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Public libraries are a major hub through which Americans gain access to e-books and other digital resources, but these institutions' role in the digital transition hasn't been made easy by the nation's recent economic troubles.
On April 9, the American Library Association released its annual State of America's Libraries Report, and many of its findings were grim. "Public libraries continue to be battered by a national economy whose recovery from the Great Recession is proving to be sluggish at best," the report concluded. Twenty-three of the 49 chief officers of state libraries surveyed indicated that their library systems faced budget cuts over the past two years. According to the report, "For three years in a row, more than 40 percent of participating states have reported decreased public library funding."
While library budget cuts continue, demand for library services has soared. Lower-income and unemployed patrons often turn to local libraries as their only source of Internet access.
At the same time, libraries have sought to accommodate Americans' ever-increasing demand for access to digital materials, a mission that has put them at odds with the publishing industry, which is struggling to retain its viability as many American readers shift toward reading books electronically and purchasing those titles from online retailers rather than traditional bookstores.
"In the end, it will be a matter of leadership and vision that will guide libraries through the current conditions," said Jorge Martinez, director of Information Systems for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which supports libraries through grants.
Publishers and libraries spar over e-books
One of the biggest challenges libraries face in this new digital age is the friction in their relationship with publishers, caused largely by the advent of e-books.
Publishers argue that borrowing a printed book from a library requires a patron to physically visit the building and then return a few weeks later to bring it back, which is more difficult than purchasing it from an online retailer. When libraries allow patrons to download e-books through one click on a website, the convenience factor that might drive a reader to purchase a book is eliminated. Penguin Group recently blocked Kindle owners from the ability to download library e-books directly from their devices — now they must transfer the e-book from the library site to a computer, and then to a Kindle.
Printed books wear out after a certain amount of reads, and some publishers require libraries to re-purchase the electronic version of popular books after a certain number of patrons view it. HarperCollins allows each copy of its e-books to be loaned up to 26 times, a number a recent press release from the American Library Association described as "arbitrary." The libraries then must buy the book again at a lower price.
Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin do not sell e-book versions of their titles to libraries, while Hachette refuses to sell its newest e-books to libraries. Although many small presses allow unlimited e-book access to libraries, Random House is the only one of the "Big Six" publishers to do so — and it recently increased its prices significantly, "by 100-200% in March 2012," according to the ALA's new report.
Most e-books come with embedded software that creates restrictions on how they can be used, such as allowing only one library patron to borrow each copy at a time. However, on April 25, Tor/Forge Books, an imprint of Macmillan that specializes in science fiction and other genres, announced that its entire catalog of books will be offered without DRM (digital rights management) software by July.
"Library organizations are intimately involved in the ongoing discussions about digital rights management systems and some of the copyright issues associated with e-books," said Michael Crandall, senior lecturer and chair of the Master of Science in Information Management Program at the University of Washington's Information School. "This is an area that will continue to evolve as the market becomes more widespread, since it impacts the way people use and share their books with each other and the way libraries are able to purchase and lend e-books."
Knight's Martinez said, "It will take a few years for the dust to settle. Laws and contracts always seem to lag behind new technological innovations. But, it will get settled. Librarians, library service organizations, and others are engaged in trying to make sure the eventual terms and conditions for the use of digital books are ones that are fair to all involved."
For the moment, however, nothing is settled, as two industries with their backs against the wall struggle to reach a compromise.
From e-reader 'petting zoos' to digital bookmobiles
Despite libraries' impasse with publishers over restricted e-book use, many are forging ahead in the digital realm, offering patrons new services.
According to the ALA's recent report, "The proportion of U.S. libraries that made e-books available almost doubled over the past five years, climbing from 38.3 percent in 2007 to 67.2 percent in 2011."
Samantha Becker, the research project manager of the U.S. IMPACT Study at the University of Washington's Information School, noted, "The technology environment in libraries has provided a wonderful opportunity to preserve collections and enhance access to them through digitization, which many libraries are doing with out-of-print and local collections or digital artifacts. The Washington Rural Heritage project is a wonderful example."
