text:
ICCB president announces plans to retire
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[February 07, 2013]
SPRINGFIELD -- Geoffrey Obrzut,
president and chief executive officer of the Illinois Community
College Board, has announced his plans to retire from that position
on June 30. Obrzut was first appointed by the board as president and
CEO in January 2004.
"I also want to
convey my heartfelt gratitude for the support I have received over
the years from the board and from the Illinois Community College
Trustees Association and the Presidents' Council," said Obrzut. "It
has been crucial to maintaining a strong and united system. No state
surpasses the quality of education and the dedication to students
and their communities that we find with Illinois community
Under Obrzut's leadership, the ICCB has undertaken a Homeland
Security and Campus Safety Initiative, advocated for additional
resources for adult education and family literacy, and completed
comprehensive reports on textbook costs, baccalaureate degree
access, and funding of grants for Illinois veterans and National
Guard members.
"Geoff has been a true public servant and champion for the
Illinois community colleges and the Illinois Community College
Board," said Alexi Giannoulias, who chairs the board. "His passion,
commitment and leadership will truly be missed. Geoff is a good
friend and I am sad to see him go, but am excited to see what the
future holds for him."
"Geoff has served the Illinois Community College System with
integrity and has led the system in some of the most financial and
political turbulent times in Illinois history," said Guy Alongi,
former board chairman. "I wish Geoff well in his retirement and will
always consider him a dear and personal friend. The Illinois
Community College System owes Geoff a great deal of gratitude for
his service over the past 9 1/2 years."
Obrzut has served citizens of the state of Illinois for more than
30 years in government work. His background includes serving as a
state representative for the 52nd District in the Illinois General
Assembly, where he represented both Triton College and Oakton
Community College in his district. He had been elected to the board
of trustees of Triton College in River Grove and served on the board
from 1981 to 1987.
[to top of second column]
Obrzut's achievements include his service as a past officer and
chairman of the State Relations Committee of the Illinois Community
College Trustees Association. He was named the Outstanding Alumnus
of the Year by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association
in 1986 and received the Outstanding Service Award from the Illinois
Student Association in 1992. Obrzut also served as chairman of the
National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges from July
1, 2009, through June 30, 2010.
Obrzut also initiated the formation of the ICCB Latino Advisory
Committee in March 2008. The committee, composed of statewide
advocates on Latino educational issues, members of community
colleges and representatives from partner agencies, has helped
inform the Illinois community college system on student needs,
educational best practices and legislation that affects the Latino
student population.
Prior to coming to the Illinois Community College Board, Obrzut
was the director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities in
the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Obrzut received his bachelor's degree in political science from
the University of Illinois at Springfield and graduated from Triton
College in River Grove. He graduated from West Leyden High School
with the Class of 1970. While at West Leyden and at Triton, Obrzut
was very active in the environmental movement, founding a group
called SOAP, Students Organized Against Pollution. He also played
competitive sports, serving as the captain of his high school and
college basketball teams.
"This is a true retirement, and I plan to spend a lot of time
fishing at my cabin in northeast Wisconsin and golfing in South
Carolina," Obrzut said.
The ICCB is the state coordinating board for community colleges.
Illinois is home to 48 community colleges in 39 districts and has
the third-largest community college system enrollment in the nation.
[Text from
Illinois Community College Board
file received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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Cybersecurity at Siemens Healthineers
Helping you stay protected
The highest priority for hospitals is to provide exceptional patient care without interruptions, no matter what happens. Therefore, it is crucial to stay protected against cyberthreats such as viruses or ransomware that may impair operations, compromise patient data, create financial damage, and harm your overall reputation.
We at Siemens Healthineers take a holistic approach to cybersecurity.
Secure Development Lifecycle: Guided by a central set of security requirements and product-specific threat and risk analyses, we develop our equipment1 according to internationally accepted standards and procedures. The equipment design aims to minimize attack surfaces and achieve optimal hardening of the technology stack. We continue the hardening process during deployment by applying the latest software updates. In addition to continuous validation and verification, we evaluate the security posture of our products with vulnerability scans, fuzz testing, and penetration testing.
People: Protecting medical equipment against cyberthreats is challenging and requires a company culture that values secure operations and privacy protection. We provide regular cybersecurity awareness and role-specific training for management, R&D, logistics, and service personnel.
Processes: Our company-wide processes at Siemens Healthineers provide strict guidelines for mitigating risks posed by identified threats at any point, from equipment development to service provision. These guidelines are constantly adapted and updated. Furthermore the "FDA guidance for management of cybersecurity in medical devices" has been implemented into our processes.
1We continue to improve and extend the security measures for our current products. As threats and associated risks are evolving not all statements on this page apply to all products and services. Contact your local Siemens organization for further details.
A shared culture of cybersecurity risk management
Our vigilance when it comes to cybersecurity enables us to deliver equipment that supports your efforts to shield your healthcare institution from threats, protecting your patient data and increasing cost efficiency. All equipment currently under development and a range of existing offerings1 have built-in security controls that can be adapted to your network requirements during deployment. This allows for smooth and protected operations throughout the equipment lifecycle at your site. With our continuous security update process, incident support, and the maintenance services that are available for a range of products1, we cover the vendor part of the responsibility we share when it comes to protecting the operations and data privacy of and inside your institution.
Deployment: protected right from the start
Our equipment1 ships with a range of security controls, which will be individually configured during deployment depending on the network and security requirements of your medical facility. This supports cybersecurity risk management throughout the equipment lifecycle at your institution.
Operations: custom security controls
Role-based user management allows you to customize access privileges for each user. Along with data encryption and audit trails for change control, this reduces the risk of unauthorized access and data loss or theft, and provides forensic information.
Maintenance: intelligent threat response
We keep track of newly discovered vulnerabilities, so we are able to respond to emerging threats with security updates. Incident support by our experts provides you with hands-on support in the event of a security breach, so your team can reduce further damage and help restore secure system operation.
1We continue to improve and extend the security measures for our current products. As threats and associated risks are evolving not all statements on this page apply to all products and services. Contact your local Siemens organization for further details.

subset: commoncrawl


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On my first day of class in Wisconsin, I dropped a "Breakfast Club†reference that thudded like Judd Nelson's career after "From the Hip.†And I immediately felt a compulsion to familiarize myself with contemporary popular culture.
A man in my upper 30's, my touchstones for affective metaphorical connectivity seemed to be mossy and only getting mossier, so I set out on a mission to brush up on my understanding of Rihanna, Drake and to discover what the heck Aeropostale is, through a strict regimen of MTV and regular trips to Brooklyn's Fulton Mall.
I think this is a pretty common anxiety for professors who try to relate knotty concepts to their students by drawing from more familiar examples. I begin every Contemporary Art class by comparing art to fashion, and knowing fashion beyond what I might have worn to a Temple of the Dog show in 1993 would certainly behoove me.
I showed my class an image of a guy in a fine suit and asked, "If you were raised by English-speaking wolves, and encountered this person, would you know what he was trying to express through his choice of clothing?â€
A resounding "no.â€
The students agreed that the English-speaking wolves wouldn't know that suit to be any more fashionable, or business-like, than a banana leaf loincloth. I suggested that works of art often function like fashion, though hopefully not always. I said that the best works, as Peter Schjeldahl has noted, communicate ideas, while the vast majority merely occasion them. In other words, less successful work needs to manufacture meaning, and thus should be understood within a self-enclosed system of signs, rooted in the history of art and ideas rather than in experience.
This held their attention for a moment, but I lost it again when I showed one of Anna Betbeze's tattered wooly rugs and a Tom Friedman sculpture of accumulated pink eraser shavings. I got a version of the 'anyone could do that' complaint from a hockey player in the back of class. I usually match such pat resistance with a line from a comedian in order prove that a simple, elegant observation can ring as legitimate as a baroque painting that took weeks. I performed a clumsy version of the Jerry Seinfeld bit about how if someone from another planet saw humans cleaning up after dogs they'd naturally assume the dogs were in charge.
I think my problem was that I went for the whole impersonation in addition to the joke, and impressions aren't my strong suit. Either way, they didn't relate. I imagined my class as me, and me as my dad recounting Klinger jokes from M*A*S*H on a morning in 1979. Eyes rolling back.
This second thud, compounded by the "Breakfast Club†dud, sent me poking even harder for common ground.
So I finally broke the fourth wall, and asked directly what they found amusing.
"Chris Rock?â€
"John Stewart?â€
A collective "meh.â€
"Whatta about music. What do you listen to when you hang out and study?†I kind of felt like a viral marketing specialist conducting a focus group for a new energy drink.
"How about Beyonce..is she still big? I saw her at the Deuce in Miami two years ago and she looked pretty FINE.†Trying to seem cool.
"What do you do to waste time when you're sitting in your dorm rooms when you're not reading your art history book?â€
I told them that in undergrad I used to sit around eating Chef Boyardee ravioli and watching "Real World†marathons when I should've been studying. I also had a roommate that watched this movie called "Army of Darkness†over and over and over and that I couldn't stand it because it was like a watching a video game without having the pleasure of interactivity.
And then I caught a twinge in my audience. A spark of vitality. A flicker in an eye in the back of the room; a twitch of a thumb in row two.
Video games. Yes!
Most of the class, including the girls, lit up when I mentioned video games. And someone exploded giddily that the game "Call of Duty†was going on sale at midnight, and it was quickly clear that most of my class would be in line to purchase it. A major event in a world I didn't know anything about. Before I could get dismissive, I recalled waiting in line outside at Kieff's Music in Lawrence, KS at midnight to purchase R.E.M.'s "Automatic for the People.â€
I haven't played a video game since a stand up arcade version of Karate Champ in 1985. So my mission to relate to my students would prove far more complicated that laundering old Seinfeld jokes through a newer and more relevant comedian. I'm up against a behemoth. A new paradigm that I don't understand.
Considering now all the Johnny Depp and Major League Baseball and James Patterson Books I've dropped as relatable examples, I can't help but wonder how much pedagogical ground I would've gained if I would've known anything about the game "Halo.†If I could only trade all of what I know about Seinfeld for a vague knowledge of which video game console is which. You're never too old, right?
Maybe sometimes you are.
As the last few minutes of class melted away, I had a revelation. What these millennials need is a video game that bridges the gap between alternative visual culture and first-person shooter. A video game with substance. A video game that matches its phenomenological impact dynamic graphics with hearty intellectual concepts. What these millenials need is a video game about contemporary art.
And as a man already on a mission, I pledged in that moment to bring it to the world. Stay tuned for what will be my greatest masterpiece: "Bruce Nauman: Call of Duty" – A first person shooter game where the act of shooting turns into a feedback loop of self-awareness, making the player uncomfortably self-conscious and forcing them to stop and do something else after a few minutes.
- Gavin Brown at the Green Gallery in Milwaukee - January 16, 2014
- The Wisconsin Triennial and the Value of Context - December 11, 2013
- From the Curb in Milwaukee: Usable Space - October 25, 2013


