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The EU has launched a rescue plan for Europe's dwindling honeybee colonies: a 24-month ban on three widely-used neonicitinoid pesticides that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says pose "high acute risks" to pollinators.
"We are requesting that member states suspend for two years the use of these [neonicitonoid] pesticides on seeds, granular atom sprays and for crops that attract bees – sunflower, maize, rape and cotton," Frédéric Vincent, a spokesman for the EU health commissioner, Tonio Borg, told a press conference on Thursday (31 January).
The EU's proposals are based on an EFSA finding that the three seed-coating treatments – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – could potentially harm bees where they are attracted to crops, or exposed to pesticide dust or guttation fluid.
>> Read: Common pesticides a threat to bees, EU watchdog says
Around 16% of Europe's honeybee colonies disappeared between 1985 and 2005 – with greater losses recorded in England, the Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden – according to the EU-funded Status and Trends of European Pollinators (STEP) project.
Insects such as honey bees and wild bees help pollinate around 84% of Europe's 264 crop species and 4,000 vegetable varieties, contributing an estimated €22 billion to the EU's economy, STEP says.
Strong public feelings
Public feelings are running high on the issue, with more than two million people signing an online petition by the activist group Avaaz calling for an immediate and open-ended ban in the three days leading up to yesterday's announcement.
"These are proportionate measures, giving member states two years to see if (the two-year suspension) is working and then we'll see if we need to review the legislation," said Vincent.
A vote on the two-year ban is now planned at an EU expert committee later this month. The Commission hopes to have a proposal ready by March, which could be writ in law by 1 July 2013.
Environmentalists welcomed the news, with Friends of the Earth's Bee spokesman, Andrew Pendleton, calling it a "hugely significant first step on the road to turning around the decline of our bees."
Agricultural unions, however, said they were worried about the potential costs. "As farming communities, we know the added value of bees as pollinators – and we need these workers," said Arnaud Petit, commodities director at Copa-Cogeca, which represents European farmers and farm cooperatives.
"At the same time if we have a drastic ban from the Commission, it will be the livestock sector that pays the price and it is one that we cannot afford," he told EURACTIV.
EU member states: 'A kind of doubletalk'
Much will now depend on the attitude of EU member states to the proposed ban. Following a meeting of the bloc's agricultural ministers on 28 January, Commissioner Borg was ebullient, declaring that it was time for "swift and decisive action".
But EU officials privately complain of "a kind of doubletalk" by Spain and other countries at the Agricultural Council slowing action behind the scenes.
"Even the UK's agriculture minister said that 'it's a very interesting proposal but we have another UK study coming up and maybe we could get more data,'" one EU source told EURACTIV.
"Some member states say, 'oh we like honeybees a lot', but when it comes to doing something publicly, it's suddenly difficult," he added.
Last June, France withdrew approval for Sygenta's neonicitinoid Cruiser pesticide, which is used to treat rapeseed crops, over fears about the effects on bees. Germany, Slovenia and the Netherlands have also introduced pesticide restrictions.
Stéphane Le Foll, France's agriculture minister, issued a statement saying he "welcomed" the Commission's announcement, which was "in line" with the decision to withdraw the authorisation for Cruiser.
Precautionary principle
At the EU level, a precautionary principle in the Union's founding treaty obliges it to act where sufficient doubt about environmental or health risks is scientifically established, as the EFSA report has now done to the EU's satisfaction.
But pesticide makers and users say that the proposed ban could cost the EU economy €17 billion over a five-year period, and trigger at least 50,000 job losses.
They point to a report by the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture, funded by Bayer Crop Science and Syngenta, which found "no scientific evidence that neonicotinoid seed treatment is primarily responsible for the decline in bee populations," instead pointing to disease, viruses and a loss of habitat as the most likely causes.
EU officials dispute the accuracy of the study's findings. A 2010 report on global honeybee colony disorders by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), for example, found that the three pesticides singled out by the EU "can potentially cause toxic chronic exposure to non-target pollinators" such as honeybees.
Testing issues
Laboratory tests showed that the chemicals used could disrupt the insects sense of direction, impair memory and brain metabolism, and cause mortality, the UNEP paper said.
Petit, though, called for the Commission to review monitoring data that it had undertaken when the substances were approved for market licenses.
"We'd like to see what information they may have from the monitoring system, and see if the potential risk is a real one at the field level," he said.
At least one theoretical claim in the Bayer report, which Copa-Cogeca also supported, has been flatly queried by EU scientists.
The Bayer paper said that banning the three pesticides would outsource 3.3 million hectares of arable land needed to grow substitute crops, causing an additional 600 million tones of CO2 emissions, with a carbon market equivalent value of up to €15 billion.
But a scientist at the EU's Joint Research Centre contacted by EURACTIV sent on data showing that if the same methodology used to create this figure were applied to crop-based biofuels, ethanol would have a CO2 equivalent of 200 grams per megajoule, higher than any known biofuel or fossil fuel.
Olivier Belval, president of the National Union of French Apiculture, a beekeepers association, said: "The European Union must face the facts: it is no longer able to ensure that these products meet the conditions required for risk acceptability for their permission. It must therefore withdraw them all."
But a statement from Bayer Crop Science described the Commission's proposal as "a missed opportunity to achieve a fair and proportional solution". A statement from the company said: "Bayer CropScience shares the concerns surrounding bee health and has been investing heavily in research to minimize the impact of crop protection products on bees and in extensive stewardship measures supporting the responsible and proper use of its products. The company continues to believe in the responsible use of neonicotinoid-containing products which have been used for many years and are vital to European farmers.
"Bayer CropScience asks the member states to adhere to the principles of proportionality when addressing the Commission's proposal and refer back to solid science before taking any measures. Any disproportionate action would jeopardize the competitiveness of European agriculture und finally lead to higher costs for food, feed, fiber and renewable raw materials and have an enormous economic impact throughout the whole food chain."
Luis Morago, Campaign Director of Avaaz though disputed Bayer's argument and called on Germany and the UK to "stop blocking action" on neonicitinoid pesticides, which can still be used on cereals and crops, despite the EU's proposals. "This is the first time that the EU has recognised that the demise of bees has a perpetrator: pesticides," Morago said. "The two year suspension on pesticides could mark a tipping point in the battle to stop the chemical armageddon for bees, but it does not go far enough. Over 2.2 million people want the EC to face-down spurious German and British opposition and push for comprehensive ban of neonicotinoid pesticides to save the future of our food and farming".
"We applaud the regulatory action proposed by the European Commission's Directorate General for Health & Consumers as a first and fast response to the three reports, published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on 16th January 2013, on the toxicity risk to bees of the neonicotinoid insecticides," said the Green party MEP Bart Staes.
"EFSA's report was followed by a report on 23 January from the European Environment Agency on the precautionary principle[1], in which imidacloprid is said to "particularly fit to the precautionary principle". The report explains the failures of the European and national risk assessment and monitoring systems that have permitted neonicotinoids to harm bees for a long period.
"Europe's politicians should prioritise saving the bees rather than listening to the short-term interests of the pesticide industry. A complete ban of all neonicotinoids is the least we can do to stop the collapse of our bee colonies."
The EU-funded STEP project recommends several ways farmers can protect bee populations:
- Try to avoid those pesticides known to have negative impacts on bees;
- Reduce the use of herbicides which suppress flowering plants;
- Leave uncultivated flower rich patches in farmland where pollinators can benefit from flowers and nesting resources;
- Plant mass-flowering crops (oilseed, clover and field beans) as part of rotations to provide extra nectar and pollen for bees and other insects.
- 7 Feb. 2013: Ad hoc meeting of the Advisory group of the Food Chain (including ECPA, ESA, Copa Cogeca, PAN, and others) is to be informed of the actions proposed by the Commission. Commissioner Borg's services will then launch formal consultation on a set of draft regulations.
- 25 Feb. 2013: Vote planned in the SCoFCAH Pesticide residues
- 1 July 2013: Commission aims to have new regulation passed suspending use of the three neonicitinoid pesticides
Further Reading
European Union
- European Food Safety Authority: EFSA identifies risks to bees from neonicotinoids (16 Jan. 2013)
Business & industry
- Copa-Cogeca: Statement on EFSA report (16 Jan. 2013)
- European Seed Association: EFSA states high level of uncertainty in its evaluations of neonicotinoids and their impact on bee health (16 Jan. 2013)
Press articles
EURACTIV Serbia: EFSA: Pesticidi štetni za p?ele
EURACTIV Turkey: AB, ar?lar? kurtarmak için harekete geçti: 'Böcek ilaçlar?n? iki y?l süreyle yasaklay?n'


