text:
OU Claims Title in Epic Battle vs. Huskers
By Athletics Communications
University of Oklahoma
Travis Lewis had an interception in the end zone and recovered two fumbles, and the Sooners rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Nebraska 23-20 on Saturday night in the Big 12 championship, the Cornhuskers' last stand in the conference.
Oklahoma won its seventh Big 12 title -- more than twice as many as any other school -- and the seventh straight by schools from the South Division. With Nebraska bolting to the Big Ten and Colorado off to the Pac-12, there won't be another Big 12 title game in the immediate future.
"It's pretty special to have the last championship and to add to the number we already have is really pretty special for sure," coach Bob Stoops said.
Landry Jones threw for 342 yards and a touchdown and also sneaked in for another score from 1 yard out as the Sooners (11-2) made the second biggest comeback in Big 12 championship history. Colorado came back from 19 down to Texas in 2001.
The No. 13 Cornhuskers (10-3) self-destructed, squandering a 17-0 lead with four turnovers and getting shut out in the second half for the first time all season.
"This is a great feeling. This is my third Big 12 championship and this one's definitely the sweetest," Lewis said. "The fashion that we won this game in, we always pride ourselves that defense wins championships. I felt like we got rattled a little early, we gave up some big plays but we never panicked."
Jimmy Stevens delivered the game-winner, a 27-yard field goal, with 8:28 to play after Lewis' third takeaway.
Nebraska, which lost 13-12 to Texas on a field goal after 1 second had been put back on the clock in last year's title game, suffered another tough defeat -- without a close call at the end.
The Huskers had to punt it away with less than 4 minutes left after Taylor Martinez was sacked on third-and-8 from the Oklahoma 39-yard line. Alex Henery had already hit a championship game-record 53-yard field goal.
"We thought we were in range. That is the shame of it," said coach Bo Pelini, who even lamented deciding not to let Henery try a 62-yard field goal after the sack.
"But [we] can't take a sack in that situation."
Nebraska got the ball back with 1:46 to play at their own 41-yard line but couldn't convert a first down, with Martinez getting sacked a seventh time on the final drive.
"We wanted this bad," Lewis said. "This has been a long season. We have been tested in so many ways. We have been with our backs against the wall. We came out here and the defense totally dominated."
The longtime rivals had played each other in 71 straight seasons as members of the Big Six and as national powerhouses in the Big Eight before being split up into separate divisions in the Big 12. That divide, along with down stretches for both programs, took some of the sizzle out of one of college football's most storied rivalries.
This was only the second time Nebraska and Oklahoma met in the Big 12 championship game after deciding the Big Eight title 31 times in 36 seasons. Now, they don't figure to meet again unless it's in a bowl game, though the schools are working on scheduling a series starting in 2020.
"Beating Nebraska, like this, in this game? Are you kidding" Stoops said. "It's just great to get another championship."
Nebraska will likely fall into the Insight or Alamo Bowl.
Martinez, who didn't play in the Huskers' North-clinching win against Colorado eight days earlier, had 143 yards passing with an interception but wasn't taking the snaps in some key moments down the stretch.
After Martinez finally lost a fumble -- he had put the ball on the ground four times -- the Huskers turned to Rex Burkhead in the wildcat formation. But after Burkhead picked up 24 yards on his first two carries, he couldn't handle a shotgun snap, and Lewis pounced again.
Cameron Kenney made a 23-yard catch on third-and-24 and then made an 11-yard catch to move the chains on fourth down, setting up Stevens' field goal that put Oklahoma ahead for the first time in the game.
Nebraska shot out to a 17-0 lead on Roy Helu Jr.'s 66-yard touchdown run, Henery's record-setting field goal and a 5-yard touchdown pass from Burkhead to Kyler Reed out of the wildcat. The last score came after Pelini made a successful challenge and had Courtney Osborne's fumble overturned.
Oklahoma answered right back with Jones' 49-yard TD strike to Kenny Stills, and Lewis came up with an interception in the end zone against Martinez and then scooped up Helu's fumble to set up a field goal and Jones' touchdown run 58 seconds apart for the Sooners.
"It just shows the character of our team," Jones said. "Being down 17-0, [we] fight back into the game and finish it off. That was a great win for us."
| Purchase official Sooner Big Championship gear and photos in OU's Online Store and Photo Store:


text:
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
Ecological modernisation and the development of the UK's green industrial strategy: the case of the UK National Industrial Symbiosis Programme.
(Robert Gordon University, 2011-12)
The UK National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) is the first industrial symbiosis (IS) network in the world to have been established at national level. Many studies have recently investigated the UK NISP, but much ...

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Let me start off by saying, this is not a Bucket List. At least not just yet and hopefully not for another 40-50 years. So please stop crying and stop writing long-winded eulogies that praise me so much it makes everyone else feel awkward. But feel free to continue writing that check to help put my children through college, even though they are only two and 5 months from being born – every little bit helps.
OK, now back to the point of this article.
This is merely a list of events that I would love to experince and that would rate highly using the "Goose Bump Factor".
For those uninformed; GBF, or "Goose Bump Factor", is used by individuals to gage how incredible – or "freakin' awesome" – an event, a play or a moment truly is. The formula was derived from the sensation that occurs at the single moment when statements such as; "That was sick!" or "Did you see that?" or "You gotta be kidding me!" can be heard. When a moment is so breath-taking, so "I can't believe what I just saw", that the individual's body is over come with the "chills" – commonly known as Goose Bumps.
Now for some, the GBF would be greatly enhanced by witnessing a team, or players, which they have followed their entire life. The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series means more to folks – yes, I just used the word folks – in the Windy City then to the Red Soxs nation. Even though they did have a close relationship prior to 2004 through BCA – Baseball Curses Anonymous.
Yet, some events are so big, so spectacular that it does not matter if your team is involved. You just have to be there.
So, with no further ado and in a very particular order. Here are my Top-10 Events based on the GBF.
1. Duke vs. North Carolina at Carmon Indoor Stadium – As a Duke fan, and a college basketball follower, there is no other situation that breeds more adrenaline and excitement than when the Tarheels come to Durham.
2. FIFA World Cup Final – There is little qualifying I need to do here. I have watched some many matches on TV, that just the idea of being there gets my blood pumping. Someone needs to scream GOAL!
3. Final Four – Long have I wanted to go. The closest I came was in 2001 when Duke beat Arizona to win their third Championship in Minneapolis. Maryland, which won the following year, and Michigan State, which won the previous year, rounded off the Final Four. Alas, I couldn't get the money together – poor college kid.
4. The First Weekend of the NCAA Tourney – Most people barely know the names on the front and definitely don't now know that names on the back of the jerseys of the teams playing Duke, UConn or UNC. But every year something amazing happens and we meet someone new. Plain and simple.
5. Manchester United Vs. Arsenal at the Emirates – I wanted to list Arsenal beating Chelsea, but there is no guarantee – and I don't need to see John Terry's mug the whole game. Plus with this match-up you get to see Ronaldo sent to the ground without being touched.
6. NBA Finals – About 2-3 years ago The NBA Finals would have been number 2-4. But because of my frustration with the T'Wolves and my awreness of soccer, it has fallen to sixth. That being said, I would like to see the Celtics and Lakers rematch in June.
7. The European Championships– The Euros, the second biggest soccer tournament in the world. Powerhouses like this year winner Spain, Italy, Germany and France – hopefully England soon – you get to see the best, multiple times.
8. The Olympics – Summer or Winter – probably summer – but either way you witness athletes competing after training for four years. Everything is more significant.
9. World Series – The Twins played in one of – if not THE – greatest World Series of all time in 1991. I know the Twins are a long ways away from getting back there, but the series gets shown on ESPN classic a lot. Baseball is a beautiful combination smells, sounds, Kevin Costner starring in Field of Dreams, that takes us back to a simpler time – about 9-10 months ago. Maybe it is just the pace of the game and the relief that the 162 game season is finally come to an end.
10. Wimbledon – I used to watch the grand-daddy of all tennis tournament with my mother when I was younger. In the summer we would get up, grab breakfast and tune in. I remember watching Boris Becker dive on the court, the odd but shiny trophies, and I remember the child labor of the ball boys and girls. I remember all the white clothing and thinking that was not a good choice because they will get dirty. Ultimately, I remember the passion.
Honorable Mention
UEFA Champions League Final
The Super Bowl
Michigan and Ohio State Football
The Masters


