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(AP) - GROWTH QUICKENS: China's economy, the world's second largest, grew 7.8 percent in the latest quarter compared with a year ago, government data showed Friday. That was up from 7.5 percent growth in the previous quarter, which was the slowest in two decades.
THE DOMESTIC FALLOUT: The improvement eases pressure on communist leaders who say their priority is longer-term reforms aimed at steering the economy to slower, more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption instead of exports and investment.
WORLD IMPACT: The deceleration of China's economy is denting revenues for suppliers of commodities and industrial components such as Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Lower Chinese demand already has depressed prices for iron ore and other raw materials.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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News | May 20, 2003
Newly Discovered Star May Be Third-Closest
The local celestial neighborhood just got more crowded with a discovery of a star that may be the third closest to the Sun. The star, "SO25300.5+165258," is a faint red dwarf star estimated to be about 7.8 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Aries.
"Our new stellar neighbor is a pleasant surprise, since we weren't looking for it," said Dr. Bonnard Teegarden, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Teegarden is lead author of a paper announcing the discovery to be published by the Astrophysical Journal. This work has been done in close collaboration with Dr. Steven Pravdo of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
If its estimate of distance is confirmed, the newfound star will be the Sun's third-closest stellar neighbor, slightly farther than the Alpha Centauri system, actually a group of three stars a bit more than four light-years away, and Barnard's star, about six light-years away. One light-year is almost six trillion miles, or nearly 9.5 trillion kilometers.
The new star has only about seven percent of the mass of the Sun, and it is 300,000 times fainter. The star's feeble glow is the reason why it has not been seen until now, despite being relatively close.
"We discovered this star in September 2002 while searching for white dwarf stars in an unrelated program," said Teegarden. The team was looking for white dwarf stars that move rapidly across the sky. Celestial objects with apparent rapid motion are called High Proper Motion objects. An object of this type can be discovered in successive images of an area of sky because it noticeably shifts its position while its surroundings remain fixed. Since either a distant star moving quickly or a nearby star moving slower can exhibit the same High Proper Motion, astronomers must use other measurements to determine its distance from Earth.
During its star search, the team used the SkyMorph database for NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Tracking program, to search for asteroids that might be on a collision course for Earth. Pravdo is project manager of the asteroid tracking program and is principal investigator for SkyMorph, which was separately supported by NASA's Applied Information Systems Research Program. Like High Proper Motion stars, asteroids reveal themselves when they shift their position against background stars in successive images. Automated telescopes scan the sky, accumulating thousands of images for the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking program, which have been incorporated into SkyMorph, a web-accessible database, for use in other types of astronomical research.
Once the star revealed itself in the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking images, the team found other images of the same patch of sky to establish a rough distance estimate by a technique called trigonometric parallax. This technique is used to calculate distances to relatively close stars. As Earth progresses in its orbit around the Sun, the position of a nearby star will appear to shift compared to background stars much farther away -- the larger the shift, the closer the star.
The team refined their initial distance estimate with another technique called photometric parallax. They used the 3.5-meter (11.5 feet) Astrophysical Research Consortium telescope at the Apache Point observatory, Sunspot, N.M., to observe the star and separate its light into its component colors for analysis. This allowed the team to determine what kind of star it is. The analysis indicates it's similar to a red dwarf star (spectral type M6.5) that's shining by fusing hydrogen atoms in its core, like our Sun (called a main sequence star).
Once the type of star is known, its true brightness, called intrinsic luminosity, can be determined. Since all light-emitting objects appear dimmer as distance from them increases, the team compared how bright the new star appeared in their images to its intrinsic luminosity to improve their distance estimate.
Although the star resembles a M6.5 red dwarf, it actually appears three times dimmer than expected for this kind of star at the initial distance estimate of 7.8 light-years. The star could therefore really be farther than the rough trigonometric distance indicates; or, if the initial estimate holds, it could have unusual properties that make it shine less brightly than typical M6.5 red dwarfs. A more precise measurement of the new star's position to establish an improved trigonometric parallax distance is underway at the U.S. Naval Observatory. This will confirm or refute its status as one of our closest neighbors by late this year. Either way, we might get even more company soon: "Since the survey only covered a band of the sky (about 25 degrees in declination), it is entirely possible that other faint nearby objects remain to be discovered," said Teegarden.
In addition to Teegarden and Pravdo, the team includes Dr. Thomas McGlynn of Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Michael Hicks and Dr. Stuart Shaklan of JPL; Dr. Suzanne Hawley, Kevin Covey and Oliver Fraser, of the University of Washington, Seattle; and Dr. Iann Reid of the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
JPL manages the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking system and SkyMorph for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is managed by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
News Media ContactJPL/Jane Platt
(818) 354-0880
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
William Steigerwald
(301) 286-5017

subset: commoncrawl


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View current advisories.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) collects and reviews information on harmful algae blooms, and informs the public through the issuing and lifting of advisories when water sampling data warrants. This information allows people to take protective action to avoid illness before deciding where to recreate. OHA relies on water sampling data provided by our partners. Read more about the water sampling process.
Algae Bloom Awareness: You and Your PetSince most waterbodies in Oregon are not monitored,혻OHA staff recommend you become familiar with your surroundings and know the signs of a bloom before you take the plunge.
Promoting health and preventing the leading causes of death, disease and injury in Oregon.


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Seoul Goes Local in Development
A recent EASIN Urban, Transport and DRM Community of Practice (CoP) meeting I attended in Seoul, South Korea was an eye opener in terms of the rapid urban development of the city of Seoul. Considered an East Asian tiger, manufacturing and an export-led economy have made Seoul a global city with neon skylines and the new focus of Asia's technology boom. A presentation by Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), the agency responsible for the city's urban planning, describes the city as a 'strategic space for people to reside in since ancient times'. Nevertheless, the city and its urban identity have gone through various transformations – through the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) to restoration after the Korean war (1950-53) to industrialization (1960s-1970s) to development and globalization. In SMG's words, Seoul is witnessing the 'environmental and historical awakening as a world city'. Evidence of this was seen in sites I visited to the restored Cheonggyecheon stream and a former landfill converted to Haneul Park.


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Ray Pittman needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 67 designs submitted by 16 freelance designers.
Need a website homepage and one subpage designed for a Medical Equipment Manufacturer. Needs a professional, clean, functional and somewhat upscale website design. This design will be used a template for a backend CMS system, so be mindful of that. Coding is not part of this contest, just the design work.
We are open to various ideas and concepts, so feel free to be creative and come up with something very professional that has a good feel to it.
We have linked to a folder containing images of our products and includes our logo that we would like used on the site and in the slideshow. We are providing a list of sites the customer has chosen for certain aspects of their look and feel. Consistent comment from the customer: Clean look and Feel.
Read our expanded writeup to understand more of what we are looking for and for sites the customer likes and dislikes. http://www.quasars.com/99D/penlon/writeup.pdf
This is a business-to-business and a business-to-consumer website, so please keep that in mind.
Penlon America has over 60 years experience in designing and manufacturing anesthesia and other medical products for patients in need. They also offer repair and maintenance services on all medical and veterinary anesthesia machines. They currently offer approximately 1000 products.
Site Colors: Site colors should complement the orange in the logo. We are open to your discretion. Blues and greys are typical "medical" colors. The site should NOT, however, be predominantly orange.
Menu: wants a dynamic drop-down navigational menu feature, much like the one found on http://www.JohnLewis.com. Customer request: a double line with the company information on the top line and the categories underneath. Also likes the clean look and feel of this site. NOTE: menu must be text-based, for the backend database to handle database entries by the customer.
Background: May want a fixed background, like on http://www.sourcebits.com. Customer likes this aspect. Make more like a watermark, with more subtle colors.
Home Page: Will have approximately 6 featured products. Penlon gas machines, Amsorb Plus CO2 Absorbents, Laryngoscopes, Hauge Airways, Suction equipment, Service. Images available at http://www.quasars.com/99D/penlon/.


