.
You must be following me or your entry will be disqualified.
This giveaway ends on Friday, December 21 at midnight. One winner will be chosen AT RANDOM on Saturday, December 22. Maximum of FOUR ENTRIES (one for each way listed above). Multiple entries will be disqualified. Giveaway is open to US residents only.


text:
Yes. We can create everything you can imagine.
Yes, we switch to any stone that the market has to offer, like sapphire, emerald, ruby ,morganite , colored diamonds etc.
Yes, you can choose between white gold, rose gold, yellow gold, black gold, platinum etc
Yes. We can custom made any of our rings with any size you want.
If you need financial help you can use our "payment plan". Contact us for more details.
Usually, it takes up to 3 weeks to custom made and send it to the customer.
First of all, the images and videos display the ring's appearance in the highest possible accuracy.
Second of all, if the ring was sold from the shop's stock we have a 14 day return and full refund policy.
If the ring was custom-built per customers request there is no refund, this is part of our terms of service. However, depending on the situation we might allow a customer to choose another ring, each case is checked specifically.
Just let us know, we can send a ring size measurer free of charge to your house!
First of all, you may come to your local jewelcrafter who can resize it for you.
Second of all, you can send your ring to us and have it resized free of charge.
We are an online manufacturing shop that is based on a consumer-producer connection, saving you all the trouble that gets between the two such as store locations, store rentals, salesmen etc. That way we can give personal service and save your money.
If a customer stills wants to try on a ring before committing to a purchase – you may request us to send you a plastic prototype of the ring free of charge which will reflect the look and feel of the real ring.
We offer full warranty for a year for repair or replacement of any stone which fell out (not including centerpiece). It is recommended for the customer to insure his ring through a personal insurance company. Vidar Boutique provides an authenticity certificate which will be valid for insurance.
Vidar Boutique ships worldwide for free through FedEx fast delivery service (48 hours max), personally insuring every delivery to your doorstep.
We can customize any ring from our store to any budget – just let us know what's your price range and we'll make sure to change the ring accordingly for you.
You can resize your diamond, replace any other gem, change precious metal type and more!
The customers can use our payment service to divide his payment into a monthly plan, and we can even send the ring to the customer before the payment is complete. In any case, each individual situation is carefully looked-through and the customer signs a loan agreement.
Vidar Boutique ensures personal care and VIP service for any customer who would like to customize a ring.
www.vidarboutique.com/products/custom-design-product-by-vidar-boutique, pay $299, and we will begin to work with you constantly, designing a ring precisely to your needs. We will send sketches, videos and price offerings. After we reach a result you may commit, and we will begin production.
We accept PayPal, credit/debit cards, banker transfer, cheque or our payment plan (splitting the payment). On top of that, you may pay half the price before the production and then another half after we're done making the ring. We are very flexible with our payments and make sure to best fit the needs of our customers.
You can read about us at our website's about page www.vidarboutique.com/pages/about-us, we've got plenty of good reviews and you can check our galleries for proof of satisfied customers. In any case, when paying through PayPal or credit you are 100% insured.
We only work with natural stones and diamonds straight from the depths of the earth. Precious gemstones and diamonds also come with a geologically verified certificate of authenticity.
Please leave your message and we will contact you as soon as possible.
You can also chat with us, just click the button on the bottom right.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Matsuzaka Mania: Worth the money? Worth the hype? Worth the wait?
Um, yes: 7 IP, 1 R, 10 K. Maybe this was a function of it being his first game. Or his first tour through the AL. Or the Royals (though Schilling certainly couldn't handle them). Who cares? He's the most must-see player in baseball right now.
Barnes turns down
(But didn't Gillispie just agree in principle to stay at Texas A&M? That would be kind of a dick move; I'd argue it might be worse than Nick Saban – all Saban did was lie; Gillespie would be turning his back on an actual agreement. (Apparently, I misunderstood the deal.) Amazingly, Texas A&M is letting him talk to
Masters: 1-over 73 for Tiger in the first round? WTF? Of course, given the way Tiger can/does charge back, his first two days' scores are basically irrelevant. (More Tiger below.)
Billy Donovan staying at
How will they do in the NBA? Bear with me: I love the NBA Draft and I happen to have seen these guys play a ton, so I have some opinions:
Al Horford (Projected Draft Spot: 3-5). Can be a prototype NBA power forward (with dribbling skills!) Could be the most NBA-ready player in the draft, including Oden and Durant.
Joakim Noah (PDS: 3-10). Say what you want about his skills, but a 7-footer with high energy (and great passing skills) will have a productive (if not All-Star) NBA career. If David Lee can be a 10-rpg player, why can't Noah?
(By "if not All-Star," I mean to say "He will not be an All-Star." I understand why some of you might have misinterpreted a vague phrase.)
Corey Brewer (PDS: 5-15). Did more to improve his draft stock during the Tournament than any other player. Already an NBA-quality defender. Most often compared to Tayshaun Prince, but Brewer is better.
Taurean Green (PDS: 2nd round?). Even if he came back, his draft stock wouldn't go up (Jason Gardner Syndrome), so he might as well leave with his pals, even if he's a 2nd-rounder.
Bob Huggins to
More MLB: Go figure -- the D-Rays still own the Yankees. (And A-Rod blew a chance to win the game, popping up with the bases loaded in the 8th. That'll really endear him with the
MLB Stud: Mike Piazza
Jackie Robinson "42" Homage Watch: Derrek Lee joins the list of players – one per team – that will wear No. 42.
K-Rod investigated by MLB for cheating: When was the last time a blogger spurned an actual MLB investigation. Kudos, Derek Zumsteg. If he can find his niche revealing real-time player cheating, using photos and YouTube to make his case, he's going to be a force. K-Rod insists it's merely rosin.
Arenas blogs after knee surgery: And he seems in good spirits.
"I told them to cut the leg off a couple times. You know, cut it off and then bring it back to me when it was all healed. Because, you know, Heather Mills on Dancing with the Stars, she had that leg. I was saying I could borrow one of those and finish out the season. But they wasn't going for that."
You can forget
New VarsityDad post(s): Name Tiger's Baby? My money's on "Earl" with the nickname "Cub."
Colin Cowherd: What a Petty Guy. (And that's putting it nicely.) Uses his platform to ruin mind-their-own-business sports-bloggers. Catch up here, here and here. (Oh, and here.) What's the difference between this and telling his listeners to torch a mom-and-pop store down the block? (There's talk that what he did violated FCC code, which would be an interesting development.) By the way, the word is that his new nickname is "Schrutebag."
RIP Darryl Stingley: In all seriousness, there is no statute of limitations on manslaughter. And if Jack Tatum's hit on him then directly contributed to his death now, that's what it was.
Sopranos Returns: Oh, I might be late to the party with this, but this is genius.


text:
Sep 23, 2014 | Carpet One Floor & Home
Choosing the right flooring for your lifestyle is just as important as choosing a flooring that looks great in your home. The good news is that there are so many types of flooring in every style that finding that perfect combo is very achievable. You can have a floor that you love looking at, walking on, and caring for for years to come. It's important to consider your lifestyle and share this information with your sales professional when shopping for flooring. For example, those beautiful hardwood floors may have been just what your design sense desired but when your kids and pets got to them, the were no longer the floor of your dreams.
There are 6 important questions you should ask yourself before you start the process of choosing flooring:
1. What will the room(s) be used for? Play, entertainment, study, etc.?
2. Do you have pets?
3. How many children use the space and how often?
4. Will your family eat or drink in this room?
5. Is there an outside entrance to the room?
6. Is moisture present in the space (basement, bathroom, etc.)?
As you can imagine there are thousands of combinations of answers so we'll just take a look at some common scenarios. An expert flooring sales professional can help you find a floor that meets your exact needs. \
Let's say you are looking for a new floor for a family living space. You have small children but no pets and you'll want to use the space to work, pay bills. There's an outside entrance to the space and you love the look of hardwood. In this scenario, you'll want to look for a hard surface product that offers additional durability. Depending on your price range, there are many options to get the look you crave. The first is to go with a hardwood that is coated to protect the surface from scratches and dents link Invincible Hardwood. You can also choose a laminate product or believe it or not a vinyl product that has the hardwood look you love.
Your family comes with kids, pets, and lots of craziness but also lots of love. You need new floors for your living room which gets used on a daily basis as a place to relax and play. It's not the dining room but, let's face it, snacks and drinks are frequently in the space. Comfort is a big priority but there's not a lot of time for chores. Carpet is a great choice for this scenario. It's soft and comfortable. Plus, if you look for a fiber that is protected against stains, like Relax, it's...Lees, clean-up will be easy too. Depending on how often you want to vacuum, you may want to look for a textured or looped style that won't show every foot print.
You love to cook and spend a lot of time in your kitchen. You live in a warm climate and you kid are teenagers. Spills are frequent in your kitchen as you experiment with new recipes and you don't want to spend all your time cleaning up. Ceramic tile could be just what you're looking for. Long-lasting and low-maintenance, ceramic tile also feels cool underfoot. If you're looking for something warmer and a bit softer, you may also want to consider a vinyl floor or engineered stone that provides the look of stone you desire.
You're single and you love to entertain. You also have a career that takes up a lot of your time. Between social and work obligations, you rarely find time to maintain your home. You're looking for a beautiful floor that you can enjoy without worrying about care and maintenance. A beautiful laminate floor could be just the thing for this scenario. Laminate looks just like real wood. It is build to work in practically any space and is easy to clean. Quality laminate floors like Laminate for Life offer tight seams and a flat level surface that prevents dust, dirt and moisture from seeping under the floor and promoting the growth of mold and mildew as well as a protective surface that resists scratches, scuffs and dents.
Whether you're just starting to think about new floors or you're headed to the flooring or tile store tomorrow, take the time to really think about your lifestyle and how you will use the space before you make the final decision.