text:
AMA Professional Knee Pads
If you don't want to wait for a custom sized pro kneepad, we do carry some AMA Pro Kneepdads Instock. Click here to see our Instock AMA Kneepads section.
If you order a Custom Sizing, Expect a 1-3 week delivery - This is a handcrafted product.
Our PROFESSIONAL is the ULTIMATE in PROTECTION!
AMA Premium Knee Pads sold in pairs. Same pads as worn by Kurt Angle, HHH, Big Show, and Rikishi. Now available in Black, Royal Blue, Turquoise, Sky Blue, White, Red, Maroon, Pink, Yellow, Green, Silver, Gold, Purple, Neon Orange, Neon Green, and Camo.
These are handmade for the WWE superstars and are not mass produced. They are not found in stores. AMA pads are especially popular in Japanese promotions as well.
The following measurements are necessary to insure proper fit:
1 - 5-inches above the center of knee, measure completely around the leg.
2 - Center of knee, measure completely around the knee.
3 - 5-inches below the center of knee, measure completely around the calf.
Front and Side and Front and Back views shown.
Also available in two-tone designs (RED ON BLACK is shown).
Enter the colors you want for two-tone above if desired.
AMA Neoprene Supports
The therapeutic solution for a wide range of problems of athletes and fitness professionals.
Therapeutic Heat - AMA products are constructed from uni-cellular Neoprene which offers an important combination of flexibility, comfort, support, and preservation of body heat. Heat retention soothes pain, encourages circulation, helps relieve edema, reduces evaporation, makes soft tissue pliable, less prone to injury.
Lycra Finish - Offered on most of our products to enhance the appearance of the produce even after long periods of use, because of it's resistance to stains and abrasion, not found in regular nylon.
Quality Control - Over 20 years in the support business is your guarantee of quality. AMA uses Rubatex Neoprene, the finest American Neoprene available. All AMA products are handcrafted and rigorously inspected for quality.
Care of AMA Pads - Products made of neoprene should be handwashed and then hang them up to dry. Placing your AMA pads into the washing machine and/or a dryer could ruin them!
Average Customer Review: 17 Reviews
Write an online review and share your thoughts with others.


text:
Apple has nearly closed the distance between itself and Samsung in worldwide sales of smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Apple jumped from holding 15.7 percent of worldwide market share in Q3 2012 to having 20.3 in Q4, just behind Samsung's 21.2 percent. IDC believes that Apple's jump is due to the debut of the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini.
In terms of market share, Apple significantly closed the gap with market leader Samsung in the quarter, as the combination of Apple's iPhone 5 and iPad Mini brought Apple up to 20.3% unit shipment share versus 21.2% for Samsung. On a revenue basis for the fourth quarter, Apple continued to dominate with 30.7% share versus 20.4% share for Samsung.
Worldwide shipments of devices like smartphones and tablets passed 1 billion units last year. Additionally, tablet shipments are expected to overtake desktop shipments this year, and laptop shipments next year. The iPad remains extremely popular, and Apple should be able to hold on to its newfound market share, but they will have a fight on their hands as competition with Samsung continues to escalate.
Source: IDC


text:
Feeling outta place, plus it's getting kinda late
Tryna make it home safe and not get raped, where you live?
Tina tummy ache, Gina got the funny face
Mona's sniffing dope, so her dome is leaning on your rib
I bet you wish you had a Benz cause you just helped your friends
Flag a taxi, now you walking not too far from your crib
Craving for an acid tablet for your satisfaction
Said you feeling flabbergasted, you just had to have it
Made your way to 7th Ave, flagged a yellow cab
Now you need an upper fast to help your mellow swag
Black kid, french braids and he keep the potent
Hold ya purse don't trust him cause his teeth is golden
Dice rolling reefer blowing in the streets he smoking
Blowing weed while police patrolling
Acid strips, purple drink you can have a sip
Have a fix of this acid drip
Hands on her thighs, kiss on the lips
Eye for an eye, drip for a drip
I get ya high, please don't forget
I can supply the fix for ya trip
Hands on her thighs, kiss on the lips
Eye for an eye, drip for a drip
I get ya high, please don't forget
I can supply the fix for ya trip
"Acid Drip" discusses three of hip hops biggest cliches: weed, sex and lean. Rocky details his party lifestyle, evidently crazy.
Apparently A$AP couldn't get enough of this topic as it seems he continued the same story in the video of "Purple Kisses."
This appears on A$AP Rocky's debut mixtape LiveLoveA$AP as Track 12.


text:
|Teen Volunteer Opportunity- Oswego Campus
Event Type: Teen Volunteer
Age Group(s): High School, Junior High
Date: 7/11/2019
Start Time: 6:30 PM
End Time: 7:30 PM
OSWEGO CAMPUS- Grades 6-12.
Help with dusting and cleaning our Young Adult department.
Please remember:
-You must give at least 4 hrs. notice if you can no longer volunteer
-You must be on time.
-Clothes must be appropriate (please see our brochure or call 630-978-1655 if your are unsure what this entails)
-Cell phones should be silenced while in the library.
-iPods & other electronics should be left at home.
Status: Waiting List
|Please Note


