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Administrators can configure the look and feel of Bugzilla without having to edit Perl files or face the nightmare of massive merge conflicts when they upgrade to a newer version in the future.
Templatization also makes localized versions of Bugzilla possible, for the first time. It's possible to have Bugzilla's UI language determined by the user's browser. More information is available in Section 6.1.6.
The template directory structure starts with top level directory named template, which contains a directory for each installed localization. The next level defines the language used in the templates. Bugzilla comes with English templates, so the directory name is en, and we will discuss template/en throughout the documentation. Below template/en is the default directory, which contains all the standard templates shipped with Bugzilla.
A directory data/templates also exists; this is where Template Toolkit puts the compiled versions of the templates from either the default or custom directories. Do not directly edit the files in this directory, or all your changes will be lost the next time Template Toolkit recompiles the templates. |
If you want to edit Bugzilla's templates, the first decision you must make is how you want to go about doing so. There are two choices, and which you use depends mainly on the scope of your modifications, and the method you plan to use to upgrade Bugzilla.
The first method of making customizations is to directly edit the templates found in template/en/default. This is probably the best way to go about it if you are going to be upgrading Bugzilla through CVS, because if you then execute a cvs update, any changes you have made will be merged automagically with the updated versions.
If you use this method, and CVS conflicts occur during an update, the conflicted templates (and possibly other parts of your installation) will not work until they are resolved. |
The second method is to copy the templates to be modified into a mirrored directory structure under template/en/custom. Templates in this directory structure automatically override any identically-named and identically-located templates in the default directory.
The custom directory does not exist at first and must be created if you want to use it. |
The second method of customization should be used if you use the overwriting method of upgrade, because otherwise your changes will be lost. This method may also be better if you are using the CVS method of upgrading and are going to make major changes, because it is guaranteed that the contents of this directory will not be touched during an upgrade, and you can then decide whether to continue using your own templates, or make the effort to merge your changes into the new versions by hand.
Using this method, your installation may break if incompatible changes are made to the template interface. Such changes should be documented in the release notes, provided you are using a stable release of Bugzilla. If you use using unstable code, you will need to deal with this one yourself, although if possible the changes will be mentioned before they occur in the deprecations section of the previous stable release's release notes.
Regardless of which method you choose, it is recommended that you run ./checksetup.pl after creating or editing any templates in the template/en/default directory, and after editing any templates in the custom directory. |
It is required that you run ./checksetup.pl after creating a new template in the custom directory. Failure to do so will raise an incomprehensible error message. |
If you are making template changes that you intend on submitting back for inclusion in standard Bugzilla, you should read the relevant sections of the Developers' Guide. |
The syntax of the Template Toolkit language is beyond the scope of this guide. It's reasonably easy to pick up by looking at the current templates; or, you can read the manual, available on the Template Toolkit home page.
One thing you should take particular care about is the need to properly HTML filter data that has been passed into the template. This means that if the data can possibly contain special HTML characters such as <, and the data was not intended to be HTML, they need to be converted to entity form, i.e. <. You use the 'html' filter in the Template Toolkit to do this. If you forget, you may open up your installation to cross-site scripting attacks.
Also note that Bugzilla adds a few filters of its own, that are not in standard Template Toolkit. In particular, the 'url_quote' filter can convert characters that are illegal or have special meaning in URLs, such as &, to the encoded form, i.e. %26. This actually encodes most characters (but not the common ones such as letters and numbers and so on), including the HTML-special characters, so there's never a need to HTML filter afterwards.
Editing templates is a good way of doing a "poor man's custom fields". For example, if you don't use the Status Whiteboard, but want to have a free-form text entry box for "Build Identifier", then you can just edit the templates to change the field labels. It's still be called status_whiteboard internally, but your users don't need to know that.
Some CGI's have the ability to use more than one template. For example, buglist.cgi can output itself as RDF, or as two formats of HTML (complex and simple). The mechanism that provides this feature is extensible.
Bugzilla can support different types of output, which again can have multiple formats. In order to request a certain type, you can append the &ctype=<contenttype> (such as rdf or html) to the <cginame>.cgi URL. If you would like to retrieve a certain format, you can use the &format=<format> (such as simple or complex) in the URL.
To see if a CGI supports multiple output formats and types, grep the CGI for "get_format". If it's not present, adding multiple format/type support isn't too hard - see how it's done in other CGIs, e.g. config.cgi.
To make a new format template for a CGI which supports this, open a current template for that CGI and take note of the INTERFACE comment (if present.) This comment defines what variables are passed into this template. If there isn't one, I'm afraid you'll have to read the template and the code to find out what information you get.
Write your template in whatever markup or text style is appropriate.
You now need to decide what content type you want your template served as. The content types are defined in the Bugzilla/Constants.pm file in the contenttypes constant. If your content type is not there, add it. Remember the three- or four-letter tag assigned to your content type. This tag will be part of the template filename.
After adding or changing a content type, it's suitable to edit Bugzilla/Constants.pm in order to reflect the changes. Also, the file should be kept up to date after an upgrade if content types have been customized in the past. |
Save the template as <stubname>-<formatname>.<contenttypetag>.tmpl. Try out the template by calling the CGI as <cginame>.cgi?format=<formatname>&ctype=<type> .
There are a few templates you may be particularly interested in customizing for your installation.
index.html.tmpl: This is the Bugzilla front page.
global/header.html.tmpl: This defines the header that goes on all Bugzilla pages. The header includes the banner, which is what appears to users and is probably what you want to edit instead. However the header also includes the HTML HEAD section, so you could for example add a stylesheet or META tag by editing the header.
global/banner.html.tmpl: This contains the "banner", the part of the header that appears at the top of all Bugzilla pages. The default banner is reasonably barren, so you'll probably want to customize this to give your installation a distinctive look and feel. It is recommended you preserve the Bugzilla version number in some form so the version you are running can be determined, and users know what docs to read.
global/footer.html.tmpl: This defines the footer that goes on all Bugzilla pages. Editing this is another way to quickly get a distinctive look and feel for your Bugzilla installation.
global/variables.none.tmpl: This defines a list of terms that may be changed in order to "brand" the Bugzilla instance In this way, terms like "bugs" can be replaced with "issues" across the whole Bugzilla installation. The name "Bugzilla" and other words can be customized as well.
list/table.html.tmpl: This template controls the appearance of the bug lists created by Bugzilla. Editing this template allows per-column control of the width and title of a column, the maximum display length of each entry, and the wrap behaviour of long entries. For long bug lists, Bugzilla inserts a 'break' every 100 bugs by default; this behaviour is also controlled by this template, and that value can be modified here.
bug/create/user-message.html.tmpl: This is a message that appears near the top of the bug reporting page. By modifying this, you can tell your users how they should report bugs.
bug/process/midair.html.tmpl: This is the page used if two people submit simultaneous changes to the same bug. The second person to submit their changes will get this page to tell them what the first person did, and ask if they wish to overwrite those changes or go back and revisit the bug. The default title and header on this page read "Mid-air collision detected!" If you work in the aviation industry, or other environment where this might be found offensive (yes, we have true stories of this happening) you'll want to change this to something more appropriate for your environment.
bug/create/create.html.tmpl and bug/create/comment.txt.tmpl: You may not wish to go to the effort of creating custom fields in Bugzilla, yet you want to make sure that each bug report contains a number of pieces of important information for which there is not a special field. The bug entry system has been designed in an extensible fashion to enable you to add arbitrary HTML widgets, such as drop-down lists or textboxes, to the bug entry page and have their values appear formatted in the initial comment. A hidden field that indicates the format should be added inside the form in order to make the template functional. Its value should be the suffix of the template filename. For example, if the file is called create-cust.html.tmpl, then
<input type="hidden" name="format" value="cust"> |
An example of this is the mozilla.org guided bug submission form. The code for this comes with the Bugzilla distribution as an example for you to copy. It can be found in the files create-guided.html.tmpl and comment-guided.html.tmpl.
So to use this feature, create a custom template for enter_bug.cgi. The default template, on which you could base it, is custom/bug/create/create.html.tmpl. Call it create-<formatname>.html.tmpl, and in it, add widgets for each piece of information you'd like collected - such as a build number, or set of steps to reproduce.
Then, create a template like custom/bug/create/comment.txt.tmpl, and call it comment-<formatname>.txt.tmpl. This template should reference the form fields you have created using the syntax [% form.<fieldname> %]. When a bug report is submitted, the initial comment attached to the bug report will be formatted according to the layout of this template.
For example, if your custom enter_bug template had a field
<input type="text" name="buildid" size="30"> |
BuildID: [% form.buildid %] |
BuildID: 20020303 |
Bugzilla honours the user's Accept: HTTP header. You can install templates in other languages, and Bugzilla will pick the most appropriate according to a priority order defined by you. Many language templates can be obtained from https://www.bugzilla.org/download.html#localizations. Instructions for submitting new languages are also available from that location.
After untarring the localizations (or creating your own) in the
BUGZILLA_ROOT/template directory,
you must update the languages
parameter to contain any
localizations you'd like to permit. You may also wish to set the
parameter to something other than
"en" if you don't want English to be the default language.