text:
I will not pretend that it's an easy thing to successfully host an awards show. You can be too edgy or too dull; you can play too much to the room and bore the viewers or too much to the TV viewers and lose the room. After decades, awardscasts are still flailing around to find that magic formula: the Oscars next month is going with Seth MacFarlane, because what the hell.
But Tina Fey and Amy Poehler damn sure made it look easy. The duo, each of whom has been one of the best things at any awards show they've presented at in the past few years, managed to turn in a perfomance that was hilarious without overshadowing the show, pointed without being mean-spirited and surprising without trying too hard. Their hosting was simply funny, well-delivered and accessible both to the Globes crowd and the home audience–something that might seem simple but is clearly anything but.
They began with an opening that rained down showbiz jokes faster than I could type, riffing, for instance, on the hierarchy of Hollywood as the movie celebrities "rub[bed] shoulders with the rat-faced people of television." Yeah, the Globes may reaffirm that movie stars dominate the cool kids' tables. (Literally. You could have made and eaten a sandwich in the time it took the TV winners to make it from their seats in the back of the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom.) But it's TV that makes it a party, and it takes polished TV personalities like Fey and Poehler to keep the party moving.
They played off the usual glad-handing banter: "Meryl Streep is not here tonight," said Poehler. "She has the flu. And I hear she's amazing in it." They photobombed their own show, sneaking into nominee announcements for two acting categories (Poehler made up as actress "Darcy St. Fudge," Fey in drag as the hirsute "Damian Francisco… a professional volleyball player battling restless leg syndrome in Dog President"). As they were beat out by Lena Dunham in the TV comedy actress category, they gave mock ice-stares from the audience, then came onstage, drinks in hand, to fake-snarl their congratulations ("I'm glad we got you through middle school," said Fey).
(Photos: 2013 Golden Globes Fashion: The Bold, The Beautiful and The Boring)
And even when their jokes drew blood—Poehler said of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow, "When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron"–it didn't feel nasty. Maybe it was that their delivery didn't carry the feel of self-congratulation that accompanied the (also hilarious, at least one time out) truth-telling of previous host Ricky Gervais. (Though they were also cutting-but-kind to him, making light of his controversies: When you run afoul of the Foreign Press, they make you host this show two more times.")
It helped Fey and Poehler that it was an exciting night overall, in terms of speechmaking and sometimes award-giving. Dunham accepted two awards with flustered happiness, cracking jokes–"remembering" to thank Chad Lowe in reference to the time Hillary Swank forgot to mention her then-husband–but also saying emotionally that the award made her feel "there's a space" for her. (There was, to be sure, also the usual hyperbole in the acceptances: we got to hear how "brave" it was [1] to give a performance mocking Sarah Palin, in Hollywood, and [2] to make a film adaptation of Les Miserables.)
But are most likely to remember was the elliptical but moving remarks from Jodie Foster, receiving a lifetime achievement award. Foster thanked her longtime female partner from the stage, but not before going through a long, soul-searching talk about coming out, privacy and the demands on celebrities–especially gay celebrities–to be public.
Foster said that she'd come out long ago: to friends, family, people that she actually knew in person. What she resisted was the pressure to make a private conversation into a public event or an example, to turn it, as she said into "reality TV" ("I'm not Honey Boo Boo Child"). It was an unusually self-revelatory public statement about being a private person, and if it was tough to follow and at times close to an internal monologue, it was also a rarity: a Hollywood speech that didn't feel like a studied performance.
As for the awards themselves, my colleague Richard Corliss assesses the movie hardware elsewhere on this site. (Dog President was robbed!) With the TV awards, it's worth remembering that, when the Globes get it right, wrong or somewhere in between, it usually is more about buzz, celebrity and a critical mass of media coverage than it is about the quality of any given work or performance.
Thus Girls won, and I was happy because it was the best new series of 2012 (I might have preferred Louie or Parks and Recreation, but Girls was better than its nominated competition). But the award probably rewarded Dunham's media heat as much as anything. Homeland had a problematic second season, but it got the kind of publicity that made it a Globes no-brainer. And Don Cheadle is a fantastic actor whose Type-A-hole character in House of Lies is written too one-note to show his range; but he was the biggest star in his category, and the Globes likes movie stars. If there was an overarching message to the TV wins–which also included more tributes to HBO's Game Change–it was that Hollywood Foreign Press Association members can expense pay cable.
But the usual caveat applies: the Globes are fun because you don't need to take them too seriously as awards. And yet there was at least a semi-serious theme to the evening, that it was a night of honoring the power and talent of Hollywood's women—from the hosts to Foster to female-centered winners like Girls and Homeland. Even when Bill Clinton made a surprise appearance, Poehler followed it up, channeling Leslie Knope, with an excited, "That was Hillary Clinton's husband!"
With few exceptions, that was about as heavy as it got. Another winning woman, singer Adele, was her usual disarming awards self, high-fiving her way to the podium and saying that she and a girlfriend who came with her "were pissing ourselves laughing." Likewise! And at the Globes, that's the biggest prize of all.


text:
The authentic story continues with classic, confident designs.
Since 1875, Bulova has been renowned for artistry and innovation, acclaimed for superb craftsmanship and advanced technology.
A dynamic force in contemporary timekeeping, Bulova is a recognized leader in diamond and high-performance sport timekeeping, with a wide range of watches including the ultra-accurate Precisionist and an extensive selection of styles for dress, sport and casual wear.
Click here to visit bulova.com