text:
I get asked a lot: "Tell me about the first time you were with a black man."
Now, it is usually a white man who asks this. I'm not sure why. Am I on the white team and I'm supposed to report back? I think it's a little fascination with that with which they cannot have.
I do want to say that I am not typically asked, "When was the first time you did it with an Asian?" Or "When was the first time you fucked a Hispanic?" I actually have good answers to both those questions, not that I have kept track of my lovers according to race. I usually don't keep a mental list of "famous firsts."
I wonder if this is a Mars vs. Venus kind of thing. Maybe men more typically categorize us by type. "I've done three women with 36DDD, two with A cups, five with 34 B's and one giganda babe with 44GG's. I've fucked two Asians, a Black chick, and a horny, drunk Irish girl." Is this part of the little black book mentality? Maybe it's because they just can't remember our names!
My lists go like this: I did Shane, Shane again, Scott, Mark, Ward, that one guy I met at the beach, Devon...
I do think this: Sex with different people is truly unique to being with that one person. Probably, in most cases, I'm only as good with any one person as they are with me. So if, somehow, I've fucked Token Black Guy, I didn't know it at the time. I have fucked Charles, and David, and Rashid, and Stacey and each of them are truly an original. I am definitely best at fucking Charles, because I know him intimately, but that doesn't mean I didn't give the others a memorable event. I'm skeptical though. I know, for example, that Stacey had his clothing slashed up by a crazy bitch one time, so how can I compete with that? Why even try?
I do have some good tricks. Most of my lovers have some good tricks. Put my tricks with your tricks, and voila! you have a recipe that cannot be duplicated. Oh yes, you can take the same ingredients and mix them up again, but it won't be the same as that first time, if for no other reason than it will never again be that first time.
So–my first time with a black dude. I don't remember his name. I want to say it was Clarence, but I would personally never name a child Clarence, so maybe that is why I have mentally blocked it out. I was twenty. On my list, he is "High School Basketball Camp Dude." I worked on campus as an operator. If you want a little aside, my boss was Sarah Casada, and she went on to become a WA State Representative-R. She was a stupid woman, and my opinion of her did not change with her work in Congress.
"Hello. You've reached the Operator. How can I help you?" I glanced at the clock. It was after 11.
"I wanna get laid. You know what I need?"
I immediately sat a little forward in my seat. I could honestly say I'd never gotten a call like this before. Of course, I realized that most women would hang up when they got a call like this one, but I was willing to punk the prank. I had 45 minutes left at the end of a very boring shift. We were in the middle of Summer Semester, so very few of the dorms were being used. I was thrilled to have a phone call. Any phone call. I wanted to see where this would go.
"Could you repeat that?"
"I wanna get laid. Yes, you heard that correctly."
I was stumped. Who the hell called up the operator and asked for a quick fuck? No one I knew. I could tell the caller was black, and that intrigued the hell out of me. I went to college at Pacific Lutheran University, for crissakes. There wasn't even a black man on the football team! From the light on my console, I could tell the call was originating from the dormitory where we were hosting high school basketball camp.
"No Sir," I laughed nervously. It was important to me that no one else in the office could tell what we were talking about. "What can I help you with?"
"Well, Baby, I can see that you are not afraid to talk to a man about what he might want."
"No, Sir, I'm not. Are you here for the basketball camp?"
"Yes, Ma'am, I am. And I'm in a very bad way. If you know what I mean."
"Why don't you tell me what you mean?"
I couldn't believe it! Here I was on the phone with a black man. A black man who specifically claimed to be "in a bad way." And certainly he was in high school. I was rather giggly about it, and instantly felt the pulse of my pussy against white cotton panties.
"Well, Lady. You know. I have this big, hard dick. And I don't even know what to do with it. I mean, of course, I know what to do with it. But that's NOT what I want to do with it if I could find something else to do with it..."
"Go on."
"What I'd really like to do with it is to find some woman like yourself to have a little fun with."
"I could help with that."
I was struggling to make comments that were non-committal enough for the office. We shared space with Campus Security. The night was so slow, some of them were playing cards. I knew they could hear me.
"You would?" he said, his voice cracking. Thank God, he was nervous too! It made things easier.
"I'm real interested in that, you know. Would you fuck me, or just suck me off? Anything would help, you know..."
I was squirming. I couldn't believe he was talking to me like this! Just being blunt. He didn't mess around. It wasn't like "Oh let's go down to the Cave and have a cheese bagel." It was direct. "Let's get together and fuck."
I had to say I liked it. But how was I going to make this happen?
"You're in the Cascade Dorm?" I asked.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Would you quit calling me Ma'am?
It occurred to me that this guy didn't know a thing about me. I could be 55 and ready to meet him after my shift and his dick was still going to be hard! That kind of messed with my head at the time, because I was, well, 20, and still fucking idealistic.
"Where you would go would be out the north end of that dorm. There's a walkway up the hill. Climb the hill. Keep following the path to Admin..."
"You're going to meet up with me?"
"Yes I am. At Twelve."
"That's real nice of you. That's real nice of you, Ma'am."
Would you quit saying that???
"Okay Sir. You have the directions?"
"Yes. I do. And I want to know if you are going to suck my hard, black dick."
Oh Jesus, he was so direct.
"That would be fine. At twelve o'clock." I hung up. I was shaking.
My heart was beating so fast I was sure they could hear it across the room! I took a drink of water. What was I thinking?
I didn't really have a plan. Fuck no. I didn't know this guy from Adam. I didn't even ask his name! What if he was some kind of rapist? I wrote down the room number his call had come from. Just in case.
I don't know how I got through the remainder of the shift. Of course, my mind was racing. What if we got caught? Where were we going to go? Would I actually follow through with it? What if he was just doing this for kicks? What if he brought the rest of the team? And finally, What if he stood me up?
My relief came and I got ready to leave. One of the Security Officers offered to walk with me, but I said no. Shit no, that's the last thing I needed was one of the security guards following me home.
I lived off campus. I was just going to meet this guy where I told him and see what happened from there. No promises.
But if you know anything about me at all, if I say I'm going to do it, then I go through with what I said. I'd already told this man I was going to suck his hard, black dick. I walked up the hill to the junction by Admin.
He was there! Omigod!
He was about six foot three. All legs, like a Labrador puppy who hadn't quite grown into his feet. I was so nervous. I didn't know what to say.
"You the woman I talked to on the phone?"
"Thank you for meeting me like this. I appreciate it, Ma'am."
"You don't have to call me Ma'am. I'm twenty."
He looked at me in the light. He looked at me as direct as he'd spoken on the phone. He made no bones about checking out my 36DD's and my ass. "You're pretty."
Now I didn't know what to think of him. He was just different. I didn't go WHOOOO! You've been what I've been waiting for all my life. I just went Hmmmm.
Now part of me was worried. I mean, you know what they say. Most of the guys I knew topped out at five or six inches. Paul was Puerto Rican. He was probably seven, and he was spectacular. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. You know what they say?? It made me all wiggly with anticipation.
How do I tell this next part? I mean, the PERSON in me wants to say that he took me by the hand and we walked the streets that night, getting to know each other. I should say that we talked for an hour, found out how much we "clicked," and that I was giddy and delighted and couldn't wait to see him again...
But that's not how it went. We walked up the hill and pushed through a torn part of the hedge. That put us in this back space, a lot, where there wasn't much going on. If we said two words to each other, I don't remember what it was. I might have said that this was my first time with a black guy. Would I have said that? Maybe. I remember he was hard. He just had on a warm up suit and the stretch fabric jutted out in a dangerous way. He couldn't be THAT big, could he?
Next to the hedge, he pulled his pants down, just enough to let the big guy escape. Bo-o-oi-ing! It popped out. I thought it was going to take out my eye! Not really. I know that was what you were expecting.
You want me to tell you how huge he was. He really was big. You want me to say that he smelled distinctly "black," and I'm sure he did. It wasn't bad. It was just different. Like I told you, much to your dismay, I pretty much went Hmmmm. I'll tell you what he was not. He did not smell like chewing tobacco like the guys who'd pawed me back in high school. He did not drawl out his vowels and wear a John Deere hat with goat shit on the edge.
He smelled like a man. I love men! And I took his dick into my mouth and felt it get even firmer. I wasn't sure how to suck it all, because it was awkward. I know there's never a girl in one of these porn stories who will admit she wasn't all-knowing every time, but faced with an extra three inches, I didn't know what to do!
"How do you like it?" I asked, nervous as hell.
He guided my hand. "You're doing fine."
Then it was this groaning and a collapse of bodies in the hard dirt. I pulled my pants off and he pushed himself inside. He was athletic and felt so divine against my body, all muscles and hairless skin. He wasn't romantic. He was needy.
He fucked me good. I stared at the stars, then closed my eyes and tried to memorize the way he felt inside. His dick was wonderful and nudged into depths I wasn't used to having stirred. Again. I thought "hmmm." That time it was followed by an "I'd like a chance to get used to this..."
And he was young, and it was over, and when I got up to walk the rest of the way home, the glob of his cum leaked back out and totally stained my panties. I got home, still feeling the "hmmm" of it all. I rinsed off, and crawled into bed, my pussy still soaked with anticipation and giggles.
My husband rolled over and "You made it. Good day at work?"
Hmmmm. "Yes, it was a great night. I had a great shift."
And there wasn't much more I allowed myself to think about. I was too young to be so married and that was the night I first knew it.


