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Friday, August 2, 2013
The University of West Georgia inaugural cohort for the Southwire Sustainable Business Honors Program convened yesterday at a welcome luncheon with Southwire President and CEO Stu Thorn. The luncheon provided the six incoming students with an opportunity to formally introduce themselves to Thorn and learn more about Southwire and its inception of the partnership with the Richards College of Business for the program.
"As our partners in education, we felt like RCOB could teach students not only to build worth, but that they could also go beyond that and focus on course work that we've put together to emphasize going green, environmental studies, living well, employee welfare, giving back, stewardship and ethics," said Thorn. "With that, we've also created a much broader view of what it takes to graduate a student who is really ready to go into business not only for short-term success, but for long-term generational success."
The program, funded by a $1.1 million gift from Southwire, allows student to complete both a BBA and an MBA in only four years.
"As you go into the job market think about all of the things you will be able to say that your competitors won't be able to say," Thorn told the students. "You will be able to speak to so much more than the typical student graduating. From the hands-on experience you will receive to the education you'll gain from the academics. Trust me, you will be much more marketable."
Students will not only benefit from knowledge in the classroom, but also from one-on-one mentoring with corporate executives and unique internship opportunities. The program also engages students in extra-curricular activities that focus on sustainable business development, ethics and corporate responsibility.
"This will be an opportunity you will remember for the rest of your lives," said Dr. Faye S. McIntyre, dean of the Richards College of Business and Sewell Chair of Private Enterprise. "Each student here comes with high reviews and recommendations, and I am excited to work with and meet each of you."
Southwire Company is North America's largest wire and cable producer. Southwire and its subsidiaries manufacture building wire and cable, metal-clad (MC) cable, cord products (including TappanTM sound, security, and communication cables through Tappan Wire & Cable Inc.), utility cable products, industrial power cable, OEM wire products, SCR copper and aluminum rod, and continuous casting technology. Southwire also supplies MAXIS wire and cable installation tools to the commercial, industrial and utility construction markets.
For more information on the Richards College of Business or the Southwire Sustainable Business Honors Program, visit http://www.westga.edu/business/.
Photo 1: Stu Thorn, president and CEO of Southwire speaks to inaugural cohort for Sustainable Business Honors Program