text:
When it comes to food I've always believed that the word "diet" just does not belong in the same category. It sticks out like a sore thumb! I dislike seeing the word "diet", "light" or "meal replacement" labeled on anything at the supermarket and take a big detour around these products. I love my butter, my bacon, my pasta and bring on the chocolate!
It's the taste, nutrition, source and contents of my food that interests me more and I often look very closely at the ingredient list of the products that come into my shopping cart. What is meal replacement anyway and why would anyone want to do such a thing?
Diets are not for me. I realized that a long time ago when, as a teenager, one tries out one fad after another. At an early age I knew that dieting was not going to be anything I was going to stick to for long. I simply enjoyed food too much to sacrifice it to random diet plans.
Unfortunately I am not one of those lucky people whose metabolism works so well that it allows me to live on cake and chocolate and still keep my weight. With age came the wisdom and I understood that eating sensibly and balanced meals were the only things I needed to know to control my weight. I also understood that skinny or size 0 was just not me because I love my curves too much. I am a woman for crying out loud not a stick or a wooden board! Like every woman, however, I do have parts of me that could do with a metamorphosis, but it is not going to put me on a meal replacement diet!
Deprive me of a certain food, I will crave it more. I think in this situation I am not any different to many of you. Instead I allow everything, the only catch is, decadent, rich and sinful foods will be taken in small portions or in moderation. Chocolates, cakes, pasta in creamy sauces, rich hollandaise with the asparagus - it's all allowed and I indulge in them when I feel like it. I just know that it does not do my body good to eat like this everyday. I simply balance these days out with days of lighter meals, prepared with fresh and seasonal produce, which we enjoy with equal gusto.
But on the days when you are craving for a sin what do you do?
I tend to bake something rich and devilish! If you are on a diet … this is not for those poor souls. It's for those of you who enjoy tiny bites of sweet, rich and gooey gratification without repentance. A treat: because you need it, because you deserve it or because you've earned it - whatever the need be - this is most certainly the answer.
It's sweet, let me set that straight right now. But this chocolate treacle sheet cake is not to be devoured in masses. The small squared delights are meant for a moment of indulgence to be enjoyed in moderation. A light coconut cake base is layered with an opulent creamy mixture of dark treacle and condensed milk and topped with a dark chocolate ganache.
The flavors of the dark treacle is very reminiscent to the strong, slightly bitter flavor of molasses, giving the sheet cake an incredible full-bodied taste. If you cannot find dark treacle, by all means substitute it with molasses or for a more caramel-y flavor use dulce de leche.
Printable version of recipe here
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: approx. 20 pieces
- 150g all-purpose flour
- 40g desiccated coconut
- 90g raw muscovado sugar
- 125g + 125g butter, melted
- 130g black treacle
- 800g condensed milk
- 185g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a rectangle form (30 x 20 cm) with butter and line with baking paper.
- Place flour, coconut, sugar and 125g melted butter in a bowl and whisk with an electric hand beater until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the form and even out the top with a spatula. Bake for approx. 15 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Make the filling by placing a bowl over a pot of simmering water and adding the treacle, remaining 125g butter and condensed milk. Stir continuously until the mixture becomes thick. This should take about 6 to 8 minutes. Pour the treacle filling over the cake and then bake for a further 20 minutes until it turns a lovely golden brown color. Take out of the oven allow it to cool, then place in the fridge until completely chilled and set.
- In the meantime make the chocolate layer, by melting the chopped dark chocolate and oil in a bowl over a pot of simmering water at a low heat. Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly. Carefully pour the cooled chocolate over the treacle layer. Allow it to set.
- To serve cut the cake in small squares and enjoy in little pieces with a strong espresso.
I allowed myself the treat because I just completed my big project for this year!
It's been submitted and the design team are working on the layout. For those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter already have shared the good news with me. Thanks to you all for all the wonderful wishes. I'll give you more details next week - promise.
I would rather get back to this divine and naughty treat. Close your eyes and sink your teeth into a square of the soft and moist cake. You'll immediately encounter a burst of flavors on your tongue - the intense and refined flavor of the dark chocolate will hit you first, which will then bring you to the sticky gooey filling that adds a slightly more complex taste to the palate and finally the chewy coconut cake layer brings it all together.
Indulge - go on you are allowed - it makes life a little sweeter, a little easier and a lot happier. Make sure you share these with friends too it'll not only save you from eating the whole sheet, but you'll also be sharing the goodness and satisfaction that comes in these little bites. I took the rest to Soeren's school garden party and was happy to see parents and the children enjoy the cake as much as we did.
Have a fantastic weekend - hard to believe the last one in June! Enjoy the sweeter side of life :o)
You might like these sweet treats from WFLH:
Brownies - Chocolate Mocha | Chocolate Éclairs | Croquembouche with Pistachio Rosewater Pastry Cream |
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2012 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


text:
Bluetooth connection and troubleshooting for audio products
This page introduces Frequently Asked Questions about the Bluetooth for audio products.
Technology Overview
- Basic information of Bluetooth pairing and Bluetooth connection.
- How to pair Bluetooth headphones with another device.
- How to pair Bluetooth speakers with another device.
- How to pair and connect Walkman with Bluetooth device
- What is the passcode, or password, for pairing with another Bluetooth device?
- What is the maximum number of Bluetooth wireless devices that can be paired?
- Is it necessary to pair with each connection?
- Tips to help with Bluetooth connection issues
- I cannot connect to the headphones or speakers via a Bluetooth pairing from the mobile device.
- Headphones Troubleshooting Guide
- Wireless Speaker Troubleshooting Guide
- Sound from the Bluetooth headphones/speakers cuts or noise occurs.


text:
For quotations, please use our online quotation form, and you may also contact us by
+1-617.299.7367 (Int'l)
+1-617.299.7367 (Int'l)
AP0127 | Anserine Plakophilin 2 (PKP2) |
SAMPLE TYPE | 100 ul |
CROSS REACTS WITH | Anserine |
PRODUCT OVERVIEW | The ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) kit is an in vitro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the quantitative measurement of samples in serum, plasma, cell culture supernatants and urine. |
INTENDED USE | This Anserine PKP2 ELISA kit is intended for laboratory research use only and not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. The stop solution changes color from blue to yellow and the intensity of the color is measured at 450 nm using a spectrophotometer. In order to measure the concentration of Anserine PKP2 in the sample, this Anserine PKP2 ELISA Kit includes a set of calibration standards. The calibration standards are assayed at the same time as the samples and allow the operator to produce a standard curve of optical density versus Anserine PKP2 concentration. The concentration of the samples is then determined by comparing the O.D. of the samples to the standard curve. |
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS | Store at 4°C |
COMPONENTS | Microtiter Plate Enzyme Conjugate Standards Substrate A Substrate B Stop Solution Wash Solution Balance Solution |
SAFETY NOTES | 1. This kit contains materials with small quantities of sodium azide. Sodium azide reacts with lead and copper plumbing to form explosive metal azides. Upon disposal, flush drains with a large volume of water to prevent azide accumulation. Avoid ingestion and contact with eyes, skin or mucous membranes. In the case of contact, rinse the affected area with plenty of water. Observe all federal, state and local regulations for disposal. 2. All blood components and biological materials should be handled as potentially hazardous. Follow universal precautions as established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration when handling and disposing of infectious agents. |
As an analytic biochemistry assay, ELISA involves detection of an 'analyte' (i.e. the specific substance whose presence is being quantitatively or qualitatively analyzed) in a liquid sample by a method that continues to use liquid reagents during the 'analysis' (i.e. controlled sequence of biochemical reactions that will generate a signal which can be easily quantified and interpreted as a measure of the amount of analyte in the sample) that stays liquid and remains inside a reaction chamber or well needed to keep the reactants contained.
As a heterogenous assay, ELISA separates some component of the analytical reaction mixture by adsorbing certain components onto a solid phase which is physically immobilized. In ELISA, a liquid sample is added onto a stationary solid phase with special binding properties and is followed by multiple liquid reagents that are sequentially added, incubated and washed followed by some optical change (e.g. color development by the product of an enzymatic reaction) in the final liquid in the well from which the quantity of the analyte is measured. The qualitative 'reading' usually based on detection of intensity of transmitted light by spectrophotometry, which involves quantitation of transmission of some specific wavelength of light through the liquid (as well as the transparent bottom of the well in the multiple-well plate format). The sensitivity of detection depends on amplification of the signal during the analytic reactions. Since enzyme reactions are very well known amplification processes, the signal is generated by enzymes which are linked to the detection reagents in fixed proportions to allow accurate quantification - thus the name 'enzyme linked'.
The analyte is also called the ligand because it will specifically bind or ligate to a detection reagent, thus ELISA falls under the bigger category of ligand binding assays. The ligand-specific binding reagent is 'immobilized', i.e., usually coated and dried onto the transparent bottom and sometimes also side wall of a well (the stationary 'solid phase 'solid substrate' here as opposed to solid microparticle/beads that can be washed away), which is usually constructed as a multiple-well plate known as the 'ELISA plate'. Conventionally, like other forms of immunoassays, the specificity of antigen-antibody type reaction is used because it is easy to raise an antibody specifically against an antigen in bulk as a reagent. Alternatively, if the analyte itself is an antibody, its target antigen can be used as the binding reagent.
(Below is a sample, please refer to the manual included in the kit)
1. Bring all kit components and samples to room temperature before use.
2. Bring microtiter plate to room temperature before opening. Remove the desired number of well strips and immediately reseal and store at 2-8°C.
3. Dispense5 µL of BALANCE SOLUTION into 50 µL experimental samples.
NOTE: This step is required only when the sample is cell culture supernatant, body fluid or tissue homogenate.
4. Dilute 10 mL of WASH SOLUTION concentrate (100×) with 990 mL of deionized or distilled water. If crystals have formed in the concentrate warm to room temperature and mix to dissolve.
1. Add 50 µL of SAMPLE or STANDARD to the appropriate wells in the supplied microtiter plate. Note that wells have been pre-blocked and no additional blocking steps are required.
2. Incubate 1 hour at room temperature.
3. Empty wells and wash 3-5 times with 300-400 µL 1X WASH SOLUTION per well.
4. Empty final wash and add 100 µL of CONJUGATE per well and mix well. Cover and incubate 1 hour at 37°C in a humid chamber.
5. Wash each well 5 times with 1X WASH SOLUTION. After the last wash invert the plate and blot dry by tapping on absorbent paper. Note: Hold the sides of the plate frame firmly when washing to assure that all strips remain securely in the frame. Complete removal of the liquid at each step is essential for good performance.
6. Add 50 µL SUBSTRATE A to each well followed by addition of 50 µL SUBSTRATE B. Cover and incubate 10-15 minutes at room temperature. SUBSTRATE is light sensitive. Keep out of direct sunlight or cover with foil.
7. Add 50 µL of STOP SOLUTION to each well. Mix well.
8. Immediately read the optical density (O.D.) at 450 nm.
9. Subtract the mean blank value from each SAMPLE or STANDARD value and calculate the mean for duplicate (or greater) wells.
10. Construct the standard curve using graph paper or statistical software.