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Pennsylvania Law requires real estate brokers and salespersons (licensees) to advise consumers of the business relationships permit by the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act. This notice must be provided to the consumer at the first contact when substantive discussion about real estate occurs.
Before you disclose any information to a licensee, be advised that unless you select an agency relationship by signing a written agreement providing for such a relationship, the licensee is NOT REPRESENTING YOU. A business relationship of any kind will NOT be presumed but must be established between the consumer and the licensee.
Any licensee who provides you with real estate services owes you the following duties:
A licensee may have the following business relationships with the consumer:
Seller agency is a relationship where the licensee, upon entering into a written agreement, works only for a seller/landlord
Seller's agents owe the additional duties of:
A seller's agent may compensate other brokers as subagents if the seller/landlord agrees in writing. Subagents have the same duties obligations as the seller's agent. Seller's agents may also compensate buyer's agents and transaction licensees who do not have the same duties and obligations as seller's agents.
If you enter into a written agreement, the licensees in the real estate company owe you the additional duties identified above under sell agency. The exception is designated agency. See the designated agency section in this notice for more information.
Buyer agency is a relationship where the licensee, upon entering into a written agreement, works only for the buyer/tenant.
Buyer's agents owe the additional duties of;
A buyer's agent may be paid fees, which may include a percentage of the purchase price, and, even if paid by the seller/landlord, will represent the interests of the buyer/tenant.
If you enter into a written agreement, the licensees in the real estate company owe you the additional duties identified above under buyer agency. The exception is designated agency. See the designated agency section in this notice for more information.
Dual agency is a relationship where the licensee acts as the agent for both the seller/landlord and the buyer/tenant in the same transaction with the written consent of all parties. Dual agents owe the additional duties of:
In designated agency, the employing broker may, with your consent, designate one or more licensees from the real estate company to represent you. Other licensees in the company may represent another party and shall not be provided with any confidential information. The designated agent(s) shall have the duties as listed above under seller agency and buyer agency.
In designated agency, the employing broker will be a dual agent and have the additional duties of:
The designation may take place at the time that the parties enter into a written agreement, but may occur at a later time. Regardless of when the designation takes place, the employing broker is responsible for ensuring that confidential information is not disclosed.
A transaction licensee is a broker or salesperson who provides communication or document preparation services or performs other acts for which a license is required WITHOUT being the agent or advocate for either the seller/landlord or the buyer/tenant. Upon signing a written agreement or disclosure statement, a transaction licensee has the additional duty of limited confidentiality in that the following information may not be disclosed:
Other information deemed confidential by the consumer shall not be provided to the transaction licensee.
The following are negotiable and shall be addressed in an agreement/disclosure statement with the licensee:
Any sales agreement must contain the zoning classification of a property except in cases where the property is zoned solely or primarily to permit single family dwellings.
A Real Estate Recovery Fund exists to reimburse any person who has obtained a final civil judgment against a Pennsylvania real estate licensee owing to fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit in a real estate transaction and who has been unable to collect the judgment alter exhausting all legal and equitable remedies. For complete details about the Fund, call (717) 783-3658.

subset: commoncrawl


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NiSi 150mm Q Filter Holder For Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 Lens (For Canon and Nikon Mount)
- Aluminum-Alloy Construction
- Holder for Filters 150mm-Wide, 2mm-Thick
- Slots for 3 Rectangular Filters
- No Vignetting
- Rotates 360°
- Rapid Installation and Quick Release
- Canon and Nikon Mount ONLY
NiSi 150mm filter holders are made from aviation-grade aluminum with single element processed by CNC machine with Matte black frosted finish on the surface. The screw accessory is made of copper and with black nickel plating. It's durable and will reduce the influence of stray light on the imaging. The NiSi 150mm Filter Holder For Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 Lens is specially designed to be used with the Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 Lens (Canon and Nikon Mount Only).
The NiSi 150mm Filter Holder For Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 Lens is compatible with the 150mm system NiSi filters including sizes 150x150mm and 150x170mm sizes. The holder mounts quickly without having to remove the lens from the camera and allows full 360-degree movement.
Square and rectangular filter systems solve problems that round, screw-on filters often cannot resolve. To begin with, one square or rectangular filter can be used with many different size lenses. As long as you have the appropriate size adapter rings, in most cases, one filter will serve the purpose.
Another benefit is if you are shooting a landscape where the horizon line is off-center and you want to balance the light intensity in both parts of the scene, i.e. bright sky, shaded foreground. Rectangular filters allow the transition to be blended into the scene, often imperceptibly. This is because they can be shifted up and down in the filter holder to fit the scene as desired. Some graduated rectangular filters are available with soft or hard transitions from dark to clear. The soft edge is recommended for wide-angle lenses and the hard edge is recommended for normal and longer lenses.


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Vagator is well-connected to the rest of the city by an excellent public transport system. Over the years, the area has become a preferred location for budget travellers looking for a cheap hotel. Vagator also has a good number of restaurants, local markets and other entertainment venues.
1 star hotels in Vagator offer clean, comfortable and compact rooms at a very affordable price. These hotels usually offer basic amenities like room service, telephone, laundry and hot/cold water. They are popular amongst backpackers and budget travellers looking for a frill-free accommodation at the lowest rates.
Via.com makes it easier than ever to book hotels online in a fast, simple and intuitive interface. Find the best 1 star hotel for your budget by using a combination of powerful filters and quick sorting. Book budget hotel in Vagator on Via.com and enjoy exciting benefits like zero cancellation fee, instant confirmation, easy cancellation/refund and 24/7 customer support.