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It seems that this is the role he was born to play.
For "American Idol" finalist Constantine Maroulis, portraying a would-be rock star has meant critical acclaim, a Tony nomination and … unbearably freezing temperatures.
Hopefully that last part changes when the national tour of the musical "Rock of Ages" rolls into Costa Mesa next week.
"We have been freezing our fargin' butts off," Maroulis laughed, describing their last few months of touring in locations like Louisville, Minneapolis and Orlando. The show opened in the Windy City in September.
"Florida was wickedly cold," he said, using a few other choice adjectives to describe the tour's constant stream of bad weather luck.
Maroulis said the cast and crew are excited to bring the show, an unashamed, unabashed tribute to '80s pop rock, back to Southern California — where much of it is set, and where it first premiered in Hollywood in 2006.
"The show takes place on Hollywood Boulevard and the Sunset Strip, so it'll be a lot of fun," Maroulis said.
'I Wanna Rock'
The show is set in the heady days of 1987 — back when Gordon Gekko first taught moviegoers that greed is good, U2's "With or Without You" was a new release, and the launch of a drug called Prozac captivated the world.
Maroulis stars as busboy Drew, "just a city boy born and raised in south Detroit," of course, who dreams of being a rock star. And just as naturally, Drew falls in love with "a small-town girl living in a lonely world" named Sherrie.
Between delving into the murky worlds of redevelopment scandals, exotic dancing and pizza delivery, the show is a raucous trip through the time of mullets, leg warmers and wine coolers, punctuated with hits like "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You."
The show is considered a "jukebox musical" because its songs already were hits before being incorporated into the musical's score, as was the case for "Mamma Mia!" and "Jersey Boys."
It also draws an unexpectedly varied audience, Maroulis said.
"Ultimately, if you just sat there and dissected the audience, it's probably similar in every city," Maroulis said. "On the opening few nights there are lots of subscribers, and then a nice demographic of teenage kids who love 'American Idol' and 'Glee,' who come with their parents. Then there's lots of 30-, 40- and 50-somethings who come to hear Def Leppard, but don't get to hear it because we don't use any, which is kind of our inside joke. But they just love it, and then maybe they go on to see other Broadway shows."
(Despite the show's title, the Def Leppard song "Rock of Ages" wasn't included due to a licensing issue.)
Maroulis said that beneath all the glitter and hairspray, "Rock of Ages" has a strong message that endears itself to audiences.
"People wouldn't come to the show if they didn't see that there's a lot going on onstage," he said. "There's a great story; there's a great communication between people who really want something. There are clearly caricatures as well, but my story is an earnest boy-meets-girl love story."
Best of all, "Rock of Ages" isn't just the kind of musical that a girl would drag a husband or boyfriend to, promising a night of rock music.
"On the total opposite of that, it's the kind of show where a guy will score major points if he brings his girlfriend or his wife to it," Maroulis said — and added that those men frequently are the ones at the merchandise tables afterward, buying T-shirts and CDs.
"It's a lot of fun and it's a unique experience," he said. "I feel like they leave with something very special."
'Don't Stop Believing'
Maroulis, 35, a New Jersey native of Greek descent, was the sixth-place "American Idol" finalist in the show's fourth season. One of the first contestants to focus on rock music, he also is one of few to have gone into professional acting since their time on the reality show, and is the show's biggest Broadway success story; Maroulis earned a Tony nomination for his leading role in "Rock of Ages," which he originated before taking the show on tour.
Maroulis attributes his Broadway success to his training at the Boston Conservatory, which led to his acting apprenticeship at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; an international tour with the "RENT" musical touring company, starring as Roger; appearances in other musicals like "Jesus Christ Superstar;" and film and television appearances.
Between "Idol" and "Rock of Ages," he released an eponymous album and embarked on a series of solo tours, as well as appearing in the Broadway musical "The Wedding Singer," serving as an "American Idol" expert on a Fox morning show and on Yahoo!, as well as "American Idol Extra," and briefly appearing as another, eerily similar Constantine on "The Bold and the Beautiful."
Maroulis said that despite growing up with varied musical influences, his tastes leaned more to the hair bands of the day.
"I have an older brother and sister, and they were a huge influence on me artistically and musically," Maroulis said. "They're a bit older than me, and they have distinct tastes. My brother was into pretty much everything, but he was more of an underground, goth kind of guy; he was into the New York scene, Bauhaus and Bowie and stuff, but then would also love Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. My sister was into New Wave. They thought I was super cheesy for loving Poison and Bon Jovi and stuff, but I thought those songs were really good."
Maroulis also has put out an independent record on his own label, appropriately named Sixth Place Records.
"The whole experience was amazing," he said. "I'd love to devote more time to that down the road, and it can be very profitable, but it can also be hard work. If you know you have a loyal fan base, you can do very well with modest numbers."
He also plans to continue exploring acting and musical opportunities down the road.
"I love my career, and I love the path I've taken," he said.
Maroulis said a film version of the show is in the works; A-list stars from Steve Carell to Tom Cruise to Taylor Swift have reportedly been in talks with producers, but Maroulis opted not to give any details on casting.
"I think [the film is] a testament to the hard work we've all put into it," he said.


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A New Political Meaning for Guy Fawkes's Face
In January 2008, a group of computer hackers who often posted on 4chan got upset that the Church of Scientology was trying to remove embarrassing videos from the web. Announcing themselves as a loose organization called Anonymous, they launched "Project Chanology," an attack on that church. The next month, some participants in that protest appeared on Canadian television and on picket lines wearing Guy Fawkes masks, as the photo above shows and the Boston Globe reported.
According to some sources, those masks were supposed to signal that Scientology is an "epic fail," or was headed for a "Year of Epic Fail." Few people outside of 4chan were acquainted with Epic Fail Guy, however. Therefore, most observers probably read those masks as symbols of a more general anti-authoritarian sentiment. Either way, there's a fair amount of irony in the representation of a religious zealot being used to protest a religion.
From those protests, the Guy Fawkes mask was picked up by participants in Occupy Wall Street and similar protests around the world. But not just any such mask—the design from the V for Vendetta movie has now become the standard Guy Fawkes mask, eclipsing other images of the historical figure. Both creators of the original V for Vendetta comic, Alan Moore and David Lloyd, have applauded the use of their anarchist icon in such political protests.
And that brings yet more irony: the more readily available V for Vendetta mask is a licensed product of Time Warner (though I have no doubt there are also knock-offs on the market). Thus, the product of a big business is being used to protest the corruptions of big business.
Obviously, the symbolism of Guy Fawkes has evolved over the years, just as Americans have shifted around and reinterpreted the traditions of the Fifth of November since the 1700s. Yet all the different versions share some element of upending the current order—possibly just for a night of misrule, possibly in fundamental ways. That was part of colonial New England's Pope Night processions, part of Lloyd's smirking character design, and part of the recent political protests against entrenched power.


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The photos and videos shown here may be of a different model, model year or body type from the one selected. The ratings of one vehicle often apply to other models if they are built on the same platform. In addition, a test of a vehicle from one model year may apply to earlier or later model years if the vehicle hasn't been significantly redesigned.
The Dodge and Plymouth Neon were introduced in the 1995 model year.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has evaluated the crashworthiness of the Neon in two 40 mph frontal offset crash tests into a deformable barrier. In the first test of this car, the dummy's feet/ankles were an earlier design from the one used in tests of other small cars. A second test was conducted with a new foot/ankle design, and similar results were obtained. This evaluation is based on both tests, except leg/foot evaluations are based on the second test only.
Measures taken from the head, neck, and chest indicate low risk of injuries to these body regions in a crash of this severity. In the first test, head acceleration from hitting the steering wheel was low. In the second test, forces on the left tibia indicate that injuries to the lower leg would be possible. Forces on the right tibia indicate that injuries to the lower leg would be likely.
Dummy movement wasn't well controlled during either test. There was too much rearward movement of the steering wheel during both tests, and, in the first test, this contributed to the dummy's head bottoming out the airbag and hitting the steering wheel. In the second test, the airbag didn't bottom out. Otherwise, dummy movement was similar in both tests.
How this test is conducted
IIHS doesn't track or investigate vehicle defects. Use this link to search the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's database for recalls on this or any other vehicle.
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ROGERS, Ark., Dec 11 (Reuters) - In an unmarked building on the outskirts of this old railroad town, hundreds of workers are going about the unglamorous work of expanding the United States' social safety net.
From morning until midnight, clerks here type up the names, Social Security numbers and other personal details of those who have filled out paper applications for health insurance under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.
From the outside, there's no indication that the workers in the three-story brick building are carrying out an increasingly crucial part of the healthcare overhaul known as Obamacare.
But as the Obama administration tries to recover from the disastrous debut of the website that is supposed to enroll millions of Americans in health coverage, its call for frustrated Americans to enroll the old-fashioned way - on paper - have made this building in Rogers, Arkansas, one of the most important cogs in the president's signature domestic achievement.
The White House still plans for most uninsured and under-insured Americans to sign up on the HealthCare.gov website, but it estimates that about 1 in 3 applications - as many as 6 million by the end of March - will be done on paper.
As of the end of November, consumers had submitted about 230,000 paper applications, about 20 percent of the total, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday.
It isn't cheap to process all that paper.
Through the end of October, the administration had agreed to pay $202 million to Serco, the international conglomerate that handles the documents for the 36 states that have not set up their own insurance exchanges. That was more than the $174 million the government had spent on the website at that point.
By the time the contract expires in 2018, the U.S. government could pay Serco as much as $1.2 billion - nearly twice what it expects to eventually spend on the website.
For Rogers and three other small cities in the middle of the United States, that spending has an upside.
Since the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS) awarded Serco the Obamacare contract in July, the company has created more than 3,000 clerical and data-entry jobs in small cities where an office job that pays $10 to $13 an hour with limited benefits is considered a livable wage.
The company ultimately could hire up to 10,000 people for the work, a company spokesman told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in October.
Serco has set up four facilities to handle paper applications for Obamacare coverage. Paper forms are mailed to a facility in London, Kentucky, where they are converted to an electronic format and sent to offices in Wentzville, Missouri, Lawton, Oklahoma, and Rogers, a city of 57,000 in northwest Arkansas.
Workers at those sites enter information from the scanned images into the same computer system that underpins HealthCare.gov, to verify applicants' identity and determine whether they are eligible for government subsidies to help them pay for coverage.
The Serco workers undergo a background check and are not allowed to access the Internet or use mobile phones while on the job as part of an effort to protect consumer privacy, CMS said.
In a matter of months, Serco has become one of the biggest employers in a thriving economy in the Rogers area that is anchored by the corporate headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., JB Hunt Transport Services and Tyson Foods.
Serco hired about 600 workers in Rogers in August and brought on another 1,000 at the end of October, according to local officials.
"There's a lot of people who are going to have a better Christmas this year because Serco located in northwest Arkansas," said Michael Harvey, chief operating officer of the Northwest Arkansas Council, a business-development group.
Serco keeps a low profile in Rogers.
There's no logo in front of the building that houses its operations, though security guards are quick to intercept visitors to the property. Employees smoking cigarettes at the edge of the parking lot on a recent day said they have been told not to speak to the media. A company spokesman did not respond to several requests for comment.
Rogers isn't necessarily desperate for jobs.
New hotels, shopping centers and gated developments attest to the prosperity that has come with Wal-Mart's explosive growth. The unemployment rate in Rogers was 5.4 percent in August, nearly two percentage points below the national figure. Local officials say the 2007-2009 recession felt more like a pause in the long boom that has more than doubled the region's population since 1990.
Nevertheless, officials say Serco has filled an important gap by providing jobs for lower-skilled workers who had been relegated to minimum-wage jobs during the recession. They hope that the company will use the facility for other jobs once the Affordable Care Act work slows down.
"I've talked to a number of different folks who've accepted jobs and gone to work for Serco - they seem to be very happy," said Rogers Mayor Greg Hines.
Though the company appears to be widely admired in Rogers, its mission is less popular. Obama lost northwest Arkansas to Republican Mitt Romney by 32 percent to 66 percent in the 2012 presidential election, and many residents view Obamacare - which seeks to help more than 30 million Americans with little or no insurance and sets minimum standards for all types of coverage - as a costly experiment in social engineering.
That has required the area's politicians, overwhelmingly Republican, to balance their support for the economic benefits Obamacare has brought to the area with their opposition to the Democratic president's healthcare program.
"If America is going to continue to be placed under something as flawed as the Affordable Care Act, then at least if there are going to be jobs created by it, let's put some of those jobs in northwest Arkansas," said Republican Representative Steve Womack, who was mayor of Rogers before he ran for Congress.
Arkansas state Senator Bart Hester says he believes that Obamacare will saddle future generations with debt, but that it also has led at least one new Serco worker to move into an apartment building he owns in the Rogers area.
"The rental market's very good here. If you have 1,500 people moving to town it's only going to get better," Hester said. "You won't see me on Twitter bashing Serco."