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064 – The 5 Best Interview Questions That Great Managers Ask
Subscribe and Listen to the Your Best Manager Podcast!
Discussed on Today's Show:
Winning, by Jack Welch
Do you want the EPIC resource that I mentioned on today's episode? It's a complete guide to hiring the right candidate the first time. Filled with additional notes, tools, and resources to help you make great decisions from planning through greeting your new employee on day 1!SEND ME THE EPIC HIRING GUIDE!
Hey hey hey! This is Jamie Newman here and you are listening to another episode of the Your Best Manager podcast, and as always, I'm thrilled you are with me again today because guess what?
It's going to be a killer show and I'm on a mission today. I'm on a mission to teach you something today that you did not know yesterday!
Today's topic is about interviewing: How to properly interview candidates.
But to be honest this stuff also applies to potential candidates, because if you are a job seeker today, well, if you understand what employers are looking for when they interview you… you have a greater opportunity to give them what they are looking for and win that interview.
And I'm feeling pretty confident on today's subject because I have interviewed thousands of people for thousands of jobs over the past 8 years, and I've interviewed for multiple industries, different markets, different job levels, you name it!
So, I hope that some of the things I've learned along the way, some of the things which I'll be sharing with you now, are going to be really valuable and helpful to you as a manager, as you build and grow your own team.
Are you ready to go?
And, of course, if you are listening today to the podcast for the first time, we are about 7 weeks into a series I've been running each Monday on the Fundamentals of Management, where I am talking through the most critical skills good managers need to develop if they want to become great leaders. One of those skills is hiring. And we've been on the topic of hiring for 4 weeks now, although I'm pretty sure this is the last week talking about hiring before we move into another core skill, next Monday… which, I'll tell you about at the end of today's show.
With that said? Let's jump in.
A Tough Lesson on Interviewing and Hiring
Let me start off by sharing one of the toughest lessons I learned about interviewing and hiring from my time in the recruiting industry. Now, I don't have an epic story of failure that taught me this lesson… in fact, I actually think that failure can make hard lessons easier to learn because the answers can often be obvious. But I learned this tough lesson through eventually experiencing success.
It's when something started to make sense, when something consistently began to work, and when the results started to become more predictable… that's when I learned this lesson.
I was in the recruiting and consulting business for probably 5 years before I really got it. Although I probably could have given it to you as the right answer long before that, which, as a side note is something I've always struggled with.
Often, I know what the right answer is… but I don't always execute on the right actions when push comes to shove… or maybe I don't always believe that the right answer is… well, right!
But this lesson. It's right.
The best hiring decisions are not made because of a great interview. They are made because of a great reference check.
Now, you may be listening and nodding your head with me, because you know this is true. But the reason I struggled with it so much is because I had some great interviews with great people, where by the end of the 30 minutes or 60 minutes, I was convinced they were the right candidate.
But the problem with this is that not every candidate who I interviewed and was subsequently hired, whether that was internally at my company or for one of my clients, was the right candidate.
Some of them were though.
And if you have interviewed many people before you can probably relate to this. Sometimes you feel great about a candidate after the interview and they turn into terrible employees, but sometimes they turn into terrific employees, and that can be a problem because you then look back at your hiring process and think everything was done right! After all, you got the result you wanted, didn't you?
That's why this lesson is so tough. Because sometimes the decisions managers make to hire someone in the interview is the right decision! So for me to challenge a manager who "knew it" right away, or who could tell from the interview, or who saw something special during that interview… for me to tell that manager that their right choice still came from an ill-timed decision?
Well, that's difficult.
Here's what I learned to be the most consistently true – An honest, detailed reference, from the right person, trumps a great interview, whether that's a glowing reference or a not-so-positive reference.
Once I learned that lesson, there were times where I turned down that superstar candidate who interviewed great, because his or her reference indicated they weren't actually the right fit. There were also times where a candidate who did okay in the interview wound up becoming a superstar because of what was conveyed through a reference check.
Do you want to make a great hiring decision? Make it after completing references. References with the right people and the right person is a supervisor from a recent and relevant role (or as close to that as possible).
If you approach your interviews with this in mind, you can actually become a better interviewer.
It's true!
I say this because it was my job to interview candidates and recommend them to my clients and despite what your feelings may be on the effectiveness of 3rd party recruiting companies, I can tell you this. Not all recruiting firms are equal, and I found success in my industry because I was better at my job than most people.
And let me tell you, one of the most important metrics that was tracked in my business was something called sub-to-hire ration. Meaning how many of the candidates I recommend, get hired?
My goal was, of course, was to always go 1-for-1, but in all honesty, I really wanted to go 1 for 2. Which meant out of every 2 candidates I recommended, one of them would be hired. Did it always work out? No, sometimes I went 1-for-1 and sometimes it took 3 or 4 recommendations. But, to be very clear, it happened a lot because the promise I made to each client was that I'd find 1 or 2 people who could do the job, that was my commitment so that they could then pick the one they liked.
But of course, I'd interview way more than just 1 or 2 candidates, so it's not like I had a magic formula for finding great people, but if I did my job right, which I've already told you I did most of the time. My client should have the same conclusion as I do after interviewing each candidate, they can do the job.
How Companies Typically Interview Candidates
Now, I've seen how companies interview candidates. They aren't all the same, but most of them are actually quite thorough, and sometimes even complicated. There are rating systems, there are, at times, tricky psychological/situational/behavioral interview questions, there are long lists of questions to address things like culture, teamwork, initiative, problem-solving, you name it, and there are quite frequently strategic interview panels put together to include various perspectives and analysis of the answers received.
Other times, interviews are a little more laid back. The resume interview… tell me about this, and this, and this, and this, unfortunately, which becomes more of a resume verification or even an interrogation, rather than a conversation.
Here's what's ironic.
It doesn't matter what interview style or format was used. If I recommended 2 candidates, almost always, one of them was hired. Meaning that the interviewers came to the same conclusion that I did – but my interviews typically only include 5-7 questions and although I like to consider myself to be a pretty smart guy, I'm not a subject matter expert within engineering, or architecture, or construction, manufacturing or finance… but I could interview candidates within those fields, ask 5-7 questions and come to the same conclusions as highly experienced hiring managers with deep expertise and knowledge of what exactly they are looking for.
So the question is… what are those 5-7 interview questions?
That's what I'm excited to share with you today!
And guess what!
This isn't a secret. In fact, this interview formula is framed together in an extremely popular leadership book, one that I highly recommend for all new managers, called Winning, by Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric. In the book, Jack talks about the 4 E's and a P that he looks for when hiring.
Let me read the explanations and then I'll break them down for you.
- Positive Energy: these people don't complain about working hard, they love to work and also to play. People with positive energy just love life.
- The ability to Energize others: People who energize can inspire their team to take on the impossible and enjoy the hell out of doing it.
- Edge: the courage to make tough yes-or-no decisions. Effective people know when to stop assessing and make a tough call, even without total information.
- Execute: the ability to get the job done. This skill is a distinct skill from Edge. It means a person knows how to put decisions into action and push them forward to completion, through resistance, chaos, or unexpected obstacles. People who can execute know that winning is about results.
- If the candidate has the four Es, then you look for that final P-Passion: People with Passion love to learn and grow, and they get a huge kick when people around them do the same. They're not only passionate about work, they have the juice for life in their veins.
Alright? Ready to go run an exceptional interview?
Yeah, didn't think so. That all sounds great, but how do you translate that into an effective interview?
The 5 Best Interview Questions That Great Managers Ask
Well, you take each component of Jack's winning formula and create a killer question.
QUESTION 1: ENERGY (Self-Motivation)
For Energy, think self-motivation.
We all want to hire people who bring energy into work each day, but how do you ask a question about, well, happiness? You don't, you look for self-motivation. You look for someone who has the ability to motivate themselves, why? Because someone who can motivate themselves, has something worth fighting for and that person will have a reason to overcome adversity or will at least have a natural tendency to look toward the positive and bring optimism to the team. So ask an open-ended question about self-motivation, and it could be as blunt as this… how do you motivate yourself? But I'd recommend giving it a little more thought than that.
There's question one.
QUESTION 2: ENERGIZE OTHERS (Team Motivation)
For the second one, Energize Others, it's a little bit more straight forward, but you want to ask a question that gives the candidate an opportunity to talk about how he or she looks at teamwork, what responsibility that candidate feels toward overall team morale, and how that candidate builds relationships and motivates the people he or she works with each day. So just as the first question is about self-motivation, now you want to craft a question about motivating others.
QUESTION 3: EDGE (Decision Making)
The third component is Edge. Jack explains that Edge is the courage to make yes or no decisions. So ask the candidate to talk about a tough decision they have had to make and then to explain the circumstances that surrounded that decision. Through the answer, you'll be able to understand how the candidate takes ownership, what type of responsibility he or she has had, what decision making process is used, and how the candidate understands and analyzes the results of that decision.
QUESTION 4: PASSION (Love The Work)
I'm going to skip the last "E" and cover Passion next. And I want to make a distinction here. Passion and Energy are not the same thing, neither is passion and motivation. Passion is about the work, at least that's how I look at it. Does this candidate love what they do?
I'll be honest, I have never been passionate about the staffing and recruiting business, although I did it for over 8 years and I did it well. I was passionate about helping people and I when I had the opportunity to help a company grow, help a great candidate find a new opportunity, help a colleague find success? I was passionate about that and that made me successful.
People who don't love what they do or can't articulate why they love what they do… they are going to have trouble going above and beyond, they are going to have trouble having fun, being creative, searching for solutions and opportunities, so, when it come to an interview, ask a "Why" question.
Here's a good one, why are you a fill-in-the-blank. So, Why are you a project manager, or why are you an engineer, why are you in this industry? The answers can be incredibly revealing when it comes to identifying passion!
QUESTION 5, 6, & 7: EXECUTE (Critical Job Skills)
Okay, so the last E is Execute. The ability to actually do the job. In an interview, this is question number 5, number 6, and number 7. You want to make sure the candidate can do the job, right?
Now, this isn't as fancy as Jack Welch may have described it, but in an interview, well, the best indicator of future performance is past performance. So pick the 3 critical skills that you identified when you initially developed your job description, and create an open-ended, behavioral/situational / tell me about a time/assignment/project/ or challenge that you faced doing X. You have 3 skills that you need a new hire to be able to perform, so create 3 questions to address and evaluate those skills and the associated experiences.
That's it. 7 Questions.
Because if a candidate nails these 7 questions, all that's really left to decide is whether or not you actually enjoy being in the room with the person. Because this person is self-motivated, they are able to motivate others, they can make decisions, they love what they do, and they've done it before or have demonstrated they have the skills and capabilities to do what you ask.
Everything else related to their success in the role comes down to your leadership abilities.
Because I don't really think that you can interview for culture.
And I'm going to finish up with a note on culture.
What About Culture Fit?
It's your job as the manager to build a strong culture and not every culture is the same and that doesn't mean there is a right culture and a wrong culture, but here's the thing.
Most people want to work for organizations that have a good culture, and most people define a good culture EXACTLY the same way… so why would you interview for that?
The ideal culture is arguably the same everywhere… it's a place where people work hard, but have fun, where ideas are created and feedback is shared, but it's constructive. Where people go above and beyond, where they treat the customer first, bla bla bla.
You want to know what the real difference is when we talk about culture and culture fit?
The real difference is your expectations, your work environment, and how you treat people. So your interview is not about figuring out if the candidate will 'fit in'. It's about figuring out if the candidate wants to.
Which is why although I believe that you can conduct a successful interview with just 5-7 questions, that's not the whole interview, obviously. The rest of the interview is about providing the candidate with a realistic preview of the job.
That includes:
- A sales pitch about the opportunities available for the candidate
- A word of caution about the expectations you have and the challenges you have
- An opportunity for the candidate to think about it and follow up with you.
I'm not going to go into detail on each of those aspects in this show, but you are welcome to reach out to me if you have questions about it, just email me, and again, I'm putting together an EPIC hiring guide that I talked about last Monday on the podcast. That hiring guide will include a little more information about these 3 components of your interviews.SEND ME THE EPIC HIRING GUIDE!
Essentially, you want to entice the candidate to say yes, but you also want the candidate to really know what saying yes actually means… like what are the negatives or challenges they will face if and when they say yes to working for you (and to be honest, often the right expectations and right caution will actually entice a candidate to want to work with you).
And finally, emotions are a funny thing so you want a candidate to take some time to really digest what's been discussed in the interview and make a well thought out decision whether or not to pursue the opportunity further.
And I talked about this also last Monday, but I actually recommend a job shadow interview with some of your team members and then ask the candidate to write an email to you afterward. So you invite the candidate back into your office to sit with and watch some of your senior employees do the job and then give them time to reflect on the entire interview process before they make their decision (and obviously before you make yours as well)
But again, we don't really have time on today's show to talk in detail on that, but you are more than welcome to reach out to me with any questions you may have.
Other than that, it looks like we've concluded our 4-week look at the topic of Hiring as we continue this series on the Fundamentals of management.
For next Monday, I'm going to switching things up a little bit and talk about how to run a meeting. Run a great meeting and your team can be inspired, challenged, and more productive. Run a garbage meeting, and well, garbage in, garbage out.
So tune in next Monday and if you haven't subscribed to the podcast yet, please do that so you don't miss an episode. We have 2 great interviews coming on this Wednesday and Friday, with… looks like, Dr. James Kelley on Wednesday and Lolly Daskal on Friday.
Thanks for listening.