That project allows users to search and access digital versions of material from libraries, heritage organizations, and private collections throughout the state of Washington. The Denver Public Library's Western History Department offers a similar resource for photographs, documents, and other materials related to the American West.
A Digital Divide Over E-Books
A recent Pew Research Center report uncovered a digital divide in the use of e-books. People less likely to use e-books include Hispanics, those without a high school diploma, the unemployed, rural Americans, and those with household incomes of less than $30,000.
Crandall said, "Without libraries, the division would be even greater, since for many people they serve as the only access point for digital information and services. Our study of library computer use found that for 22 percent of library computer users (age 14 and older), the library was their only source for access to computers and the Internet. This would suggest that similar restricted access would apply to e-books without libraries in the mix."
Martinez noted that libraries are finding creative ways to meet demand despite budget challenges. "In Philadelphia they are placing equipment and trainers in community organizations to make these valuable services available to their patrons at these sites, even when their regular locations are closed due to budget cutbacks. In other places, they have recreated the old bookmobile as mobile digital centers that take training, computers and Internet access to parts of their communities where there are no [library] buildings."
A recent Op-Ed put out by the Knight, Gates, and MacArthur foundations cited several other innovative uses of library resources:
"Bookmobiles have been supplemented by mobile computer labs — visiting minority communities in St. Paul to teach digital literacy classes in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali, for example. In Dover, Mass., the library has installed QR codes around town that link signs at the market and playground to community information and services. Seattle Public Library offers live chats with librarians 24 hours a day getting answers to reference questions and live homework help."
It also mentioned an initiative at the main Chicago library called YOUmedia that "lets any teen with a city library card have in-house access to computers plus video and audio recording equipment to create their own content with the help of a mentor. At another YOUmedia space in Miami, workshops help teens think critically and creatively about their lives, by teaching them to publish an autobiographical digital story, or to visualize their favorite books."
Becker said, "Libraries are definitely in the middle of all this [digital] action, both working very hard to provide access to e-reading materials, as well as helping patrons enter into the e-reading marketplace by exposing them to e-reading devices through lending and device petting zoos and helping them learn to use new devices in classes and one-on-one sessions with librarians."
Crandall said his study found that two-thirds of the library computer users asked a librarian for help in using the technology. "The ability to use the new technology may seem intuitive to many," he said, "but clearly for many others it is not, and having a community resource that is able to help people understand how to use digital technology and information, and why they might want to use it to improve the quality of their lives is something that libraries have taken on as a transformation of their traditional mission."
Martinez said the Knight Foundation's library funding will focus on "innovative projects and leaders that help to show what the library of tomorrow should be."
The mission and responsibilities of libraries may be in flux due to Americans' ever-increasing use of digital information sources, but Becker points out that it's the same as it ever was: "Libraries have long been at the front lines of providing people with access to new formats for reading and new technology, whether when switching from scrolls to the familiar book format, to newer trends in e-reading."
Library book photo by CCAC North Library on Flickr and used with Creative Commons license.
Jenny Shank is the author of the novel "The Ringer" (The Permanent Press, 2011), a finalist for the Reading the West Book Awards. Her fiction, essays, and reviews have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Alaska Quarterly Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Poets & Writers Magazine, Bust, Dallas Morning News, High Country News and The Onion.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Good News Everyone! The content is flowing again!
Ice Crown's new wing, the Crimson Hall, will be opening and available on Tuesday, January 19. I have decided to call this "Twilight", because clearly there aren't enough vampire things going on these days and those BELF guys are hot in their dresses! ahem In my efforts to prepare for the new encounters, I will again be adding buffs and debuffs to Grid that I think will help me on my way. Like always, this is all speculative at this time, so you should be flexible and amenable to making changes to your raid frames as you learn new things about the encounters. I will try to update mine as I experience the encounters and have feedback to add. (Again, I'd like to refer you to Kae's excellent walkthrough on adding debuffs to GRID, if you need assistance with adding debuffs). Also please keep in mind these are largely healer-centric!
