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Vivantes Hospital Spandau
Specialist field: Internal medicine
Prof. Dr. med. Ferdinand Köckerling
Neue Bergstraße 6
13585 Berlin
International Office:
Am Nordgraben 2
13509 Berlin
M. Ozod-Hamad / Olga Pastushenko
Tel. + 49 (0) 30 130 12 16 -64 / -84 / -85
Professor Ferdinand Köckerling
Senior Consultant, Department for Surgery – Visceral and Vascular Surgery, Vivantes Hospital in Spandau, Berlin
Adiposity, or clinical obesity, is a lifestyle disease affecting increasing numbers of people worldwide. Obese patients often find it difficult to live a normal life, have a severely limited quality of life and find themselves under increasing mental strain.
They are also more likely to suffer from serious secondary diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure with the risk of a heart attack or stroke and premature wearing of the joints and spine. Without assistance, it is difficult to escape this vicious circle: easy availability of high-calorie meals leads to increased body weight and a lack of physical exercise – leading to further weight gains. In severe cases, a lasting reduction in weight is usually only possible with an operation on the digestive tract. As obesity is a highly complex illness that puts patients at greater risk during operations, an interdisciplinary approach involving specialist departments is required to provide patients with optimum treatment. Vivantes, the Berlin-based hospital group, has taken on this challenge and established a Centre for Obesity and Metabolic Surgery at the Vivantes Hospital in Spandau.
Under the care of obesity specialists Professors Lange and Köckerling, patients in Spandau undergo an operation that is best suited to their situation and that uses special robust equipment. Professor Lange is a proven specialist in various surgical methods used to treat obesity, such as the insertion of a gastric balloon, implantation of a gastric band and performance of a gastric bypass. "An operation is often the only remaining option for treating clinically obese patients with a body mass index of over 40. Dietary changes and additional exercise are usually no longer adequate to deal with a body weight of this magnitude," explains Professor Lange.
Examples of minimally invasive operations: gastric bypass, adjustable gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy
At the Vivantes Centre for Obesity and Metabolic Surgery, 99 per cent of operations are carried out using minimally invasive techniques. Over the last few years, Professors Köckerling and Lange have become established names in this field of surgery both in Germany and internationally. "Minimally invasive surgery requires only small incisions to be made in the abdominal wall," says Professor Köckerling. "This is especially important for obese patients because large surgical scars heal particularly badly in these patients and they are therefore at greater risk of infection."
Treatment offered by the obesity centre at the Vivantes Hospital in Spandau:
The operating suite is equipped with tables and beds designed to take particularly heavy loads as well as extra-wide seating that can even bear patients weighing more than 250kg. "These facilities enable us to provide optimum medical care, even as the number of operations rises," says Professor Lange.
Dr Andreas Schmitt, Regional Director of the Vivantes Hospital in Spandau and the Humboldt Hospital, believes the new centre is one of the top five in Europe for the treatment of obesity. "We anticipate an average of 600 patients per year. Besides German patients, we also expect to see an increasing number of people from abroad, for example from the Gulf States." To make the hospital even more attractive to international patients, luxury wards have been built at four sites. The rooms are of a superior hotellike standard with a pleasant atmosphere and are equipped with televisions that can receive over 100 satellite channels. Staff are multilingual and have received intercultural training, while meals meet religious and personal requirements. This ensures patients at the Vivantes hospitals in Berlin gain a better quality of life in more ways than one.
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A great bloodline is one thing. But if you're a new Jeep® vehicle and want to claim the spotlight, you have to take that DNA places no one has seen before. That's why the new 2011 Jeep Compass is genetically engineered with legendary capability and iconic beauty, but with a size, shape, and red-blooded attitude all its own.
The Jeep Compass 4x2 also gives you up to 29 MPG highway, over 30 available safety and security features, and a starting price of just $19,295.* It makes adventure more affordable and longer lasting than ever.
The 2011 Jeep Compass is the evolution of a legendary bloodline.
*Starting at price refers to Sport 4x2 model with 2.0L engine and five-speed manual transmission offering 23 city / 29 hwy EPA estimated mpg. $19,295 MSRP excludes destination, taxes, title and registration fees. Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC.

subset: commoncrawl


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hi there,
here a little video of my try on changing groundcover with torque 3d:
its not finished - just an idea from me.
what i need is to set the player to the position of the brush
thanks a lot!
PS: im not klicking anything - it shows the material automatically by code - im just moving around with the view


text:
the baby of the house, no two feedings are the same.
oftentimes depends on what he's eating at any given time, but some feedings are
more challenging than others and some take much longer than others.
can become quite stingy when it comes to fruits and certain vegetables. He
loves them and rarely needs a bib when it comes to the foods he truly likes –
apple sauce, pears and peaches seem to top his list these days.
it's a different story altogether when it comes to meat. He's been slow to
welcome the turkey, chicken and beef, and I can't say I blame him for that.
when our firstborn, Beckett, was transitioning to solids, I tried everything he
ate out of curiosity. Everything tasted pretty good, save for those disgusting
watered-down meats and the terrible peas.
ate everything and didn't care what it was at any given time. Carson might be a
little wiser, or more sophisticated at his age, than his older brother because
he knows the meats are the pits compared to the vegetables and fruits.
will eventually take to the meats, but not without it being combined with a
vegetable that he likes. Otherwise, he just makes an ugly face and pushes it
out of his mouth and down his chin. He may even spit it out altogether or
simply pretend he's pre-occupied with something else (like the blond-haired
blur running around the house that's otherwise known as his brother).
a baby requires some concentration, and I think Beckett realizes this and
subsequently turns into the Green Monster.
It can
be challenging to pull off a Carson feeding when the kids have a parent
double-teamed. I prefer feeding them both at the same time than having Beckett
roam the house while Carson is being fed. It's not that he strays too far away.
It's more that he becomes terribly jealous of Carson getting all the attention
and will pull and yank on arms to get some recognition.
can make an already messy endeavor even more of a chaotic scene.
In the
words of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes, the local school system lost
an "unsung hero" last weekend when Joan Condyles, a physical therapist with the
Worcester County Board of Education, died in a tragic accident on Route 113.
the last two years, I have gotten to know Joan on a personal level, as she
conducted monthly reviews in our home of Beckett till he was one and now
Carson. Atypical circumstances surrounding my sons' births led them to be
placed in a program called Infants and Toddlers, and Joan was the physical
therapist for the initiative.
When he
turned 1 year old, Beckett was discharged from the program because there were
no developmental delays evident. Monthly visits from Joan stopped at that point
until our second son was born, and she returned to our life and had been
working with Carson since he was 2 weeks old. More than likely, it seemed we
were on a parallel course with Carson as we were with Beckett. If all went as
we hoped, four months from now, he would be released from the program with all
signs looking positive, and Joan would again depart our lives.
that all changed last weekend when she was killed in a horrendous accident
while she and her family were reportedly heading to the beach.
When we
got the call Monday morning that Joan had died, it was a stunner, to say the
least. Anyone that has a private role with your kids is special. Whether it be
the pediatrician overseeing their growth, the nurse who gives them shots or the
babysitter who spends time with them, there's a bond there as far as the
parents are concerned. Surely, we felt that with Joan.
who work with the most vulnerable among us, the children, and particularly
those whose goal it is to improve their lives are the treasures among us. They
are the best and brightest in my eyes, and Joan surely falls into that
working with our kids to overcome some minor developmental obstacles in their
early days and teaching us certain tricks of the trade to further advance their
progressions, Joan meant more to us than she would ever know. We always
expressed our gratitude to Joan for affecting change amongst our kids, but it
wasn't the words of appreciation that seemed to matter most to her. What she
took pride in was observing the improvements our kids made with each visit. She
was effusively positive and that's what we needed. Parents always worry about
their kids. She understood that and did a marvelous job of keeping things in
perspective for us.
I know we were not the only ones whose lives she touched. She worked routinely
with children with extensive disabilities in this county, and I can only
imagine how deep her involvement ran with those families. Along with her
family, friends and close co-workers, they are perhaps the most to be impacted
by this loss because she truly cared.
In our
20 or so meetings with Joan, usually consisting of her, my wife and me lying on
the floor with our kids the entire time, she often spoke of her family and
church life.
we embraced the idea of Joan not coming to our house anymore. We knew when her
visits stopped that both kids were on track and prospering. It surely was
nothing personal. It was just the desire to know my kids were well and hitting
those standardized goals. Joan knew this and understood it, but she was not
going to go anywhere until she was not needed any longer.
respected that and will fondly remember her and her caring way.


text:
<< back to All Teachings
Location: Makor Or
In topic: Judaism / Jewish Meditation
Passover Intensive 4 - Plagues - Makor Or April 17, 2011By Zoketsu Norman Fischer | Apr 17, 2011
Location: Makor Or
In topic: Judaism / Jewish Meditation
Norman gives the fourth talk on the 2011 Passover Intensive at Makor Or on Plagues.
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text:
Send to My Phone
We work hard every day to make sure every customer has the best possible experience. Simply complete the form below and we will send this vehicle straight to your phone.
Internet Price reflects all discounts and all current available incentives. Internet price may also include manufacturer lease incentives if greater than the retail incentive. Internet price may include some incentives that some customers may not qualify for, such as trade in bonus cash, conquest cash, or owner loyalty. Internet price may require financing with the manufacturer finance source to qualify. Optional: exclusive of published sales price, all vehicles are equipped with the NitroFill product, $178.88, a nitrogen-based gas in the tires for extended tire life and enhanced fuel economy. Price does not include Tax, Title, License or Documentation Fee.
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TWD: Granola Grabbers
Recipe chosen by: Michelle of Bad Girl Baking
Link to TWD group: Tuesdays With Dorie homepage
Good cookie, but I don't think I'd call it great. It's probably a great after school snack like Dorie describes in the preword, but I don't have a need for that. When I want a cookie, I want a chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie, ya know?
Maybe a little bit of spice would oomph it up a little more - although that could have been a result of the granola I chose?
I don't think I'll experiment with these either - it just calls for too many things that I don't regularly keep stocked in the pantry.
Interesting choice though, thanks Michelle! Head to Bad Girl Baking for the recipe and don't forget to check out the rest of the TWD crew to see how they liked this week's recipe.
(Sorry for the brief post, on vacation :)