subset: commoncrawl


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Early Bird Registration Price ENDED June 30, 2017
Big Sky Interpreting Conference August 3, 4, 5, 2017
* Click here for: 2017 BSIC INFORMATION
* Click here for: SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
* Click here for: REGISTRATION FORM
* Click here for: MacKenzie River Pizza Voucher (see info below)
On Thursday evening (Aug. 3) of the BSIC, we will be having a fundraiser at MacKenzie River Pizza. Download and print the voucher by clicking above, and give it to the waiter with your order ticket when paying your bill. Thanks for supporting MRID!\
* Click here for: Friday's Picnic info - MRID and GF Club of the Deaf
Please remember to:
1) E-mail the registration form to email@example.com
2) Pay with PayPal below, see drop-down lists for options
OPI recipients pay here:
Click on "2017 BSIC Information" above for explanation
If not an OPI recipient pay here:
(eligibility requires working in a MT K-12 setting )
The MRID board would like to formally congratulate Cindy Chambers of Billings for earning the Flo McCollum Scholarship worth $1,000. Cindy demonstrated an exceptional commitment to her continuing education goals. Her dedication to serving Deaf students in Montana is greatly appreciated. Thank you, Cindy, for all your hard work!
To all who participated in the MRID scholarship awarding process, including Cathy and Katie,
I want to thank you for this opportunity to take part in the TIPS training and NAIE conference. I would not have been able to afford this learning experience on my own and sincerely needed the scholarship funding. The financial help has been more than I hoped for and so much appreciated. I had been looking for a program to expand my skills and this seems like a perfect fit. I will keep you posted on my "successes"!
The only members of MRID I have met are Cathy and Annie but have been communicating by email to Katie. I feel like you are all amazing people and very supportive. I am certain I can learn so much from you.
I intend to work hard and appreciate the confidence you have shown in me by awarding me this scholarship.
Thank you so much,
A Special Offer for Montana Interpreters interested in Mental Health Interpreting
A message from Alabama's Mental Health Interpreter Training Project:
Since we started 14 years ago, MHIT's Interpreter Institute has trained nearly 1,000 people from all over the United States and several other countries.
Interpreters from 48 of the 50 US states have attended. Only Alaska and Montana have not had a representative attend the MHIT Interpreter Institute. We want to color in the whole map, so we are making you an offer you can't refuse!
The first person from any of the states mentioned above can get their registration at the lowest rate we offer anyone: $165 alumni early bird rate. This offer is good to the first(a) person from Alaska and Montana to get their completed application and payment to ODS(b): That is nearly 60% off full price for first-time attendees(c).
It's an offer you can't refuse!
(a) As determined by postmark or timestamp.
(b) Application must meet acceptance criteria for the Institute
(c) based on full-price rate of $425 for first time attendees after May 31st.
Dates are July 31-August 4, 2017. Go to www.mhit.org for more information.
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June 6, 2017
To: Superintendents, County Superintendents, Principals, Special Education Directors and Cooperative Special Education Directors
From: Danni McCarthy, School Improvement Specialist
Re: Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA)
Attention all Interpreters:
The EIPA will be held in Great Falls, Montana, at the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB). The performance assessment will occur September 23-24, 2017. If you would like to register for the performance assessment, you will need to e-mail Danni McCarthy (firstname.lastname@example.com) no later than August 23, 2017, as the registration closes 30 days before the testing date.
Bernhardt Jones from Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE) will be administering the assessment. If you have questions regarding what the performance assessment entails, please visit the following link: https://www.classroominterpreting.org/EIPA/performance/evaluation.asp .
Danni McCarthy
School Improvement Specialist


text: Has anybody out there experience with the lambda FIX vector? We have trouble in preparing large amounts of "restriction grade" DNA from several genomic clones we have isolated. We have used both a dish method and a liquid culture : the latter yields very good quality DNA but in only minute amounts (about 250 ng from a 2 ml culture) while a dish yields about 5 to 10 times more DNA but of horrible quality (restriction is incomplete and variable). We have contacted stratagene, from where the custom library was purchased, and they suggested and actually provided an other bacterial strain PLK 17 and its P2 lysogen. This improved things a bit but still we cannot scale-up the prep to let say 20 ml culture without losing a lot in quality. Any suggestions are welcome exept the one that says : "SUBCLONE A.S.A.P.". Fred Van Leuven, Human Genetics, Gasthuisberg ON6, Leuven, Belgium TEL 0032 16 215862 Fax 0032 16 215992 Acknowledge-To: <FRED at BLEKUL13>


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Blu-ray problems
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 298
Re: Blu-ray problems
Blu-ray update: I bought House of Flying Daggers - beautiful piece of work and it works. This kinda finally proves it for me - blu-ray is iffy - some work and when they do - its beautiful and some don't. I can't blame the PC or anything - While running blu-ray on House of Flying Daggers I didn't use more than 19 percent of my cpu resources! Even Meet the Robinsons didn't get pass 30 percent - It just wouldn't work right. I think I'm going to hold off on my blu-ray stand-alone purchase and wait for the format to settle or lose. I have blu-ray for under $200.00 (doesn't play every blu-ray but neither does the samsung - as I have made serveral enquiries and see several different reviews). I've paid the price for jumping early before (can anyone say mini-disc, early dvd adopter, and the worst of all Vista). I jumped on Vista just for HD/Blu-ray (purevideo HD was only availabe for Vista machines only until November - thank you Nvidia for finally releasing an XP driver) uninstalled Vista immediately and put it up until the future.
I try to take the path of least risk, if I get burned - at least it won't hurt that much. These are the pains of early adopters or as we call them in IT land "Beta testers" - Beta-Blu - that has a nice ring to it
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text: Many of us love tousled hair because there's no pressure. No need to keep everything in place totally perfectly. You actually want your hair to be messy and out of place. A little beachy or a bit windblown are things that you're looking for when getting your hair into its tousled state. However, there is an art to messing up your hair in the correct way. Every time you see a model or celebrity looking perfectly disheveled you know there's a pro behind it. To learn how to get perfectly imperfect strands, click through to style notes. –– Michelle Rotbart


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Nicole Barille and Sam Meister, otherwise known as mr. Gnome, are back with a fantastic(al) and fascinating video for "House of Circles" off their latest album Madness in Miniature. Directed by Sam himself, the video is stunning, scary, and surreal – just like the duo's music. Nicole and Sam describe the video as "…a live action interpretation of … [Read more...]
mr. Gnome – "House of Circles" video
February 28, 2013 by


text:
Quanta is a recently completed A-V work performed at, and made for William Basinski's Arcadia curated series which took place in March 2014. As with previous works there is a conceptual framework based on scientific concepts which is used to drive the narrative and loosely define the aesthetics of the piece. A sound scrying session with previously collected field recordings of the industrial and technological landscape generated a series of dislocated associations and insinuations based around the theme of light quanta and the behaviour of related elemental particles within a surrounding topography. In the context of these new sonic associations a parametrised sketch of movements, behaviours and triggers, within a generative system, was created leading to the final performance work.
A Flickr set of stills from Quanta can be found here.


text:
Before you even think about it, the answer is no. As in, "No. You cannot possibly succeed in finishing a nine-pound hamburger, six-pound Po'Boy or 28-inch pizza by yourself in one sitting." But you certainly can look at them: We've put together a gallery of the D.C. area's most daunting food challenges.
Some of these items are manageable solo, as long as you have a tolerance for spicy foods. Others require teamwork, because while conquering some of them solo means bragging rights and prizes — anywhere from free food to $250 in cash — it also means certain gastrointestinal unrest — although you can buy plenty of Maalox with that kind of money. Have a look, and let's hope that your eyes aren't, in fact, bigger than your stomach.


text:
I've just updated the URL for one of the main pages on my site (from callyjackson.com/currentlywriting to callyjackson.com/thebigsmoke) and would like to know if there's any easy way to update every blog post that links to this page on my blog. If not, is there an easy way to find each instance of where the URL appears so I can update them one by one?
Thanks in advance for your response! :-)
The blog I need help with is callyjackson.com.