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Exploring Speech Therapy Games with Children on the Autism Spectrum
Mohammed E. Hoque
|Experimental design
|Preliminary results and Analysis
Individuals on the autism spectrum often have difficulties producing intelligible speech. In this study, we present a novel intervention towards customizing speech enabled games to help them produce intelligible speech. In this approach, we clinically and computationally identify the areas of speech production difficulties of our participants. We provide an interactive and customized interface for the participants to meaningfully manipulate the prosodic aspects of their speech. Over the course of 12 months, we have conducted several pilots to set up the experimental design, developed a suite of games and audio processing algorithms for prosodic analysis of speech. Preliminary results demonstrate our intervention being engaging and effective for our participants.
Autism spectrum disorders are a collection of neuro-developmental disorders characterized by qualitative impairments in social interaction and social relatedness, as well as difficulties in acquiring and using communication and language abilities, and a restricted range of interests and preference for consistency and predictability in daily routines [1]. Approximately one third to one half of individuals on the autism spectrum have significant difficulty using speech and language as an effective means of communication [2]. Some examples include reduced engagement in turn taking, irregular patterns of speech rate and inflection of voice, inappropriate pauses in reciprocal conversations, literal interpretation of figurative language, and difficulty understanding the social cues of the listener, i.e., monologuing [3]. These difficulties in speech production and processing can result in interpersonal interactions being overwhelming, confusing, stressful and are often misinterpreted as a general disinterest to engage in social interactions.
In this work, we introduce an on-going exploratory speech intervention where we engage our participants in customized interactive games to help improve their speech intelligibility. For example, several of our participants speak so fast that they are hard to understand by their teachers and peers. To address this difficulty, we customized a turtle race game, where a participant controls one of the turtles by speaking at a slower speech rate. The objective of the game is to finish the race first by speaking at a slow speech rate. Our hypothesis, in this intervention, is that real-time visualizations of speech properties, which often act as social mirrors, can influence social communication. With this intervention, our objective is not to replace the traditional speech therapist. Instead, we propose our games as an easily customizable and freely available supplement to speech-language therapies to help individuals with speech difficulties.
1.1. Prosody and Autism Spectrum Disorder
The inflection of voice, patterns of pauses, relative duration of syllables, relative loudness, and rhythm are often termed as prosodic aspects of speech. These features are not entirely predictable at word or sentence level; instead, they are obtained by analyzing phoneme sequences [4]. In other words, prosodic features are independent of words and can not be deduced from lexical channels.
In reciprocal conversations, prosody defines communicative functions (syntactic, pragmatic, and affective) and enhances or changes the meaning of what is said [6] Prosody is embedded into conversational turns and often works as a "signaling device" to influence the next set of actions that people would normally take given a social context. However, individuals on the autism spectrum, despite having a good understanding of grammar and phonology, often exhibit extremely poor usage of social language [7]. Fine et al. [8] showed that individuals on the spectrum are unable to asses the social context of a situation, and as a result, they either do not use appropriate patterns of intonation or they systematically demonstrate the misuse of linguistic system.
Because of the implications of speech-language abilities on social communication, there is a longstanding interest in the assessment of speech production and processing abilities in autism. These interests, along with recent developments in speech technology, have made it possible to develop precise and objective measures of speech and language ability. For instance, Van Santen et al. [9] used computer-based speech technologies to quantify expressive prosody and generate acoustically controlled speech stimuli for measuring receptive prosody. Also, spectral speech tools such as Speech Visualization [10] allow real-time viewing and analysis of speech in controlled settings for loudness, pitch, intonation, timing, rate, and rhythm. However, none of these tools are easily accessible nor they provide interactive interfaces which can be rapidly changed based on participants preferences.
The remaining part of this work is divided into three sections. In section 2, we present our experimental design including an explanation of our proposed computerized speech therapy, evaluation schema and participants' details. Section 3 provides preliminary results of our intervention; Section 4 concludes the paper and describes future work.
2. Experimental Design
Figure 1: Experimental design.
As shown in Figure 1, our study contains two groups running in parallel and undertaking both traditional and computerized speech intervention. An initial evaluation of the participant's performance was completed to quantify baseline speech production characteristics. Groups 1 and 2 go through traditional speech therapy (described in section 2.2), for two weeks followed by a test to evaluate any changes in performance incurred during this phase. Group 1 then undergoes an additional two weeks of traditional speech therapy while Group 2 experiences two weeks of computerized speech therapy. Another post-evaluation is conducted to record any improvement. Then, each group receives the other style of intervention for another two weeks. A final post-evaluation is performed to record any change in performance. Recording performance at each point of the intervention enables us to observe a cause-and-effect relationship between the traditional and our proposed speech therapy. It may also be useful in measuring specific impact of the speech interventions on the participants.
2.1. Participants
This study was conducted at the Groden Center, a non-profit school that provides evaluative, therapeutic, and educational programs for individuals diagnosed with autism and other developmental disorders. Eight participants with diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and one with a diagnosis of Down syndrome were recruited. Five of them were asigned to Group 1 and the remaining four participants were assigned to Group 2. Assignment of the participants into two groups was based on the similar speech difficulties. The participants' age, gender, diagnosis, and objectives for speech-language therapy as listed in their school profile are shown in Table 1.
2.2. Sentences (Traditional Speech therapy)
In traditional speech therapy, therapists usually employ flash cards with objects drawn on them and prompt the participants to explain the content of it. To allow for a fair comparison between the traditional speech therapy and the computerized speech therapy, instead of using flash cards, we have modeled around 170 everyday utterances per group containing 3/4 words per utterance. Examples of such utterances are, "Boys are playing", "I want Pizza", "I am happy today" etc. During the intervention, a therapist prompts the participant to repeat any of the 3/4 word sentences chosen from a list of 170 predetermined sentences. If the participant exhibits appropriate inflection of voice, volume, and engagement, the therapist moves on to another sentence. Otherwise, further instruction is given to prompt the participant to try again.
2.3. Computerized Speech Therapy
In computerized speech therapy, just as in the traditional speech therapy, the therapist prompts the participant to repeat one of 3/4 word sentences from the same list of 170 predetermined sentences. The only difference is that instead of getting direct feedback from the therapist, participants get feedback from interactive games. The speech therapist per group remains the same throughout the intervention for both traditional and computerized therapy.
Kaypentax [11] has been specializing in building games for more than two decades to help people with their speech disorders. We decided to start with their off-the-shelf product to quickly validate the efficacy of our approach, instead of spending time upfront developing games. However, after a series of pilot studies and careful observation of those games, we were able to understand the underlying mechanism and recreate the same set of games using the freely available software called Scratch (scratch.mit.edu), developed at the MIT Media Lab. This was more desirable as Scratch is free, platform independent, and provides users with an easy-to-use interface to change the background, characters, and game parameters. It was also well received by our participants since in autism there tend to be a preference towards customization.
As shown in Table 1, since most of the participants have difficulties with amplitude modulation and speech rate, we chose games that incorporate amplitude and speech rate. In games that employ amplitude, participants are required to modulate the volume of their voice to control objects in the game. Similarly, in games that employ speech rate, participants must control the rate of their speech in order to perform well in the games.
2.4. Experimental Setup
Our experimental setup has evolved over time through a few months of pilot studies with teachers, staff, and occasionally with participants. In the beginning, we had participants use a table-top microphone attached to a laptop as an input device. However, we then realized that participants would lean forward to the microphone to compensate for their low volume. Therefore, we started using an Audio Technica AT892 MicroSet Wired Headset, which hangs non-intrusively from the ear, ensuring that most participants maintain a consistent distance between their mouth and the microphone. This microphone was interfaced with the laptop using a Tascum US-144 audio and midi interface.
We found that the participants were often distracted from the games by the keyboard in front of them. Additionally, we felt that interaction between the therapist and the participants would be more effective if they were engaged in face-to-face communication. To address these issues, we introduced an external monitor in our experimental setup to allow the teacher to control the laptop while maintaining face-to-face contact with the participant. This set up is shown in Figure 2.
2.5. Test/Evaluation
We are aware of the concern that good performance in speech games or traditional speech therapy may not translate well into natural social situations. To address this concern, at the beginning of each session, we engage the participants in natural conversation about topics that are of interest to them. After the session, the therapist engages the participant on the same topic, while the participant is attending to the game.
Each speech session is recorded using Audacity, an open source audio editor. Using semi-automated speaker segmentation methods, we extract the utterances for each participant. The extracted utterances are then processed by Sona-Speech's Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) and Praat [12] speech processing software. In MDVP, the four measured parameters are the Relative Average Perturbation (RAP) to measure variability of the pitch period; Shim to measure the variability of peak-to-peak amplitude; Noise Harmonic Ratio (NHR) used to quantify the amount of noise present in the analyzed signal; and finally the Voice Turbulence Index (VTI), which measures the higher frequency inharmonic to harmonic ratio and provides a measure of noise commonly generated by incomplete or loose movement of the vocal chords.
Using Praat, prosodic features related to pitch (minimum, maximum, mean, rate of change etc.), intensity (minimum, maximum, mean, mode), speaking rate (syllables per second), and pauses (average number of pauses per utterance, average duration of pauses, maximum duration of pauses per utterance) are automatically extracted for utterances per participant. Additionally, the speech therapist keeps track of how many prompts were needed during each session. This is done using a simple hand held golf clicker making it easier for the teacher to attend to the participants. The therapist's subjective analysis of the participant's performance is also recorded. The analysis from the MDVP, the prosodic speech features, the number of prompts, and the therapist's reports are all used to assess the participant's performance across the speech study.
3. Preliminary Analysis and Results
Through a few pilot studies of our proposed experimental design, we have observed interesting results supporting our hypothesis.
The participants enjoy interacting with the games so much that they often continue to play the games even after the allocated time. This contrasts to their traditional speech therapy sessions, half of which were discontinued due to cognitive overload. All nine participants immediately understood the objective of the game, and after a few trials, interacted very well with the game. In traditional speech therapy, the participants were often distracted, bored, annoyed, and restless by being asked to repeat a set of sentences. The participants often had to be given some sort of reward (e.g., chocolates) to keep them on task. On the other hand, during the computerized intervention, participants were excited and engaged while trying out different set of games eliminating the needs for supplementary rewards throughout any of the sessions. Additionally, in the computerized intervention, the participants' interest seemed to increase proportionally as they gradually understood the objectives of the games. The gradual improvement of the participants' ability to meaningfully control their voice surpassed the expectations of some of the teachers who interact with the students on a daily basis. The teachers felt that the computerized sessions were not only more enjoyable for the students, but also less distressing for the teachers as they no longer had to repeatedly focus on "reinforcement" to keep the participants on task.
We have noticed that participants are able to use appropriate speech rate, intonation, and pauses to explain the very same sentence in conversation while attending to the game, an achievement that the therapists did not think was possible. For example, one of the participant's - let's call him Tom, has a tendency of speaking quickly making it difficult to understand him. While engaging in a natural conversation with him, Tom said a sentence whose fundamental frequency is plotted along with its transcription in Figure 4(a). The results of Tom saying the same sentence while attending to the computer game are plotted in figure 4(b). One can see in 4(b) that the pitch elements, corresponding to different words, are disjoint. This phenomenon corresponds to the participant's ability to pause between each word, thereby drastically improving intelligibility. Figure 4(a, b) shows that participant took 3.9 seconds to complete the sentence compared to 5.9 seconds to express the same sentence while attending to the game. This is an indication of the participant's ability to pace his speech in context. We have also computationally measured the speech rate (syllables per second) of the two utterances to quantitatively validate our assertion. For the utterance displayed in Figure 4(a), there were 2.78 syllables per second, whereas for Figure 4(b), there were 2.04 syllables per second. This confirms that Tom did speak with a slower speech rate when playing the games.
In Figure 5 (a, b), a comparison of prosodic properties for two participants in natural conversation and while attending the computer games is plotted. There is a significant reduction (particularly for #3), as shown in Figure 5(a), in the number of pitch breaks during computer intervention. Having fewer pitch breaks in a conversation corresponds to having better control of one's pitch. Figure 5(b) demonstrates comparison of other pitch characteristics for two participants during their natural speech and speech while attending to the games.
4. Conclusion
In this paper, we have introduced an exploratory novel speech intervention to help individuals on the autism spectrum with unintelligible speech. We have pursued traditional speech therapy along with customizable interactive speech-enabled games, in parallel. We measure performance in every two weeks to observe any changes that our participants exhibit due to the speech intervention that the individual is subjected. In order to measure the performance, we have designed three different criteria. First, we analyze the recorded speech using Sona-Speech's Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP). Then, speech therapists provide information related to number of prompts that were required per session and their subjective analysis of how the participant performed. Finally, Praat speech processing software is used to record prosodic statistics of speech.
Our initial observations through a set of pilot studies, employing the proposed experimental setup, suggest that participants are more engaged, competitive, and cheerful during the computerized intervention compared to the traditional speech intervention. Our proposed approach aims to enable speech-language therapists, teachers, and parents to assess and teach verbal expressions in a new and enjoyable way that is individually-tailored for each person's interest, sensory, and perceptual capabilities. By helping individuals on the autism spectrum with their communication needs, we aim to increase their competency, confidence, and engagement in social interactions thereby improving their quality of life by enabling them to integrate more naturally into society.
This research was supported by Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation (NLMFF). I would like to acknowledge my advisor Prof. Rosalind Picard for her guidance in this work. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Rana el-Kaliouby and Dr. Matthew Goodwin for their valuable contribution towards this work. Joseph Lane, through MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), has helped in data collection data and game development.
[1] American Psychiatric Assoc. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Vol. 4, 1994
[2] S. E. Bryson. "Brief report: Epidemiology of autism" Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, vol. 26, pp. 165-167, April 1996.
[3] L. Capps, J. Kehres and M. Sigman. "Conversational Abilities among Children with Autism and Children with Developmental Delays". Autism, vol. 2, pp. 325–344, 1998.
[4] C. Shih and G. Kochanski, "Prosody and Prosodic Models," 7th International Conference on Spoken Language Processing, Denver, Colorado, 2002.
[5] E. Couper-Kuhlen. An Introduction to English Prosody. London: Edward Arnold, 1986.
[6] A. Cruttenden. Intonation. Cambridge University Press, 1986.
[7] D. Bishop, J. Chan, C. Adams, J. Hartley, and F. Weir. "Conversational responsiveness in specific language impairment: evidence of disproportionate pragmatic difficulties in a subset of children". Development and Psychopathology, vol. 12, pp. 177-99, 2000.
[8] J. Fine, G. Bartolucci, G. Ginsberg, and P. Szatmari. "The Use of Intonation to Communicate in Pervasive Development Disorders". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 32, pp. 771-82, 1991.
[9] J. V. Santen, et al A.Kain. "Synthesis of Prosody Using Multi-Level Sequence Units". Speech Communication, vol. 46, pp. 365-375, 2005.
[10] Locutour. "Speech Visualization: An Easy to Use Spectral Speech Tool", Learning Fundamentals Inc.
[11] KayPentax. "Sona-Speech", Internet: www.kayelemetrics.com, [January 17, 2009].
[12] P. Boersma and D. Weenink. "Praat: Doing Phonetics by Computer." Internet: www.praat.org, [January 7, 2009].

subset: commoncrawl


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If you're accustomed to living, sleeping and walking in the lap of luxury, then you should identify with our accomodations, from studios to three bedroom Suites, all set in low rise villas, each tasteful, spacious and offering you a choice of ocean front locations, as well as ocean, garden and golf views. All set in a low rise "residential" resort.
234 elegant suites comfortably furnished and decorated in an "Old Mexican Hacienda" style. All Suites and rooms offer panoramic ocean, garden and golf course views.