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Butler's Lives of the Saints – Saints Donatian and Rogatian, Martyrs
There lived at Nantes an illustrious young nobleman called Donatian, who having received the holy sacrament of regeneration, led a most edifying life, and laid himself out with much zeal in converting others to faith in Christ. His elder brother Rogatian was not able to resist the moving example of his piety, and the force of his discourses, and desired to be baptised. But the bishop having withdrawn and concealed himself for fear of the persecution, he was not able to receive that sacrament, but was shortly after baptized in his blood; for he declared himself a Christian at a time when to embrace that sacred profession was to become a candidate for martyrdom. The emperor Maximian sent an order to the prefect, directing him to put to death all who refused to sacrifice to Jupiter and Apollo. This must have happened when that emperor was in Gaul occupied in his expedition either against the Bagaudæ in 286, or against Carausius, who having assumed the purple in Britain maintained himself in that usurped dignity seven years. The acts of these martyrs attribute this order, to the emperors Dioclesian and Maximian, but we find it usual to ascribe to both those emperors the decrees of one. The prefect to whom it was addressed seems to have been the cruel persecutor Rictius Varus, prefect of the Belgic, and probably also of the Celtic Gaul. The title of president which the acts give him, only belonged to a governor who had power of life and death. The prefect arriving at Nantes, Donatian was impeached before him for professing himself a Christian, and for having withdrawn others, particularly his brother, from the worship of the gods. Donatian was therefore apprehended, and having boldly confessed Christ before the governor, was cast into prison and loaded with irons. Rogatian was also brought before the prefect, who endeavoured first to gain him by flattering speeches, but finding him inflexible, sent him to prison with his brother. Rogatian grieved that he had not been able to receive the sacrament of baptism, and prayed that the kiss of peace which his brother gave him might supply it. Donatian also prayed for him that his faith might procure him the effect of baptism, and the effusion of his blood that of the sacrament of chrism, that is, of confirmation. They passed that night together in fervent prayer. They were the next day called for again by the prefect, to whom they declared that they were ready to suffer for the name of Christ whatever torments were prepared for them. By the order of the inhuman judge they were first stretched on the rack, afterwards their heads were pierced with lances, and lastly cut off, about the year 287. Their bodies were buried near the place where they suffered. The Christians some time after built them a sepulchre, at the foot of which the bishops of Nantes chose their burial-place. Toward the close of the fifth century, the Christians built a church upon the place, which has been successively in the hands of monks and canons, and is at present parochial. The bodies of these two martyrs in 1145 were translated by Albert bishop of Ostia to the cathedral, where they remain in great veneration.


text:
Now showing items 1-2 of 2
Preservation of myocardial beta-adrenergic receptor signaling delays the development of heart failure after myocardial infarction.
(Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2000-05-09)
When the heart fails, there is often a constellation of biochemical alterations of the beta-adrenergic receptor (betaAR) signaling system, leading to the loss of cardiac inotropic reserve. betaAR down-regulation and functional ...
Intracoronary adenovirus-mediated delivery and overexpression of the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor in the heart : prospects for molecular ventricular assistance.
(Circulation, 2000-02-01)
BACKGROUND: Genetic modulation of ventricular function may offer a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with congestive heart failure. Myocardial overexpression of beta(2)-adrenergic receptors (beta(2)ARs) has been shown ...


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Art Collections Online
Self Portrait on Garnedd Dafydd
CHAMBERLAIN, Brenda (1912 - 1971)
© Estate of Brenda Chamberlain
Date: 1938
Media: oil on canvas
Size: 30.4 x 30.4 cm
Acquired: 1974; Gift; John Petts
Accession Number: NMW A 2615
Born in Bangor, Brenda Chamberlain trained at the Royal Academy Schools. This portrait was painted when she and her husband John Petts were living at Llanllechid in North Wales. Both the assertive full-face pose and the juxtaposition of a female portrait with a misty landscape background derive from Renaissance paintings.


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'They Forcibly Brought Me to Iraq'
Most of First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting's early business in Iraq was as a leading subcontractor to Halliburton/KBR. The Houston, Texas firm had won multibillion Army logistics contracts to build US military camps around Iraq.
To handle the exploding work load and increase its profits following the March 2003 invasion, First Kuwaiti rushed to hire low-wage workers from South Asia for the lucrative construction contracts. Today, as one of the Pentagon's larger "body shops," First Kuwaiti employs 7,500 laborers for the nearly $2 billion in US contracts it has signed over the past three years.
But the boom in business has not been without controversy. Some of those workers as well as the news media have repeatedly accused First Kuwaiti of coercing recruits to go to Iraq against their will, and once in Iraq, of providing them with substandard housing, food and medical care.
Ramil Autencio and other Filipinos who worked for First Kuwaiti in late 2003 and early 2004 said that they experienced the bad conditions first hand after the company strong-armed them into working on a US military base in Tikrit, Iraq.
"They forcibly brought me to Iraq when my contract provided that I would work in Kuwait," Autencio claimed in an October 3, 2005, CorpWatch story.
Originally recruited for employment by MGM Worldwide Manpower in the Philippines, Autencio said he had planned to work at Crown Plaza Hotel in Kuwait for $450 a month. Then, when he reached Kuwait in late 2003, he discovered that MGM had sold his recruitment contract to First Kuwaiti.
That's when he and other Filipinos found themselves cooped up in First Kuwaiti housing in Kuwait for a month without pay or adequate food as they awaited transfer to Iraq, he said. "They threatened to put us in prison and they took everything we had, including our passports. The police would arrest us if we went out."
Once in Tikrit, Autencio and others claimed they were overworked, served poor food, and received less salary than their contracts stipulated.
Such stories of mistreatment prompted the U.S. State Department to join forces with the Defense Department early this year to investigate possible labor trafficking by Middle East firms working under US contracts in Iraq.
When first asked about mistreatment of the company's labor force in August 2005, First Kuwaiti general manager Wadih al Absi threatened to sue if the allegations were published. Al-Absi, whose excellent English is occasionally peppered with the bluntness of a construction worker, denied the allegations of ill-treatment and labor trafficking in August 2005.
"It's bullshit," he said, after emailing electronic documents apparently signed by Autencio and others agreeing to work in Iraq. "Total bullshit."
Al-Absi also threatened to sue for libel if the allegations were published.
Still, Autencio does not back down from his story. "All the contracts I had referred to Kuwait," he said. "They pushed me into Iraq when they opened jobs there."
Once in Iraq, Autencio said that conditions became horrid that he and a group of 46 Filipinos decided to escape Iraq by hitching rides from Filipino truckers and with the help of another Filipino serving in the US Army. Traveling by night, they reached Kuwait in three days.
"The Kuwait police couldn't do anything because we outnumbered them," Autencio said. "We shoved them back when they asked for our papers. We were bolder because one of us had died by then."
The men then sought refuge in the Philippines Embassy before returning home.
Autencio's charges are echoed by a group of Nepalese migrant workers.
On Sept. 7, 2004, The Kathmandu Post reported that four-dozen Nepalese workers who had been waiting in Kuwait for jobs on American military bases in Iraq abruptly changed their minds when they saw television reports of Iraqi insurgents executing 12 Nepalese hostages.
"I was scared," Krishna Bahadur Khadka told the newspaper.
"We fled from where we were staying and sent a fax to the Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia asking for help," he said. "On September 4 Mitra Singh, a Nepali settled in Kuwait, came to our rescue."
The Chicago Tribune corroborated that account in an Oct. 10, 2005 story, saying that a First Kuwaiti manager in Kuwait handed the panicked Nepalese workers an ultimatum: Go to Iraq to fulfill the contracts or be released on the streets of Kuwait City to fend for yourselves.
Undoubtedly, none had the resources to find their way back to Nepal.
"The company was forcing them to go to Iraq," Lok Bahadur Thapa, the former acting Nepalese ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told The Tribune.
Both the Pentagon and the US State Department have not commented on whether or not these allegations were ever investigated. Certainly, First Kuwaiti has never been suspended from receiving US government contracts in Iraq or elsewhere.
Washington, DC-based journalist David Phinney can be contacted at email@example.com.