The new wing consists of two new encounters: The Blood Prince Council and Blood Queen Lana'thel. Here is what I will be on the lookout for during these fights!
The Blood Prince Council – There is very, very little information about this encounter currently available outside of spell abilities. I have taken my best guess at what healers are going to need to take special note of, but it is likely that after a night with these three gents I will learn there is much more to be added!
- Shadow Resonance (?) – If I understand the debuff correctly, it will be from the Dark Nucleus and cause the nearest target to suffer extra damage until the Dark Nucleus has dissipated. I believe it will be for 6 seconds, but I am not positive.
- Shadow Prison – The player that is caught in this will take some initial damage, but will then take additional damage for each second that they move. Standing still for 10 seconds will reset the stack for them. Therefore, I think it is going to be important to know who has this, as it seems they will need some extra heals!
- Glittering Sparks (?) – I'm not sure if this one will be worth tracking, or if this will even be the name of the debuff. I have added it here, though, because those hit will take extra damage (I think) and will have their movement speed reduced for 8 seconds. They may, or may not, be in need of extra healing.
Blood Queen Lana'thel – I am more confident in these abilities, but I am sure that there will be changes as I learn more!
- Swarming Shadows – This will be an effect very similar to the fire on Lord Jarraxxus, where it will target one person and then they will make a trail behind them. This will cause ~2500 damage every two seconds to the target and will leave a trail that will cause damage to those that cross it.
- Pact of the Bloodfallen/Darkfallen – She will cast this on multiple members of your raid and link them together. While the members are spread out, they will take ~5k damage every 2 seconds. Once they are withing 5 yards of each other the debuff will fade. Think of it as a reverse Mother Sharaz, if you will. However, while they are spread out, the will need some serious heals!
- Frenzied Bloodthirst – This isn't so much a "healing" debuff as a "need to know" debuff. A raid member will get this debuff and must go "bite" one of their party members to satiate their desires. Failing to do so within 15 seconds will cause them to become mind controlled.
- Essence of the Blood Queen – This may be a buff or a debuff. Those effected with it will have increased damage (by 100%!) and will be healed for 15% of the damage inflicted. Additionally, their attacks will not cause threat while they have the buff.
- Shroud of Sorrow (?) – This will be an aura and I am not sure if it comes from the boss or is cast on a member of your raid. However, it will cause ~4500 shadow damage every 3 seconds to those nearby. This leads me to believe that it will be placed on a raid member.
- Vampiric Bite (?) – I do not know if this one will register or not. When a member gets "bitten" they will suffer ~15k damage and gain Essence of the Vampire Queen/Essence of the Blood Queen.
Remember, stay flexible! Please let me know if you find any changes or things that I need to add that I may not catch.
Good Luck and Have Fun!


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Man apologizes for not wearing "lucky" Cardinals shirt
Fake News written by on Friday, April 1, 2011
from the let's-try-to-avoid-any-violent-mob-confrontations dept.CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Local resident Bart Dubeldorf apologized today after he accidentally forgot to wear his lucky Cardinals shirt on Opening Day, breaking a tradition that lasted 10 years. As a result of his mistake, the team lost its Opening Day matchup following an 11th-inning meltdown. The bad luck continued today when it was announced that outfielder Matt Holliday needed an appendectomy and will be out of the lineup for an indeterminate period.


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Welcome to Santa Monica
Art Studios.
This site requires
Click here to
view your installed Flash version
If you're seeing this, you need to enable
plug-ins and scripting in order to fully enjoy
the site features, read more about Santa
Monica Art Studios and see our current
schedule and exhibition images.
About us
Santa Monica Art Studios is a
22,000 square foot hangar where artists work in
private studio spaces and can participate in
classes, lectures, and exhibitions and take
advantage of discussion critique and collaboration.
An integrated and vibrant community of artists, it
was initially conceived by founder Yossi
Govrin four years ago at the height of
competition from dot com companies and film studios
for affordable spaces in Santa Monica. A study
commissioned by the City of Santa Monica documented
that more than half the artist studios in the city
had been eliminated in a three-month period while
the report was being finalized.