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This 350 years old fully renovated farmhouse, is set in a private state of over 150 acres, it is surrounded by vineyards, pine, almond and olive trees, all with the splendid back-drop of the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.
Once the home of the miller, the house situated in one of the unspoilt rural regions of the island of Mallorca, can sleep up to 11 people in 1 double and 3 twin bedrooms with 4 en-suite bathrooms. Each bedroom has its own terrace with wonderful views and modern day requirements, such as sat tv, WIFI nternet, heating, air-con etc.
Outside you can enjoy our private tennis court and plenty of land to walk, mountain bike or just chill out.
The village of Santa Maria is only 2 kms away, in which you will enjoy the best Majorcan restaurants, tapas bars, wine cellars and the very popular Sunday market.
Property Highlights
- 150 acres of private land with interesting walks and picnic areas.
- Private tennis court.
- Private boat trips.
- Bike tourism specialists, transport service, professional bike rental, maintenance etc.
- Perfect winter retreat, fantastic living area with open fire place.
- Family owned vineyards & cellar. Own wine production. Wine tasting and guided vineyard tours.
- At owners main house (1 km away) you could enjoy our 'Supper Club' private restaurant for meals
- Taste our Majorcan typical food.
- All kind of breakfasts and meals can be organized.
- Private outdoor swimming pool.
- Babysitting, yoga, meditation and personal training available on request.
- Specialist health retreat/weight loss/nutritional, wellbeing and pamper weeks available.
- Private helicopter trips from the Finca.


text: This is a formal call for Pumping Station: One T-Shirt Designs! As some of you may be aware, we have a 4-color screen printing machine at the space and we're looking to use it to make some sweet schwag for our members and soon to be members! Deadline is Midnight March, 18th 2010 which is one month from now. The selected winner(s) will be chosen by the current Board of Directors and will be produced into a run of t-shirts that will be sold by Pumping Station:One. Prize is a free t-shirt of your design! Details after the break: Continue reading The 2010 Crowd Sourcing T-shirt contest


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Hey Mike, welcome to the Forum! That old Beersmith podcast is exactly how I found this forum, and damned glad I did. This site is so informative you can spend hours (literally) exploring different subjects, and the brewers here are very happy to help.
It's been said many times, but do explore Clear Brewing Terminology http://biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2685 and then start asking questions!
Have fun
Re: My First Post! - Post here to become Fully Registered
Post #8401 made 2 years ago
- SVA Brewer With Over 5 Brews From United States of America


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Behind the Scenes at New Glarus Brewery in Wisconsin
Your ticket into the secret world of boozemaking.
Author's Note: On a recent press trip to Wisconsin hosted by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, I had the pleasure of visiting the small village of New Glarus and going on a tour of the New Glarus Brewery.
Back in 2010, Drinks editor Maggie Hoffman had a chance to chat with Dan Carey, brewmaster and co-owner of New Glarus, a cult-favorite, award-winning craft brewery in Wisconsin. More than a few beer nerds we know have planned road trips around securing the unusual New Glarus fruit beers, and midwesterners tend to sigh nostalgically when you mention their excellent Oktoberfest.
The Swiss chalet-style brewery sits on a hillside above the village of New Glarus. It feels a bit like a temple for beer, with four huge copper kettles and three miles of stainless tubing snaking its way around the facility.
When you meet Deb Carey, president and founder of the brewery (and also Dan Carey's wife), you walk away with the feeling she does more in the first half of her day than most people do all week. Her hard work played a key role in the growth and popularity of New Glarus, as well as the happiness of those who work for the company.
Over the last 20 years New Glarus has gained its cult-favorite status by doing two things: producing delicious and inventive beers inspired by old-world recipes, and playing hard to get. Currently the beer is only available in Wisconsin, and they plan on keeping it that way. "The distribution system for beer is quite volatile" says Deb, who would rather "make great beer and take care of the people who work for us" than make compromises to scale the operation and make beer that's available to everyone everywhere. New Glarus is the second most-consumed beer in Wisconsin, just behind Miller Light. The brewery currently produces 122 to 127 thousand barrels of beer per year, which is a lot considering that it all goes to one state.
Some of the most exciting beers in the New Glarus arsenal are inspired by Belgian styles, like their Raspberry Tart. This beer is left to age in large oak barrels, and winds up tart and sour, like a fresh mouthful of raspberries. A pound of fruit goes into every bottle. I asked Deb a bit about this beer; check out the video clip above for her description of the brew and how it's made.
This mom-and-pop business is going through lots of growth—they opened a new 75,000 square-foot facility in 2009, which is capable of producing around 75,000 barrels per year. They are now planning on several more additions such as a fermentation center and a dedicated lambic brewing facility.
Want to look around the New Glarus brewery? Take a peek in the slideshow above.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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I admire the way you shine out with the beauty of your humanity.
There are many blogs that are great for all kinds of reasons, and I enjoy all kinds of great blogs. I particularly admire and connect with blogs that I see as transmitting the beautiful humanity of the writers as they live a most yogic life. So I've created an award to salute the yogic humans I have enjoyed, learned, laughed and cried with over the last two years.
In honor of my second Bloggaversary here are the Yogic Muse 2010 Yog(blog)a Stars (not in any particular order):
Bob Weisenberg
Yoga for Cynics
Bindi Fry
Love you guys!!


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Lawmakers vote to withhold most of OMB's funding until it submits fiscal 2016 plan.
Each year, the president is required to deliver a budget proposal to Congress by the first Monday in February.
For the last several years running, however, President Obama has delivered his proposal from one to several weeks late. To House Republicans, this is unacceptable.
Tucked away in the 2015 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill the House approved Wednesday was a provision threatening to withhold a large portion of the funding for the Office of Management and Budget until it delivers the fiscal 2016 budget. The spending bill would refrain from giving OMB $52 million -- or 58 percent of its $89.3 million budget -- until the spending request is finalized.
The House Appropriations Committee said in its report on the bill the delay would encourage Obama and OMB to move the appropriations process along more quickly.
"While OMB has many responsibilities, the committee believes their most important one is preparing and submitting the budget request," the committee wrote. "Delay in the submission of the request can result in the delay of drafting and approval of a budget resolution and appropriations bills. The committee believes in non-transition years, the administration should be held to the statutory deadline for submission of the budget request."
Obama's fiscal 2016 budget is due Feb. 2, 2015, meaning even if OMB delivered the budget on time, it would have to wait 123 days from the beginning of the fiscal year to receive its full funding. On top of this, the bill funds OMB at $4 million less than Obama's request for fiscal 2015.
The White House has threatened to veto the bill if it passes the Senate in its current form, citing the OMB provisions and a variety of additional cuts and policies included in it. The legislation would dramatically cut funding for the Internal Revenue Service, gut spending on federal buildings, require six-day mail delivery and slash the budget for White House staffers' salaries.
In a "statement of administration policy," White House advisers called the funding withholding "unnecessary." It also criticized a "burdensome" provision of the bill that would require OMB to submit cost estimates to accompany every executive order.
(Image via Brandon Bourdages/Shutterstock.com)


