text:
SOUTH STREET SEAPORT — Like many residents and business owners in South Street Seaport, Claudio Marini, owner of Italian eatery and grocery Barbarini, was devastated when he first saw the massive damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy's floodwaters.
"Everything, everything was destroyed," Marini said. "Proscuitto, wine was swept out onto the street, and inside, it was just a mess."
And more than a month after the Hurricane, Marini and his wife, Linda, say they still feel overwhelmed by the destruction.
Their restaurant, on a historic slice of Front Street that lies between Peck Slip and Beekman Street, remains shuttered — most of their neighbors on the block, who are owned by the same landlord, a group called Yarrow LLC that's run by the Durst Corporation and Zuberry Associates, also remain shuttered. Only two spots, Made Fresh Daily and Jeremy's Ale House, are open on the street.
Because of the extensive damage to the buildings, especially the electrical system, the landlord has said the properties won't be up and running for at least six months, Marini and other local owners said.
"They tell us they won't open one building unless all the buildings are fixed," Marini said. "But six months, it's too long — we need to make a living, we need to survive."
Last week, as their property continues to be renovated, the Marinis launched a funding website to help raise money for a new restaurant they've decided to call Da Claudio.
Funding sites for hurricane-wrecked restaurants and business are gaining popularity as owners continue to struggle to rebuild. Some grants have been made available, and there are loan options — but many residents say it isn't enough, especially since many lacked flood insurance.
The Marinis aren't set on an exact location yet, but it will likely open in the Financial District. They also aren't giving up on Barbarini.
"We love lower Manhattan. We want to stay here," said Linda Marini, who lives nearby on Murray Street.
The couple opened Barbarini in 2005 with a co-owner and watched the neighborhood grow and rejuvenate over the past several years, she said. In 2009, they expanded their popular grocery and café with a larger restaurant — financing everything themselves and spending nearly $1 million over the years.
The Marini's, who also own Midtown's Caffe Linda, said they are trying to join with other Front Street business owners devastated by the storm and create an association called United Front.
"We want to bring attention to what's going on down here," said Linda Marini. "A lot of people are still hurting."
But she also said she's extremely thankful for the outpouring of help she and her husband have received from neighbors.
Nearby, New Amsterdam Market has offered them a spot in the market to sell whatever goods — olive oils, wines — they were able to salvage from the storm.
To date, the couple have raised more than $11,000 toward building Da Claudio.
"Right now we need to keep our family going," Linda Marini said. "We need to move to higher ground."