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The work reported in this article is concerned with our findings at Long Island College Hospital, during the fall, winter and spring of 1923-1924, as a part of a clinical experiment with the subcutaneous administration of pneumococcus antibody solution pursued under the supervision of the influenza commission in the cities of New York, Boston, Cincinnati and Chicago. It seemed desirable to study the effect of antibody solution administered subcutaneously, largely because previous workers seemed to be agreed that the reactions following intravenous inoculation of antibody solution are often severe and sometimes actually dangerous to the patient. In the interests of uniformity and in order to provide comparable results, the experimental clinical work was pursued in accordance with the following plan outlined by the influenza commission.
Every case giving a typical history of chill, fever, pain in the side and cough with rusty sputum, together with typical
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text: 'Ballymena-style' celebration for Neeson 24 Jan 2013 While Ballymena will be rolling out the red carpet next week, the town's mayor has promised that a "gathering of friends" will be more important than formalities for Liam Neeson's big homecoming. Share Share Share Story by UTV Staff, Belfast While the actor - now a global star - has returned to his home town on numerous occasions in the past, he'll be honoured this time round with the Freedom of the Borough.Liam is expected to make his arrival by limo, along with his proud mum, ahead of the official ceremony in the Council Chamber. "This is a significant civic occasion, but we have been at pains to keep the formalities to a minimum - in keeping with Liam's relaxed style and recognising that this is, above all, a gathering of friends," Ballymena Mayor PJ McAvoy said."It will also be a real Ballymena-style celebration, with some of our fantastic local talent providing the music, Ballymena students providing their own cinematic tribute to Liam's life and work, and local produce providing guests with a literal 'taste of the region'."We look forward to honouring an outstanding individual who has proved to be both an exceptional talent and a superb global ambassador for Ballymena.Ballymena Mayor PJ McAvoyAround 200 guests will attend the celebrations and Liam is expected to address the gathering, from the very stage on which he started his acting career as a member of the Slemish Players.But will he be making the most of the 'freedom' his new accolade will afford him? Probably not."In years gone by, Freemen of the Borough earned tax benefits and could drive their sheep unimpeded through the town," Mr McAvoy explained."I'm afraid Liam won't reap those rewards on Monday, but he will certainly gain an insight into the esteem in which he is held in Ballymena."The Freedom of Ballymena has previously been awarded to only three other people - Ian Paisley, Syd Millar and Sandy Spence. © UTV Share Share Share


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I placed my Brompton order last night at my local Cycle Surgery Store and went for a Lightweight, S-Type, 2 Speed in raw lacquer finish, no rack, guards or lights, Stevilo tyres. Decided on the new Brompton saddle (I can add a Brooks later) and I added an S-Bag and slip cover.
I was able to get 10% off the price by asking them to price match the quote I had from another dealer who are signed up to a scheme with my employer. Cycle Surgery is only 3 miles from home and I'm a regular customer whereas the other Brompton dealer listed with my employer is 20 miles away. 10% is worth having and the store is still making around £500 out of me (I've seen the trade list prices and there is a 50% mark up).
Anyhow I'm getting excited now, bike should be here in around 6 – 8 weeks


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Midday Roundup: Boston bombing suspect gets rock star treatment
Rock star bomber? Rolling Stone is taking heat for its cover featuring accused Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The cover goes with a story about Tsarnaev's childhood and family life, which promises to reveal how a "popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam, and became a monster," according to the publisher. But critics say the "glam shot" of Tsarnaev gives his supporters a rock star-style poster to hang on their bedroom walls. The photo shows Tsarnaev sometime before his arrest, with tousled, curly hair and a hint of a goatee. Critics point out it's very reminiscent of the covers the magazine did of rock and roll "royalty," including The Doors' Jim Morrison. Despite the criticism, Rolling Stone is probably reveling in all the attention the cover's getting. Everyone will want to read that story now.
Primary battle. Liz Cheney, the most recognizable of former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughters, plans to challenge Sen. Michael Enzi of Wyoming in next year's GOP primary. In an online video announcing her candidacy, Cheney focused most of her criticism on President Barack Obama, rather than her future opponent, although she did say Republicans could "no longer afford simply to get along to go along." She's obviously not interested in changing the divisive tone in Washington. And her candidacy is already causing plenty of division in the Republican Party. The National Republican Senatorial Committee said it would support the incumbent, while Cheney's father has already started to court some of the party's big donors on his daughter's behalf.
Temporary disarmament. The Senate has reached a deal to avoid the threatened "nuclear option" that would have ended the minority party's ability to filibuster Cabinet appointees. Under an agreement finalized yesterday, Republicans agreed to vote on seven nominations to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Democrats agreed to give up two other NLRB nominees whom President Obama appointed during a congressional recess, but the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing those appointments anyway. When asked whether he'd won his point. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada hedged and said he'd take the compromise. But he's also keeping his nuke in his pocket in case Republicans refuse to play nice next session.
More charges in Cleveland. Accused Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro appeared in court again today to respond to more than 600 additional charges prosecutors filed against him. He now faces 977 charges stemming from accusations he held three women—Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina DeJesus—against their will in his home for almost 10 years, repeatedly beating and raping them. Castro has pleaded not guilty. But his lawyers admitted today some of the charges are irrefutable and said their client would be willing to reach a plea deal if the prosecutor will drop plans to seek the death penalty. Castro faces two charges of aggravated murder in the deaths of two unborn babies he allegedly caused Knight to miscarry.


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The Apple iPod Touch 16GB version is now available with a 5 megapixel iSight camera for Rs 16,900. Now, the entire iPod touch lineup features the 5 megapixel iSight camera with 1080p HD video recording, 4-inch Retina display, Apple's A5 chip and FaceTime camera.
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text: WHHHAAATT!!?? HOW they hell can you forgive someone who throws acid in your face? This woman was blinded by such an attack. This happened in Iran, where "eye for an eye" punishment is law. When the Dr. was just about to drop some acid into the bad guy's eyes, the victim sobbed and pleaded for him to stop. She says she forgave her attacker. WHATTTTT???!!


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I want to get a new Computer built for darkfall.
But i honestly am not sure what parts to get.
I have a budget of around $1000.
can anyone help me with a setup for around that price?
i'll make u sigs/any graphics u need if you help me lol
I want to get a new Computer built for darkfall.
But i honestly am not sure what parts to get.
I have a budget of around $1000.
can anyone help me with a setup for around that price?
i'll make u sigs/any graphics u need if you help me lol
I just built mine It's a pretty gratifying experience for the first time builder, I must say. The only advice I can offer is to pick the CPU, then get a motherboard that fits that CPU AND supports the type of hardware you want, then get the hardware that you're mobo supports.
for processor id go with either Q6600 quad core, or E6600 dual core. Both pretty much the most bang for ur buck, and trust me, its alot of bang. The E6600 is a "little" better for games nowadays but is not as futureproof as the Q6600, Also the Q6600 is futureproof and is damn good at gaming as well plus it is good for deskop/media and downloads. Also just a tidbit about the Q6600, on official benchmarks it was comparable by just 1 second to the Quad core Xtreme, which is a $1000+ dollar processor. as far as motherboards, i picked up the ASUS P5ND, its one of the highend ATX asus motherboards and is very good for overclocking, and like i said, its also a good price. As far as graphics cards go, don't get anything under the 8000 series because you can easily get a good 8800gt or even gts/gtx within the 100-200 price range. Although I would recomend the 9800gtx or 9800GX2 which is a single GPU but it is basically 2 9800gtx's in one. Lastly, get a good cheap 600-620 watt PSU which can usually be found around the 100 dollar range, and trust me, 600watts is enough to run (SLI) if you really wanted to. ALSO, make sure your motherboard fits your processor, if you are going AMD, make sure to get a AM2 socket motherboard, if you are getting a intel processor like the ones i recomended, you will need a LGA 775 socket. As far as a "Computer case" MAKE SURE that it supports "ATX motherboards" as ATX motherboards are about 12 inches long and need proper spacing to support them, most custom cases, mid-tower and full-tower, will tell you if they support ATX motherboard! I wish you luck building a screaming hot computer, the components i have listed will get you a computer that is more than enough for darkfall and within the 1000 dollar price range, i dont know exactly what it would be, but estimated around $900-1200. For finding these parts, I would recomend www.tigerdirect.com or www.newegg.com Both are very reputable hardware selling companys and it is how i built my rig. Enjoy your comp!
Last edited by strayfe; 08-30-2008 at 04:50.
Semper fi
See my thread, since I have the same budget: http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?t=64169
You can bump down the gfx card to a 4850 in order to pick up a hard drive. If you're going to cannibalize your old system you may not need a cd/dvd driver either. You can also get 4GB of RAM instead, if you wanted to stay with XP or get vista 32-bit.
thankyou VERY MUCH!!!
buy the latest dell dimension and pour vodka on it then lite it on fire. afterwards start building your pc. thats the best advice i was given.
Just built a comp. About $620 minus the uber case I got for free. It can run pretty much any game out there on highest settings.
Here's a copy of my invoice. NewEgg.com is absolutely the best place to order parts and even full computers from. http://byopc.net will give you some ideas too, if you don't like my setup.
Not rechecking thread, PM me if you go along with my build or anything, heheh.
1 i-rocks IR-7521L-BK Black 5 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Laser Mouse - RetailItem #: N82E16826227009
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Standard Return Policy $5.99 1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEMItem #: N82E16822136218
Limited 30-Day Return Policy
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Limited 30-Day Return Policy $34.99 1 GIGABYTE GA-EG31M-S2 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - RetailItem #: N82E16813128338
Limited 30-Day Return Policy
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Peter Mac provides a culturally sensitive environment and understands the unique health care needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Identifying as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
If you identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, please let a member of your healthcare team know so they can ensure the social, emotional and cultural support you might need is offered during your cancer treatment.
Contact information
For more information, contact Katie Harvey: Aboriginal Health Development Officer on 03 9656 1031 or email email@example.com.
- Aboriginal cancer journeys: our stories of kinship, hope and survival
- Info sheet: Aboriginal diet and nutrition
- Info sheet: Cancer treatment
- Info sheet: It's time to have a yarn about bowel cancer
- Info sheet: Let's talk about living with cancer
- Info sheet: Looking after someone with cancer
- Brochure: Lymphoedema
- Info sheet: Making decisions about treatment
- Info sheet: Talking about cancer
- Info sheet: What is cancer?