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Macy's Keeps Lowering Shopper's Credit Limit Without Warning
Trey is upset. Four times in the past year, Macy's has reduced the credit limit on his card without advance notice, even as his card membership level keeps going up. (Apparently he really
likes liked to shop at Macy's.) "I lit into them for not advising me of my credit limit decrease, especially considering just three days before I received a brand new Macy*s platinum card in the mail, where they had the perfect opportunity to let me know it was now only $800."
In the past year, my Macy*s store account credit limit has adjusted four times without my knowledge. Each time the credit limit has dropped from $1,500 to $1,200 to $1,000 to $800. Each time the drop occurred I only found out because I was in Macy*s and the cashier rudely told me my card declined. Rather than helping me with the situation they sent me up to their 'courtesy' phones that are linked straight to their credit department. Each time was equally embarrassing and felt like I was being sent to the principal's office for my due punishment. Each time I called I got the bad news.
So when I called the credit department in store today they told me my limit had be downgraded again and that they'd transfer me to the credit department (I thought I was already speaking to them) to see if I could have an increase. The man rudely advised me no I could not – not like I exactly asked considering I was simply transfered away from the original agent. So that was that, I left the store head hung low without a purchase in hand. I will not buy their merchandise without their coupons because its simply overpriced otherwise and you can only use the coupons with their stupid credit card.
Well, today I was fed up with this ever moving credit line that leads only to in store embarrassment. As I headed to the parking lot my temper boiled. I made a special trip out to the mall and spent a lot of time, that I did not have, finding the items I wanted to purchase. Having been the fourth time this happened to me was enough! As soon as I got in the car I called the credit department on my own cell phone and went into a tirade. I lit into them for not advising me of my credit limit decrease, especially considering just three days before I received a brand new Macy*s platinum card in the mail, where they had the perfect opportunity to let me know it was now only $800. The women on the other end became insta-defensive of Macy*s inane and unpublished procedures on not letting their customers know their credit limit. I said that I was sick of being embarrassed by rude customer services associates and like a well trained robot she read from her 'Customer Service 101″ script of platitudes and fake apologies. I was then extremely angry and screamed you can be as "nice" as you think you are being, but shove it – cancel my account! I won't be embarrassed in your store again!" She then replied off of her script again "If I issue you a 15% off shopping pass, is their anyway I can prevent you from closing your account today?" I said "No! I already have about 20 stupid coupons at home that all have about a 112 exclusions anyway – plus my card doesn't work!" She then retorted angrily "Well the account is closed!" I then hung up.
They do not publish your credit limit on there website where you can check your account activity, nor when they issue you a new card. I know this for a fact because in the past year I got upgraded from their basic card to a gold card and then last week to a platinum card. So as I ascended their credit ladder of customer proof of purchase I was downgraded in credit limit (each upgrade corresponds with a dollar amount spent during the past year). I do not receive paper statements so I have no idea if they publish the credit limit there; I rely on my online statements as I do not like crap clogging up my mailbox.
Macy*s and I are friends off! I spent ungodly amounts of money at that store in my life especially considering what I earn per year as a student! Nothing makes me instantly pissed like a customer service person reading a script like a robot. They have no compassion for people and their problems. I have worked countless jobs in customer service from being a bagger at a grocer to one of those people on the other end of the phone in a call in center and it takes not an ounce of effort to show a person compassion for the misgivings of the company – might I add without giving the company an admitted black eye either. From the original customer associate in the store that sent me away to the courtesy phones to the three other people I spoke along the rocky road to account closure they could have easily assuaged the situation. Anything from a mere "I'm sorry about that, I'll certainly let my supervisor know of your concerns regarding our policy on advising customers of their credit limits – can I have you contact information so we can get back to you?" Or, "You had a rude associate in the store? Do you know their name so we can address this so you or any other customer never gets embarrassed again!"
Oh well, just another bad customer service experience and another store that will lose my business. I didn't really need the extra debt anyway!
That was going to be our advice anyway, Trey—just avoid the department store credit card altogether. Oh, and don't bother with Macy's crappy coupons.
(Photo: Getty)
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.


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First significant snowfall for the 09-10 season hit last night. This pano was taken in the welcome center carpark at around 08:30 in a brief beak in the weather. The snow kicked back in and hasn't let up - now 15:00.
Think i will have to hike up tomorrow morning - Game ON


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Home >> Course Descriptions >> College of Education
Language and Literacy for the Young Child
Three semester hours. (FL/SP/SS-Odd)
This course provides an understanding of the underlying theoretical principles and developmental patterns related to the acquisition of language and literacy. Authentic assessment of children s progress in literacy development is emphasized. Prerequisites: EDEC 2324, admission to the College of Education and 2.7 overall grade point average.
Home - General Information - Student Services -
Academic Undergraduate Regulations -
Undergraduate Degrees - Academic Graduate Regulations -
Graduate Degrees - Course Descriptions - Faculty -
Appendix A - Appendix B - Appendix C - Appendix D


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State-owned utility will pay for new power lines by selling bonds
Charleston, S.C.-based Santee Cooper recently announces its plans to build $135 million worth of high-voltage power lines over the next three years. The utility will string almost 200 miles of transmission lines.
About $50 million of that infrastructure will be used to connect two power turbines at its Cross generating station to the rest of the grid.
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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Unit 6.3 Chemical Processes
in Nature
Natural and household materials are used for doing classroom
experiments. The colors of different kinds of berries are
extracted to make acid-base indicators.
Video program cues: 14:10-25:40
Cells are dynamic
"Cells are dynamic living entities, but the
textbooks let us think that theyre static. The protein
complement of a cell changes from one minute to the next,
responding to environmental influences, responding to communication
from other cells, responding to what we have eaten, and
to what we are experiencing. Even when we are sitting still,
we have billions of changes going on constantly."
Dr. J. Craig Venter
Former President, Celera Genomics
Chemistry Highlights 2001 (2001)' Biochemistry, 'Chemical
& Engineering News, Vol. 79, No. 50, pp: 45-55.
Compounds from plants demonstration
and laboratory
Dr. Leslie Pierce demonstrates the acidity of household
solutions using indicators that are extracted from plants.
Kanda, Naoki; Asano, Takayuki; Itoh, Toshiyuki; Onoda, Makota
(1995)' Preparing "Chameleon Balls" from Natural Plants:
Simple Handmade pH Indicator and Teaching Material for Chemical
Equilibrium, 'Journal of Chemical Education, Vol.
72, No. 12, pp: 1131 (abstract only).
Correction (1996)' Preparing "Chameleon Balls" from Natural
Plants: Simple Handmade pH Indicator and Teaching Material
for Chemical Education, 'Journal of Chemical Education,
Vol. 73, No. 12, pp: 425.
Natural and synthetic processes
"When chemists are designing reactions,
they are usually after what is called selectivity. Selectivity
is when two chemicals come together, A+B, to give you the
one chemical that you want, C. A truly selective reaction
does just that: A+B --> C. In order for nature to run
something so complicated as our cells, it must run millions
of reactions with exquisite selectivity. But nature gets
its selectivity in a very different manner than chemists
and chemists are very good at getting selectivity. Nature
has reduced the tree to a very limited arsenal of elements,
and the enzymes are fantastic machines with very elaborate
designs. Chemists use the whole Periodic Table, and that
is the main reason we pollute. One of the major ways to
reduce pollution is to move the elemental balance of chemical
technology, closer to the elemental balance of life, wherever
Dr. Terry Collins
Professor of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