text:
About the Family Law Week blog
The Blog is edited by Jacqui Gilliatt, of 4 Brick Court and Lucy Reed, of St Johns Chambers.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Special Guardianship Allowances
The Regulations do not say that SG allowances can only be paid for 2 years - they say that the remuneration element of a foster care allowance cannot continue to be paid to a former foster carer beyond 2 years.
The payment of all residence/ kinship / SG allowances are essentially dependent on council led policies and cannot be committed to for a child's minority.
Government guidelines on calculating SG allowances which have been adopted almost wholesale by many local authorities specifically state that if the SG is in receipt of income support the maximum allowance should be paid without the need for means testing. Case law and current practice indicate that the same amounts should be on offer to a kinship carer, foster carer or SG (less the remuneration element).
The fact that a lay person, often unrepresented and unadvised, chooses to accept an amount offered by the LA does not remove the burden on the LA to assess their needs and apply their own policy to that person's situation.
I would be really interested in feedback about this to provide some definitive answers. This is a thorny topic and currently one it is difficult to deal with in court. Potential SG's in particular and they are often grandparents do not realise what they might be entitled to and are hesitant about asking for it for fear that they are seen as mercenary or as not being able to cope on their current income. I appreciate that there are policy issues to consider here: why should an SG carer or post care proceedings relative carer get more than the average single parent, for example. Why does a looked after child cost more? But as long as the current policies exist they should be applied fairly and transparently. I find myself baffled by the inconsistency of approach. Some allowance decisions in LAs are being made at a panel level - perhaps we should be routinely asking for the minutes? In any event you should be routinely asking for copies of the policy documents, not to mention the actual calculations applied to decide what amount should be paid to a particular carer.
43 comments:
- East Kilbride Solicitors said...
"This is a thorny topic and currently one it is difficult to deal with in court."-> spot on. We'd also like to follow this discussion given the family law issues raised. Looking forward to more posts. East Kilbride Solicitors & Lawyers
- 31 January 2011 at 22:31
- Barbara Hopkin said...
The other element to be considered is the lump sum payment. I have had several cases where one is paid eg for furniture for the children or a family car for the children. I also had a case where the LA paid to make the garden safe for children. the maximum I have had is £20,000 but I always ask and usually get at least £1000 so worth a try!
- 3 May 2011 at 15:52
- Anonymous said...
I am a Special Guardian. We have raised the daughters of a former foster child. Allowances are £35 per week per child.
We have a child still at home and one now living independently. We are still very much involved in her care and support, eg driving lessons.
We were not given fostering allowances because the other track was adoption by strangers and the SW said that they would not have to pay anything for that.
The girls were severely neglected and abused and hence as a family we have gone through some traumatic times.
My opinion is that more help should be offered as a right to those (very few) in our situation.
- 27 June 2011 at 10:45
- saphy222 said...
We are currently heading down the SGO path, our grandchildrens guardian seems to think that we will almost definately get legal aid, and someone else has said that there is a set of legal circumstances that automatically get LA is that true?
Also, the two boys are being 'held' in their rooms for 2 days at a time as punishment, along with various other things they have told us, and the social worker goes over and 'smooths' things over to get them to believe that they are over reacting, but this has happened from the moment they went there. Two of the girls have not been moved and are very tearful and disturbed as their foster mum is dealing with her mother dying. The girls want to be moved too. Is there anything we or their Mum can do to get someone to do something!!!???? It's so frustrating!!
Many Thanks for reading!
- 2 August 2011 at 18:44
- rich b said...
rich b
we have had special guardianship of our two grandson's for the past five years,they are now five and six.We also took on our granddaughter two years ago she is now two and half.
We have seen your allowances go down by half in the last year.We deal with Cumbria,but a friend who deal with Devon and only has one child has seen no reduction.
Can anybody tell me why.
- 24 August 2011 at 04:42
- Anonymous said...
We are currently involved in court proceedings in respect of my partners sisters children. Social Services were the ones that have requsted a residency ans supervision order in respect of twins aged 3. We hope that their Mother wins the case, but to retain the children in the family have accepted the proposal to become their carers should this be the courts decision. Initially we were told that we could be foster carers but now social services have changed their position and the residency order allowance that they are offering to pay should they win the case is significantly less than a foster care payment as they have taken our wages into account. We already have our own children so we are more than a little annoyed to find that we will be expected not only to alter ours lifestyles significantly for the next 15 years but also to make a financial contribution to maintain 2 children who we love dearly but would otherwise had no legal responsibility to maintain financially. IS THERE ANY lEGISLATION OR CASE HISTORY TO SUPPORT OR ARGUEMENT THAT SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ALLOWANCE OR RESIDENCY ORDER ALLOWANCE SHOULD BE MADE TO KINSHIP CARERS AT THE SAME RATE AS FOSTER CARERS ALLOWANCE.The childrens needs are the same irrespective of what court order is made.
- 26 September 2011 at 20:26
- Anonymous said...
I am a Foster Carer. My supervising officer asked me if i would like to do SGO and when i refused asked me why. Since then ive been looking at all the information i can. In a magazine for S/Workers theres and article which says 'councils pressuring F/carers to take on Special Guardian ship orders to save Cash. Now is that the way forward and the best reasons? I think not. I will stick to being a Foster Carer and the child will be financially better off for it.
- 17 November 2011 at 10:25
- Anonymous said...
Current we have had a meeting with Social services regarding the sgo of our grandson, he is currently in care, we have passed our assessment and so to be the a bigger family, we advised social services that we would need a 7 seatter car for this to proceed as we have 7 children between us as we have both been married before, we currently only have 1 child at home aged 10 and see the youngest 2 aged 8 and 4yrs every other weekend and half terms/summer holidays, we take them camping and on picnics, days out to the seaside,play areas and zoo/theme parks in the spring and summer times. We have now been told we need to make a decison whether we want to carry on with the bridging meeting starting on the 13th feb 12, but with no help to keep our family in the lifestyle they are used too, until recently we both worked full time, i am no longer working, finances are tight, yes as all grandparents we love him very dearly, he is only 7 months old but this is causing me heartache, surely if its documented that the vehicle issue is met for the family to be a family and stay a family at all times surely the well being of all children in this family is important. im talking about a new vehicle just one for the purpose of outings shopping and the like.
- 23 January 2012 at 19:51
- Anonymous said...
I have been a special guardian now for 3 years and I can honestly say that it is the most dreadfull and appauling law that has ever been passed eg. lack of correct information even in written form no special guardian support services available, I have had to constantly explain what SG is to every benefits advisor (ie Tax Credits, Housing and council tax benefit etc etc) no one has heard of it and no one seems to know what the rules are. (We love our daughter with every bone in our bodies she is truly delightful and thats the only good thing out of all of this)
I would strongly advise DO NOT go special guardian it truly is horrendous.
- 3 February 2012 at 12:33
- Anonymous said...
we are special guardian for our 20month old grandson who we have had since brith. the la paid for the s.g but have offerd no other payments for his up keep. kids dont come cheap these days. at the moment i am lucky i can work overtime to help with his up keep. we dont know that they is a allowance to be had. we took our grandson on to stop him going into care. we wouldt swap him for anything. but the l.a should pay something for is upkeep just to help ends meet. how can i find out how to make a claim
- 20 March 2012 at 21:52
- Anonymous said...
These comments have been really helpful. We were asked yesterday if we wanted to become an SGO family, and told that it would not affect our current fostering allowances, this appears not to be the case. Will investigate the matter further.
- 22 March 2012 at 06:35
- 02380jenni said...
I have been a speical guardian with my husband for my two grandchildren for 6 years it took 2 years to get the order was promised help ie bigger council house so the children had room, we had to find a house with enough bedrooms untiil this could be addressed as we were told to have the children we had to move so we did, we would get regular payments once the order was made and support as soon as the order was granted i received a letter that they were unable to help with houseing and as we were doing so well no longer felt it was a need to the family to have a social worker no finacial help would be available as we are on income support and family tax credits and to add insult to injury our houseing bennift was cut by £26.00 a week as they feel the rent was to high, even tho the rents on all the propertys around us are more, I dont understand any of this as when the childrfen lived with my daughter and partner social services were falling over backwards to help them and they were the ones abuseing the children, none of this makes any sence to me, if any one has any ideas i would be interested as i thought the laws were changed in 2010/2011 i can find no proof of this
- 3 May 2012 at 09:27
- Anonymous said...
I was contact by Social Services asked to be a SG for my nephew.My nephew lives in Wales and I in Tenerife. I said yes and I am in the process of having meetings and evaluations. I not a bad income but I have looked in to child care and school cost here and I am looking at at leased 550 pounds a month.That is without food clothes etc.
- 17 June 2012 at 13:03
- Anonymous said...
Me and my partner became SGO's in April and we had our salaries means tested and we were told that we are not entitled to a penny as we earn to much. We have had to buy everything that a young baby needs and more and I just think it is awful if the child was kept in care they would have had to pay.Dose anyone know if we are entitled to any money.
- 12 July 2012 at 16:37
- Anonymous said...
no wonder social services wanted us to have SGO because they dont have to pay after 2yrs how unfare is that you foster get paid twice asmuch and all help you need. we have had nothing since september 2011 took my partners great nephew on as there parent neglected the 4 kids so all family put in for them we all got them but only under SGO social workers said we wouldnt be able to foster them its hard enough as he is well bhind with skool work and he is bad temperd growing so quick that we have to spend our own money on his clothes ect but only to get back for 2yrs we then have to try and keep him on the income we are on so not right thanks for letting me comment marc
- 20 July 2012 at 15:58
- suki said...
Good luck to anyone navigating the SGO route. The allowance goes up and down. We've yet to work out who is rsponsible for deciding the allowance or what is taken into account when deciding the amounts.
Out of the blue we have just had a letter stating that the allowance is transitional and will end after the two years are up.
They are giving us until September to "re-organise our finances".
As the cost of keeping a 12 year old is ever increasing, the tax credit has gone down and my self employed hubby is desparate for work. We feel that we have become the councils latest "cut"
- 25 July 2012 at 19:06
- Maria said...
I just got an SGO for my grandchildren after having them since 2009. Today I received a letter from the LA informing me I would get the full alowance for 12 months, then another means test which if it showed my income was stll low I would then receive 50% for the second year then nothing.. not once have I been told that the allowance was only for two years. Does this mean the childrens needs change then? I feel like I've been sold down the river especially when the LA have been aware of the hardship this situation has caused already.
- 13 September 2012 at 03:44
- Anonymous said...
Caroline - Ashington
Our grandaughter came to live with us on a sgo 3 years ago. Social Services are still involved because of the trouble we have with her mother. I have actually got them to pay for 2 days child care each week, which was quite a battle, and now I have applied for the allowance because of change of circumstances. I am keeping my fingers crossed as we are now in dire need of it. All I can advise everyone is to persue the matter and never give up, wheter it be for the allowance or for help with child care. My grandaughter is my sons child, my youngest daughter is 18 and we thought we would be financially secure by now, but we love her and wouldnt have it any other way, but I do not think it should be means tested, children are expensive and we are saving the system so much money you would think that they would help regardless. So now we are just waithing to hear.
- 10 October 2012 at 19:48
- Anonymous said...
I hav my grandson under sgo and we get an allowance which is means tested it doesn't cover our costs and I hav given up work to care for him...did u know that legally the parents are still financially responsible for the child....I'm going to call the csa for advice tomoz its worth asking
- 28 November 2012 at 20:38
- Anonymous said...
althoug we agreed to an sgo it was under duress as they woul take child away for adoption, wehad fostered cild from 2-4 yrs of age. child is now almost 14 yrs having home tuition and in trouble with police.allowances have not increased and we are both now in reciept of pension shoul we expect the LA to increase allowance.
- 29 November 2012 at 21:48
- Anonymous said...
A friends of mine were foster parents to an unrelated child but they were so stupid to become Special Guardians. A LA officer convinced them that SGO means PERMANENCY. They had received £ 180/w allowance which stopped immediately because the LA used Standard Means Test.
- 4 January 2013 at 12:02
- Anonymous said...
Hi I have had my grandson for 5 years, I have a SGO and get a allowence that was hacked for years, I never heard of SS for years untll last year when they chopped my support, its hard work managing challanging behaviour and difficult relationship and feelings, yet there has never been the support network that was outlined in the original report, back then I asked if I could attend local foster carer meetings but they said no! I feel now the goverment is making all these cuts SGO support and allownce is no doubt be phased out! While we are sruggling on!
- 6 January 2013 at 19:35
- ali said...
my husband and i have just been asked to take our nephew, we have agreed. we were then asked wether we want to foster or become an sgo with no explanation of the difference, we chose fostering and after reading these comments feel we did the right thing, there was no mention of allowances or anything, so thanks.
- 17 January 2013 at 14:43
- Anonymous said...
see call me untrusting but the sgo was suggested to me yesterday and my gut reaction (is never wrong) told me to research and found this
my take is if social services are that keen its never good so thank you to everyone that has honestly posted their experiences needless to say i wont be going for the sgo
- 9 March 2013 at 08:35
- Anonymous said...
As annonymous we are being pushed into an sgo under duress.
My husband and i are both retired and our pension is al we have so if our payments (if we actualy recieve any) how the devil are we expected to feed and clothe our grandaughter?
Are we suppose to starve and freeze in order to keep her fed and warm.
I,m so confused all i seem to be able to do lately is cry.
Tak about having you over a barrel.
- 14 March 2013 at 14:39
- Anonymous said...
As annonymous we are being pushed into an sgo under duress.
My husband and i are both retired and our pension is al we have so if our payments (if we actualy recieve any) how the devil are we expected to feed and clothe our grandaughter?
Are we suppose to starve and freeze in order to keep her fed and warm.
I,m so confused all i seem to be able to do lately is cry.
Tak about having you over a barrel.
- 14 March 2013 at 14:41
- Mick Gallagher said...
Any sgs from suffolk please contact me chance53.mg@ gmail.com ref allowances
- 10 April 2013 at 18:31
- Anonymous said...
I became a sg almost 5 years ago and have had my child since a baby he is now 7 years. I have just received a letter informing me someone from the finance dept is coming out to ask questions and do an audit.! I am on ESA support group due to ill health and this is the first time I have had any audit done. I get the impression this is due to council cutbacks and fear the sg allowence is to be stopped. This will mean drastic cuts to the lifestyle I am providing for the child, ie.... Clothes, shoes internet, cricket practice and general everyday things such as outings etc. I was depending on this for future tutoring from primary school to secondary school to prepare for grammer school tests as I want the best education wise for him. If it stops we will loose half our income. I only had yearly finance forms to fill on but never this now I am do anxious but that won't matter to the dept facing the cutbacks, please let us as SG's raise the children without financial worry to enable all sgs to give the children a stable, secure loving family upbringing which they all deserve.
- 6 July 2013 at 11:21
- Anonymous said...
my sister and partner have had sg of twins since they were born one of twins is special needs they were receiving an allowance for them but this has now stopped, social services just stopped it without imforming them and now they are really struggling they have appealed and still been turned down for the allowance so it looks like they have to go down the court route, how can social services do this and deprive the children of a decent living.
- 29 July 2013 at 22:13
- Anonymous said...
I have agreed to take my niece under a sgo. This is such a grey area. I will have to take time out of work when she arrives which will be unpaid as unless you are adopting or having a baby there is no support or money available which I think is totally wrong. I agreed with ss that I will do contact with parents, two separate visits every week. I had to fight to get paid for mileage and parking, which was 10p per mile! Yet foster carers and contact workers both get 39p a mile. According to the law when undertaking a SGO you should not be financially worse off. I likE doing the contacts but don't want ss to take the mickey. So frustrating...you are made to feel like you have done something wrong and they want to know the ins and outs of everything. I have had regular contact with my niece since she was born. She has been in care for a whole year and is nearly 2. I have never dealt with an organisation that are so contradictory, not consistent, have lack of basic information , constant staff changes and never being able to get hold of anyone. I understand that they have had to make cuts but if they take a child into care they should have the resources to deal with it. Dealing with social services will be the worst experience of your entire life. I think the majority of social workers need to take a step back and realise they are dealing with real people who have feelings and emotions. There is only one social worker i have met that actually realises its a person they Are dealing with and not just another case or statistic.
- 30 July 2013 at 19:45
- Anonymous said...
I have had my little sister now for 4 years and have been getting my SGA since she came to live with me and my family. I have been informed I should have been claiming tax credits also which nobody informed me of so I put in a claim today . I have now rang the council to inform them of my partner starting work . I have now been told claiming tax credits for her may now effect my SGA also my partner working may also effect it ... I'm in shock as I didn't take on the financial burden along with paying for my own too children . I'm in shock the LA can get away with it .. Any advice please ?
- 17 September 2013 at 16:19
- Anonymous said...
Special guardianship allowances seem to vary from borough to borough !
I get £172 a week for my niece but that only stays in place so long as I am on income support.I also get tax credits and child benefit for her.Fostering is definitely the better option but I wanted to give my niece more security in my care.
- 27 November 2013 at 13:00
- Anonymous said...
When sga stops can you become long term foster carer for the same child non related instead of child being placed with another family when they are setteled with me
- 5 December 2013 at 10:10
- Anonymous said...
SGO's should be considered very carefully and seeking legal advise is absolutely essential. A particular challenge is access to support post SGO. Many of the children due to their early experiences will present with complex needs during adolescence. I am speaking from experience as a foster carer who has an SGO for an adolescent child.
I am raising the difficulties we are having and L.A's lack of support with my MP next month.
SGO's should be based on the needs of the child and be made when the time is right for both child and carer. It should be as a result of a fully informed decision and not made under duress or pressure by local authorities, as was my case where L.A said child's plan was SGO with me or adoption with new family. ( even though I raised concerns over my ability to parent long term due to child's severe attachment disorder)
A report published last month by the ombudsman will be of relevance to family and friends carers, especially around entitlement to financial support, there is also mention of SGO and Residence Orders. Hope this helps.
- 31 December 2013 at 17:57
- Nicola Harwood said...
I am an SGO for my grand daughter who is now 8 next month, we have had her since she was 1. I receive a very small sgo allowance and when i raised the fact expences are getting more, i was told the payment would not change. My husband works and i receive family allowance now, but not entitled to anything else. I am just trying to find out about the new ruling about bringing payments into line and will it effect us.
- 2 April 2014 at 12:06
- Kb said...
Nicole I receive an allowance for my grandkids, it was found that our authority was underpaying everyone my fortnightly payment has doubled .
- 27 May 2014 at 16:02
- Anonymous said...
We have SGOs for our 2 grandchildren. We receive an allowance for both of them and I gave up work to care for them.
What happens to the allowance when our circumstances change?
For example: my husband is hoping to retire early next year so our income will drop significantly as will our outgoings as our mortgage will be repaid. We will still have the added expenses surrounding bringing up 2 young children in our twilight years. Do the Local Authorities take this into account when assessing for the allowance
- 5 June 2014 at 21:54
- Anonymous said...
We have SGOs for our 2 grandchildren. We receive an allowance for both of them and I gave up work to care for them.
What happens to the allowance when our circumstances change?
For example: my husband is hoping to retire early next year so our income will drop significantly as will our outgoings as our mortgage will be repaid. We will still have the added expenses surrounding bringing up 2 young children in our twilight years. Do the Local Authorities take this into account when assessing for the allowance
- 5 June 2014 at 21:55
- Anonymous said...
What is the latest rule of law regarding CHALLENGING Social Services kinship over SGO ???
- 9 July 2014 at 08:17
- paul said...
my mam and dad now look after their grandaughter after the death of her mam .they are now applying for a sgo are they entitled to any financial support other than tax credits .
- 26 January 2015 at 21:21
- Anonymous said...
Can i invite a partner to UK while am on income support and foster carers allowance.
- 25 September 2015 at 00:51
- Anonymous said...
Hi All,
I have recently had my life turned up side down and on its head :( My Auntie passed away in January this year and left her three children aged 13 (girl)and 10 (twin boys)behind. I had taken them into my home before she passed away as she was in hospital for two weeks. When she passed away I had said they could live with me and my disabled daughter who is 14 as I could not live with my self if they went into care. I have been assessed by Private fostering team and was denied as they said as I had already taken them and there mother had my in her Will as Guardian to them that basically I was on my own. How can this be since then I have had to move out of my home which I loved and had lived in for 12 years and my own child has been put through the mill and back with all the changes in our lives she has Autism and other problems. The Social Services refuse to help us financially and I get £16.50 a week for each child? what am I meant to do with that for three grieving children.
When I pushed S/S to help us they found the children's Dad and said he would take them! over my dead body they hate him and have had no contact for over three years. I am now suffering from depression and I have Ulcerative Colitis which is flaring up all the time as it is not helped by stress, which I am every waking hour)I can not hand these babies over but I am on my own and have just give my notice to work as I can not do it all on my own I have no partner. I feel so alone and feel our system has let me down so much. Every day I love all my children with all my heart BUT I feel trapped in my own life. I use to go on holidays twice a year buy what ever we wanted and look for days out and places to explore I had a really good job which I have worked all my life from school to achieve BUT have now been forced to leave. I can not afford a Solicitor as all my savings have gone on the children and our new home. I am going out of my mind and have no were to turn life is so un fare and I do not know how to make it all right.
- 30 September 2015 at 23:00
- Anonymous said...
We have special guardianship of our niece. We have had no financial support given due to us both working and have a good income. I have had to reduce hours to fit around school therefore our income has decreased. does anybody know if the parents have any financial obligation?
- 15 October 2015 at 20:25