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How Innovation Happens (And Why It Doesn't, When It Doesn't)
Last year's ruling against Samsung in its legal battle against Apple has demonstrated that the Korean electronics giant has been more capable in the latter than the former. An article in the New York Times highlights Samsung's unique ability to move quickly from product concept to production to distribution. Anyone who has followed its mobile phone and tablet launches has probably noticed how short its release cycles are — so much so that most of the products banned by the ruling are no longer being sold.
But even with its wide-ranging portfolio of offerings, Samsung has never generated a game-changing product, even as it has aggressively dominated several consumer product categories — from mobile phones to flatscreen TVs. Whether or not you agree that Apple should be able to patent a rectangle with rounded corners, the indictment on Samsung's lack of imagination is clear.
Why should this be the case for a company that is the cultural equivalent in Korea of Apple in the U.S.? One possibility could be an aversion to making mistakes, which skews the personal risk calculation involved in putting forward new ideas. Innovation happens in areas where there is no right answer, because no one has even asked the question yet. It requires that Jobsian knack for ignoring what people think they need and giving them what they want before they know they want it. It requires courage and knowing that you're right.
What's particularly telling about this picture is not even the obvious relationship between the iPhone and the Samsung products after 2007. It's that you can see clear echoes of Nokias, Blackberrys and Palm Pres in the models before.
Samsung, like many other companies, has played it safe, and this is the greatest temptation for all companies that have achieved some level of success. It's easier to tweak existing operational machinery to achieve incremental but predictable improvements. Greater efficiency in development or manufacturing processes, lead acquisition or customer onboarding — these all help the bottom line and provide a sense of forward progress, of results that match the effort put forth. But it's the "nobody gets fired for buying IBM" kind of activity that minimizes chances of disaster, and also prevents companies from experiencing major breakthroughs.
It doesn't have to be that way. In my work in the open source software industry, I've also seen this sort of focus on incremental, operational benefits. Open source development methodologies can more quickly bring to market software that is more reliable and secure than proprietary alternatives, and we've been keen to demonstrate that with measurable results.
But this highly collaborative and open way of writing software can also lead to a lot of new ideas, and we've experienced this as well. Because our software is freely downloadable, Liferay's ecosystem of users, partners and customers grew very large, and some used our products in ways they weren't designed for. Because our source code is open, people have found new solutions to old problems themselves, instead of waiting for us to fix things. So it turns out that what's best for operational efficiency and what spurs innovation can be aligned.
Here are a few of the principles we've discovered along the way:
- Architect your product and your ecosystem for innovation. There are a lot of great ideas out there, and sometimes the best thing you can do is give people space to innovate and quietly move out of the way. Create a space for innovation in some area(s) of your product (or organization) where people have complete freedom and independence, but which won't risk the success or integrity of your most strategic product areas.
At Liferay, we designed our main product so people can easily build complementary modules that add a lot of value to our platform without adding complexity or maintenance burdens to our engineering team. This model gives people freedom to try new ideas and solve new problems. If they're successful, our Marketplace rewards their innovation by giving them a place to sell their apps to the Liferay ecosystem.
- Listen to your customers' needs, not their feature requests. The truly groundbreaking products are those that address real pain points for real people, so it's tempting to think that means implementing whatever they ask for. But customers usually make feature requests from the vantage point of an existing product, so they ask for incremental improvements thinking they can't get anything immensely better than what they have today.
But if you step back and understand why they want that feature in the context of their work, you will have a greater chance of designing a new solution from the ground up that gives them exactly what they need, in a totally unexpected way.
- Focus on the total experience. There's no single feature in Instagram that makes it an extraordinary application. But the overall result is the equivalent of an "Easy Button" for being hip. Sure, the designers probably thought in terms of features (i.e., location mapping, comments, photo-taking, filters), but it's how they put it all together for the specific purpose of sharing cool photos with friends that made Instagram a runaway success.
- Identify good ideas quickly. It's popular to say, "there's no such thing as a bad idea," but we've all experienced otherwise, and no one has the time and resources to go after all of them. Gustav Mahler quipped, "I don't let myself get carried away by my own ideas — I abandon 19 out of 20 of them every day." Learn from the design team at Google and put a priority on having a process to rapidly iterate through different product possibilities, reject the ones that don't work and refine the ones that do.
- Think beyond the suburban office park. The long flight from our urban centers is over. Today's enterprise workers increasingly live and work in dense urban cores. More importantly, they're conducting business inside and outside the office; they're getting work done in cafes, at home, on the plane or over lunch. The great technologies of recent years — cloud and mobile — are enabling all this and our products should almost be redesigned from the ground up for this new reality.
Better yet, if you can live and work in an urban center, these experiences will be all the more real to you, and put you in the right context to solve these new challenges.
Finally, remember that innovation is not just about new ideas; it's about applying the right ideas in new ways for new situations. After all, even Apple has been known to borrow an idea or two.
Bryan Cheung is CEO and co-founder of Liferay, Inc., the leading open source provider of enterprise portal platforms. Drawing on his passion for innovation and open source development philosophies for technology and business, Bryan steers the company's strategic direction and worldwide business development efforts.


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At MyMediTravel, we're making medical easy. You can search, compare, discuss, and book your medical all in one place. We open the door to the best medical providers worldwide, saving you time and energy along the way, and it's all for FREE, no hidden fees, and no price markups guaranteed. So what are you waiting for?
One of the largest countries in Central Europe, Poland has only recently emerged as a serious Medical Tourism destination and is popular with tourists from the surrounding countries, many of which travel for Maxillofacial Surgery procedures. With its open borders, traveling between the European Union (EU) is made that much simpler. Poland hosts a mix of publicly-owned and privately-owned facilities, none of which are JCI accredited, however, local accreditations are provided by the Polish Ministry of Health and are recognized by the EU. The most common procedures include dental, cosmetic, orthopedic, and bariatric, all of which are offered at considerably lower prices than its Western European neighbors. Popular medical tourism destinations outside of the capital, Warsaw, include Krakow, Jelenia Gora, and Wroclaw.
Home to 38.5 million people, Poland has an extraordinary history and fourteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Often overlooked by tourists, the country actually has a lot to offer.
Poland has a temperate climate and sometimes experiences rough weather. Spring starts in late March to May. The season is characterized by a wave of warmer weather with less frequent rain. It is one of the best times to visit Poland because the temperature is comfortable.
Summer lasts from June to August and the weather is more unpredictable during this season. The temperature is generally warm with an average of 18 to 30°C. Between sunny skies and high temperatures, tourists should expect frequent rainfalls and storms. Summer is tourism peak season and the prices usually increase.
September to November is Autumn, the season where the temperature starts to drop. Late September and October are still warm, while November is cold and wet. Sunny days during this season are known as "Polish Golden Autumn."
Freezing Winter starts from December to early March. The temperature plummets to an average of 0 to -10°C, sometimes even as low as -20°C. Winter is the peak season for mountain ski resorts.
Most international flights arrive at Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport. It's Poland's largest and busiest airport. The airport serves domestic and has International connections with many cities around the world. It is the hub for LOT Polish Airlines. Budget airlines such as Wizz Air and EasyJet also operate flights from this airport. There is a smaller airport, Warsaw Modlin Airport, which handles more budget airlines.
To get to the city center, bus, taxi, and train are available. There are five public buses that stop at Warsaw's city center; bus 175, bus 188, bus 148, bus 331, and bus N32 (night bus). Taxis are available, but always make sure to use licensed taxi services. The fare from the airport to the city center is around 40 PLN. Chopin Airport is linked to Legionowo and Sulejówek Miłosna by a railway service. Tourists can buy ZTM tickets to ride the bus and train which can be purchased at the Passenger Information Point in the arrivals hall, ticket machines at bus stops and train station entrance, or from bus drivers.
There is plenty of public transportation to get around Poland. The Train is incredibly affordable, a journey from Krakow to Warsaw will cost around 45 PLN and take three hours, while a five-hour train from Warsaw to Gdansk should cost around 65 PLN.
Within the cities, local buses in the central zone cost around 4 PLN (a single-fare ticket). Major cities offer one-day tickets for 20 PLN. Taxis are relatively cheap and tourists can get around the city quickly. Taxis are metered and usually start at around 6 PLN to 8 PLN. Unlicensed taxi drivers are most likely to cheat and charge more. There are taxis that put a fake phone number in their cars, be careful and ask your hotel staff for the number of the taxi company they have used previously. Cycling is a good way to explore the scenery in Poland. There are many bike rentals around the country, always be aware of drivers since some are careless.
In certain cities, such as Krakow, it is advised to get tourist cards that give unlimited access to public transportation for one to three days. The card also gives free or discounted access to museums.
Poland is part of the Schengen Area. Citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and several other countries do not need to obtain a visa and can stay in Poland for up to 90 days. EU citizens do not need a visa and can stay indefinitely. Other nationalities must check with their local Polish embassy. All visitors must hold a passport valid for at least six months.
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By DAVID GREEN
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality maintains that Vreba-Hoff Dairy's latest manure treatment system isn't working. Dairy owners say it's operating just fine.
Nevertheless, dairy owners face a new set of fines totaling $223,500. Adding the fines levied in June 2007, the dairy now faces penalties totaling $403,500.
A mediator reviewed the DEQ's charges against Vreba-Hoff and reduced fines by about $60,000. Dairy owners are not contesting the new fines, but they have filed an appeal to negotiate a payment schedule spread over 12 months.
If Vreba-Hoff's request were accepted, payments would not begin until an additional 1,000 head of cattle are added at the dairy's two farms located between Morenci and Hudson. However, an interim order from the state Attorney General office forbids additional cows until the new treatment system is certified as operating as designed.
Following litigation in 2007, both sides agreed to the interim order that specified procedures if disputes arose over implementation of the settlement reached last year. The DEQ subsequently alleged additional violations in five consecutive months, from September 2007 to January 2008.
The case was presented to a mediator, retired judge Lawrence Glazer, who heard closing arguments in June 2008 and announced his report and recommendations last week.
Glazer upheld violations alleged by the DEQ, including the lack of proper markings in manure storage structures and subsequent overflows; failure to meet agreed upon construction deadlines for a treatment system capable of handling the quantity of manure produced on the farms; failure to correctly use the new treatment system; and failure to transport waste and reduce the number of cows to alleviate excess manure in storage structures.
The interim order issued in June 2007 stipulated a penalty of $180,000 for previous violations, to be paid in six monthly installments. Payment was to begin when the Earth Mentor treatment system was certified by an engineer to operate as designed. At that time, the cow population could be increased. Certification has not yet been obtained.
Vreba-Hoff told the court that the company is unable to pay the penalties at the present time. The dairy is asking that 12 monthly payments begin after the herd is increased by 1,000 cows beyond the current level of about 6,250.
The settlement reached in 2007 stipulates that no more than 100 cows a month may be added until reaching a maximum of 7,266, and only after the Earth Mentor system is certified.
Vreba-Hoff is also seeking to increase the size of the herd at its Waldron Dairy, farther south on U.S. 127, from 630 head to 2,830. The DEQ has issued citations for manure discharges at that location both before and after Vreba-Hoff bought the dairy.
"We would like to fill the barns so the cash flow is improving before making the payments," said Vreba-Hoff spokesperson Cecilia Conway.
Approval of a 12-month schedule could come from a judge or from an agreement with the DEQ.
Vreba-Hoff spent about $1 million in 2006 to install a press treatment system to turn manure into compost, but operational difficulties prevented full use of the equipment. The growing quantity of manure led to the removal of animal waste to a satellite lagoon on Packard Road and to the Chesterfield Dairy east of Morenci.
The 2007 settlement led to a $2 million investment in the Earth Mentor system—a series of lagoons similar to a municipal waste treatment system that partially treats liquid manure.
"They claim the Earth Mentor system works and it doesn't," said DEQ spokesperson Bob McCann. "It never has. They have to get it operating correctly or the problems are just going to continue."
McCann said the number of cows on the farms is not the issue; it's whether or not the dairy can safely handle the manure produced.
Conway disputes the DEQ's contention that the new system isn't working correctly.
"It's not expected to be at full capacity until next spring," she said. "We're not totally where we need to be according to the consent order, but the system has been working well.
"We moved more than 20 million gallons with a combination of irrigation and land application."
She said the dairy has contracted for application of nutrients at several new locations as fertilizer costs continue to rise.