text:
Struisbaai is a town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape.
Get in[edit]
You can get there by car from Bredasdorp. You will reach Bredasdorp by travelling on the N2 highway, which runs from Cape Town along the east coast via the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth. It is about 100Km to the Caledon turnoff and then another 100+ kilometers to Bredasdorp. All in all about 2 hours from Cape Town to Bredasdorp. The road as far as Bredasdorp is very good with a speed limit of 120 km/h. The last 30 km to Struisbaai is good, but narrow with a speed limit of 100km/h.
Get around[edit]
The Southern most tip of Africa is dominated by three towns. Arniston, Struisbaai and L'Agulhas. Whale watching in the spring is fascinating as are the spring flowers. Fishing, Scuba Diving, Surfing are great in this part of the world.
See[edit][add listing]
Struisbaai is a coastal village boasting the longest continuous stretch of white sand coastline in the Southern part of Africa. Struisbaai also boasts the picturesque harbor, the fishing cottages of Hotagterklip, 2km north of town is a favorite subject with South African painters. Some of the old fishermen's cottages have been restored and are now protected as national monuments. You could also view the Cape Agulgas light house, one of the oldest in South-Africa, and the most southern tip of Africa, where the two Oceans, The Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet in the Aghulas National Park.
Do[edit][add listing]
Buy[edit][add listing]
You can buy beautiful souvenirs at the "Shell Shop" and watch the fishing fleet come in each afternoon and buy some fish off the boats.
Eat[edit][add listing]
The scones at the Lighthouse are exceptional, for fish and chips go to Pelican's at the harbour and the pizza's at Bella Luna are nice, but if you would like to eat with a view you can go to Nostra on the Struisbaai beach.
Drink[edit][add listing]
Sleep[edit][add listing]
Get out[edit]


text:
Anthony Hulen
Executive Director, Corporate Affairs
(202) 349-2546
Food THEN Fuel White Paper
To receive Investor Relations updates, please sign up for email alerts here.
Note to Editors: Renewable Energy Group, Inc. has high definition video footage available from a commercial-scale biodiesel production facility as well as photos.
Click here to request video or photos.
Ames, IA, February 27, 2014 - Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGI) ("REG" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2013.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, in the fourth quarter of 2013 REG sold 90% more gallons of biodiesel and increased revenue by 68%. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 165%, in addition to increasing its cash balance by 129%, and reduced its debt as a percent of capital from 10% to 5%.
For the full year 2013, compared to 2012 REG sold 37% more gallons of biodiesel, increased revenue by 48%, increased its gross profit to 16% from 6%, and increased its Adjusted EBITDA by 54%.
"I am pleased to announce strong operational and financial results for 2013. We grew significantly across key metrics and finished the year a much stronger company," said Daniel J. Oh, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Oh continued, "The past few months were an exciting period for REG. On top of solid quarterly results that concluded an impressive year, we completed one strategic acquisition, completed important feedstock processing upgrades in our existing fleet, and expanded our distribution business. We are excited about the opportunities that these initiatives could offer REG."
Fourth Quarter Operating Highlights
REG sold 72.9 million gallons of biodiesel, an increase of 89.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Gallons sold in the quarter included 17.7 million gallons purchased from third parties and resold through the Company's extensive distribution network.
REG produced 65.9 million gallons of biodiesel during the quarter, an 80.9% production increase when compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. The growth in production resulted from higher capacity utilization across the fleet, as well as the October restart of production at REG Mason City which underwent maintenance, repairs and minor upgrades after being acquired in July 2013. In addition, the Company utilized contract or tolled manufacturing, which contributed 6.1 million gallons in the quarter.
REG announced in October that it would spend approximately $20 million to further upgrade REG Mason City to allow the plant to produce high quality biodiesel from lower-cost raw materials like inedible corn oil. The upgrade will not materially interrupt production and is expected to be completed in 2014. The upgrade follows a similar upgrade at REG Albert Lea biorefinery, that was successfully completed in September. The fourth quarter represented the first full quarter of flexible, multi-feedstock operations at REG Albert Lea.
During the fourth quarter, REG enhanced its distribution capability by completing a new barge-loading facility at REG Seneca. The barge loading berth complements truck and rail shipping capabilities and enables a lower-cost method to ship biodiesel through the inland waterway system. Each full barge load equates to the equivalent of 65 truckloads of biodiesel. The Company also entered a marketing agreement with Dutch Hill Terminals in Clifton, New Jersey, to expand its distribution presence in the Northeast. REG currently markets biodiesel and biodiesel-blended heating oil from the Clifton location. This terminal complements the other five terminals used by REG in New York and New Jersey.
In December 2013 and early 2014, REG announced initiatives intended to broaden its product lines and production technologies.
In December, REG announced its intended entry into the renewable diesel market via an agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets of Tulsa, Oklahoma–based Syntroleum Corporation (NASDAQ: SYNM). The acquisition is subject to approval by a vote of the shareholders of Syntroleum and other customary closing conditions.
In January, REG announced its entry into industrial biotechnology and the renewable chemicals market with the acquisition of substantially all the assets of LS9, Inc., which are now part of REG Life Sciences, LLC. REG Life Sciences technology utilizes microbial fermentation to convert diverse feedstocks into a wide range of valuable chemicals. The Company's proprietary micro-organisms can transform conventional corn and cane sugars, low-cost crude glycerin from biodiesel production and cellulosic sugars into a wide range of chemicals that REG Life Sciences intends to produce for large markets such as detergents, personal care products, and renewable fuels. LS9 is a cornerstone investment for REG Life Sciences, which also plans to develop adjacent and complementary fermentation technologies. REG paid $15.3 million in cash and issued 2.2 million shares of REG common stock (valued at approximately $24.7 million based on a trading average for REG stock) at closing. In addition, REG may pay up to $21.5 million in cash and/or shares of REG common stock for achievement of certain milestones over the next five years related to the development and commercialization of products from the acquired technology.
In February, the Company announced a new division, REG Energy Services, LLC. REG Energy Services will initially sell heating oil and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) at seven locations throughout the northeastern U.S., as well as BioHeat® blended heating fuel at an existing REG terminal location. Our plan is to grow the number of locations over time.
Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial Results
All figures refer to the quarter ending December 31, 2013, unless otherwise noted. Adjusted EBITDA comparisons with the fourth quarter of 2012 include pro-rata volume based adjustments to the 2012 results to reflect the retroactive reinstatement of the Biodiesel Mixture Excise Tax Credit ("BTC").
Revenues of $390.6 million increased 68.4% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. The gain in revenue was driven by volume, as the Company sold 89.9% more gallons of biodiesel as compared to the year-ago period. The average B100 price per gallon sold (including RINs) was $4.24, a 2% y/y decrease.
Gross profit was $44.7 million, compared to gross profit of $7.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2012. Gross margin was 11.4%, compared to 3.3% in the year-earlier quarter. The increase in gross profit was due to an increase in gallons sold during the quarter and blenders tax credit revenues, along with slightly lower feedstock prices.
Operating income was $32.1 million, compared to an operating loss of $1.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Net income attributable to common stockholders was $29.3 million, or $0.80 per share on a fully diluted basis. This compares to a net loss of $1.0 million, or $(0.03) per share on a fully diluted basis in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Adjusted EBITDA was $36.1 million, a 164.5% y/y increase. Fourth quarter 2012 adjusted EBITDA was $13.6 million (including adjustment for the allocation of the retroactive reinstatement of the 2012 BTC). Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and further adjusted for certain items identified below under "Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation." Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenue.
At December 31, 2013, REG had cash and equivalents of $153.2 million, an increase of 12.8% during the quarter. For the year, the Company increased its cash balance inclusive of the $54.4 million of investments in upgrades and acquisitions, as well as $11.0 million in debt repayments. At December 31, 2013, accounts receivable were $82.9 million, or 19 days of sales, an increase of $16.3 million from September 30, 2013. Inventory was $85.8 million, or 22 days of sales, an increase of $25.9 million during the quarter.
On December 4, 2013, REG Newton, LLC entered into an Amended and Restated Master Loan Agreement, which extends the maturity of the existing term loan by five years until December 1, 2018 and made an additional $5 million available to be used for a $13 million upgrades project.
To view the entire press release, click here.
Renewable Energy Group, Inc. | 416 S. Bell Ave. | PO Box 888 | Ames IA 50010
Phone: +1(515) 239-8000 | (888) REG-8686 | Fax: +1(515) 239-8009
Please be aware that the English version of our website is the official text. The translated copies of our site are not legally binding, and any differences created in translation have no legal effect. If there are any concerns regarding the accuracy of the information presented within the translated versions of our site, please refer back to the official English-language website.