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A look at the the Front Range college hockey teams in action this weekend across the nation…
MINNESOTA-DULUTH (4-3-1, 2-2-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association)
at No. 8 DENVER (3-2-1, 2-1-1 WCHA)
What: WCHA two-game series
When: Friday (7:35 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m.)
Where: Magness Arena
TV/Radio: Root (Friday only)/102.3 FM
Notes: DU wing Beau Bennett is probable. The sophomore wing missed last weekend's series at Michigan Tech after being cut on the right wrist by a teammates' skate blade.
…Goalies Adam Murray and Juho Olkinuora might each get a start this weekend. Murray started the first five games but was injured early in last Friday's 7-2 loss and Olkinuora allowed just three goals in more than five periods of relief duty.
…Junior forward Chris Knowlton returns from a team-imposed suspension and is expected to make his season debut tonight.
No. 2 COLORADO COLLEGE (4-0, 2-0 WCHA)
at NEBRASKA-OMAHA (4-4, 3-1 WCHA)
What: WCHA two-game series
When: Friday (6:35 p.m. MT) and Saturday (6 p.m. MT)
Where: CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Neb.
TV/Radio: None/103.9 FM
Notes: CC is making its maiden trip to Omaha to play the Mavericks, who are in their second season in the WCHA. Tonight marks the 500th career NCAA game for UNO head coach Dean Blais, who is in his third year in Omaha. Blais previously coached for 10 years at North Dakota, compiling a record of 262-115-33.
…CC is coming off a nonleague series sweep (4-1 and 4-1) at Rensselaer and UNO split a WCHA series at Wisconsin last weekend (5-4 win, 6-3 loss).
…CC goalie Joe Howe leads the country in goals-against average (0.90) and save percentage (.964).
SACRED HEART (0-6, 0-2 Atlantic Hockey Association)
at AIR FORCE (3-2-2, 2-0-1 AHA)
What: AHA two-game series
When: Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (7:30 p.m.)
Where: Cadet Ice Arena
TV/Radio: None/1300 AM
Notes: Saturday's later start time is to accommodate fans and game-day personnel addition time after the Air Force-Army football game that begins at 1:30 p.m. at Falcon Stadium.
…Air Force is on a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) but the ties were against lowly Alabama-Huntsville and Canisius. Those team rank 57th and 50th, respectively, in scoring among 57 Division I programs. Sacred Heart has been outscored 37-9 and is 57th in scoring margin (minus-4.67).
…Air Force is 10-1-2 against the Pioneers at the Academy.
Keep tabs with Mike Chambers on Twitter: @MChambersDP
Read more of Mike Chambers at All Things Avs.