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i cannot and have never been able to skate. be it on ice or with rollerskates or… rollerblades *cringe* i am so bad at it in fact that i have actually had skating dreams – much like normal people might have flying dreams. i've had flying dreams too, sure, but the skating dreams are far more exciting. whizzing past people in the street, using it as my main form of transport – these are all things i would love to be able to do.
right now i'm going through a bit of a disco obsession (more on that later) and nothing goes with disco quite like rollerskating. MAN ALIVE. check out swayze in this little number…
right? right. i would have liked to see john travolta partaking in a bit of roller action. other celebs did too though, check out dustin hoffman, andy warhol and cher below
as well as hef rolling with one of his ladies (nice denim suit)
it was a big enough deal that there was a magazine dedicated to it. bring back roller disco.


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Email email@example.com
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Please check your spam, junk or clutter folders if not received within 5-10 minutes.
4010 Randolph Rd
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Tel. Recreation: 240.777.6840 Parks: 301.495.2580 CUPF: 311 (dial 240.777.0311 if outside Montgomery County)
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Faced with looming budget cuts, Ferndale Public Library officials want to stop paying special taxes to the downtown district.
"The biggest tax on us is the (Downtown Development Authority) tax," said Ferndale Library Director Jessica Keyser. "The library board wants to find a way to be exempt from the tax. We hope we can find a political way to get an exemption. We feel our institution is being hurt to fund this other institution."
Keyser's comments come after library board members this week sent out a statement on the library's declining revenues from its 1.96-mill tax on city property owners and impeding cuts at the library.
"Our supporters will be surprised to find that more than $30,000 in (annual) tax revenue was diverted from the library to fund the DDA," Monique Herzig, chairwoman of the library's board's finance committee, said in a statement. "We cannot continue to operate at our current level of services when tax dollars are redirected."
Keyser said library officials are not trying to discount the DDA, but advocating for the library and the millage residents vote for.
All property owners within a nine-block area of the downtown pay property tax. The difference is that any increases in property taxes in the downtown since 1981 are set aside for the DDA for reinvestment, administration, maintenance and promotion of the district.
Cristina Sheppard-Decius, the DDA's executive director, said Tax Incremental Financing funds come from increases on property taxes in the district that are paid to the city and county.
"The library is not paying a DDA tax," she said. "The city and county capture the taxes. We have been getting our tax capture from the city and county for 32 years in accordance with the law. I think sometimes people are confused by the TIF."
The time for the library to object to paying TIF taxes was in 1981 when the TIF district was established by the city, she added.
The library, like the city, has seen the amount of money it gets from its millage decline because of a drop in property values brought on by the housing crisis. The library millage raised $1.3 million in 2009. The millage now brings in $273,000 less, Keyser said.
Tax revenues for the library are projected to decline about 6 percent in 2014. Library officials are using $80,000 from reserve funds to shore up its budget and making cuts.
Library officials are cutting back 20 percent on book purchases and 15 percent on DVDs and music material expenditures, Keyser said. Cuts have been made in janitorial services, insurance liability and a computer database subscription for foreign language students. Those cuts save about $20,000.
"Even with the cuts we've made, we anticipate an $80,000 deficit," Keyser said. "We wanted to do everything possible to keep from cutting staff and hours."
Library officials are moving to increase fundraising efforts. The Ferndale Community Foundation recently gave the library a $2,500 grant, which is being spent to hire a consultant next year to create a fundraising plan and develop new ways to solicit contributions to the library.
"If the situation doesn't change in the next couple of years, we'll have to cut our hours of service," Keyser said.


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Events Calendar
Featured Events & Networking Groups
Tuesday 03/05/2013
MainStreetChamber - Bay Area Mixer
Venue: Murder by Chocolate
Address: 18201 South Egret Bay Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77058
Hours: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cost: FREE to attend!!! (Sponsorships available!)
RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5454971968/eorg
Our Mission Statement
MainStreetChamber™ fosters leadership by developing and engaging a wide network of business professionals.
MainStreetChamber™ forges strategic alliances with companies that offer relevant products and services for small business growth and profitability; each extending a negotiated discount to our members.
MainStreetChamber™ is a support system for small business owners, encourages member to member business and gives back to our community by the group involvement with local charities and non-profit organizations.
MainStreetChamber™ is a service oriented organization and encourages community involvement. We support multiple national non-profit organizations as well as many local non-profit organizations through the participation of members in each Chapter.
A successful leader is a visionary with a solid work ethic able to access multiple resources.MainStreetChamber™ offers an abundance of resources that provide members with the tools necessary for successful growth and profitability.
Our Vision
In uncertain economic times so many organizations are problem focused, belaboring the frustration of ever tightening markets.MainStreetChamber™ is solution oriented, we help our members face problems and turn them into opportunities for growth and profit. We are redefining business and positioning ourselves through leadership and diversification; to not only make it during tough times, but to be poised for profit in the near future.


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Metro, Sound Transit and the other major Puget Sound transit agencies (Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Everett Transit, Kitsap Transit, and Washington State Ferries) are testing a smart-card-based, agency-agnostic, electronic fare system. Hallelujah!
Smart card users can purchase passes on their card or store funds in an electronic purse ("e-purse") for use in traveling across systems that have different fares.
After my recent fare-related incident on the 550, I'm hoping it will let you do both: buy a pass for your regular commute and keep money in your "e-purse" for when you take a higher-fare trip.
If you want to help test the system this fall, sign up by October 20th.


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High-five me, someone!
I had a woohoo! moment at the gym the other day. It was actually one of the few times I've ever regretted not having a training partner.....only because there was nobody to high-five.
I've been ultra-cautious about my lower back for the last 3 years or so. I used to pump out 200kg leg presses and the like, but having had reccurring problems with my sacro-iliac joint and associated regions, I backed right off on the weights. No heavy barbell squats, no leg presses and no lunges at all when my back was a bit dicky.
Since I've been training with Liz, things have improved a lot. It's been a long road (and there's still a way to go), but I'm now at the stage where I can do most things without fear of something going "pop!". And I'm having far less frequent episodes of back pain. So I've been getting back into barbell squats, deadlifts and the like, but I've probably still been a bit conservative with weights - which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Last Friday, I was doing low-rep sets of rack-pulls and loaded up the bar with 40kg. I stood back and thought I can do better than that. So I banged on another 10kg. I completed my first set and it was hard. But it wasn't TOO hard. So I grabbed another couple of 5kg plates for a total of 60kg...plus whatever a 7-foot standard bar weighs (10kg? Anyone know?). I got through my next 3 sets.... with much grunting and baring of teeth, and then grabbed my training diary to record my efforts.
And then it struck me: I'm lifting more than my own bodyweight! Yeah, Baby!


