text:
SALISBURY, N.C. – The Coker Cobras used a strong second half to defeat the Catawba Indians, 81-59, on Monday (Feb. 17) night in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. With the win the Cobras improve to 12-10 overall and 9-9 in league play.
Six different Coker players registered double figures, with Larry Felder leading the charge with a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds. Julian Nelson was the leading scorer for Coker with 15 points and four rebounds. Trey Marshall chipped in 13 points with five assists, while Eren Moses added 11 points and five rebounds. Donte Samuels recorded a career high 10 points with seven rebounds and Errick Bethel also scored 10 points.
After falling behind 4-2 in the opening two minutes, the Cobras took the lead and never looked back. Leading 35-27 at the break, Coker piled on 46 points during the second half, including a 33-8 run to take home the victory.
As a team Coker turned 20 Catawba turnovers into 21 points, out rebounded the Indians 46-42 and shot 88.9 percent from the charity stripe.
The Cobras will be back on the hardwood on Wednesday (Feb. 19) when they host the Wingate Bulldogs in a SAC game starting at 8 p.m. following the women's game at 6 p.m.


text:
- Description
- Q and A
- Related Products
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson has found himself in the middle of an unexpected legal battle with Bethesda, publishers of the Elder Scrolls series. Rather than fight it out in court, though, he has a better idea.
Persson has challenged Bethesda to a game of Quake III. 3v3, two maps (one chosen by each side), highest total frag count wins. If Persson wins, Bethesda drops the lawsuit. If Bethesda wins, Persson changes the name of his upcoming game, Scrolls, to something Bethesda doesn't claim a trademark on.
It's no pistols at ten paces (shame!), but anything to keep manly disputes out of the courts and in the hands of men should be applauded.
Ball's in your court, Bethesda.


text:
It's made by Boon, a company that makes super cool baby and toddler products. Do you know that awesome drying rack thing that looks like a square of bright green grass? That's a Boon product. It's also like my favorite thing in my whole kitchen, next to my
So anyway, they call it a snack box, but it's certainly big enough for a whole meal. It's just two pieces, a bottom that is divided into roomy sections, and a nice fitting lid. It's quite a lot like a divided plate, with a cover.
We've been putting it through the paces for a couple weeks now. While I expected this to be used primarily for Tyler (age 3), and maybe for Paige (kindergartener), even Ethan (age 11 in 5th grade) has used it. He's not only requested I pack his lunch in it, but one morning when he made his own school lunch he chose this one to use, even among all the other "cooler" or "not-preschool-looking" choices our home is filled with. He's very secure in his adolescence. Man, I love that boy. :)
So this was one of Ethan's lunches I have packed in the Boon trunck snack box:
- granny smith apple slices
- baby carrots
- peppered turkey rolls & cheddar cheese stars
- soft pretzel
One of Paige's school lunches packed in our favorite elephant box:
- peanut butter & jelly sandwich "ravioli", made with my mini sandwich maker (link to how-to post)
- big pretzel twists
- baby carrots
- grapes
And a breakfast-on-the-go meal for little Tyler:
- hard boiled egg
- kiwi & strawberries
- bacon
- blueberry bagel with cream cheese
The Boon Trunk Snack Box is top-rack dishwasher safe. I've washed it in there once, but otherwise I find it pretty simple and quick to just wash by hand. And then prop up in my cute grass drying rack. It's like art in the kitchen. :)
As for how we are carrying the elephant box... it fits in a regular lunch box. Sorta. It will fit (at an angle) in the EasyLunchboxes cooler. It fits perfectly in the PlanetBox lunch bag, and it fits with room to spare in the giant Go Green Lunchbox carry bag. I'll post some pictures of it in various lunch bags for tomorrow. Of course, it also has that cute built-in handle, with the elephant's tail. That's how Tyler carried it the day we used it for a breakfast box on our errand-and-appoitment filled morning one day. :)
Overall, I am thrilled with the Boon box. :)
Items used to make these lunches:


text:
1. I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell
2. Why does she do this to herself?
I was debating what I would say to a patient who had a broken third left toe who asked me if they could run a marathon two days after the break. If I said yes, I as a doctor would be like the fire department in the Steve Martin movie, Roxanne.
"You can't have people, if their houses are burning down, saying, 'Whatever you do, don't call the fire department!' That would be bad." - CD Bailes
But I ran 37 km yesterday with Annette Fredskov, Lene Brun and Preben Poulsen. Annette has now run 66 marathons over the past 66 days.
|I was so excited Annette had painted a start line that I insisted we use it
Long story short, maybe my toe wasn't broken after all. It is still black and blue and swollen, though. But running didn't hurt it. I'm glad I experimented on myself.
In other news, our family has scheduled a visit to the US the first two weeks of January. The timing worked out perfectly for SR and I to run the Bandera 100k in Texas on January 12th. It is part of the Montrail Ultra Cup and the Men's Trail 100k national championship. Of course, you need to be a man and an American citizen to win this, so neither of us is eligible. But that doesn't mean it won't be amazing.
|River going through the town of Bandera, Cowboy captial of the world.
Photo by Woody
|From the course.
Photo by Woody.
Some recommendations:
I finished The Hours by Michael Cunningham and it was great. Not just for Virginia Woolf fans, though I am a big one.
The new Cat Power album Sun is my favorite album of 2012 so far.
Running songs of the day: Not Talking by AC Newman and Cherokee by Cat Power