text:
Kerry Chauvin, retired CEO of Gulf Island Fabrication Inc., is seen as an icon by many.
Kerry Chauvin, retired CEO of Gulf Island Fabrication Inc., is seen as an icon by many.
His "do-good" attitude and influence in the oil industry has led him to be highly respected, and most of all, remembered in Terrebonne Parish, said the people who have known him.
The 65-year-old, who worked as the company's CEO and board chairman for nearly three decades, officially retired from Gulf Island, 567 Thompson Road, Houma, on Jan. 1 because of health reasons, appointing Kirk J. Meche to take over the company.
"He is my mentor, and I hope that I learned everything he tried to teach me. It's been a pleasure working with him, and it's been an honor working alongside him. I look forward to moving this company forward. I am truly grateful for the opportunity he provided me," Meche said.
John P. "Jack" Laborde, a member of the company's board of directors since 1997, will assume the role of chairman of the board.
Chauvin has been dealing with low-risk multiple myeloma, or cancer of the bone marrow, for three years, he said.
"It was dormant for a long time, and it became active again. I have been cancer-free since June, but I am keeping up with treatments and am going to make sure it doesn't come back," he said. "I couldn't give 100 percent to the company, and it was unfair to many people. It's time to turn the reigns over to the younger people."
As Chauvin leaves his legacy behind, he said he has no regrets. He said he is proud of his accomplishments and is thankful for the opportunity he was given at a time when the oil industry hit rock-bottom in the '80s.
"Delta Fabrication was bought out in the early '70s. The people that bought Delta paid a high price for it and couldn't pay their debt. The company flopped in the mid '80s. We couldn't pay our employees. Many people were out of a job, including me," Chauvin said.
Chauvin entered into the oil industry in 1973 after finishing his two-year stint in the U.S. Air Force.
"I really wanted to be a banker. When I looked at the salary for bankers during that time, I said I could make more going in to the oil industry, so I went into the shipyard," he said.
He joined the Delta Shipyard as the project manager and eventually made the switch to chief manager for Delta Fabrication.
After Delta went bankrupt in 1984, Chauvin received many calls to restart the fabrication business but declined, hesitant to go into a business with debt.
"In 1985, Ron Sanders approached me just as I was looking into starting my own small fabrication yard where I could work four days and fish three days out of the week," he said. "He put an investor group together with six individuals, including Alden "Doc" Laborde and Huey Wilson. Doc and Huey put together 20 percent of the share and when the others had to get out of the company for their own reasons, Doc and Huey took 100 percent control."
Gulf Island came about when the parish needed it most. Hundreds lost their jobs because of Delta's closure.
"Employment was at 26 percent in 1985," Chauvin said. "Doc and Huey really were trying to put the people back to work, and I think we served our purpose of creating jobs."
In an effort to help grow the company, Chauvin said it went public in April 1997.
"If we would have stayed private, we would have been limited in what we could do," Chauvin said.
Before the company went public, it bought Dolphin Services LLC in Houma. In 2006, it bought Gulf Marine Fabricators LP in Texas. And as a way to diversify in 2008, it developed Gulf Island Marine Fabricators LLC, a shipping yard along the Houma Navigation Canal.
Gulf Island started with about 20 employees. Today, Meche said the company employs about 2,500 workers between its Louisiana and Texas locations with more than 1,200 of those workers employed in Houma. There are four locations in Houma — Gulf Island LLC, 583 Thompson Road, Dolphin Services LLC, 400 Thompson Road, Dolphin Steel Sales LLC, 567 Thompson Road, and Gulf Island Marine Fabricators LLC, 567 Thompson Road. The company's Gulf Marine Fabricators is in Aransas Pass, Texas.
Parish President Michel Claudet, who knows Chauvin from serving on the Synergy Bank Board in Houma, said Gulf Island still has a huge impact on the parish today.
"They have made some extremely good moves. One of our things that we always try to do is make certain that the electricity is hooked up to their yard after bad storms because they put so many people to work. We make certain that they are running and keeping our people working," Claudet said.
Economist Loren Scott, a retired LSU professor who taught Chauvin, said he always knew Chauvin would be successful in whatever career he chose.
"I always said Kerry was one of those students that always made the grades. I can't over emphasize how he managed a company like he did and still did it well. In that type of environment, team managerial skills are dependent. He did it, and he pulled it off. He was smart," Scott said.
Even one of his competitors, Donald "Boysie" Bollinger, CEO of Bollinger Shipyards Inc. in Lockport, said he admired Chauvin's drive.
"Kerry was an extremely successful CEO. He had a tremendous mentor with Doc Laborde. He had a wonderful career and grew the business successfully in some very difficult times. We began competing just recently. We did compete for people, but most of his career we were friendly."
Even though Chauvin said he misses the company dearly, he is still taking part in consulting work for the company.
"I am willing to help in any way, shape or form with going forward. I will be tied in, but somewhat at a distance. I am very confident in Mr. Meche and his ability. Laborde is also an excellent chairman. He (Jack) and his father (Doc) have a tremendous role in the company. Going forward, I think the company is in great hands. If not, I can always come back," he laughed.
Staff Writer Sable LeFrere can be reached at 985-857-2204 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Tag: 2 ingredient ice cream
Summertime = 2-Ingredient NICE CREAM!!! [RECIPE]
Next time you have a hankering for ice cream (for me, that was 5 minutes ago, now, and 5 minutes from now), look no further than frozen bananas! You can make yummy raw vegan ice cream with just a few nanners – it's as simple as that! Imma...
Read more >>


text:
Leroy map of Algeria, Tunisia and Constantine / Libya. Original factory outlining and coloring.
From Atlas Universel Et Classique de Geographie: Ancienne, Romaine, du Moyen Age Moderne et Contemporaine. Updated with new findings MM Drioux et Ch. Leroy. Librarie Classique Eugene Belin, PAris France. Published 1896. This Leroy edition is notable both for an early French factory pressing as well as the extended attention to global physical landmass characteristics that became extremely popular in the decades succeeding it.
Map size 45 cm x 30 cm.
Condition good. Slight toning, otherwise strong paper. Center fold as issued.
note: the corresponding low-quality image is for informational purpose/identification. We are happy to email a detailed, high resolution image of this item upon request. Bowing and map color shifts are from the photo. Map itself is straight, flat and uniform unless otherwise noted.
We offer all items at the lowest prices in the world, guaranteed, along with a 100% money back guarantee on authenticity and quality for every item we sell.


text:
William and Mary Matelassé Bed Skirt, 15 in. Drop
$89.00 - $149.00
Overview & Details
- Matelassé cotton bedding.
- 100% cotton
- Woven with matelassé techniques for wonderful texture.
- Machine wash.
- Imported.
Classic designs have the ability to transcend time. That's why this collection of matelassé bedding, inspired by an antique coverlet in the Colonial Williamsburg textile collection, maintains its beauty even today. The mythical flora and fauna motifs are characteristic of English decorative arts from the late Baroque period, woven with time-honored matelassé techniques for enhanced texture and softness – from the bedspread to bed skirt and everywhere in between.


text:
Quickly deploy remote monitoring to improve productivity, compliance, and quality control.
Providing operations management and food safety compliance tools to support your team in delivering safe, quality food.
Simplify HACCP compliance with documented proof of product temperature throughout the flow of food.
Leverage remote monitoring and advanced analytics to improve operational efficiency, ensure regulatory compliance, and manage product quality risk.
Comply with FSMA requirements for perishables in transit with automated monitoring and reports, from pre-cool to proof of delivery.
Protect walk-in freezers, display racks, reach-in coolers and made-to-order operations, around the clock.
Speak to an expert on our team, get a quote, or demo the product.
This website uses cookies that are essential to the operation of this site, to personalize content and allow us to analyze site performance. If you continue to use our website, you consent to the use of our cookies. Click OK to indicate your acceptance of our cookie policy, including advertising cookies, analytics cookies, and sharing of information with social media, advertising and analytics partners.


text:
The Cross Stitch Patterns Directory contains information on patterns from
thousands of cross-stitch magazines, leaflets, kits, and books. You can
search by title, publication year, designer, and publisher. The information
is a combination from Cyberstitchers, the Cross Stitch Magazine Database
donated by Taneya Koonce, and publications entered by Adriana Sorenson and
Teresa Buck.