text:
The smell of fresh cut grass on a summer day is still one of my favorite smells in the world. That smell has the ability to draw memories that are buried deep in my subconscious mind, like a super powered magnet draws a needle from a haystack.
Anyone who's played this great game of baseball knows exactly what I mean. People will tell you similar stories about any memories they have. Certain sights and sounds trigger the memories. Sometimes they can be painful memories, so people avoid those triggers. For me, it's the reason why you will see me mowing my own lawn week after week during the spring and summer months.
Walking behind that lawnmower, and smelling that fresh cut grass, it's easy for my entire baseball career to flash through my mind. Every time I mow my lawn, a little highlight reel plays in my mind's eye. Every time I mow my lawn, I'm a kid again.
One would have to wonder why I didn't become a landscaper.
The same holds true when I am commuting to work. I could be driving home from work on a hot summer evening, and see the stadium lights illuminating the sky in the distance, and immediately be brought back to my playing days.
Those lights in the distance represent memories being made for some other young ballplayer.
Seeing those lights set against an orange and purple backdrop of the sky at dusk immediately gives me goose bumps. I can picture myself standing in the outfield and feel the hot humid summer air surround me. I look up and see all the bugs crazily flying around the lights, and catch the glimpse of summer thunderstorm in the distance rolling in.
Everyone enjoys a nice summer evening thunderstorm, unless you are on the baseball field. If you're on the ball field, you start making deals with God to hold that storm off for a little longer. You ask him to send it in another direction, just so you can squeeze in one more at-bat.
Sometimes God listens and he sends the storm in another direction, and sometimes he doesn't. And sometimes when he sends the storm in another direction, you strikeout in your next at-bat, making you wish he hadn't sent that storm in another direction.
I'm in the on-deck circle watching the pitcher warm-up, checking to see if he gives any tells on his pitches. I watch the catcher throw down to second base, and see if I get on first base if this is going to turn into a double.
There is a boy in the front row eating ice cream and his face is a mess. The ice cream has melted halfway down his arm at this point. I make eye contact with the boy and smile. Then I flip the bat upside down and smack the knob of the bat into the dirt to get the weight off the barrel. It's back to business.
I start walking from the on-deck circle and survey the field to see where the fielders are playing. The coach of the opposing team gives a holler to his outfielders and makes a waving motion telling them to "Back Up! This guy can hit!"
I look down the third base line and see the third baseman is standing on the edge of the outfield grass. Even if he fields a grounder cleanly he will never throw me out from there. The shortstop is equally as deep.
Walking slowly to the plate, I turn my attention to the pitcher and begin to stare directly at him. I'm holding the bat in my right hand, with the bat head resting on my shoulder. He proceeds to stare back, trying to act as if he's not intimidated. He takes off his glove and starts rubbing the ball with both hands. A signal goes off in my head – "he's nervous, he's mine."
I step into the box and smooth out any bumps in the dirt – I can't have any distractions. Any little bump in the dirt would be a distraction. Once the batter's box manicure is complete, I step out and look down at the third base coach.
He starts rifling through signs, but they don't mean anything. He gives a little clap which is my signal sort of like when a producer in a play yells "ACTION!"
I settle back in the box and take two half swings, and two deep breaths and get set. If the situation isn't right, I will call time out and step out of the box. Everything has to be in place. Everything has to feel perfect.
I can sense the catcher looking at me to make sure I'm not peeking back to steal signs. Don't worry; I don't need to steal your signs.
The catcher tries to get me thinking, so he pops the glove towards the outside part of the plate, but I can hear him settle on the inside. Nice try.
The pitcher starts his windup. I pick the bat up off my shoulder, and as his hand gets to the top of his motion I start to coil, like a snake ready to strike. I immediately recognize the pitch is out of the strike zone and hold off. The pitcher tried to blow the first fastball by me, but he put a little too much humph into it, and it almost went over the catcher's head to the backstop.
The pitcher doesn't know it, but he already lost the battle. I own him.
The pitcher has two options, he can take a little off and try to come with a strike on the next pitch, to avoid going 2-0 in the count; or he can pitch around me, and hope I chase some pitches and concede the walk. But I can tell by the look in his eye that he is coming after me.
I won't be walking down to first unless he beans me. The next pitch will be his mistake. He should've conceded the walk.
I don't even look down at the third base coach this time. I'm locked in on the pitcher. He starts shaking his head – no, no, no. I let the catcher take him through his rolodex of pitches until he ultimately decides on the absolute worst pitch he can throw me.
Never shake the catcher off – check mate.
The pitcher rocks into his motion, and as his hand gets to the top of his motion I start to coil like a cobra again, except this time I recognize the pitch is coming down Broadway.
His only hope is that I swing and miss. His only hope is that I try to do too much with this meatball of a pitch that looks about the size of a beach ball in my eyes right now.
I start to uncoil to unleash the pain on my opponent.
There's silence from the time the pitch leaves the pitcher's hand to the moment of impact. Everything around gets phased out. It's just the batter and the pitcher in that moment. Standing in that batter's box you are all alone. Nobody can help you. Seven times out of ten the pitcher is going to get the best of you, but not this time.
That silence gets broken by the crack of the bat when the ball connects with the bat in the perfect spot. From that sound, you could never tell that the hitter never even knew he made contact with the ball. It sounds like a crash of thunder.
When it's pure, it doesn't feel like the bat and ball even met for the hitter. You wouldn't even know you made contact until you saw the pitcher's head whip around to watch where the ball lands.
I take a quick glance up and see the ball carrying over the left-centerfield wall.
Sweat drips off my brow as I start my trot, and the pitcher is looking down at his feet now. I round first base and head to second, and the opposing team's second baseman whispers "nice shot" as I trot by. I nod back to acknowledge him without letting the pitcher know what his second baseman just said to me.
As I'm rounding third base and putting my hand up to give my third base coach a high five, my lawnmower runs out of gas. I'm snapped back into the real world just as fast as I drifted away from the scent of the fresh grass clippings.
Whether you played the game or not, baseball is all about making memories. Some of the best moments of my life either occurred on the baseball field, or while I was in the stands watching with close friends and family members.
You don't just remember the events of the game, you recall the person you shared that moment with. Those moments transcend the game itself, and all we have left are the memories.
That's why we love the game. That's why I love this game.


text: Cacee is a beagle and we think a border collie mix :) She looks like just a beagle when her hair is cut, and much different when her hair is long and shaggy. She is the sweetest little girl and loves to snuggle and have her belly rubbed. She loves to be outside and to hang out the window in the car. Mommy has to lock the windows because she figured out how to push the button herself! She is very well trained and brings so much happiness to our family :)Add to Favorites


text:
Google Spreadsheet complements iWork '06?
by Todd Ogasawara
I just signed in to the new Google Spreadsheet and am impressed with it so far. Since Apple's own iWork '06 lacks a full spreadsheet, the Google Spreadsheet might be a good complement to iWorks when connected to the net.
5 Comments
2006-06-07 09:55:18
|Please change it to read iWork, it's not Microsoft Works. :)
2006-06-07 11:29:24
|Apple's business software suite isn't called "iWorks." It's iWork, singlular.
|Razib Ahmed
2006-06-08 02:02:58
Well, I can see a very bright future for Google Spreadsheet simply because it is free. Google is now trying to
expand its operations in South Asia and Africa and that is why I will not be
surprised if Google receives a large number of users for its spreadsheet from
these two poor regions of the world.
2006-06-08 15:25:12
|Does Google Spreadsheets support saving and opening the OpenDocument Format standard?
|Todd Ogasawara
2006-06-08 20:39:35
|Brian: As far as I can tell, the Google Spreadsheets export options are Microsoft XLS, CSV, and HTML.


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Danbury conservationist Martens Goos dies at 90
Updated 11:34 pm, Monday, December 3, 2012
Martens E. Goos, a former Danbury businessman who was instrumental in the city's acquisition of Richter Park, the founding of the Old Quarry Nature Center and several other civic and conservation-related projects, died Nov. 20 in San Diego. He was 90.
The son of longtime Danbury businessman Edward Goos and his wife Edna, Goos was born in Danbury on Feb. 16, 1922. He attended Danbury High School and Williston Academy in East Hampton, Mass., before serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Goos' father, the principal developer of Candlewood Knolls and Knollcrest private communities in New Fairfield and a vice president of Union Savings Bank, founded Goos Lumber, which was located on Main Street where Garamella Boulevard is now.
Martens Goos took over the family lumber business after his father retired in 1956. He also ran a hardware store and an ice cream parlor on the property in later years.
In the late 1960s, Goos convinced Irene Richter, the widow of Danbury attorney Stanley Richter, to donate their former country home to the city, leading to the creation of Richter Park and the Stanley L. Richter Association for the Arts.
In 1972, he was honored by the arts association at its annual ball, which was dubbed, "Marty-Gras."
Goos was also involved in the establishment of the Old Quarry Nature Center and the Dryska Farm Preserve in Danbury.
Before moving to San Diego in the 1970s, Goos served as president of the Connecticut Lumber Dealers Association and as chairman of the Danbury Conservation Commission.
While living in California, he ran a lighting business and an art studio before retiring about 15 years ago, according to his son, Stephen Goos. He also enjoyed woodcarving and playing golf, his son said.
Goos is survived by his second wife, Joan Bassi Goos; a daughter, Nancy Coppola of The Villages, Fla.; a son, Stephen, who lives in Bridgewater; a sister, Naomi Brede of Danbury; five grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; three step-children and six step-grandchildren.
Burial arrangements are private, but the family will dedicate a tree at Richter Park on Tuesday morning in his memory, Stephen Goos said.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-731-3342


text:
BRUSSELS (Nov. 8)
The political isolation of French right-wing leader Jean-Marie Le Pen continued to widen last week when 265 of the 464 members of the Strasbourg-based Parliament of Europe signed a statement denouncing his denial of the Holocaust.
Le Pen leads the ultra-rightist National Front in France and has declared himself a candidate for president in next year's elections. He also heads a far right-wing bloc in the European Parliament consisting of 10 National Front deputies, five Italian neo-fascists and two other right-wingers from Greece and Northern Ireland.
Le Pen shocked and angered Jews and non-Jews all over the continent when, in a Sept. 13 interview on Radio Luxembourg he referred to the Holocaust as a "mere detail" in the history of World War 11 and suggested that the gas chambers never existed.
On Sept. 17, thousands of people demonstrated in Paris demanding that Parliament lift Le Pen's immunity so that he can be tried for incitement to race hatred and defense of Nazi war crimes. On Sept. 20, the International League Against Anti-Semitism announced it would press a civil suit against Le Pen for "spreading racial hatred."
Subsequently, Le Pen was forced to cancel a visit to Britain when leaders of the Conservative Party denied him permission to address a fringe group at its annual conference in Blackpool. He had been invited by Sir Alfred Sherman, a prominent Conservative of extreme right-wing views, who is Jewish.
Last month, the authorities of the canton of Geneva announced that Le Pen would be barred from fulfilling a speaking engagement there on Nov. 26.
The European Parliament statement, signed by more than half of its members, condemned in general the pseudo-scientific theories of the so-called revisionist historians on the subject of the Holocaust.