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Monday, August 3, 2009
Cameron Brown Retrial: Day Six, Part I
Testimony ended early today after just a few minutes. Alternate juror #3 was in the ER for 14 hours over the weekend and was unable to get any rest. She is exhausted. Pastor and all parties agreed to give the juror one day of rest in the hopes that she will be able to continue tomorrow morning. If she is unable to continue tomorrow, then it looks like they will have to let her go.
I'll be working on finishing and editing my entry for Day Three and trying to also get the testimony for Day Four up by this evening.
6 comments:
- Patient Advocate said...
I guess jurors are not immune to stresses, and once could surmise there is a mind body connection in grappling with the expectations of handing down a verdict.
We certainly have seen jurors dropping out of a few cases of late.
Perhpas four to six alternates are not enough for modern times!
- August 3, 2009 at 2:31 PM
- Sprocket said...
The juror's specific health issue that resulted in her ending up in the ER was not revealed to the court. Just that she was there.
I believe the court indicated (through communication with Pastor's clerk, Ms. Sammie Benson), that she did not get any sleep from the ordeal and was exhausted.
Judge Pastor in addressing counsel, indicated that hopefully she would be able to go home and get some much needed sleep and ready and able to continue tomorrow.
Note: I have 19 more pages of steno-pad notes to transcribe and edit from Day 3 before that entry will be complete.
- August 3, 2009 at 2:39 PM
- Anonymous said...
Sprocket you do yeoman's work if you feel you should give us 19 pages of transcription. It is bad karma that jurors--also working for free--have to face these medical or other personal emergencies and still serve. And so much out there happens unexpectedly and can be devastating to the person on the receiving end. I know, I have been there (and have never served on a jury due to the financial impact. I hope to, some day).
Wes J.
- August 3, 2009 at 6:26 PM
- Anonymous said...
Just wondering...will there be a "Day 5"?? You seem to have skipped over that number.
Anxiously awaiting more news...
- August 5, 2009 at 1:09 PM
- Sprocket said...
Yes there will be a day five. Real life has kept me busy, and I have not had as much time to write as I would like.
- August 5, 2009 at 8:50 PM
- Anonymous said...
Excellent coverage. Thank you.
- August 9, 2009 at 1:28 AM


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ShoesAthleticBootsCasual BootsFashion SneakersFlatsLoafers & Slip-OnsMid-calf bootsHeelsMules & ClogsOutdoorOxfordsPetite SizesPumpsSandalsSlippersSports ShoesStilettoWedge SandalsWelliesSneakers and Canvas
ShoesAthleticBootsCasual BootsFashion SneakersFlatsLoafers & Slip-OnsMid-calf bootsHeelsMules & ClogsOutdoorOxfordsPetite SizesPumpsSandalsSlippersSports ShoesStilettoWedge SandalsWelliesSneakers and Canvas
Women's sneakers are a popular type of casual shoes and they come in different types just according to their parent brands. If you love fashion or at least, love to look good, sneakers are a very good way to show off. As casual shoes, they are worn to majorly informal and semi-formal events like parties, picnics and so on. There are more than enough reasons why you just have to love women's sneakers. If you are looking for the easiest way to make your dressing switch from ordinary to exciting real quick, simply put on a pair of sneakers. They are so simple yet they can do as much as switching up your look. Also, women's sneakers can make you look more good-looking and confident. You really cannot go wrong wearing a pair of sneakers to any casual event. Sneakers usually come with elevated soles and they could also come with or without shoelaces.
As women's sneakers are interestingly versatile and can be worn to a large variety of occasions, there are also various simple ways in which you can style them.
With gowns: Women's sneakers can be styled with gowns. These gowns could either be straight or flared. However, sneakers would go best with straight or flared gowns and dresses which are short or knee-length a lot better than on long gowns.
T-shirts: T-shirts are a perfect match for women's sneakers, especially as they are also majorly appropriate for casual events. So, whether you're wearing a plain t-shirt or women's printed t-shirt, you're good to go with your sneakers.
Jeans: A pair of jeans can never look awkward with a pair of sneakers. They simply just fit perfectly. The best casual look would be that of a shirt or t-shirt on a pair of jeans and all on a pair of women's sneakers. You can be sure to turn heads in your direction always.
Fashion Accessories: Make your dressing complete and fascinating with the right fashion accessories to match like face caps, sunshades if you'll be out in the sun, wristwatches, and necklaces.


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The nasal drone that emanates from the hangdog face hasn't lost its baritone whine. But it's clear as his new California-set show, "Men of a Certain Age," caps its triumphant first season Monday night that Ray Romano has left Ray Barone back on Long Island.
Avoiding typecasting after a long running, beloved hit like "Everybody Loves Raymond" is no small accomplishment, especially for someone whose background is in the personality-driven world of standup comedy. But after nine seasons as Raymond, it's taken Romano only nine episodes to firmly establish himself as Joe, whose sardonic wit masks turmoil and insecurity.
Joe isn't all that lovable – but that's okay. "Men of a Certain Age" is one of the TV season's best new shows, pulling pathos and laughs from a bittersweet look at guys lumbering toward 50.
For the uninitiated, the show centers on three forty-something college buddies who barely have one another to lean on as they grapple with major life changes and the realization they're running out of time to repair broken dreams.
Joe is a party supplies store owner and failed golfer whose marriage died at least partly because of his dangerous sports gambling addiction. Car salesman Owen (Andre Braugher) enjoys a strong marriage, but is battling diabetes and out-of-control eating as his finds himself constantly swallowing his pride around his successful father – a former basketball star who is also his boss and considers him a disappointment. Terry (Scott Bakula) is a single, handsome Peter Pan type whose middling acting career has given way to gigs as an office temp and as his apartment complex' superintendent.
There's lots of humor in the show, to be sure, particularly in the trash talk that's hurled around the diner booth that's the three buddies' refuge. It's where they're most comfortable discussing their problems – even if the exchanges are coated in the kind of insults only old pals can get away with delivering.
The scenes, rightfully, have been compared to Barry Levinson's 1982 coming-of-age classic "Diner." But unlike "Diner," these friends are well past the crossroads between youth and adulthood, and are staring into the chasm that's life's third act.
But it's not as bleak as it sounds. With Monday's 10th and final episode of the season, Joe and his friends at least are headed in new, if uncertain directions.
After buying a new house with a down payment from the proceeds of a risky bet, Joe hints to new girlfriend about his gambling habit – indicating he's getting serious about her but also giving her cause for concern. Terry is taking an opportunity to get back into show business, but risks losing the stable girlfriend who is half his age with twice the maturity. Owen – whose father turns over the family business to a younger, slicker man he considers a surrogate son – leaves his safe, if stifling, job to work for a rival car dealer.
"Men of a Certain Age," judging by its success (it's already been renewed for next season), seems to have struck a nerve. The TNT show comes at a time when the popular culture is only just beginning to address what it's like to be a man over 40 in these times of economic and social shifts.
HBO's "Hung" uses dark humor to portray the shattered life of a high school basketball coach in his early 40s whose sole power comes in prostituting himself, thanks to the attribute referred to in the show's title. Ben Stiller, meanwhile, is staring in an upcoming movie, called "Greenberg," in which he plays a 40-year-old loser recovering from a mental breakdown after a string of failures.
"There is a feeling like you have ... your life ahead of you," Stiller, 44, told Reuters. "Greenberg is really coming up against the fact that he doesn't. You have to accept those things and that's part of growing up."
The Beach Boys' "When I Grow to be a Man" is the very apt theme song for "Men of a Certain Age." Joe, Owen and Terry aren't quite there yet – but at least they're trying. Romano, Braugher and Bakula are maturing professionally, playing, to varying degrees, against type as their careers evolve.
The actors and their characters' journeys will be well worth the ride into next season, and hopefully beyond.
U.S. & World
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


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Central Connecticut volleyball's Veronika Ban and Rachel Dunlap were honored by the Northeast Conference on Monday afternoon. Both players were key contributors to a pair of Northeast Conference victories last weekend.
Ban, a senior from Newbury Park, CA, earns Molten/Northeast Conference Player of the Week honors after an exceptional two match stretch in which she posted 20 kills and a .515 hitting percentage over seven sets. She had just three hitting errors in 33 total attacks.
On defense, she had 12 total blocks, with six block assists in each of the matches. Ban also had five digs on the weekend.
Against Robert Morris on Saturday, Ban posted eight kills and a .583 hitting percentage. She also had six block assists and three digs. On Sunday, Ban recorded 12 kills and a .476 hitting percentage, posting six block assists with a pair of digs. Ban averaged 2.86 kills, 1.71 blocks and 0.71 digs per set over the weekend.
Dunlap, a junior from Sonora, CA, had an outstanding weekend at the net with 19 total blocks over CCSU's two NEC victories to earn Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The three-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week posted 10 block assists in a 3-0 win over Robert Morris on Saturday and then recorded nine block assists as the Blue Devils downed Saint Francis U by a 3-1 margin on Sunday.
The Blue Devils played seven sets over the two matches giving Dunlap an incredible 2.71 blocks per set average, the highest of any NEC blocker over the weekend. The performance boosted her season average to 1.34 blocks per set, highest in the NEC.
Dunlap also contributed on offense with 11 kills and a .435 hitting percentage.
The Blue Devils are currently riding a four match winning streak and have maintained a perfect 7-0 record at home this season.
CCSU will next play on Saturday at Bryant. That match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and is available on NECFrontRow.com.