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Over the last few weeks I've had a chance to defeat the normal Mogu'shan bosses in a 25-man setting. I have some tips on how to heal each encounter, including the best time to use cooldowns and which talents, glyphs and symbiosis targets are optimal for each fight.
First, a few general tips:
- Nourish isn't really worth casting anymore. In Cata I used to spam Nourish on tanks when there wasn't any healing to be done. It is no longer mana neutral, so this is a habit I had to break. After talking about it with another resto in my raid, I've unbound Nourish from my click-bindings.
- Mushrooms are also generally not worth casting. The only times where I'd consider setting them up pre-pull, when there is no damage going out or it you are completely oom.
- Feline Swiftness is the level 15 talent that I recommend for any fight.
- Nature's Swiftness is the level 30 talent I recommend for any fight. Remember the cooldown is only 1 minute. It makes your next heal instant, 50% bigger and mana-free, so use it often.
- Unless I state otherwise for a particular fight, the major glyphs I recommend are Wild Growth, Lifebloom and Regrowth.
- In 5.1 we're going back to providing useful cooldowns when we use Symbiosis on tanks. So, for the good of the raid, using Symb on a tank is probably the best choice (a Paladin or Warrior would be my last choice since, really, who wants Cleanse or Intimidating Roar on a boss fight?) If you use this on a DK or a Monk, be sure to use IBF or Fortifying Brew during the encounter.
- Carry lots of Tome of the Clear Mind. Which talents are strongest can change from fight to fight. It you want to maximize your healing potential, you will be changing talents often.
The Stone Guard
On this fight, the damage is concentrated on the tanks. Raid damage, if things happen as they're supposed to, is relatively low. I've been assigning myself to tank healing on this fight and it's been going very well for me. I keep LB and Rejuv rolling on my tank, along with a fairly steady stream of direct heals. When the tank is safe I'm usually using Rejuv on the other tanks (if they're in range), or people who have been hit by Jasper Chains or Amethyst Pools. I also use WG when I see that multiple people not at full health. Since people are usually quite spread out on this fight, I prioritize using Swiftmend on either melee or my tank.
Level 60 – Incarnation
If things don't go smoothly, this fight can be a bit of a mana squeeze, so I think Incarnation is the best talent for this fight. Use it early and often. It will let you get up stacks of LB on multiple tanks and the raid if it's needed, and give you a lots of free, instant RG casts to use.
Level 90 – Nature's Vigil
Another cooldown to use early and often. The extra 20% healing is nice on both tanks and the raid. The damage component likely won't do much, but even half a million damage will help out a little.
If the tanks are covered, I'd recommend using Symbiosis on a Shaman. It seems every time I start casting Tranquility on this fight an Amethyst Pool lands on me or Jasper Chains go out and I have to move. Pre-empting your Tranq with Spiritwalker's Grace can save you some frustration and wasted cooldowns.
Tranquility – If the Overloads are properly handled, there's not a whole lot of raid-wide damage in this fight. I will generally save my Tranq to use if a bad Overload happens, or I will use it when a combination of Mines, Chains and Pools have started taking a toll on the raid.
Nature's Vigil – You should be able to use this twice on this fight (of course it will depend on how long it takes to kill them). Since there's really not a period of higher raid damage, I just pop this ~1min into the fight and then when it's up again.
Incarnation – Same as NV. You can use them back-to-back so you have 1 minute of increased healing for every 3 minutes of the fight.
Ironbark – Don't forget to use this on a tank multiple times throughout the fight. If you are assigned to a particular tank a good time for Ironbark is right before you start chanelling Tranquility – the damage mitigation will help compensate for the lack of direct heals from you.
Feng the Accursed
Unlike Stone Guard, Feng does a ton of damage to the raid, wheras the tank damage isn't too bad (and only one tank is taking damage at a time, rather than 3). There are periods during phase 2 and 3 where raid damage is intense and you may feel like your mana bar has forsaken you. My guild struggled with this fight for a while and the best advice I can give is that if you're getting to phase 3 and all your healers are running out of juice, go up to 7 healers. It will make a big difference.
In phase 1, the damage isn't too bad. I keep LB and RJ rolling on the active tank, along with a few direct heals when needed. My raid has everyone stack up in melee range so we take as little Epicentre damage as possible. Every second Epicentre should be interrupted so the raid takes no damage. Nullification Barrier should be put down in melee for the others. The raid will still take a couple ticks when this happens, but it should be easy enough to deal with. Make sure your SM and WG are up so you can pop those on the raid as soon as the damage happens. You could also use Mushrooms during this.
In phase 2, the raid damage gets higher. My raid uses Nullificaiton Barrier on the 1st and 3rd Draw Flame, so we only have to worry about the Wildfire Infusion damage on the 2nd. When the raid damage starts happening, this is a good time for cooldowns. I generally call for 3 during this time – a couple mitigation cooldowns like DA and one output cooldown like Tranq. I try to skimp on the CDs during this phase so we have a lot available for phase 3. Go into heavy raid healing mode while the Wildfire Infusion is happening – SM and WG on cooldown, RJ and RG to spot heal. There's not much happening at the beginning of this phase so I will often set up Mushrooms then and pop them during Wildfire Infusion.
Phase 3 is where the raid damage gets hectic. Again, using SM and WG on cooldown is a good idea. Those who are afflicted with Arcane Resonance while Arcane Velocity is happening will need the most healing.
Level 60 – Soul of the Forest
Initially I was using Incarnation on this fight to help out with mana, but when I tried out SotF, I found the extra healing too powerful to ignore. Since this is a fight where the raid damage is predictable and spread fairly evenly over everyone in the raid, SotF provides a lot of extra healing. I make sure that I can follow up a SM with a WG whenever the raid takes damage from Epicenter, Wildfire Infusion or Arcane Velocity.
Level 90 – Nature's Vigil
The 20% extra output is nice for phase 3.
Since the raid damage is so high on this, I like using Symbiosis on a Monk for Fortifying Brew so I reduce my damage taken as much as possible. A DK is also a good choice.
Unfortunately, the damage patterns in this fight don't play nicely with 3 minute cooldowns, so we need to compromise.
Tranquility – The most important place where I use this is in phase 3 while Arcance Velocity is happening. In phase 1 it isn't really needed, but I'll also use it during an Epicentre where a Nullification Barrier is used and the raid takes a few ticks. May as well make the most of it.
Nature's Vigil – I use the same strat for this as for Tranq. One use early in phase 1, and another when raid damage gets heavy in phase 3.
Ironbark – You should be able to get at least 3 uses out of this, one in each phase. Use on a tank when they are affected by multiple stacks of Lightning Last, Flaming Spear or Arcane Shock.
Gara'jal the Spiritbinder
First, I have to admit that this fight has always been very easy for my raid. Apparently, healing people gives stacks of Spiritual Innervation, which stacks and increases the damage they do to the boss. I (or the other healers, as far as I know) have not gone out of their way to build stack on people in the Spirit World, we just heal them to full then leave.
While you are topside, most of the damage is on the tanks and the other people who are afflicted with voodoo doll. It's really not at all challenging to heal for most of the fight.
If you go down into the Spirit World, you want to get your group topped up quickly. I will generally use Tranquility the first time I go. After that, spamming Regrowth is the best way to go. You get a huge buff to your mana regen while you're down there, so don't worry about being inefficient. Once everyone is healed to full, you can return to the fight.
Level 60 – SotF or Incarnation
If you're assigned to go into the Spirit World, I'd take Soul of the Forest. If you're going to be hanging out upstairs for the majority of the fight I'd probably go with Incarnation, as you won't be getting the huge mana regen buff.
Level 90 – Nature's Vigil or Heart of the Wild
This choice depends on how well your raid group is doing dps-wise. Generally, NV is a safe choice, but if you are getting to the end of the fight and your raid is dying before the boss, HotW could help more.
I'd go with a Monk or DK for the damage mitigation spell. Use it when you are affected by Voodoo Doll.
Incarnation/Nature's Vigil – You should be able to use these twice during the fight. I'd use them once around the 2 minute mark, and then have them up again for when the boss Frenzies at 20% health.
Heart of the Wild – If you go with this talent I'd use it at the beginning of the fight when there isn't much damage going out and all the healers are upstairs. Go kitty and tear things up. Just be sure to let the other healers know you'll be doing this.
Tranquility – You should be able to use this twice during the fight. If you're going to the Spirit World, use it the first time you go in. Then use it again after the boss Frenzies at 20%.
Ironbark – When a tank is afflicted by Voodoo Doll, the damage done to them is also done to other members of the raid with Voodoo Doll. Use Ironbark to help relieve this damage. Communicate with your tanks so you can cover when they are running low on their own cooldowns.
If anyone has questions I'd be happy to answer them. I've also got tips posted for the last 3 bosses.


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As we worked towards the recent release of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1, the IE team focused hard on performance. As part of our effort to improve IE, our investigations have revealed several add-on performance problems. In this post, I want to share some of the common themes that we have discovered.
First, I would like to thank those of you who have provided feedback on this blog, in the IE Beta NewsGroup, and around the web. The Internet Explorer team has been working hard on performance in IE8 and it is great to see the results of some of our early investments. We still have room (and plans) to improve, but for now you can find out more about the performance improvements in IE8 Beta1 from our developer whitepapers.
If you are new to the world of developing IE add-ons and want some background material, here are a few great links to get you started:
- Building Browser Helper Objects with Visual Studio 2005
- Building Stable Browser Extensions
- Add-on Development
Broadly speaking add-on performance issues typically impact IE users in two areas:
- Opening/Closing the IE window or individual tabs
- Browser responsiveness
Opening and closing speeds are largely impacted by add-ons performing lots of expensive work every time they are created. One particularly common problem is that add-ons check for updates during either browser startup or shutdown.
Registry misuse has been a common problem leading to poor responsiveness. Many add-ons perform expensive registry operations that can reduce Internet Explorer's responsiveness.
In the sections below I discuss these two areas and provide some guidance for designing performance into add-ons.
Add-on Initialization and Checking for Updates
- Principle 1: Be lazy – give hard work to another thread
- Principle 2: Don't pay a toll every time you start the car
During startup, Internet Explorer checks the registry for installed add-ons. When IE detects an installed Browser Helper Object (BHO) or toolbar it calls CoCreateInstance to instantiate each installed and enabled add-on. Essentially, Internet Explorer creates add-ons as inproc servers, executing in the context of IE's main UI thread. For backwards-compatibility Internet Explorer follows these steps for every opened tab. This behavior is important for several reasons, and you'll see why as I discuss some of the most popular problems encountered by add-ons.
Be lazy – give hard work to another thread
One common trend in many of the popular add-ons today is integration with online content. Maintaining this integration with live data invariably entails some update mechanism. In many of the cases we have investigated, add-ons perform synchronous update checks when IE hands control over to the add-on's SetSite implementation during initialization.
From my description of how add-ons are initialized in Internet Explorer, you can guess what the potential impact is from these types of update checks. Consider the following flow:
- IE begins initialization
- IE detects that the Foo Toolbar has been installed
- IE calls the Foo Toolbar's SetSite method
- Foo Toolbar contacts http://foo.example.com to check for updated content
- Foo Toolbar returns control to IE
- IE continues initialization and displays the user's homepage
See the problem yet? Consider step 4 above – what happens if the Foo Toolbar finds lots of content that needs to be updated, if the user's connection to the content server is slow, or if the user is working offline? The answer is, (since add-ons execute in the context of the UI thread), that the toolbar can cause IE to become unresponsive for long periods of time or can lead to IE's startup and shutdown times inflating faster than a balloon at a clown convention.
A better approach is to create a worker thread that can perform the content update asynchronously. The preferred way is to use SHCreateThread (when developing an add-on in C++) as follows:
STDMETHODIMP SetSite(IUnknown* pUnkSite)
if (pUnkSite != NULL && IsUpdateRequired())
SHCreateThread(Update, NULL, CTF_COINIT | CTF_PROCESS_REF, NULL);
// Release cached pointers and other resources here.
// Return the base class implementation
return IObjectWithSiteImpl<CHelloWorldBHO>::SetSite(pUnkSite);
WINAPI Update(LPVOID pParam)
DWORD dw = 1;
// Perform update here
return dw;
WINAPI IsUpdateRequired()
DWORD dw = 1;
// Perform a low-cost check here to verify that an update should be
// performed. This can be accomplished by checking a registry key.
return dw;
Notice that in the above example SetSite creates a new thread to execute the Update method. Using this approach SetSite does not run the risk of blocking the UI thread for extended periods of time, and the add-on is still able to update its content. Also notice that by establishing a suitable frequency for update checks (for example, every 2 or 3 days) add-ons can be updated quickly without forcing users to pay the price of the update check with every browser or tab opening.
Adopting this approach can help move long-running operations off of IE's main UI thread and can lead to better perceived performance. It is important to remember, however, that moving to a worker thread is not a panacea. There are many potential issues, including the possibility that numerous expensive cross-thread COM calls could outweigh the benefit of moving to a worker thread.
Pay the toll when you get to the booth
Handing off long-running operations to a worker thread helps avoid UI hangs. Nevertheless, users may still pay an avoidable up-front cost every time your add-on is initialized. Users often start IE without taking advantage of the updated content. In these cases both the users and content providers are paying extra costs associated with the update checks without any commensurate dividend.
When performing content updates an extreme approach would be to pay the costs only when users have explicitly announced that they want new content – by clicking on the "Check for Updates" menu item, for example. That solution is, however, unrealistic in many cases because it could compromise the add-on's performance. For example, consider a user clicking on a drop-down menu, and having to wait a second to view the associated drop-down while updated content is downloaded – yikes!
There are a variety of techniques that more effectively balance user experience and up-front costs. For example, toolbar developers might want to consider moving their update checks out of SetSite entirely and do them either the first time the user mouses over the toolbar, or update on a fixed schedule. Exact solutions will vary from add-on to add-on, so it's important to stay creative and try to avoid forcing fixed costs on users whenever possible.
In almost every case there is a way to avoid doing lots of work in either SetSite or in an OnDocumentComplete handler. Taking the extra time to push work out of these areas is a great way to avoid performance problems and ensure that users are happy to install your add-on.
Using the Registry
- Principle 3: Caching is your friend
- Principle 4: Break the habit – Don't flush!
Caching is your friend
Using the registry is sometimes reminiscent of the Macarena circa 1996 – a few people knew the steps, fewer people were actually good at it, but neither of those facts prevented everyone else from taking part. Registry overuse is common among Windows applications, and we have been working hard to reduce our registry accesses with IE8.
Overusing the registry is discouraged because the overhead of registry operations can be significant – opening, reading, and closing a cached key can cost tens of thousands of cycles. Since it is relatively common for individual add-ons to perform hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of registry accesses during startup, these costs can quickly add up to a noticeably slower browser.
Fortunately, it is possible to reduce the cost of using the registry. First and foremost, optimize for the common case. It is very likely that most registry values are not going to be changed during the course of an add-on's execution, so reading the value once and then maintaining a cache can significantly reduce the number of individual registry accesses.
Where it is not possible to eliminate registry accesses, you can often reduce the cost of the remaining operations. It turns out that accessing keys using full registry paths (e.g.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEFooBar) can be two to three times as expensive as using relative paths, depending on number of levels separating the target key from the provided root. Add-ons typically have the vast majority of their settings available under a key or a small set of keys. For example, suppose an add-on wanted to retrieve the associations used by IE. The following registry keys would need to be accessed (under
SOFTWAREMicrosoftInternet ExplorerCapabilitiesFileAssociations
SOFTWAREMicrosoftInternet ExplorerCapabilitiesMIMEAssociations
SOFTWAREMicrosoftInternet ExplorerCapabilitiesUrlAssociations
Using the Win32 method RegOpenKey each of the regkeys could be accessed with the following snippet of code (using FileAssociations as an example):
HKEY hk;
RegOpenKey(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, L"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Capabilities\FileAssociations", &hk);
The remaining keys could be accessed in a similar fashion using HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE as the root. However, a better approach in these cases is to create a handle to the Capabilities key and then perform additional relative-path RegOpenKey operations to retrieve the remaining values, as follows (again, using FileAssociations as an example):
HKEY hkRoot;
RegOpenKey(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, L"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Capabilities", &hkRoot);
HKEY hkFileAssoc;
RegOpenKey(hkRoot, L"FileAssociations", &hkFileAssoc);
Break the habit - Don't flush!
Lastly, in the past we have seen add-ons using the
RegFlushKey to ensure that their registry values were in fact pushed out to disk. In some cases this is done in an attempt to maintain state between two instances of an add-on running in separate tabs or windows.
As noted in the MSDN documentation for RegFlushKey, there is rarely a need to use this API. Furthermore, calling
RegFlushKey can be surprisingly expensive as it will ensure that all the data backing the registry has been written to disk. That activity may take hundreds of milliseconds to return control to the calling program. Even worse, accesses to the registry will be blocked while it completes.
As a result, calls to
RegFlushKey can have an impact not only on IE but can reduce performance throughout the system. Rather than flushing the registry, add-ons using the registry for synchronization between instances can use RegNotifyChangeKeyValue to maintain state. Larry Osterman and Raymond Chen have blog posts on (mis)use of the registry that are worth reading for more detail:
- Psychic Perf Analysis, or "RegFlushKey actually DOES flush the registry key" by Larry Osterman
- The performance cost of reading a registry key by Raymond Chen
I hope my guidelines on improving add-on performance help you understand some of the common problem areas we have encountered. Thanks for contributing great add-ons to the Internet Explorer ecosystem, and I look forward to your comments.
Christian Stockwell
Program Manager
Performance Geek
Edit: Added "Root" to this line of code: RegOpenKey(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, L"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Capabilities", &hkRoot);