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On the Election
Looking for lessons in the November election outcome, here is what I find.
On the day after the 2012 presidential election, I was sad. The candidate I thought could have been a great president did not win.
My congratulations go to the candidate who did win. He has been, and will now continue to be, my president.
Here are a few general thoughts about the election and the country:
1. Wisconsin. With regard to presidential politics, we now know an important number: 1 in 6. Wisconsin taught us this. Earlier this year, the state had a special election about whether to recall its governor. Feelings were strong on both sides. Turnout was higher for this vote than it had been for the state's midterm election in 2010. Seemingly every Wisconsinite with an engaged interest in current events registered an opinion in this contest, in which 2.5 million votes were cast.
Then, less than half a year later, 3.0 million voted in Wisconsin's presidential election. That means 1 in 6 voters cared only about the second of these two elections. Assuming the finding can be extrapolated nationwide, this is the share of voters in a presidential election who otherwise aren't interested in politics.
Upon what do these 1 in 6 base their votes? Is it style? Branding? This portion of the vote is large enough to be decisive, so it's an important question.
2. Ohio. "Negative campaigning" is something the other guy does. If my guy does it, it's a clean hit. In other words, I know my view in this is biased. That said, it seems to me—from my perspective in swing-state Ohio—that the side that relied more heavily on negatively characterizing its opponent is the side that won the presidency. Say what you will about "going negative," but it appears to work.
3. America. There was a column I wrote a few years ago in which I was trying to figure out the country's financial mess. I took comfort then in the bustle of my local airport—things were still in motion; business was still happening. After election day, I was again in that airport. It suggested a different analogy.
My airport, CVG, has lost its prominence as a hub because of recent airline mergers. As a result, the airport is still bustling, but all of that activity has been concentrated into one terminal. The other terminals are still there, their disuse unseen.
Our economy is like that. The proportion of people finding work and prosperity within the U.S. economy has dramatically ratcheted down. The circle has constricted, with the people still inside often busy enough to forget how many remain outside. Are we content with this? Like the White House, the divided House and Senate also kept their status quo, suggesting that neither party's view of the way forward won broad new support.
If we as a country are coming to accept our employment situation as the "new normal," then who is the new normal American? What does he or she believe? The ones who wish to lead this country will need to figure this out.


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Number Logic Puzzle 22950
Type: Binary,
Size: 5
Size: 5
Vorige Terug naar de lijst Volgende ⤢
Punten: 111, Strafpunten:0, Tijd : Initializing..
- Complete the grid with zeros and ones until there are just as many zeros and ones in every row and every column.
- No more than two of the same number can be next to or under each other.
- Rows or columns with exactly the same content are not allowed.
- When the line length has an odd number of cells, the number 1 exceeds the number 0.


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Amazon's Cloud Computing Platform as a Service(PaaS) solution, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and it's related services, Elastic Block Storage (EBS) & Relational Database Service were severely affected today as a result of downtime in North Virginia data centers.
This incident has brought down several of Amazon's high profile clients, including FourSquare, Reddit, Quora, Heroku and several other startups relying on EC2. The problems started at about 01:00 PDT and Amazon is still working on it to recover and bring the services back on their feet. While Amazon hasn't yet provided the full details of the outage, they have however posted an update saying that a networking event resulted in large re-mirroring of EBS volumes in US-EAST-1 region, which is catered to by the North Virginia data center.
This re-mirroring resulted in significant latency, making sites hosted in this region go offline. At the time of writing this, Reddit was under emergency read-only mode, Quora & FourSquare have put up a static "We're having technical difficulties" page, while Heroku was crawling.
Amazon's EBS has come under fire off late due to their elevated error rates, so much so that reddit's admin jedberg has mentioned about "figuring out ways how to not use EBS anymore". EBS's last outage was just about a month ago, taking reddit down for a good part of the day.
It is, however, important to note that some other services using AWS, such as Netflix & Twilio have not suffered downtime due to their use of AWS instances from multiple availability zones, ensuring that even if a data center goes down, the instances from other availability zones are able to continue serving the websites.


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"The Facets of Obama" created by Jonah Brucker-Cohen using the Fracture application by James Alliban, 2011
The devices we carry with us can do much more than simply act as communication tools and entertainment appendages. They can also bring us into a growing world of artistic projects that could have never been imagined without their existence.
The recent boom in creative software for the iPhone and iPad now enables artists to remake existing web projects as iOS apps or use the physical world as a canvas for augmented reality, reimagining our physical surroundings through painting and rendering. In this article, the fourth one in a series that I've written over the past six years of reviews surveying art for the iPhone and iPad, I cover projects that both revive net art pieces that were once only possible on traditional computer systems or in browsers, as well as those that use the iPhone and iPad's sound and camera capabilities to their fullest.
Thicket:Classic (Hairy Circles mode), 2011, Interval Studios (aka Joshue Ott and Morgan Packard)
Beginning with abstraction and sound, two works examine methods of sound production through algorithmic composition. Thicket (2011) by Interval Studios (programmer and artist Joshue Ott and composer Morgan Packard) is an amalgam of abstract shapes and patterns that engage with touch-based interaction, visual stimulation, generative pattern creation, and mesmerizing sound transference. The original version of Thicket, or Thicket:Classic, feels like a musical masterpiece on the edge of a high precipice. As a user changes the orientation of their phone in four directions (up, down, right, left) the onscreen graphics shift to new modes.
Thicket 3.11 Video, Joshue Ott and Morgan Packard, Interval Studios.
My favorite mode in Thicket:Classic is "Hairy Circles," which features menacing yellow-orangish circles of tangled lines that correspond to each finger's touch and shift when dragged around, creating a machine-like beat that evokes an industrial assembly line. Ott explains, "Thicket uses a bunch of different algorithms—for both audio and visuals. The aesthetic came from repeated experimentation and rapid prototyping of modes. Sometimes we would start with the visuals, sometimes with the audio, but there was often a back and forth process of each of us adjusting our part until we both liked the results."


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Jumbo Kids is part of the Podar Education Group , which is a dynamic, constantly evolving nucleus, imparting education at various levels, and was established in 1927, that is more than 80 yrs in the education field. The first president of the Podar Group was Mahatma Gandhi and we are proud to follow his educational philosophy in nurturing children.
Mahatma Gandhi said that,' Real education consists in drawing out the best out of yourself', and that is what we aim to do at Podar Jumbo Kids. We don't test or rank children or make them aware of their faults and weakness, instead we help them identify their potential and create happy learners by implementing the Head, Heart and Hand philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.
When children experience this kind of an environment then it is definitely not a school it is a nurturing play house- Podar Jumbo Kids.
Real education consists in drawing out the best out of yourself - Mahatma Gandhi
At Jumbo Kids we use the best from Tagore (drama and nature), Montessori (learn independently), Vygotsky (let the child use mind tools like questioning, logic), Glenn Doman (sight reading that will enhance spelling and writing skills). When children are taught like this then reading, writing and number work happen naturally and do not have to be forced on the child leading to life long stress.
Anything that is stressful for children is not part of Jumbo Kids, the way we interact with them, the way we help them communicate, the way we let them explore are all based on scientific brain research and lead to the development of life long learners.
This kind of education at PJK that is patterned on the individual needs of each child has been termed 'KIDUCATION'—an education which is flexible and which has tailored for each child.
And so we partner with parents with our parenting workshops, parenting articles and parenting books. As our Director Ms Swati Popat Vats says, "The two people who take care of children (parents and teachers) must be empowered about child development techniques and trained to understand the long term implications of incorrect teaching and parenting."
The Trustee of the Podar Group Dr. Pavan Podar says, "India is diverse and while the structure behind our system of learning is the same, we believe that learning is an everyday process and should suit the needs of the child, and tune it to the environment he/she comes from. Over the years we've nurtured toppers all over the country only because of this attitude towards academics and life skills."
The two people who take care of children (parents and teachers) must be empowered about child development techniques and trained to understand the long term implications of incorrect teaching and parenting.
Our director is member of N.A.E.Y.C –Washington and is a celebrated international educationist in the field of preschool education. She has written numerous books for parents, teachers and children.
At Jumbo Kids we believe that each child has a unique learning style and we respect this uniqueness. When a child does any activity at Jumbo Kids, you can be sure that it is contributing directly to the child's physical, emotional or intellectual development.
Overall at Jumbo Kids in everything the child, does, learns or experiences, there is behind it a lot of planning based on educational theories.
Our aim at Jumbo Kids? Not only to be the largest chain of preschools but to become the largest chain that gives back 'childhood' to children.
For more details visit us at www.jumbokids.com
Privacy Policy
Copyright 2012 Designed by Fractal l Ink


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The Central Connecticut men's track and field team was honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their academic performance during the 2013-14 season. Senior Craig Hunt was also honored individually for his combined academic and athletic accomplishments.
USTFCCCA Team All-Academic Release
USTFCCCA Individual All-Academic Release
Hunt was honored as a USTFCCCA All-Academic selection by virtue of his athletic achievements on the track and his academic accomplishments in the classroom over the last year.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards:
- For the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org
- For the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).
The Blue Devils earned the team All-Academic award from the USTFCCCA by finishing the academic year with a cumulative grade point average above 3.0. CCSU was one of just 116 Division I men's track and field programs to reach that bench mark this year.


text: FLACCL: CUDA-enabled FLAC encoder by Gregory S. Chudov (prev. FlaCuda) Reply #50 – 2009-09-15 04:57:18 Quote from: Case on 2009-09-14 21:18:31Impressive.Confirmed.Code: [Select] CPU -8 GPUv3 lv6 GPUv4 lv6 GPUv3 lv7 GPUv4 lv7 GPUv4 lv11ZUN 49.8x 60.4x 71.4x 46.8x 52.0x 13.57xRammstein 49.5x 63.4x 74.7x 48.9x 54.3x 13.59xAnd the file sizes are down again. Decode times don't seem to suffer against the CPU Flac-encoded files at similar sizes either (592x vs 600x and the file is 0.3% smaller).Keep up the good work!