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The Right Solution for Your Concrete Problem
If you have a concrete floor, you already know all the problems it can create. Concrete is porous, stains easily and gets slippery. It cracks, it's hard to repair. And let's face it: Concrete can get downright ugly, too. What you need is a partner who knows exactly how to fix the problem—and will use the materials you specify. Or, recommend the right solution for job. In other words, you need Archway.
It really does matter who you choose. We have our own crews and equipment. We've seen it all and know how to fix it all. And just as important, will do so on time and on budget. Our knowledge is hands-on, so we'll do the job right the first time.
Whatever concrete coating system you need, we've got you covered.


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On their side
Volunteer advocates help meet foster children's needs
Voices for Children
What: Volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates for foster children
Where: 2851 Meadow Lark Drive, San Diego
Who: People interested in volunteering should contact Susan Smith at (858) 598-2235
Information: speakupnow.org
It was a frame. A black frame, with multiple spots for pictures and the word "Family" in large letters at the top.
Most teenagers would pass right over it while shopping. It didn't have bling. It wasn't terribly stylish. Heck, it wasn't even in the right aisle at Target. It was abandoned in the furniture section by a previous shopper, and it caught foster teen Candace Kaimuloa's eye.
Something the teen barely had.
She looked at Genevieve Knych-Rohan and said, "I want to buy this."
Knych-Rohan understood.
For the past six years, Knych-Rohan, 46, has been the family Kaimuloa, 18, never had. The two met when Knych-Rohan, a recruiter for a local biotech company who is married and has two stepsons, became a Court Appointed Special Advocate to Kaimuloa and three of her brothers through the nonprofit organization Voices for Children. The organization pairs volunteer advocates with foster children in the region to identify and advocate for their needs.
"It's different from being a mentor or Big Brother or Sister figure, because CASAs have court orders," said Kim Penny, vice president of marketing and development for Voices for Children. "They are assigned by the court for this child's case. They have access to court reports, school reports — really, access to all aspects of the child's life."
Special advocates spend a minimum of 10 hours a month with their foster child. They advocate for anything from eyeglasses and braces to transportation to and from school events.
The individualized attention can sometimes be difficult for social workers to provide.
"Social workers have a high caseload and are responsible for many children and their families, and are therefore not able to focus attention on one child at a time," said Penny, who noted there are nearly 6,000 children in San Diego County's foster-care system.
"Voices for Children has a huge impact on what I do as a social worker," said Steven Wells, a senior protective services worker with the county's Child Welfare Services Department. "It's really important that CASAs are around, because they're charged with keeping an eye on everything the child needs."
But it's the intangibles that sometimes make the most difference.
It is the special advocate who celebrates a foster child's birthday when parents don't call or visit. It is the special advocate who is on the sidelines when a foster child plays his first soccer game and has no family in the stands. It is the special advocate who helps a teen with relationship issues in high school or does her hair before prom.
"The CASA is often the only consistent adult in the child's life," Penny said.
On a recent trip to Target, Knych-Rohan accompanied Kaimuloa as she picked out items for her dorm room at the University of California Davis. It was a first for Kaimuloa, who was using money she won from an essay contest to make the purchases.
"I've never been able to choose before," she said as she eyed an aisle of linens, her smile exposing two dimples. "I've never been able to pick out what I wanted."
She was learning about thread counts and closet organizers from Knych-Rohan, who insisted on snapping her photo in the aisles of Target and embarrassing her the way any mother would a daughter about to go to college.
Kaimuloa is thankful for those pictures. Without Knych-Rohan, Kaimuloa would have nothing to fill the frame she found. Knych-Rohan began taking pictures of Kaimuloa and her brothers the day she met them, when Kaimuloa was 12 and her parents could no longer care for her.