text:
Last will and Testament of Nathan Ricketts, deceased
"In the name of God amen. I Nathan Ricketts Senior, farmer of Randolph Township in Dearborn County State of Indiana being old and feeble in body but thank God of perfect mind and memory knowing that it is appointed for all men to die disannulling all others ordain this to be my last will and testament. I do give and bequeath to my wife Jane Ricketts all my Estate both Real and personal during her life and to her and my decease I will and bequeath as follows, For the heirs of my Eldest son William Ricketts deceased I leave one dollar, to my daughter Rebecca Neal one dollar, to my son Edward Ricketts one dollar, to my daughter Susannah Neal one dollar, to my son Abram Ricketts one dollar to my son Nathan Ricketts one dollar, to my daughter Elizabeth Rich deceased, one dollar, to my daughter Jane Shepherd one dollar to my daughter Ann Ricketts I leave and bequeath the one equal half of my household furniture, after the decease of my wife Jane Ricketts and my self to my youngest son Ephraim Ricketts I give and bequeath all and singular the ballance of my Estate Real and personal after paying my just and legal debts and lastly I do appoint my son Ephraim Ricketts to execute this my last will and testament given under my hand this nineteenth day of February one Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty Seven.
Nathan [his x mark] Ricketts
In presents of
Amos Hastings
James March
Abijah Bennett
State of Indiana
a Justice of the peace of said county personally appeared Nathan Ricketts the signer of the above will and acknowledged the same to be his free act and deed this 19th February 1837.
Witness my hand and seal
Abijah Bennett J.P.
The State of Indiana
Ohio County
Personally appeared before me the undersigned clerk of the Probate Court of said County Amos Hastings who being by me duly sworn upon his oath says that he was personally present when Nathan Ricketts the within named testator executed this his last will and testament, and heard him publically pronounce the same to be his last will and testament; that this deponent signed the same as a witness thereto in the presence of the other subscribing witnesses and in the presence of the testator and at his request, and that the testator at the time of executing the same was of full age to devise his property; and of sound mind and memory, and not under coercion and restraint as this deponent verily believes.
Amos Hastings
Subscribed sworn to before me this 13th day of January A.D. 1847 as Witness my hand and the seal of the Probate Court of Ohio County hereunto affixed at Rising Sun this 15th day of January A.D. 1847
James H Penner clk
Ohio county, Indiana, Will records, volume 1, page 20-21, Will of Nathan Ricketts; FHL microfilm 1311846.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Will of Nathan RICKETTS
Posted by Tina Lyons at 9:57 AM
Labels: RICKETTS
2 comments:
- AnonymousMarch 14, 2011 at 2:39 PM
Tina, I love reading your blog, and I have chosen you to receive the "One Lovely Blog" Award. You can find out more at my blog: The Mashburn Collection.ReplyDelete
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text:
If I read it correctly, big take aways are:
- There is no future beyond LT for LDO effective FY-21
- LDO's w/ a college degree may immediately off-ramp to 18xx designator at 3 years commissioned service (YCS) through the Without Board Action (WOBA) process (i.e., outside of the biannual lateral transfer board)
- Probationary officer LDO are allowed a maximum of 5 YCS to off-ramp to 18xx; after which, they will go to the Probationary Officer Continuation & Redesignation (POCR) Board and likely be sent to the IRR unless otherwise eligible for redesignation. The term probationary officer is the same as non-LDO - an officer with less than 6 YCS.
- Non-probationary officers (greater than 6 YCS) aren't subject to POCR, but can be subject to an selective early retirement (SER) board. (I didn't see a date when the SER's would begin, but maybe I missed it). If they don't get a SER, then they will face certain FOS at promotion boards for FY-21 and beyond since there are no more control grade quotas for IWC LDO.
I think it could be said that:
- Anyone applying for LDO really needs to consider that they need to have their bachelors within 5 years of commissioning or they will be discharged.
- Current LDO under 5 YCS are in serious jeopardy if they do not already have their bachelors.
- I would hope that future LDO boards almost make a bachelors degree a requirement for selection consideration; otherwise, we risk someone who has 8-13 years of service getting sent home at the 13-18 years of service mark (and without a retirement)
- LDO is truly nothing more than another way of getting an 18xx commission. While it might be the only way for a Sailor with more than 5 years of service to get one now (since at least the 1810 program authorization has said no more than 4 years / waiverable to 5 years) they really need to consider the degree implications and need to off-ramp ASAP.
- Those that don't have a degree and might not get one quick enough OR have significant time as an enlisted Sailor really need to look at CWO - which again, requires at least 14 years of service and being a Chief Petty Officer.
There's a lot going on in this NAVADMIN so if I misread something or someone interpreted differently, I'm all ears.


text:
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and, as of 2010, the world's most recent nation to become a republic. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolitan city.
Nepal is a country of highly diverse and rich geography, culture and religions. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Sagarmatha, known in English as Mount Everest. The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized. It contains over 240 peaks more than 20,000 ft above sea level.
By some measures, Hinduism is practiced by a larger majority of people in Nepal than in any other nation. Buddhism, though a minority faith in the country, is linked historically with Nepal as the birthplace of the Buddha. About half of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.


text:
U.S. News
Texas: Advocacy Day Brings HIV Issues to the Legislature
March 4, 2013
Adapted from:
HIV-infected volunteers from Houston and Dallas gathered in Austin, Texas, Monday, March 4, to share with legislators how HIV/AIDS programming has helped them to survive HIV for decades. Januari Leo, public affairs field specialist for Houston's Legacy Community Health Services, organized HIV Advocacy Day to encourage Texas legislators to accept Medicaid expansion and to pass Texas House Bill (HB) 1119. Sponsored by Rep. Yvonne Davis (D-Dallas), HB1119 would mandate insurance coverage for HIV testing and establish HIV testing as routine medical care; individuals could opt out of HIV testing. Texas Governor Rick Perry has opposed Medicaid expansion.
Dallas Voice
This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.
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adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)


text:
The following Teleserye Banana Sundae March 18 2018 has been released.Telesery Banana Sundae Full Episode.Watch Online Today Latest Episode Banana Sundae HD Replay.
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text:
Can I get my documentation in PDF form, please?
Documentation for Eclipse SDK releases is available in PDF form from eclipse.org. Obtaining PDF documentation for other Eclipse software, or for non-release builds is a bit more involved.
When you download Eclipse code, documentation is provided in the form of HTML files, made accessible through a table of contents contained in a file called toc.xml. The contents of the HTML files can be browsed and searched easily with the Eclipse help system (see Help > Help Contents). The same information can be found online at the Eclipse documentation Web site.
Converting HTML to PDF form is somewhat labor-intensive. Although tools are available, such as HTMLDOC, to automatically convert HTML to PDF, the exact selection of files to include in the PDF and in what order requires some extra work. The best approach is to start with the toc.xml file and either write a conversion script or develop an Eclipse plug-in, as is done in the tocviewer plug-in used to write this book.
Since June 2004, Eclipse downloads come with PDF versions of the documentation. Check this book's CD-ROM or the Eclipse download site.
See Also:
HTMLDOC by Easy Software Products (http://www.easysw.com/htmldoc)
eclipse.org documentation page (http://eclipse.org/documentation/main.html)
eclipse.org downloads page (http://eclipse.org/downloads)


text:
BOISE, Idaho (AP) D.J. Harper rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown and Joe Southwick threw for another score to lead No. 24 Boise State to a 20-10 victory over Fresno State Saturday.
Harper was the leader of a Boise State (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West) rushing attack that chewed up 215 yards on the ground and propelled the Broncos to their seventh straight victory over the Bulldogs.
Southwick put the Broncos up in the first quarter when he fired a 10-yard touchdown to Geraldo Boldewijn (BOLD-uh-vine) in the left corner of the end zone. Southwick was 11 of 22 for 113 yards passing and one interception.
Harper then gave Boise State a 17-0 lead before the half with a nifty 28-yard TD run. Jay Ajayi added 82 yards on 14 carries for Boise State.
The loss dropped the Bulldogs (4-3, 2-1) out of a first-place tie with Nevada. The Bulldogs scored their only touchdown late when Derek Carr lobbed a 3-yard TD to Davante Evans. Carr was 29 of 43 passing for 266 yards and an interception.


text:
Little Show, Sunday 6 December, 10.15am. The Wellington Dance & Performing Arts Academy.
Wellington, NZ. 6.12.2015. Bonbons, from the Wellington Dance & Performing Arts Academy end of year stage-show 2015. Little Show, Sunday 10.15am. Photo credit: Stephen A'Court. COPYRIGHT ©Stephen A'CourtAdd to Cart Add to Lightbox Download
- Filename
- DY044.jpg
- Copyright
- ©Stephen A'Court Photography
- Image Size
- 665x1000 / 509.5KB
- Contained in galleries
- Little Show, 10.15am, Sunday 6 December


text:
The Dr. Pat Show: Talk Radio to Thrive By!: Open Mic with Dr. Pat Thriving Again in 2010
03/03/2010 11:00 am PDT
Dr. Pat Baccili
Dr. Pat Baccili helps individuals and organizations break through their limiting Crust so they can reach their unlimited potential. Her specialty is assisting people face t...Find out more »
Dr. Pat Baccili
Dr. Pat Baccili is a leader in the field of human potential and the host of The Dr. Pat Show. As a top host of the internationally acclaimed, The Dr. Pat Show – Talk R...Find out more »


text:
Victor 15.1 Inches 3D Portable DVD Player
Victor 7 8 Inches 3D Portable DVD Player
Victor 9.8 Inches 3D Portable DVD Player
Victor 11.2 Inches 3D Portable DVD Player
9 8 Inches Portable DVD Player with SD card and USB slot
7.8 Inches Portable DVD Player With USB and SD Card
CoolBuy.in, a Online Shopping Site in India, listed some of the largest stores at amazingly at low prices to buy products online. So you no longer need to spend hours searching the net for different stores. It's all here under one roof so you can buy online using payment methods like net banking and Cash on Delivery. Find these products available at offers that will give you more with less money and thus make your purchase economical. Looking for price comparison, All the products are listed in Indian Rupees with support team available for your product help, It's as simple as comparing pricing and products online before making the right buy as all the products are provided with quality and assurance. Still have a question? email us for any information.
Copyright © 2016 CoolBuy.in All Rights Reserved. Proudly Indian Site.