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Two college savings plans managed by T. Rowe Price rank among the best in the country — the eighth time that the Baltimore-based investment firm has been included in Morningstar's annual survey of top plans.
Only once — the year after the 2008 market crash — has a Price-managed plan not made the list since Morningstar began ranking so-called 529 plans in 2004.
"They have been an industry leader for a long time," said Laura Pavlenko Lutton, head of Morningstar's 529 plan research. "What really appeals to us about the plans is that T.Rowe has a very steady approach to its investment process. It's been proven over the long term."
College savings plans, often referred to as 529s for the tax code that created them, are sponsored by states, which usually then hire professional managers to run them. Contributions typically are invested in a portfolio of mutual funds, and withdrawals are free of tax if the money is used for college. Total assets in these plans reached $162 billion at the end of September, according to Morningstar.
In the ranking released this month, Morningstar graded 64 plans on a variety of measures, including fees, performance, stability, plan design, state tax breaks, fund managers and even the level of state oversight. With parents committing 18 or so years to the plan, it's important that state administrators are looking out for investors' interests, Lutton said.
"T. Rowe has scored well on that," she said.
Morningstar awarded four gold medals — with two of them going to the Alaska and Maryland plans managed by Price since 2001. The plans of Utah and Nevada received the other gold medals. Twenty-three plans received silver or bronze medals, including the Colorado plan that's managed by a subsidiary of Baltimore-based Legg Mason.
Morningstar said the Price plans "offer high-quality active strategies at a reasonable price."
Price has developed long-term, strong relationships with its state partners, said Tom Kazmierczak, Price's senior product manager for 529 plans. That differentiates the company, he said, from the rest of the industry.
"It allows us to develop a true partnership and work closely to find out what is best for their state residents," Kazmierczak said.
Price's contract with Alaska prevents the company from taking on plans for many states, but Kazmierczak said Price wouldn't be interested in doing that anyway.
The Maryland College Investment Plan had nearly $2.8 billion in assets at the end of September — with $10 million of that in new contributions for the year. The Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan has about $1.36 billion in assets. (Price also manages a smaller plan for Alaska with $305 million in assets.)
College savings plans usually include a series of age-based portfolios. Investors select a portfolio tied to the date the student is expected to enter school. The portfolios invest aggressively in stocks when children are young and gradually become more conservative as they near college.
Morningstar notes that the Alaska and Maryland plans tend to hold a larger stake in stocks than the industry average. That has come back to bite them.
After the 2008 stock market crash that caused college accounts nationwide to plummet, Price's Maryland plan didn't make Morningstar's list of top plans. Morningstar explained at the time that Maryland offered only one age-based portfolio for students in college, and that portfolio — with about 20 percent in stock — might be too aggressive for some investors.
The market plunge, though, had many 529 managers re-evaluating their strategies, including Price. The company added a conservative money market fund in the Maryland plan in late 2009, but stuck with its 20 percent stock, 80 percent bond allocation for college-age students, Kazmierczak said.
"We have come to the conclusion that while there is some additional risk that comes with that, we are up against not just inflation but tuition inflation," he said.
Tuition has been going up much faster than overall inflation, and stocks can help keep up with the cost, he said.
"Typically, we are seeing students take five years to finish a degree, and that is a long time," Kazmierczak said.
If tuition is rising 6 percent a year, he said, that's a significant jump over five years.
Still, parents uncomfortable with the amount of stock in their portfolio can switch to more conservative options, he added.
The Colorado plan managed by Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation LLC was one of 19 plans awarded a bronze medal.
The plan has "had some performance challenges in recent years," Lutton said.
But she noted that Colorado administrators have changed the investment lineup, adding the best funds across Legg and its subsidiaries.
Colorado's bronze medal also partly reflected a generous tax break offered by the state, Lutton said. Colorado allows residents to deduct their entire contributions to the plan on state income tax returns.


text:
Annie1987 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 65 diseños de 17 diseñadores freelance.
An Emmy Award-winning financial media company, creating a next-generation digital network with branded content that entertains, informs, and educates about the world of finance.
Minyanville Media is in the process of rebranding its premium subscription products as "Minyanville Professional" or "MVP" for short. These are newsletter and portfolio based products aimed at professional financial traders, a majority of which are men between the ages of 35-65. You can see the current product lineup here: http://www.minyanville.com/subscription/
The ideal logo will place a stamp on the MVP products as an industry leader for financial news and advice. The executive team at Minyanville has expressed a desire for this logo to resemble an actual (gold) seal or brass plate but we are open to other ideas that accomplish the same goal.
This logo will be the first step in starting to get our web site design on par with other industry leading sites, such as Bloomberg.com, WSJ.com, and Marketwatch.com. The team here is especially fond of the Bloomberg design.
Finally, the logo will be used in a number of contexts. It will be used throughout product order forms, landing pages, content pages, house ad creatives and also as an icon next to links to indicate premium content. Therefore, it should scale effectively or there should be a large and small version.
The logo should certainly carry the text "MVP" but whether or not it also incorporates the "Minyanville "Professional" text (in the large version only) is entirely at your discretion.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Largest structure in universe discovered
Astronomers have spotted the largest structure ever seen in space. The object so massive that, in the words of one scientist, it will change astronomy's "current understanding of the scale of the universe."
The structure is a large quasar group, a collection of gigantic galactic cores held together by a supermassive black hole. The group, or LQG, stretches 4 billion light-years across.
"While it is difficult to fathom the scale of this LQG, we can say quite definitely it is the largest structure ever seen in the entire universe," Roger Clowes, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Central Lancashire in the U.K., said in a statement. "This is hugely exciting, not least because it runs counter to our current understanding of the scale of the universe."
Indeed, it is hard to wrap one's head around the sheer scale of the LQC. For comparison, our galaxy - the Milky Way - measures roughly 100,000 light-years wide. The nearest galaxy to our own, the Andromeda galaxy, is 2.5 million light-years away - less than one-thousandth of the width of the LQG.
Dr. Clowers and his team observed the gigantic structure via data gathered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The discovery of the LQG runs counter to the prevailing theory that such massive objects should not exist. It would seem to violate the cosmological principle, the idea that the universe is more or less the same no matter when you are.
But the discovery of the massive LQG may call for a recalibrating of that theory.
"Our team has been looking at similar cases which add further weight to this challenge," Clowes said. "And we will be continuing to investigate these fascinating phenomena."
The study was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.