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Making Video Calls with Skype
Before your first video call
Are you ready to talk face to face? On Skype, video calls are easy, whether you have a built-in webcam or one you've purchased separately.
To start, you need at least one contact. Go back to our lesson on Adding Contacts if you need help finding or adding people you know. Next, you'll need to test your webcam to make sure the person on the other end will be able to see you. After that, you'll be ready to make video calls one on one or with an entire group. Before you begin, make sure:
- You're connected to the Internet
- Your volume is turned up
- Your speakers and microphone are plugged in if they're not already built in to your computer
- Your webcam is plugged in if it's not already built in and you've installed the software that came with it
- You know your basic voice call settings are working; if you're not sure, you can always make a test call, which is covered in our lesson on Making Calls with Skype
To test your webcam:
- Select Tools, then choose Options.
Opening Skype options
- The Skype - Options window will appear. Under General, click Video Settings.
Opening video settings
- The pane will show the outcome of the test. You'll know it's working if you see live video of yourself. In the pane pictured below, you can adjust your privacy and webcam settings and even take a photo snapshot using your webcam.
- When you're done, close the window by clicking Cancel, or click Save if you've made any changes to your settings.
If Skype can't find your webcam, follow the links pictured below, or go to this troubleshooting page.
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The week ahead
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Annual Student Exhibit, through June 6, Mondays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Features graphics, paintings, photography, computer graphics and portfolios by students in the commercial art program. Schulman Gallery, Luzerne County Community College, Nanticoke. 740-0727 or www.luzerne.edu.
Recent Landscapes by Thomas Stapleton, through June 7, Tuesdays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, 1-5 p.m. The Mountain Top artist displays 21 paintings. MacDonald Room, Pauly Friedman Art Gallery at Misericordia University, Dallas. 674-6250 or www.misericordia.edu/art.
Scranton Celtic Festival, today. Family-oriented festival features live bands, a whiskey tasting, vendors offering an assortment of Celtic wares, food and activities for children. Sno Cove, Scranton, $10/day; under 12 free. 969-7669 or www.scrantoncelticfest.com.
Miracle of the Bells, through Aug. 31, Tuesdays-Fridays, noon-2 p.m.; Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. Historical exhibit tells the story of Olga Trotzski of Glen Lyon who became a Broadway producer and is the inspiration for "Miracle of the Bells," a 1946 best-selling novel and 1948 movie partially filmed in Glen Lyon. Luzerne County Historical Society Museum, Wilkes-Barre. 822-1727 or luzernehistory.org.
Discover Lehigh Gorge Walk, Saturday, 11 a.m. Explore Lehigh Gorge State Park on an easy one-hour walk. Wear sturdy shoes. White Haven Community Library, White Haven. Free. 443-8776 or whitehavenlibrary.com.
Bird Walk, Saturday, 8 a.m. Join volunteer Dave Kruel for an early morning bird walk, suitable for beginners. Meet at the park office and bring binoculars. Call to register. Nescopeck State Park, Drums, Free. 403-2006.
Family Nature Hike, Saturday, 2 p.m. Celebrate Pennsylvania Hiking Week with a walk along Lakeshore Trail to the turtle pond. Meet in the Pavilion 3 parking area. Frances Slocum State Park, Wyoming. 696-9105 firstname.lastname@example.com.
Live Birds of Prey, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Delaware Valley Raptor Center presents a program featuring live hawks and owls. Meet at the campground amphitheater; bring own seating. Frances Slocum State Park, Wyoming. 696-9105 firstname.lastname@example.com.
Buzzy Buddies, Saturday, 4 p.m. Learn about honeybees through a dramatic play, story and craft. Ages 3-5. Campground amphitheater. Frances Slocum State Park, Wyoming. 696-9105 email@example.com.
Romeo and Juliet, today, 3 p.m. Gamut Theatre Group of Harrisburg performs an 80-minute original text adaptation. A talk back session with the cast's six actors will follow. The Dietrich Theater, Tunkhannock. Free. 996-1500 or www.dietrichtheater.com.
Barefoot in the Park, today, 3 p.m. Lori Colacito directs the Neil Simon comedy starring Maureen Hozempa and Tom Franko. Additional cast members include Christa Manning, John Schugard and John Beppler. The Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre. 823-1875 or www.ltwb.org.
Brighton Beach Memoirs, today, 3 p.m. Theatre at the Grove, Nuangola. 868-8212.
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Editor's Note: I met John Rabon at Dragon*Con this year when we were on a couple panels together. He was lucky enough to see The Boat That Rocked in Europe earlier this year and decided to write up a review of the differences that Pirate Radio has compared to The Boat the Rocked. Thanks John!
So I took my time to see the film yesterday, and while it had a lot of the great moments and music I remembered from seeing it in Rome this summer, it's further proof that a director shouldn't be allowed to re-edit a film except to make a "director's cut" DVD.
Again, for the most part, the film remained the same. One reason the film was pushed back to a November release in the United States was due to complaints about its length, something Curtis wanted to fix by re-editing it. However, the edits for the American release do the film a disservice. Little things, like Angus playing The Seekers twice in a row weren't terribly missed, but some of the more comedic scenes were just gone. First, you have a great scene with Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd), who plays DJ Simple Simon Swafford, who deals with the pain of his marriage ending with a hilarious lip-sync to "Stay with Me Baby." Second, before his marriage, the film completely replaced the wild pub-crawl stag party (set to The Small Faces) with much less funny collage of a party held on the boat.
Also, they cut out a scene where Jack Davenport's character, Ministry underling Mr. Twat (I kid you not), sneaks on board with fans and is caught by Quintin (Nighy), meanwhile, ladies' man DJ Mark corrals about half of the female fans into his room, where Quintin finds them all undressed. This scene (in the trailer with all the ladies clothed) helps the film towards the end when Mark is asked how he gets so many women to sleep with him.
Further, certain songs and scenes were moved around in a way that didn't make as much sense. Our protagonist Carl (not Philip Seymour Hoffman as American trailers imply) meets and falls in love with a girl named Marianne (Miss Evangelista from Doctor Who), who promptly sleeps with Nick Frost instead. In the original version, AFTER Parliament passes an act banning pirate radio stations, Radio Rock defies the ban and plays on to Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together." Marianne then comes back to apologize to Carl and finally sleeps with him, cementing their relationship and her return at the end of the film.
In the American re-edit, her return to Carl occurs before the act's passage, and doesn't make as much sense, whereas before she was choosing to be with him despite the fact police may storm the boat and arrest everyone. Also, the song changes to "My Generation" by the Who, still appropriate, but the DJs' dancing to it makes less sense with regard to the songs' different tempos. The song at the end of the film too changes from David Bowie's "Let's Dance" to The Kinks "All Day and All of the Night." Again, doesn't make as much sense where we see all the main characters dancing to the music.
So, aside from all these complaints, it's still a great film, Hoffman, Nighy, Frost, O'Dowd, Rhys Ifans, and everyone else generate great performances that make their characters truly memorable. Great scenes left in unaltered include Simon's wedding, Frost helping to make a man out of Carl, Emma Thompson's cameo as Carl's mum, Ifans' character returning to the station, Hoffman and Ifans' big ego showdown (set to music from Sergio Leone westerns), and various bits from the DJs. A great amount of 60s rock is left in as well, and should be welcome to those whose advanced years enable them to recall when they first heard such great music. Branagh also turns out a fantastic performance as the villainous Sir Alistair, who shows no redeeming qualities whatsoever throughout the film, he's about as bland, stuck-up, and square as you could expect an old school Tory to be.
All-in-all, I give the original version 5 stars, and the American version gets 4. I certainly hope when the American DVD release occurs, they include the original with it.


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[UPDATE] 3-11 11:13am --
The Florida Senate approved a major change to how public school teachers are paid on Thursday, amid questions from the statewide teachers' union and Democratic legislators as to how the financially beleaguered state could afford to develop the new tests and pay increases the bill promises.
After nearly two hours of debate, the Florida Senate voted to approve Senate Bill 736, a measure that establishes a system in which 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation is based on student test scores. The long-standing tradition of basing salary on seniority also ends, with new teachers working under one-year contracts.
The 26-12 vote came mostly down party lines. An attempt to amend it to take into account socioeconomic status of students when evaluating teachers was defeated.
Republicans in the Legislature tout the bill as a way to incentivize educators to do a better job and allow school districts to more easily fire bad teachers.
Sen. Bill Montford, a Democrat from Tallahassee who was a school superintendent, said many school supervisors approve of the bill. But he said similar attempts at merit pay have failed in the past.
"What concerns me the most is how we are going to fund this initiative," Montford said. "I'm afraid it will collapse under its own weight because of funding." School districts statewide are facing cuts in spending. Gov. Rick Scott's proposed budget spends $16.5 billion on K-12 education, which cuts per-student spending by $703 to $6,196.