text:
MEMPHIS – A National Cotton Council leadership team will visit China June 20-30 to see its cotton industry development and continue building a relationship with U.S. raw cotton's No. 1 customer.
NCC Vice Chairman Jay Hardwick, a Newellton, LA, producer, will lead the delegation, which will include producers, John Lindamood, Tiptonville, TN; C.B. "Chuck" Coley, Vienna, GA; and Eddie Smith, Floydada, TX; along with warehousemen, Trent Felton, Marianna, AR, and Dean Church, Lubbock, TX; ginner, Sid Brough, Edroy, TX; merchant, Cameron Austin, Dallas, TX; and cooperative official, Jarral Neeper, Bakersfield, CA. Dr. Gary Adams, NCC's vice president, Economics & Policy Analysis, will accompany the group.
"This visit continues a healthy dialogue and interaction between the U.S. and Chinese cotton industries," Hardwick said. "Learning more about China's cotton infrastructure, its standards, marketing practices, policies and their overall raw cotton needs will be invaluable in helping U.S. cotton continue to supply the type of fiber and service this rapidly growing country requires. Acquiring this in-depth understanding is essential to ensuring our industry's competitiveness in today's global marketplace."
This visit will build on previous China cotton industry familiarization trips by U.S. cotton leaders, including a fact-finding effort in October 2006 and a June 2007 mission in which U.S. cotton leaders and USDA officials updated Chinese cotton industry officials and mill buyers on U.S. cotton quality.
The visits are part of the U.S.-China Cotton Leadership Exchange Program established by the NCC and the Chinese Cotton Association (CCA) in 2006. The visits are in accordance with a subsequent signed "Memorandum of Understanding" between the NCC and CCA that promised cooperation between the countries' cotton industries.
Among stops on the 2008 U.S. delegation tour will be a genetic engineering laboratory at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing; seed field trials and a meeting with farmers in Hebei Province; the Huafu Yarn Mill and a seminar with merchants and textile manufacturers in Zhejing Province; and the Wuxi No. 1 Cotton Mill and warehouses/consignment stocks in Jiangsu Province.
The tour was coordinated by Cotton Council International, the NCC's export promotions arm.


text:
In case you were in line for the bathroom during the bazillion commercial breaks, here are some of the best ads from the 2011 Super Bowl.
What's your favorite?
Volkswagen: The Force
Snickers: Logging
Coca Cola: Border
NFL: Best fans ever
HomeAway: James Bond
BMW: Changes
Best Buy: Ozzy versus Bieber
Chrysler: Imported from Detroit
E*Trade: Enzo
Doritos: Crash the Super Bowl
Budweiser: Tiny Dancer
Audi: Release the hounds
Pepsi Max: Love Hurts
Bud Light: Product placement
Doritos: House sitting
GoDaddy: Mystery Girl
Motorola: Empower the People
Bridgestone: Reply all
Stella Artois: Crying Jean
Chevy: Cruze
Kia: One epic ride


text:
This Central Hydraulics 1/4 Ton Capacity Hydraulic Lifting Table (Central Hydraulics 94822) from Harbor Freight Tools can raise up to 500 lbs. It can lift the load up to a 27-1/4" height to put your work piece within easy reach. And when not raised, the lift table is a slim 9 inches tall. The heavy duty lifting table makes loading and unloading easy and your work pieces stay in place thanks to the slip-resistant surface on the table top. The convenient foot pedal makes it simple to raise and position your project for optimum access. Lowering the table is simple and easy. Just squeeze the release handle for a slow controlled drop.
Getting the most out of a hydraulic lift table requires sturdy construction combined with smooth operation. This cart from Harbor Freight has both and at a ridiculously low price! If you find a hydraulic lift tables sale elsewhere, it will still probably be for double or even triple what you'll pay at Harbor Freight.
A Lift Table That Rises to the Occasion!
If you need a little bit more hydraulic lift capacity for your project, check out the 1000 lb. capacity Hydraulic Scissor Table Cart also from Harbor Freight Tools. Both the 1/4 Ton and 1/2 Ton Tables are easy to use, reliable and are a perfect addition to any shop or garage!


text: "Peter St. John" <peter.st.john at gmail.com> writes: > I wish I know more about the SAGE (machine) that hosts the SAGE (software) > that was used for this, From what I understand, the SAGE software wasn't used, just the sage machine. > but apparently washington.edu's web server can't > handle the CNN exposure as well as their number cruncher can crunch numbers. They are down for some scheduled maintenance, not because of any network traffic. The author of SAGE, William Stein, is temporarily hosting the sage website from his living room: http://sagemath.org/ Don't try to download the software from that link right now. Dan


text:
Everybody loves blogs! My Mom has added a new blog which is Nebraska Roots and Ramblings. My Aunt Cheri has added a blog, Those Old Memories.
Naturally Mom's blog is about doing research in Nebraska. Check it out! She said she'll post information on genealogy collections in Nebraska, tips about doing research in our state and a whole lot more! Her latest post contains a link to a You Tube video which is really great.
Aunt Cheri's blog will feature things that interest her historically and genealogically, family experiences and just fun things. She has a lot of nice photographs, but that's expected because she does photographic restoration.
As if that isn't enough to keep the two of them busy, they have a team blog, The You Go Genealogy Girls. Now that's a fun one. Wait until you see the header of the blog. That's Mom's car traveling across it, burning rubber as the two of them head off in pursuit of relatives and ancestors. Looks like they are loosing some of their things, too. Mom better slow down and Aunt Cheri had better pack better
They will be blogging about their research, their experiences and all the fun things that happen along the way. Mom says they will blog while in Salt Lake City in May. That should be interesting!
Join all of us...in the family...in our genealogy blogging!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Blogs in the Family
Posted by Growing up Genealogy at 5:04 PM
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text:
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Keep your little one cozy in this Florida State Seminoles Lil Frost knit hat and mitten set by Top of the World.
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text:
SOURCE: Corrections Corporation of America
February 25, 2013 08:00 ET
NASHVILLE, TN--(Marketwire - Feb 25, 2013) - CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) (NYSE: CXW), America's largest owner of partnership correctional and detention facilities, announced today that Robert J. Dennis, chairman, president and CEO of Genesco Inc., has been appointed as an independent member of CCA's Board of Directors.
"We are very pleased to announce Bob Dennis as our newest board member. CCA is strongly committed to finding the best people to lead our company and help our industry become an increasingly valuable component of our nation's corrections system," said John Ferguson, chairman of CCA's Board of Directors. Bob brings significant experience in leadership positions and is a current leader of a publicly traded company. We believe his experience, vision and leadership will be an asset in overseeing management's initiatives and will benefit our organization for years to come."
Robert Dennis was named chairman of Genesco (NYSE: GCO) in April 2010, adding to his responsibilities as president and chief executive officer since 2008. At Genesco, Dennis served in a variety of leadership roles including executive vice president and chief operating officer from October 2005 until October 2006 when he was named president and chief operating officer. Dennis began his career at Genesco in June 2004, when he was named a senior vice president, following the acquisition of Hat World in 2001, where he served as chief executive officer from 2001 to 2004.
A veteran of the retail industry with nearly 30 years of business experience, Dennis held a senior position with Asbury Automotive from 1997 to 1999. From 1984 to 1997, Dennis was with McKinsey & Company, an international consulting firm, where he served as a partner and leader of the North American Retail Practice.
Dennis served as a director of Teavana Holdings, Inc. from July 2011 until its acquisition by Starbucks in December 2012. He currently serves on the board of directors of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, the Nashville Symphony, and serves on the Board of Visitors at Vanderbilt University's Owen School of Management.
Dennis holds a master of business administration degree, with distinction, from the Harvard Business School and bachelor's and master's degrees in biology and organic chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
About the Company
CCA is the nation's largest owner of partnership correction and detention facilities and one of the largest prison operators in the United States, behind only the federal government and three states. We own or control 51 facilities and currently operate 67 facilities, with a total design capacity of approximately 92,500 beds in 20 states and the District of Columbia. CCA specializes in owning, operating and managing prisons and other correctional facilities and providing inmate residential services for governmental agencies. In addition to providing the fundamental residential services relating to inmates, our facilities offer a variety of rehabilitation and educational programs, including basic education, religious services, life skills and employment training and substance abuse treatment.
CCA takes no responsibility for updating the information contained in this press release following the date hereof to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events or for any changes or modifications made to this press release.
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Karin Demler
(615) 263-3005
Steve Owen
(615) 263-3107
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While many of the items in this catalog section of our website are on display in our store and in stock, many are available by special order. Please contact us for availability and pricing information .
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The Banshee 2' x 3' by Surya is available in the area from FMG - Local Home Furnishing.
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text:
So I had my follow-up with my knee doctor today. He's actually my knee and hip and foot and part-time shoulder doctor. But right now he's just my knee doctor.
I really like this guy. Not only is he a good doctor, but he listens to his patients and treats them as whole patients, not just a knee or a hip that needs to be fixed.
In our last episode of this adventure, I had been taking physical therapy 3X a week to see if could resolve some issues with my left knee prior to a vacation I'm taking in mid-May. If the therapy and at-home work didn't resolve the problem enough, we were going to look at surgery.
So I've completed formal therapy and there's been a definite improvement, but I don't know if it's enough. After discussing all this with my doctor and looking at schedules, we've decided I've got a month for a go/no go decision on surgery. I'm going to continue my exercises (and more physical therapy if I want it) and see where we are then. (I've used up about 1/2 of my physical therapy sessions as allowed by my insurance, and it's only February, so I'm a bit loathe to use them all up now.)
The other thing he did was inject my knee, which I wasn't expecting. As many times as I've a steroid injection, you'd think that I'd quit being such a sissy about it. However, I have a strong vasovagal reflex and, for some reason, steroid shots are one of the triggers. It really stresses me out. So usually after I get a steroid shot, I go home, prop up in bed, watch old movies and feel sorry for myself. Not so today. I have a full afternoon of stuff at the office.
Next week, however, I'm getting a "deep" steroid shot in my right shoulder — the one I'm told they're going to have to replace one of these days. I have definitely scheduled the afternoon out of the office! I also get my next set of labs done for my rheumy and that's also my Orencia shot day, so I'm going to feel like a blooming pin cushion.
So I guess for now, we'll wait (and do our exercises) and see what another month brings …
I hope your world is working well. Thanks for checking in.