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Burials have begun for the children and teachers who died after the unthinkable happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School. NBC's Kate Snow reports.
Updated at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday: The youngest victim had a twin at the school. The oldest was the school psychologist. Another was the child of a jazz saxophonist. Among the 28 who died in the shooting in Newtown, Conn., were six teachers -- all women -- and 20 children, ages 6 and 7.
The two others who died were the gunman and his mother.
Of the children, eight were boys and 12 were girls.
Dawn Hochsprung, 47, Sandy Hook Elementary principal
When shots rang out Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Hochsprung ran from a room where she was meeting with a parent and other staff members, school occupational therapist Diane Day told the Wall Street Journal.
She never returned.
Hochsprung, 47, has been described as fun and lighthearted, someone who maintained an active Twitter feed that noted successes and various events at school.
"Sandy Hook hosted district admins for instructional rounds today," she tweeted on Nov. 29. "Amazing visit showcased deep learning!"
Last week, she tweeted an image of fourth-grade students rehearsing for their winter concert. Days before that, an image of kindergartners exchanging play money at their makeshift grocery store.
"She was not the kind of principal I remembered as a kid," Diane Licata, the mother of a first- and second-grader at Sandy Hook, told The New York Times. "She really reached out to the students and made them feel comfortable with her."
She received her bachelor's degree in special education from Central Connecticut State University and her master's degree in education from Southern Connecticut State University. She was currently enrolled at Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y., pursuing her Ph.D.
Hoschsprung was married with a high-school age son, according to the Wall Street Journal.
She viewed her school as a model for safety and learning, telling The Newtown Bee in 2010: "I don't think you could find a more positive place to bring students to every day."
Officials said she died while lunging along with the school psychologist at the gunman in an attempt to overpower him, The Associated Press reported.
Sandy Hook Elementary principal Dawn Hochsprung died in the attack after reportedly running toward the gunfire to protect her students. TODAY's Erica Hill reports, and Savannah Guthrie talks with two men who knew her.
Mary Sherlach, 56, school psychologist
Mary Sherlach had worked at Sandy Hook Elementary since 1994 and was known as a fixture at the school, according to the Connecticut Post.
Associated Press
Mary Sherlach, 56
She was the wife of Bill Sherlach, a financial consultant, and mother to two adult daughters, Maura and Katie. The Sherlaches were looking forward to retirement, which they had planned to spend on Owasco Lake, one of New York's Finger Lakes, Newtown Patch reported.
Eric Schwartz, Sherlach's son-in-law, told the Connecticut Post that he and his wife immediately drove to Connecticut when they heard on the news that the school psychologist had been killed.
Officials said Sherlach died while running with the principal toward the shooter.
Schwartz described his mother-in-law as sharp, opinionated and an avid Miami Dolphins fan. She had planned to leave work early on Friday, he said, but never had the chance.
As the news trickled out about the shooting, Schwartz told Patch: "It was a really helpless feeling. For about an hour, you try to say, 'They got it wrong, they got it wrong.'"
"Mary felt like she was doing God's work, working with the children," he told NBCConnecticut.com.
Victoria Soto, 27, first-grade teacher
As the shooter entered Room 10, a first-grade classroom, teacher Vicki Leigh Soto tried to shield her students, her cousin Jim Wiltsie told the Wall Street Journal.
Victoria Soto, 27.
"That is how she was found. Huddled with her children," Wiltsie said.
Soto had taught for five years and was known by students as silly and loving. "She put those children first. That's all she ever talked about," a friend, Andrea Crowell, told The Associated Press. "She wanted to do her best for them, to teach them something new every day."
On her teacher's bio, Soto wrote: "In my free time I love to spend time with black lab Roxie. I love spending time with my brother, sisters and cousins. I love to spend time reading books on the beach soaking up the sun. I also love flamingos and the New York Yankees."
Anne Marie Murphy, 52, special education teacher
Murphy, the sixth of seven children, was described by her 86-year-old father, Hugh McGowan, as "witty" and "hardworking," according to New York Newsday.
Her mother, Alice McGowan, 86, described her as "a good soul." She told Newsday that when she got the news, she grabbed her rosary and cried.
Authorities told the couple their daughter helped shield some of her students from the rain of bullets.
"A first responder said she was a hero," Murphy's father said.
"You don't expect your daughter to be murdered. That's sort of a shocker. It happens on TV. It happens elsewhere," he added.
Woody Thompson, a neighbor of the Murphy family in Connecticut, said she and her husband were level-headed parents who allowed their four children to play one sport per season.
"They didn't buy into some of the craziness and the hype of big-time organized youth sports," Thompson told NBC News.
Lauren Gabrielle Rousseau, 30, permanent substitute teacher
Rousseau was having "the best year of her life," her mother, Teresa Rousseau said, according to The Danbury News-Times, where she is a copyeditor.
Lauren Rousseau
Lauren had a boyfriend, Tony Lusardi III, the News-Times reported. After years of substitute teaching, she landed a permanent substitute teaching position at Sandy Hook.
She grew up in Danbury and lived with her mother and her mother's partner.
On Friday night, Rousseau had planned to see a movie, "The Hobbit," according to the News-Times. In preparation, she had made cupcakes with pictures of the actors in the movie topping each one.
"Lauren wanted to be a teacher from before she even went to kindergarten," her mother said. "We will miss her terribly and will take comfort knowing that she had achieved that dream."
Nancy Lanza, 52, mother of gunman
Investigators believe that Adam Lanza shot his mother at her home near Sandy Hook Elementary before driving to the school and killing 26 others, then himself.
Nancy Lanza was social and generous, friends and neighbors told The New York Times. A friend told NBC News that she was a gun enthusiast.
"She had a pretty extensive gun collection," Dan Holmes said. "She was a collector, she was pretty proud of that. She always mentioned that she really loved the act of shooting."
He said that she took her sons to the shooting range to practice their marksmanship.
In 2008, her husband Peter John Lanza filed for divorce, court records show. He lives in Stamford, Conn., and is a tax director at General Electric.
While much remains unknown about the Sandy Hook school shooting, we're learning more about one of the victims – gunman Adam Lanza's mother, who owned all of the weapons recovered at the scene. NBC's Mike Isikoff reports, and four of her friends join TODAY's Savannah Guthrie to talk about her life and her relationship with her son.
Rachel D'Avino was 29.
Rachel was born in Waterbury, Conn., to parents Mary D'Avinio of Bethlehem, Conn., and Ralph D'Avino of Waterbury, Conn. She was a 2001 graduate of Nonnewaug High School and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Hartford and her master's degree from Post University. She was working toward her doctorate degree from the University of St. Joseph in Hartford, Conn.
A behavioral therapist who worked with special-needs kids, Rachel was one of two teacher's aides who died at Sandy Hook. She joined the staff at Sandy Hook only about a week before the shooting, the Stamford Advocate reported.
She loved animals, cooking, baking, photography and karate, her family said, adding that she was an adoring big sister who cherished her two younger siblings like they were her own children.
"Her presence and tremendous smile brightened any room she entered," Rachel's obituary said. "Her maternal nature, understanding and sense of patience with the learning disabled were truly gifts she possessed. Ultimately, it is these gifts that would have given Rachel a level of understanding and forgiveness during this time of crisis that many others wouldn't have."
Rachel's aunt, Christine Carmody, who lives in Florida, said that D'Avino's boyfriend had asked her parents for her hand in marriage and planned to propose on Christmas Eve this year, Carmody told her pastor before flying to Connecticut, MyFoxTampaBay.com reported.
Charlotte Bacon was 6.
Charlotte, who had long curly red hair, had begged her mother for a new outfit, her uncle told Newsday. Her mother relented on Friday and allowed her to wear the outfit: a pink dress and boots.
Charlotte Bacon, 6.
Charlotte's older brother, Guy, was also in the school but was not shot, The Associated Press reported. Her parents, JoAnn and Joel, had lived in Newtown for four or five years, her uncle, John Hagen, of Nisswa, Minn., told Newsday.
Charlotte's family issued a statement: "The family will forever remember her beautiful smile, her energy for life and the unique way she expressed her individuality, usually with the color pink."
Having never met an animal she didn't love, her parents said, Charlotte had wanted to be a veterinarian since she was 2.
The statement continued: "She also enjoyed practicing Taekwondo weekly with her Dad and brother where she relished kicking and throwing punches!"
Daniel Barden was 7.
He was the youngest son of a caring mother and father, who always tried to keep their children active, taking Daniel to swim practice and other activities, according to friends and neighbors, the Washington Post reported.
In his obituary, his family said Daniel loved "riding waves at the beach, playing the drums in a band with his brother, James, and sister, Natalie, foosball, reading, and making s'mores around the bonfire with his cousins at Papa's house."
Daniel earned his missing two front teeth and ripped jeans, the family said in a statement.
He was on the Newtown soccer team and the Newtown Torpedoes swim team.
"This is a warm, loving family," said a co-worker of Daniel's mother, Jackie Barden. "The kids were the type of kids parents want their children to be around: warm and wonderful and caring and kind. This is heartbreaking."
Olivia Engel was 6.
Tim Nosezo / AP
Olivia Engel, 6.
Olivia was outgoing and had "a great sense of humor," said her cousin, John Engel III of New Canaan. The sister of 3-year-old brother Brayden, Olivia was a Girl Scout, a tennis player and excelled at math and reading.
"She had a huge sense of humor, this was not a shy child," Engel said on TODAY. "This was a child who would light up the room with her smile and her sense of humor."
On Friday, Olivia was excited to go to school and then return home to make a gingerbread house, a friend of the girl's family, Dan Merton, told the Associated Press. "Her only crime is being a wiggly, smiley 6-year-old," he said.
Olivia, who was learning the rosary, always led grace before the family dinner.
"She was supposed to be an angel" in the nativity play Saturday night at Newtown's St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, said Msgr. Robert Weiss, according to Reuters. "Now she's an angel up in heaven."
Josephine Gay was 7.
Josephine -- known as Joey -- turned 7 three days before Friday's shooting. She wore round glasses and loved the color purple, which her parents asked that those attending her funeral to wear at her funeral on Friday, Dec. 21. During the summer, she set up a lemonade stand in her family's subdivision, where she liked to ride her bike.
Her obituary celebrates "her beautiful smile, loving heart and playful spirit.
"She lived seven years, inspiring friends and family," her family wrote.
Ana Marquez-Greene was 6.
She was the daughter of American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene, and the granddaughter of Jorge Marquez, the mayor of Maunabo, Puerto Rico. She was close with her brother, 9-year-old Isaias, who was also at Sandy Hook Elementary on Friday.
El Nuevo Dia
Ana Marquez-Greene
Jimmy Green named a song from his 2009 disc for his daughter, Ana Grace, the Ottawa Citizen noted. The family had recently moved to Newtown, Conn., from Winnipeg, Canada, where Greene was a faculty member at the University of Manitoba's school of music.
"In her short life, Ana strengthened us with her loving, generous joyful spirit," the family said in a statement. "She often left sweet notes that read, 'I love you Mom and Dad,' under our bedroom pillow -- not on special occasions, but, rather, on ordinary days."