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"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."—Abraham Lincoln
History has a funny way of circling back on itself.
The facts, figures, faces and technology may change from era to era, but the dangers remain the same.
This year is no different, whatever the politicians and talking heads may say to the contrary.
Sure, there's a new guy in charge, but for the most part, we're still recycling the same news stories that have kept us with one eye warily glued to the news for the past 100-odd years: War. Corruption. Brutality. Economic instability. Partisan politics. Militarism. Disease. Hunger. Greed. Violence. Poverty. Ignorance. Hatred.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Brush up on your history, and you'll find that we've been stuck on repeat for some time now.
Take the United States of America in the year 2021, which is not so far different from the United States of America during the Civil Rights era, or the Cold War era, or even the Depression era.
Go far enough afield, and you'll find aspects of our troubled history mirrored in the totalitarianism of Nazi Germany, in the fascism of Mussolini's Italy, and further back in the militarism of the Roman Empire.
We're like TV weatherman Phil Connors in Harold Ramis' classic 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, forced to live the same day over and over again.
Here in the American police state, however, we continue to wake up, hoping each new day, new president and new year will somehow be different from what has come before.
Unfortunately, no matter how we change the narrative, change the characters, change the plot lines, we seem to keep ending up in the same place that we started: enslaved, divided and repeating the mistakes of the past.
You want to know about the true State of our Nation? Listen up.
The State of the Union: The state of our nation is politically polarized, controlled by forces beyond the purview of the average American, and rapidly moving the nation away from its freedom foundation. Over the past year, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have found themselves repeatedly subjected to egregious civil liberties violations, invasive surveillance, martial law, lockdowns, political correctness, erosions of free speech, strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, government spying, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, etc.
The predators of the police state have wreaked havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives. The government does not listen to the citizenry, refuses to abide by the Constitution, and treats taxpayers as a source of funding and little else. Police officers shoot unarmed citizens and their household pets. Government agents—including local police—remain armed to the teeth and act like soldiers on a battlefield. Bloated government agencies continue to fleece taxpayers. Government technicians spy on our emails and phone calls. And government contractors make a killing by waging endless wars abroad.
Consequently, the state of our nation remains bureaucratic, debt-ridden, violent, militarized, fascist, lawless, invasive, corrupt, untrustworthy, mired in war, and unresponsive to the wishes and needs of the electorate.
The policies of the American police state continue unabated.
The Executive Branch: All of the imperial powers amassed by Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush—to kill American citizens without due process, to detain suspects indefinitely, to strip Americans of their citizenship rights, to carry out mass surveillance on Americans without probable cause, to suspend laws during wartime, to disregard laws with which he might disagree, to conduct secret wars and convene secret courts, to sanction torture, to sidestep the legislatures and courts with executive orders and signing statements, to direct the military to operate beyond the reach of the law, to act as a dictator and a tyrant, above the law and beyond any real accountability—were inherited by Joe Biden.
Biden has these powers because every successive occupant of the Oval Office has been allowed to expand the reach and power of the presidency through the use of executive orders, decrees, memorandums, proclamations, national security directives and legislative signing statements that can be activated by any sitting president. Those of us who saw this eventuality coming have been warning for years about the growing danger of the Executive Branch with its presidential toolbox of terror that could be used—and abused—by future presidents. The groundwork, we warned, was being laid for a new kind of government where it won't matter if you're innocent or guilty, whether you're a threat to the nation or even if you're a citizen. What will matter is what the president—or whoever happens to be occupying the Oval Office at the time—thinks. And if he or she thinks you're a threat to the nation and should be locked up, then you'll be locked up with no access to the protections our Constitution provides. In effect, you will disappear.
Our warnings continue to go unheeded.
The Legislative Branch: Congress may well be the most self-serving, semi-corrupt institution in America. Abuses of office runs the gamut from elected representatives neglecting their constituencies to engaging in self-serving practices, including the misuse of eminent domain, earmarking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracting in return for personal gain and campaign contributions, having inappropriate ties to lobbyist groups and incorrectly or incompletely disclosing financial information. Pork barrel spending, hastily passed legislation, partisan bickering, a skewed work ethic, graft and moral turpitude have all contributed to the public's increasing dissatisfaction with congressional leadership. No wonder only 31 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing.
The Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court was intended to be an institution established to intervene and protect the people against the government and its agents when they overstep their bounds. Yet through their deference to police power, preference for security over freedom, and evisceration of our most basic rights for the sake of order and expediency, the justices of the United States Supreme Court have become the guardians of the American police state in which we now live. As a result, sound judgment and justice have largely taken a back seat to legalism, statism and elitism, while preserving the rights of the people has been deprioritized and made to play second fiddle to both governmental and corporate interests. The courts have empowered the government to wreak havoc on our liberties. Protections for private property continue to be undermined. And Americans can no longer rely on the courts to mete out justice.
Shadow Government: Joe Biden inherited more than a bitterly divided nation teetering on the brink of financial catastrophe when he assumed office. He also inherited a shadow government, one that is fully operational and staffed by unelected officials who are, in essence, running the country. Referred to as the Deep State, this shadow government is comprised of unelected government bureaucrats, corporations, contractors, paper-pushers, and button-pushers who are actually calling the shots behind the scenes right now.
Law Enforcement: By and large the term "law enforcement" encompasses all agents within a militarized police state, including the military, local police, and the various agencies such as the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. Having been given the green light to probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, all with the general blessing of the courts, America's law enforcement officials, no longer mere servants of the people entrusted with keeping the peace but now extensions of the military, are part of an elite ruling class dependent on keeping the masses corralled, under control, and treated like suspects and enemies rather than citizens. As a result, police are becoming even more militarized and weaponized, and police shootings of unarmed individuals continue to increase.
A Suspect Surveillance Society: Every dystopian sci-fi film we've ever seen is suddenly converging into this present moment in a dangerous trifecta between science, technology and a government that wants to be all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful. By tapping into your phone lines and cell phone communications, the government knows what you say. By uploading all of your emails, opening your mail, and reading your Facebook posts and text messages, the government knows what you write. By monitoring your movements with the use of license plate readers, surveillance cameras and other tracking devices, the government knows where you go. By churning through all of the detritus of your life—what you read, where you go, what you say—the government can predict what you will do. By mapping the synapses in your brain, scientists—and in turn, the government—will soon know what you remember. And by accessing your DNA, the government will soon know everything else about you that they don't already know: your family chart, your ancestry, what you look like, your health history, your inclination to follow orders or chart your own course, etc. Consequently, in the face of DNA evidence that places us at the scene of a crime, behavior sensing technology that interprets our body temperature and facial tics as suspicious, and government surveillance devices that cross-check our biometrics, license plates and DNA against a growing database of unsolved crimes and potential criminals, we are no longer "innocent until proven guilty."
Military Empire: America's endless global wars and burgeoning military empire—funded by taxpayer dollars—have depleted our resources, over-extended our military and increased our similarities to the Roman Empire and its eventual demise. Black budget spending has completely undermined any hope of fiscal transparency, with government contractors padding their pockets at the expense of taxpayers and the nation's infrastructure—railroads, water pipelines, ports, dams, bridges, airports and roads—taking the hit. The U.S. now operates approximately 800 military bases in foreign countries around the globe at an annual cost of at least $156 billion. The consequences of financing a global military presence are dire. In fact, David Walker, former comptroller general of the U.S., believes there are "striking similarities" between America's current situation and the factors that contributed to the fall of Rome, including "declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government."
I haven't even touched on the corporate state, the military industrial complex, SWAT team raids, invasive surveillance technology, zero tolerance policies in the schools, overcriminalization, or privatized prisons, to name just a few. However, what I have touched on should be enough to show that the landscape of our freedoms has already changed dramatically from what it once was and will no doubt continue to deteriorate unless Americans can find a way to wrest back control of their government and reclaim their freedoms.
So how do we go about reclaiming our freedoms and reining in our runaway government?
Essentially, there are four camps of thought among the citizenry when it comes to holding the government accountable. Which camp you fall into says a lot about your view of government—or, at least, your view of whichever administration happens to be in power at the time.
In the first camp are those who trust the government to do the right thing, despite the government's repeated failures in this department.
In the second camp are those who not only don't trust the government but think the government is out to get them.
In the third camp are those who see government neither as an angel nor a devil, but merely as an entity that needs to be controlled, or as Thomas Jefferson phrased it, bound "down from mischief with the chains of the Constitution."
Then there's the fourth camp, comprised of individuals who pay little to no attention to the workings of government. Easily entertained, easily distracted, easily led, these are the ones who make the government's job far easier than it should be.
It is easy to be diverted, distracted and amused by the antics of politicians, the pomp and circumstance of awards shows, athletic events, and entertainment news, and the feel-good evangelism that passes for religion today.
What is far more difficult to face up to is the reality of life in America, where unemployment, poverty, inequality, injustice and violence by government agents are increasingly norms.
The powers-that-be want us to remain divided, alienated from each other based on our politics, our bank accounts, our religion, our race and our value systems. Yet as George Orwell observed, "The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians."
The only distinction that matters anymore is where you stand in the American police state.
In other words, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution.
America is at a crossroads.
History may show that from this point forward, we will have left behind any semblance of constitutional government and entered into a militaristic state where all citizens are suspects and security trumps freedom.
Certainly, we have moved beyond the era of representative government and entered a new age: the age of authoritarianism. Even with its constantly shifting terrain, this topsy-turvy travesty of law and government has become America's new normal.
As long as we continue to put our politics ahead of our principles—moral, legal and constitutional—"we the people" will lose.
And you know who will keep winning by playing on our prejudices, capitalizing on our fears, deepening our distrust of our fellow citizens, and dividing us into polarized, warring camps incapable of finding consensus on the one true menace that is an immediate threat to all of our freedoms? The government.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, when we lose sight of the true purpose of government—to protect our rights—and fail to keep the government in its place as our servant, we allow the government to overstep its bounds and become a tyrant that rules by brute force.