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NASCAR reinstates AJ Allmendinger
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A.J. Allmendinger has been reinstated by NASCAR after completing its "Road to Recovery" program.
Allmendinger was suspended in July for failing a random drug test a month earlier. His backup "B" urine sample also tested positive for a substance NASCAR has not revealed. He has said he tested positive for a prescription drug, Adderall, typically used to treat attention deficit disorder. He said he took it because he was tired.
Allmendinger was released by Penske Racing after the "B" sample failed. Team owner Roger Penske had Allmendinger at the IndyCar season finale last weekend as his guest, and said Allmendinger is a viable candidate for rides in both NASCAR and IndyCar.
Penske also said he'd consider hiring Allmendinger again.
Source: The Associated Press


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AS A SOPHOMORE IN 2010: Placed third in the javelin at the Triton Invitational with a toss of 210'2"... Won a second straight CCAA Championship with a throw of 208'6" in his primary event... Qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships as the third-ranked competitor in the javelin... Won the national title with a school-record toss of 225', becoming the first Triton on the men's side to take home an individual national championship at the Division II level... Awarded one of five team athletes of the year at the end of the season.
AS A FRESHMAN IN 2009: CCAA Freshman of the Year after winning the javelin event with a throw of 189'10"… NCAA qualifier in javelin after setting a program record of 201'3" in a winning effort at the Occidental Invitational… Finished 11th in the javelin at the National Championships with a throw of 195'11"… Sixth in the javelin at 193'10" during the Triton Invitational, 10th at Cal/Nevada Championships, and 13th in event during UCLA Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational.
HIGH SCHOOL: A 2008 graduate of Little Elm High School in Little Elm, Texas... First Team All-District baseball player... Second Team All-District in basketball.
PERSONAL: Born on November 17,1989... Parents are Ralph and Cynthia Howe... Has four siblings named Allsun, Nolan, Nash and Nemo... Majoring in Political Science at Revelle College... Hobbies include reading and surfing... Pursuing a career in International Law.


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* Obama says "strong trade deals" help to boost jobs
* White House to formally notify Congress soon on EU talks
* U.S. hopes to finish Trans-Pacific trade talks this year
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that forging new trade deals with Europe and 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region would be an important part of his second-term agenda to spur economic growth and create jobs.
"What we know is that a lot of the growth, a lot of the new jobs that we've seen during the course of this recovery have been export driven," Obama said at a meeting of the President's Export Council, which brings together corporate leaders and members of Obama's Cabinet to discuss trade issues.
"The question now becomes how do we sustain this momentum. Part of it is making sure we get in place strong trade deals."
The statement reflected how far Obama has moved on trade since early in his administration, when he frustrated many business leaders for not moving quickly to enact free-trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea left over from Republican President George W. Bush's administration.
Obama submitted those deals to Congress for approval more than two and a half years into his first term and only after making changes to shore up support among fellow Democrats.
Now, his administration hopes to finish talks on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership with 10 countries in the Asia Pacific region by the end of the year and to start free-trade talks with the 27-nation European Union by June.
"If we succeed ... we will have created free trade with two-thirds of the world, both by GDP and by global trade," the White House's international economic affairs adviser Michael Froman told the group. "That will be perhaps the most ambitious trade agenda we've seen in a while."
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who is leaving his job soon to return home to Dallas, said the White House would formally notify Congress shortly of its plans to negotiate the U.S.-EU trade deal, a procedural step that allows lawmakers to weigh in before actual talks begin.
The talks are expected to be tough because of different approaches to food safety and other regulatory issues that have blocked exports of U.S. farm products and other items to Europe.
Obama said he believes Europe's economic slump has made it "hungrier for a deal" than in the past and therefore more willing to address U.S. concerns.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said on Tuesday he would ask the 27 EU countries to approve his draft negotiating mandate, which will set out how much room for maneuver he has in his talks with Washington.
"I hope that member states will now quickly decide to open negotiations so work can begin with the United States ahead of the summer break", De Gucht told a news conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
The Commision also released a study by the London-based think tank, the Center for Economic Policy Research, showing that a free-trade pact could generate 119 billion euros ($155 billion) a year for the European Union and 95 billion euros a year for the United States.
That translates on average to an extra 545 euros in disposable income each year for a family of four in the EU and $854 per family in the United States.
According to the study, carmakers would likely be the biggest beneficiaries of an accord, because of the current high tariffs and differences in regulation on both sides of the Atlantic. Processed foods, chemicals and transport equipment would also see increases in sales, the study found.
Despite the emphasis Obama is putting on trade in his second term, he has not yet nominated a replacement for Kirk, or for former Commerce Secretary John Bryson who left the administration last year because of a health problem.
Rebecca Blank has been serving as acting commerce secretary, but she recently interviewed for the position of chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suggesting she may also leave the administration soon.
Froman, who has been a driving force on trade policy from his position at the White House, noted that the United States' negotiating agenda leaves out many important emerging economies like China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
"But we are very much prepared to work with them when they're ready to come to the table and play the role that we think they should play in the global economic system," he said.
The United States has criticized major emerging countries for not making better offers to open up their markets in the long-running Doha round of world trade talks.
Despite the impasse in the broader Doha negotiations, the United States hopes World Trade Organization members can reach a smaller "trade facilitation" deal to cut red tape in customs procedures by the end of the year, Froman said.


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- Sweet. Tastes just like Barefoot Red Moscato. Fun for a picnic but not a dinner wine. $14 Liquor Barn Lexington.
- Good! Fruity and tangy. Not dry at all but not super sweet like moscato.
- Sweet. Light Delicious. Blush wine.
- Happy Valentine's Day! Barefoot moscato... It is what it is.
- Fruit punch. Barefoot Red Moscato is a juicy and fruity wine with distinct flavors of peaches and Bing cherries. Best served chilled. Pairs well with soft white cheeses, fresh fruits, orange chicken salad, and all spicy fare. Delicious!