In a statement posted by the Citizen, Greene thanked friends for their prayers and words of support: "As we work through this nightmare, we're reminded how much we're loved and supported on this earth and by our Father in heaven. As much as she's needed here and missed by her mother, brother and me, Ana beat us all to paradise. I love you sweetie girl."
Ana's grandmother Elba Iris Marquez told Nuevo Dia: "I want to believe this is not really happening to me." The newspaper said she was drowned in grief.
Dylan Hockley was 6.
He was born in Winchester, England, to his British father, Ian Thomas, and American mother, Nicole Marie (Moretti) of Sandy Hook. The family moved to Connecticut from England two years ago.
His grandmother, Teresa Moretti of Cranston, R.I., told the Boston Herald that Dylan loved garlic bread, bouncing on his trampoline and playing Wii.
"Dylan had dimples and blue eyes," Moretti told the Herald as she fought back tears. "He had the most mischievous little grin. To know him was to love him."
Dylan's parents had lived in England for 18 years before moving to a house on the same street as Nancy Lanza in January, according to the Telegraph. Dylan's 8-year-old brother, Jake, who also attended Sandy Hook Elementary, survived the shooting.
"We take great comfort in knowing that Dylan was not alone when he died, but was wrapped in the arms of his amazing aide, Anne Marie Murphy," said his family in a statement, NBCConnecticut.com reported on Monday evening. "Dylan loved Mrs. Murphy so much and pointed at her picture on our refrigerator every day."
Madeleine F. Hsu was 6.
Madeleine was shy and quiet but lit up around dogs, neighbor Karen Dryer told NBCConnecticut.com.
"She would come off the bus and her face would light up when she saw the dog," said Dryer who has a golden retriever.
After getting off the bus she would hug her mom and little sister.
"She was just an absolute doll. She seemed very shy, but she was just so sweet," said Dryer.
Catherine V. Hubbard was 6.
Her family says that she will be remembered for her passion for animals and constant smile.
"We are greatly saddened by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Catherine Violet, and our thoughts and prayers are with the other families who have been affected by this tragedy. We ask that you continue to pray for us and the other families who have experienced loss in this tragedy," said her parents, Jennifer and Matthew Hubbard, in a statement that also expressed gratitude to emergency responders and the community.
Chase Kowalski was 7.
Chase was "a fun-loving, energetic boy that had a true love of life," whose "heart was only filled with love for all the people he touched," his family said.
Chase completed his first triathlon at the age of 6 and ran in many community road races, his obituary said.
Kevin Grimes, a neighbor whose five children all previously attended Sandy Hook, told the Associated Press that Chase was always outside, playing in the backyard and riding his bicycle.
Last week he was over and told him about completing in - and winning - his first mini-triathlon.
"You couldn't think of a better child," Grimes said.
Another neighbor, Suzanne Baumann, told the Wall Street Journal that he always greeted people. "He was very receptive to people. He was a beautiful child, an amazing child."
Jesse Lewis was 6.
Jesse liked playing with horses that were kept in a barn next to his house, The Danbury News Times reported.
"I'd be in the yard or in the house and I would hear him laughing, playing," George Arfaras, 81, a neighbor, told the newspaper.
On Friday morning, he had his favorite breakfast sandwich at a local deli – sausage, egg and cheese, NBCConnecticut reported.
Family friend Barbara McSperrin told the Wall Street Journal that Jesse was "a typical 6-year-old little boy, full of life."
"Jesse was such an incredible light. So bright and full of love. He lived life with vigor and passion … brave and true," Jesse's mother wrote in an email to the paper.
James Mattioli was 6.
Fondly called "J" by his family, James was "an energetic, loving friend to all," his obituary said.
He liked playing baseball, basketball, swimming, arm wrestling and playing games on the iPad.
"He loved to wear shorts and t-shirts in any weather, and grab the gel to spike his hair," his obituary said. "He would often sing at the top of his lungs and once asked, 'How old do I have to be to sing on a stage?'"
James loved hamburgers with ketchup, his dad's egg omelets with bacon and his mom's French toast, the obituary said.
Annette Sullivan, the owner of Zoar Ridge Stables in Sandy Hook, Conn., told the Connecticut Post that James and his older sister Anna would ride horses at her stables.
"He would ask about the saddles and the brushes," Sullivan told the Post. "He wanted to know how to take care of the horses. He was a boy that wanted to know how everything worked."
His parents said in the obituary that he "was a numbers guy, coming up with insights beyond his years to explain the relationship between numbers and unique ways of figuring out the answer when adding and subtracting."
His parents said James was especially thoughtful and considerate and was "always the first to welcome guests at the back door with a hug and his contagious smile."
Grace McDonnell was 7.
Family Photo / AP
Grace McDonnell, 7.
Grace, or Gracie, lived in Newtown with her parents and older brother, 12-year-old Jack. Mary Ann McDonnell, Grace's grandmother, told the Boston Herald that Grace loved art projects, soccer gymnastics and her King Charles Spaniel, Puddin.
She was surrounded by bags of gifts intended for her granddaughter when she spoke with the Herald.
"They kept saying, 'They can't find her. They can't find her. All day long I was praying she would be OK," Mary Ann McDonnell recounted.
"A little baby like that – I hope she didn't suffer."
Emilie Parker was 6.
Her father, Robbie Parker, described his daughter as loving and creative.
Courtesy Parker family
Emilie Parker, 6.
"My daughter Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing and giving her love and support to all those victims, because that's the kind of person she is, not because of any kind of parenting my wife and I could have done but because those are the gifts that were given to her by our heavenly Father," Parker said.
Emilie carried around pencils and crayons, and when people were sad, she would draw them a picture or write them a note. Recently, she dropped a card into the casket of her grandfather, who also died tragically, Parker said.
"I'm so blessed to be her dad," he said.
In a later statement, Robbie Parker wrote: "Remember these beautiful children; keep them close to our hearts. Do not let their bright shining faces become extinguished. Let us do everything in our power to ensure their light will continue to shine brighter and brighter in all we do to remember them."
Courtesy of Pinto family
Jack Pinto, 6.
Jack Pinto was 6.
He was born in Danbury, Conn., to parents Dean and Tricia (Volkmann) Pinto.
Jack's family said he was an avid participant in flag football, baseball, basketball, wrestling and snow skiing, as well as a big New York Giants fan.
N.Y. Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz honored Jack on Sunday by writing on his cleats "Jack Pinto, My Hero" and "R.I.P. Jack Pinto."
"Jack was an incredibly loving and vivacious young boy, appreciated by all who knew him for his lively and giving spirit and steely determination," his family said in his obituary. "In life and death, Jack will forever be remembered for the immeasurable joy he brought to all who had the pleasure of knowing him, a joy whose wide reach belied his six short years."
Family photo via AP
Noah Pozner
Noah Pozner was 6.
He was the youngest of the victims, having turned 6 last month. He was born in Danbury, Conn., to parents Lenny and Veronique Pozner, who described their son as "the light of our family, a little soul devoid of spite and meanness." His twin sister, Arielle, who was assigned to a different classroom at Sandy Hook, survived the shooting. He also had an 8-year-old sister at the school, according to Newsday.
Rabbi Shaul Praver tended to Veronique Pozner in her grief.
"She said that she didn't know how she was going to go on, and we encouraged her to focus on her other four children that need her and not to try to plan out the rest of her life, just take a deep breath right now," Praver said, according to forward.com.
Noah's uncle, Arthur Pozner of Brooklyn, N.Y., told Newsday that Noah was very mature.
"When I was his age, I was not like him," he said. "Very well brought up. Extremely bright. Extremely bright," he said. "The reason they moved to that area is because they did not consider any school in New York state on the same level. That's one of the reasons they moved, for safety and education."
His funeral and burial was held on Monday.
Caroline Previdi was 6.
Caroline was born in Danbury, Conn., to parents Jeffrey and Sandy Johnson Previdi.
Her family said she loved to draw, dance, and gymnastics, and her smile brought happiness to everyone she touched.
"Caroline Phoebe Previdi was a blessing from God and brought joy to everyone she touched," her parents, Jeff and Sandy Previdi, said in a statement, NBCConnecticut.com reported. "We know that she is looking down on us from Heaven."
One family friend, who declined to be named, told the Washington Post that Caroline once went by the nickname "Boo" because she looked like the girl character in the movie "Monsters, Inc."
Another family friend who lives in the Newtown area told the Post that Caroline "was a spunky little girl. She had fire to her."
Uncredited / AP
Jessica Rekos, 6.
Jessica Rekos was 6.
She was born in Danbury, Conn., to Richard and Krista Lehmann Rekos of Sandy Hook.
"She was a creative, beautiful girl who loved playing with her little brothers, Travis and Shane," her family said in a statement. As the firstborn, her family said, Jessica "started our family, and she was our rock. She had an answer for everything, she didn't miss a trick, and she outsmarted us every time. We called her our little CEO for the way she carefully thought out and planned everything."
Jessica loved everything about horses, from reading horse books and drawing horses, to writing stories about horses, her family said in the statement from family friend Jamie Dunbar.
"We cannot imagine our life without her. We are mourning her loss, sharing our beautiful memories we have of her, and trying to help her brother Travis understand why he can't play with his best friend. We are devastated, and our hearts are with the other families who are grieving as we are."
Avielle Richman was 6.
Avielle, or Avie, as she was called, moved to Connecticut with her parents, Jennifer Hensel and Jeremy Richman, in 2011, according to an obituary at the Newtown Bee.
"She was born with a spitfire personality, which continued as she grew into a lover and teller of stories," the obit said. "She offered her heart to everyone. With an infectious smile and peals of laughter, people were drawn to her beautiful spirit, which will live on in all of our hearts."
She loved her friends, horseback riding, archery and "participating in super hero adventures," the obit said.
Benjamin Wheeler was 6.
Ben was born in Manhattan, N.Y. and moved to Newtown with his parents, Francine and David Wheeler, and 9-year-old brother Nate, according to an obituary posted at the Newtown Bee.
"Ben was an irrepressibly bright and spirited boy whose love of fun and excitement at the wonders of life and the world could rarely be contained," the obituary said. "He was a devoted fan of his older brother, Nate, and the two of them together filled the house with the noise of four children."
According to the obit, Ben loved The Beatles, lighthouses and the number 7 train to Queens. He told his mother, Francine Wheeler, on Friday morning that he wanted to be an architect and also a paleontologist.
Courtesy of Wyatt family
Allison Wyatt, 6.
"That's what Nate is going to be," he told his mom. "And I want to do everything Nate does."
Allison N. Wyatt was 6.
Allison, daughter of Cheyanne and Ben Wyatt, was a sweet girl and a budding artist who would turn parts of her family's Newtown home into an art studio, according to a family statement.
"Allison was a kind-hearted little girl who had a lot of love to give, and she formed special bonds with most people who spent any amount of time with her," her family wrote. "She loved her family and teachers especially, but would often surprise us with random acts of kindness - once even offering her snacks to a complete stranger on a plane."
She loved to laugh and was developing a sense of humor beyond being just a silly 6-year-old, her parents said, "coming up with observations that more than once had us crying with laughter."
A neighbor told the Connecticut Post that Allison would spend the summer outdoors, and that she often saw her gardening with her mother.
"Allison made the world a better place for six, far too short years and we now have to figure out how to move on without her," her family wrote. "Our world is a lot darker now that she's gone. We love and miss her so much."
Profiles compiled by Isolde Raftery and Andrew Mach of NBC News.