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Finding a qualified Kitchen Renovation Company in 92610 California can be stressful. Are you looking for a qualified Kitchen Renovation Company in 92610 to remodel your kitchen or bathroom? Or maybe you need to install new vinyl or tiles at your residence and not sure what type of flooring will be the right choice? Here at James Remodeling we are fully aware that any home remodeling project can be demanding and can overwhelm homeowners. That's why our skilled home remodeling consultants will meet with you to listen to your ideas and assist you through the entire process. Believe it not, a home remodel can be pleasant and exciting if you hire the right team of designers and installers to assist you with your project. Give us a call today and let's meet for a free no obligation consultation in our showroom or at your home.
James Remodeling is a family owned and operated home remodeling company with its showrooms in Mission Viejo California. At James Remodeling we believe any home have to be taken care of as a sacred sanctuary. At the core of every home is a kitchen. We believe a kitchen not only must be elegant and accessible but also really reflective of the owner's individuality and lifestyle.
For over a decade, hundreds of customers all through Orange County have entrusted us with their kitchen and bath remodeling and new flooring projects. As a consequence, it is our responsibility to listen and focus on each of our client's demands and wishes. Whether the project is an investment property, a client's property or the place in which you expect to spend the rest of your life, you can look forward to James Remodeling to provide excellent products, dedicated customer service, and unbelievable value. When it comes to finding the best Kitchen Renovation Company in 92610, your search will be over with us.
Are you interested in upgrading your kitchen and looking for the best Kitchen Remodeling company in 92610? The best kitchen remodeling in Orange County starts with simply a phone call with one of our customer service representatives. We'll take your kitchen wants and needs into account, and then visit your home to make the vital measurements and evaluations. After that, we'll move on to the design stage, where we create a plan of action to make sure your ideas for kitchen remodeling in Orange County all come true. As soon as we've decided on the best materials and products for your project, we'll start the building stage of your remodeling project. We are your trusted Kitchen Renovation Company in 92610.
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As a superior home remodeling contractor in Orange County, we know you are concerned about the kitchen cabinets prices. When you hire us to install your new cabinets, you can be sure not only you are getting the most experienced installers but also the most competitive prices.
Kitchen countertops can entirely change the look of your kitchen. Quartz countertops are in and a good number of homeowners choose elegant quartz countertops over conventional granite countertops. Here are James Remodeling we have installed 100s of kitchen countertops within the last two years alone, so we know how to make your kitchen countertop look its best without breaking your bank account. Don't worry about the kitchen countertop prices. Our vendors are eager to give us the lowest price on durable quartz and marble countertops and our experienced installers are among the very best installers in Orange County. You can depend on James Remodeling to install the top kitchen or bathroom countertop at a very competitive price. Call us or fill out the form below for a free no obligation consultation today.
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Looking for the best Kitchen Renovation Company in 92610? James Remodeling is the only home remodeling company you need for all your needs in Mission Viejo California. With over two decades of expertise in home remodeling projects, we strive on serving our customers the best way possible while making the cost affordable. We realize when considering home remodeling you have many choices. That's why we want to offer you a free in-home consultation so we can show you our past projects, discuss your project at hand and offer free advice to save you time and money. Please fill out the form below for a free estimate or a free in-home consultation:


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Walking through his new land-mine museum, Aki Ra picks up a Russian-made antipersonnel mine. He avoids touching the trigger pad even though he defused the device a long time ago.
"You hold like this, no problem," he says, pinching the sides of the coffee-cup-size mine. It's green, to match the Cambodian jungle where it once lay buried, threatening the life and limb of all who came near. Aki Ra is comfortable handling explosives. He grew up laying minefields for the Khmer Rouge. "I put mines around Siem Reap buildings, Otdar Meanchey, near the Thai border," he says. "I cannot forget that stuff."
He now works to undo that damage. Ten years ago he opened an ad hoc land-mine museum in his home. Back then, it was just a collection of mines that he'd defused, but it drew thousands of tourists who were in town to visit Angkor Wat and other famous temples. Last summer he moved the Cambodia Landmine Museum – to a building that architecture students at Texas A&M University designed to display his collection.
His willingness to show the mines to tourists has made him the unofficial face of the problem in Cambodia. Photo displays at the new museum present him as the little guy trying to make his country safe.
But in the world of official demining and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Aki Ra is unorthodox. He has had no formal education. He has an e-mail address but rarely checks it. He dislikes planning – if a village chief asks for help clearing mines, he's apt to stop off, impromptu, to help. His removal process involves creeping up to a mine, prodding the side of it with a stick, and plucking it out of the ground with his hands. Then he moves on. He doesn't keep records. Big demining groups, on the other hand, prioritize location and follow international safety standards. They grid minefields and painstakingly check every inch of land using metal detectors. They rarely touch land mines, preferring to blow them up with explosives. They keep careful records of the number of mines they find and the exact perimeter of the land cleared.
Aki Ra's methods irritate these big groups. The government here has temporarily banned him from clearing mines, so he has resigned himself to getting certified. This fall, an American sponsor helped him attend demining courses in England; now he is applying for a license. He has lots of support: At least five foreign groups raise money for his projects, the former Canadian ambassador to Cambodia has lobbied on his behalf, and the Cambodian minister in charge of land-mine clearance is carefully complimentary.
"I admire him," says Sam Sotha, of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority. "When he first started, he was very small. He started something from empty hands. From scratch. Alone. Now he has his name. His reputation is all over."
• • •
As Aki Ra's reputation has grown, he's become more reticent. He agreed to a interview only after prodding from a donor. "People ask the same questions about my life and my background," he says.
But bits and pieces of his life do emerge in a conversation that, though foggy and inconsistent in places, reveals a story of survival and success against the odds. As an orphan who became a boy soldier in the Khmer Rouge, he hunted deer and wild boar using an AK-47. He laid land mines around homes and farms, sometimes to kill animals for food, sometimes to kill villagers. "My friends, many of them are dead," he says. "Some are still alive but no legs. No arms."
In 1979, as the Vietnamese Army swept through Cambodia, Aki Ra was forced to join them, fighting against the Khmer Rouge and laying more land mines. Later, he joined the Cambodian Army. Then, in 1994, the United Nations taught Aki Ra how to clear land mines.
Walking through the museum, he shows mines he retrieved, including a stack of antitank mines, each as wide as a dinner plate. In one corner are stacks of Bouncing Betties, fearsome bombs that look like soda cans but shoot up from the ground, exploding at waist level.
The mine problem is very real in Cambodia. Between January 2006 and August 2007, 300 people were killed or injured by land mines, according to the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System. In the same time, there were 415 casualties from UXO or unexploded ordnance, like the thousands dropped by US forces on the Vietnam-Cambodia border before Pol Pot rose to power.
• • •
Professional mine clearers view Aki Ra's museum and methods as an affront to their own careful work. Where are the fields he's cleared? Are they really safe? Or is he giving villagers a false sense of security?
"I've received many complaints," says Mr. Sotha.
Tim Porter, program manager for HALO Trust, a Western NGO that employs 1,100 deminers in Cambodia, rolls his eyes when Aki Ra is mentioned: "[He] is promoting himself off the back of a problem that exists. Those people who get involved [with his cause] when they're on holiday in Cambodia don't get the full picture and that is wrong."
While demining NGOs focus on areas considered high priority, Aki Ra has won friends by going to low-priority villages. A few years ago, he cleared unexploded bombs for a neighbor – a Japanese expatriate named Morimoto Kikuo, who hasn't forgotten.
After walking though the museum, Aki Ra takes his family – including a 3-year-old son named Mine, as in land mine – to a party at Mr. Kikuo's farm. Kikuo describes Aki Ra this way: "He's like a soldier still. Someone has ordered him to demine. If he cannot demine, he cannot live."
Toward the end of a meal of rice, meat, fish, eggs, and soup, Aki Ra's cellphone rings. He gestures frantically for a pen. It's "Mr. Bomb," an old friend and demining partner from Australia. Aki Ra writes his hotel room number down on his palm and motions that it's time to go.
Mr. Bomb, aka Tony Bower-Miles, and another Australian are visiting for three months. "We're here to help this country and help Aki Ra," says Mr. Bomb, pointing to four nylon cases in the corner of his hotel room, each containing a metal detector. Mr. Bomb, who fought in Vietnam and has no license to remove land mines here, has arranged for an Australian TV crew to tape them. "You need to tell them your story," Mr. Bomb tells Aki Ra. "It could raise a million dollars."
Aki Ra just looks sad. He's tired of telling his story.
Later, he goes to a simple Siem Reap bathhouse because the running water at his house isn't working properly. He stretches out in a whirlpool and reiterates that it is hard for him to talk about the past. Even though life is better now, he says he has nightmares when he talks about the Khmer Rouge. Unexpected loud noises scare him. He says he's breathed too much TNT, drunk too much bad water in the jungles.
"When I'm finished with land mines in Cambodia, I think I'll forget about all the bad things, the war, the land mines," he says. "I will farm."