Drawing on 18 years experience of creating and
running one of the first such art centers in Santa
Monica, Govrin approached the city of Santa Monica
in 2000 and was awarded the project in early 2001.
With partner Sherry Frumkin who
has owned a gallery in Santa Monica for the past 14
years, the project was finally approved for
construction in December 2003.
As part of the project, 2400 square feet were
dedicated for ARENA 1 Gallery, an
exhibition space where cutting edge work is
featured in shows organized by curators across the
globe. Santa Monica Art Studios is
at the heart of a series of arts related
improvements at the airport that will anchor the
area and contribute to the growing reputation of
Santa Monica as a cultural mecca.
Designed by Villya Karalius, with
concept design by Tanja Rector and
construction by Uri Mizrachi of
AVI, the interior takes full advantage of the
soaring airplane hangar roofline. Skylights and a
Plexiglas opening cut around the entire building
allow light to pour in at all angles. Twelve foot
white walls against the aged patina of the exposed
metal structure provide the perfect environment for
creative endeavors.
Yossi Govrin
Sherry Frumkin
Assistant to the Director:
Evelina Barckute
Arena 1
Arena 1 is a not for profit
contemporary visual arts organization dedicated to
promoting cultural exchange through international
curatorial projects. Based in an historic hangar at
the Santa Monica Airport, Arena 1
has an exhibition space where younger, newly
established as well as internationally known
curators will be invited to organize exhibitions
representing the most innovative and compelling
artists from their countries.
In the Los Angeles area, we have a unique
opportunity to address the cultural "trade
imbalance" by creating a contemporary arts
environment that accentuates the vision of our
community as a cultural port. Arena One is
committed to importing unique and divergent
international viewpoints and exporting innovative
and challenging views of American culture.
ARENA 1 Gallery website
Santa Monica Art Studios is a new arts
complex in a 22,000 square foot historic hangar
the Santa Monica Airport. A community of visual
artists who areat various levels in their
profession careers work in private studio spaces
under a soaring roof dotted with skylights that
spread natural light year round.
Studio artists may participate in classes,
lectures, exhibitions and take part in formal and
informal discussion, critique and collaboration.
Our annual Open Studios event brings thousands of
visitors. Artists open their studios during the
year to museum groups and arts organizations. Local
school children visit our exhibitions and work with
studio artists to create their own artwork. Each
studio is equipped with wireless internet
Designed by Villya Karalius and
constructed by Uri Mizrachi of AVI
Construction, the interior takes full advantage of
the soaring roofline of the hangar.
click thumbnails for larger images
Resident Artists Web
Hangar Galleries: Gallery Rental
Artwork Rental
Event & Exhibition Celendar
Santa Monica Art Studios
3026 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Phone: 310.397.7449 Fax: 310.397.7459
Public Hours: Wednesday through Saturday 12 to
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text:
I have used a fabulous design sheet from the adorable Twiggy & Toots Collection.
This image is a decoupage image, I fussy cut everything and layered it up using foam pads. I added some extra papers, a sentiment and flower all from the collection.
I also used the largest of the Elegant Nest Dies and the Flower Flourish Die.
I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Southern Girls Challenge 155 - Pop It Up With Foam
Cute Card Thursday Challenge 469 - Celebrations
Crafting With An Attitude Challenge 25 - Anything Goes
Crafty Girls Creations Challenge 34 - Anything Goes
Make sure you pop over to the Polkadoodles Challenge Blog and check out the DT inspiration, we would love for you to join us for our Anything Goes challenge, you might like to join the DT and follow the optional Use a Design Sheet theme. If you need some more inspiration you might like to take a look at our Facebook page.
Thank you for calling today, your company is much appreciated.


text:
Demo + B-Stock
Our constantly revolving selection of Demo and B-Stock items are perfect for the musician looking for a stellar deal. Demo items are "like new", meaning they were lightly used but not abused. B-Stock items may show some wear and could be missing some accessories, but are fully functional and include a full manufacturer's warranty. So synth back, relax, and enjoy the savings.