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When you implement even small, incremental management practices well, they can multiply and add up to greater yields at harvest, according to Phil Needham, high-yield wheat expert.
"Fairly small things like fine-tuning our seeding and nitrogen rates can make significant contributions to crop success," says Needham, who works with wheat growers throughout the United States and Canada.
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Hear what other farmers have to say about Wheat College:


text:
Dear lapackers,
I'd like to discuss behavior of the functions (see Subject) when input matrix A contains NaN at some point.
It seems natural that the functions should return NaN for such input, but it isn't.
For instance ?lange could return real value even through input matrix contains NaN or NaNs when input parameter NORM is equal to 'M' or 'm', '1', 'O' or 'o', 'I' or 'i'.
It'd be nice if the functions from the list defined above behave more predictable for faulty input data. Functions could return NaN when input matrix contains NaNs.


text:
A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. The Italian Text with a Translation in English Blank Verse and a Commentary by Courtney Langdon, 3 volumes (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1918, 1920, 1921). https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/167,
Dante's masterwork is a 3 volume work written in Italian rather than Latin. It embraces human individuality and happiness in a way which suggests the beginning of the Renaissance. Vol. 1 (Inferno (Hell) describes what happens to the souls of the wicked who are condemned to suffer the torments of Hell. Vol. 2 Purgatorio (Purgatory) shows how souls might be perfected in a painful process which leads ultimately to one's moral development and improvement. Vol. 3 Paradiso (Heaven) shows the beauty and the rewards awaiting those who have been blessed by God.
The text is in the public domain.
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.


text:
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text:
If a pollster came up to you today and asked the question, "Why do you go to church?" what answer would you give? Some answers might be, "I want to see my friends; My parents built this place; I'll feel guilty if I don't go; It's where the Greeks gather together; My kids need to go to Sunday School; I like to go to church; I feel uplifted by the worship and inspired by the message; It's the one constant in my crazy, ever-changing world; It helps me grow in my relationship with God." Another answer can be found in today's gospel reading for the commemoration of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew 9:9-13. We hear Jesus say to the tax-collector Matthew, "Follow me!" (v.9). Christ is saying that to each and every one of us, "Follow me!" And to follow Jesus, the path leads through the doors of the church and a Divine Liturgy later, right back out those same doors.
However, following Christ is not just about going in and out of a building at a certain time. It's about coming out of one lifestyle and entering another. Jesus says later in verse 13, "I have come to call, not the righteous, but sinners." In the Luke passage it adds, "to repentance." Jesus is calling sinners to repentance. I come to church because I'm a sinner and Christ has called me to repentance-to a radical change in lifestyle towards purity and holiness. I come to church because I cannot change without His help, without your help. Isn't that what we pray in the First Prayer before Holy Communion? "I believe Lord and I confess that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first."
Now some people refuse to go to church because they see it as a house full of liars, hypocrites, gossipers, slanderers, adulterers, snobs and they are right. It is! What they do no see is Jesus sitting at the Eucharistic dinner with all these sinners. What they also do not see is their own sinfulness behind the smoke screen of self-righteousness. I'm not a liar, I'm not a hypocrite, I'm not a slanderer, I'm not a gossiper and so on. Well if you're not any of those, what are you because you are some kind of sinner?
Answering the question, "Why do I go to church?" implies some understanding of the purpose of the Church. How would we answer this question, "What is the Church here for?" The answer: to keep, practice and proclaim the Orthodox Christian Faith pure and undefiled; to proclaim the Gospel; to sanctify and educate the faithful; to enhance their spiritual life and add to their numbers. Today's epistle commemorating St. Matthew (Rom.10:11-11:2) summarizes this quite well. "How are they to call on One in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in One of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him? And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent?" (v.14-15). Thus, the Church prepares and sends people to proclaim Christ, so others can hear and believe. This is accomplished through our programs, staff, ministries and volunteers.
Some say, I don't need the Church to be a good person. I can watch Oprah or Dr. Phil. I can read some books about it or view a DVD lecture. However, it seems the Church is becoming the only place to hear the truth about how God wants us, commands us, to live our lives. Recent research says that infidelity between men and women has increased over the last fifteen years. So has STDs among teenagers. With our recent financial crisis, we see that greed is not on the decrease either. To our credit, many people in society see these trends as problematic. Unfortunately, the solutions we seek are purely humanistic or mechanistic in origin. Subsequently, they lead to moral relativism that does not reflect the true nature of our humanity and how we relate to one another. That's why things keep breaking down. The assault on the traditional definition of marriage and the sanctity of life in the womb are just two examples.
Let's regularly ask ourselves, "Why do I go to Church? What is the purpose of the Church? Am I following Christ as a repentant sinner or do I constantly question and second-guess Him as one who is righteous?" Let us sit down together at the Lord's Supper to hear the proclamation of those who have been sent that we may believe and follow Christ, wherever He leads us.
Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews is the pastor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fr. Andrews is the past president of Minnesota Eastern Orthodox Christian Clergy Association (MEOCCA), and a volunteer chaplain with the St. Paul Police Department.


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One of the weirdest statements that I have to make to many people who are new to the MMO genre is that "the game begins at 85." While we know that isn't factually correct, since there are 85 levels of content previous to hitting the magic number, it still makes sense from a "never-ending world" point of view. There is no end, so the game begins at the "current" end.
Fargo makes the case that all players are entitled to an epic storyline, engaging content, and a feeling of continual power growth. The new patch 4.2 Firelands daily quest hubs in the Molten Front and the Regrowth are tailor-made to hit these points and provide a personal, continuing experience for players who don't participate in the raid game. With dailies being randomized and your personal tree growing at your own pace, players are rewarded based on their efforts alone.
Personally, I like this direction for solo questing experiences. The Molten Front and the Regrowth seem like better, more advanced, and more evolved versions of the reputation grinds we were previously chugging away at to open up gear and other rewards, but with less of a "watch a bar go up" mentality. Here, we have engaging choices and rotating sets of random tasks that keep us coming back for more, all the while physically changing the world around us. Now we just need to care about the cause. I think Firelands is going to push us a good way forward in that regard.
Check out Fargo's first contribution to the Dev Watercooler series, after the jump.