text:
The IRONMAN Executive Challenge, also referred to as XC, offers business leaders with exclusive privileges to the world's most challenging endurance event, the IRONMAN Triathlon. The turn-key program simplifies the race planning process, allowing you time to enjoy the IRONMAN journey and focus on other priorities such as work, family and training. Participation within IRONMAN XC provides a one-of a kind, unique race weekend experience for both athlete and family.Back to top
Top-level executives are eligible to apply to IRONMAN XC. IRONMAN exercises sole and absolute discretion in determining which applicants are chosen to participate within the program.Back to top
Athletes can apply by completing the application. Once submitted, your information will then be reviewed and evaluated.Back to top
The individual event programs will close approximately 30 days prior to race day. However, we do expect the program to sell out quickly.Back to top
Depending on the event in which you will compete, the cost for individual packages will range from $4,900 USD to approximately $13,000 USD.Back to top
Upon being accepted into the XC program, you will be charged a $2,500 advance deposit. The remainder of the package balance owed will be charged 45 days prior to the event date. Registration is processed through Active.com. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted.Back to top
The number of XC athletes at each event will vary, but you can expect approximately 10-25 participants. Space is limited so we recommend submitting your application early.Back to top
Participants and age groupings will be announced after XC registration for a particular event has closed. Announcements typically occur 30 days prior to the event date.Back to top
We will confirm your race entry and reduce the program cost to encompass your original age group registration fee.Back to top
Yes, most XC athletes will bring family members. Accommodations have been chosen based on the services they offer for athletes and their families. Additionally, the IRONMAN XC team will assist your family members leading into and on race day, providing them with VIP access. This will ensure they are able to get around with ease, are located in optimal viewing areas and can be there to award you with a finisher medal once you have crossed the finish line.Back to top
Yes. A certain number of slots have been reserved for events in the IRONMAN XC series.Back to top
For full-distance IRONMAN events, plan on arriving on Thursday (mid-day) for Sunday races and Wednesday (mid-day) for Saturday races. For IRONMAN 70.3 events, plan on arriving on two days before the race (Thursday arrival for Saturday races and Friday arrival for Sunday races). For most full-distance and 70.3 events, plan on your departure day being the day after the race.Back to top
The IRONMAN Executive Challenge benefits The IRONMAN Foundation a U.S. registered 501 (c) 3 nonprofit. Each year, IRONMAN reaches out to a variety of worldwide charitable organizations with efforts from The IRONMAN Foundation. Since inception, The IRONMAN Foundation has provide more than $32 million dollars in charitable giveback through the various programs of the foundation. The main program of The IRONMAN Foundation is "The IRONMAN Foundation Community Grant Program". Through this program, the foundation partners with community leaders within IRONMAN communities to identify critical needs and then provides grant funds to support the needs of the community. Over the last several years, The IRONMAN Foundation has given more than $15,000,000 in grants and donations through The IRONMAN Foundation Community Fund to many deserving national and local groups including Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, The Ronald McDonald House, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Club and The United Way. For more information, please visit The IRONMAN FoundationBack to top
IRONMAN XC packages are booked well in advance and are difficult to cancel due to pre-payment of various items (such as accommodations, slots to events, and processing fees). Therefore, the $2,500 advance deposit is non-transferable and cannot be deferred to another IRONMAN XC Series event. If a withdrawal request is received 60 days or more prior to the event date, you will receive a partial refund of $500. All other withdrawal requests will result in a forfeit of the entire $2,500 deposit. All withdrawal requests must be sent to .
In the unlikely event that an IRONMAN XC athlete needs to cancel after making the final payment, the final payment amount (i.e., excluding the $2,500 deposit) can be refunded or may be deferred and applied to another IRONMAN XC Series package for a qualifying event within the same calendar year (subject to availability). World Championship slots cannot be deferred.Back to top
Yes. Beginning with the 2011 season and beyond, each XC athlete may win a PR Challenge slot only once (Please note: because we've started everyone with a clean slate beginning with the 2011 season, any PR Challenge slot won in 2009 or 2010 doesn't disqualify you from winning a PR Challenge slot in 2011 or later.)Back to top
Beginning with the 2011 season, all PR times will be calculated on a percentile basis.Back to top
At IRONMAN (140.6) events - XC athletes must have completed at least two (2) official IRONMAN (140.6) events (prior to the XC event you are competing in). Your PR will be used from an event within the five (5) years prior to the upcoming IRONMAN XC event date.
At IRONMAN 70.3 events - XC athletes must have completed at least three (3) IRONMAN 70.3 events (prior to the XC event you are competing in). Your PR will be used from an event within the five (5) years prior to the upcoming IRONMAN 70.3 XC event date.
Back to top
At IRONMAN (140.6) events - Since all 140.6 courses differ in degree of difficulty, we have time-adjusted calibrations for all race venues to allow for a fair comparison of each athlete's PR.
At IRONMAN 70.3 events - 70.3 course will not be handicapped for IRONMAN 70.3 PR Challenge purposes.Back to top
Athletes who are awarded a World Championship slot through the IRONMAN XC program are required to participate at the World Championship in the IRONMAN XC format. This includes purchasing the IRONMAN XC World Championship package and competing for title of IRONMAN Executive Challenge Athlete of the Year.Back to top
As a condition of participation in each IRONMAN® and IRONMAN® 70.3® event, all registered athletes are required to acknowledge and abide by IRONMAN's Anti-Doping Rules. In accordance with the Anti-Doping Rules, all registered athletes are subject to in and out-of-competition testing and are encouraged to learn and understand all applicable rules and obligations prior to registering for events (including, without limitation, the World Anti-Doping Agency's anti-doping rules governing Prohibited Substances and Therapeutic Use Exemptions). When in doubt, athletes are encouraged to ask questions and to seek advice from qualified medical professionals.
Please refer to IRONMAN's Competition Rules and the Anti-Doping section at IRONMAN.com for additional guidance and information.
Please direct questions to Kate Mittelstadt (Director of IRONMAN Anti-Doping Program)


text:
Historic Louisiana plantation to be auctioned
BRAITHWAITE, La. – A grand white-pillared plantation house built on historic River Road near the Mississippi nearly 200 years ago will be sold in a March 10 auction that could provide a new twist in its colorful history.
Over the centuries, the yellow home with its green shutters overlooking exotic gardens survived a British invasion, the Civil War and the ravages of hurricanes Betsy, Camille and Katrina.
The home offers a glimpse into Louisiana's past, with original horse hair plaster walls, red brick floors and upstairs French doors that open to a wraparound gallery ushering in breezes.
Auctioneers are hopeful the romanticism of River Road and the beauty of the relic-filled home will fetch a hefty price for the property, called Mary Plantation. The plantation had been listed for traditional real estate sale by its owners, historic preservationist and noted antiquarian Blaine Murrell McBurney and his wife, Stephanie, since 2010 with listing prices in the $1 million range, albeit in a slumped real estate market.
Neal Alford, president of Neal Auction Co., said the plantation will be offered at absolute auction, which means there is no minimum or reserve price and the property will go to the highest bidder.
"It's a compelling, rare opportunity, to acquire a historic property at a potential bargain," said Alford, whose company specializes in antiques and exotic properties. "The property will sell regardless of price."
Neal has sold some of Louisiana's grandest old homes at absolute auction, including Bocage Plantation in Darrow, La., and the Spanish Custom House in New Orleans. Both of those homes sold for more than $1 million, but Mary Plantation's more isolated location miles from the heavily-traveled stretch of River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge may make it harder to land that high a bid.
Bocage Plantation is among the dozens of historic homes that are now tourist attractions. It offers tours daily and serves as a bed and breakfast. Other historic River Road homes open for public tours include Houmas House, also in Darrow, Oak Alley and Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Destrehan Plantation in Destrehan and Nottoway Plantation in White Castle
So tourism might be the next stage in the life of Mary Plantation, where fields of indigo, rice and citrus once flourished at the hands of slaves forced into labor before the Civil War. Over the years much of the original site was sold and the property now has 7 acres.
Few early land records exist, but Mary Plantation was built by slaves on land owned by French planter Francois Delery in the late 1700s and expanded to its current state on tall white pillars with a raised red brick foundation around 1827. The plantation was presumably named for Delery's wife, Marie Marthe Victoire Bienvenu.
Tour companies don't regularly pass through Braithwaite, but the potential is there, Alford said. The drive from New Orleans to Brathwaite passes through the city's Lower 9th Ward, the area where actor Brad Pitt's Make It Right rebuilding effort is taking place, and the battlefield where Andrew Jackson defeated an invading British army in 1815.
River Road is dotted with citrus orchards and oak trees, and other historic buildings are to the south along the Mississippi.
"People who are looking for historic properties are interested in that romanticism that comes with owning an old home and sharing it with others," Alford said. "Certainly, the possibility for a crossover into tourism is there."
Foster Creppel, owner of Woodland Plantation in West Pointe a la Hache, said most of his business comes from tours and fishing charter services needing accommodations. He thinks Mary Plantation has potential.
"It could be a very nice business," Creppel said. "It just may take some time."
Creppel said it has taken years to build his business, which includes the 1834 Woodland Plantation home on roughly 50 acres, an old church he uses for special events and a restaurant that serves Louisiana cuisine.
Susanne Romig, marketing director for Nottoway Plantation, said a big obstacle to the plantation tour business has been Mother Nature. But high gas prices and the bad economy have hurt, too, she said.
Hurricane Gustav in 2008 ripped off a section of Nottoway's roof and collapsed several chimneys. While closed for repairs, the owners expanded the property by adding a carriage house, ballroom and nine Acadian-style cottages modeled after the property's original slave quarters.
"Hospitality anywhere in the world is tough, but here in Louisiana there are so many factors," Romig said. "Weather is one of the biggest things that can affect business."
For months after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, local tourism was all but dead.
Norman Marmillion, owner of Laura Plantation, which offers tours in French and English, said 95 percent of his business comes from New Orleans. After Katrina — with New Orleans abandoned for a time — he had no business and was forced to let most employees go.
Marmillion said business is back to about 85 percent of pre-Katrina levels. He's looking forward to the return of steamboat cruises along the Mississippi River in April after a four-year hiatus. "That's been the missing link in our business," Marmillion said. Two riverboats are expected to resume service in April, and two more in 2013, Marmillion said.
Mary Plantation may lend itself nicely to tours, Creppel said. The home, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, is one of the oldest surviving structures in Plaquemines Parish. It has a formal dining room and bath downstairs and three bedrooms with two bathrooms upstairs. Some of its hardware dates from the 18th century.
A stable has been converted into an air-conditioned guest house and captures the character of the main house with red brick floors, cypress wall paneling and a fan-shaped stained glass window above French doors.
Behind the house is a building likely used as a dairy and livestock shed. It resembles a raised log cabin and reflects early Louisiana construction methods.
The plantation's contents, including some of the earliest-known fine Louisiana furnishings, will be sold immediately after the March 10 property auction. Included is furniture from the collection of McBurney, who purchased the home in 2003. The McBurneys have holdings across the nation and are selling Mary Plantation to devote more attention to interests in Europe, Alford said.
The original home was expanded in 1827. But it fell into neglect over the years until the 1940s when biologist Elmer "Eric" Knobloch and his wife, Marguerite, bought it and added modern amenities and rare tropical greenery to the gardens.
For decades, the Knoblochs hosted tours, picnics and parties at Mary, and it became a magnet for preservationists and naturalists. The house suffered only minor damage during Katrina in 2005 and was quickly repaired.
Alford thinks the plantation's charm will draw interest, whether as a primary residence or tourism venue.
"An auction is the way to go with a property like this," Alford said. "It's unique. It's one moment, and you have to act in that moment or you lose it."
Neal Auction: http://www.nealauction.com/indexnet.html