text:
Organize your favourite listings
Sign up to keep track of your favourite spaces and revisit them later.
Shoal Center (senior oriented) is on a major traffic and bus route in Sidney. 2 strata lots (5&6) total 2357 sqft. Ideal for upscale professional or health related enterprise. Close to airport & BC ferries. Located directly across the street is the Public Library. There is also a good supply of free surface and underground parking for client use.


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Three leftist countries that drew Bill de Blasio's interest over the past 25 years rank high for repression on the annual list compiled by Freedom House, a human-rights watchdog group.
The organization uses a point scale of 1 to 7 for political rights and civil liberties, with the higher number representing the most oppressive.
Cuba gets a 7 for political rights and a 6 for civil liberties.
Zimbabwe lands a grade of 6 on both issues.
And de Blasio's beloved Nicaragua earns 5 points for political rights and 4 for civil liberties.
Freedom House rates that country as "partly free."
"Employees have reportedly been dismissed for union activities, and citizens have no effective recourse when labor laws are violated by those in power," the oversight group reported.
"Child labor and other abuses in export-processing zones remain problems, though child labor occurs most often in the agricultural sector."
De Blasio, the city public advocate who is the Democratic nominee for mayor, is facing mounting criticism for his full-throated support of Nicaragua's Sandinista government, which cracked down on dissenters and had close ties to communists.
De Blasio has also drawn fire for honeymooning in Cuba after his 1994 marriage to Chirlane McCray — a trip that violated a US travel ban.
The mayor-poll front-runner has also been criticized for joining legislators who welcome reviled Zimbabwe despot Robert Mugabe to City Hall in 2002 when de Blasio served on the City Council.
De Blasio has since said the Mugabe appearance was a "mistake."
"I feel ashamed of it," he said.


text:
White Lasagna Cupcakes
Do lasagna cupcakes sound like a great idea or just plain wrong? Either way, they're part of a savory cupcake trend, but feel free to call them mini lasagnas, too.
Total Time:
Level: Moderate
Yield: 8 cupcakes
Serves: 8
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- butter
- ¾ c. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- ½ lb. fresh lasagna noodles
- ½ c. all-purpose flour
- 2 c. milk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ c. snipped chives
- 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
- 8 oz. Fontina cheese
- 6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto
- Freshly ground pepper
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter eight 6-ounce ramekins and coat with Parmigiano; tap out the excess. Place the ramekins on a sturdy rimmed baking sheet.
- In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the lasagna noodles until al dente. Drain and cool under running water. Pat dry. Using a 3 1/4-inch biscuit cutter, stamp out 24 rounds (they should fit neatly inside the ramekins).
- In a large saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the flour and whisk over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk over moderate heat until the sauce is bubbling and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg, chives, parsley, and 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano. Let cool slightly, then stir in the Fontina and prosciutto. Season the filling with pepper.
- Arrange one pasta round in the bottom of each ramekin. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of the filling into each ramekin and top with another noodle; press to flatten slightly. Top with the remaining filling and pasta rounds. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmigiano and cover loosely with foil.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, until the filling is just bubbling. Remove the foil and bake for about 30 minutes longer, until slightly puffed, and the tops and sides are golden. Let cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the lasagna cupcakes, then invert onto plates, tapping firmly to release them. Serve hot or warm.
More From Recipes