text:
Top Slider jQuery by WOWSlider.com v1.5
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The Biggest Meal of the Year: I'm not talking about the night you get cajoled into a Chuck-a-Rama buffet and end up eating your weight in all-you-can eat meat cooked in lard. I mean Thanksgiving, that
holiday to beat all, where the
cajoling involves finding a good place to take a nap when it's all over.
Read More
This veggie is an A-lister on the
super food
list, which is great because it's so sweet that it might as well be
. I like to have my candy with nutrients, don't you? Check out the fiber content on this vegetable: that's more than your oatmeal can boast, and it holds all that fiber without any added fat. It's a complex carb as well, so even though it tastes sugary, it isn't going to spike your
blood sugar
. Pretty super, right?
Read More
The Easter tradition is one of my Family Favorites, mostly because I love a good scavenger hunt and eggs make the best hidey-holes! You can put anything in those little plastic eggs, and I swear it's more exciting than Christmas. (I'm easily amused.) We've put together some dishes to complete a great Easter meal and a Menu Planner to keep you out with the hunters instead of stationed behind the kitchen counter.
Read More
I'm always looking for a reason to throw a party because I'm addicted to those party magazines that come in the mail. I sometimes buy cute invitations
"just in case"
I might want to use them someday. Maybe it's my
looking for a way to get into the action...
Read More
Pan Searing is Fun!
This method of cooking meat is so versatile that I thought it was worth exploring in greater depth. If you are not into lengthy explanations of simple things, skip right to the recipes. Give Ashley's
Curry Chicken
a try or my
Cranberry Pork Chops
. For a quick meal, sear some chicken for a salad. The result is tender and moist meat that is great sliced on just about anything....
Read More
Kid's Lunch
When my daughter started first grade I was trying to figure out what to pack her for lunch. Walking through the store I saw chips, juice boxes, snack cakes, fruit snacks, crackers and packaged fruit. Basically, if I packed this she would get sugar, salt, and fat for lunch.....
Read More
© The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie 2024


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Losing deals stay in a sales pipe more than twice as long as winning deals. To be a winner, start by failing faster.
[Editor's Note: Repost from Selling Power Magazine.]
Want to win? Then make it your mission to lose quicker. It's hard not to agree that sales, by its very nature, is a highly human-centric endeavor. All good salespeople know intuitively when a deal is going to happen, and conversely, when it isn't. Yet that internalized knowledge rarely, if ever, becomes institutionalized, meaning it never gets into the system of record or CRM application. This creates a huge barrier to improving sales performance.
The data speaks for itself: looking at a knowledge base of deals assembled from a variety of companies and industries and totaling more than 10,000 opportunities, the numbers are striking. Winning deals on average took only 75 days to close, while losing deals took 175 days to close out ― 100 days longer. During those additional 100 days, management, sales ops, finance, and all sorts of other ancillary groups in the enterprise spent time/cycles on evaluating what, in essence, the sales rep knew all along. The time has come to fess up.
It can no longer be acceptable to maintain an opportunity in a pipe beyond its sell-by date. Moreover, accurately predicting sales opportunities is way too important to leave to a rep's gut or hunch, as the outcome directly affects the entire corporation. Much of a company's asset allocation, budgets, and resources are set based on their sales reps' predictions. Unfortunately, current predictions from sales are more like wishful thinking than science. Or worse, like hide and seek. The reason is simple: humans process this data intuitively and don't have the time nor inclination to open the kimono and show the proverbial powers-that-be an honest assessment of a deal's potential outcome.
This culture of bravado makes cleaning a sales pipe nearly impossible. Yet what can only be described as losing fodder must be cleaned out of the pipe if an organization ever hopes to leverage its investment in the sales process. Thus, the trick to winning is to find a way to allow for a clear quantitative assessment of the pipe and clean it so that your best people across your organization are available to spend precious resources, time, and cycles on the deals with the highest likelihood of winning. Yes, you need to become Mr. Clean.
The key is bringing modern science and technologies together using big data and analytics to better predict sales outcomes far in advance of expected close dates. The goal is to create an intelligent, predictive approach to business-to-business sales by 1) determining patterns based on actual company and buyer business behavior, and 2) analyzing that information in order to increase communication between colleagues and more closely link management to sales teams with the goal of closing deals faster and more efficiently, without arduous manual effort.
Since many studies show that salespeople are spending less and less time selling, the absolute essential ingredient to success here is to ensure that any effort does not add manual steps to the sales-reporting process ― more key strokes, clicks, needless processes, or internal meetings will only result in less productivity, not more. And since the essence of the social enterprise is, well, social, then something needs to change to allow salespeople to spend more time with the right customers while capturing the very essence of a productive deal cycle ― one that yields a positive outcome.
Thus, the trick to better resource optimization is to automate the process of updating activities without entering information and give management complete visibility into the sales process without relying on a weekly interrogation. All of this empowers a sales organization to fail much faster ― and win much more.


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It Is After Considerable Contemplation….
It is after considerable contemplation that I have lately arrived at the decision that I must withdraw from the two performances scheduled in Israel on the 30th of June and the 1st of July.
One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament.
Then there are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.
I must believe that the audience for the coming concerts would have contained many people who question the policies of their government on settlement and deplore conditions that visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security.
I am also keenly aware of the sensitivity of these themes in the wake of so many despicable acts of violence perpetrated in the name of liberation.
Some will regard all of this an unknowable without personal experience but if these subjects are actually too grave and complex to be addressed in a concert, then it is also quite impossible to simply look the other way.
I offer my sincere apologies for any disappointment to the advance ticket holders as well as to the organizers.
My thanks also go to the members of the Israeli media with whom I had most rewarding and illuminating conversations. They may regard these exchanges as a waste of their time but they were of great value and help to me in gaining an appreciation of the cultural scene.
I hope it is possible to understand that I am not taking this decision lightly or so I may stand beneath any banner, nor is it one in which I imagine myself to possess any unique or eternal truth.
It is a matter of instinct and conscience.
It has been necessary to dial out the falsehoods of propaganda, the double game and hysterical language of politics, the vanity and self-righteousness of public communiqués from cranks in order to eventually sift through my own conflicted thoughts.
I have come to the following conclusions.
One must at least consider any rational argument that comes before the appeal of more desperate means.
Sometimes a silence in music is better than adding to the static and so an end to it.
I cannot imagine receiving another invitation to perform in Israel, which is a matter of regret but I can imagine a better time when I would not be writing this.
With the hope for peace and understanding. Elvis Costello