text:
Al Qaeda runs photo of SFO tram: 'Assemble your bomb'
(04-10) 08:41 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- An al Qaeda magazine containing a photo of a people-mover train at San Francisco International Airport - along with a caption urging readers to "assemble your bomb" - has set off alarms on Capitol Hill as the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings approaches.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, told a homeland security hearing Wednesday that he was "disturbed" by the English-language spring edition of the al Qaeda publication Inspire, which features a darkened photo of a lone young man aboard what the congressman said had been identified as "a tram in San Francisco's international airport."
Printed with the photo, Swalwell noted, was a caption reading, "For how long will you live in tension? Instead of just sitting, having no solution, simply stand up. Pack your tools of destruction. Assemble your bomb, ready for detonation."
Swalwell, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said he was especially concerned because "this is one of the largest international airports in the world, certainly one of the largest on the West Coast, and thousands of passengers a day use the tram to connect from BART to the airport."
'It does bring concern'
In a hearing marking the upcoming April 15 anniversary of the marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured 264, Swalwell asked former Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis whether the photo should concern Bay Area residents and law enforcement.
"It does bring concern to me," said Davis, now a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
He said Inspire, published by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, targets an audience of young Muslim extremists worldwide.
"This kind of extremist propaganda on the Internet, if it's not countered with something, does tend to create problems for us," Davis said. "When you see that type of picture in there, when you read about the attacks on the infrastructure around the transformers in California that were sniped at ... it's hard to figure what is real and what isn't real."
San Jose attack
Davis referred to an April 16 attack on a PG&E substation in south San Jose, in which unknown shooters firing for nearly 20 minutes damaged more than a dozen transformers. The head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time, Jon Wellinghoff, called it "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in the country, although the FBI has said it does not believe the incident was the work of terrorists.
"We need to be vigilant," Davis told Swalwell with regard to the SFO photo. "It's clear there is a threat, and we need to really be aware of it, and do everything we can as a nation to respond."
An official with the Transportation Security Administration, who asked not to be named, said Wednesday that the agency was aware of the photo but viewed it mostly as a "propaganda" piece rather than evidence of specific planning.
The official noted that the magazine did not refer specifically to SFO's AirTrain people mover and said the picture was believed to be a "stock photo."
"We're not aware of any specific threats to the San Francisco area," the official said.
Magazine's message
Brian Michael Jenkins of the Mineta Transportation Institute in San Jose said authorities closely monitor Inspire, which "embraces a strategy of do-it-yourself terrorism ... to inspire local jihadists to carry out actions - whatever they can do, wherever they are."
Jenkins, director of the institute's National Transportation Security Center and a counterterrorism expert at RAND Corp., said terrorists have targeted public-transportation systems in London, Madrid and elsewhere because they are generally "not looking to take on defended targets. They're looking for easy targets with a high body count ... to create a major disruptive publicity event."
He said of the photo in Inspire, "It is not so much that al Qaeda is making a strategic decision about where to open the next front."
More likely, "it is simply underscoring kinds of targets ... and attempting to get the brothers to push back from the monitor and actually do something."
Swalwell, in an interview, said, "I don't believe that people should change their travel and commute patterns."
But he added, "Be alert, note your surroundings, and appreciate that there are still people out there who wish to do us harm."
Carla Marinucci is senior political writer at The San Francisco Chronicle. E-mail: email@example.com Twitter @cmarinucci


text:
Yarde Metals Expanding Connecticut Home Base
There are 0 comments | Post a comment
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A 150,000-sq.-ft. expansion is under construction at the corporate headquarters of metals service center Yarde Metals, Inc., in Southington, CT. The addition, slated for completion this spring, will house a Herr-Voss cut-to-length line rated for coils to 50,000 lb., of stock to ¼ in. thick by 72 in. wide, and equipped with PVC and paper interleaving equipment. Sharing the addition will be three shears and a 4-million-lb.-capacity sheet-racking system.
See also: Yarde Metals Inc.
Related Enterprise Zones: Materials/Coatings
Reader Comments
There are no comments posted at this time.


text:
The Native Fish Society has an important mission that others believe in and support. We are making progress. I have worked in native fish conservation for more than 40 years and have spent time with legislators in my constant effort to strengthen and fund conservation. Senator Jan Wyers responded in the 1980s by funding five native fish conservation positions at ODFW. It was though that program that key people were hired and important work for
's wild salmonids was accomplished. In 2012 the legislature is again concerned about the future of wild salmonids as more and more populations are protected under the ESA and others are lost forever. The NFS Hatchery Accountability Project clearly states that there needs to be better accountability for biological and cost impacts of hatchery programs. There have been two hearings this session and in the next session our goal is to hold the agency accountable. Oregon
At one time it was possible to expect administrative solutions to problems affecting native fish management by government agencies, but that has changed, so legal action is necessary to force the government to follow its own rules and comply with state and federal law. This is why we have put ODFW on notice to clean-up its Sandy Hatchery program so that wild winter steelhead, coho, fall chinook and spring chinook are protected and a path is opened up for their recovery under the ESA. A 76% stray rate of hatchery spring chinook into the wild chinook spawning grounds is not acceptable under state or federal rules and it needs to be corrected.
We are in Stevenson
Washington tonight defending the management program for recovery of wild summer steelhead in Wind River. This run has been protected as a wild steelhead management river since 1982, but there is local pressure for a stock and kill fishery. We are involved in these public meetings to make sure that the Wind River wild summer steelhead continue to rebuild and eventually recover.
The NFS is working for wild salmon, steelhead and trout throughout the Northwest through direct action and by supporting the good work of other groups. Our volunteer river stewards are working in their communities for healthy watersheds and native fish. It is a big job and for a small organization and it can seem wild and wooly, but we are undaunted in our efforts and we have a record of success when we take time to look in the rear-view mirror.
I am committed to the future of the Native Fish Society because it is an effective advocate for native wild fish in the Northwest. We base our advocacy on the best available science and there is a lot of it being published that has direct bearing on our conservation work. We have a history of success but we could do better with more funding and more folks to push our advocacy program forward. The point is that as we grow our funding base we do so without sacrificing our mission for native wild fish. The organization and its leadership have made that commitment and with the support of our members and friends we can be successful in solving complex and difficult problems for wild native fish in the region.