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The greatest investment story told in recent financial market history is the one that John Maxwell, portfolio manager of Ivy Investment Management's Ivy Core International Equity Fund, entitles "The Story of Three Billion People Trying to Live Like One Billion People."
It is the story of the burgeoning middle classes in places like China, India, Brazil and across the emerging markets world who, as a result of the economic boom those countries continue to experience, now have the means to buy themselves virtually any good or service they want, from BMWs to Botox and everything in between. It's a story that almost everyone knows by now, and one that Maxwell, like many other investors, believes still has much left to tell.
Yet Maxwell also feels that the tale of the emerging market consumer is so widespread that it's rapidly getting too much of a readership. For value investors in particular, it is getting harder to capture the growth opportunities that the BRIC countries and other emerging market nations offer. Many investors are facing a challenge, knowing that investing in these countries is perhaps the only way to get decent returns today, yet wondering how exactly to do it without getting crowded out and paying far more than they should for assets they believe have become overvalued.
In searching for the best ways to navigate a tight and crowded space, the more astute investors believe that finding growth opportunities that are not overpriced means looking at emerging market countries in a lateral, not-so-obvious way, in order to capture the best they have to offer. In fact, a number of investors believe that the best way to capture the continued upside of the emerging markets growth story is to look entirely in the opposite direction and invest in the developed markets.
"Most investors are focused on the 'now' and, based on that, extrapolate what will happen in the future, but that often isn't the right thing to do," says Norm Boersma, (left), portfolio manager of Templeton Growth Fund and executive vice president of Templeton Global Equity Group. "Often, the future is in the assets that have been clobbered now and much less in those that are actually hot now."
While 10% to 15% of Boersma's global equity portfolio is directly invested in emerging markets, most of it is actually invested in the developed world, in the kinds of assets that have been clobbered over the past months. Today, growth is the farthest thing from people's minds when they think about the United States or Europe, but Boersma's rationale is that some very good companies on both continents suffered unduly from the market downturn and were disregarded by investors over concerns about the sovereign crisis in Europe and the recession in the United States. These companies, he says, now make for great buys at a low cost.
"Many companies in Europe, and even in the U.S. and Japan were unfairly punished because they were treated as having exposure to problem spots like Greece and Spain, but actually, that wasn't the case at all," Boersma says. "We had the opportunity to buy some very good companies at a great price."
The kicker in those names is that they benefit directly from the multi-faceted emerging market growth theme. Names like Sanofi and Pfizer, for example, derive a major portion of their revenue from emerging market countries, Boersma says, as do companies like Vodafone and Siemens. He bought these and other names at what he considers to be a good price.
"We've struggled over the past two years to find value in the emerging markets directly because stocks have been so bid up as investors have found growth there. But if you're looking ahead, we can still capitalize on that growth through the developed market stocks we've bought that are part of emerging market growth themes like, for example, the growth in pharmaceuticals, telecom and technology," he says.
Ivy's Maxwell also goes with the same investment rationale, but not so much out of choice, since his mandate is primarily a developed market fund (with a 15% emerging markets component). He has to look for the best opportunities in the developed market universe, but even so, most of the International Core Equity portfolio is exposed to emerging markets in some way or the other, since that is where Maxwell sees the greatest opportunity.
As such, he invests in companies that get the bulk of their revenues from emerging market countries. This enables him to add alpha and the potential for higher performance over time without paying what he believes to be an overvalued price for direct emerging market exposure.
"We're trying to get growth at a good price and we have found that most of the companies in the developed world are growing because of their emerging market exposure," Maxwell, (left), says. "By investing in these companies, we can get that exposure at what we think is a good price."
Maxwell—whose overall investment theme is emerging market-related, and focuses on the increasing purchasing power of the consumer, infrastructure, M&A possibilities and dividend yields—finds good investment opportunities in companies like Credit Suisse, which has greatly increased its businesses, particularly in the field of wealth management, in countries like India and Brazil. That business is only set to grow more, Maxwell says, given the increasing number of wealthy individuals in BRICs, so buying Credit Suisse is a good way to take advantage of the growth dynamic in an affordable way.
Unilever is another example of the kind of name that Maxwell favors. The company derives 50% of its revenues from emerging markets, but more than that, Maxwell also likes it because it is a safe investment, and safety is one of his top investment criteria.
"I'm paying what I believe is a discount for a top name with strong revenues and corporate governance that has been tested over time," he says.
For investors like Nick Kaiser, Saturna Capital's chief investment officer, ethics and governance are also top priorities. Emerging markets are overvalued, Kaiser says, because they do present perhaps the sole growth opportunity currently available. Because most don't have a choice but to invest in them in some way, being able to get the emerging market exposure at a low cost with the safety feature thrown in makes for a great deal, and seeking out opportunities in the developed world is the way to cover both bases.
"The advantage of using companies in the developed world is that they are subject to a far greater level of disclosure than their emerging market counterparts, so even though their revenues are coming from emerging markets, they have to uphold far greater standards," Kaiser says. "This is important to us as investors."
Some years ago, Saturna's Amana Mutual Funds (which invest according to Islamic law) had invested in the notorious Indian tech giant Satyam Computer Services, which in 2009 came to be known as India's Enron for having falsified accounts. "We sold the stock three days before the scandal happened because we saw a news story from Europe that alerted us to a problem, but after Satyam we are very careful," Kaiser says.
As a value investor, Kaiser is looking for growth opportunities at a good price, but he prefers to find these in a more lateral manner—an approach, he believes, that also helps to minimize both risk to and volatility in his portfolio. He's currently looking at what's going on in the developing world to get a sense of how best to capture emerging market potential, and investing in what he calls "side themes" that he believes offer good exposure to emerging markets through stable, well-established companies in the United States.
"Usually, the U.S. works itself out of recession through consumer spending, but this time, we are seeing a clear export theme, with U.S. companies like Caterpillar Tractor selling into Latin America and other areas," he says. "We think that playing themes such as this one is a good way of capturing global growth."
That said, Kaiser doesn't believe in limiting his investment horizons only to the developed world. While India, China and other emerging market countries may be getting overcrowded, they are also huge countries with many things going on and years of growth and development yet to go. Looking for opportunities in the less obvious sectors and less well-known parts of these countries is also a great way to get in on some great stories before they really get too much traction from the investment world, he says.
According to Jeffrey Towson, managing partner of the Towson Group, a private equity firm based in New York, Shanghai, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and author of a recently published book entitled "What Would Ben Graham Do Now?: A New Value Investing Playbook for a Global Age," the greatest emerging market stories to invest in are actually the millions of small service stories that are happening at a local level everywhere.
"Go to Kunming, a small city in southwestern China, and you'll see that everyone's getting braces," Towson says. "You can go anywhere in the world—Asia, Africa, the Middle East—and there are thousands and thousands of small companies to own. They are the greatest investment stories."
The problem for most investors, though, is finding these opportunities and then being able to access them, Towson says. Because it's so hard to get to the local level in emerging market countries, most investors end up sticking with the tried and true, even if they are invested in BRICs and other emerging markets, and this leads to overvaluation. Towson believes that even those who approach these markets laterally, whether it be through investing in developed market stocks with emerging market exposure or another way, make the space more crowded. Value investors, he says, should really be seeking out the opportunities that are off the beaten track, because the best market opportunities come up most often in unexpected places.
Saturna Capital's Kaiser also believes in looking beyond what's easy to see, and an area that he's got his sights on now is infrastructure companies in interior China, which are going to get busy as infrastructure development moves away from the coastal areas and into the interior of the country. Roads, highways and the like are bound to come up, so Kaiser and his team are studying these companies carefully (recently, Saturna opened up an office in Malaysia with the specific goal of getting to know the more obscure, less obvious investment opportunities in Asia).
Kaiser also believes that there are good opportunities for investors in emerging markets like Indonesia and Malaysia, countries that investors who have been carried away by the BRICs may not necessarily have looked at.
"The valuations are a lot lower in a place like Jakarta, Indonesia, than in China," says Kaiser.
Based on this, the Amana Developing World Fund is invested in a dairy farm operation, a cement company and a telephone company in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
"I don't really see in the near term that hot markets like China are going to cool down, so it's good to look at other places, even if some of those markets are more tricky and you need to watch out for things like ethics and corruption," Kaiser says.
Clearly, there's still a great deal to tell in the international growth story, but in today's world, one fundamental point that investors cannot ignore is that both the emerging markets and the developed markets are interconnected in myriad different ways. The reality is that one cannot really exist without the other, so smart investors can't afford to ignore either one. They really need to be looking all over the world, says Paul Osterberg, (left), chief marketing officer at Al Frank Asset Management, because revenue-generating companies can be located anywhere.
Osterberg's firm doesn't discriminate between the developed and developing world, and the firm employs a proprietary model that screens the world on a daily basis to figure out both on a quantitative and a qualitative basis where the best equity investments are. This allows the company to rotate in and out of different markets in an active way and do the kind of tactical, granular investing that is essential for any international investor today, he says.
"Right now, Germany and France are starting to look pretty attractive in the model because we've seen some real improvements in the level of earnings and also the rate of change in organic growth," Osterberg says. "The Northern European countries are also looking attractive."


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- 4 Beds
- 3 Full
- 1,961 +/- Sqft
Property TypeResidential – Single Family
SubdivisionMOUNTAIN PINES SUB
Listing Date12/06/18
Year Built1992
Lot Size0.18 Acres
Parking2 Car Garage
Property Description
Bask in your fully remodeled single family home, conveniently located close to bike path/Summit Stage stop. Ride/Walk to Main St in Frisco, Walter Byron Park, Meadow Creek Park, grocery stores, shopping, restaurants, brewery's. Kitchen remodel designed by Aspen Grove. This home features a new modern open floor plan,vaulted ceilings,3 large decks with mountain views, fully updated bathrooms, custom master closet, new flooring, new carpet, and new granite countertops through out. Contact us today!
Presented By
- Adjacent to Natl Forest
- Bus Route
- In Town
- Mountains
- On Bus Line
- Cable Available
- Deck
- Fireplace - Wood
- Multi-Level
- Vaulted Ceilings
- Hiking / Pedestrian Trails
- Cable Tv
- City Water
- District Sewer
- Electric
- Forced Air
- Dryer - Electric
- Washer
Financial Information
About Frisco
Surrounded by the White River National Forest and bordered by the shores of Lake Dillon, Frisco is the perfect setting for a Summit County adventure. Few quaint mountain towns also offer the scenic beauty and water recreation, such as kayaking, sailing and canoeing, that Lake Dillon provides. Its central location between Summit County and Eagle County ski areas, the hub of the free Summit Stage transit service and a world-class bike path system make Frisco a natural choice for year-round living. Additionally, boutiques, restaurants, and bars along Frisco's two retail corridors - Main Street and Summit Boulevard – provide endless options for dining, entertainment and shopping. Frisco's amenities including parks, schools, playgrounds, libraries, a historic park with 11 buildings from the original town of Dillon, marina, Nordic Skiing Center, health-care facilities and shopping are all within easy access, often by foot. Events like Frisco's Fantastic Fourth of July, Frisco Gold Rush ski race and the Colorado Barbecue Challenge combine beautiful mountain scenery, small-town atmosphere and old fashioned good times for family enjoyment.
Area Market Data
We get asked this question a lot. Below is a tool that gives you the ability to see what the market is like in your community. Find out what homes like your own are selling for right in your back yard. Simply enter in your address, choose the proximity of the search and find out market data for other homes that are selling near you.
While we'll provide you with plenty of information, this is a snapshot of your market data and there are real people behind the high-tech and automated tools. If you would like more detailed information or help in understanding the results we are here to help.
Until then, enjoy the tools!
The data relating to the real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the Vail Multi-List Service, Inc.
Copyright © 2019 Vail Multi List, Inc. (VMLS). The information displayed herein was derived from sources believed to be accurate, but has not been verified by VMLS. Buyers are cautioned to verify all information to their own satisfaction. This information is exclusively for viewers' personal, non- commercial use. Any republication or reproduction of the information herein without the express permission of the VMLS is strictly prohibited.
Listing courtesy of Re/Max Properties/66