text:
John Paul II
John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from October 16, 1978, until his death more than 26 years later, making his the second-longest pontificate in modern times after Pius IX's 31-year reign. He is the only Polish pope, and was the first non-Italian pope since the (Low) German Adrian VI in the 1520s.
The official title of John Paul II, as recognized by the Roman Catholic Church was: Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Head of the College of Bishops, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West (this title was recently removed from the papal list of titles by the reigning pope, Benedict XVI), Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the City State of the Vatican, Servant of the Servants of God Pope John Paul II.
His early reign was marked by his opposition to communism, and he is often credited as one of the forces which contributed to its collapse in Eastern Europe.[1] In the later part of his pontificate, he was notable for speaking against war, fascism, dictatorship, materialism, abortion, contraception, relativism, unrestrained capitalism, and what he deemed the "culture of death".
John Paul II was Pope during a period in which Catholicism's influence declined in developed countries but expanded in the Third World. During his reign, the pope traveled extensively, visiting over 100 countries, more than any of his predecessors. He remains one of the most-traveled world leaders in history. He was fluent in numerous languages: his native Polish and also Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Croatian, Portuguese, Russian and Latin.[2] As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he canonized a great number of people.
In 1992, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. On April 2 2005 at 9:37 p.m. local time, Pope John Paul II died in the Papal Apartments while a vast crowd kept vigil in Saint Peter's Square below. Millions of people flocked to Rome to pay their respects to the body and for his funeral. The last years of his reign had been marked by his fight against the various diseases ailing him, provoking some concerns as to leadership should he become severely incapacitated/vegetative, and speculation as to whether he should abdicate. On May 9 2005, Pope Benedict XVI, John Paul II's successor, waived the five year waiting period for a cause for beatification to be opened.[3]
Relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church
Relations with Romania
In May 1999, John Paul II visited Romania on the invitation of his Beatitude Teoctist, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. This was the first time a Pope had visited a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism. On his arrival, the Pope was greeted by Patriarch Teoctist and Romanian President Emil Constantinescu. The Patriarch stated, "The second millennium of Christian history began with a painful wounding of the unity of the Church; the end of this millennium has seen a real commitment to restoring Christian unity."
On May 9, the Pope and the Patriarch each attended a worship service conducted by the other (an Orthodox Liturgy and a Catholic Mass, respectively). A crowd of hundreds of thousands of people turned up to attend the worship services, which were held in the open air. The Pope told the crowd, "I am here among you pushed only by the desire of authentic unity. Not long ago it was unthinkable that the bishop of Rome could visit his brothers and sisters in the faith who live in Romania. Today, after a long winter of suffering and persecution, we can finally exchange the kiss of peace and together praise the Lord." A large part of Romania's Orthodox population has shown itself warm to the idea of Christian reunification.
Relations with Greece
Two years later, in 2001, John Paul II became the first Pope to visit Greece in almost 1300 years, since the visit of Pope Constantine I (r. 708-715) in 710. The visit was controversial, and the Pontiff was met with protests and snubbed by Eastern Orthodox leaders, none of whom met his arrival.
In Athens, the Pope met with Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Greece. After a private 30-minute meeting, the two spoke publicly. Christodoulos read a list of "13 offences" of the Roman Catholic Church against the Orthodox Church since the Great Schism, including the pillaging of Constantinople by crusaders in 1204. He also bemoaned the lack of any apology from the Roman Catholic Church, saying that "until now, there has not been heard a single request for pardon" for the "maniacal crusaders of the 13th century."
The Pope responded by saying, "For the occasions past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by action or omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us forgiveness," to which Christodoulos immediately applauded. John Paul also said that the sacking of Constantinople was a source of "deep regret" for Catholics.
Later, John Paul and Christodoulos met on a spot where Saint Paul had once preached to Athenian Christians. They issued a "common declaration," saying, "We shall do everything in our power, so that the Christian roots of Europe and its Christian soul may be preserved ... [w]e condemn all recourse to violence, proselytism and fanaticism, in the name of religion." The two leaders then said the Lord's Prayer together, breaking an Orthodox taboo against praying with Catholics.
However, during the visit the Pope avoided any mention of Cyprus, still a source of tension between the two faiths.
Relations with other Orthodox countries
John Paul II visited other heavily Orthodox areas such as Ukraine, despite lack of welcome at times, and he said that an end to the Schism was one of his fondest wishes.
With regard to the relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church, Pope John Paul II could not escape the controversy of the involvement of Croatian Catholic clergy with the Ustasa regime of World War II. He beatified WWII-time archibishop of Zagreb, Alojzije Stepinac, in 1998, the Croatian war-time archbishop of Zagreb, convicted for colaboration with Croatian Ustašas fascist regime in 1946. This move was seen negatively by Serbian Church and Serbian people. On June 22, 2003, he visited Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a main city of Serbian Orthodox population in Bosnia. He held a Mass at the Petrićevac monastery. It's friars participated in killing Serbs during the World War II (most notorius of them was Fra Miroslav Filipović Majstorović). Orthodox Bishop of Banja Luka Jefrem refused to attended the Mass because Pope did not express his regreat. They met later that day."
The Pope had also been saying during the entire pontificate that one of his greatest dreams was to visit Russia, which never actually happened. He had made several attempts to solve the problems which arose during centuries between the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church, like giving back the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in August 2004. However, officials of the Church of Russia were not that enthusiastic, giving statements like: "The question of the visit of the Pope in Russia is not connected by the journalists with the problems between the Churches, which are now unreal to solve, but with giving back one of many sacred things, which were illegally stolen from Russia." (Fr. Vsevolod Chaplin). There were also statements saying that the icon which was returned was one of four copies made of the original icon, which is still in an unknown location.
Orthodox Perspectives on his life and work
- Holding on to all that humanity can mean - Thomas Hopko, International Herald Tribune Monday, April 18, 2005 (Alternate link)
- The Great Unifier: Pope John Paul II - Jaroslav Pelikan, NY Times (Original link)
- Russian Orthodox Official Hopeful for a Prompt Beatification: A Great Pope, Bishop Hilarion Says of John Paul II - Zenit News, April 5, 2005
- Memories of the Pope - Jeffery A. Johnson (A parishioner of St. Thomas Antiochian Orthodox Church, Sioux City, Iowa)
- ↑ "World mourns Pope John Paul II," CNN, (accessed April 13 2006).
- ↑ http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/philosophy/denominations/catholic/history/johnpaul2.htm Pope John Paul II, The Robinson Library]
John Paul II | ||
Preceded by: John Paul I |
Roman Catholic Pope 1978–2005 |
Succeeded by: Benedict XVI |