text:
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Friday Night Sew-In
So here are all the blocks made for this chaotic Christmas quilt I've been working on--I DID get that part done tonight:
Thank you all for your comments yesterday in answer to my query about white sashing or red sashing. I think it was fairly well divided although the white might have been slightly ahead. A few of you wanted to see what the blocks would look like with each. I realize this doesn't give you a very good overall view, but maybe it will help a little: Here's the white:
Here's the red (actually I have a different red and white polka dot I'd use because I don't have quite enough of this one, but the other one is pretty similar):
And here's Stitch, sitting on both backgrounds.
So, what do you think? I like the pop of the red, but I also think the eye needs a resting place, and the white provides that--although the colored dots keep it from being boring. If I go with the white, I could always add a small outer border of a red (although probably not more polka dots!) before the final border, which is a blue background with red poinsettias (that print isn't in these close up blocks with the sashing but it IS in the first photo on the right side of the quilt, about a third of the way down from the top).
Stitch says it's time to go to bed, so I will--I have lots of sewing and decorating ahead of me this weekend so I should get some rest. If you have an opinion about the sashing, please leave me a comment. Thanks for your help!
9 comments:
- Vicky said...
I like the white sashing best. It really calms down the wonderful chaos! Stitch is so cute!
- November 17, 2012 at 6:55 AM
- Diane said...
I like the red sashing and you could add some little blue cornerstones. I love your border ideas. Can't wait to see it finished, it will be great whatever you choose!
- November 17, 2012 at 7:46 AM
- Penny said...
Kim ~ Good to see examples! I'm w/ Stitch and do like the red w/ white dots. The blocks are truly wonderful so I'm eager to see completed quilt & your Christmas decorating!
Penny in So CA!
- November 17, 2012 at 8:28 AM
- Carol said...
Red is without a doubt my choice. The white washes out. The red is happy! Wonderful quick top for the holidays.
- November 17, 2012 at 9:26 AM
- Jenny said...
I like the white sashing a lot better than the red. The white really lets the blocks stand out and be the star of the show. And the cat definitely looks better on the red fabric!
- November 17, 2012 at 12:42 PM
- Janet said...
I'm all over the red, but would still like to see that bright green!
- November 17, 2012 at 6:04 PM
- Alice said...
Red. It's warmer.
- November 17, 2012 at 6:32 PM
I like the red the best. What a fun quilt! Helen
- November 18, 2012 at 4:52 AM
- Josie McRazie said...
I say white with the red for binding
- November 18, 2012 at 9:54 AM


text:
Latest News
Despite EU terror designation, Hezbollah will be in Lebanon's next government, Nasrallah says
In what was essentially a dare to the European Union to sanction the government of Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday that the militant Shiite Muslim organization would demand to be included in any new Lebanese government, despite the EU's designation earlier this week of Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization.
In a televised speech, Nasrallah also mocked the EU's careful distinction between Hezbollah's military and political wings, a distinction that Hezbollah itself doesn't make. Nasrallah leads both components.
"A government without Hezbollah will never be formed," Nasrallah said. "Just as a joke I propose that our ministers in the next government be from the military wing of Hezbollah."
But in keeping with his reputation as Lebanon's most skilled, and often wry, orator, Nasrallah's joke was received by many as doubly amusing – or ominous – because the group already considers its members of Parliament and ministers to be the political representatives of a military organization.
Lebanon currently has a caretaker government after the resignation earlier this year of Prime Minister Niqab Miqati. Another Lebanese politician, Tamam Salam, has been designated prime minister and is trying to form a new Cabinet.
The EU's designation of Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization was widely hailed by the United States and Israel as a step toward isolating the organization, Lebanon's most powerful political group. Under the European action Monday, EU diplomats are prohibited from talking to officials from Hezbollah's military wing, and the group is prohibited from maintaining offices and raising money in Europe.
But by drawing a distinction about the group's activities that Hezbollah itself rejects, the EU has put itself in the awkward position of having to ignore dozens of statements from the group since it first ran candidates for Parliament in the early 1990s. With several EU members already having troops in southern Lebanon as part of a U.N. peacekeeping force, no EU member appears willing to cut off communication with the group completely, let alone cutting ties to the fragile Lebanese government, which also includes Hezbollah's bitter political opponents.
Still, Lebanese officials are concerned that the EU move could hurt their country's relationship with Europe.
"This will have a negative impact on visas and the transport of people and financial transactions," caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour was quoted Wednesday as telling Beirut's Safir newspaper.
Highlighting the obtuse nature of the decision, Belgian officials already have told Hezbollah officials that they will not end contact with the group.
Ammar Mousawi, a member of Hezbollah's international relations office, met on Wednesday with the Belgian ambassador to Lebanon to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria – where Hezbollah fighters are openly fighting on behalf of President Bashar Assad.
The decision by the EU came after heavy pressure from the United States and Israel in the wake of last year's bombing of an Israeli tour group in Bulgaria that both Israeli and Bulgarian authorities have blamed on Hezbollah. A slew of similar plots in Cyprus, Thailand, Georgia, India and other nations have been broken up or had limited success over the past few years and are widely regarded as Hezbollah and its patron Iran's response to an assassination campaign against Iranian scientists.


text:
Hacking is on the rise! It seems like there are a lot of newly hacked pages unintentionally cloaking. These pages contain keyword rich links and redirect users to other websites. The sites being impacted aren't the typical mom and pop sites either. This week I've personally reached out to one major university, an international religious organization and an NFL franchise, to let them know their site was hacked, cloaking links and redirecting users. First though, I reported the site behaving badly via Google's new spam report tool.
Google does a great job of trying to notify webmasters when they think a site is compromised but, documentation about cloaking is sparse. Sure I get it, Google doesn't want to give bad guys detailed instructions for doing bad things. I've intentionally left some facets out of this post for exactly that reason. My point however is, better information could help empower good guys who are unknowingly the victims of evil. Some of the webmasters I talk with can't identify the issue even after it is laid out in front of them. (For those who aren't aware cloaking is against Google's webmaster guidelines and can cause your site to be banned. "So, please don't try this at home!")
According to Google, cloaking is "presenting different content or URLs to users and search engines." "Presenting" different content itself, isn't the key take away though, when it comes to cloaking. For example, it is not considered cloaking if you "present" an image containing human-readable text (jpg, gif, png) that differs from it's ALT attribute. Flash on the other hand is different because "alternative content" is in most cases served up from the server. Cloaking is specifically when a site returns different content from the server.
Cloaking comes in several different flavors but, in order to identify any of them you'll need to understand each type as well as how they all work together. You won't find identifiable traces of cloaking via the free version of Google analytics or other paid programs. Google's documentation talks about "Serving up different results based on user agent." They don't really go into detail about the other types of cloaking which are by referrer and by IP. Believe it or not, it's actually possible to cloak by user-agent, referrer, IP and/or any combination of the three.
Here are a few simple easy ways to determine whether or not a site is cloaking:
Fetch as Googlebot - If you think your site may be hacked and is currently cloaking, test it with "Fetch as Googlebot" in Google's webmaster tools. Fetch as Googlebot uses user-agent Googlebot and comes from Google's IP range. The information Fetch as Googlebot provides is as close as you'll get to what Google actually "sees". Compare the page source code from "Fetch as Googlebot" with the page source code from your page and be sure they match.
Google's snippet - If you think a page is cloaking and don't have access to Fetch as Googlebot in Google's webmaster tools, go to Google's preferences, turn off Google Instant search results and increase your number of results to 100. Then perform an advanced operator query for the site. Browse through several search result pages looking for anything odd, especially in Google's snippet of the page TITLE element. If you don't see anything odd in search results, click on a few links in the search results to be sure you end up on the correct page.
Google's cache and cached text versions - After checking out Google's snippets for anything out of the ordinary and clicking links to be sure the destination URL is correct, check out Google's cached copy and cached text versions of your pages. You want to look for links, Javascript, rel=canonical attributes or anything else that doesn't belong, especially near the bottom of the page in the cached text version. Also, be sure Google has cached the correct URL in their cached page.
User-Agent Switcher - This Firefox add-on will allow you to change your user-agent to Googlebot. While using user-agent Googlebot as your browser's user-agent, compare the source code of your pages to it for any differences. Important note, User-Agent Switcher allows you to change your own user agent but, doesn't allow access via a Google IP like Fetch as Googlebot mentioned above. If a site is cloaking by user-agent and IP you may not be able to see it using this add-on.