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One year ago while playing for Chicago, Jamal Crawford got the scare of his life when he was upended, landed on the back of his neck and had to be immobilized on a stretcher and carted to a hospital.
The neck injury Crawford suffered in a collision Saturday night at Indiana on the anniversary of that frightening incident was nowhere near as serious, and the guard yesterday pronounced himself fit to play when the Knicks face the Spurs tonight at SBC Center.
Though still sore after taking an inadvertent blow to the head from the Pacers' Stephen Jackson, Crawford went through a full practice and held nothing back. "I still feel it a little bit, but I don't think that'll stop me," Crawford said.
It appeared Crawford's head hit the floor at Indiana, but he was uncertain because he twisted his neck in an attempt to avoid a recurrence of the injury he suffered when Minnesota's Fred Hoiberg flipped him Nov. 13, 2003. But Crawford, who was scoreless in 11 minutes against the Pacers, knew he was in no condition to return Saturday.
"It felt like I got hit by a boxer or something," Crawford said. "I started stumbling. I was trying to catch myself, and I just fell. I think I was a little bit woozy."


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Is someone you know feeling a little under the weather or on the road to recovery?
This "Sunshine-Maker" Get Well Puzzle eCard, our pick of the week, might be just
the thing to cheer them up, and even offer them something fun to do while they're recuperating. It's one of the many new Interactive eCards from BlueMountain.com.
You'll find a large assortment of other Get Well eCards there as well, and if you're
looking for something a little different, you'll find Encouragement and Send a Hug eCards that are perfect for letting others know they're in your thoughts today.


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A Georgia Republican congressman said that former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, R, was "partly right" in asserting that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely become pregnant.
Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., a former obstetrician-gynecologist, said at a town hall meeting that Akin was "partly right" in his controversial suggestion, which was widely cited as a factor in his loss to Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, D, this past November.
Gingrey said, according to the Marietta Daily Journal:
"And in Missouri, Todd Akin … was asked by a local news source about rape and he said, 'Look, in a legitimate rape situation' — and what he meant by legitimate rape was just look, someone can say I was raped: a scared-to-death 15-year-old that becomes impregnated by her boyfriend and then has to tell her parents, that's pretty tough and might on some occasion say, 'Hey, I was raped.' That's what he meant when he said legitimate rape versus non-legitimate rape. I don't find anything so horrible about that. But then he went on and said that in a situation of rape, of a legitimate rape, a woman's body has a way of shutting down so the pregnancy would not occur. He's partly right on that."
"And I've delivered lots of babies, and I know about these things. It is true. We tell infertile couples all the time that are having trouble conceiving because of the woman not ovulating, 'Just relax. Drink a glass of wine. And don't be so tense and uptight because all that adrenaline can cause you not to ovulate.' So he was partially right wasn't he? But the fact that a woman may have already ovulated 12 hours before she is raped, you're not going to prevent a pregnancy there by a woman's body shutting anything down because the horse has already left the barn, so to speak. And yet the media took that and tore it apart."
Akin originally told KTVI-TV in August: "First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
Republicans quickly distanced themselves from Akin, urging him to end his bid for Senate to allow another GOP candidate to step forward. Mitt Romney, then the party's presidential nominee, publicly said that Akin should end his campaign.
However, Akin, a congressman, resisted the calls for him to drop out, giving Democrats fodder to paint Republicans as out-of-touch with women voters. Another GOP Senate candidate, Indiana's Richard Mourdock, also gave fodder to Democrats when he suggested that pregnancies by rape were "something God intended." (Mourdock, like Akin, lost a Senate race on which Republicans had been counting to win.)
Gingrey addressed the cost of those controversies before making his own assessment of the science behind Akin's remarks:
"Part of the reason the Dems still control the Senate is because of comments made in Missouri by Todd Akin and Indiana by Mourdock were considered a little bit over the top ... Mourdock basically said 'Look, if there is conception in the aftermath of a rape, that's still a child, and it's a child of God, essentially.' Now, in Indiana, that cost him the election."


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Breastfeeding has been hard to say the least. Now, I am going to be brutally honest in this post about breasteeding so I hope it doesn't offend anyone about what I have to say.
Then as the night creeped on we were exhausted. We got settled for the night. Got a new nurse and tried to go to sleep. At this time Harper started to cry and I put her on the breast right away. Nothing. Her latch was gone. Its like they switched our once beautiful latched baby with a different baby. She didn't want anything to do with my boob. Nothing. I called the nurse to have her come in and help me and she came in for a brief moment said my latch was perfect and left. Long story short we got no sleep that night and no help. Finally, our night nurse changed and we got our new day nurse. She helped me with latch and called the Lactation Nurse to me right away. As soon as she came in I felt a sense of relief. Soon to find out one of the reasons Harper was not latching was due to my flat nipples. She left the room brought a nipple shield and helped me with it. Bam, our baby was back. She was latching no problem.
Long story short...I am still using the nipple shield, pumping/nursing like a mad woman, taking supplements to increase supply, doing all sorts of tricks to help milk supply, and trying to get away from formula supplementation since she dropped weight so drastically. We are doing pretty darn well because were down to one bottle a day and now my goal is to get away from the nipple shield!
One step at a time!
Till next time!


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LittleBigPlanet gets bigger and littler
The original LittleBigPlanet earned a lot of its praise through sheer charm alone. The cute presentation and unique creativity afforded to the player won it a lot of acclaim, despite the fact that, to be fair, the actual game part was never spectacular. In my mind, LittleBigPlanet 2 confirmed this -- still fun, and a good way to waste time, but its poorer qualities were exposed by a sequel's inevitable lack of surprise.
I had feared that a third attempt at getting into LittleBigPlanet would be the proverbial final straw and turn me off the series altogether. I was gladly wrong. I also learned something very important.
LittleBigPlanet is finally at home on the PlayStation Vita. This is where it belongs.
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita (PS Vita)
Developer: Double Eleven, Tarsier Studios, XDev
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released: September 25, 2012
Fans of LittleBigPlanet will know the score right from the outset. Ostensibly a do-it-yourself platform game, the PS Vita version is exactly like its console brethren in allowing players to construct their own vast levels out of a huge selection of materials, gadgets, tools, and stickers. Very little has been left out, with LBP2's extra gimmicks and power-ups all in attendance, alongside a few all-new features. Everything you need to enjoy LittleBigPlanet has been maintained -- no small feat for a humble handheld title.
The full set of community features have been transported without flaw to Sony's little system. As always, players can search for, play, review, rate and favorite all the user-created levels uploaded by others. At the time of writing, only a few test levels from fellow reviewers are uploaded, but I can confirm that getting into them is fairly quick and simple.
There can be some lengthy loading at times, but nothing too egregious, save for one or two instances where a level seems to be stuck in a perpetual load. My one big complaint is that the menus could use some cleaning up, as trying to find my user reviews feels more convoluted than it needs to be, and the icons aren't exactly helpful in telling you which selection does what.
The game's campaign tells a predictably trite story about an evil puppeteer attacking a magic carnival planet. The cutscenes and voice acting grate, and the levels are little more than glorified -- but nicely designed -- tutorials, telling you how the game's new toys work. In that latter purpose, the campaign is a success, as there are quite a few fresh playthings that manage to be surprisingly fun.
Among of the biggest new items are the touch-activated materials. Fingerprint scanners and blocks that can be manually moved by dragging across the touchscreen add some new interactions to a level, and I'm surprised by how well they work. Unlike other PS Vita games, the touch controls don't feel overly saturated and work to make the gameplay more interesting, rather than less convenient for the sake of showing off. There are some cleverly designed levels using blocks that can be pushed in and out using the front and rear touch interfaces, and I'm excited to see what more talented gamers can create using them.
New power-ups make similar use of the PS Vita's control range, from gliders that can be dragged with touch to vehicular wheels propelled by physically tilting the system. These items vary in terms of quality and entertainment. Dragging an unwieldy vehicle around with one's finger is just uncomfortable and bothersome, but I've always got time for a good tilt mechanic, and LittleBigPlanet uses this functionality elegantly.
The game wisely ensures that it doesn't always force you to use touch controls. The Popit menu, as well as level building, can be interacted with using either touch or buttons, and I've actually found that using a combination of both options makes building levels more fluid and enjoyable than ever before. LittleBigPlanet Vita thus serves as a fantastic example of Vita controls done right -- a working compromise between two well-executed control methods, as opposed to a forced either/or situation that promotes technology over user enjoyment.
One thing I really love about the Vita is that the microphone and camera are built in, allowing you to instantly add your own images and sounds to the levels you create without the need for peripherals. The quality is predictably spotty, but the accessibility is appreciated. Being able to scream at my handheld and having such eldritch sounds transported instantly to whatever vile beast I've built out of ivory and jam is a source of infinite amusement.
It's not just the controls, though -- the entire handheld format delivers an overall better crafting experience. The more casual nature of a portable device makes dipping in and out to tweak and build feel more relaxed and enjoyable, the ability to bring my work anywhere encouraging me to take more time on it. Sitting in front of an HDTV with speakers blaring just to spend an hour shaping a block of wood feels silly. On the PS Vita, it feels soothing. It's the kind of activity one should be doing on the train, or in a queue at the bank. Having LittleBigPlanet on the PS Vita works so well in the game's favor that I wish it had always been on the portable format.
The bite-sized nature of the playable levels also work better on the PS Vita than the PS3. The game's physics are still a bit too floaty for my liking, but overall, the Vita's controls just seem like a much better fit. That said, I'd have preferred at least a few improvements and tighter mechanics overall. As with other games in the series, LBP Vita does nothing of its own to improve the series in any way, choosing instead to just toss more toys at the player while sticking rigidly to formula. It may be in a better package this time around, but the contents remain mostly the same. That's mostly fine, but there are gameplay mechanics that could definitely be better, and haven't been touched since the series' inception.
I've also found a rather annoying bug with create mode. After a while of building any moderately sized level, the game seems unable to cope with it and will crash out, returning the player back to the Vita's home screen. I noticed this mostly happening when transitioning from building a level to playtesting it. Getting back into the game is quick, and if one saves before the transition (which is always prompted), nothing of value is lost. It is, however, a frequent annoying occurrence and one that'll need patching swiftly.
There's a range of extra content on offer. While there's naturally online co-op for everything, there are also a whole bunch of minigames littered throughout the campaign, ranging from block-building to whack-a-mole to racing games. There's also an entire arcade section filled with puzzles and simple skill tests. Most of these games feel like iPhone game clones, making heavy use of touch input and mobile-style level select systems. Whether you're into iOS gaming or not, these arcade add-ons are adequate extras that are worth checking out at least once. It's nice to see mobile-style games being packaged as extras rather than sold on the PSN for $10, at any rate.
The presentation is as solid as ever. Stephen Fry returns to narrate and teach in his usual dapper fashion, while the selection of music is eclectic and suitably quirky. Graphically, the game looks a little washed out in comparison to its technically superior PS3 predecessors, but it's still a fine-looking Vita game -- not as pretty as, say, Gravity Rush, but certainly not unpleasant to look at by any stretch of the imagination. Objects obviously look a bit less detailed and animations aren't quite so lively, but Double Eleven and Tarsier did a fine job of preserving as much of the aesthetic spirit of the series as possible.
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is the definitive LittleBigPlanet. The new interface options work splendidly, the extra toys are fun to play with, and the portable format simply works best for such a creative and laid-back venture. It's not as visually attractive as its bigger brothers, and it does little to move the series forward in any meaningful way, but it's by far the most earnest fun I've had with a LittleBigPlanet game to date, and something I feel belongs in the library of any PS Vita owner. I certainly hope it finds its way to many players, as the community will need a lot of support to keep it going.
LittleBigPlanet has come home, and the PS Vita has found a game truly worthy of its potential.
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita reviewed by Jim Sterling
Impressive effort with a few noticeable problems holding it back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
How we score: The Destructoid reviews guide