text:
By just minutes, Jessica Ghawi escaped a mass shooting in Toronto, last month. She chronicled the experience on her blog.
She wrote that at 6:20 p.m., she bought a burger but instead of sitting down to eat it at the Eaton Centre food court, she went outside to get some fresh air.
"The gunshots rung out at 6:23," she wrote. "Had I not gone outside, I would've been in the midst of gunfire."
She found herself surrounded by the kind of scene we're seeing today in Aurora, Colo.: Police, EMTs rushing to control chaos and bloodshed.
"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday," Jessica, who went by the last name Redfield professionally, wrote. "I saw the terror on bystanders' faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath."
Unfortunately, her brother Jordan Ghawi said today that the coroners office of Aurora has told him his sister had died in today's shooting. On his own blog, he says he got the call at around 2 a.m.
He spoke to Jessica's friend, Brent, who was at the premiere of The Dark Knight with her.
According to Ghawi, Brent described the scene many witnesses also saw. A man came in mid-movie and tossed a gas canister into the theater. He opened fired and Jessica took one shot and then another which "appeared to strike her head."
Ghawi, who flew to Denver from Texas after he heard the news, gave an interview to KUSA9. He was calm, composed. He wanted to move the focus from the tragedy to Jessica's life.
"My sister is a fighter... she's listened to her heart," Ghawi said. "I want people to remember that heart and remember the good things that she's done; remember that smile and what her possibilities, what her prospectives, what she could have done in the future.
"This isn't about polarizing debate or politicizing an event. This is a celebration of these who have been wounded or killed in these attacks. It's time that we focus on that and attempt to move forward," Ghawi added.
According to The Toronto Star, Peter Burns, morning show host of Denver's Mile High Sports, described Jessica as a "vibrant and full of life." She was a die-hard hockey fan.
Burns said she dreamed of starting a charity to help the victims of the Colorado wildfires.
"Even if she could just help three or four families, that would have been great. That was the kind of person she was," he said.
The station where she interned, 104.3 The Fan, said she was an "aspiring sportscaster." On Twitter she was cutting and funny. Her brother posted a video on YouTube that showed that in interviews, she had a wicked sense of humor.
After the incident in Toronto, Jessica wrote that it taught her to appreciate every moment of life.
"I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given," she concluded.
Jessica was 24.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
Often when I'm reading something from a British person, I'll run into a statement like this: "it made a cute face." OK, so I'm thinking someone's talking about a cute little puppy or kitten.
Said statement is referring to an infant or child!
This one gets my blood boiling every time, because it seems so dehumanizing. Is that actually correct English in ANY form, and if it is, in your experience, is there indeed a difference in usage, and, am I the only American to have this reaction? What about people from the UK? Do they feel the same way?
Now, I was so confident that I'd already written about this phenomenon that I've spent a very long time searching past posts for it. But apparently I haven't.
The quick answer is this: referring to a young child as it is far more common in British English than American. But. But but but. But the practice is dying out.
And Monica, you're not the only American to have this reaction. After Grover was born, an English friend (who's in his early 60s) came to pay his regards. He knew her sex, but he repeatedly referred to her as it. And each time, I corrected him with a her ('my child is not a thing!') I told this story to other English friends, and they found it a bit surprising that he would use it when he knew the sex of the child (it would have been more excusable to them if he hadn't known), but not very surprising--after all, they figured/reckoned, he's probably not that interested in babies and he's old enough to be old-fashioned. She's nearly three years old now, and I'm still recounting the story, so we can safely conclude that it bothers at least one American.
But it's also starting to bother some British people, as evidenced by this blog entry, where a father recounts doing the it-she correction. What interested me, though, was one of the commenters who seemed to think it was a (BrE) storm in a teacup/(AmE) tempest in a teapot:
You know, people get SO offended when you refer to a child as "It". Even if it's your own child! I can't tell you how often my boss has yelled at me for saying something as simple as, "Yes, it's fine." Or "No, it didn't go to it's father's this weekend."And that commenter appears to be American. So there's no accounting for tastes.
Sigh. She...it. Whatever.
For a more objective measure, I searched the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the British National Corpus for instances of "{child/baby/infant} has {its/his/her/their}". The numbers of hits were small enough that I could make sure that in each case the pronoun referred to the aforementioned child or baby. (The search strings containing infant got no hits in either corpus.) Of 22 hits in the American corpus, only one had its. (Three had the gender-neutral their, and the rest had a gendered pronoun.) In the British corpus (which is a quarter the size of the American one), there were 7 hits, three with its (and zero with their). So, 18% of the AmE cases used a gender-neutral pronoun, but only one of those (4.5% of the total) was it. In BrE 43% of the hits were gender-neutral and all of those used it.
You could look at that and say "Well, maybe the American corpus had more instances where the writer/speaker knew the sex of the baby", but I don't think that's true. Instead, some of those gendered pronouns in AmE refer to babies/children whose sex isn't known, or to babies generally. It's too rude in AmE to call a baby it, frowned-upon to use singular they, so parenting magazines, for instance, just pick he or she. Three of the American four baby has her examples, for instance, were general advice for parents (e.g. Your baby has her own inborn temperament). There were no BNC hits for baby has her or baby has his.
Here's a more targetted search. I looked for "give the baby its/his/her/their own" on babycenter.com and babycentre.co.uk.On the UK site, I got only one hit, and that was for its. But, interestingly, on the AmE site I got as many its as their (three each). Now, on the internet, it could be that these people using the American site aren't actually American. But in all the contexts in which the its occurred, the baby wasn't born yet; parents-to-be were discussing what they would do about names or sleeping arrangements once their babies were born. And you know what? None of those examples bothered me. This one even began with an it in the question:
If you'd like to read more about what others say about all this, searching for the phrases "refer to a baby as it" brings up a number of discussions. Searching "refer to the baby as it" is very depressing, as many of the hits are about how (not) to talk to bereaved parents.
Will you be sleeping with the baby when it's born? - October 2010 .
23 Oct 2010... safety for the baby, but also so id doesnt get dependent on sleeping next to you, i think its a good idea to give the baby its own bed.
And on that note, I think I'll go give Grover a kiss on her sleeping head.


text:
The world didn't end as some predicted last month. Even more remarkably, NBC demonstrated it just might have a future.
No wonder Robert Greenblatt is marking two years as its boss with a new bounce in his step.
Mr. Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, can bask in the glow of his network's win in the November ratings sweeps. It was NBC's first such victory in the 18-to-49 demo since 2003, vaulting from fourth place to first after being largely moribund in prime time for a decade.
This is a great thing for our morale, if nothing else," he said recently. "But I'm the first one to say there will be ups and downs for the next few years."
Notice, he said "years." Mr. Greenblatt is a guy who seems intent on logging years in a job that, until his arrival, had seen a revolving door of occupants. And he's a guy who isn't banking on any quick fix.
At the dawn of 2013, NBC is missing some of the ingredients that allowed 2012 to end so sweetly. Sunday Night Football is done for the season, while hit singing competition The Voice and up-and-coming freshman thriller Revolution are both on break until late March.
But NBC has several new shows in the wings.
When Mr. Greenblatt meets with reporters at the Television Critics Association conference in Los Angeles this weekend, he'll be touting Deception, a soap with glamour, murder and corruption that premieres Monday. Goofy family sitcom 1600 Penn, set at the White House, debuts Jan. 10. And coming at the end of the month, Do No Harm is a psychological drama about a neurosurgeon waging war with his sociopathic alter ego.
Mr. Greenblatt has other shows in the pipeline. There's Dracula, a pirate series titled Crossbones and Hannibal, a prequel to the acclaimed film Silence of the Lambs. Julian Fellowes, creator of Britain's adored Downton Abbey, is developing The Gilded Age, a drama set among the 1% in late 19th-century New York. Also in the works is a comedy that will bring Michael J. Fox back to series TV, a return most people thought his health would never allow.
All this builds on NBC's successful fall rollout, and it's quite a turnabout from the Television Critics Association a year ago, when Mr. Greenblatt was acknowledging how Fall 2011 had been "really bad."
It's been a tough climb since January 2011, when he got to NBC.
"You get the feeling that it's never gonna be possible to move the needle again," he said with typical candor during a recent conversation at NBC's Manhattan headquarters. "You just keep fighting against the forces that are coming at you in a crowded environment, with more programming on more networks than in the history of our business, and you start to feel like it's never gonna be possible to do anything dramatic.
"And then you do something dramatic"—by which he means a critical mass of strategies that pays off—"and you go, 'Thank God, it IS possible!'"
The battle the 52-year-old Mr. Greenblatt is waging at NBC resembles another such challenge he faced early in his career.
That was prior to his stint at Showtime, where, in charge of entertainment from 2003 to 2010, he programmed such hits as Dexter, Shameless, The Borgias, Nurse Jackie and Californication.
And it was before his stretch as an award-winning producer of more than a dozen series including the groundbreaking funeral-home drama Six Feet Under, which ran on Showtime from 2001 to 2005.
Mr. Greenblatt, a smartly dressed redhead with a trim beard and mustache, had begun his career at the infant Fox network. There, from 1992 to 1997, he ran its prime-time programming.
"That was back in the days when Fox was just getting off the ground," he recalled, "and, in a world where viewers only knew three networks, we'd ask ourselves, how does a fourth network get in the door?"
The answer: "programming that viewers could not avoid, that you could not turn away from," he summed up. "We did things that nobody had done before."
Fox innovated with adult-oriented animation (The Simpsons), science fiction (The X-Files), teen drama (Beverly Hills 90210) and edgy prime-time sketch comedy (In Living Color).
"Suddenly viewers were coming to us, wondering 'What's going on over there?!'" he said. "And that is almost exactly the mentality I have at NBC right now. NBC in recent years has been the fourth network, and here we've had to ask ourselves, 'How do we get attention?'"
Mr. Greenblatt won attention for NBC a year ago with the much-ballyhooed premiere of Smash. This musical drama set in the world of Broadway was a Mr. Greenblatt passion project whose development he had overseen while at Showtime, then brought with him to his new network.
In its first season, Smash won praise but also a helping of jeers and snark. Despite lavish production values and robust original songs, some viewers complained that the show was hackneyed and cartoonish.
But it was noticed, and by malcontents no less than by admirers. And with some shrewd tweaking, it returns in early February for a singing, dancing second season.
Smash depicts a world Mr. Greenblatt clearly loves and understands. In his spare time in 2009, he produced the Tony Award-nominated musical adaptation of 9 to 5.
"I'm a producer at heart," he said. "I get really excited about The Show"—whether it's on Broadway or, more typically, his network.
Mr. Greenblatt boils down his background this way: a gay, Catholic kid with a Jewish last name who grew up in rural Rockford, Ill. There, as a youngster, he got deeply involved in theater.
Neither acting nor directing caught his fancy. Along with playing the piano for musicals, he chose to serve as stage manager, the equivalent of producing.
"My dream as a teenager was to run a movie studio, as in the old studio system," he said.
But that Tinseltown era was long gone. Television represented the modern version of the Hollywood "dream factory" where he could produce or present the shows that got him excited.
These included shows that gave gay characters a significant presence, from Six Feet Under, where one of the sons of the funeral-home family was a gay man (played by Michael C. Hall) in a stable same-sex relationship, to this season's NBC comedy The New Normal, about a gay couple who arrange for a surrogate mom to bear their child.
"But there was never any conscious gay agenda," Mr. Greenblatt said. "I've just always been a proponent of having a lot of diversity in the shows I've done." Among those series he produced, he counts a Latino drama, a black drama and four black sitcoms. "I just think that's the world we live in."
Today, the world Mr. Greenblatt lives in as the boss of NBC is a complicated place. It's a media realm with multiplying platforms and once-time-honored rules in continuous flux.
So how does anyone in charge keep his footing on this changing landscape? By staying focused, Mr. Greenblatt said.
"The assignment I was given when I came here was to try and revive a broadcast network," he explained. "I'm happy if people watch our shows on mobile devices and iPads, as long as we get paid for them. The word 'broadcast' can certainly expand to all those other ways of watching. But right now, the most efficient way for us to get paid for our programming is over-the-air broadcast. So that's our No. 1 goal: to try to get people to come watch on the air."
The message seems to be sinking in. NBC may be moving beyond its status as an also-ran and as a punch line (routinely mocked even by its own shows, including seven seasons of 30 Rock). Indeed, this fall NBC was the lone Big Four network seeing year-to-year gains, while the others suffered losses.
Is NBC's revival necessarily at the expense of other networks? For Mr. Greenblatt, it's tempting to see the TV world in ecological terms, where any network on the brink of extinction is a threat to the entire biosphere, and where any growth is good for all.
"I think it's just healthy for our business," said Mr. Greenblatt, "if there's another strong network."