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June 2977
I was so excited! My family was coming to Minas Tirith! Well, only my brother was, but I had not seen my dear little brother in over a year. I had missed him so much.
I waited in the throne room as my brother walked briskly up to the Steward's throne.
"Lord Ecthelion," Imrahil said, bowing. "It is a pleasure to be in your presence once again."
Ecthelion stood, beaming at my brother. "Prince Imrahil! Without your noble courage, Gondor would be without a coastline. I am forever indebted to you."
Imrahil smiled warmly. "You give me far too much credit, my lord. I am most thankful to have my men by my side during those tiresome days at sea."
Ecthelion nodded. "Your men will be known as heroes for as long as they live. And I hope that they will continue to serve your father as gallantly as they have done so far."
Next to me, I felt Denethor move on the spot. I turned slowly to look up at him. His face was riddled with jealousy. I could not understand why. My brother had just performed a noble cause. Could my husband not show any gratitude?
Imrahil turned towards Denethor and me. "Sister," he said, kissing my hand. "How I have missed you."
I smiled tenderly. "Brother."
"Denethor," Ecthelion said, standing up. "How about you and I take a stroll through to royal gardens? I have matters of the state to discuss with you."
I watched my husband leave reluctantly, not making any eye contact with Imrahil. Denethor's behaviour baffled me!
"Is something wrong with Lord Denethor?" Imrahil asked once we were alone.
"I really have no idea," I replied, shaking my head. "He has been fine all morning."
Imrahil gave a casual shrug before embracing me tightly. "How have you been?"
"Well," I replied. "I have been having these awful nightmares, but a healer in Osgiliath gave me a draught to take. It has worked marvellously."
My brother gave me a concerned look. "I hope it will stop. You never had any nightmares in Dol Amroth."
"I do not why I have them," I replied. "But the draught is working, so that is the main thing."
Imrahil nodded, still looking worried. "I am planning on staying at our house on the sixth level. Do you wish to accompany me there?"
I grinned. "I would love to! I haven't been to our family home in Minas Tirith in so long."
"Really?" Imrahil asked. "I thought the house might have given you some sort of comfort."
I nodded. "The house does make me feel closer to my family, but I did not want to go there constantly in case I started to miss you all a little too much."
"I wish Lord Denethor would allow you to visit on occasion," Imrahil said, sighing.
"I have asked already," I replied. "He keeps telling me that there are not enough men to escort me."
Imrahil gave me a look of shock. "Not enough men? Is he absurd? Gondor has one of the largest armies in Middle-earth. Not to mention that I have written to your husband, informing him that I would come to Minas Tirith and escort you myself."
"What?" I said, spinning around to face him. "Denethor never told me that!"
Imrahil gave me a blank look for a moment, before shaking his head. "I should have known."
"Should have known what?" I asked, continuing to walk towards our family house.
"Finduilas, there is no doubt that Denethor loves you," he started. "It just seems to me that he does not want to... well... share you."
I burst out laughing. "Imrahil, dearest brother. I think you are the one being absurd now. Why would Denethor not want to share me?"
"Look at you, Finduilas," Imrahil said. We were both standing at the front gate of our family house. "You are so beautiful and such a kind-hearted woman. I suppose he is worried your interest for him will diminish."
"Why would my interest for him diminish?" I asked as Imrahil opened the gate for me.
"Well he is far older than you. Perhaps he thinks you will take an interest in a man of your age."
I shook my head. "I am a loyal wife who is bound to obey and serve."
"I know you are," Imrahil replied. "But that doesn't mean Denethor won't worry about losing you."
"Is there a way that I can show him that that won't happen?"
Imrahil sat down in one of the chairs in the front courtyard. "Perhaps. How... affectionate are you towards him?"
I felt my cheeks starting to burn - it was a topic I did not want to talk about to my brother. "I am affectionate towards him."
Imrahil gave me a small smile. "May I ask how often you bed him?"
"Brother!" I exclaimed. "Does that really matter?"
Imrahil grinned. "For a man it does. Men want to feel loved. It cannot just be verbal affection, Finduilas."
"And how would you know all of this?" I asked stoutly. "You are not even married!"
My brother chuckled. "That is true. But I do have married friends. Believe it or not, Finduilas, men like to boast about their intimate relationships with their wives."
"You have not done anything... dishonourable? Have you?"
Imrahil sighed and stood up. "No sister. I am a man of honour towards women. Just as our father is."
I smiled. "Good. I am glad to know that. I would hate for you to father an illegitimate child."
"Now, now, Finduilas. You know how much I love children."
"Marry first."
"Very well," he replied. "You have my word."
I spent most of the day at my family home with Imrahil. It was lovely to spend some quality time with my brother, as we had much to talk of.
"So, how is Ivriniel?" I asked, thinking of my dear sister.
Imrahil shrugged. "She is not the same woman that she was before her husband died. She still dresses in black."
"Still!" I could not believe it. My late brother-in-law had died almost two years ago. "Has father said anything to her?"
"No," Imrahil replied, shaking his head. "He lets her dress as she wishes. Though, he has been making plans for her to remarry at some point in the near future."
"I have a feeling that will not work out well," I said. "Why would father make her remarry?"
"I think he is hoping that she will stop grieving if she is given a new husband."
I shook my head in disbelief. "That is far too harsh for Ivriniel. I do not think she will ever stop mourning for her late husband."
"Maybe you should write to father then," Imrahil suggested. "He might listen to you. After all, you are his favourite daughter."
"Now why do you say that?"
Imrahil grinned. "You are married to the next Steward of Gondor. You are the first Princess of Dol Amroth to make such an important marriage. Father feels proud of you. He always boasts at court about your marriage and how wonderful it will be when an heir is born."
I tightened my grip on the chair's arm. "I am having trouble conceiving."
"What?" Imrahil said, scrunching his face up with disbelief. "I do not see how that is possible. Our family has a high reputation of being fertile."
"Yet I have been married for over a year and I still have no symptoms of being with-child."
"It takes time, Finduilas. Everyone is different. I am sure it will happen this year."
"You are sure?"
"Positive," he replied, sitting back in his chair.
"I hope I have a son," I said, smiling faintly. "I would love to have a son first, and then a daughter. I can see Denethor doting on his daughter, spoiling her in front of the entire court."
Imrahil smiled. "I do see Denethor being a proud father to a daughter. But he will need to have at least one male heir."
"I know," I replied. "That is why I want a son first. Though, whatever comes first is for nature to decide."
My brother nodded in agreement. "You will make a wonderful mother, sister."
That night I sat in my chamber as Denethor paced the room.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"I am just concerned," he replied, "about the growing threat from Mordor."
Valar! I hated hearing the word Mordor. Saying it always seemed to darken the room. "Dearest," I said, standing up. "Please, can your worries be left outside this chamber?"
Denethor smiled. "I am sorry, Finduilas. I just worry that our marriage will not be as blissful once I am Steward."
I looked at him with confusion. "Why do you say that?"
"Because I have watched my father struggle with Gondor's defences all my life. It pains me to see him so. Therefore, I do not want to be like my father. I want to focus mostly on the enemy and the movement of my troops. I want to build better catapults along the walls of Minas Tirith. I want my soldiers armour to be stronger..."
"I understand all that," I said. "I know your duties. I have mine as well. But my duties are to be a dutiful wife to you and a good mother to the children we will have." I sighed heavily. "I will support you through any decision you decide to make, as long as it is good for the people of Gondor. Having said that, I do not want you to overwork yourself. When we have a family of our own, I want you to be there for our children. They will need their father."
Denethor held both of my hands and kissed them. "I promise you that I will be a worthy father to all the children you give me. They will be my pride and joy. I even have plans for my first son."
I gave my husband a curious look. "Really? Tell me these plans." We both got into bed, and Denethor ran his fingers through my dark hair as I rested on his shoulder.
"I want my first son and heir to be my leader among men. I want him to lead the armies of Gondor to victory."
I nodded. "It would be good to have our son lead the army. At least the men will be under the command of someone we can trust."
"Exactly," Denethor replied. "I want all the sons I have to grow up to be warriors of Gondor."
"What if we have a daughter?" I asked.
"I would like a daughter," he said in thought. "I have always wanted to have a daughter at some point in my life. I would like to guide her through life and teach her all the necessities of being a noble woman of Gondor. I would also like to give her a male education."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because then my daughter will be more intelligent than the other noble women of the court. I would like to have her help me in office, but be there for you at the same time."
"I believe our children will be in great care under your guidance."
"I hope so," he replied. "All we have to do is try to conceive."
"It will happen," I said reassuringly. "We have to wait for nature to take its place and give us what we want. We cannot rush these things. Anything that is rushed never ends well."
"You could not have spoken truer words, my dear wife," Denethor said, kissing my hair. "I love you."
I snuggled into his shoulder. "I love you too. I always will."
The next morning I went to visit my brother. I walked by a bakery and bought a loaf of freshly baked bread. It smelt so wonderful! Imrahil and I ate the bread with some fresh fruit in the dining hall of the family house. The dining hall offered a wonderful view over the plains, looking west towards the sea. I so badly wanted to return there.
"Sister, I believe I will be returning to Dol Amroth in two days," my brother said.
My heart sank. I did not want him to leave so soon. "I wish you could stay longer."
Imrahil shook his head. "I am sorry, but father needs me in Dol Amroth."
"I know. I understand the duties of men," I replied.
Before Imrahil could reply, a pageboy ran into the dining room.
"Lad, do you know the importance of knocking?" Imrahil asked.
The boy looked exhausted. "I have just come here in great haste from the Citadel. An important letter from Lamedon has arrived, addressed to Princess Finduilas."
I stood up, startled. My thoughts turned too little Voronda. Something must be wrong. "Thank you," I said, taking the letter from the boy and gesturing for him to leave at once.
I sat back down and opened the letter. My hands were shaking, so my brother took the letter from me and opened it on my behalf.
"Dearest Lady Finduilas," Imrahil said, reading the letter aloud. "It is my deepest regret to inform you that Lady Voronda has fallen dangerously ill at her home in Lamedon. My wife, Tatiel has asked for your company during this dire time. If you and your husband, Lord Denethor are able to make the trip within the week, my wife and I will be indebted to you both. Yours faithfully, Lord Angbor."
My eyes had widened. "I must leave at once." I stood up and hurried out of the house. Imrahil followed me up to the Citadel, still holding the letter.
I ignored everyone I walked past and opened Denethor's study door, without asking. "Finduilas," Denethor said, standing up and hurrying to my side. He must have been concerned for me, as I had tears falling down my cheeks.
"I-I just r-received a letter from Lord Angbor, asking that you and I travel to Lamedon," I said, wiping my face with the back of my hand. Imrahil and Denethor helped me sit down in front of the desk.
"Why does Lord Angbor want us to travel to Lamedon?" Denethor asked, kneeling down next to me.
"Voronda has fallen ill," I said. Imrahil handed the letter to Denethor.
My husband stood back up and paced his study as he read the letter. After a short while, he placed the letter on his desk and sighed. "I see that my niece's health concerns you greatly, therefore I will allow this trip to happen."
I sighed with such relief. I was so worried that I would be denied to leave the city again. "Thank you, Denethor."
"Imrahil, would you give your sister and I a moment alone?" Denethor asked my brother.
"Certainly," Imrahil replied. "I shall go and inform Lord Ecthelion of this arrangement."
After my brother left, Denethor pulled me to my feet and embraced me. "Everything will be alright, Finduilas."
For some reason, his words made me cry even more. I was just happy that he let me release my fears of Voronda's health. The poor child.


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Originally Posted by J_Galt: I wish that partisan articles like this would provide a link to the bill.I am guessing that there are other things attached to the bill that the republicans disagree with.like when the anti gambeling bill was attached to the port security bill
Yeah, and it was a republican senator (Bill Frist - R/Tenn) who got it attached to the Port Security Act without alot of politicians even knowing about it. This seems pretty straightforward & now after years of bipartisan support, repubs are holding back under Obama.
cdpainpills does not understand that
he is a lemming blinded by partisan rage
republicans are evil and greedy, democrats are the saviors of the world
"It might be ok to beat women soon . . ."
Please dont tease us with things that could only be too good to be true.
Although one would not have thought it humanly possible, you somehow succeeded in preventing #4 from being the most ridiculous post in this thread.
I don't blame you for being upset given the full sides of all issues you get from Faux news.
Its called partisans. Both sides of the spectrum engage in it.
Sometimes I wonder if you actually believe these things you type.
Originally Posted by ClubDirt: if the republicans have their way. republicans against Violence Against Women Act. how would a law protecting (female) victims of domestic violence ever get past today's republicans?
Er, yes because as we all know, when there is a domestic violence incident the FEDERAL government comes and takes a report!
We need a FEDERAL law to stop domestic violence, NOW!!!
You leftists are amazing.
Really, truly, amazing.


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And the Wedding Day Emergency MVP award goes to… the Safety Pin.
As defined, MVP or Most Valuable Player is an honor bestowed on the best-performing or player that contributes the most to a team. The MVP is usually the player that comes through in clutch time, or has managed to save the day by their performance. When it comes to a wedding day emergency, nothing comes through like the safety pin. Of the many elements and expectations required of a wedding planner, a major expectation is to provide a well stocked wedding day emergency kit to meet the needs of every emergency that comes up. This emergency kit is full of items that the bride, groom, wedding party or wedding guest may need to fully enjoy the wedding day festivities without worry. Of all the items contained within my emergency kit, nothing gets more utilized and requires replacement like the safety pin. The safety pin is everyone's best friend and I can't remember a wedding or event that didn't need at least one or two to meet some emergency. Heck, as a wedding planner, I would be concerned if the safety pin was any more valuable, because then the bride wouldn't need me. Whew, thank goodness the safety pin doesn't have a brain. (Insert nervous laugh.) Not every wedding day emergency is solved with a safety pin but a well placed safety pin can keep the celebration going with a minimal amount of effort required.
On the day of the wedding, there are so many uses for the safety pin, some obvious and some not so obvious. Some obvious uses for the safety pin:
- Wedding dress bustle has broken or won't stay in place – reach for a safety pin
- Broken zipper – reach for a safety pin
- Lost a button – reach for a safety pin
- Dress is exposing more than you bargained for – reach for a safety pin
- The covered button on the groom or groomsmen tuxedo has come off – reach for a safety pin
Some not so obvious uses:
- Don't want to wear your engagement ring down the aisle but want to be able to wear it immediately after – reach for a safety pin and pin your engagement ring inside your wedding dress, within easy reach.
- Want to carry something special like a locket, small photo other significant piece that doesn't fit your wedding attire? Create a decorative brooch with beads and the object and pin it inside your dress or jacket (for the groom).
- Static cling in a bridesmaid's dress or groomsmen's pants that won't go away? Tame static electricity by fastening a metal safety pin to the inner seam or hem of the garment. Poof, static cling is gone.
So if you are choosing to go it alone, without a wedding planner or their trusty emergency kit, make sure you bring the next, most valuable player, lots of safety pins, because you and your wedding party are gonna need them.
Alpha Prosperity Events – Missouri City, Texas Wedding Planner. Providing full service wedding planning and event coordination services to the greater Houston and surrounding areas. Contact us today to select your choice of wedding planning and event coordination services.