text:
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The second installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, has just rolled into theaters, and with it the battle over whether or not the story should have been split into three films continues to wage. Some J.R.R. Tolkien fans are elated that Jackson and his fellow screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens chose to not only adapt the short Tolkien novel, but also much of its 125 pages of appendices, adding on a new character for good measure. Others, myself included, wonder if this wasn't overkill, where more is just more, not necessarily better. Well, let's introduce some new information into this debate, specifically Jackson's confession on where the first film was originally meant to end.
In an interview with EW, Anthony Breznican asks Jackson directly, where the split from film one and film two was originally meant to fall. Jackson explained:
"The split was going to occur where Bard appears on the riverbank as a silhouetted figure with a bow. So the whole barrel sequence (from The Desolation of Smaug) was going to be the climax (of the first film). But it just felt like--it didn't feel right. I know a lot of people had issues with the first movie in the sense of it being a meandering kind of a road film but…we actually rethought it all. And actually what felt more satisfying--there was certainly no shortage of material. I think people are always coming from the direction of 'well how do you take a three hundred page book and turn it into three movies,' but we were almost coming at it from the exact polar opposite which was once we had done our adaptation--and that had been long since done."
In the interview, which you can listen to below, Jackson also aims to correct the assertion that New Line executives pushed for the pair of films to be expanded into a trilogy. As he stated via Facebook when the news was first announced, it was not the studio's idea to make The Hobbit a trilogy, but a realization that came to him, Boyen and Walsh as they were attempting to cut the first film. He recalled, "That happened right at the very end of production more or less, very, very close to it. We were looking at what we'd shot and we were going to end up cutting a lot of the movie out if we had to to make it two. And also structurally it just wasn't feeling very good anymore."
The studio's reps were due to visit and see a cut of the film, and this trio of collaborators sat down beforehand to discuss the radical idea of converting their in-post two films into three. "People think it's a cold-blooded cash grab from the studio, and no it didn't come from the studio at all," Jackson details, "It came from Fran, Philipa, and I."
From there they came up with a game plan, before presenting it to the studio and asking for more money and additional shooting. "We just thought there's a way that we could structure this that might be more satisfying, that might give us a sense of the beginning, the middle and the end. It might just tick all the boxes that it doesn't seem to be doing at the moment...and their faces kind of froze because we were hitting them up with not just the fact that it had become three movies, but we also wanted to do a bit more shooting during the year to fill out a bit more of the storylines because we liked where some of it was going but we couldn't necessarily shoot everything that we wanted on our original plan."
Of course, the execs were shocked. This kind of news isn't an everyday occurrence. But I'm sure they soon realized the financial advantage of stretching out The Hobbit over three holiday seasons, each one potentially renewing interest in the previous entry as well as The Lord of the Rings trilogy. So far so good. The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey earned an astounding $1 billion worldwide, making it the 16th highest grossing film worldwide. And The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is opening strong with $73 million, which while less than early projections and about $11 million less than its precursor made on opening, is still enough to win the weekend and pad the studios coffers.
Which of these two plans would you prefer?


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Pediatric feeding problems come in all shapes and sizes. They tend to be complicated and often result from a combination of factors. This can make effective treatment challenging for the feeding therapist. A feeding problem is defined as "The failure to progress with feeding skills. Developmentally, a feeding problem exists when a child is 'stuck' in their feeding pattern and cannot progress."
So where should the speech-language pathologist start? We should always begin by trying to figure out why the child is stuck and not progressing with eating and oral motor skills. Whether the child is dependent on tube feedings, not moving to textured foods, grazing on snack foods throughout the day, failing to thrive, pocketing foods, or spitting foods out, using medical management strategies can greatly improve a child's success in feeding therapy.
A significant number of children with feeding difficulty also have a history of gastrointestinal problems such as gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, poor appetite, poor weight gain, and sometimes food intolerance. These issues can cause eating to be painful for the child which can lead to food refusal and avoidance and subsequent oral motor delay due to decreased practice eating the needed volumes for growth and poor acceptance of age appropriate foods. Research has shown the relationship between feeding difficulty and gastroesophageal reflux.
Most of the children we work with can't tell us what is wrong. Their eating behavior tells us a lot about their digestive tract. These children often graze, volume limit, or avoid food because filling up their stomachs hurts. Some children complain that they have stomach pain while others vomit, spit up or cry with eating. We know that if these problems persist for any length of time, they become learned patterns of behavior.
Medical strategies that promote "gut" comfort and encourage appetite will help the child be receptive to eating and can improve response to feeding therapy. These strategies typically involve the following:
- Addressing weight gain and growth as the priority of a feeding program.
- Treating constipation and establishing a routine of daily soft stooling.
- Treating gastroesophageal reflux and hypersensitivity in the GI tract.
- Using hydrolyzed formulas that are easier to digest and promote gastric emptying and stooling.
- Adjusting tube feeding rates and schedules to promote comfort.
- Using appetite stimulants to boost hunger.
Some children's feeding skills improve dramatically with medical management alone. Other children will need feeding therapy using techniques to improve acceptance of volume and variety of foods as well as oral motor therapy to progress to age appropriate oral motor patterns. No matter what type of feeding therapy approach you are using, the child will respond better if they feel better.
Many therapists have been taught to start with the mouth. That means addressing the oral motor hypersensitivity or oral motor delay first. Many clinicians feel that the doctor or medical specialists are addressing the reflux and constipation issues. However, it really is a team effort. Most physicians do not watch the child eat or see a child as often as we do as therapists. Therefore, it is important to work closely with the referring physicians to assist with proper diagnosis and treatment in order to assure the best outcomes for our patients.
Depending on the child, using medical management strategies can take multiple visits over time with the physician. If the child's symptoms persist despite using medicines for reflux and constipation, a pediatrician may decide to refer the child to a gastroenterologist or feeding team for specialized care. A child also may undergo further testing to rule out medical diagnoses that can negatively effect eating such as anemia, food allergy, eosinophillic esophagitis, malrotation, and motility disorders.
The most important reason to recognize and treat the underlying medical issues of children with pediatric feeding problems is to help them progress. As SLPs, we need to recognize and identify GI issues prior to starting therapy so that we are not reinforcing pain or discomfort for the child. Our goals for most clients involve weight gain and growth, age appropriate oral motor patterns, and acceptance of a variety of foods from all food groups for healthy eating. These are attainable goals for many of our clients. Using medical strategies to help the child feel better will improve response to feeding therapy and eventually outcomes.
Krisi Brackett MS, CCC-SLP, is a feeding specialist with over 20 years of experience working with children with feeding difficulties. Krisi is co-director of the pediatric feeding team at the NC Children's Hospital, UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill, N.C. Follow her at www.pediatricfeedingnews.com. The blog is dedicated to up to date pediatric feeding information. Krisi teaches a two-day workshop on using a medical/motor/behavior approach, is an adjunct instructor teaching a pediatric dysphagia seminar at UNC-Chapel Hill, and has co-authored a chapter in Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment, Therapro, 2013.