text:
A moist, light and fluffy strawberry banana bread with Greek yogurt.
During the summer I tend to make a lot of quick breads and that is because there are so many fruits and vegetables that are available that make really good quick breads. One of my favourite summer quick breads has to be the strawberry sour cream bread which I tend to make pretty much every year! This year I was thinking that I might try lightening the recipe up a bit and the first step was to use some Greek yogurt, which is now everywhere in the grocery stores, instead of the sour cream. Next up was to try to reduce or eliminate the butter or oil and that was done by adding three over ripe bananas in addition to the yogurt to keep things nice and moist. Another great way to make quick breads a bit healthier is to use some whole wheat flour in place of regular flour and I normally replace about half of the flour with the whole wheat flour. In the end this Greek yogurt strawberry bread turned out just as good as the original sour cream version and even with the changes it was nice and moist and stayed that way for a few days before it was all gone. What a great way to enjoy a few summer breakfasts!
It goes great with melted butter for breakfast!
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large over-ripe bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup strawberries, sliced
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
Mix brown sugar, bananas, eggs, vanilla extract, yogurt and strawberries in another large bowl.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Pour the mixture into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.
Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.


text:
PHOENIX (AP) — Alone in the single-seat cockpit and high above the American Southwest, pilot Bertrand Piccard could hear only his plane's gear box and the quiet whine of four electric motors. No noisy jet engines.
He's flying Solar Impulse, considered the world's most advanced sun-powered plane.
Piccard piloted the craft for 20 hours, first cruising along the California coast after taking off from Moffett Field in Mountain View near San Francisco just after dawn Friday. He passed over Edwards Air Force Base, where other aviation milestones have been made, and then touched down early Saturday morning at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
He landed having used only three-quarters of the plane's battery power.
"It's a little bit like being in a dream," Piccard said as he stepped on the tarmac.
The plane's creators, Piccard and fellow pilot Andre Borschberg, said the trip is the first attempt by a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel to fly across America.
But Piccard said Saturday afternoon that even more important than marking another aviation milestone is the hope that the journey will provide an exponential boost for interest in renewable energy and clean technologies.
"If an airplane can fly day or night with no fuel, just on the sun's power, of course it means that everybody in daily life can use this technology for his house, for heating and cooling systems, for lighting, for cars, for trucks. There's so much we can do now to have a cleaner future," Piccard said.
From Phoenix, the aircraft will travel to Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas, Lambert-St. Louis airport, Dulles airport in the Washington area and New York's John F. Kennedy airport. Each flight leg will take about 19 to 25 hours, with 10-day stops in each city.
Borschberg is hoping to pilot the last leg, which could afford him the chance to fly past the Statue of Liberty.
The plane, which has previously impressed audiences in Europe, is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells that cover massive wings and charge its batteries.
The delicate, single-seat Solar Impulse flies around 40 mph (65 kph) and can't go through clouds. It weighs about as much as a car, making it vulnerable to bad weather.
Its average speed for the first leg of the trip was about 60 knots with a tail wind, Borschberg said. Ideally, the plane climbs up to about 27,000 feet (8,230 meters) or so during the day to collect solar and charge the batteries.
Borschberg and Piccard were ready for a series of tours over the next few days to show off the technology to Phoenix school children, university researchers and others.
"There are a lot of people who want to see this airplane," Piccard said.
So how hard is it to fly a solar plane?
Despite the aviation advancements made over the last century, Piccard said he and Borschberg have a lot in common with the early pioneers.
"One hundred years ago, the planes had to fly in good weather and there was only one person on board," Piccard said. "Now we have completely new technology, we fly with no fuel at all. But, of course, we need to fly in good weather and we carry only one pilot on board.
"We're starting a new cycle. It's really the beginning of something new."


text:
Clayton Kershaw (7-6, 3.14) vs. Ryan Vogelsong (8-4, 2.26).
The Hanley Ramirez Dodgers era has started with a bang, and we're seeing just as clearly now, too. The addition of another potent bat to the lineup, augmenting the offensive powerhouses of Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and James Loney (ha! just wanted to see if you were awake there), has made all the difference in the last two games, in which we've outscored the Giants 15-3.
Today gives the Dodgers a chance at a sweep of the Giants, a 7-3 road trip, and a move back into first place. All we need is Kershaw (coming off his worst start of the year, a 8 ER disaster in St. Louis) to beat Vogelsong (who hasn't lost at home since May 3 and sports a 1.41 ERA at home). No pressure, Minotaur!
Oh, and I'll be there today, wearing a Dodgers hat and t-shirt. Post if you'll be there and want to grab a beer! Go Dodgers!
photo: Tony "Funky Cold" Medina / Getty Images North America, July 27, 2012


text:
PostgreSQL 8.2.6 Documentation | ||||
Prev | Fast Backward | Chapter 18. Database Roles and Privileges | Fast Forward | Next |
Functions and triggers allow users to insert code into the backend server that other users may execute unintentionally. Hence, both mechanisms permit users to "Trojan horse" others with relative ease. The only real protection is tight control over who can define functions.
Functions run inside the backend server process with the operating system permissions of the database server daemon. If the programming language used for the function allows unchecked memory accesses, it is possible to change the server's internal data structures. Hence, among many other things, such functions can circumvent any system access controls. Function languages that allow such access are considered "untrusted", and PostgreSQL allows only superusers to create functions written in those languages.