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I attended the Thursday evening premiere of the heavily promoted musical production held at the large Crystal Cathedral (Garden Grove, California, USA, pastored by the well-known television preacher, Robert Schuller) Creation: Once Upon All Time. It is a beautifully orchestrated, breathtakingly performed extravaganza … of old earth creationism, theistic evolution and beautiful if bewildering theatrics.
Blending computer-generated imagery (CGI) on a massive 200-foot screen, with a spectrum of swirling lights, live actors, giant puppets, troupes of dancers and vocalists, a circus-load of aerialists, and such audience-immersing special effects as wind, mist and thematic aromas, Once Upon All Time aims to inspire people of all faiths and skeptics, too, with its fanciful version of the creation of the universe.
Set-up of the story
While fishing from a rowboat, a boy named Michael expresses his interest in science, and asks his grandfather to tell him a story. The grandfather begins. It is a story about creation.
Strained theology
God gets a new name in Once Upon All Time. He is called "The Presence," and is represented first by a blue-lit cloud of stage fog, later by an enormous blue sheet that descends to the stage as a tubular curtain. Only Lucifer calls this Being "Deity." When Michael asks why the Presence is referred to with personal pronouns like "he" and "him," Grandpa answers, "Because it's my story!"
Stars and galaxies appear in Scenes 2 and 3 of Act 1, while the earth does not appear until Scene 4. This directly conflicts with Genesis 1:1-4, where the earth is created on Day 1, and the sun, moon and stars on Day 4.
In Scenes 2-4, billions of years are implied in the visual homage paid to the big bang and to a molten earth that eventually cools over a long period to support life. This long-age view of the universe conflicts with the six 24-hour periods of creation described in Genesis 1, and confirmed in Exodus 20:11 (KJV):
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, wherefore the LORD blessed the seventh day and hollowed it.
Furthermore, the big bang is expressly taught against in Genesis 1, where we are told that the sun was created after the earth (the big bang model has the sun first).1
In Scene 7, Creation portrays death before Adam's sin, another anti-biblical teaching. In this scene, a Tyrannosaurus rex collapses and an elephant "evolves" from its corpse. As the AiG website often declares, such animal death before Adam conflicts with Scripture.
Like so many in the church who compromise regarding the book of Genesis, writer/producer/director Carol Schuller Milner (daughter of the church's pastor) sadly forces long-ages, evolutionary thinking into Genesis 1—like stuffing a stepsister's big ugly foot into Cinderella's glass slipper. It doesn't fit. It won't fit. It cannot fit. The two are mutually incompatible.
And yet, Milner tried. Indeed, the program handout says, "What took God seven days and nature millions of years to create, has taken Carol 13 years to theatrically represent" (emphasis ours).
Beautiful if bewildering theatrics
The stage and air are often filled with beings in leafy variegated gowns and tunics who dance on stage or perform stunning aerial ballets. A cluster of robed chanters appears from time to time—one only wonders who or what they represent!
Most bizarre, there is not one Adam. There are two, one dancing or pantomiming while the other sings. Likewise, there is not one Eve. There are two. Strange … very strange.
Playwright Milner has recounted a vivid dream she had after working intensely with her science consultant, physicist Dr. Michael Guillen, trying to reconcile faith and science. A press release relates the story:
"I was peering into a keyhole, looking in on the other side. It took my breath away." It was through her dream that Milner realized that her quest to find the answer [to reconciling faith and science] wasn't likely, adding: "I believe we have permission not to know."
But we do know. The Creator presented the Answers … in Genesis.


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|Search Results (81 videos found)
|NASASciFiles - Wind Direction
NASA Why? Files segment explaining how wind travels and how it carries smell.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: Craig Moeller; Weather Map; Air Pressure; Weather Station; Anemometer; Wind Vane;
Duration: 00:02:41
Popularity (downloads): 1209
|NASAKSN - Wind Tunnels
NASA Kids Science News segment explaining how wind tunnels work and what they do.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Kids Science News; Wind Tunnel; Airplane; Fan; Wind; Testing; Models; Scale; Aircraft; Race Cars; Spacecraft;
Duration: 00:00:58
Popularity (downloads): 3839
|NASADestinationTomorrow - DT4 - Wind Tunnels
NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment describing wind tunnels and how aircraft designers use them to understand airflow.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Destination Tomorrow; Simulator; Aircraft; Scale Model; Testing; Research; Wind Tunnel; Performance Characteristics; Airflow; Fan; Open Return Wind Tunnel; Closed Return Wind Tunnel; Difuser; Test Section; Water; Nitrogen; Helium; Gases;
Duration: 00:03:46
Popularity (downloads): 2101
|NASASciFiles - Winds
NASA Why? Files segment describing how atmospheric particles are transported over distance by wind.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: Jennifer Olson; CAVE; Cave Automated Virtual Environment; Wind Vector; Global Wind Pattern; Jet Stream; Particle Lifetime; Sulfur Dioxide; Water Vapor; Sulfuric Acid;
Duration: 00:03:19
Popularity (downloads): 1765
|NASAConnect - TOAT - Drag Activity
NASA Connect Segment involving students in an activity to create a wind tunnel to test the effect of drag while emphasizing data analysis.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; Student Activity; Drag; Shape; Mass; Wind Speed; Wind Tunnel;
Duration: 00:05:04
Popularity (downloads): 1802
|NASA Connect - SOF - Wind Tunnel Testing
NASA Connect segment explaining the process of modeling and testing model aircraft. The video features two experts who explain how wind tunnels work.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; Wind Tunnels; Testing; Models; Data; Research; Scientists; Aircraft;
Duration: 00:01:22
Popularity (downloads): 3051
|NASAConnect - TOAT - Wind Tunnels
NASA Connect Segment explaining wind tunnels and how they are used as research tools. It also explores the SR-71 Blackbird and why it's used as an ideal research test plane....
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; Wind Tunnel; SR-71 Blackbird; Test Plane; Measuring Tools; Flow Visualization; Turbulence;
Duration: 00:02:35
Popularity (downloads): 2526
|NASASciFiles - The Design Process
NASA Sci Files segment exploring the design process and how wind tunnels are used in this process.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Sci Files; Testing; Design; Birds; Wings; Wind Tunnel; Scale Models; Micro Aerial Vehicle; Biologists; Iterate; Data Collection; Analyze;
Duration: 00:01:56
Popularity (downloads): 1432
|NASAConnect - PW - Ice and Aircraft
NASA Connect Segment that explains how meteorology, specifically icing, effects the ground operations of aircraft. Explores research being conducted to study the effects of icing by using refrigerated wind tunnels.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; Meteorology; Aircraft; Wind Tunnels; Icing;
Duration: 00:03:32
Popularity (downloads): 1329
|NASA Connect - FOFE - Designing Aircraft
NASA Connect segment explaining the tools, techniques, and requirements of designing an aircraft. The segment also explains the importance in wind tunnels and model planes.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; Technology; Aircraft Design; Geometry; Algebra; Wind Tunnels; Testing Designs; Mission Requirements; Computer Model; Hyper X; Turbulent Flow; Laminar Flow;
Duration: 00:05:45
Popularity (downloads): 1684


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When I was surfing the web I came across this device.
It is an easy way to make your fingerworks device wireless. I wonder how long the battery will last. It says it can go up to 120 mA.
Here are the features:
•Works with the following devices: iPhone/iPad, Android phones and tablets, Windows XP/7/8 laptops/tablets. Note you phone/tablet/pc must support Bluetooth keyboard. Many low-end phones do not. Currently the adapter does NOT work with Mac. Let us know if Mac support is really important to you.
•One PS/2 keyboard port supporting any PS/2 keyboard (max current 120mA)
•One USB host port supporting most standard USB HID Keyboards (max current 120mA)
•One mini USB port for battery charging
•1100mAh removable, rechargeable Li-ion battery
•Bluetooth 2.0 compliant
•Class 2 Bluetooth Wireless (10-meter distance)
•Charging LED, Status LED and Wireless LED
•More than 10 hours continuous use per one full charge (affected by the power consumption of the keyboard used)
•Mini USB cable is included. Wall charger is NOT included. You can use any standard USB charger or plug it into a PC to charge the battery.


text:
Location: Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology ResearchTitle: Involvement of Trichoderma trichothecenes in the biocontrol activity and in the induction of plant defense related genes
|Malmierca, M - University Of Leon
|Cardoza, R - University Of Leon
|Alexander, Nancy - Retired ARS Employee
|Mccormick, Susan
|Hermosa, R - University Of Salamanca
|Monte, E - University Of Salamanca
|Gutierrez, S - University Of Leon
Submitted to: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/26/2012
Publication Date: 7/1/2012
Citation: Malmierca, M.G., Cardoza, R.E., Alexander, N.J., McCormick, S.P., Hermosa, R., Monte, E., Gutierrez, S. 2012. Involvement of Trichoderma trichothecenes in the biocontrol activity and in the induction of plant defense related genes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 78(14):4856-4868.
Interpretive Summary: In this research, we found that a trichothecene is an important factor in the ability of Trichoderma arundinaceum to control plant pathogens. Trichothecenes are toxins that are harmful to the health of humans and livestock because of their ability to block protein synthesis. These toxins are produced by some fungi that infect crop plants and can contaminate food and feed prepared from infected grain. Some strains of Trichoderma, a fungus used for biocontrol of plant pathogens, produce trichothecenes as well as antifungal enzymes. In this study we knocked out a T. arundinaceum toxin gene and found that mutants that cannot make the trichothecene harzianum A (HA) have less antifungal activity. In addition we found that HA was not toxic to tomato plants and that pretreating the plants with HA-producing Trichoderma activated the plant defense response against fungal pathogens. Trichothecene producing strains of T. arundinaceum are good candidates for biocontrol of fungal diseases.
Technical Abstract: Trichoderma species produce trichothecenes, most notably trichodermin and harzianum A (HA), by a biosynthetic pathway in which several of the involved proteins have significant differences in functionality, compared to their Fusarium orthologues. In addition, the genes encoding these proteins show a genomic organization differing from that of the Fusarium tri clusters. Here we describe the isolation of T. arundinaceum IBT 40837 transformants which have a disrupted or silenced tri4, a gene encoding a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase that oxygenates trichodiene to give rise to isotrichodiol, and the effect of the tri4 gene disruption and silencing on the expression of other tri genes. Our results indicate that the tri4 gene disruption resulted in a reduced antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solani and also in a reduced ability to induce expression of tomato plant defense-related genes belonging to the salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonate (JA) pathways against B. cinerea, in comparison to the wild type strain, indicating that HA plays an important function in the sensitization of Trichoderma pretreated-plants against this fungal pathogen. Additionally, the effect of the interaction of T. arundinaceum with B. cinerea or with tomato seedlings on the expression of the tri genes was studied.