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BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The degree to which women college students consume alcohol is linked to their chance of being sexually victimized, U.S. researchers said.
Lead researcher Maria Testa, a senior scientist at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions, and colleagues tracked 437 young women from high school graduation through freshman year of college.
They found that of those who had never consumed alcohol heavily in high school, nearly half admitted binge drinking at least once by the end of their first college semester. Young women who were already engaging in binge drinking in high school continued drinking at similar levels in college.
However, binge drinking was linked to students' risk of sexual victimization regardless of what their drinking habits had been in high school.
Of women who'd ever consumed 10 or more drinks at a sitting since starting college, 59 percent said they were sexually victimized by the end of their first semester, which included anything from unwanted sexual contact to rape.
Parents should talk with their children about drinking before the children go to college, regardless of what they think their kids' drinking habits have been in high school, Testa said. Parents should keep talking to children about drinking even after they've left for college.
The findings are scheduled to be published in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.


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10 Days 'til Oscar: Score, Song, & Sound
We're in the final crunch now. Oscar voters have to make their final decisions by Tuesday February 19th (with the winners announced Sunday February 24th) so I'm throwing up my own nominees (which I like to announce before the Oscar nominations even. Oy) so you can see my film bitch award picks for the best in the various aural categories here. But while we're on the subject of sound, a film craft I always vow to learn more about and then forget to educate myself, let's make some early Oscar predictions.
Naturally I prefer my nominees to Oscars. Unlike many pundits, I knew that the Beasts of the Southern Wild score didn't have a prayer since Oscar's music branch is notoriously exclusive. In addition to their resistance to new composers they also don't really cotton to directors muscling in on their territory, so step away from the sheet music Benh Zeitlin, Benh Zeitlin. (Even an Oscar God as Revered as Clint Eastwood hasn't been able to do it.) Nevertheless Oscar voters and I do have a bit of overlap here as we all swooned for Dario Marianelli's work on Anna Karenina and Mychael Danna's evocative score for Life of Pi. I'd be pleased if either of them won the category. As for the other nominees, I never quite understand the mandatory nature of John Williams nominations. He's certainly created some classic scores over the years but I swear if he just whistled a few bars on a soundtrack he'd be nominated. I also still don't get the Argo score being nominated since Desplat wrote about five film scores this year and they're ALL better than his decent but surprisingly generic work on Ben Affleck's well regarded thriller. A nomination for Zero Dark Thirty would've been so preferrable.
Should Win: Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina
Will Win: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi. (Even though the music branch is loathe to welcome new blood once they do, they don't tend to have issues with them actually winning the gold.)
Possible Spoiler: Despite Williams' endless nominations, Oscar voters don't seem to be sentimental about giving him a final (and sixth) statue, so I'm guessing Danna's only potential loss comes from Argo-Mania. Alexandre Desplate still hasn't won an Oscar which is starting to seem crazy.
Though Oscar and I don't have much overlap -- look, I know Joyful Noise is a crap movie but Dolly Parton writes beautiful movie songs and still doesn't have an Oscar -- I really love the Oscar nominees anyway. All of 'em! It was a good year for original movie songs. I'm looking forward to the performances (should we get them... and it seems like we will).
007 Skyfall - Opening Credits (Best Quality Yet) from Gunnar Lien on Vimeo.
Should Win: Skyfall
Will Win: Skyfall (the night's biggest lock?)
Possible Spoiler: Skyfall... in case they decide to give Adele two Oscars just to see if she pisses herself laughing.
Oscar likes exceptionally loud movies in the sound categories from the following genres: sci-fi, war, musicals. Which is why you rarely see fragile sounding haunted dramas like, say, The Deep Blue Sea, or fascinating soundscapes like Cosmopolis or artful indies like Beasts of the Southern Wild in the mix. So the weirdest nominee from their choices might be Lincoln which is not particularly loud or showy in terms of sound. I think they missed the boat in ignoring Prometheus in both sound categories this year... but the studio didn't really campaign so there's that. The sound categories can be difficult to predict since who knows what actors make of "sound", you know? And they make up the biggest voting block for winners. Greg P. Russell has been nominated 16 times without winning and he's up again for Sound Mixing on Skyfall. If enough voters become aware of his Oscarless plight, I can't see him losing for such a well loved widely seen film. But are they aware?
Should Win (Mixing/Editing): abstain... I'm still thinking about this
Will Win (Mixing/Editing): Skyfall & Life of Pi... wild guesswork. They do sometimes split those prizes... and these two films might be in tough battle after tough battle for the entire first half of the ceremony in the craft categories.
Possible Spoiler (Mixing/Editing): Les Misérables & Skyfall
What are you rooting for soundwise with Oscar and what do you think of the film bitch award nominees?


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a little while ago, in a discussion thread concerning some content I lifted from some other blog, someone left an anonymous comment about the author of that other blog that was about 80% vicious invective (much of which was empirically false) and about 20% actual content. The person who was the topic of this comment wrote to me to ask why we would approve a comment like that, when it was so obviously a personal smear and made such a negligible contribution to the debate.
I told this person that I published the comment mostly because of the 20% of it that I thought was worthwhile. I also said that I think that sunlight is the best disinfectant. I think that there is a huge value in letting the dickheads have their say. I think there is no value at all in maintaining a public illusion that there are no dickheads, and I think there is a tremendous value in allowing the dickheads themselves to demonstrate once and for all that they have nothing of value to contribute to the discussion.
I still think that at the time, that was the right policy, although there were certain things I was not in love with about it, even then. While it seems to me that at that time the advantages involved with demonstrating the existence of sexism and racism in the profession and the demolition of these sexist and racist views outweighed the disadvantages, I never liked publishing those comments, and I never liked the idea that this blog was a place where a person could come to express those views.
Since that time, my views about the value of these comments and the role this blog should play in publicizing these issues have changed. A primary reason is that the What It's Like blog has come along and provides far more compelling evidence of the existence of sexism in our profession than the small number of douchey anonymous comments left here could ever hope to be. A secondary reason is that dickheads have a way of taking the fun out of things. I would rather have a more fun blog with a more restrictive comments policy than a less fun blog with a less restrictive comments policy.
As a result, my comment-approval philosophy has changed. I will not approve douchey comments. I will not approve trollish or needlessly quarrelsome comments. I will not approve comments that make unfounded claims about how easy it is to be a woman in philosophy, or how hard it is to be a white man in philosophy. I will not approve comments that, in my judgement, do not meaningfully add to the discussion or move it forward. I will not approve comments whose purpose is for some anonymous dickhead to piss on other people's good time.
Unless it's funny. Funny comments will get more leeway.
I will try not to be as heavy-handed as the moderators at some other blogs. I will allow people to be mean to each other, as long as they are mean in a way that is on topic and advances the discussion. I will not shut down comments overnight to give people a chance to cool off. But I am going to keep the assholes on a shorter leash.
--Mr. Zero


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Mijn probleem
Computer was constantly running fans with little to no actual load. Upon closer investigation the computer was getting as high as 90 degrees Celsius when doing moderately demanding tasks.
Mijn oplossing
Opened the case and saw a bunch of dust everywhere. After the dust was removed the real problem revealed itself. . . .