text:
UFC Store
"I plan on being the absolute best fighter I can be. If that means a run and a title shot, so be it; that's what I'm here to do." - Mac Danzig
After more than five years and 10 fights inside the Octagon, fans and fellow competitors alike probably feel they have a good idea of what Mac Danzig is going to bring to the table on November 10 when he steps into the cage to take on Takanori Gomi.
A fixture in the UFC lightweight division since winning the welterweight competition on Season six of The Ultimate Fighter, Danzig has been a fixture in the middle of the loaded lightweight division. He has competed against some of the best the division has to offer, including engaging in a memorable, bloody battle with Jim Miller at UFC 100, but at times, Danzig has struggled to find consistency and remain healthy, resulting in a 5-5 record in the UFC (22-9-1 overall) and a handful of missed opportunities.
While the lightweight division seems to add a new contender with each passing event, few would anticipate Danzig joining that list at this stage of his career. He profiles as a tough veteran out in the middle of the division, not a guy poised to make a run in 2013.
But against Gomi, Danzig is focused on proving that even at this stage of his career, he's capable of becoming a title contender.
"I'm in a situation where I finally really believe in myself. That was the problem before; I really struggled with that," admitted the former Ultimate Fighter winner. "I realized I was good to a certain extent, but I was happy with the level that I had achieved – being in a world-class organization, being a quote-unquote world-class fighter, but didn't really think that I had what it takes to win a title. I was just telling myself that I wasn't concerned with it, but now that I've had the chance to look at things from a different perspective, I really feel like accepting mediocrity is one of the worst things you can do."
The Los Angeles, California resident gives a lot of credit for his shift in mindset to a renewed working relationship with Rico Chiapparelli. Danzig first connected with the former National champion wrestler-turned-pioneering MMA coach early in his professional career as Chiapparelli was starting to withdraw from the sport. The two reconnected in advance of Danzig's bout against Efrain Escudero at UFC 145, and have been working together ever since.
"When I first started working with him again, he's a little more communicative than he was in the past, and he told me that he wasn't really interested in training someone that didn't want to become great," Danzig offered. "That made me stop and think. I thought about what he said, that he believes in me enough to think that I can do it, and I wasn't sure that that was the mindset I had going into this anymore. I was like, `Maybe I need to change the way that I'm thinking about this.'
"Working with Rico and knowing his mindset – that you want to compete against the best and beat the best, otherwise there is no reason to be doing it – that's the mentality I have now. I'm happy to be making a living in this sport, but I'm not looking for handouts or easy fights; this is about a lifelong journey of trying to be excellent.
"I think I'm in the best possible position that I could be in," continued Danzig. "I'm an older fighter who spent many, many years just going through the motions, doing nothing but sparring really. Now I've got really specific strategies. I'm journaling practice; everything is getting written down, and everything is getting filmed. We're talking about everything, and all my coaches are on the same page. We're all working together as a team, and I couldn't be in a better situation. This is the best situation I think a fighter could ask for."
While the perennial middle-of-the-pack competitor Danzig is looking to begin a slow and steady climb up the rankings for the first time in his UFC career, his upcoming opponent has already experienced life at the top of the lightweight division, and now he's just looking to prove he still has something left to offer on the biggest stage of the sport.
Now 34 years old, Gomi was once considered the best lightweight in the sport, amassing an impressive 13-1 record prior to his controversial "No Contest" result against Nick Diaz at Pride 33 in February 2007. During that time, "The Fireball Kid" earned stoppages over the likes of Charles Bennett, Jens Pulver, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hayato "Mach" Sakurai.
It has been an up-and-down run for the Japanese standout over the last five years, as Gomi has gone just 6-5 in that time, including beginning his UFC career with a 2-3 record. Each of those losses came to top of the division competition – Kenny Florian, Clay Guida, and Nathan Diaz – and knockout wins over Tyson Griffin in August 2010, and most recently against Eiji Mitsuoka at UFC 144 in February showed that despite his struggles, Gomi still carries the lethal knockout power that made him one of the best lightweights in the world earlier in his career.
"This fight is a test," explained the cerebral Danzig. "It's not something that's really going to give me a lot of credit with the fans or what the critics think because if you look at Gomi's last year or two, it hasn't been that great; a lot of people have written him off regardless of the fact that he was #1 in the world. The truth is that he hasn't looked like the old Gomi, but you never know who is going to show up. We don't know what's going on in his head. He might feel the same way I do. This could be a situation where he feels like he doesn't want to throw this away, and he could come out there better than he ever has (in the UFC). I have no idea.
"It's an honor to fight him; I will tell you that much. (He) is always capable of (returning to) what he was in the past, and for all I know, he's spent the last 12 weeks working on honing that again. If he doesn't, he's still got that shot, and that's why he's in the position that he's in, and that's why he's still in it – he's still got that shot and he still goes for it. (He's) a guy who is dangerous all the time, and it's a perfect fight for me to get through some anxieties – to pass the test of not letting a power-puncher land that one big shot on me like he wants to, and just completely outclass him."
Danzig knows the things he's expressed pre-fight are a refrain heard many times before in mixed martial arts, and that stringing together the requisite victories to make a run at the title is a difficult task, with the lightweight division standing as the most talented and most competitive division in the UFC.
The veteran competitor knows the 155-pound talent pool is a shark tank full of dangerous opponents, and one loss can set him back considerably. Though a run to the top of the weight class and winning a champion tops his list of "Things to Do" before his career comes to a close, Danzig is now in a place where win or lose, he can be confident that he's given his all and made the most of his talents.
But after spending a number of years content with the view from three-quarters of the way up the mountain, the veteran lightweight has his sights set on reaching the summit, and plans on starting his journey towards the top with a win over Gomi.
"I plan on being the absolute best fighter I can be. If that means a run and a title shot, so be it; that's what I'm here to do. I absolutely believe I can do it. If not – if it doesn't work that way – at least I know I didn't half-ass it; that's the important part.
"I think that no matter what, at the end of the day, the way that I'm working now and the way that I'm doing things now, when my career is all said and done, regardless of if I win a title, knowing that I did it right and that I went at it with everything that I had, and did my best to be great would be almost just as satisfying.
"The point is to be a world champion, and I really don't feel that old; my body doesn't feel that old. I feel smarter than I ever have been in my career, and I'm not saying that for sure I'm going to destroy everybody that I fight from now on – it's a crazy sport, it's a hard sport to be involved in – but absolutely 100-percent I plan on competing for a number of years and doing whatever it takes to finally climb to the top of the mountain."
UFC 302 Embedded | All Episodes


text:
Website | Facebook Page | Email: [email protected]Address: Ground Floor Wellcome Rustans Supermarket Metropoint Mall Rotonda, Taft Pasay City Metro Manila Philippines
Telephone / Landline / Contact Number: (02) 449 3888
Business Hours / Open: Monday to Friday 08:00am - 06:00pm / Saturday & Sunday 08:00am - 05:00pm
About Us: An inspiration to serve the Philippines one person at a time moves USSC. We believe in bringing innovative ideas, products and services to advance the lives of all hardworking Filipinos.
The company was founded in 1958 as Radio Communications of the Philippines, Inc. or RCPI. Over the past 60 years, the company has evolved from a telegraph company to one of the largest one-stop service shops in the country, the USSC Service Store. Since then USSC has grown to over 700 strategically located company-owned stations with an engagement of over 900 key-sub agent locations.
Today, our commitment is stronger than ever; to serve, to help and to inspire. For us, this means making a difference in every Filipino through what we do. We take pride in doing everything we do, listening to and anticipating our customer needs in order to ensure that every USSC Service Store experience is both meaningful and positive.
Cash Management and Cash Card Services
- The USSC Panalo Wallet Alkansya is an electronic wallet which can be used to save cash in pesos or in dollars. It is also kept safe and secure by a fingerprint verification and validation process via our biometric scanner. For more information, click here.
- The USSC Cash Master is the modern way to carry and use your money. Sign up for a USSC Cash Master in any USSC Service Store and you're all set to enjoy the benefits of a safe and convenient way to carry and keep large amounts of cash in your pocket. No bank account required. No minimum balance. With USSC Cash Master, you can withdraw money from virtually any ATM in the Philippines and abroad. You may also use it to pay for purchases in any establishment carrying the Mastercard logo. Loading is so convenient, too. Go to any USSC Service Store location in the Philippines to top up your balance. That's over 700 branches for your convenience!
Money Transfer Service
- Western Union is the leading international money remittance company in the world. The USSC-Western Union tie-up makes all inbound international money transfers from Western Union available in over 1,600 company-operated and sub-agent locations nationwide. Overseas contract workers or Filipino expatriates can simply send money via any Western Union office in the country of their employment and their families can immediately claim their remittance in the Philippines via USSC and its sub-agents in either Philippine Pesos or US Dollars.
Transport Ticketing Services
- Domestic and international tickets for major airlines like Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Air Asia, Jetstar, Delta, Cathay Pacific, Eva Air, and Singapore Airlines, among others, are available in selected USSC Service Stores nationwide.
- 2GO and Super Cat sea line tickets are also available in selected USSC Service Stores.
Payment Collection Services
- USSC Service Stores' strategic nationwide locations make them ideal for other service companies to use the outlets as collection centers for their monthly bills. Today, USSC Service Stores accept payments for Meralco, VECO, Davao Light and Power, Bayantel, PLDT, Smart, Globe, Express Telecom, Sky Cable, Sun Cable, Sky Internet, Philamlife, Maynilad, Manila Water, Digitel, SSS, and many more merchants.
Cellphone Loading or E-LOAD (Top-ups) Service
- Need to top-up your prepaid load to keep your cellular phone running? Almost all USSC Service Stores carry the electronic loading service for major telecom players like Smart, Globe, and Sun cellular.
- PIN-based loads for major internet and gaming providers are also available.
Insurance Services
- LifeGuard provides a 30-day P100,000 accident insurance coverage for people who want extra protection when they travel and commute.
- Dengue Rx is an insurance service which reimburses medical and hospitalization expenses associated with the treatment of a covered individual who gets infected with dengue. Maximum coverage is pegged at P30,000. For more information, please click here.
- OFWGuard is a loss of income insurance for the OFW. For more information, please click here.
Package Delivery Services
- Domestic Package Delivery: Customers can enjoy convenience and savings every time they need to send packages and documents to friends, business associates, and loved ones almost anywhere in the country through 2GO's economical Quikpac pouch delivery. The 2GO service offers customers the flexibility of choosing their mode of delivery to be either store-to-store or store-to-door.
- International package delivery is also available via 2GO and FEDEX.
Other Services
- Domestic and International Long Distance and Fax Services are available in selected USSC stores.