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Budgeting isn't a sexy topic, but sticking to your small business budget is pretty important subject for small businesses. Especially when most are forced to work within the confines of some pretty tight numbers.
Here's Why Your Business Need a Budget
Like it or not, setting a budget is one of the most important things you'll ever do as a business owner. A budget is a guiding force that allows you to make sense of what's going on around you. But what are the specific reasons for needing a budget?
Here are a few:
Table of Contents
ToggleBudgets create targets.
When a pitcher throws a baseball, he isn't just winding up and hoping it finds its way into the strike zone. He's looking at home plate and throwing based on a combination of factors, including the placement of the catcher's mitt. Just as a catcher's mitt creates a target for a pitcher to throw at, a budget gives your business something to aim for.
Budgets establish priorities.
When you have a budget in place, everything your organization does suddenly has calculated meaning attached to it. If you ever find yourself in a position where you don't know how to proceed or what to spend money on, your budget acts as a guiding force and clearly outlines how your actions should be prioritized.
Budgets communicate priorities.
Not only does a budget establish priorities for those in executive leadership positions, but it also communicates to everyone in the organization what your company values. In other words, if your budget is heavily focused on sales, then it's clear to your employees that the number one goal is driving revenue. If the budget is heavily focused on employee training, then this sends the message that the company is focused on investing in talent.
Budgets get everyone on the same page.
It's often difficult for everyone in a large organization to get on the same page. A budget makes this process easier by clearly outlining what the business is focusing on and what role each department or individual plays.
Budgets provide a measuring stick.
While budgets are great for getting everyone focused and moving towards a specific goal, they're also excellent measuring sticks. At the end of a quarter or fiscal year, you can look back and get a feel for how things went over that period of time.
The importance of a budget can't be overstated. While there are plenty of other responsibilities you have as a business owner, almost every single one of them is related to the budget in some form or fashion. Mess this aspect up and you'll put yourself in a compromising position.
6 Practical Tips for Actually Sticking to Your Small Business Budget
While setting a budget does take some skill and attention to detail, anyone can do it. All you need to do is track your revenue, account for expenses, and then spread out the money according to where you want it to go. But while the budget creation process happens in a sterile conference room or office, the execution of that budget occurs in a dynamic environment with hundreds of uncontrollable factors. This makes the issue of sticking with a budget challenging, to say the least.
Sticking with a budget is difficult, yet necessary. And while every organization has its own challenges that it must overcome, here are a few practical tips for staying the course:
Set Realistic Numbers
It's impossible to stick with a budget if you don't have realistic numbers. It doesn't matter how organized and detailed a budget is, you can't possibly accomplish anything if the numbers aren't practical.
Setting realistic numbers means carefully evaluating your company's financials over the last few months. Then making conservative projections based on the averages and trends you've identified.
Leave Room for Flexibility
While a budget should be balanced down to the penny (or dollar), there's something to be said for leaving a little room for flexibility. Too much rigidity is impractical and will ultimately prevent you from accomplishing objectives and fulfilling needs as they arise throughout the quarter or year.
How can you balance a budget and leave room for flexibility? One option is to include different funds and portions of the budget that are reserved for future decision making. In other words, don't assign every penny of the marketing budget to specific needs. Leaving a percentage unallocated allows you to confront opportunities as they arise. This makes the "control freaks" in the room a little nervous, but it's totally necessary.
Hold People Accountable
A budget looks good on paper, but it's up to people to see it through. If you don't have the right people making good decisions, then you'll find it impossible to stay on track for any sustainable period of time.
"Sticking to a budget can be challenging at first, but holding all individuals accountable is vital," OnQFinancial explains. "Periodically go over the budget with everyone involved so that everyone is on the same page. Working together as a team is the best way to approach sticking to the budget."
Accountability starts from the top. Not only should you be holding your employees and departments accountable, but they should be keeping you accountable. It takes a special type of organization where subordinates feel like it's okay to hold their superiors accountable, but this is the type of company you want to build. It won't always be easy or comfortable, but the long-term outlook is much stronger.
Involve Multiple People
A budget isn't something you can create in your office and then distribute to your employees. While this is technically possible, it isn't practical. A budget created in isolation will rarely – if ever – accurately reflect the needs of the company as a whole.
Successful budgets involve multiple people throughout the organization. Ideally, every department needs to be represented by someone who is looking out for its needs. Someone who understands what it takes to make things run efficiently.
Stay On Top of Accounting
If budgeting is considered boring, most business owners don't even want to think about accounting. Crunching numbers seems like a miserable task, but it's entirely necessary (especially if you want to stick to your budget.)
Because of the unappealing nature of accounting, a lot of businesses neglect it until they absolutely must deal with it. If you know what's good for you, you'll avoid this pitfall and take a proactive, conscientious approach.
As entrepreneur Vikas Agrawal explains, "Even the tiniest expenses should be tracked down and analyzed by the end of the month to trigger if we did something wrong, to see where we can improve, and to acknowledge if there is room in our budget to make some extra investment our business might be requiring."
Regularly Revisit the Budget
One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is setting a budget and then leaving it alone until the end of the quarter or fiscal year. With so many variable factors involved, this isn't something you can do if you genuinely want to stay on track.
"If your budget is going to work for you, plan on revisiting it on a monthly basis with your management team and update it based on your business performance and expenses for the prior month," small business owner Caron Beesley advises.
When reviewing your budget, ask as many questions as possible. The more inquisitive you are, the more likely it is you'll identify opportunities and eliminate mistakes. As Beesley suggests, "Take a look at your sales forecast – how's your pipeline looking? Are there any indicators that you need to make changes to your budget to cover additional inventory or staffing needs? Look at your expenses – are they as projected, or do you need to cut back in certain areas to ensure you stay on track?"
Keep your Business On Pace
A budget is like any other goal you have in your personal or professional life. Perhaps one of the easiest illustrations is to think about a weight loss goal that you might set at the beginning of the year. A budget is like a weight loss plan.
It outlines:
- What you're going to do
- How you're going to spend your time/money
- What sort of results you hope to achieve by the end of the term
But just because you have a weight loss plan, doesn't mean you're actually going to lose the weight. In order to realize the end goal, you have to execute the plan and stay on track.
As your company's leader, you have to keep the business on pace and pay careful attention to the budget you've set. When you notice things going astray – as they often will – right the ship and bring everything back together. Sticking to a small business budget can be challenging, but it's far from impossible.


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'Rogue One' Disney+ Series Won't Include K-2SO in First Season
Rogue One actor Alan Tudyk has confirmed that his character, K-2SO, will not appear in the movie's upcoming spinoff series for Disney+. Well, at least not yet.
The Star Wars companion series, titled Andor, was first announced at the D23 Expo in August 2019. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy shared that the show's timeline would take place before Rogue One, and the plot would focus on Diego Luna's Rebel Cassian Andor and his droid K-2SO. But since then, we haven't heard anything about K-2SO's involvement.
In a recent interview with Collider about his new SyFy series Resident Alien, Tudyk confessed that K-2SO won't be in the first batch of Andor episodes. "They're shooting it right now, I'm not in it," he stated. "But, if it stays on the air, stories keep getting told, I'll end up in there."
The funny thing is, Andor had originally been billed with K-2SO as a major character. After all, who is Andor without his sarcastic sidekick? "I'm [at] all these announcements for the show, and I had suggested at D23 when we announced in the show, that it be called K2 Fast K2 Furious: The Cassian Andor Series and, um, that's not happening, it's called Andor!" joked Tudyk.
Rest assured, Tudyk is confident that K-2SO will get his moment to shine. "I'm going to be in the show. It's just that the story that Tony [Gilroy] is telling doesn't involve K-2SO until later on," he explained. "I can't be too specific, but I can definitely say that I'm not going to be in the first season." Considering the monstrous popularity of The Mandalorian, it's likely that Andor will resonate well with Star Wars fans as well. So it's a pretty safe bet we'll get to see the show develop to the point where K-2SO can join in on the action.
Gallery — 'Star Wars' Easter Eggs In Other Movies and Television:


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Science Fair Projects Aerodynamics
Published on Jun 26, 2023
Science Fair Projects Aerodynamics
The Robins-Magnus Effect and the Effect of Traversing Different Fluid Media
Long Live Wind Energy
Going Up
Does Parachute Internal Volume Affect Rate of Fall
Shape and Surface Texture
Go With The Flow
Which Automobile Shapes Have the Least Wind Resistance
The Effects of Airplane Wing Design on Aerodynamics
Tubular Turbulence
A Model Rocket's Trajectory
Folding a Better Plane
Catch a Wave
Do Dimples Make the Difference
A Further Cut
Can a Kid Build a New Type of Flying Machine
Tuck to Win
Vexing Volant Vortices
Foam Takes Flight
Blowing in the Wind
Effect of Temperature on the Angle of a Fluid Stream
The Importance of Angle of Attack to Flight
Do Blade Angles and Number of Blades on a Propeller Change the Speed of a Hovercraft?
Winging It: An Analysis of the Effects of Varying Aspect Ratios on a Toy Glider's Flight
What Size Hydrofoil Does My Sailboat Need
What A Drag
Comparison of Viscosities of Different Biofuels
Design, Analysis, and Optimization of Solid Fuel Rocket Engines
Persistent Holes in Non-Newtonian Fluids
What Fin Shape Causes a Model Rocket to Reach the Highest Altitude?
Effect of Varying Air Outlets on the Stability of a Hovercraft
The Effects of Different Blades on Generating Electricity at Low Wind Speeds
The Shapes of Boat Hulls Matter
Does Creating a Liquid Vortex Affect Drain Time
Which Wind Turbine Blade Design Will Produce the Most Power
Center of Gravity and Paper Airplanes
Watts Up with Fairings
Culvert Design for Fish Passage
Temperature Dependence of Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluid Viscosities
Drag Reduction of a Mini Cooper
Testing Turbines for Maximum Power
Patterns of Fluid Dynamics
Does a Rocket That Spins As It Climbs
Solving the Mystery of Water Towers
Producing Electricity with Different Angles and Measurments for Wind Turbine Blades
When Air Masses Collide
Factors That Affect a Hovercraft Speed
Effects of Wing Angle and Angle of Attack on Flight Duration
Comparing Power Output of Wind Turbine Blades
How Do Flaps Affect Wing Lift
Marble Viscosity Race
Rate of Flow of Liquids in Tubes
Magnetohydrodynamic Propulsion and Dimensionless Numbers
The Wonders of Winglets
Pythagoras, Power, and Pennies
Testing Airfoils
Breaking the Splash Barriers
How High Can She Fly
Swimming Can Be a Drag
The Effect of Winglets on a Radio Controlled Plane
Parachute Drop
It's a Drag
Effect of Blade Type and Blade Angle on Power
Downforce on a Stock Car
The Sky is the Limit
The Green Machine
Unleash the Power of the Pinwheel
The Effect of the Blade's Pitch Angle on Wind Power
Does the Weight Distribution on a Glider Affect Its Flight Path
Wave Hello to Blue-Green Energy
How Does Pressure Affect the Bottle Rockets Flight
Do Different Fin Designs Affect a Rocket Maximum Altitude
Aerodynamic Shapes
The Effect of Ball Diameter on the Time It Takes to Fall
Is Bigger Really Better
Flow Dynamics of the Salt Oscillator
Effects of Magnetic Fields on Water Flow
Searching for Stability
Real Time Analysis and Optimization of Solid Fuel Rocket Engines
Got Thrust? Got Lift? Got Aerodynamics?
Forensic Crime Unit: Blood Spatter
Wind Power
Dimples on Wings
What Is the Best Nozzle Angle for My Airplane
Faster Is Not Always Better
Rocket Stability
The Shape of a Glider
Blunt vs. Tapered
Aerodynamic Lift
Efficiency of Different Savonius Wind Turbines
Falling Rate of Small Spheres
Generating and Calculating Water Density's Effect on Hydro-Rocket Flight
Blades of Glory
The Effect of Wind on Bridges
Can the Wind Really Work for You
Aerodynamics of a Golf Ball
Awesome Airfoils
How Wind Direction Affects a Wind Generator
At What Angle Is the Lift of a Wing Maximized
Wind Energy and a Better Blade
Aerodynamic Airfoils
Flying Boats
Magnus Force on Spinning Spheres
More Aerodynamics Projects
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Aerodynamics or Hydrodynamics Science Fair Projects | Aerodynamics Science Experiments
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President Trump on Thursday announced that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis would be retiring at the end of February.
Here's Mattis' letter, dated Dec. 20, to the president.
Dear Mr. President:
I have been privileged to serve as our country's 26th Secretary of Defense which has allowed me to serve alongside our men and women of the Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals.
I am proud of the progress that has been made over the past two years on some of the key goals articulated in our National Defense Strategy: putting the Department on a more sound budgetary footing, improving readiness and lethality in our forces, and reforming the Department's business practices for greater performance. Our troops continue to provide the capabilities needed to prevail in conflict and sustain strong U.S. global influence.
One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships. While the U.S. remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies. Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world. Instead, we must use all tools of American power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances. NATO's 29 democracies demonstrated that strength in their commitment to fighting alongside us following the 9-11 attack on America. The Defeat-ISIS coalition of 74 nations is further proof.
Similarly, I believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours. It is clear that China and Russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model — gaining veto authority over other nations' economic, diplomatic, and security decisions — to promote their own interests at the expense of their neighbors, America and our allies. That is why we must use all the tools of American power to provide for the common defense.
My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues. We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances.
Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position. The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department's interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February. Further, that a full transition to a new Secretary of Defense occurs well in advance of the transition of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September in order to ensure stability within the Department.
I pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million Service Members and 732,079 DoD civilians receive undistracted attention of the Department at all times so that they can fulfill their critical, round-the-clock mission to protect the American people.
I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform.
James N. Mattis
You can also see the letter here.


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The Obama administration is ramping up its response to West Africa's Ebola crisis, preparing to assign 3,000 U.S. military personnel to the afflicted region to supply medical and logistical support to overwhelmed local health care systems and to boost the number of beds needed to isolate and treat victims of the epidemic.
President Barack Obama planned to announce the stepped-up effort Tuesday during a visit to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta amid alarm that the outbreak could spread and that the deadly virus could mutate into a more easily transmitted disease.
The new U.S. muscle comes after appeals from the region and from aid organizations for a heightened U.S. role in combatting the outbreak blamed for more than 2,200 deaths.
Administration officials said Monday that the new initiatives aim to:
- Train as many as 500 health care workers a week.
- Erect 17 heath care facilities in the region of 100 beds each.
- Set up a joint command headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, to coordinate between U.S. and international relief efforts.
- Provide home health care kits to hundreds of thousands of households, including 50,000 that the U.S. Agency for International Development will deliver to Liberia this week.
- Carry out a home- and community-based campaign to train local populations on how to handle exposed patients.
Meanwhile, a Senate panel scheduled a Tuesday afternoon hearing on the Ebola crisis. Expected to testify were Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Kent Brantly, an American physician who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia but recovered after treatment with an experimental drug.
The Obama administration officials said the cost of the stepped-up effort to combat the disease would come from $500 million in overseas contingency operations, such as the war in Afghanistan, that the Pentagon already has asked Congress to redirect to carry out humanitarian efforts in Iraq and in West Africa. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans on the record ahead of Obama's announcement
The officials said it would take about two weeks to get U.S. forces on the ground.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations African affairs subcommittee, applauded the new U.S. commitment. Coons earlier had called for the Obama administration to step up its role in West Africa.
"This humanitarian intervention should serve as a firewall against a global security crisis that has the potential to reach American soil," he said.
Hardest hit by the outbreak are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The virus also has reached Nigeria and Senegal. Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of sick patients, making doctors and nurses especially vulnerable to contracting the virus, which has no vaccine or approved treatment.
The U.S. effort will include medics and corpsmen for treatment and training, engineers to help erect the treatment facilities and specialists in logistics to assist in patient transportation.
Obama's trip to the CDC comes a day after the United States also demanded a stepped-up international response to the outbreak. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, called Monday for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, warning that the potential risk of the virus could "set the countries of West Africa back a generation."
Power said the meeting Thursday would mark a rare occasion when the Security Council, which is responsible for threats to international peace and security, addresses a public health crisis.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was expected to brief the council along with World Health Organization chief Dr. Margaret Chan and Dr. David Nabarro, the recently named U.N. coordinator to tackle the disease, as well as representatives from the affected countries.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest, responding to criticism that the U.S. needed a more forceful response to the outbreak, said Monday that Obama has identified the outbreak "as a top national security priority," worried that it could contribute to political instability in the region and that, left unchecked, the virus could transform and become more contagious.
He said the administration responded "pretty aggressively" when the outbreak was first reported in March.
"Since that time our assistance has steadily been ramping up," he said.
The Senate was also weighing in Tuesday with a hearing to examine the U.S. response. An American missionary doctor who survived the disease was among those scheduled to testify.
Four Americans have been or are being treated for Ebola in the U.S. after evacuation from Africa.
The U.S. has spent more than $100 million responding to the outbreak and has offered to operate treatment centers for patients.
While at the CDC, Obama also will be briefed about cases of respiratory illness being reported in the Midwest, the White House said. Public health officials are monitoring a high number of reported illnesses associated with human enterovirus 68 in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and elsewhere.
After leaving Atlanta, Obama planned to travel to Florida to visit the headquarters of U.S. Central Command in Tampa. He will meet with military officials about the U.S. counterterrorism campaign against the Islamic State group. Central Command overseas U.S. military efforts in the Middle East.