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Oil-industry expert Bob Cavnar says that the Macondo well is dead.
True, there may still be some bubbles leaking:
However, that might just be naturally-occurring methane being released from the seafloor.
For example, this video made by University of Mississippi researchers in the Gulf in 2006 – years before the BP blowout – shows methane bubbles rising naturally from the seafloor (when contained by a test tube, they turn into snowflake-like methane hydrate crystals).
As I noted in June, areas in close proximity to the BP well have long been known to have enormous amounts of methane and methane hydrates. And see this.
Indeed, as oil disaster expert Dr. Robert Bea pointed out in May:
About a month before the blowout, a "kick" of gas pressure hit the well hard enough that the platform was shut down. "Something under high pressure was being encountered," says Bea—apparently both hydrates and gas on different occasions.
Sealing the well wouldn't necessarily close off all of the normal avenues for methane bubbles to escape from the seafloor in a high-methane region. Therefore, I'm not sure that the small bubbles seen after the relief well was completed mean much.
But What About the Nearby Seeps?
A more interesting question concerns the seeps.
As Dr. Bea explained to me last month:
WB: Is it possible that this fractured, subsea salt geology will make it difficult to permanently kill the oil leak using relief wells?
Bea: Yes, it could. The Santa Barbara channel seeps are still leaking, decades after the oil well was supposedly capped. This well could keep leaking for years.
Scripps mapped out seafloor seeps in the area of the well prior to the blowout. Some of the natural seeps penetrate 10,000 to 15,000 feet beneath the seafloor. The oil will follow lines of weakness in the geology. The leak can travel several horizontal miles from the location of the leak.
[In other words, the geology beneath the seafloor is so fractured, with soft and unstable salt formations, that we may never be able to fully kill the well even with relief wells. Instead, the loss of containment of the oil reservoir caused by the drilling accident could cause oil to leak out through seeps for years to come. See this and this for further background].
As I wrote in June:
The deep sea subs have found other leaks a couple of miles from BP's gushing blowout preventer and riser.
For example, the Houston Chronicle noted on June 21st:
A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Monday noted research vessels found natural gas seeping from the sea floor several miles away from the well.
The Chronicle goes on to explain:
Those appear to be pre-existing seeps that occur naturally, a NOAA spokeswoman said, and unrelated to the spill.
But the Washington Post made a very important point yesterday:
Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University, said additional leaks are a possible source of deep-sea plumes of oil detected by research vessels. But this part of the gulf is pocked with natural seeps, he noted. Conceivably the drilling of the well, and/or the subsequent blowout, could have affected the seeps, he said.
"Once you started disturbing the underground geology, you may have made one of those seeps even worse," he said.
Remember that geologists have said that if the well casing is substantially breached, the oil and methane gas will find a way through fractures in the surrounding geology and make it into the ocean. For example, the Houston Chronicle notes:
If the well casing burst it could send oil and gas streaming through the strata to appear elsewhere on the sea floor ….
Obviously, if there are natural oil or gas seeps nearby, there are already pre-existing channels up to the seafloor … so that may very well be the path of least resistance for the subterranean oil to flow up to the seafloor.
Therefore, if there were a substantial breach in the well bore, nearby natural oil and gas seeps could very well increase in volume.
So don't be surprised if – when formerly tiny seeps become gushers – BP tries to pretend that they were always that large.
As I noted in July:
The Times-Picayune reported yesterday:
Scientists have discovered four gas "seeps" at or near BP's blown-out Macondo well since Saturday …
Berkeley engineering professor Bob Bea has very little confidence in what's been said publicly about the seeps.
He's troubled that we're just now hearing about seeps three kilometers away, because a survey of the seabed conducted before BP drilled its well didn't indicate anything like that.
"There was nothing that indicated the presence of such a seep," Bea said. "I wonder why we're just now finding that out?"
BP has yet to release other ROV video that Bea's study group requested more than a month ago about what may have been shots of nearby seeps.
(Bea explained to me last month: "In May, … Senator Boxer subpoenaed information from BP regarding footage of the seafloor taken before the blowout by BP's remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). We still have not received a response 12 weeks later.")
I also noted in July:
Thad Allen said today that there are anomalies on the seafloor within 100-200 meters of the blown out well. And oil expert Bob Cavner told MSNBC today:
You know, these seeps that the admiral talked about within 100 meters of the well concern me some… The ones close really concern me.
And there is a possibility, if you look at the well diagram which is complicated and I won't get into it. There is a path for oil and gas to get out into the sub strata. And I'm concerned about that.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
A 20-year petroleum geologist – with 13 years spent in offshore exploration in the Gulf of Mexico – "gasmiinder" noted yesterday:
Mapping of natural methane seeps is required as part of the process of obtaining a drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico. This is required because the "methane seep communities" are considered environmental "havens" as it were – you have to demonstrate you're not disturbing the critters. [My comment: There are ecosystems which can thrive around small natural seeps. But huge gushers like the BP blow out can kill everything in sight, especially given the large amounts of methane which have spewed from BP's well]. The process does not measure the rate of seepage but you would have some guess based on the areal extent of the communities. This report is filed with the MMS and should be available. I'm surprised and enterprising reporter hasn't requested a copy from the MMS. (Of course enterprising reporter might be an oxymoron in the modern era)
I attended a scientific talk about 20 years ago where the study results estimated about 1 million barrels of oil a year seep into the Gulf from natural seeps. Of course that is spread over a huge area on an entire year.
In response to the above post, blogger CD notes that page 16 of BP's Initial Exploration Plan for the well states:
There is no evidence for the existence of high-density chemosynthetic communities within 1,500 ft of the proposed well location.
Gasmiinder responds:
The statement regarding the chemosynthetic communities requires a seafloor survey – that's what I'm referring too where there will be a report available having mapped them (the partners will have copies of that report as well).
Gasmiinder adds:
Here is a copy from the webpage of a company that consults on the interpretation of the hazard surveys. It should give at least a feel for the level of information that is believed to be present in the data (meaning this is what they claim to be able to accomplish with the datasets):
• Assess seafloor conditions and stratigraphy, and geologic processes to evaluate well site locations
• Identify shallow gas and shallow water flow potential [my note: they are referring to shallow layers that could be hazards to drill through)
• Interpret and map geologic constraints, such as faults, gas vents, seafloor depressions and mounds, and any other geologic phenomena that are detectable with seismic data
• Identify potential chemosynthetic communities, archaeological sites, and man-made infrastructure and debris
• Assess mooring spread, anchor locations, and foundation zones
• Produce supporting maps to show water depth, topography, shallow structure, and seafloor and shallow geologic conditions and features in an area that may have an impact on drilling
• Prepare final reports needed for permit application to governmental and insurance bodies
So BP (and its partners in the well, Anadarko and Mitsui) would have maps of all of the nearby seeps which were there before well blew out.
Moreover, Dr. Bea told me last month that there might be other leaks near the Macondo wellhead:
WB: The chief electronics technician on the Deepwater Horizon said that the Macondo well was originally drilled in another location, but that "going faster caused the bottom of the well to split open, swallowing tools", and that BP abandoned that well. You've spoken to that technician and looked into the incident, and concluded that "they damn near blew up the rig." [See this and this].
Do you know where that abandoned well location is, and do you know if that well is still leaking?
Bea: The abandoned well is very close to the current well location. BP had to file reports showing the location of the abandoned well and the new well [with the Minerals Management Service], so the location of the abandoned well is known.
We don't know if the abandoned well is leaking.
WB: Matthew Simmons talked about a second leaking well. There are rumors on the Internet that the original well is still leaking. Do you have any information that can either disprove or confirm that allegation?
Bea: There are two uncorroborated reports. One is that there is a leak 400 feet West of the present well's surface location. There is another report that there is a leak several miles to the West.
[Bea does not know whether either report is true at this time, because BP is not sharing information with the government, let alone the public.]
The bottom line is that I believe that the Macondo well has successfully been capped by the relief well.
And I have no evidence that there is increased seep activity after the relief well was completed.
But the government and BP must do the following before we can have reassurances that there are no nearby seeps which are now larger because of the April disaster:
(1) Release – at least to Senator Boxer and Bea's study group – maps and video of the seeps within a 5-mile radius which existed before the blow out; and
(2) Release current maps and video of all seeps within a 5-mile radius.


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LG Windows Phone 7 handset out in Q4
September release: premature speculation
LG showed off its upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series smartphone this weekend.
But despite recent speculation that the handset would debut this coming September - when Windows Phone 7 is itself to be released - LG confirmed that buyers have a longer wait than that.
LG's Windows Phone 7: no name, no specification yet
LG described the unnamed handset as an "early prototype" and said that the device's technical specifications have yet to be set.
As you can see, though, the gadget presents Windows Phone 7's new, Zune-derived UI and has an HTC-style slide-out Qwerty keyboard.
Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 7 at last month's Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona. The OS is due to debut in September, but phone makers aren't expecting to release handsets based upon it until October at the earliest.
LG said it is "aiming" to ship its first Windows Phone 7 device sometime in Q4. ®
Sponsored: How to Process, Wrangle, Analyze and Visualize your Data with Three Complementary Tools