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Elevate your game
|Product Description
|Experience the enhanced comfort and feel of the Xbox Wireless Controller - Ocean Shadow Special Edition, featuring a sleek, streamlined design, a faded light blue metallic finish, and textured grip. Enjoy custom button mapping and improved wireless range. Plug in any compatible headset with the 3.5mm stereo headset jack. And with Bluetooth® technology, play your favorite games on Windows 10 PCs and tablets. *
|Compatible With
|Xbox One X, Xbox One S, Xbox One, Windows 10
|Release Date
|February 7, 2017
Xbox Design Lab
New Camo and Shadow options. Choose from over a billion color combinations to make it yours.


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Global Market Research Report On Polyamide (Nylon) Market 2018 is a professional and in-depth complete study on the current state.
Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/10/2018 -- Latest industry research report on Polyamide (Nylon) Market 2018: Industry Research, Size, Shares, Key Trends, Demand, Analysis, Performance, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, Consumption and Prospects to 2021
Global Polyamide (Nylon) Market Research Report 2018 provides a unique tool for evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, and supporting strategic and tactical decision-making. This report recognizes that in this rapidly-evolving and competitive environment, up-to-date marketing information is essential to monitor performance and make critical decisions for growth and profitability. It provides information on trends and developments, and focuses on markets and materials, capacities and technologies, and on the changing structure of the Polyamide (Nylon) .
For Market chain analysis, the report covers upstream raw materials, equipment, downstream client survey, marketing channels, Market development trend and proposals, which more specifically include valuable information on Polyamide (Nylon) key applications and consumption, key regions and consumption, key Global distributors , major raw materials suppliers and contact information, major manufacturing equipment suppliers and contact information, major suppliers and contact Information, key consumers and contact information, and supply chain relationship analysis.
Download Free Sample of report @ http://www.intenseresearch.com/report/106935#request-sample
The objectives of this study are:
To define, describe, and analyze the Polyamide (Nylon) market on the basis of product type, application, and region
To forecast and analyze the size of the Polyamide (Nylon) market (in terms of value) in six key regions, namely, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, North America, the Middle East & Africa, and South America
To forecast and analyze the Polyamide (Nylon) market at country-level in each region
To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trends and its contribution to the Polyamide (Nylon) market
To analyze opportunities in the Polyamide (Nylon) market for stakeholders by identifying high-growth segments of the market
Global Polyamide (Nylon) Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market by Top Manufacturers 2018-2025 are;
UBE Ind
Request For Free Price Quotation @ http://www.intenseresearch.com/report/106935#inquiry-for-buying
This report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), and market share and growth rate of Homes for each application:
Avail complete report of this research with TOC and List of Figures at:
This independent report guarantees you will remain better informed than your competition. With over tables and figures examining the Polyamide (Nylon) market, the report gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarkets and market leader's market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2025.
Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with Sales, revenue, Market Share (%) and Growth Rate (%) of Polyamide (Nylon) in these regions, from 2014 to 2025 (forecast), covering North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, India.
The report provides a basic overview of the Polyamide (Nylon) industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. And development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures.
The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.
There are 15 chapters to deeply display the global Polyamide (Nylon) market.
Chapter 1, to describe Polyamide (Nylon) Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;
Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Polyamide (Nylon) , with sales, revenue, and price of Polyamide (Nylon) , in 2018 and 2018;
Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2018 and 2018;
Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Polyamide (Nylon) , for each region, from 2014 to 2018;
Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;
Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2014 to 2018;
Chapter 12, Polyamide (Nylon) market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2025;
Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Polyamide (Nylon) sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.
Reasons for Buying this Report:
This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics
It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth
It provides a technological growth map over time to understand the industry growth rate
It provides a seven-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow.


text:
New Haven cop arrested in gunplay incident denies being there (read the warrant)
NEW HAVEN -- One of the police officers arrested for off-duty and possibly alcohol-fueled gunfire repeatedly denied being anywhere near State Street at the time of the shooting, police said.
But the state forensic lab confirmed five shell casings recovered near the corner of State and Clark streets were fired from the .40-caliber department handgun issued to Lawrence Burns, 38.
In all, three police officer were on paid leave and facing criminal charges in the April 1 incident outside Christopher Martins restaurant.
"You need to come back to State Street because we need to talk about what happened," Sgt. Steve Teague told Burns in a cell phone call about 15 minutes after the incident.
The three officers were present when on-duty officers first arrived but left while the officers were speaking to witnesses.
"Naw, I wasn't on State Street, Sarge," Burns said. Teague asked him several more times.
"I'm going to ask you again, were you on State Street 10 minutes ago?"
"No, no. I was on State Street maybe an hour and (a) half ago," Burns said.
The conversation didn't last much longer. Teague asked Burns where he was. Was he home? Was he heading home? He didn't get a straight answer, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Before he hung up, Teague said, "If that's how you want to handle it, that's fine."
Burns and Officer Charles Kim, 35, both are charged with firing weapons just after closing time outside the popular State Street bar. Officer Krzysztof Ruszczyk, 31, didn't fire a weapon but was charged with interfering with police.
All three were released after signing a written promise to appear in court.
Court records provided the most detailed account of the event yet. Officers arrived at about 2:40 a.m. and were flagged down by two witnesses who said people were shooting at the corner. While they were speaking to one officer, another on-duty patrolman approached the three off-duty officers a block down.
"It's nothing. It's 55s," Burns allegedly told the officer, using the police code for fireworks.
The on-duty officer told them to stay there and drove to the witnesses to get a description of the shooters. In the interim, police said, Burns drove off.
"That's the guy who was shooting and (you're) letting him go," the witness said as a yellow sports car sped off.
Despite also being told to stay, Ruszczyk and Kim also left in a vehicle., police said.
In the next half hour, Burns called an on-duty officer several times asking what was happening.
"This incident is not going away, you need to come back, you need to call Ruszczyk, you guys need to come back here," the officer recalled telling Burns.
Detectives recovered six shell casings at the scene, one from a .380-caliber pistol and five others from a .40-caliber.
Under order, the three officers turned in the guns, ammunition and badges later that afternoon. One of Burns' magazines was missing seven rounds of ammunition. A day later, Kim surrendered a .380-caliber handgun.
On Thursday, the same day police secured arrest warrants for the three officers, a forensic technician confirmed for police that the shell casings recovered at the scene and been fired from the .380-caliber belonging to Kim and the .40-caliber issued to Burns.
The three men are due in court on April 20.


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ChefJJ necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 139 diseños de 44 diseñadores freelance.
Black Pepper Group
Black Pepper Group helps business owners in Canada apply for tax incentives that fuel research, growth and profit recovery.
We specialize in preparing and managing Canadian SR&ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) tax credits, and other government grants and credits that support innovation or the development of digital media products.
We are strategic thinkers and writers who work closely with emerging and established companies to document and explain the challenges they face when innovating and creating new products or services that require scientific or technological advancement.
We draw from an extensive 20 year background in high technology, manufacturing, small business, self-employment and finance to work with clients to define, describe, structure and account for the eligible costs of their research related activities or digital media projects.
We explain difficult technical subjects in a way that the government can understand and decide to grant assistance in the form of a tax credit.
Our typical clients are small business owners, predominantly in technology startups for software and hardware but we are also highly involved in printing, manufacturing and commercial food production. Our target customer is a business owner with 5-50 employees and a payroll in excess of $150,000 annually.
Our goal is to find each client a form of government incentive that can result in at least a $50,000 refundable tax credit getting into their hands.
This logo will be used on business cards, email signatures, invoices etc and will be used as a header in the company web site. It should also transition well to a t-shirt or corporate gift like a coffee mug or pepper mill.
Core to the image should be a visual play on the black pepper concept. Designs should emphasize either/or black peppercorns or a traditional pepper mill and be simple, minimal representations of the image that will scale well.
URL: http://www.blackpeppergroup.com
sans serif/clean type styles
icon/logo must work as a stand alone element but should also work with the following byline/descriptive elements
Tax Incentives for Research, Growth & Profit Recovery
SR&ED Claims Preparation - Tax Credits for New Media Development
A 3D element is desired, though not required
Must be a vector based design that scales well in all media.
Preferred colour scheme is black and one colour. Two at the most
Preferred colours are deep bright vibrant reds or bright sky blues
Should be shown against a white background
don't wants:
cursive type styles
bubble letters
direct references to monetization (no dollar signs or coins grinding out of the pepper mill)
top of a pepper shaker - design is too close to a similarly named software company and I don't want to infringe/copy their look
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Quintin Watt won a booking to the value of R2320 at Guinjata House and Chalets
Amazing, thank you very much and thanks for your quick responce.
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Get your stay free!
From R2500* unit
Nestled between Paindane and Guinjata Bay, Daghatane Beach Estate is situated just south of Inhambane town in Mozambique, overlooking some of the finest coastline in Africa.
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Luxury is certainly present in every aspect of your Paz do Pai experience. The luxurious, self-catering villas vary in size, but they all have breath-taking sea views and walking distance to the beac... Read More
From R1350* unit
Casa De Cocos sleeps 12 guests for our special feature rate of R 1350 , out of season and offers stunning Mozambican style Villas and Cabanas nestled below tropical coconut palms and indigenous flora ... Read More
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Guinjata House & Chalets
Guinjata - Inhambane - Mozambique.
Guinjata House & Chalets is a stylish designer lodge set up above the ocean under massive palm trees to enjoy the ocean views. The hou... Read More
From R750* unit
Whether you choose to relax and watch the sea, with the occasional whale and manta coming close to shore, or just sit and read, you are guaranteed privacy and peace. For those who are more into advent... Read More
From R250 pps
Guinjane Lodge, a luxurious self-catering lodge situated at the beautiful white beaches and clear blue sea of Guinjata Bay, 30km South of Inhambane,Mozambique.
Guinjane Lodge is known as the Jewel ... Read More
From R680* unit
The finest way to experience the beauty and enchantment of Mozambique. Here, warm clear waters, silky soft sands, cooling ocean breezes and long sunny days make it an idyllic setting to relax and abso... Read More
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Mozambique is re-establishing itself as one of Southern Africa's most intriguing and attractive tourist destination. With a blend of African, Arab and Portuguese influence, it is a culture to be exper... Read More
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Tofo Beach Accommodation has 3 self-catering, sea front and sea viewed cottages. Casa Derika has 2 bedrooms, sleep max 6 guests and is in the front row houses on the beach in Tofo, about 100 m away fr... Read More
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Stunning family beach house available to rent. 50 m from the beach at Pria da Rocha one of Mozambiques most pristine bays with easy access to some of the most awesome and world famous dive sites.
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Jangamo District
Guinjata BayGuinjata Bay is only for those that prefer not to be in the mainstream busy-ness of a luxury resort. Isolated, not fully developed, with the most amazing food, friendly people and relaxing atmosphere. - Amori Struwig
Guinjata BayTruly a small piece of paradise. Rural, peaceful and tranquil, Very unspoiled. - Robyn Van Der Riet
Guinjata BayA must see area with kind & helpful people, stunning beaches. - Tlaleng Hlahane
Guinjata BayInhambane is a beautiful place with friendly locals, everyone is always so happy, caring and helpful if you are lost - like we were so many times. We found it safe and never had a problem comunicating with the locals. - Nerusha Ramayin