One of two Republicans who voted against the proposed merit pay system, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, also said she doesn't believe the state will end up finding the money.
"My major concern is we have not paid for this program," Dockery said. "Some people estimate it will cost $2 billion, but we don't know how much it will cost to implement it."
The bill sponsor, Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, said some of the cost would come from the federal Race to the Top grant that Florida received.
The other Republican who opposed the measure was Sen. Dennis Jones of Treasure Island.
The measure's quick passage was widely expected. A similar bill was approved by the Legislature last year and vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist after thousands of teachers called and wrote to object. This year the bill was changed slightly, giving school districts more control over how teachers are evaluated.
Florida Department of Education Commissioner Eric Smith said in a statement he was pleased about the bill's progress in the Senate. He called it "groundbreaking legislation" that requires a "fair and accurate evaluation of our teachers that links their performance to the academic achievement of their students."
A similar measure (HB 7019) also progressed quickly Thursday in the Florida House of Representatives.
The House Education Committee approved HB 7019 in a 12-6 vote after nearly four hours of testimony and debate.
Like its Senate companion, the House bill does away with traditional teacher tenure for new employees and ties teachers pay more closely to student performance. "Excellent teachers know they don't need tenure," said Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna. "Excellent teachers don't fear this bill."
Republicans on the panel rejected a series of Democratic amendments to bolster protections for highly effective teachers by requiring their retention or giving a specific reason for their dismissal. Another unsuccessful amendment based a portion of a teacher's evaluation on a student's portfolio of work throughout the year.
Rep. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, said without the amendments, the bill puts teachers in the position of being without a contract at the end of each year, a lack of job security that will make it harder to recruit good teachers to the state and make even effective teachers vulnerable to the whims of their bosses.
"What this bill does now is allows you to be dismissed with no justification at the end of your year, not based on the performance of your students, not based on how effectively you teach, but simply based on the fact that the year is done," Bullard said.
[UPDATE] 3-10 1:48pm --
Statement by Education Commissioner Smith regarding today's passage of Senate Bill 736
"I commend the Florida Senate for passing a measure today that, if ultimately placed into law, will fundamentally improve the work going on in our classrooms and the overall achievement of our children. Senate Bill 736 is groundbreaking legislation for our state, requiring a fair and accurate evaluation of our teachers that thoughtfully links their performance to the academic achievement of their students.
"Simply put, our current system of evaluation is not useful. It relies primarily, if not solely on subjective observation, and fails to connect our teachers to the work of their students. This legislation allows us to address that deficiency and gives us the capability to finally recognize and reward our most effective teachers for the incredible job they are doing."
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) --
A new version of a teacher merit pay and tenure bill that was vetoed last year after statewide protests is on a fast track to passage in 2011.
The Florida Senate passed it 26-12 on Thursday, just two days
after the Republican-controlled Legislature convened its regular
annual session. All except two Republicans voted for the bill along
with one Democrat.
Key features are a merit pay plan based heavily on student test
scores effective in 2014 and a ban on tenure for teachers hired
after July 1, 2011.
The bill (SB 736) now goes to the House, which has scheduled two
marathon floor sessions to debate it next week.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed last year's bill, but the
legislation has gotten strong support from his successor, Gov. Rick
[UPDATE] 3-10 9:41am --
The Florida Senate is likely to approve a bill this week that offers sweeping changes to how Florida pays and evaluates its public school teachers.
The measure (SB 736), brought to the Senate floor on Wednesday and put in position for a vote as early as Thursday, sets up an evaluation system for teachers that depends on student test scores and eliminates the use of multi-year teacher contracts.
"Our current teacher evaluation system is broken," said Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, the sponsor of the bill."We need to measure effectiveness of a classroom teacher based on what a student learns."
It is expected to easily win approval in the Senate and with approval also expected in the House, it could be one of the earliest measures to go this year to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, who has indicated his willingness to sign it.
The Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers' union, opposes the bill because it eliminates teacher tenure, requires one-year contracts, mandates more tests and gauges teacher performance on those tests "using some value-added model that is untrustworthy," said FEA spokesman Mark Pudlow.
The bill reverses a long tradition in public schools of basing salary on seniority.
Senators spent hours on Wednesday discussing the measure on the floor, though formally, debate is scheduled for Thursday.
Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, pressed Wise on whether Florida could afford a plan that requires the development of more tests and promises better salaries for test score improvement.
Wise said the cost of developing new tests would be paid for with money from the federal Race to the Top program. Florida was awarded $700 million in Race to the Top funds.
Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, tried to amend the bill so that teachers who are rated highly within a certain time frame are allowed to receive three-year-contracts.
His amendment was voted down. "To me, this was a good compromise that allowed those teachers who have been highly effective to be given a sense of job security over a three-year period," Montford said. "We need to recognize that the vast majority of teachers do a great job."
This teacher merit pay bill is similar to a controversial measure passed by the Florida Legislature last year that tied teacher pay to test scores. That bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist after his office was inundated with calls, e-mails and letters from thousands of angry educators and Crist expressed doubts about the fairness of linking pay to the test scores of students whose difficulties may be beyond the control of the classroom teacher.
This year, there has been a more muted response from teachers and the FEA.
That's due in part to the participation of the FEA and local school districts in submitting Florida's Race to the Top application. Part of that application included attaching more significance to a teacher's performance through test scores. There is some overlap between what Race to the Top and the teacher merit pay bill are trying to achieve.
The bill would grandfather in current teacher pay plans, but set up a new merit-based plan for teachers hired after July 1, 2014. More immediately, teachers hired after July 1, 2011 will not be able to receive multi-year contracts and instead will have one-year contracts.
The bill also establishes an evaluation process in which 50 percent of a teacher's performance evaluation is based on test scores and whether students had "learning gains" from previous school years. Teachers are ranked anywhere from "highly effective" down to "unsatisfactory."
A breakdown of each school's teacher ratings will be posted annually on the Department of Education website and parents will learn the rating of their children's teachers. The bill would also strengthen a principal's ability to refuse to hire or not renew a teacher's contract based upon unsatisfactory ratings.
Local school boards, are given some leeway in determining how teachers are evaluated. Unlike last year's bill, other factors such as student attendance and disciplinary factors can be considered.
The bill is not only backed by many Republicans in the Legislature, but also powerful groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce and former Gov. Jeb Bush's education advocacy group, the Foundation for Florida's Future.
Tallahassee, FL (AP) -
The Florida Senate is set to vote on a modified version of a teacher merit pay and tenure bill that former Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed last year after widespread protests.
The measure (SB 736) will be up for a vote Thursday.
In debate Wednesday, the Republican-controlled Senate rejected
Democratic Sen. Bill Montford's effort to soften a ban on tenure for teachers hired after July 1.
His amendment would have let highly rated teachers get three-year contracts after a third year in the classroom.
Montford, also CEO of the Florida Association of District School
Superintendents, said that would prevent top teachers from leaving and give them enough job security to get mortgages.
Opponents said it would just be another form of tenure.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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To date, our members have added 2819 reviews of 308 vodkas. Here are the most recent:
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Reviewer: Jon D Stree | Review this vodka
To date, our members have added 2819 reviews of 308 vodkas. Here are the most recent:
How many times should vodka be distilled? And when does the quest for purity go too far?
Many nations of the world have a singular drink that they have come to be identified with and that has come to be identified with them. For Russians (and Poles, Belarusans, Finns and Ukrainians), it is vodka.
Vodka is an essential part of the Russian zakuska table. When a liberal amount of the potent stuff is supplied to guests, the meal not only will be off to a fast start, but to a rollicking one as well.
Sure, vodka is great to drink. But did you know it also has myriad medicinal, home-improvement and cleaning uses?