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We are pleased to offer a series of monthly discussions on critical stormwater inspection issues. Called CSI Network these discussions are delivered via interactive webinars, and the topics apply to municipal, construction and industrial regulations, permits, and inspections.
These discussion meetings are free to current Certified Stormwater Inspectors (CSI)™ while non-current CSI graduates, and the general public, can join sessions for a $25 registration fee..
CSI Network meetings are scheduled for a Wednesday once monthly beginning at 1:00 PM EDT. Each session is schedule for no more than 90 minutes. Check the registration calendar for exact dates.
Registered participants will receive a Subject Statement by email that will identify the problems and potential solutions of each topic prior to each meeting. This will afford you the opportunity to prepare. Meeting presenters will be assisted by a manager to encourage discussions and to help you share your experiences with other inspectors. If you are a subject matter expert in one of our meeting topics and would like to make a short presentation to the group, please email us so we can make arrangements (
Event Date | 09-18-2024 1:00 pm |
Event End Date | 09-18-2024 2:30 pm |
Cut off date | 09-17-2024 |
Capacity | 50 |
Speaker | To Be Determined |
Number Hours | 1.5 |
Location | Online Webinar |
Categories | MS4 Stormwater Field Personnel, Construction & Development Personnel, Consultants, Elected Officials & Management, Floodplain and Watershed Personnel, Industrial Personnel, Military / Federal Facilities, Municipal Permit Management and POTW Personnel, POTW Personnel, Public Works, Tribal Organizations |
You will receive an email notification to register for the online webinar approximately two weeks before the class start date.


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Card front
As you might guess from the uniform, Richmond served as a AAA affiliate for Atlanta in 1980, which they did nonstop from 1966 to 2008. Prior to the 2009 season, they relocated to Gwinnett, Georgia, chasing a more lucrative stadium deal. Fortunately for local fans, the Giants filled this gap by moving one of their AA teams to Richmond. CATCH SQUIRREL FEVER!
Card back
Note that TCMA invites you to write for a free list of cards and "collect them all." Putting together 50+ sets would've been a huge task in 1980--and remains one today--unless you had enough money to buy them en masse from the maker. It's a good bet at least one oddball dealer owned all the sets at one point, but I wonder if a collector ever did?
Value: Coach Hatfield cost me $2 from Beckett Marketplace, about right for "common" minor league players.
Fakes / reprints: Haven't seen any TCMA minor league reprints in the market.


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Posts Tagged 'Clifton Vineyard Church'
Obituary: Stephen Gerard Sanford
Stephen Gerard Sanford met his heavenly father face to face on March 28, 2011, as he peacefully passed away at the Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado, after a hard-fought five-year battle with leukemia and lymphoma. He was born November 29, 1963 in Kingston, New York to Edward and Barbara Sanford. In 1965 the family moved to Boulder, Colorado and in 1971 moved to Berthoud, Colorado. Steve was raised on a small farm and became an active 4-H member, raising pigs, sheep and dairy ... Full Story