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NIACC President Provides Update on Student Housing Project
NIACC President Dr. Steve Schulz met today with members of the media to provide an update on the NIACC student housing construction project.
"We are extremely excited about the progress of our new student housing project," he said. "Every time I walk down here and look at this construction site, I see progress. Our students are going to be thrilled to live here."
Schulz also explained to the media that the housing project is a few weeks behind schedule. He believes it will be weeks, not months, for the east building to be finished, with the west building trailing by several weeks.
"We understand this is disappointing news for students," Schulz said. "But it's going to be worth the wait. They are going to move into what I believe is the best student housing in the Midwest. Students are going to love it."
The patience and understanding of all students is very much appreciated.
"This is a complex construction project with 13 subcontractors. The complexity of the project, combined with the 12 months of challenging weather and site conditions have delayed this project," he said while standing in front of the student housing site.
Before fall classes begin August 25, students will move into the existing dorms until the new housing is completed.
"The College has plans to help ease the moving process and transition to the new housing when that time arrives. Our goal is to move into the new units as soon as they are cleared for occupancy," Schulz said.
Students will be assigned two rooms: one in the existing dorms and one in the new student housing. NIACC Housing officials sent a letter to all students who have registered to live on campus. It explains the delay and move-in process. Students will be compensated for each week they live in the original dorms.
"We are doing everything we can to move this project along so students can move in," Schulz said.
Information about New Student Housing at NIACC
The new student housing is located next to the NIACC ponds, a walking/ bike trail that goes into town, basketball, sand volleyball and tennis courts. The new air-conditioned housing includes state-of-the art security, free Wi-Fi, a computer lab, a meeting room, a convenience store and common spaces for studying and socializing.
Other details of the facility include:
Floor lounges
• Large screen TV's for viewing or gaming
• Countertop and sink for washing utensils and cups
• Laundry facility in each wing with multiple washers and dryers
• Power shades to adjust the lighting in the lounges
• Microwave
Security Features
• Swipe key and pass code required to enter your suite
• 50+ security cameras
• 12 Resident Advisors live in a private suite on the floors
• Two professional staff Head Residents live right on site
Other Features
• Common space at entrance of facility for meeting friends, watching TV or just hanging out
• Classroom with access to 20 computers
• Elevators in each wing
• Incredible lake views from each room and floor lounge
• Lots of natural lighting
• Personal mailbox
• Every floor has its own recycling center
• Personal swipe cards works for entrance to the building, suite and all needs on campus, such as checking out books and purchasing items at the Book Store, Convenience Store and Cafeteria.
Fall classes at NIACC begin Monday August 25. Anyone who is interested in enrolling may call the NIACC Admissions Office at 1-888- GO NIAC. Ask for Admissions. A video of the student housing featuring details and architectural concepts can be found on the NIACC YouTube Channel. That can be easily accessed from the home page of the NIACC web site: www.niacc.edu
# # #


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JOHN MAZZOLA as been promoted to GM of the USF Sun Dome in Tampa (Sun Dome)....PAUL JACOBS, former Exec VP/General Counsel of the Rockies, is now a lead partner in Jacbos Chase Frick Kleinkopf & Kelley, a new Denver law firm with an emphasis on the business of sports (Shenkin Kurtz)....DEB KAUFMAN has joined the broadcasting staff at MSG Network. She was at ESPN2 (MSG)....WAYNE HUIZENGA's Republic Waste Industries has acquired Kertz Security Systems of Ft. Lauderdale (MIAMI HERALD, 8/29).
Sports Industrialists
BRUCE MCCAW, who has a controlling interest in Orca Bay Entertainment in Vancouver, is also into IndyCar racing. He owns a team called PacWest Racing which is profiled in the VANCOUVER SUN. McCaw: "Our goal is to be one of the top teams in IndyCar racing. We're pretty close to that now, only it's a little more crowded than it was" (VANCOUVER SUN, 8/30)....On GQ's "Overrated List": Being the host city of the Olympics; Pat Riley; righteousness about Ticketmaster; converting to Islam in jail; Agassi vs. Sampras; Reggie miller; the Baseball Hall of Fame (GQ, 9/95 issue)....JULIA RUTH STEVENS, daughter of BABE RUTH, on the "Curse of the Bambino": "I can never in my life remember my father ever wishing the Red Sox any ill will. ... Heaven's no, my father wouldn't think of putting a curse on the Red Sox" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/29)....The Phillies' JIM EISENREICH has met with screenwriter RICK HILL, who is "shopping a script" of Eisenreich's story for a possible feature film. Eisenreich overcame a battle with tourette's syndrome that threatened his career (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 8/29).
Seaver Marketing is organizing the 1996 National Sports Forum to bring together executives in team sports marketing, promotions, and corporate sponsorship sales. The forum will be held January 22-24 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, CO. Steering committee members include STEPHEN PHELPS, NFL Properties, BOB WAGNER, Mighty Ducks, MARIO ALIOTO, San Francisco Giants; MIKE SHEENAN, Mavericks; DENNIS MANION, Phillies, JEFFREY POLLACK, Digital Sports Network; JIM LORIA, KC Blades; RUSS LANEY, U.S. Air Force Academy; and LARRY SINDALL, KIRO Direct. Cost is $395, or $345 if registration is receieved by October 31. For morer information, contact MIKE WALLEN at Seaver Marketing Group in San Diego (619) 467-6753 (SEAVER MARKETING).


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Bioceramic™ Fabric
The VIRUS Women's Energy Series Bioceramic™ Compression Tech Pant (EAu7) has been engineered to provide natural compounds that emit far infra-red therapy directly from the fabric. Far infra-red compounds include oxides of zirconium, aluminium, zinc, titanium and antimony. Combined, these elements are known to help improve circulation, repair and regenerate overworked tissues, muscles and nerves, reduce inflammation and decrease pain.
- Bioceramic™ Fabric
- Targeted Compression
- Quick Dry wicks away moisture and sweat
- Reduces inflammation
- Combats fatigue
Sizing Guide
Product Care
- Liquid soap only
- Machine wash cold with like colors
- Hang dry only
Fit Model Info
Model shown is wearing size S Compression Tech Pants
- Height: 5'9
- Waist: 25
- Hip: 36