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Even sure-footed children get a step up with our Short Step Stool. Designed for children who have mastered climbing stairs, but are not yet tall enough to reach intended targets.
Sturdy birch plywood construction features two non-skid treads on each step for added protection. Smooth rounded corners for extra safety.
GreenGuard Children and Schools certified. Ships fully assembled.


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Whether treating a toddler in an emergency or supporting a teen through chemotherapy treatments, we are dedicated to the care of each patient. It's through teamwork at every level of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and with you, the family, that we are able to achieve excellence in pediatric care.
See more about us
With a proven track record of providing world-class care to patients in more than 30 pediatric specialties, we are a model for other pediatric hospitals. Infants, teens and young adults belong in a children's hospital where they can get specialized treatment from caregivers who know the important differences between children and adults.
See our clinical services
Do you have a question about your child's health? This section offers information that may help you.
View age-appropriate health information for your child.
Research is a cornerstone of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta mission to enhance the lives of children. In conjunction with Emory University School of Medicine, Georgia Tech and Morehouse, Children's seeks answers to the most challenging childhood medical conditions through teaching and research.
We all want happy, healthy kids. But as a busy parent, helping your kids eat well and stay active can be a challenge.
At Strong4Life, created by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, our doctors, nutritionists and wellness experts create fun, easy ways to help your kids eat, move and live healthier. From picky eaters to passionate gamers, we have a slew of simple tips by experts who understand, because we're parents, too.
As a not-for-profit organization, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta relies on the generous financial and volunteer support of our community. Your donations directly impact the lives of each family served by Children's and support many initiatives such as clinical excellence, research, teaching, wellness and charity care.
Q: What part of your body helps you to digest your favorite foods, say "cheese," and look great in pictures?
A: Your teeth!
It's true. Your teeth are an important part of your smile, and they also help you chew foods like crunchy apples or yummy pizza. Brushing and flossing are important, but you also need to visit your dentist regularly to keep your teeth strong and healthy. Read this article to learn more about what happens at the dentist's office.
The dentist is a doctor who is specially trained to care for teeth. When you visit for a checkup, your dentist will look at your teeth and gums to check for any problems. The dentist also wants to make sure your teeth are developing properly as you grow. It's important to visit your dentist every 6 months to make sure you're taking good care of your teeth and that your teeth and gums are healthy.
After your name is called in the waiting room, you'll go into an exam room and sit down in a big, comfortable chair that is like a huge recliner. The chair will have a place to rest your head and lots of room for you to stretch out your legs. Next to the chair may be a little sink with a cup that you can use to rinse out your mouth as your teeth are being cleaned.
During the exam, your teeth will be cleaned, flossed, and checked for cavities.
One of the first people you'll meet at the dentist's office is the dental hygienist (say: hi-jeh-nist). A dental hygienist is a person who knows all about keeping teeth and gums clean and healthy.
The dental hygienist will look inside your mouth to make sure your teeth are growing properly and your gums are healthy. A bright, overhead light will shine down into your mouth like a giant flashlight so the dental hygienist can get a good look inside your mouth.
The dental hygienist will clean and polish your teeth, using tiny dental tools like a tooth scraper, mirror, and special toothbrush. The tooth scraper removes plaque (say: plak) from your teeth. Plaque is a thin, sticky layer that coats your teeth and contains bacteria (say: bak-teer-ee-uh) that grow on your teeth over time. Plaque that isn't removed from your teeth can cause decay, or a cavity (say: kah-vuh-tee).
Next comes brushing and flossing. The dental hygienist will brush your teeth with a special toothbrush and toothpaste. The toothbrush has a small, round tip that moves around and around to clean your teeth. The toothpaste might taste like your own toothpaste at home, but it will feel a little grittier — almost like sand.
Then the dental hygienist will floss your teeth and show you the proper way to brush and floss your teeth at home. Flossing involves using a piece of waxy string called dental floss to get in between your teeth and remove food particles that your brush can't reach.
During your visit, the dental hygienist will take X-rays, or pictures, of your teeth. X-rays are like superhuman vision. They can show cavities hiding between your teeth and problems beneath your gums. A cavity is a decayed, or rotted, part of a tooth.
It does not hurt to get an X-ray and it takes only a few seconds. The dental hygienist will place a thick blanket over your chest (to protect your body from the high-energy waves) and put a piece of plastic (that holds the X-ray film) into your mouth. As you gently bite down on the plastic, you'll have to be very still for a few seconds while the dental hygienist snaps the picture.
Next it's time for your fluoride (say: floor-ide) treatment. Fluoride is a natural mineral that makes your teeth strong and helps prevent cavities. At the dentist's office, a fluoride gel or foam will be applied to your teeth. Most dental offices offer fluoride treatments with flavoring, like bubble gum or grape.
The fluoride treatment will take about 1 to 4 minutes. The dental hygienist will probably tell you not to eat or drink anything (including water) for 30 minutes after the fluoride treatment.
The dentist will look at all of your teeth and check your gums to make sure they're strong and healthy. The dentist will also check the way your top and bottom teeth work together. This is called your bite. If he or she thinks you have a problem with your bite, you may be referred to an orthodontist (say: or-tho-don-tist). This is a doctor who specializes in correcting the shape or positions of all your teeth through orthodontia, or braces.
The dentist will study your X-rays (looking for cavities or other problems) and ask if you have any questions about your teeth. Your dentist may also prescribe fluoride drops or tablets for you to take every day at home.
When your checkup is over, the dentist usually will have a present for you! The gift is often a free toothbrush or dental floss to use at home or some sugar-free gum.
If you have a cavity, you'll probably have to come back to the dentist's office for another visit. At that time, the dentist will remove the decayed part from your tooth with special dental tools. Then the decayed area will be filled with materials that will keep your tooth strong and healthy, like tooth-colored or silver fillings.
As soon as you sit down in the dental chair, the dentist will give you a tiny shot of an anesthetic (say: ah-nus-theh-tik), a medicine that numbs the area around the tooth. Your mouth may be numb for a little while after you leave the dentist's office, but the anesthestic will soon wear off and you'll be left with a beautiful smile!
Some words used at the dentist's office might be new to you. Here are a few and what they mean:
Reviewed by: Lisa A. Goss, RDH, BS, and Garrett B. Lyons Sr., DDS
Date reviewed: April 2007
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|Debra Tann
The 2010 General Assembly has received significant criticism for failing to resolve critical financial issues of the state. If elected, what will you do to ensure better success in 2011 and future legislative sessions?
In 2011, I am hopeful for an upward swing in our economy. When you know better, you can do better, I must be knowledgeable. I will take careful strides to ensure collaborative approaches to making our state better financially. Legislation in this area would be examined by me; to avoid any mishaps from previous years. When elected, it will be to my advantage to be well aware of financial issues and work collegially with fellow legislatures to do what is best for the state of Georgia.
How will you engage voters in your district in identifying issues that are important to them, and how will you ensure progress is made on these issues?
I will visit people in my district and talk with them personally. My goal is to have town hall meetings to listen to the people. They need to know I care and that I am interested in listening to the issues of their heart. Appealing to as many people as I can personally will engage and encourage them to go to the polls and vote. I will keep runnings notes about the top four areas of concern. I will examine those trends with the goal of ensuring progress in at least three major areas.
What specific changes, if any, to property tax policy would you like to see?
I know most prefer their taxes to be reduced but I would ask "at what expense?" We certainly do not want to take away from our schools. So, while taxes may increase, I think a better position would be to examine why the increase and what it will specifically enhance in our state and communities.
If elected, what would be your three (3) top policy priorities and how would you work to achieve results?
I would say education, education, and education as I believe education correlates to our economy, our environment, health issues, poverty, job opportunities, and transportation in rural areas. I would hope with my educational background, I could work closely with the state office of education. We simply must do better in the area of education. I am convinced, once we get our educational system on the right path, the aformentioned areas will be tremendously affected in a positive manner.
Do you think that Georgia should adopt an independent redistricting commission, that should be put into law in time for 2011 redistricting?
Perhaps this is a viable method to ensure fairness in the redistricitng efforts for Georgia. Much relies on our census numbers, hence an independent commission may be helpful. However, I would like to see data about what has occurred in the past. Has Georgia been fair over the years? Has oversite been necessary? And most of all, is it feasible for a commission to be in line for 2011? If so, how? I need more information but I am not opposed to at least the consideration based on facts.
What else needs to be done to resolve Georgia's transportation problems?
South Georgia seems to be taking a hard hit in this area. Lowndes County tried hard to bring forth transportation. I attended many meetings and now it appears to be on the "back burner" if you will. Perhaps other areas are struggling in this area too but I need to know what has been done thus far. North Georgia seems to be doing fine from my prospective. The topic of transportation varies based on geography. It would be interesting to see and hear from legislators on this important issue.
What further changes, if any, does Georgia need in terms of ethics reform?
Ethically speaking, Georgia should always be concern about what is best for us. I understand some ethics changes may be happening if the governor signs a bill for stronger ethic policies. In addition, it would be helpful to see local candidates have their forms managed through the same computer system (Ethics Division) that is in place for state candidates. This would streamline the administration and all candidates would go through the same procedures regarding forms and regulation adherence
Age (as of June 10): 50
Education: BA California State University Sacramento, MA Valdosta State University, and Ed.D. University of Sarasota
Family: Husband Chris, three sons Nigel, Demitrius, Malik and a dog name Shep.
I've desired to run for a political office for 10 years. However, my sons were too young. Now with two of the three in college, it is time! I have a strong campaign and we plan to win the race. In addition, I am capable of examining possible bills to see which ones may benefit the state of Georgia. In addition, I was a local, state, and national government teacher for 7 years at the college level. I believe in this country and Georgia. I know I would make an effective servant leader.
|Jason Shaw


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She had to wash a lot of cars to get there, but unemployed Spokane mother Shannon Sullivan is in Olympia, where she is set to tell nine...
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Supreme today affirmed a judge's ruling that a recall petition against Spokane Mayor James E. West can proceed.
Just hours after lawyers for West argued that the petition by Shannon Sullivan was factually and legally insufficient, the high court affirmed a lower court ruling that the document bearing a single abuse-of-office allegation could proceed to signature gathering.
Sullivan filed her recall petition in May, shortly after The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane published a series of articles detailing how West – a conservative Republican, former state senator and longtime gay-rights opponent – had been meeting men online for sex.
Her petition alleges that West used his elected office for personal gain – specifically, that West wrote a recommendation letter to help someone he believed to be an 18-year-old man get a City Hall internship. The teen turned out to be a computer forensics expert hired by The Spokesman-Review.
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Sullivan contends the recommendation was inappropriate because of the possible implication that the man would get an internship in exchange for sexual favors.
West has admitted having relationships with adult men, but denies any misuse of office. He has not been charged with a crime, but the FBI is investigating.
Sullivan was traveling to Spokane and not immediately available for comment. Lawyers for West said they would release a statement later in the day.
The ruling means recall supporters can begin collecting signatures immediately.
Spokane County Elections Supervisor Paul Brandt said it would be very difficult to get the required 12,700 valid signatures in time for the November election.
"Unless they can really get their signatures quickly, with all the deadlines, I very much doubt they could make it by the November election," he said.
Brandt said the elections office would have to receive the signed petitions no later than Friday, because it will need four weeks to verify the signatures and take other steps necessary to get the recall on the Nov. 8 ballot.
The Spokane City Council has unanimously called for West to resign, but Councilman Joe Shogan said the recall election is a good alternative.
"The people of the city who elected the mayor will now have the power to decide if he remains in office," Shogan said. "It's an opportunity for the people to be heard on the matter."
Shogan said he hoped the recall could be folded into the regularly scheduled November election, to save the costs of having to mount a special election early next year.
"It will occur when it occurs," he said.


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Defense and congressional officials say news organizations will be allowed to photograph the homecomings of America's war dead under a new Pentagon policy.
The officials say Defense Secretary Robert Gates has decided to allow photos of flag-draped caskets at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, if the families of casualties agree.
Gates planned to announce his decision later Thursday. The current ban was put in place by President George H.W. Bush.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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ON September 9, 2013
COMMENTS: 14 comments
It's been a super busy couple of weeks for the team here at Runaway HQ. We rolled out a refinement to our social system within Flutter to give players the option to connect with friends through Game Center, and share their progress on Facebook. Unfortunately we were a little hasty to get these changes out the door which resulted in a live version of the game which really wasn't as stable as it should have been. Our focus has been on getting a consistent stream of content to our players to keep everyone engaged and challenged, but we decided its time to take a week to focus solely on performance and stability to make sure our community have a smooth experience with the game. Clean up time!
So this week we're putting polish into our next update, which not only includes a lot of tech fixes, but some great refinements to one of our event structures which we've made after listening to feedback from players. We've also created a cool new reward system for completing sets and missions, along with a bunch of new species to collect.
Lots to look forward to! As always thanks for your support everyone and you'll hear from us again this next coming weekend with something new.