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Do you remember my post from this past Wednesday when I celebrated my daddy's 90th birthday?!!
On Friday night three of us four sisters and our hubbies celebrated his special occasion with cake and ice cream. Man, was he surprised when I showed up with this cake!!
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO GET IN ON THE BONUS DAYS DEALS! I will draw a name from the ladies who submitted On Line orders using my Hostess Code to see who wins the FREE hostess stamp set of their choice. It could be YOU if you take this last chance TODAY to place your on line order with me. See all the details below.
For every $50 you spend you will get a $5.00 voucher to spend August 3-31 - Just like Kohl's CASH!!
– An email address is required to participate in this promotion; Bonus Days coupon codes can only be delivered to participants via email.
– I strongly recommend that you save emails containing your Bonus Days coupon codes AND write down the coupon codes in a safe place—the codes cannot be resent if you loses the email.
– You will receive a $5.00 Bonus Days coupon code via email for every $50.00 you spend in a single order (catalog price before shipping and tax).
– There is no limit to the number of coupons you can receive per order or throughout the duration of the promotion.
– There is no limit on the number of coupons you can use on an order during redemption.
– Bonus Days coupons codes can be used in the checkout process during the redemption period.
– Bonus Days coupon codes can be redeemed for any product, excluding Starter Kits and Paper Pumpkin subscriptions. New prepaid Paper Pumpkin codes can be redeemed.
Start collecting your Bonus Days Coupons today and get ready to redeem them in August!
please use this hostess code when placing your online order
VZADXDBJRemember that everyone who places a qualifying order during the Bonus Days (with me only) your name will go in a drawing to win a HOSTESS STAMP SET of your choice. Check out pages 198-201 in the annual catalog to start planning which one you will choose.
OK - READY? SET!! GO!! Just click HERE to get started.
Thanks for stopping by!
Christi Pin It Now!


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Chrysler's New Ram Plug-In Hybrid Pick-Up Truck
Chrysler have developed a plug-in hybrid Ram truck, initially for use only by fleet operators the vehicle was developed with $48 million from the US Government. The Ram uses a 12 kWh battery pack developed by ElectroVaya, this gives the truck a 20 mile range on electricity alone before the 5.7L Hemi V8 is required for further range. Lanjut →


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Posts Tagged 'POW Camp'
You Decided to Ride Where?
I have different reasons to take rides to different places. Sometimes I read about about a certain road that is fun to ride. Sometimes I hear or read about a particular landmark. This time it was a bit different. I was scanning Google Maps around the Coolidge area and saw a peculiar design made by a couple of roads near someplace called 11 Mile Corner. The roads made a pair of "nesting" hexagons (i.e. one inside the other.) Weird, right?
This is what I saw.
I then went to satellite view and saw a couple of buildings, but couldn't really make out what this place was. I tried street view and only half the streets were viewable (I know, "viewable" isn't actually a real word, but you knew what I wanted to say.) and even then, I couldn't see enough to tell me what is here. I could tell that it is currently inhabited, as there were quite a few cars around.
A couple a friends and I were planning on taking a ride on that Friday, but we hadn't decided where to go. I sent John a text with a link to the map location and said "Let's ride here." He replied with an understandable "What is it?" I said that I had no idea, to which his response was "Okay, let's go." And so, it was settled.
Had it been later in the year, we probably would have left early and had breakfast somewhere on the road, but the low temp that night was in the high 30's so we decided to meet for breakfast and ride out a bit later. We met at the venerable "Hungry Fox" for some tasty breakfast. If you like S.O.S. theirs is very good.
After eating the temperature has warmed up to the mid-40's, so we donned our cooler weather gear and hit the road. There are 2 basic options to get to the Coolidge/Florence area from Tucson. One is to go north on Highway 77 (aka Oracle Rd) then take Highway 79 to Florence then Hwy 287 to Coolidge. Traffic on 77 and 79 tends to be a bit busy and fast on both roads, so we tend to avoid them. The other route is to take the I-10 access road (aka the Casa Grande Highway) through Tucson, all the way to Picacho, where we briefly hopped on to Highway 87, then a quick left on to the Casa Grande-Picacho Highway (aka Frontier St.) Three miles later we go to the tiny burg of Eloy, where we turned north on 11 Mile Corner Rd. Now all we had to do was to ride until we go to the mysterious hexagon.
Our Route to The Hex
I knew that there was a large skydiving complex somewhere around Eloy, but had never seen it. Well, no sooner did we make the turn on to 11 Mile Corner Rd, that the sky was filled with parachutes of many colors. We watched them float toward the ground as we rode along. We also saw a lot more houses than I expected to see in this rural area.
We continued north and I almost stopped at the 11 Mile store and Post Office, but decided to continue to the Hex. Oddly enough, we arrived at the hexagon approx 11 miles after turning on to 11 Mile Corner Rd. We turned on to Sheppard Dr and immediately saw the long, low building I had seen on the Google street view. They look as if they have been plucked from a Soviet block housing complex and dropped here.
We weren't sure where to explore first but decided that since it was the hexagonal roads that brought us here, we should probably ride them. we made a left and started around the "loop."
When we got to the end of the second section of the hexagon, we saw why some of the streets weren't available on street view. There are no longer any buildings there and the road has been encroached by desert shrubs. The asphalt has degraded and is now little more than a trail. So, naturally, we rode through a gap in the brush and took off. We didn't ride 65 miles for a hex ride and stop after 2 sides.
We dodged the open manholes and made it around all six sides. Just before finishing it, we got a good view of the front of that big building in the middle of the hex. This looks like it was the front.
As Sean said, "Curiouser and curiouser." We really didn't know what kind of place this originally was. There are no Historical Markers present, either. We decided to ride over to Yandell's New Camp Store and Post Office and see what they could tell us.
We walked in to the Camp store and were impressed with the presence of the old post office in the front of the store. There were 2 ladies working the counter. We asked them to tell us a bit about 11 Mile Corner, the store and the weird hexagon. The were quite friendly and told us a lot of interesting stuff. The store has been in the same family for almost 50 years. The post office parts came to 11 Mile from Red Rock, AZ, but they were told that Red Rock had gotten it from Tombstone.
11 Mile Corner got its name because the nearby intersection is 11 miles north of Eloy, 11 miles east of Casa Grande and 11 miles southwest of Coolidge. It is now an unincorporated part of Casa Grande. We asked about the strange hexagonal road pattern. That, they said, was probably part of the 11 Mile Prisoner of War Camp from World War II. I did a bit of research when we got home and did confirm that there was, in fact, a German POW camp in 11 Mile Corner. It housed approximately 300 prisoners. I couldn't find any pictures of it.
The ladies also told about the upcoming gourd festival. They said that if we wanted to get a taste of what it would be like, we could drop by Wuertz Farm. They raise gourds there and have a small gift shop / gallery containing some gourd art works. That sound interesting, so we said good-bye and headed southeast and prepared for "the Wuertz."
We had a great time checking out the gourds. Mr Wuertz was a great host and showed us around. We didn't have time to look around, but there are Burros and miniature horse there as well. Oh, if you are interested, you should go to the "13th Annual Running of the Gourds" coming up February 12-14.
We finally turned around and rode back to Tucson. The trip back was uneventful, but riding is good. Riding with friends is better. I noticed when we got home, that I had ridden 10 miles of mostly straight, mostly flat roads and still had an absolute blast.