text:
Life Science: Session 4
Alternation of Generations
How do plant life cycles compare to animal life cycles?
At first glance, a comparison of plants and animals suggests that members of these groups have very little in common. A closer look at their life cycles, however, reveals similarities that often surprise people. Just like animals, plants are characterized by sexual reproduction, with new individuals being formed by the union of sex cells. While plants cannot be said to have separate sexes in the same way that animals do, they form sperm and eggs in male and female structures, just like animals. And, just like the sex cells of animals, the sperm and eggs of plants carry half of the hereditary material in the parent's genome. Beyond this, however, plant life cycles are unique in that they exhibit a process found in no other group of organisms — alternation of generations.
Alternation of generations in a flowering plant
What is alternation of generations?
In an animal life cycle, male and female parents each create sex cells (sperm and eggs) that unite to form a fertilized egg and develop into an offspring organism. Plants, likewise, have sperm and eggs in their life cycles, but these are produced by an intermediate stage between the adult and the offspring.
These stages, which were explained by Dr. Judith Sumner in the video, can be thought of as different "generations" within the same life cycle. The adult generation produces spores, while the spore generation produces sex cells. The scientific terms for these generations are sporophyte (sporo = spore; phyte = plant; therefore, spore-producing plant) and gametophyte (gameto = sex cell; phyte = plant; therefore, sex-cell-producing plant).
To understand the differences between these two generations, it may help to revisit ideas explored in Session 3: Animal Life Cycles. In the body cells of animals, chromosomes exist in pairs — a condition we'll call doubles. Animal sex cells have half as many chromosomes as their body cells — a condition we'll call singles. In an animal life cycle, the sex cells are the only cells where chromosomes exist as singles. The rest of the life cycle involves body cells that carry chromosome doubles. This is where plants differ. In plants, one entire generation carries its chromosomes as singles, while the other carries its chromosomes as doubles. Let's take a closer look.
When we look at a plant, we're almost certain to be looking at the sporophyte generation. The sporophyte generation carries its chromosomes as doubles. In this sense, it is analogous to the adult animal, which also carries its chromosomes as doubles. The sporophyte generation, as its name indicates, produces spores. Spores carry chromosomes as singles. The spores then develop into the gametophyte generation.
In most plants, the gametophyte is tiny compared to the sporophyte. As its name implies, the gametophyte generation produces sex cells — sperm and eggs. Like the gametophyte itself — and like the sex cells of animals — the sex cells carry chromosomes as singles. Fertilization brings chromosome doubles back together in the fertilized egg. The life cycle is completed with the development of the sporophyte, which carries chromosomes as doubles.
What is the significance of this?
Life scientists have developed several theories to account for the evolution of alternation of generations in plants. One theory has to do with having the "best of both worlds" in terms of variation in a population (a topic explored in Session 5: Variation, Adaptation, and Natural Selection). In the formation of spores, only one parent contributes the hereditary material. This could be beneficial if that parent exists in a stable environment — it creates offspring with the same characteristics that allowed it to survive and reproduce. With sex cells, two parents are involved, and a mixing of hereditary material occurs. This results in offspring that vary from both parents and from one another. This could be beneficial in a changing environment where some variants are likely to be suited to that environment while others may not be.
How can alternation of generations be observed in the plant kingdom?
It's actually easiest to observe alternation of generations in the most primitive group of plants: the mosses. If you've ever looked closely at a moss, you may have noticed a tiny leafy green mat from which a stalk protrudes at certain times of the year. The stalk is the sporophyte. From its cap, spores are cast that land on the ground and develop into the gametophyte—the leafy green mat. Special structures within the mat produce sperm and egg. The sperm swim to the eggs and fertilize them. A stalk, which remains attached to the mat, results from each fertilized egg. The moss life cycle thus requires ground water in order to be completed—this is why mosses are always found in moist environments.
Another major plant group includes the ferns. In ferns, the different generations exist as distinct individuals. The graceful fronds, or leaves, that we see adorn the sporophytes. If you look under the fronds of a mature plant, you'll see structures where the spores are produced. The spores are cast from these structures onto the ground, where they develop into gametophytes. The gametophytes are tiny heart-shaped structures that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. They require a moist environment to develop and, once mature, produce sperm and egg. Like the mosses, the sperm require water to swim to the eggs, with each fertilized egg developing into the familiar, frond-bearing sporophyte.
Ferns with gametophye and sporophyte sections
Christmas fern with sporangia
In the conifers, the stately needle- and cone-bearing trees are the sporophytes. Conifers actually have two different types of cones. The female cone is probably what you are familiar with, bearing hard, woody scales. In a structure on top of each scale of the female cone, female spores are produced, which develop into the microscopic female gametophyte — a plant that consists of only one cell for most of its existence. The gametophyte remains inside the structure that produced it, which itself remains attached to the scale.
The male cones are much smaller than the female cones and are the structures that produce copious amounts of yellow "dust" in the Spring. On the underside of each tiny scale are structures that produce numerous male spores, which develop into gametophytes that consist of just four cells. The gamteophyte and its covering are the pollen, which is carried by wind to the female cone. Pollination occurs when pollen lands at the sticky base of the scale and the sperm grows to and fertilizes an egg, which eventually forms a papery seed on top of the scale. Note that, unlike mosses and ferns, water is not required to bring sex cells together and that the embryo develops in a seed, where it is protected from drying-out and is supplied with food.
In the video, flowering plants were used to introduce alternation of generations.
Flowering plants
Alternation of generations in flowering plants is essentially the same as in the conifers (and just as complicated), except that flowers represent the sporophyte. Female structures, called ovaries, contain structures that produce the female spores. These develop into a seven-celled gametophyte inside the ovary — you can think of it as a tiny plant inside a plant. The male stuctures, called stamens, produce the pollen. As in the conifers, the male gametophyte develops inside the pollen grain.
Pollen from the male parts of one flower is delivered to the female parts of another flower in various ways: wind, insects, birds, bats, etc. When pollination occurs, sperm form and grow to the ovaries, where they fertilize eggs. A fertilized egg develops into a seed inside the ovary. Again, notice that this process does not require water to bring sex cells together, and that a seed protects the developing embryo. The difference between conifers and flowering plants is that the seeds develop within an ovary (the fruit) rather than on top of a cone scale.
Though teaching life cycles to a K-6 classroom doesn't require this much detail, once you are armed with this knowledge, you can look at plants and their life cycles in a much more informed way. The main message is this: plant life cycles are unique from animals because of alternation of generations. And even though there are differences between groups of plants, the pattern
is the same: spore-producing stage alternating with sex cell-producing stage.
|prev: a closer look intro
|next: transition from water to land