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59 UNC physicians named among "America's Top Doctors"
The doctors were chosen by their peers, based primarily for their excellence in patient care through Castle Connolly's surveying and research methods.
Media contact: Tom Hughes, (919) 966-6047, email@example.com
Friday, Feb. 4, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Fifty-nine physicians at the University of North Carolina Hospitals are listed in the latest version of "America's Top Doctors," a compilation that is published annually by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.
The doctors were chosen by their peers, based primarily for their excellence in patient care through Castle Connolly's surveying and research methods. Survey respondents were asked to nominate peer physicians to whom they would send members of their family.
The UNC doctors honored in the compilation are:
Cardiovascular Disease – Sidney Smith
Child Neurology – Robert Greenwood
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism – John Buse, H. Shelton Earp, David Ontjes
Gastroenterology – Scott Brazer, Douglas Drossman, Kim Isaacs, Scott Plevy, R. Balfour Sartor
Geriatric Medicine – Mac Greganti, Laura Hanson
Gynecologic Oncology – Daniel Clarke-Pearson, Wesley Fowler, John Soper
Infectious Disease – Myron Cohen, Charles van der Horst
Maternal & Fetal Medicine – John Thorp
Medical Oncology – Stephen Bernard, Lisa Carey, Paul Godley, Richard Goldberg, Hyman Muss, Jonathan Serody, Thomas Shea, Mark Socinski
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – Alan Stiles
Nephrology – Ronald Falk
Neurological Surgery – Matthew Ewend
Obstetrics & Gynecology – John Steege
Ophthalmology – Jonathan Dutton, Travis Meredith
Orthopaedic Surgery - Timothy Taft
Otolaryngology – Harold Pillsbury, Brent Senior, William Shockley, Mark Weissler
Pediatric Hematology-Oncology – Julie Blatt, Stuart Gold
Pediatric Otolaryngology – Amelia Drake
Plastic Surgery – C. Scott Hultman
Psychiatry – Richard Weisler
Pulmonary Disease – James Donohue, David Henke
Radiation Oncology – Jan Halle, Lawrence Marks, Julian Rosenman, Joel Tepper
Reproductive Endocrinology – Marc Fritz
Rheumatology – Nortin Hadler
Surgery – Benjamin Calvo, Mark Koruda, Anthony Meyer
Thoracic Surgery – Richard Feins
Urology – Culley Carson, Raj Pruthi, Richard Sutherland, Eric Wallen
Vascular & Interventional Radiology – Matthew Mauro
A physician-led team of researchers followed a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Using mail surveys, telephone surveys and electronic ballots, the research team asked board certified physicians and the medical leadership of leading hospitals to nominate highly skilled, exceptional doctors. Criteria developed by the Castle Connolly research team led to the final selection of those physicians most highly regarded by their peers in each specialty. The criteria used to determine physician eligibility for inclusion in the magazine: professional qualifications; education, residency, board certification, fellowships; professional reputation, hospital appointment, medical school faculty appointment, and experience. The physicians are grouped alphabetically by specialty and alphabetically within each specialty.


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Welcome to Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, the year before the state of Wisconsin was established, Lawrence has always been at home on the frontier. We were one of the first colleges in the Midwest; we were the second coeducational institution in the country; and we were one of the first to require a Freshman Studies curriculum, which continues to thrive today. We take seriously the challenge of engaging ideas at the frontier of knowledge. Our nationally recognized Conservatory of Music enhances Lawrence's reputation as a premier institution of liberal arts and sciences. We believe in a comprehensive, individualized approach to learning.
Lawrence was founded on the principle of providing an education to all—a tradition we proudly uphold today. A college of 1,500 students who hail from 44 states and 40 countries, we are dedicated to creating a community in which every member has a voice and all are challenged to explore their full potential. Lawrence prepares students for a lifetime of learning required by a dynamically changing society. Our students become leaders; our graduates become citizens of the world.
We have deep roots in Appleton, the city that grew up around and beside us in the heart of the Fox Cities, a metropolitan area of more than 250,000 residents. We also embrace the beauty of our natural surroundings at the 425-acre northern campus at Björklunden.
Today, Lawrence is an institution on the frontier of the future, building on the traditions of diversity and access envisioned at our founding. On behalf of our students, faculty, staff and alumni, I want to extend to you a warm welcome to Lawrence University. We are glad you are here.
Best regards,
Mark Burstein


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The Find: Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal in Koreatown
Now that thrill-seeking diners have advanced beyond pork belly and crispy pig's ears and are going hog wild over snout-to-tail pork events, it may be the perfect time to check out Koreatown's best jokbal. The braised pork foot and shank, Korea's answer to charcuterie, often shows up boned and sliced as anju — the snacks served in pubs and other hangouts for hard-drinking night crawlers. But few versions will thrill the souls of pork junkies as completely as jokbal from the homespun Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal on Western Avenue.
A satellite of a renowned braised pork foot specialty restaurant in Seoul, the ultra-obscure Koreatown spot is a nostalgic link to the steamy hole-in-the-wall jokbal joints of the motherland. Its name means Jokbal King of the Jangchung-Dong district. That enclave, as any Seoul denizen will tell you, is a paradise for jokbal buffs. There, dozens and dozens of chockablock shops boast names like Fat Grandma's Jokbal House or the Original Grandma's Jokbal (pronounced choke-bahl). Each claims to have its own "secret" braising sauce.
Although Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal's owner, Kyung Soon Lee, now in her 80s, still presides over her decades-old restaurant in South Korea, about five years ago, she helped family members open a Koreatown branch. Bringing with her a coveted sample of her shop's braising liquid, she trained her nephew-in-law, John Yang, in the jokbal fundamentals.
The modest place, in the farthest corner of a drab mall, is nearly masked by the divey-looking Q nightclub on one side and a faded Korean pho house on the other. The dining room walls are decorated with soju beverage posters. Stacks of Styrofoam containers piled high behind the cash register attest to the shop's substantial take-out business.
Jokbal from the lunch menu will run you $9.99. The serving seems absolutely dainty on its 12-inch oval platter as compared with the sharable $24.99 dinner version, which has a serving plate the size of a medium pizza piled as high as a Thanksgiving turkey with meat slices carefully laid over the bones, as is traditional. Jokbal connoisseurs love the juicy cartilaginous chunks that are as much about texture as flavor.
But the muscle meat on pork shank and foot, as lovers of French pied de cochon, British pork trotters or German schweinshaxe all know, is the most exercised and thus the most richly flavored of the animal. Swirls of dense flesh ribboned with soft braised-to-tenderness gelatinous streaks give the meat its unique texture. Slices near the foot are very lean, whereas those from farther further up the leg are encircled with a creamy ribbon of fat and a yielding sheath of bronzed skin that melts into the meat with every bite.
Alongside, a fiery, salty shrimp-based dipping sauce gives every piece added zing. You eat slices with sauce or wrapped in the accompanying lettuce with a chunk of raw garlic clove and a jalapeño slice.
Few customers eat jokbal by itself. Of course, the regulation banchan — here, nicely made but quite standard spiced vegetables — come with any meal. An order of chewy buckwheat-yam noodles tossed salad-style with perilla leaves and sweet-spicy chile make a lip-smackingly delicious partner.
An even spicier celebration of porkiness, mae-un jokbal bokkeum, listed on the English dinner menu as pan-fried spicy pork hock, involves a trencherman's portion of jokbal. The slices are tossed with thick glossy garlic chunks, jalapeno and red-tinged perilla leaves, whose slight bitterness accents the meat the way Angostura bitters enhance a Manhattan cocktail.
A notch down on the heat scale, marinated grilled pork, or doeji joomuluk ssambap, arrives sizzling over a bed of onions on a cast-iron plate. Another wrap, its slight caramelized smokiness against the cool lettuce smeared with lightly fermented bean paste, makes for the most magical Korean burrito imaginable.
Not into pork foot? Pork belly bossam is just as much fun to eat. You top the small pork slabs with a salad-like mound of chile-drenched julienne radish tossed with baby oysters enfolding them in sweet softened nappa cabbage leaves. It's a simplified version of the classic gool bossam that's served with large shelled oysters.
Besides soju and beer, the menu lists three brands of bokbunja, the black raspberry wine that's a traditional jokbal go-with. Try one. They're not Manischewitz-sugary, and their subtle sweetness turns pork foot into a transcendent experience.
Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal
Location: 425 S. Western Ave., Suite E, Los Angeles; (213) 386-3535.
Price: Lunch course with soup, $6.99 to $9.99. Dinner dishes to share, $7.99 to $30.99.
Details: Open 10 a.m. to midnight Monday to Saturday; 2 p.m. to midnight Sunday. Beer, wine, soju. Credit cards accepted. Lot and street parking.
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Novus products and improvements positively impact entire industry
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Oct. 9, 2014)—Novus International, Inc. releases its 2013 Sustainability Report, which documents and measures the company's comprehensive social, environmental and economic sustainability program. Titled "Summing up Sustainability", the report highlights progress in the company's key focus areas, which include: Customer Productivity and Profitability, Supply Chain Efficiency, Human Health and Nutrition, Sustainable Animal Agriculture, Employee Empowerment and Engagement.
This year, Novus highlights many quantitative aspects of its contribution to global sustainability by summing up the impact of efforts to support the animal agriculture industry, their employees and customers, and the environment.
Highlights from the report include:
"As we publish our sixth sustainability report, we are pleased with the significant accomplishments achieved in 2013. Sustainability is still a critical component of our business strategy and this is apparent in our business processes." said Francois Fraudeau, president and CEO at Novus International. "Our employees continuously rise to the challenge of developing innovative solutions that allow our customers to operate sustainable and profitable businesses."
The 2013 Novus Sustainability Report was prepared at the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Application Level B. GRI is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization that seeks to increase the level of business transparency by promoting sustainability reporting among companies throughout the world. The main tool for assimilating sustainability reporting is the GRI reporting framework that contains detailed guidelines for reporting on sustainability impacts. It provides a consistent structure that thousands of companies around the world now use to disclose their approach and performance related to sustainability.
To learn more about Novus International's long-term sustainability vision, goals and impact, and to view the entire report, visit www.novusint.com/sustainability.
About Novus International, Inc.
Novus International, Inc. is headquartered in metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. and serves customers in nearly 100 countries around the world. A global leader in developing animal health and nutrition solutions, Novus's products include ALIMET® and MHA® feed supplements, ACTIVATE® nutritional feed acid, ACIDOMIX® preservative premixture, CIBENZA® feed additive, MINTREX® chelated trace mineral, SANTOQUIN® feed preservative, MERA™ Met aquaculture feed additive, AGRADO® feed antioxidant and many other specialty ingredients. Stratum Nutrition, a division of Novus Nutrition Brands, LLC, focuses on human nutrition through specialty and functional ingredients for manufacturers of foods, beverages and dietary supplements (www.stratumnutrition.com).
Novus is privately owned by Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. and Nippon Soda Co., Ltd. For more information, visit www.novusint.com. ©2014 Novus International, Inc. All rights reserved.