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Saving good women from bad design
The Femme Den is a design lab focused on the female consumer, powered by Smart Design. We're designers, researchers, strategists and engineers who bridge the gap between assumptions and realities about design for women. Women buy or influence up to 85% of consumer purchases. At Smart Design, over 90% of our designs have been successfully brought to market. You do the math.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't
426 Responses
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Stewart, in reply to
You should have followed the guy* in front of me this morning, in his truck-sized SUV; semi-dark rural roads, so he would have been operating on the assumption that another vehicle's lights would warn him, but he was cutting corners, straddling the centre-line & taking as much of both lanes as he wanted.
(*Assuming throughout that the driver was male but recognising that may not have been the case.)But the rest of your post I entirely agree with - compulsion works only where the person being compelled can see obvious benefits to complying. In the case of hi-viz and cycle-helmets the benefits are less obvious than keeping left and doing up seatbelts.
Stewart, in reply to
Yeah, somethign like that. Through approved driver education facilities, with log-books, etc.
TBH it is more of a throwaway concept & unlikely to be practicable, but having developed a lot of defensive driving skills through cycling & motorcycling I can see how they improve one's car-driving.
It makes a fine concept, if nothing more... -
Ben Gracewood, in reply to
Camera Setup? I'm lucky enough to be doing some software work for GoPro, so we have a (literal) handful of their cameras lying around.
My favourite is of course the top-end Hero 3 Black Edition. They're amazingly small and light, and can shoot 720p at 120fps for my entire commute (45-50mins) no problemo.
I originally set it up for a laugh. Mr 9 and I adore Nitro Circus and stupid stunts, so we filmed some pratfalls on his scooter, then I set up a time-lapse on my commute. After catching a few red-light runners I'm going to make it a permanent fixture.
And just so I'm not always a complainer, here's a sped-up version of my commute home to Te Atatu:
We are so incredibly privileged in Auckland to have the North-West Cycleway. It's a fantastic piece of infrastructure which allows me to relax and not deal with traffic for 90% of my commute.
Russell Brown, in reply to
We are so incredibly privileged in Auckland to have the North-West Cycleway. It's a fantastic piece of infrastructure which allows me to relax and not deal with traffic for 90% of my commute.
It pretty desperately needs that upgrade, though. And happily, the cycleway will be upgraded before the rest of the motorway. Which means it will be above the motorway for a while!
It's hard work getting a bicycle going again from a full stop, and it's my work not the un-work of a tank full of petroleum pixies.
Really? I don't find it so, especially if I have one foot on the ground, and the other on the pedal with the pedal at top and just to the front right ready for a strong push-off. And it's just what comes with the territory when I choose to ride my bike, just as paying over $2 per litre for petrol is what comes with the territory when I choose to drive my car.
I think Christopher Dempsey has got a point when it comes to safety, and there are clearly times when in order to stay alive, a cyclist has to break the road code. Cycling through the top of a t-intersection on a red light doesn't strike me as one of them, 'though I'm sure that there have been particular occasions when safety demands it. Likewise with turning left through a red light.
I know that as a driver, I get a shock when I am driving through an intersection, on a green, and suddenly a cyclist pops up, unexpectedly because *I* am the one with the green, not the cyclist.
As a cyclist, I stick to the road code, unless immediate safety needs dictate otherwise, because then other road users have a much better chance of predicting what I will do. That's also why I indicate when I'm cycling - big clear hand signals that I maintain for as long as possible, so that other road users have a good understanding of where I intend to go and they can react accordingly.
John Armstrong, in reply to
here's a sped-up version of my commute home to Te Atatu
Jesus that was nerve-wracking at high speed! It's a miracle that anyone survives biking anywhere other than their own back yard.
Decide the principle is worth investigating, then figure out the details and if it's possible. Can do amazing things with GPS tracking these days.
I'm seeing a business opportunity for a cyclist - taking other people's GPS units for a bike ride, $5/pop.
Christopher Dempsey, in reply to
Oh fantastic!
I would like to get a camera set up just so I can film the dicks that pass me *very* close, and I can send the info to NZ Police (though there is evidence that they don't bother doing anything about the offence).
And your film of your commute is great! My brother lives out your way, so in recent times I've used that Northwestern cycleway, though I join on at Newton Rd bridge. Can you please slow the film down where you meet Carrington Rd? I can't figure out the best way to cross the road and join the path again at Unitec.
Ben Gracewood, in reply to
Carrington road is shambolic. Depending on traffic I either:
- Ride along the footpath to the left and cross the pedestrian crossing (with it's giant "CYCLISTS DISMOUNT" sign that is usually ignored when cycling at walking speed)
- Cross the road then turn back onto the footpath just after the cycleway entrance (there's a little curb crossing specifically for bikes there but it's a stupid-tight u-turn).Neither is ideal, but hey.
Christopher Dempsey, in reply to
Ahh, I've done both... and coming home I ride up to the crossing, cross, then ride down against the traffic to the path... it's not ideal but it'll have to do for the meantime. Perhaps I could ask Rode (bike shop) to ring AT and put pressure on them to fix up that intersection...
Ben Gracewood, in reply to
It pretty desperately needs that upgrade, though.
Yup, really looking forward to that, especially the widening of the bridge bits and the tunnel under Patiki.
Oh and the not being inundated by the sea twice a day. That would be good to avoid too.
Rich of Observationz, in reply to
I'm sure that having two people's electronic tags on ones person would be easily detectable and lead to an extended spell in the Gulag, comrade.
Not to mention that in the brave new world where every citizen/subject is a policeman, armed with a constantly running enforcement camera, determination of anyone's transgressions will be easily detected. Stopping one's government mandated 30 minutes exercise a bit early, eating more than one sweet snack a week, drinking more than 4 units in a night.
Jeremy Bentham would have loved it.
Matthew Poole, in reply to
I can send the info to NZ Police (though there is evidence that they don't bother doing anything about the offence).
I'll second that. Aforementioned incident where I got clipped by a car in Otahuhu (and got the bird when I shouted a profanity of surprise) was soundly ignored by the Police when I provided date, time, make, model and vehicle registration. I'm pretty sure the driver did it deliberately, because they had a whole lane to their right in addition to space within the lane.
Anthony Behrens Esq, in reply to
Hi Deborah...Palmerston North safe for cyclists? You obviously haven't been reading SwampThing...tut tut ;0). Palmy is really no better than anywhere else. In fact the closer I look, the worse it gets...except for the great new riverside cycle track. [http://www.swampthing.co.nz/article/107/]
Russell Brown, in reply to
And just so I'm not always a complainer, here's a sped-up version of my commute home to Te Atatu:
Nice. But don't you find those full-finger gloves get a bit sweaty?
For variety, you could always get on the Arch Hill path on the north side of the motorway, from Bond Street -- that's quite fun -- and join the main cycleway at Mountain View Rd.
Islander, in reply to
but how well do you hear in your car with the radio on?
I NEVER have the radio on. Or discs going. Or use my Nano.
BenWilson, in reply to
It requires a 100W (at best) motor to become completely stationary and then try to safely pull away while sharing with other vehicles that have engine outputs that are hundreds of times greater
Often thousands of times greater, in fact. The average new American car has around a 130 kilowatt output. I'd guess it's comparable here.
But in a car I've got the protection of a steel cage and I've got dozens of kilowatts of dinosaur juice awaiting my merest beckoning foot movement.
What kind of weakmobile are you driving? Suzuki 800 or something?
It's really quite amazing that bikes can go as fast as they do on the flat, considering their power levels. Extremely efficient devices.
Ben Gracewood, in reply to
Yup, I ride over the Waima St footbridge (and walk up that killer hill) on the way to work, but cruise down the road on the way home. Dunno why :)
BenWilson, in reply to
And just so I'm not always a complainer, here's a sped-up version of my commute home to Te Atatu:
Nice video! Curious that you choose to bomb Williamson Ave rather than take Gt North Rd, though. You'd save yourself the climb at the end, and you can pretty much sit on your own in the bus lane the whole way.
BenWilson, in reply to
For variety, you could always get on the Arch Hill path on the north side of the motorway, from Bond Street -- that's quite fun -- and join the main cycleway at Mountain View Rd.
Yup. Or just take the cycleway from Newton Rd on-ramp. Crossing to it seems like it should be hair raising, but I've never actually found it so.
Russell Brown, in reply to
Yup, I ride over the Waima St footbridge (and walk up that killer hill) on the way to work, but cruise down the road on the way home. Dunno why :)
I ride up that hill, but in the knowledge that I'm doing it for the exercise and possibly the beer afterwards, not to commute to work.
But try the Arch Hill path one day. It's more ... recreational. And the climb up Bond St ain't so harsh.
JackElder, in reply to
As a cyclist, I stick to the road code, unless immediate safety needs dictate otherwise, because then other road users have a much better chance of predicting what I will do.
Agreed, and that's how I ride. It's worth taking five minutes of your day and having a re-read of the Road Code for Cyclists; it's well-written, easy to understand, and actually pretty sensible.
That said, there's a few minor tweaks that I think we could make to the road code as relates to cycling. Specifically, I'd like to see the following implemented here.
Idaho stop laws- allowing cyclists to treat "Stop" signs as "Give Way" signs. That is, allowing riders to roll through a stop sign rather than having to come to a complete stop. On a bike, you're usually going slowly enough that you can get a clear view of the intersection and make a judgement on how safe it is to proceed, without having to come to a dead stop. So called because this has been legal in Idaho since 1982 with no obvious ill effects. See BikePortlands FAQ on this.
Allowing left turns on red for bicycles. Basically, making it so that a red light acts as a stop sign for left-turning cycles - you have to come to a complete stop, check that it's definitely clear, then you can make the turn. A similar rule operates for cars across most of the US, with few ill effects. Wikipedia page.
BenWilson, in reply to
Yup, I ride over the Waima St footbridge (and walk up that killer hill) on the way to work, but cruise down the road on the way home. Dunno why :)
Well, you've got to climb that hill one way or another. Pushing the bike up a really steep part is probably the same total effort exerted as riding it up Chinaman's Hill, then Gt North Rd, or taking the cycleway to Newton Rd and up that way. Also, walking the bike can be restful, because it's a changing which muscles are used.
Matthew Poole, in reply to
dozens of kilowatts of dinosaur juice awaiting my merest beckoning foot movement.
What kind of weakmobile are you driving? Suzuki 800 or something?
Primera, SR20DE engine. Nominal output is 110kW, which is dozens. Between nine and 10 dozens, but still dozens :P
And as for bicycle speed, most of my driver-only friends are pretty staggered when I tell them I can maintain 45km/h if the wind is right and the road is flat. I can also, again with the right wind, overtake cars on parts of Pakuranga Rd. Drivers just don't understand that bicycles can achieve speeds comparable to cars even when they're not being ridden by Lance.
BenWilson, in reply to
NZ road toll over the last 12 months incl. 30 pedestrians and 8 "pedal cyclists". In the 12 months before that it was 37 pedestrians and 7 cyclists.
And then the elephant in the room, 205 people in cars.
On per capita and per KM travelled bases, I suspect cyclists are more vulnerable (since almost everyone is a pedestrian at some point, yet relatively few people clock up much time on their bikes).
Hard to say, because a bike goes a lot faster than a pedestrian, and those people who are clocking up time are clocking up quite a lot of time, often. But it's not apples and apples at all. Pedestrian is a term that includes anyone on foot, so small children and the elderly are in there, which blows things in terms of road sense, ability to cover distance, frailty, visibility, and the ability to even be on a bike at all for comparison purposes.
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