text:
'Kingdom of the sick' grows as more are chronically ill
As more people develop chronic illnesses, stigma remains, author says.
Laurie Edwards, 32, teaches science writing to college students, cares for a 2-year-old daughter, blogs, tweets and generally lives the life of a busy young professional and family woman.
But she also spends at least 30 minutes at home each day having her chest pounded by a physical therapist for a rare lung disorder. She takes pills, eats a special diet and uses inhalers and nebulizers, just to keep breathing and functioning. Sometimes it all falls apart and she ends up in an emergency room or, worse, intensive care.
Edwards likes to say that she lives both in the "kingdom of the well" and the "kingdom of the sick," a "dual citizenship" that late writer Susan Sontag once said all humans hold, whether they realize it yet or not.
That truth is getting harder to ignore, Edwards writes in her new book on chronic illness, In the Kingdom of the Sick: A Social History of Chronic Illness in America. As fewer of us die young or suddenly from infections or accidents, more of us live long with conditions that make life challenging.
Today, chronic illness — broadly defined as everything from heart disease, cancer and arthritis to rarer conditions such as the lung disorder Edwards has — affects nearly half of the adult population, according the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And yet, somehow, Edwards says, chronic illness and those who endure it remain poorly understood.
"There are still all of these stereotypes of people who are sick," says Edwards, who also has celiac disease, an immune disorder. "The biggest is that it is somehow our fault."
Blame and stigma trail people with conditions from AIDS to obesity, she says.
Those attitudes are rooted in history and human nature but come with a twist today: Many people may believe that medical science has advanced to such a degree that there is literally no excuse for an incurable illness. Those who suffer from poorly defined conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia bear an extra burden, she says: Even some doctors doubt they are as sick as they say they are.
Women, in particular, she says, still risk being labeled "hysterical females" if they come to doctors with symptoms that can't be easily diagnosed or that don't respond to treatment.
In the book, Edwards introduces many such patients. One is Paula Kamen, a 46-year-old writer from Evanston, Ill., who has suffered from nearly daily migraine headaches since 1991. In her 2005 book, All in My Head: An Epic Quest to Cure an Unrelenting, Totally Unreasonable, and Only Slightly Enlightening Headache, Kamen coined the term "tired girls" to describe women like herself with conditions that often seem invisible and can provoke doubt and impatience in others.
Edwards writes: "The Tired Girl stands for so much that society disdains: weakness, exhaustion, dependence, unreliability, and the inability to get better."
Kamen says that stigma keeps many women from talking about their lives with chronic illness. "So many people are suffering in isolation because they don't want people to think they are crazy." She hopes Edwards' book will help.
Meanwhile, people with chronic illnesses are doing more to help themselves. As part of the larger patients' rights movement, they are demanding more collaborative relationships with their doctors, Edwards says. They also are connecting with one another online.
Edwards says the only other person she has met with her rare lung disorder — called primary ciliary dyskinesia — she found online.
And because so many want and need to work, more are speaking up and asking for accommodations from employers, including flexible schedules and work-from-home arrangements.
Such "workarounds" are not possible in many jobs, says Rosalind Joffe, 61, a career coach for people with chronic illness who also is featured in the book. She knows what she's talking about: She began her current career when multiple sclerosis made it impossible for her to continue one in video production, she says.
Joffe says she's now targeting her services to young adults and urging them to speak with employers from the start about what they need to succeed despite their illnesses. "People tend to respond best when another person is proactive about what they want."
So what do most people with chronic illnesses want?
"Primarily, we want effective care, and we want access to health care," Edwards says.
But also, she says, "we want to be understood, we want to be acknowledged but not pitied … We want the support we need to lead the most productive lives we can."


text:
Is there anything funnier than a soon-to-be-slaughtered goat getting hopped up on Viagra? Or the sight of two grown men constantly screaming at each other like five-year-olds on the playground? Or the idea of a marriage between two people, one African American, one Hispanic, doing anything other than setting off a firestorm of family drama? According to the makers of "Our Family Wedding," nope.
Starring America Ferrera, Lance Gross ("Tyler Perry's House of Payne"), Carlos Mencia, Regina King and, inexplicably, Forrest Whitaker, the film follows a newly engaged couple, Lucia (Ferrera) and Marcus (Gross), as they return to their childhood homes in Los Angeles to announce their engagement. What should be the happiest time of their lives turns into pure chaos as their equally headstrong, egotistical and bigoted fathers, Miguel and Brad (Mencia and Whitaker), go ballistically head to head. Let the hilarity ensue.
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa ("The Wood," "Brown Sugar") from a screenplay he co-wrote, stereotypes flow heavily from either side of the cultural divide as the young couple struggles to pull together a wedding in a matter of weeks. Lucia, tightly wound and meek, and Marcus, unyeildingly angelic, follow a poor man's plot of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," though, thankfully, not one as destitute as Ashton Kutcher's "Guess Who." Slapsticky and trite, the film's few bright spots come in the form of comedienne Anjelah Johnson as Lucia's sister and Regina King as Brad's long time lawyer and potential lover. At least there's one positive, "Our Family Wedding" is instantly forgettable.


text:
The letter came in a plain brown wrapper…
… sort of like what Quilter's Home had to do when it did its centerpiece article on naughty and controversial quilts.
The letter had my address on it in even darker brown ink. But I was sure it had been misdirected. Here's what it said:
Dear Dung Diva:
My life has turned to manure. Many, many kinds of manure.
I'm surrounded by it, and I just can't seem to choose. Composted steer in the big plastic bag? Sheep and llama from the fiber farm up the road? Horse apples from a friend's stable? Rabbit poop from the neighbor's bunny? Or the latest in urban-chic, chicken … well, you know, the chicken stuff that when they give you, you make chicken salad out of. If I wanted poultry poop, couldn't I just scoop a bunch of goose poop up off the sidewalk that winds around my local lake? I mean, it's already green…
Why is some manure "hot" poop? What determines what's good poop, really good poop, and bad poop? And why do I suddenly feel like a character in a Cheech and Chong movie?
Oh dropping-knowledge Dung Diva, only you can help dig me out of this. I'm in deep poop.
Signed, Excrementally Interested
Hey, it's not that I don't know poop. I've been a big-dog owner all my life, and a big believer in Responsible Dog Ownership — I've scooped poop. I've stepped in poop. I've packed it out deliberately and tracked it in accidentally. Every coat I own has little baggies in the pocketses for unexpected canine calls of nature. But the only manure I've ever spread in a garden has been bagged, tagged, deodorized, augmented. As far as getting it from the farm and using it in my garden, I'm Excrementally Ignorant. I shouldn't be; I'm in an ag county, surrounded by rabbits and chickens and llama farms, oh my. I know about the front-end users, just not so much about the back end. In fact, I wanted to know the answers to these, er, burning questions, as badly as E.I. But I couldn't answer them myself.
But, I thought … I do know People. …. People who know poople. … are the luuuuckiest peeeeeople… Sorry. Back to my internal search. Who could help me with E.I.'s questions?
I had no choice. I turn to this question over to a soil sister at Gardening after Five … where this "Saga of … Stuff" will be continued…


text: Well, I finally got around to starting a game. I've been wanting to play CtL long before it was released. Since I knew of no one running a game in my area, I was tired of my books getting dusty, and a day opened up in my group I decided to give it a go. Not looking for players at the moment as I like small games. But I'm not sure how everyone will take to Changeling, so spots may open up. I'll probably do a log on P&P. Woo hoo