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This was published 7 years ago
Did 2Day FM prank break the law?
- Live coverage: reaction to Jacintha Saldanha's death
- We did not break the law: radio boss
- Opinion: Why this prank crossed the line
- Advertisers abandon 2DayFM
- Prankster no stranger to controversy
- Poll: Has your opinion of prank changed?
- Twitter abuse hurled at DJs
- Prime Minister offers condolences
When someone you interview suicides
- Prank kept playing for hours after death
- Nurse prank victim found dead
"We're confident that we haven't done anything illegal," declared Rhys Holleran, the chief of the company that owns 2Day FM.
But Mr Holleran might revise his confidence. When the radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian made a prank call to a British hospital and broadcast conversations that nurses would reasonably have assumed were private, they skirted right to the edge of the law, and possibly beyond.
Under the Surveillance Devices Act in NSW - the prank was broadcast nationally so any state law applies - a person must not publish a private conversation that has been obtained using a ''listening device''. A listening device means any device that can ''overhear, record, monitor or listen'' to a conversation. It does not matter that the nurse was overseas when she received the call.
In short, it is possible the 2Day FM presenters broke the law, but highly unlikely the station will be prosecuted given commercial radio's long, mostly unprosecuted history of pranks, according to media law experts who spoke off the record.
There has also been speculation on social media that the broadcaster could lose its licence over the incident; but the communications regulator, which is investigating the prank call, has never revoked a licence and would need to be convinced of a clear and extreme breach to do so now.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority could, however, apply license conditions relating to prank calls or on-air behaviour.
Another question is whether the 2Day FM presenters breached the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice - a rulebook developed by the radio industry together with the ACMA.
The radio presenters did not breach the privacy provisions in the codes because they only apply to news and current affairs programs, the ACMA said last week. But they may have breached other sections because the nurse did not agree to be recorded and because of the ''potentially exploitative nature of the broadcast,'' according to Dr Timothy Dwyer, a senior lecturer in the department of media and communications at the University of Sydney.
2DayFM has ploughed ahead profitably in the past despite arguably more serious breaches of the broadcasting code.
In 2009, breakfast presenter Kyle Sandilands sparked public outrage with a lie-detector stunt where he questioned a 14-year-old girl about her sex life and she admitted to being raped. The ACMA made it a condition of the station's broadcasting licence that it provide ''increased protection for children participating in live hosted entertainment programs broadcast by 2DAY-FM''.
In May this year, the ACMA found that 2DayFM had breached the ''decency provision'' of the broadcasting code when breakfast presented Kyle Sandilands called a female journalist a ''fat slag'' and a ''piece of shit'' on air.
The ACMA imposed a new license condition that for the next five years Mr Sandilands' programs must not ''offend generally accepted standard of decency'' or condone or incite violence against women.
Jonathan Swan is a Fairfax Media reporter based in the Canberra bureau, Parliament House.


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The National Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Test Bed is a DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) -sponsored resource to help secure our nation's energy control systems. It combines state-of-the-art operational system testing facilities with research, development, and training to discover and address critical security vulnerabilities and threats to the energy sector. Sandia R&D efforts range from autonomous agent systems applied to SCADA, to cryptographic security, system assessment, and red-team activities. Sandia is able to complement its communication and control capabilities with actual generation and load facilities for distributed energy resources.
America's energy infrastructure doesn't stop at its borders. A significant portion of the nation's liquid hydrocarbon fuels is imported from areas of the world subject to rapid social and political upheaval. This upheaval can jeopardize key facilities that process these fuels. This program area includes work addressing the protection of key fuel processing facilities and their supporting infrastructure by providing evaluation, physical protection training, and expert advice to the owners and operators of these international facilities.
As America's infrastructures have become more complex and interconnected, their operation and control has become more complicated. Automated control systems, called SCADAs (supervisory control and data acquisition systems), networked across the internet have been widely deployed to operate these infrastructures. These systems, and the internet over which they handle information, are an identified security vulnerability for the infrastructures they control. The Energy Infrastructure Program Area works with several government agencies in the area of cybersecurity to ensure the integrity and availability of the nation's cyber infrastructure.
The performance of the nation's infrastructure is an essential component of the nation's economic prosperity. Through its programs and projects, the Energy Infrastructure Program Area seeks to endow the infrastructure with five characteristics: security, reliability, safety, sustainability, and cost effectiveness.
How can Sandia help you? email us: email@example.com


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When you find hot and heavy pictures of your fiancée with Derek Jeter, what do you do?
The logical answer might be to confront said fiancée. But if you're Partners' Joe (David Krumholtz), you tell your best friend Louis (Michael Urie) — as you've always done.
"That's just his instinct," Urie tells TVGuide.com. "They share everything with each other, and have for almost 30 years, so why not this?"
Vote: Which fall premieres won you over? Which flopped?
For starters, there are new rules to play by following Joe's engagement to Ali (Sophia Bush). Also, Louis can't keep his mouth shut. And indeed, after Joe does show-and-tell with Ali's incriminating photo on Monday's episode (8:30/7:30c, CBS), Louis concocts a plan to play "Celebrity" with Jeter as one of the names to coax Ali into coming clean to Joe. But it all backfires when Louis' pop culture-illiterate boyfriend Wyatt (Brandon Routh) draws Jeter and can only muster up "he had hot desert sex with Ali" as his clue. (Check out the sneak peek below.)
Naturally, Ali is upset — not so much with the fact that Joe went through her stuff in the first place, but that Joe automatically runs to Louis first and can't seem to keep a secret from him. "She's going to test him," Urie says. "It's hard for all of them now that they're engaged. [Louis and Joe] still have a bromance. But now it's Louis and Joe and Ali. There's still a lot of conflict that's ripe. ... Louis has always been the No. 1 person in Joe's life and now he's not supposed to be anymore."
But Joe spilling everything to Louis is only part of the problem. Louis, the "sh---stirrer," as Urie endearingly calls him, loves to meddle in his lifelong friend and business partner's life. That has yielded results both negative (Ali and Joe temporarily breaking their engagement) and positive (Ali and Joe getting re-engaged), and Louis is not going to stop any time soon, according to Urie.
Fall TV: Get the scoop on all the new shows
"Louis doesn't have boundaries with Joe. He doesn't really have boundaries at all! He clearly doesn't see the issue with this," he says. "Even though Louis loves Ali, suddenly the boundary's getting pushed up against him and he doesn't understand why. ... But he sees no reason to stop this meddling. He's an important part of Joe's life."
Does that mean it's up to Joe to learn to keep some things to himself and Ali? "The resolution is not something you might expect," Urie teases.
"We've established four people who love each other and get along. We are a tight foursome ... but at the core is still Louis and Joe's great friendship," Urie continues. "We get into a discussion in an upcoming episode about which one of us is more important, like who's the Simon of Simon and Garfunkel. ... Of course, I argue that I'm Simon and Joe argues that it shouldn't matter. It starts as business partners and it becomes a much bigger question. I'm sure that one of them realizes they're wrong and I'm sure one is me! But they're equally as important to each other — they're Simon and Simon. Poor Garfunkel!"
Partners airs Mondays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.


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Is there a good rule of thumb source for choosing mash temps? I know lower for drier and that higher gravity effects it too, but is there some chart or simple calculation to aid in choosing the appropriate temp?
Greg Doss from Wyeast presented an experiment at the NHC last year which showed that 153F was the mash temp that led to the most fermentable wort. My only question with his experiment setup was that the mashes were all conducted for a standard time. If the lower temperature mashes were held for a longer time, I still wonder if they would have surpassed the fermentability of the 153F mash.Personally. I shoot for 153 for the majority of my beers. I'll go as low as 147-148 for really big beers that I want to ferment down as far as I can get them. For session beers I mash in the 160-162F range to leave enough dextrins behind. If I had a beer that I was rebrewing a bunch of times I might try to dial in a specific mash temp, but normally I don't see enough of a difference between 153 and 156ish where I'd bother with that small of a difference in mash temp. I generally try to dial in the other parts of the recipe first before I start with mash temp unless it is grossly off.FWIW, Lagunitas mashes the majority of their beers at 160F, so it's not like a mash temp in this range means you're doomed to be drinking malt syrup. A lot of brewers seem to have this idea that mash temps above the mid 150's are way too high, but I just don't find that to be the case in my experience.
I do think that some of your ranges are extreme on both sides. 145 would be too low... and 160 is too high. 147 to 158 would be a tad safer.


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Activities in purple are free with admission. Activities in red may have an additional cost. During the week leading up to a holiday we may offer themed activities for your families enjoyment.
If you are viewing this on a mobile devise, click on the date to see actives for that day.
Craft Time
January 20, 2020 –
Join us to create a special craft to take home. Parent participation is recommended particularly if your child needs assistance.