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OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada, August 27. AN article on SwimInfo last week by two-time US Olympian and team co-captain Josh Davis drew a lot of e-mail response.
Josh had pointed out that many of the top foreign (i.e., non-US) Olympians were trained in the United States. This year, for example, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry (Auburn); Germany's Anne Poleska (Alabama); Croatia's Duje Draganja (Cal); Roland Schoeman, Ryk Neethling and Lyndon Ferns, three-fourths of South Africa's winning free relay; Austria's Markus Rogan (Stanford); Tunisia's Ous Mellouli (USC), and many others. He suggested that these athletes express their appreciation to the United states as well as their US coaches and universities. (And, in fact, many of them have done just that.)
The response to this suggestion was decidedly mixed, with some readers agreeing whole-heartedly, others denouncing his nationalism, and still others pointing out that the relationship is one in which everyone wins — the athletes get a good education and the advantages of top-notch training; the coaches and their institutions enhance their reputations through the contributions made by foreign athletes.
Now, Cecil Colwin — renowned South African and Canadian coach and swimming's foremost historian — has written a letter to the web site of the American Swimming Coaches Association praising a long tradition of American coaches, starting with Louis DeB. Handley a century ago, through today's publishers and editors of Swimming World magazine, "for their unselfish contributions in sharing swimming knowledge and expertise to the whole world of swimming.'


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Book your room at ibis Rotherham East
Get an overview of this hotel3-star Rotherham hotel in Bramley with free parking
Located in Bramley, this hotel is 2.3 mi (3.8 km) from Maltby Leisure Centre and within 6 mi (10 km) of Roche Abbey and Clifton Lane Stadium. Clifton Park Museum and Rotherham General Hospital are also within 6 mi (10 km).
Hotel Features
Along with a restaurant, this hotel has a bar/lounge and meeting rooms. Self parking is free. Other amenities include dry cleaning and a 24-hour front desk.
Room Amenities
All 86 rooms offer free WiFi, coffee makers, and cable TV. Other amenities available to guests include hair dryers, safes, and showers.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us! Opens in a new window
ibis Rotherham EastMoorhead Way Bramley Rotherham England S66 1YY
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
The hotel offers a restaurant. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. 4 meeting rooms are available. This business-friendly hotel also offers dry cleaning/laundry services and an elevator (lift). Onsite self parking is complimentary.
- 24-hour front desk
- Total number of rooms - 86
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Bar/lounge
- Elevator/lift
- Restaurant
- Luggage storage
- Meeting rooms
- Free self parking
- Number of meeting rooms - 4
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Phone
- Coffee/tea maker
- Shower only
- Hair dryer
- Desk
- Free WiFi
- In-room safe
- Cable TV service
Where to Eat
Buffet breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning.
Ibis Rotherham East has a restaurant on site.
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 2 PM
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
- Pets allowed
- Restrictions apply
- For more information contact the property at the number on the booking confirmation
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
Optional extras
- Fee for buffet breakfast: GBP 7.95 per person (approximately)
Hotel Name
- ibis Hotel Rotherham East
- ibis Rotherham East
- ibis Rotherham East Hotel
We should mention
The photos in this description reflect the brand standard and are provided for illustrative purposes only. Guests can arrange to bring pets by contacting the property directly, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.


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All eyes may be on Johnny Manziel, but the NFL Draft's wild card appears to be his pink Escalade-buying peer, Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater, who has seen his name listed anywhere from No. 1 overall to the second round, appears to be linked to the Cleveland Browns as their general manager, Ray Farmer, is reportedly "enamored" with the Louisville product.
Lest any Browns fans grow concerned, said level of interest, while given a strong connotation, does have it's limits as Farmer would reportedly like to land Bridgewater with the team's 26th-overall selection as opposed to the much-discussed No. 4 pick. Alas, in this curious case, "enamored" loses out to "value."
Bridgewater has slipped on some teams' draft boards because of a lackluster Pro Day. Farmer, nevertheless, has reportedly had a fascination with Bridgewater since last fall. Naturally, one should grow skeptical of sourced reports leading up to the draft as teams begin leaking information that may or may not be an attempt to toy with opposing general managers—the good ol' "smokescreen," as the kids say.
Though widely compared to Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel and Central Florida's Blake Bortles, Bridgewater is ranked as the top quarterback in this year's class by WFNY's Joe Gilbert. He finished second in the NCAA in 2013 with a 71 percent completion percentage and set a school record with a career mark of 68.3 percent over his tenure with the Cardinals.
[Related: Over Troubled Bridgewater]
Photo: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE


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jpeddyco's Mom Answers Activity
Any tips for potty training toddler to poop in potty?
posted by jpeddyco 12/03/2013
How do I teach my son to use a blanket at night?
Most recent answer (08/22/2012):
Thanks for the tip. We've been playing with the bath towel at night so he can learn how to get out of it should he be tangled up in it. ...posted by jpeddyco
What is this yellow stuff on my son's teeth?!
Most recent answer (08/22/2012):
Well we went to the dentist at the recommendation of our doctor and my son has tartar on his teeth. The dentist said it's uncommon in so...posted by jpeddyco
Is my 17 month old's bedtime too late?
Most recent answer (05/24/2012):
Thanks for the comments! I'm always eager to hear what others experience and this is helpful. Most of the advice or suggestions I get c...posted by jpeddyco
How do I get my son to fall asleep, stay asleep both at night and for naps?
Most recent answer (02/29/2012):
The books will tell you that the child will eventually lay down by himself and go to sleep. It never worked for my first child and I did...posted by a BabyCenter Member


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Removing Your ARS National Collections From Your Credit Report
|Screenshot from Lexington's Q4 results
Imagine your ARS National Collections listing here.
Lexington Law clients have removed more ARS National credit report listings than anyone.
Can you remove your ARS National Collections?
If you call a Lexington Paralegal, you will receive a FREE Credit Consultation to see if you are eligible:
What are your chances of removal success?
Lexington's average Concord-level participating client removed over 84% of their presenting negative items from all three credit reports. (That's really good).
Think you know Lexington Law Firm?
How many total negative items did Lexington remove last year?
D) Who knows? They're not required to report this.
A) Less than a typical lawyer's fees.
B) About the cost of a new shirt.
C) Less than your monthly cable bill.
D) It depends on how bad your credit is.
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Our credit experts can tell you if your situation can be fixed and what you can do about it. Call and talk to a credit expert right now.
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You Can Remove ARS National Collections From Your Credit
Federal laws give you the right to challenge any item on your credit report that you find is questionable.
You can remove any unfair collection by disputing it with the credit bureau where it is listed. This includes collections, negative items and late payments listed by ARS National Collections.
In 1970, Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act that allowed consumers to challenge items on their credit reports they felt were innacurate, misleading, biased, or just unverifiable.
When a dispute letter is sent to the bureaus, it is put through their review process. If the bureaus open an investigation with the creditors, the creditors have 30 days to send proof that the item is accurate and worthy of being on the credit report of the consumer. If they cannot (or will not) provide incontestable proof, then the bureaus are obligated to remove the item.
A "deletion letter" is what you want to get in the mail:
Most consumers who dispute ARS National Collections on their own play a guessing game that the bureaus eventually win.
Unfortunately, a great number of dispute letter requests are deemed "frivolous" – which means the bureau will not open up an investigation with the creditor, and a stall letter is sent back to the consumer.
What are my chances of removing a ARS National Collections from my credit report if I dispute it myself?
There are no real good studies to give accurate numbers of what the results are for people disputing their own credit. It's a guessing game. One statistic to keep in mind is provide by Lexington Law: Over 40% of the people who sign up with Lexington's services have tried to to repair their credit on their own and have turned to the trusted leaders in credit report repair for help.
If you're serious about removing your ARS National Collections Listing, do yourself a favor and check out Lexington Law. Over 16,000 people are glad they did last year.
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ARS National Collections Systems, LLC, is a subsidary of Resurgent Systems, and specializes in performing accounts, sub- and non-performing accounts, secured accounts, and unsecured accounts.
Contact Info:
Physical Address (US):
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At its 58th meeting, on 22 April 1998, the Commission on Human Rights, taking note of Economic and Social Council decision 1994/297 of 29 July 1994 and bearing in mind Council decision 1995/296 of 25 July 1995, decided, without a vote, that the fiftyfifth session of the Commission should be scheduled to take place from 15 March to 23 April 1999.
[See chap. III.]


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Safety Training
Training is a crucial component of an effective safety program. The Safety Department conducts new employee, annual, and periodic refresher training with numerous groups on campus and is responsible for maintaining documentation of this training. The Safety Department also assists in the coordination of training provided by off-campus organizations on an as-needed basis. Additional safety training is conducted within departments, under the direction of departmental supervisors. If you are interested in safety training of any kind, or would like assistance in developing training programs, please contact the Safety Department.


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DEATH VALLEY Season 1 Episode 6 : The Hottest Day of the Year
The nursing home mishap causes UTF to be on temporary oversight by Internal Affairs Deputy Chief Ribbings, who issues "P.U.S." (Possible undead Suspect) cards to help the team identify themselves to zombies. Carla and John-John must take Ribbings on their ride-along and soon get a call that some rabid zombies are loose at a nursery. Meanwhile, Billy find a new technique to kill a zombie by poking it with a nightstick making it explode in the 107 degree heat wave. Stubeck shows off his fun side by "Bowling for Zombies" with the squad car. Also, Kirsten follows Dashell's niece again and discovers that Rico the vampire is recruiting underage girls through a "turning party".
Episode Guide
Season 01