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President Obama met Monday with law enforcement leaders, including officials from four communities where mass shootings took place recently, and urged them to help him build support in Congress to pass his proposals to toughen gun laws.
Obama asserted that law enforcement leaders are the most important group in the fraught and emotional gun debate — "They are where the rubber hits the road," he said — and that a consensus among police chiefs and sheriffs could influence wavering lawmakers.
"Hopefully, if law enforcement officials who are dealing with this stuff every single day can come to some consensus in terms of steps that we need to take, Congress is going to be paying attention to them, and we'll be able to make progress," Obama said.
Vice President Biden, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano joined Obama and 13 police chiefs and sheriffs at the White House meeting.
Obama urged passage of universal background checks for all gun buyers, which administration officials have said is his top priority and is considered the most likely of his legislative proposals to win bipartisan support.
The president also called Monday on Congress to pass bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazine clips, making clear those measures remain a priority after Biden did not highlight them Friday in his public remarks during a gun violence roundtable session in Richmond.
"We recognize that this is an issue that elicits a lot of passion all across the country, and Joe and my Cabinet members who have been involved in this have been on a listening session over the last several months," Obama said.
Later, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama and Biden would continue meeting with different interest groups as they "press for progress."
"This reflects the president's commitment to engage with all stakeholders on this important issue," Carney said.
In the law enforcement meeting, Obama noted that his proposals to curb the nation's gun violence, which also included 23 executive actions announced this month, are designed to prevent not only mass shootings but also everyday violence.
"Many of them also recognize that it's not only the high-profile mass shootings that are of concern here," Obama said of law enforcement leaders. "It's also what happens on a day-in, day-out basis in places like Chicago or Philadelphia, where young people are victims of gun violence every single day."
Obama said they would discuss ways to hire more police officers, get them the training they need and make sure sheriff's offices in rural counties have access to resources that big cities have.
Attendees included law enforcement leaders from Newtown, Conn., where 20 small children and six adults were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14; Aurora, Colo., where 12 people were killed and dozens injured at a movie theater shooting in July; Oak Creek, Wis., where six were shot and killed at a Sikh temple in August; and Tucson, where in 2011 six died and 13 were injured, including former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).
Also attending were police chiefs and sheriffs from Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Chicago and Philadelphia, as well as Montgomery County, Md., Calhoun County, Ala., Story County, Iowa, and Hennepin County, Minn.


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"Thirlewall Castle, now a picturesque ruin in Northumberland, near Gilsland Spa, was the residence of the family in early times. Thirlwall is on, and derives its name from, the celebrated Roman Wall, which at this point was thirled or bored through (Anglo-Saxon: thryrlian.)" [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
In 1999, the Northumberland National Park Authority took over the management of the castle to prevent further decay. Another source provides a cleared understanding of the etymology of the place name. "It has its name from the Roman thralling or barrier wall running through it, to thirl, in the old Northumberland dialect, signifying to bind or enthral. Its proprietors in remote times were called barons, and held under the kings of Scotland as lords of Tindale. The church of Hexham acquired lands here at an early period; the Swinburnes had possessions within the manor in the time of Edward I., and, by marriage with the Thirlwalls, became possessed of the whole estate, which they afterwards sold to Henry, Earl of Carlisle. Mention of a castle first occurs in 1369." [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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Price: $15.00
Assorted back issues of ATW are available for sale.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Back issue pricing is NOT for back issues of ATW's Annual World Airline Report.
Or order by telephone with credit card during the hours of 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, M-F, U.S. Eastern time to 1-847-763-9670. (IMPORTANT--this number is for magazines only)


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Kindle Fire: First Impressions
My Fire finally arrived last night. Although I've been anxiously awaiting this day for a while now, I think my girls were even more excited during the unboxing than I was. The new machine is beautiful. I'll just say that right out of the gate. The screen is bright and the colors are sharp. The home screen is laid out fairly well. It's vaguely reminiscent of how I remember some screenshots of Apple's book reader software. (I've never used that so I could be way off.) The touch screen seems to be slightly less responsive than my Droid X. My droid will react to errant brushes of the screen where it seems like the Fire needs a slightly more intentional, insistent touch. This isn't entirely bad but takes a little getting used to.
As expected, Amazon's shopping services are tightly integrated. Anything you want from Amazon is just a few taps away. The apps I've bought for my android phone are there under "my apps" on the kindle, too, ready for download. I haven't done a full audit, but it would seem I can redownload any/all of them. I've already done so for a number of them but I can't guarantee 100% coverage on that front.
There is, however, one glaring failure on Amazon's part here. And, to be honest, I'm actively considering returning the Fire because of it. I knew that the Fire would be tightly integrated with Amazon's services. It was actually a mild selling point for me. I knew that Google's Android Marketplace would not be on the machine. That's a mild bummer but I'm sure that'll be rectified sooner or later. But what I find completely unacceptable is this: if I open the browser and go to market.android.com, it actually launches Amazon's app store. I understand they'd rather people buy apps from their store, but they have no right to intercept legitimate web traffic and reroute to their own sites. I should be free to browse whatever I want on the web without interference.
If Amazon doesn't fix this, I'm seriously considering returning this and paying the extra money for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. I'll take a slightly less integrated experience if it means I'm free to read whatever web pages I want. I don't need or want someone to hold my hand or dictate to me what I can or can not read on my devices. If nothing else, I'll root this thing first chance I get and run stock Android on it.
So please, Amazon, fix this. This goes well beyond allowing only your app store. Even apple doesn't block websites on the ipad. You have no right to either.


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Nova instances can be booted from volume, analogous to EBS-backed volumes in EC2.
We construct a bootable volume, then fire up an instance backed by this volume.
We assume that an instance has already been booted in the previous test case, and we use this as a builder to facilitate the creation of a bootable volume.
We also need a rootfs-style image, which may be download from:
$> wget https://launchpad.net/cirros/trunk/0.3.0/+download/cirros-0.3.0-x86_64-rootfs.img.gz
Finally, we assume that the nova-volume service or cinder is enabled and running.
How to test
Create a 1Gb volume, which we will make bootable:
$> cinder create --display_name=bootable_volume 1 $> VOLUME_ID=$(cinder list | awk '/bootable_volume/ {print $2}')
and wait for the volume to become available:
$> watch "cinder show bootable_volume | grep status"
Temporarily attach volume to your builder instance, this will allow us to copy image data into the volume
$> nova volume-attach $INSTANCE $VOLUME_ID /dev/vdb
Wait for the volume status to show as in-use:
$> watch "cinder show bootable_volume | grep status"
Format and mount volume to a staging mount point:
$> ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i nova_key.priv $USER_NAME@$IP_ADDR << EOF set -o errexit set -o xtrace sudo mkdir -p /tmp/stage sudo mkfs.ext3 -b 1024 /dev/vdb 1048576 sudo mount /dev/vdb /tmp/stage sudo touch /tmp/stage/cirros-0.3.0-x86_64-rootfs.img.gz sudo chown $USER_NAME /tmp/stage/cirros-0.3.0-x86_64-rootfs.img.gz EOF
Copy image to the staging directory on the builder instance:
$> scp -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i nova_key.priv cirros-0.3.0-x86_64-rootfs.img.gz $USER_NAME@$IP_ADDR:/tmp/stage
Unpack image into the volume (don't worry about an unmount failure).
$> ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i nova_key.priv $USER_NAME@$IP_ADDR << EOF set -o errexit set -o xtrace cd /tmp/stage sudo mkdir -p /tmp/image sudo gunzip cirros-0.3.0-x86_64-rootfs.img.gz sudo mount cirros-0.3.0-x86_64-rootfs.img /tmp/image sudo cp -pr /tmp/image/* /tmp/stage/ cd sync sudo umount /tmp/image sudo umount /tmp/stage || true EOF
Detach volume for the builder instance:
$> nova volume-detach $INSTANCE $VOLUME_ID
and wait for the volume status to show as availble:
$> watch "cinder show bootable_volume | grep status"
Now snapshot the bootable volume we just created:
$> cinder snapshot-create --display_name bootable_snapshot $VOLUME_ID
and wait for the snapshot to become available:
$> watch "cinder snapshot-show bootable_snapshot" $> SNAPSHOT_ID=$(cinder snapshot-list | awk '/bootable_snapshot/ {print $2}')
Now we can boot from the bootable volume. We use the same image as the builder instance, but that is only in order to retrieve the image properties.
$> IMAGE_ID=$(glance image-list | grep $(nova show $INSTANCE | awk '/image/ {print $4}') | awk '{print $2}') $> nova boot --flavor 1 --image $IMAGE_ID --block_device_mapping vda=${SNAPSHOT_ID}:snap::0 --key_name nova_key volume_backed
Expected Results
You should be able able to ssh into the volume-backed instance.
Also note that for the volume-backed instance you've fired up, there is a volume cloned from the corresponding snapshot:
$> cinder list


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Magic slice
Children enjoy making this candy-like slice and everyone enjoys eating it. Thanks to Felicity Williams for passing on the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the crushed wine biscuits and melted butter and press into the bottom of a 30 x 20cm slice tin.
- Sprinkle the raisins evenly over the base, followed by the chocolate, coconut and almonds. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until the top is pale gold and glossy. Cut into squares or oblongs while still warm.