text:
2012 ASP World Champions Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, and Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 25, last night at the 2013 ASP World Surfing Awards.
SURFERS PARADISE, Queensland/Australia (Friday, March 1, 2013) – The world's best surfers congregated last night at the QT Hotel in Surfers Paradise to celebrate the 2013 ASP World Surfing Awards, officially crowning last year's ASP World Champions and welcoming in the new year.
Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, long considered to be a threat to the ASP World Title ever since his inception amongst the world's elite over a decade ago, was awarded his maiden crown last night. Amidst a capacity crowd of the world's best surfers and hometown supporters, the Gold Coast stalwart brought the house down with a heartfelt and emotional speech.
"It's beautiful to have everyone here tonight," Parkinson said. "We all come together and really celebrate last season amongst our friends and family. The new year, for me, begins tomorrow. Tonight, I just feel so fortunate to be up here and to be supported by my beautiful family. I love them and am only here because of them."
FULL LIST OF AWARDS' RECIPIENTS: 2012 ASP World Champion: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 2012 ASP World Runner-Up: Kelly Slater (USA) 2012 ASP Rookie of the Year: John John Florence (HAW)
2012 ASP Women's World Champion: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 2012 ASP Women's World Runner-up: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 2012 ASP Women's Rookie of the Year: Malia Manuel (HAW)
2012 ASP Breakthrough Performer: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 2012 ASP Women's Breakthrough Performer: Lakey Peterson (USA)
2012 ASP World Longboard Champion: Taylor Jensen (USA) 2012 ASP Women's World Longboard Champion: Kelia Moniz (HAW)
2012 ASP World Junior Champion: Jack Freestone (AUS) 2012 ASP Women's World Junior Champion: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)
ASP Life Member/Chairman Emeritus: Richard Grellman ASP Service to the Sport: Randy Rarick Peter Whittaker Award: Adrian Buchan
2012 ASP Men's Heat of the Year (Fan Vote): Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Kelly Slater (USA) – Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach 2012 ASP Women's Heat of the Year (Fan Vote): Laura Enever (AUS) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS) – Roxy Pro Gold Coast
2012 ASP Maneuver of the Year (Peer Vote): Kelly Slater (USA) and Carissa Moore (HAW) 2012 ASP Wave of the Year (Peer Vote): Gabriel Medina (BRA) and Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 2012 ASP Surfers' Surfers (Peer Vote): Sage Erickson (USA) and Taylor Knox (USA)
Highlights from the 2013 ASP World Surfing Awards can be found at www.aspworldsurfingawards.com
The Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover, the opening stops of the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), will commence their windows tomorrow. The events run from March 2 – 13, 2013 and will be webcast LIVE via quiksilverlive.com
For more information, log onto ASPWorldTour.com


text:
To the editor:
I recently visited the Charles Houston Recreation Center to run on the treadmill and escape the oppressive heat and humidity plaguing the region. On this day, unlike previous visits, upon checking in I was asked if I had paid up. Upon further investigation I learned that, as of July 1, the city instituted a new policy requiring residents to pay a fee in order to use the fitness room.
Having used the facility for more than a year, I was indeed surprised by the fact that I was being asked to pay $4 per day to use the fitness room. When this $15.3 million dollar building was re-opened, use of the facilities was free.
I shouldnt be surprised. You no doubt have witnessed something similar (or soon will) for things you already pay for; or, like me, previously didnt pay for.
Maybe youve used a parking meter around town where rates are now $1.75 per hour. Homeowners take note: The City Council approved a 7.5-cent increase in your property tax rate. According to the citys own website, The average homeowners taxes will increase by $125, or 2.9%. That $125 is on top of what youre already paying. All told this latest change will raise approximately $300 million, according to the Alexandria Times.
How did we end up here? One reason is because of poor decisions made by the City Council decisions like spending more than $15 million to rebuild the Charles Houston Recreation Center instead of the initial decision in 2001 to spend $4.2 million to renovate it.
Yet Alexandrians can do something about it and to some extent they have already started. Last year Alexandrians elected two new members to the Council: Frank Fannon and Alicia Hughes. This was a good start. However, some of the same folks who got us in this mess remain. Mayor Bill Euillie has served on the City Council since 1994; Del Pepper since 1985. To quote the inventor Charles Kettering, The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.
In the meantime, Ill spend less time running at the gym and more time on our city streets.
Jason DuBois


text:
The Jag™ swimwear collection offers bikinis and cover-ups that are fitted and figure-flattering. Its line is ideal for women looking for a custom silhouette that can only be achieved through mix-and-match separates.
Jag has a wide variety of design features that provide you with support and comfort through the day including soft cups, floating underwire, and unique back cuts. Its styles incorporate trendy prints and geometric patterns to ensure you'll look your best at the beach, time and again.
From boardshorts to tankini tops to bikinis, you're guaranteed to find a style that fits you in Jag's swimwear collection.


text:
Try some LARD – it does wonders for the heart! Once described as the "coolest band that never existed", LARD is composed of four parts MINISTRY (Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, Bill Reiflin, with Jeff Ward performing on selected tracks) and one shot of JELLO (BIAFRA that is- former DEAD KENNEDY and renown spoken word performer). In the ten plus years since their first EP (The Power Of Lard– Alternative Tentacles 1989), the lads have but one live performance to show for themselves. Yet they have somehow become a household word. Crushing guitars, disturbing noises, and JELLO's signature shrieks have come to characterize the demon that is LARD. 1990 saw the bloody birth of their first full-length, The Last Temptation Of Reid. After seven years, they squeezed out another dazzler, Pure Chewing Satisfaction (1997). Now, with the dawning of a new millennium, LARD graciously treats us to another dose.
A slight musical departure for the band, the title track of their latest EP, "70's Rock Must Die", (which hit the streets January 2000). Featuring the late Jeff Ward on drums, LARD recorded the song while in the studio for The Last Temptation of Reid. They intended to use "70's Rock Must Die" for a separate side-project entitled, LEATHER AND HAIR. One brainstorm for the cover art sported the band in blond "POISON-style" wigs, riding Harleys equipped with training wheels. However, as they never finished a B-side, the recording sat in the closet for years. Finally, after much encouragement from Jello, Al mixed down the song, a long time cult favorite of all who had heard the rough version. Anxious to share their seventies memories (c'mon- THE BEE GEE's, John Travolta, and Ford Pintos- you know you love it), LARD has created an epic screaming for a music video.
Lest, the rock power should start to overwhelm your soul, the two subsequent songs will crush you with the sensibilities of a jackhammer. Though recorded during the Pure Chewing Satisfaction sessions, the tracks seemed to pack more punch on their own, and were consequently left off the album. "Vulcanus 2000" offers a glimpse into the Sci-Fi nightmare created by humanity¹s excessive waste and resulting refuse; in other words, visualizing a landfill springing to life. The final track, "The Ballad of Marshall Ledbetter", details the real-life antics of a frustrated, young citizen who locked himself in the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, and demanded (among other items) a veggie pizza, six hundred and sixty-six donuts and a chat with Lemmy and Jello.
To accompany the EP, Alternative Tentacles auctioned a metallic orange '79 Ford Pinto. That's right- complete with leopard print seatcovers, a dashboard hula girl, rearview disco ball, and snazzy mud flaps. (And surprisingly enough, a Ford Pinto wasn't easy to come by!) After extended search, our faithful office manager finally stumbled upon one in the desolate suburb of Hayward, CA. During the voyage to retrieve the vehicle, a bevy of Pintos suddenly appeared, tucked away in sunny Hayward. Yup, cholesterol-free lifestyle getting you down- do yourself a favor and suck down the LARD.