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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Now, That's What I Call Nuance
Well, that's kind of how I feel today, except it's a bit more like I'd been invited for a drink by a friend who turns out to be Squeaky Fromme, and the guest of honour at the party is Charles Manson.
A quick explanation - months ago, I promised to write a post about Hillary Clinton, proclaiming her America's Nixon-in-Waiting.
Of course, when I said that, I meant mean-spirited, pusillanimous delusions of persecution, and not perfectly happy to threaten nuclear genocide for political gain.
"Hillary Clinton today threatened to "obliterate" Iran if it launched a nuclear attack on Israel, her most aggressive rhetoric yet against Tehran as she seeks to cast doubts on whether Barack Obama would be a strong commander-in-chief."
I don't know, maybe this was just one of those occasions when leaving the room and counting to ten would've helped...
Anyway, never mind whether the Iranians a) actually have nukes or whether b) they're deranged enough to actually attack the Israelis.
In what universe is aggressive the correct adjective to describe a presidential candidate's threat to exterminate a nation of seventy million people?
A few other, more apt descriptors spring to mind, and suffice to say they're a tad stronger than belligerent or combative.
Noting quickly that this follows on from McCain's threats to bomb Iran and Obama's to bomb Pakistan, I think I'm seeing a pattern forming here.
It's the presidential version of small-man syndrome, isn't it?
Now, I'd be a lot happier if Hillary set her sights low... It'd be far saner for her to wait until the next debate, then to throw herself at the camera, snarling and vowing to skullfuck the Guantanamo detainees to death with a collossal stars 'n' stripes strap-on, live on national television.
Or perhaps John McCain could throw darts at kiddy fiddlers on the Tonight Show, before saluting and loudly humming Hail To The Chief while maniacally whacking himself in the knackers with a snooker ball in a sock.
Now, that would be impressive.
Because, you know, when I look to the next leader of the free world, I'd prefer it if they looked a little bit less like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... And if they absolutely have to, they could at least put on a bit of a show while they're doing it.
(By the way, I'd originally intended to do an amusing post about how American politics closely resembles The Crystal Maze tonight, but even I can't work out how to wedge mushroom clouds into the metaphor.)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Staff Walkout "Unlikely" To Lead To Petrol Rationing, Radioactive Zombies
All Tabloids, 22nd April 2008
Scottish Finance Minister John Swinney today played down fears of widespread petrol rationing, economic woes and marauding gangs of irradiated, flesh-eating undead ghouls from the very pits of Hell itself.
"I have discussed this with the management and the unions, and I am confident that this pension dispute can be resolved amicably." He told journalists. "I would urge all Scots to refrain from panicking and fill up your cars as normal, without putting unnecessary strain on reserves by buying excess fuel."
Asked whether he had drawn up contingency plans for an invasion of rabid, shuffling zombies, the Minister responded that any predictions of blood-curdling attacks by the unquiet dead were "ridiculous", "absurd" and had "absolutely no basis in fact".
"I can categorically assure the Scottish people that there are no such things as radioactive zombies," Mr. Swinney said, "And any suggestion to the contrary is purest fantasy."
Pages 2-3: Will ravenous zombies eat your child's face while you look on horror-struck through the ropes of your entrails?
Page 4: 10% off canned food and shotguns
Pages 6-7: Time to fill up your car?
Pages 9-10: How YOU can survive the upcoming zombie holocaust, AND lose weight!
Back page: McGeady claims double trophy haul
From The Courts
The case was heard on 27th March 2007 at the Hibernian Court, Easter Road, Edinburgh.
The Plaintiff, Musselburgh Hibs Supporters Club, alleged that the Defendants, Ayrshire Bhoys Supporters Club, had committed the crime of vagrancy, to whit -
1) That on an unspecified date, within unspecified Glasgow slums, Ayrshire Bhoys
a) Did rake in an unspecified bucket for something to eat and;
b) That within said bucket, they did find a dead rat and;
c) That they did think said rat a treat and;
d) That the above occurred within unspecified Glasgow slums.
The Defendants, Ayrshire Bhoys, denied the charge and made a counterclaim, to whit
1) That Musselburgh Hibs were guilty of being
a) Hoors
b) Poofs and
c) Junkies
They further contend
2) That Musselburgh Hibs were guilty of being
a) Hoors
b) Poofs and
c) Junkies
and two further charges to the same effect.
There then followed a side claim by Ayrshire Bhoys against an unidentified Hibernian player, in which the Defendants claimed that
1) He (the unidentified Hibernian player) had been booked for
a) Being ugly;
2) He (the unidentified Hibernian player) had been booked for
a) Being ugly;
And two further charges to the same effect.
The court then adjourned for pies and bovril, and will reconvene fifteen minutes later, at which point the court will hear further claims and counterclaims of wanton soapdodging.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Let's Get Dressed And Dance Away The Night
"A barrier to people accepting libertarianism is the notion that we'd let people starve in the streets."
This is, of course, absolute nonsense. I laugh at the mere suggestion that a libertarian government would let a load of starving people lie in the streets, bringing down house prices and annoying real people, when there are perfectly serviceable prisons about.
After all, every libertarian I've ever conversed with has been emphatic in their belief in the rule of law. It's encouraging to note that, on the day when the people are informed that there will be no more benefits or NHS and immediately descend on the houses of the libertarians in an orgy of looting and violence, the government of the day will consider the philosophical implications before it orders in the riot squads.
Or perhaps I'm wrong and, when the first baying mob eviscerates the first local businessman, the libertarians will call for even more liberty.
Good Reaganauts being what they are, there's also time for nostalgic stroll down memory lane with the well-worn notion that charitable donations will instantly fill the benefits gap. Let-Them-Tug-Their-Forelocks-And-Say-Please, Sir - I've always loved that one. I'd love to see it argued in a job centre... Although not at close enough quarters to be struck by the flying blood and teeth, of course.
Finally, we close with the assertion that the certain path to public starvation is Teh Commies, which is fair enough when we consider Russia and China, for instance. Still, it would probably have surprised large numbers of dead Irish and Indians to learn that they were the victims of rampant socialism... And when I read about those food riots this week, I don't recall the protesters demanding that a hammer be taken, Casino-style, to the dead hand of government.
Now, I may be exposing my honking ignorance, but bear with me here... This whole libertarianism thing, didn't we try that in the late nineteenth century? And, correct me if I'm wrong, didn't we have millions in the poorhouse and a majority of the public leading miserable lives?
If it didn't work in an era when the most lucrative occupation was invading other people's countries and ripping off everything that wasn't nailed down, is there a reason to believe it'll work today? Because if there is, I can't see it.
It's when I read this kind of thing that I suspect that Libertarianism = Hand's off my Lexus, filthy starving hippies.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Let Them Eat Bullshit
"U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama came under fire on Friday for saying small-town Pennsylvania residents were "bitter" and "cling to guns or religion," in comments his rivals said showed an elitist view of the middle class."
Damn, that old devil elitism... Now he's under fire from rough-hewn sons and daughters of toil in the American press and political establishment.
He has my sympathy, because I've been called elitist more times than I care to mention by leftists, rightists, Mail-reading cranks, Guardian-reading loons, wingnuts, moonbats... Pretty much everyone, in fact, and one day I sincerely hope to be castigated for elitism by someone who actually earns less than I do.
See, the purple prose I spout is the result a lifetime of burying my head in books geek-style, rather than a childhood of brie-scoffing privilege... And all that book-learning makes me suspicious of wealthy, well-educated political insiders who don rhetorical shell-suits to shout Me simple caveman, Me is angry about elitism!
Point is, these soulless oxygen-thieves are clubbing Obama for speaking the truth - lots of people who would've instinctively voted Democratic thirty years ago now base their votes on a candidate's love of guns or his commitment to cleaning up the country for the glorious return of the baby Jesus. That's not because of public stupidity - although God knows there's always been a surplus of that, everywhere on Earth - it's because the Democrats have long since stopped addressing their concerns and cheerfully thrown any defence of their economic interests down the pan for corporate contributions. Horrible as it is to contemplate it, the mendacious Jesus-pimps and the NRA have actually been addressing issues voters care about, while the Democrats were busy signing NAFTA.
That's also why British politics feels like an eternal scribbling in the margin exercise, with regular intervals of cretinous moral panic. The argument over the economy and the welfare state seems to be over, leaving the politicians to issue ever more grandiose and ineffective pronouncements on 1) how nasty they'll be to foreigners, 2) who's going to save the planet from eco-death and 3) scum-baiting promises to exterminate crime.
I don't think you have to be a conspiracy theorist or a class warrior to work out why any attempt to discuss that situation earns you the elitist tag and a stiff arse-booting from 20,000 exquisitely-pedicured feet.
Elitism? Bollocks, more like. I hope to God that Obama gives this the response it deserves, i.e. the finger, followed by a polite invitation to fuck off. Who knows, if it works, perhaps politicians in the UK might take note and stop inventing new ways to annoy the public with healthy eating and anti-smoking campaigns, and possibly even start examining their own timid centrism.
n.b. Hillary Clinton's response to this = Karl Rove. All of her supporters who are currently whining about sexism- and I'm looking at you, fellow non-American voter Elton John - should perhaps consider the possibility that she's perceived as a quasi-Republican android with a huge, throbbing boner for power because, you know, she is one.
Friday, April 11, 2008
One For The Football Fans
I'm hugely in favour myself. I've a few mates who are rugger types and I think we miss out by not playing our neighbours regularly. I couldn't give a monkey's for rugby, but they do look like they enjoy it, don't they?
Given the generally friendly relations between the Celtic countries, this sounds like it'll be great fun all round. The atmosphere around the games will be much more like the Six Nations than regular international football, and it's a great excuse for a weekend holiday.
I'm inclined to dismiss the general complaint that the teams won't take it that seriously, because I know that the fans won't take it very seriously either - win, lose or draw, it'll be viewed as an opportunity to get away from it all for a good drink and a bit of a laugh with mates.
And now the bad part - fixture congestion has knocked the competition back to 2011. Worse, it looks like they're intent on playing the ties in February and May, so we can kiss goodbye to players from the big English and Scottish clubs. While it'd be a good opportunity to give young players a go in high-profile games, it doesn't help put bums on seats.
If the tournament goes ahead, is there a reason why they can't do it over two weeks after the season has finished? Surely the tournament would attract far more attention if it dominated the sport headlines in a traditionally quiet part of the year, and everybody likes summer football.
In favour, against or don't care? Is the rugby analogy offensive to football fans? Will it work with the fragmented-fixture set-up? Will they even do it, or is it all just bullshit?
Those who care, fire away...
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Achtung! Kill Yourselves Immediately
To be honest, it makes a pleasant change for Grauniad columns to focus on the actual, real flaws of some of its readership, i.e. their maniacal compulsion to boss the public about and their misguided belief that I personally care deeply about the effect of plastic bags on the environment and the harm my smoking does to their children's health etc. It's a definite improvement on the regular articles denouncing them in fiery tones for being in league with a goosestepping troupe of clockwork Hitlers.
Now, my grasp on economics is as firm as a eel's grip on a buttery muffin, but even I know that there must be a significant part of the readership that gets off on being scolded for their snottiness and closet fascism by wide-eyed sex-kittens and torn-faced ex-Trotskyites. Why that should be, I have no idea.
After all, I've never read a column in the Torygraph telling their readers to shove their frustrated pastoral fantasies up their wrinkly old hoops... Nor have I read any articles in the Express revealing that 90% of their readership secretly yearn to cheer on legions of black-clad stormtroopers as they beat half the planet's population senseless with cudgels.
If anyone can give an example of a business successfully advertising its products with the tagline Buy This, You Snivelling Pack of Pointless Cretins, I'd be grateful.
As for Ruth Fowler's other points about the sheer level of vitriol on display at Comment Is Free, I think my theory is blunter, yet perhaps more accurate...
Comment Is Free attracts morons, twats, bigots, snobs, wankers and tools to its comment threads because it a) deals with contentious issues and it's b) on the fucking internet.
There. Can I have a column now?
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Olympics Protest - News Round-Up
Kent, England - Richard Lambert, head of the Confederation of British Industry, today condemned the International Olympic Committee for awarding the Games to China, a nation notorious for human rights abuses.
"The CBI is disgusted by this decision to award the Olympics to the Chinese," he said. "China's punitive taxation rates and overly-restrictive health and safety legislation will discourage British businesses from cashing in on lucrative investment opportunities, such as the exciting tiger-penis farming industry or its burgeoning demand for handcuffs, stun-batons, tear gas and tasers."
Secretary Hu "Baffled" By Protests
Beijing, China - Speaking from his throne of human skulls, Chinese Communist Party Chairman Hu Jintao expressed incomprehension at recent anti-Chinese protests and comments by political figures.
"I don't understand," he said. "Hillary Clinton gets most of her campaign contributions from corporations that own factories at Suzhou Industrial Park, amongst others. They get their products at a fraction of the cost, while using China as an excuse to crush their own domestic unions, demand regressive labour laws from bought-and-paid for Congressmen, and bilk vast tax breaks from states with massive unemployment by threatening to cut jobs... And here she is, calling on President Bush to boycott the Olympics?"
"Honestly... I literally have people bent over backwards to please her, and this is the thanks I get."
Hu shook his head in exasperation, pausing to order some minions to force another 20,000 industrial slaves into a death-trap prison/factory to apply radioactive paint to children's toys. "This arrangement suits everybody," Hu said. "Doesn't she realise how tiring it is driving the global economy 24/7? I've a good mind to ask for that trillion dollars back..."
Protester Totally On Television
London, England - In a completely, like, mindblowing development, sources report that local protester Samantha Parkinson was totally on television yesterday, which is, you know, just like... Wow. 27 year-old Parkinson was briefly glimpsed if you pause the screen and look in the top-left corner during this well mental sequence, in which London police officers confiscated banners, T-shirts and flags from free-speech protesters.
Reports also suggest that you can see the back of Parkinson's Killers shirt in an online photo depicting police arresting several demonstrators for public order offences, which is actually kind of a bummer if you think about it.
Unconfirmed speculation suggests that a man seen being shoved to the floor and handcuffed by police may have been Charlie, you know, that one with the nose-ring that Ashley got off with at Tabitha's party, which would be just like, hey, this is crazy, right?
Dead Iraqis "Silent" on Chinese Human Rights Abuses
Baghdad, Iraq - Sources report that several hundred thousand dead Iraqis remained unmoved by the plight of the Tibetan people yesterday. Despite China's brutal fifty-year occupation, levels of public awareness amongst Iraq's minority deceased population remains at a surprisingly low 0%, prompting British human rights activists to wonder whether a change in tactics might help foster public sympathy on the issue.
"The problem appears to be spreading to other countries," one activist said. "Initial studies suggest that dead Afghans are, if anything, even less interested in the fate of the Tibetan people."
"Hello, Is There Anybody There?" - Burma
Rangoon, Burma - Confusion reigned in Rangoon yesterday as the Burmese people began to ask where all that international attention had gone. "Uh, hello? Is anybody there?" asked the Burmese population, whose struggle for basic human rights and freedom of speech was briefly yet ecstatically popular in Britain just a few months ago. "Uh, we're still here," they said, collectively.
Local Blogger Stable After Frenzied Attack On Self
Edinburgh, Scotland - A local blogger was rushed to hospital today after being overcome by a life-threatening attack of cognitive dissonance. The unnamed internet loudmouth was overwhelmed by the seizure, and began bashing his head against his desk shouting "Arseholes!" at the top of his voice.
"Bastards," he sobbed as he was carried to the waiting ambulance. No further details are forthcoming at present.
p.13 - Athletes Shuffle Feet, Change Subject
- Dalai Lama Asks International Community For Aid, Yaks
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Wanking From The Archives
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Immigration - The Facts
Interestingly, though, I've noticed that people I speak to internalise these kinds of talking points. I have to keep tabs on the daily papers at work, and I'm always stunned by how often I meet people who quote more or less directly from that day's scare-story. Immigrants push up wages, take our jobs and push up the price of houses, that kind of thing.
Well, since the tabloids seem to have sussed the all-too-human flaw of credulously adopting the last thing we read until another fact comes along to shove it out, I've done a bit of research into the issue of immigration myself.
Hopefully, these fascinating facts will quickly penetrate the public consciousness....
- Polish plumbers display 40% more bum-cleavage than good old British tradesmen. Additionally, it's an ancient Polish tradition to slyly half-inch your lighter when you're not looking.
- Romanians are capable of smuggling as many as four gypsies into the country by shoving them up their arses. One in ten gypsies carries a rare and highly infectious disease that causes sufferers to urinate through their ears.
- Pakistanis exude an air of wistful melancholy, like a handsome middle-aged woman recalling the passionate dalliances of her youth with a series of well-endowed suitors. This is because they're all listening to the cricket on Radio Islamabad, which is beamed directly into their skulls via subcutaneous aerials embedded in their spines.
- Bulgarians don't take global warming seriously, and fly to work in jumbo jets while spraying deodorants at the sun and laughing like fucked-up hyenas.
- Albanians are rubbish at Tetris - most of them can't even get past forty lines on Level Three, for Christ's sake.
- Almost 90% of Bosnians prefer The Terminator to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, despite the latter film's vastly improved special effects and action sequences.
- The Turks only pretend to like kebabs so they can flog them to gullible Brits. In private, they eat Weetabix.
- Latvia is a leading cause of male pattern-baldness.
There, let's see that in six-inch letters on the front of the Daily Mail. Much more agreeable.
n.b. About the scuddy-women pictures - I'm upping the half-naked women quotient because I'm starting to worry that readers might suspect that I'm some kind of secret cock-farmer.
Nothing could be further from the truth, which is just as well, since homosexuality impairs one's ability to drive and operate machinery.