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As I was watching The Hobo Code, I was profoundly struck by the scene between Pete and Peggy in his office after they make love. Physically, it is almost perfectly echoed by the scene between them in Meditations in an Emergency.
Consider this:
Hobo Code: Pete & Peggy are the first ones in the office.
Meditations in an Emergency: Pete & Peggy are the last ones in the office.
Hobo: Peggy stops by Pete's office just to offer him coffee, he invites her in.
Meditations: Peggy stops by Pete's office just to say goodnight, he invites her in.
Hobo: Pete tries to get heartfelt with Peggy, at first she stops him, but he persists.
Meditations: Pete tries to get heartfelt with Peggy, at first she stops him and he points out that it's always hard to talk to her, and then he persists.
In both, they sit side-by-side on a couch, facing each other, Pete leaning forward on his knees, Peggy holding herself in a more restrained way.
Hobo: As she leaves, she touches him on the head in a comforting way.
Meditations: As she leaves, she touches him on the shoulder in a comforting way.
Hobo: After Peggy is gone, Pete sits alone in his office, holding a drink.
Meditations: After Peggy is gone, Pete sits alone in his office, holding a shotgun.
These are the bookends of this relationship. In The Hobo Code, Peggy was full of longing for Pete, she was trying to find a way to extend and rely on the intimacy, while in Meditations in an Emergency, she appreciated him, was kind towards him, but was done with all that.
One more thing: In Hobo Code, a few hours after Peggy had accepted this intimacy from Pete, he rejected her with great cruelty. In Meditations, we can see that she was self-contained, that her rejecting of Pete's love was about who she was and where she was, and not about Pete at all. Yet can we truly say that she doesn't feel, somewhere within, where accepting Pete ultimately leads?
18 Responses to "Rewatching Hobo Code: Part 2—Pete & Peggy"
I think Pete and Peggy are in love with each other. It's one of those relationships that really shouldn't happen, but do. Doesn't everyone have a friend that is just with this "guy", and you have no idea why she can't move on from him? And they always seem to be together, but not really? That's what they remind me of. Love doesn't have to make sense.
Doesn't everyone have a friend that is just with this "guyâ€, and you have no idea why she can't move on from him? And they always seem to be together, but not really?
Nope, no idea what that's like. Nosireebob.
The post coitus hobo talk is all about Pete. He admits to not having read her copy and considering how the episode unfolds he only offered in order to keep her around as an audience. She is fine with being an audience to his frustrations and fantasies until she realizes that he is not willing to reverse the roles. So it is really necessary that she demonstrate all of this to him in her rejection in Meditations in an Emergency.
The Hobo Code's ending also brings about how Peggy and Don are mirrors for each other. They both reach the end of their extramarital sexual relationships that have defined them (or they used to define themselves) and move on by acting like nothing has happened. Meditations ends with them reconciling with things that did not seem important to them in the earlier episode.
portias, yes, and this is also the episode where Peggy says she's going to start keeping a spare shirt. Like Don. To facilitate affairs.
I can't say enough about this, though. I mean, the quality of the writing—we've been talking about symmetry and echoes, but to do it across two episodes in different seasons is mind-blowing. That's real professionalism.
And it's mostly physical. It's mostly in posture and movement. Which is a deft use of the medium; it's TV not a book, and also makes it work subliminally. You don't have to realize that there's a symmetry in order to feel it.
Because Meditations feels like an echo of the moment when Pete and Peggy were most intimate, their closeness, and the importance of what Peggy says, is reinforced.
The symmetry is achingly beautiful. It's like listening to Glenn Gould play Bach.
[…] emailed Matt Weiner about my Pete & Peggy post (very alliterative) and asked if this was something he did on […]
Because Meditations feels like an echo of the moment when Pete and Peggy were most intimate, their closeness, and the importance of what Peggy says, is reinforced
I would posit that they were actually more intimate in Meditations, because they were each being honest about themselves with each other.
I never thought I'd feel sorry for that rat bastard Pete, but Meditations did it. I think he really does love Peggy and he missed that train.
What exactly will the future bring for Pete and Peggy? As of the end of Season 2, Pete's marriage to Trudy is near collaspe, he has learned of the existence of an illegitimate he has conceived and Peggy has emotionally rejected him.
Peggy's life seemed to be on the positive side of the ledger right now. Which makes me wonder what is in store for her. If she continues where she has left off at the end of Season 2, there is no story for her. Not really. So what will the future bring for her?
If she continues where she has left off at the end of Season 2, there is no story for her. Not really.
I don't follow. For most if not all of season two she has taken her self out of situations where she has much risk, both professionally and personally. Re-entering them is going to be difficult and require negotiating with people who are not used to having to negotiate. She has also kept herself sheltered from social causes, and I would love to see her pick a cause and fight for it. Hopefully nothing that makes her as miserable as the unwanted pregnancy.
As for Pete, well I wold like to see more of his plot be about professionalism in a way that really does counterpoint season one, both where he is and where the business is.
Pete's own arc is certainly about his growth and development, personally and professionally.
However there's a neat kind of parallel to be made between Pete's knowing Don's secret (and how it blew up in Pete's face) and Don's (potentially) knowing Pete's secret.
The second parentheses indicates a big question: does Don know that Pete's the father? If he does, there could be additional symmetry in Don using it to blackmail Pete in some deft way. Too soapy?
The EEO passed in 1963. I think that may have an impact on Peggy. I think her awareness of herself as a professional and her place in a man's world has only begun to be explored.
If Don knows Pete's secret, then woah. 😮
Actually, since Don seems to have faith in Pete's abilities and commands more of his respect at this point, I really think if Don knew, he wouldn't need to use it to blackmail Pete.
Maybe to blackmail him(use it as leverage?) in an argument between the two, but not anything like what Pete tried to do in Season 1.
I don't see Don blackmailing Pete. That's not the way that he likes to do business.
Could see Mr. Weiner hinting at it in S3 to fuck with our heads.
"What exactly will the future bring for Pete and Peggy? As of the end of Season 2, Pete's marriage to Trudy is near collaspe, he has learned of the existence of an illegitimate he has conceived and Peggy has emotionally rejected him."
I thought the idea of him learning that some child up for adoption (or, "discard" as his mother called them) — a topic about which he has been fighting strongly against Trudy, and in a way, refusing to both grow up and to perpetuate his parent's frigid show of a family relationship — was incredibly sad. I did feel sorry for Pete. But I am glad he will now be forced to realize how cruel he was to Peggy, and that his losing her was a direct consequence of that.
But also, I think they could never have been together. It's like Peggy says, she could have shamed him into being with her. He would have resented her even more than he resents Trudy for what he feels is forcing him into these roles. (I had wondered where Pete's resentment of the empty traditions of society would lead him in the later counter-culture scene, but now that he knows he has a child out there someone, from a woman he really loves… I don't know.) Also, Peggy needed to become her own woman. She would have felt just as trapped as Pete, which is why she chose not to go that route.
At first, taking the road she did seems like the most logical choice, and yet why didn't she immediately choose it? Why did she delay making her choice for so long?
With so many reasons and justifications for either route, she weighed them almost equally(which caused her denial for so long, she didn't want to have to deal with making the decision). I think that Peggy's maternal instincts were what gave the alternate route such viability in her mind. It doesn't seem logical, but I'm guessing something to that effect happened. (I also believe her aversion to holding the baby was so she could make it easier to repress her maternal instincts, which I'm guessing were extremely overwhelming.)
I think Peggy's tipping point was when Don visited her. It caused her to lean towards giving the baby up for adoption and helped her follow through with that decision(however bad Don's advice was). I admire Peggy for sticking with her decision, but she's repressing alot of emotions relating to the baby and that's not good/healthy.
I also could be completely wrong on this point, though. 😛
At first, taking the road she did seems like the most logical choice, and yet why didn't she immediately choose it? Why did she delay making her choice for so long?
It is less a road than a desire line. Everything is so informal, enough people have done it before to leave marks, but it is not the assaigned, "correct" path. And Peggy sees herself as someone who "follows all the rules."
There's also a parallel between Pete's child (being raised by 2 strangers) and little Dick/Don (raised by stepmother and new husband), instead of their biological parents.
Is Pete wondering if his own son will someday have to resort to Dick/Don's subterfuge and identity makeover to make himself a success?
Maybe he would start to think of Dick/Don in a different light, if he hasn't already…
And if Don knew Pete secret, he'd probably keep silent, thus closing the circle.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.


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I have a 1990 Toyota Camry LE that during warm months always cranks just fine, but as cooler weather approches on cold days it either hesitaes before cranking or does not start at all. The battery is fairly new so I am unsure if this is an ignition problem, cable problem or just a cold battery.
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012 AT 8:44 PM


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TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) – Topeka police say a 2-year-old girl who had been missing for more than 24 hours has been found safe.
However, police are still looking for the man who took the girl during a domestic disturbance on Saturday in southwest Topeka.
Details of how and where the girl was found Sunday have not been released.
Officers were called to the home Saturday afternoon, where a woman said her boyfriend was inside with their nearly 2-year-old daughter.
After a nearly four-hour standoff, police entered the home and found no one inside.


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YONKERS—Federal prosecutors' allegations that former City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi took money from developers has a former councilman renewing calls for legislation to help the city more closely track lobbyists.
Former Republican Councilman John Murtagh said this week that current lawmakers should consider legislation he twice introduced to the council, in 2009 and 2010, to require anyone lobbying city officials or employees to register with the city.
That original bill "got lost in the shuffle," he said, and never made it to a vote.
But as Annabi prepares to defend herself in federal court against allegations she and former city GOP boss Zehy Jereis conspired to sell her votes on the Ridge Hill Village and Longfellow schools projects, Murtagh said somebody should "take the ball and move it forward" on his previous efforts.
"People would be willing to comply with" a local lobbyist registration ordinance, Murtagh said Tuesday, adding that it would allow constituents to see "who is trying to influence my councilman on that development in my neighborhood."
The state already has a lobbyist registration database where the public can look up details such as the names of lobbyists, what they were paid, who hired them, who they are lobbying and on what topic they are lobbying.
Murtagh said a local ordinance would have given the city a tool to pursue charges against people like Anthony Mangone, who was indicted by federal prosecutors two years ago but has since pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Annabi and Jereis.
Mangone was the lawyer for the Longfellow developer and claims to have paid Jereis tens of thousands of dollars to pass along to Annabi for her vote.
Council President Chuck Lesnick posed another idea this week – higher pay for council members.
Currently the lawmakers are considered part-time employees and earn a base salary of $37,905.
The council president said that partly because of the city's "fairly strong" ethics code, some members have been restricted from pursuing more lucrative work outside City Hall.
After the city ethics board ruled in 2006 that his law firm could not represent clients before city agencies, Lesnick resigned his position as "of counsel" to Smith Buss & Jacobs and pledged to seek clients elsewhere for his tax credit consulting business.
He said Tuesday that such moves can result in a "tremendous diminution of income" for lawmakers.
"More and more, legislators are treating (their work) like full-time jobs," Lesnick said, "and maybe if they paid it accordingly, and made it full time, we might have less problems like this."
In November 2005, Yonkers voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum (based on earlier legislation by Murtagh and former Council President Richard Martinelli) to overhaul the city's ethics code and throw out its old board.
The strengthened Yonkers ethics board that exists today replaced a virtually nonexistent previous Ethics Board that had no budget, one vacancy and four members serving with expired terms.
A Charter Revision Commission convened by former Mayor Phil Amicone in 2004 retooled the city's ethics laws after a Journal News investigation exposed the condition of the previous board and other shortcomings in the city's ethics laws.
The current ethics code requires city officials to, among many other things, file annual disclosure forms with the board listing all their outside employers. They must also reveal whether those employers, or any of their clients, stand to gain from business they may have before the city.


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The Story of the Allman Brothers Band's Rebirth, 'Enlightened Rogues'
In January 2014, guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks announced their plans to leave the Allman Brothers Band at year's end, prompting longtime leader Gregg Allman to proclaim the band's simultaneous retirement. However, you shouldn't bet against an eventual rebirth, since the iconic southern rockers made their first comeback from an extended "breakup" in February 1979 via their Enlightened Rogues LP.
Three years earlier, the Allmans had conclusively ground to a halt, when years of personal tragedies (brother Duane and Berry Oakley's crushing deaths), escalating substance abuse, diminished inspiration, competing solo careers and celebrity wives culminated in Gregg ratting out his road manager to beat a federal drugs rap.
But musical marriages seem to heal all wounds, in time, because by December 1978, Gregg, Dickey, plus drummers Jaimoe and Butch Trucks were already working together again as the Allman Brothers Band — this time complemented by guitarist Dan Toler (latterly of Betts' solo outfit, Great Southern) and bassist David Goldflies — at Miami's Criteria Sound Studios.
Even longtime producer Tom Dowd was back on the team, but Enlightened Rogues tellingly saw Dickey Betts running the show, creatively speaking, thanks to multiple contributions like the country-inflected "Crazy Love," the instrumental "Pegasus," the Latin-flavored "Try it One More Time," dreamy "Sail Away" and pure southern rocker "Can't Take It With You."
Allman, for his part, simply weighed in with the mellow, weary and mournful "Just Ain't Easy," which seemed to carry the weight of the world on its shoulders but, thankfully, not the rest of the album (rounded out by a pair of covers), nor the inherent pressures and tall expectations associated with an Allman Brothers reunion.
This, in the event, clearly met with success. The reshuffled band was warmly embraced by most critics and certainly their fans. While it proved no blockbuster at the cash register, Enlightened Rogues performed well enough to get the Allman Brothers Band back on track for a few years.
Still, true stability wouldn't come until the '90s, thanks in large part to the integration of Haynes (and sorely missed bassist Allen Woody), and the Allman Brothers Band remained a reliable touring force, despite continuing turnover throughout the years.
See the Allman Brothers Band and Other Rockers in the Top 100 Albums of the '70s