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The best outdoor surveillance camera depends on your situation and your budget. Here are some tips to help you navigate your way to the best outdoor surveillance camera for your situation.
Tip #1 Coverage Area
The first step in buying the best outdoor surveillance camera is to do a survey of the area that you want to cover. Some states have very stringent laws about recording scenes on property that does not belong to you. Decide where you want to put the cameras. The outside of most properties will need more than one surveillance camera to cover the whole area.
Ask yourself if you were a criminal where you are most likely to go on your property. These are the areas that you want to make sure to cover. If you have outside storage on your property, then you will want to make sure to cover those areas. Most people want to make sure and cover the doors of their homes. In most circumstances more than one camera will be required.
Think about covering your whole area, but pay special attention to certain areas. The front door of your home may need a point, tilt and zoom camera so that you can see who is at the door from a remote location. The driveway may need a high resolution camera so that you can see the license plate of a car. The storage area may need a fixed camera that records who goes in and out of that area of your property.
Tip #2 Width of View
The next step in determining the best outdoor surveillance camera is to determine the width of the area that you need each camera to cover. Knowing this will help you determine exactly where you need to place the camera. Many people find it helpful to actually stake out the area with small stakes or use chalk lines to make sure each of the vital areas are covered. It is good idea to have the most important areas covered by more than one camera.
Security cameras come equipped with different lenses. Knowing how wide an area you need each camera to cover will assist you in buying the correct lens for each camera. It takes some experience to look at a picture that has a very wide width of view. The picture is smashed together and seeing details may be hard. In some areas a fisheye camera may be the right choice. This camera records its images right under the camera. These pictures record a full circle and can take real talent to observe the details.
Tip #3 Distance
By now you should have a pretty good idea of where you want to place the cameras. Take out your tape measure. Measure the distance from where you are thinking about placing each camera to the most vital place. This will help you further determine the type of lens you need each camera to have.
Security cameras come with four types of lenses. Some cameras come with lenses that are meant to record objects up close. Some cameras come with lenses that are meant to record objects that are far away. Some cameras come with lenses where the recording distance can be focused at the time of installation. Other cameras come with lenses where the distance can be controlled from a remote location.
Cameras can be brought that will record at different lengths. Most manufacturers like to expand the distance that their cameras will adequately record. Look for the top number and subtract 15 percent. If the camera says it will record at 100 meters, then expect the camera to record a great picture at up to 85 meters.
Tip #4 Style of Camera
Security cameras come in four basic styles. Choosing the right one will help you choose the best outdoor security camera for your situation.
The first type of security camera is the box camera. These cameras are the largest of the surveillance cameras. They are difficult to hide. There presence may be a great deterrent to thieves. Thieves may move on to a different place when seeing one. The box camera is great for outside use because the lenses can be changed easily depending on the unique circumstances. These cameras must be placed in a special housing when used outside.
The second type of security camera is the bullet camera. These cameras are shaped like a tube of lipstick. Most bullet cameras come with one type of lens. The advantage of a bullet camera is its small size. This allows the camera to be easily hidden. These cameras also have to be placed in special housing to be used outside. It is easy to tell where the bullet camera is pointed. Therefore, thieves often figure out how to operate where the camera is not pointed.
The third type of security camera is the dome camera. These cameras are circles. They generally record the action that happens under them. These cameras must be placed in a special housing to be used outdoors. It is difficult to tell exactly where the camera is pointed. Therefore, criminals have a hard time telling exactly what is being recorded. Dome cameras are often equipped with fisheye lenses. It is harder to interpret a picture taken with a fisheye lens.
The fourth type of security camera is the pan, tilt and zoom camera. These cameras can be controlled from a remote location. The camera can be tilted up and down to catch action that occurs above or below the cameras normal position. This can be useful to observe someone wanting to get into your home or a package left at your door. The camera can also be panned from left to right. This allows you to follow the action as it moves. The camera can also be zoomed to allow you to see details of a scene better.
Tip #5 Resolution
Resolution on an outdoor security camera is measured in two ways. The first way is called television lines. This is the number of lines available to record the action. For the best resolution you will need at least 540 television lines.
The second way is megapixels. Most of us are familiar with megapixels on digital cameras. These tiny points make up the picture. Today, outdoor security cameras with ten or more megapixels are very affordable. The higher the megapixels number, the more details you can see in the photo. This is especially important where you need to see the tiniest details.
While you may buy a high resolution camera, the camera's resolution is only as good as the resolution of your whole system. If the recording device or the monitor will not support the resolution, you are wasting your money spent on resolution.
The best camera for outdoor use has a built-in memory card. This memory card allows the camera to store photos as well as sending it to the recorder. This will assure that you still capture the footage if something happens to the network.
Tip #6 Wired or Wireless Security Cameras
Outdoor security cameras come wired or unwired. Most people prefer the unwired versions for outdoor use. Just as the name implies, wired security cameras are hooked by wires from the camera to the recording device. When using wired outside many things can happen to the wire causing it to stop working. For example, the wind may blow down the wire or a tree limb may break the wire.
When using an unwired version remember to check that nothing will interfere with your signal. In the best of circumstances the signal will only travel so far. The length varies by the quality of the camera. The signal will not travel as well through walls. Other objects in the environment, such as cordless phones and microwaves can also interfere with the signal.
Tip #7Networking
Your camera depends on your network. You will need a recording device and a monitor to view the photos. As mentioned earlier, both will affect the resolution of your system. The recording device will have a built in memory. It is important to decide how often you want the recorder to dump the old pictures.
Compatibility can be an issue. Make sure all components of your system will work together.
Tip #8 Housing
Most outside security cameras must have some type of housing. It is important to buy the right housing. The conditions in your environment will determine the right type of housing. If you live in a wet environment, then the moisture can do damage to your system. If you live in a dusty environment, the dust can ruin your camera without correct housing. Extremely cold and extremely hot environments can hurt your security camera. Make sure that you consider all these factors when buying housing for your outside surveillance system.
Tip # 9 Lighting
It is important to consider the amount of available lighting when buying your security camera. Security cameras generally come in three types.
The first type of camera is meant to be used in daylight conditions. It will record beautiful pictures during the day. When the camera does not get enough light it will stop recording.
The second type of camera is the night vision camera. These cameras magnify the available light to record a picture when darkness sets in. They still rely on a certain amount of light being present. As the light gets less, the footage recorded is a green color.
The third type of camera is the infrared camera. These cameras produce their own infrared light. They can record a black and white photo when absolutely no light is available.


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Originally Posted by Axl Rose
RIP Craigos. A true CW legend. You will be missed.
Poor series which was dogged throughout by many of the poor aspects of the game.
Weather/ umpiring which constantly present potential for the inferior side, or better appealers to fluke it.
From a neutral perspective, a pretty even series played by 2 quite mediocre sides as indicated by their Test rankings of 4 & 5 respectively
The fact that only one side could really win by day 3 of each Test took something away from it all.
I think Cardiff was a beauty of a test, eventhough from an Aussie perspective the result didn't go our way, but it did set the series up quite beautifully, but from there the series really didn't live upto its billing, as all the remaining tests were pretty one-sided, of course each test had its moments, but all in all the series was pretty average AFAIC.
As Jono said, it was the history and rivalry of the series that kept everyone interested, otherwise in terms cricketing quality there wasn't much to write home about, also agree that the low standard of umpiring also took the gloss off, of the such a high profile series.
One problem with the series was that the headline players like Flintoff, KP and Ponting didn't really do much.If for example Flintoff had taken 5 wickets in that first innings instead of Broad and for good measure hit a hundred in the second innings this series would be remembered as a completely memorable finale for Freddie. But it was really the lesser players who managed to steal the show particularly at the Oval.
4th v 5th.
But basically now it's won I don't much care about the quality of the cricket. Winning's the thing.
Fairly disappointing despite our loss. Seemed to be a battle between one broken side and one mediocre side that was further ruined by terrible umpiring.
"I am very happy and it will allow me to have lot more rice."
Eoin Morgan on being given a rice cooker for being Man of the Match in a Dhaka Premier Division game.
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text: It's no secret that we absolutely LOVE birthdays—they're like little, personal holidays for celebrating all our favorite people! But sometimes—maybe it's someone's birthday that you're really close to, or even someone that's just been great to you in the past year—those celebrations call for something EXTRA special. Here are some […] Read More »