text: On Mon, 22 Nov 2004, Robert G. Brown wrote: > You need a few more rules. Do we count a cluster as being in continuous > service even if its hardware has rolled over several times in its > existence? Ok, fair enough, but I don't really want to be too pedantic about it. Let's say that it has to be substantially original. The vast majority of the nodes must be substantially original. > If yes, brahma has been running continuously since the fall of '96, > although the last of its original systems (200 MHz PPros) have been dead > for a year or three now. I don't think that this would meet the definition. _\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_ | Roger L. Smith Phone: 662-325-3625 | | Sr. Systems Administrator FAX: 662-325-7692 | | roger at ERC.MsState.Edu http://WWW.ERC.MsState.Edu/~roger | | Mississippi State University | |____________________________________ERC__________________________________|


text:
An interesting concern was brought up to me by someone I am playing against. He wrote this nice comment on my wall (i'm not being sarcastic). I felt he was addressing an issue he had with me in a very civil way. I will just re-post it so I don't distort what he said. The game # is 12239573
Here is his post on my wall:
Just to make this clear: I don´t have anything against you and there is no need to discuss this issue. It is clear you want to beat me and I want to win, too. However I felt it really inapropiate to interfere in negotiations between others and this is why I teased you a bit afterwards. The Shoutbox is the only legal way to build alliances / just a truce. Unlike Diplomacy you cannot make secret alliances. You would hardly enjoy it when I spam in the SB now;-)
So if we meet again for a rematch, I would like to see you staying quiet when I want to build an alliance with other players. Otherwise I enjoy your presence in the game, as you are in my opinion a versatile player and open to negotiations. Thank you.
I'd like to ask the moderators and other experienced players what they think of this. I don't want to be doing anything inappropriate, so if trying to break alliances in the chatbox is wrong, I would like to know so I don't do it again.


text:
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