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1-2 of 2 items


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Conn. Dems play Romney card
Democrats aren't finished with Mitt Romney yet.
The Connecticut Democratic Party issued a statement Friday calling expected 2014 GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley "another out-of-touch vulture capitalist" like Romney.
Foley, who lost narrowly to Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy in 2010, told WTNH News 8 Malloy's policies were "hurting the little people in the state; alzheimer's funding, the children's fund, the disabled, vets."
"Tom Foley just doesn't get it," said Nancy DiNardo, state Democratic chairwoman, who also referred to Romney's controversial '47 percent' remarks. "Like Mitt Romney, he doesn't understand the challenges that average hardworking people face.
"He is just another out-of-touch vulture capitalist who sees the average resident as something less. It's a toxic world view that the voters of this country rejected just a few weeks ago. And if ambassador Foley runs again, he'll find out exactly what the voters of Connecticut think of his economic philosophy."
In addition, as Daniela Altimari of the Hartford Courant points out, after the "little people" remark Malloy strategist Roy Occhiogrosso tweeted a photo of Romney and Foley Friday titled, "a match made in heaven."
While the populist edge to the criticism won't play well among the financial services executives in populous Fairfield County, it makes sense in the context of the nearly 18-point beating Romney took in Connecticut. And, if you're wondering, the GOP presidential nominee lost Fairfield County by a 55-44 margin.


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Qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games
How does one qualify to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games?
First and foremost, an individual needs to be very skilled and capable of competing at an international level in a sport that is part of the London Games (see List of Sports). Beyond that, there is not a single answer.
Each sport has it's own qualifying rules and regulations which in most cases involves competing in a designated Olympic Trial event prior to the games. The competition at each sport's Olympic Trials is fierce and will make or break an athlete's dream of competing in London.
Olympic Trials
Help us add to the following list of 2012 Olympic Trial events for the many sports that make up the 2012 games. We invite you to edit or add details for a specific Trial event, or add a new one for your favorite sport or country!
In date order:
January 14, 2012
Team U.S.A. men's and women's Marathon trials will be held in Houston, TX on January 14, 2012. The races will determine the runners who will represent the United States of America in the marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Both Trials races will be run on the morning of January 14, with the women's event expected to start before the men's. The specific race schedule, as well as details about the 26.2-mile course, will be announced later. Men seeking to qualify for the race must achieve one of the following "A standards": 2:19:00 marathon, 1:05:00 half marathon or 28:30 for 10,000m. Women's qualifying marks include an A and B standard for the marathon (2:39:00 and 2:46:00, respectively), along with 1:15:00 for the half marathon and 33:00 for 10,000m. Complete qualifying guidelines are available on the USATF Web site - www.usatf.org. Source: http://www.houstonmarathon.com/2012USOlympicMarathonTrials/ retrieved 2010-11-11.


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West Muskingum High School currently is in the Division V final of the Chris Spielman High School Team Challenge.
If the Tornadoes win this week's vote, they will receive a $10,000 grant for their pay-to-play programs. To vote, visit highschoolteamchallenge.com. Voters can vote one time per day and set reminders.


text:
Utley out of home opener because of flu
PHILADELPHIA -- Chase Utley did not play on Tuesday in the Phillies' home opener -- a 10-4 loss to the Brewers at Citizens Bank Park -- because of the flu. He was sent home from the ballpark.
It is a big loss for the Phillies' lineup. Utley entered Tuesday leading the National League with a 1.369 OPS.
Manager Ryne Sandberg said Utley played through the illness on Sunday in Chicago. Utley came to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday morning, but the skipper had to send him home.
"He was sick as a dog," Sandberg said. "I told him to go home. He wasn't looking good at all."
Carlos Ruiz replaced Utley in the No. 3 hole in the starting lineup, the first time the catcher has batted in that spot in the Major Leagues. Ruiz entered Tuesday hitting .235 in five games this season.
"He's a guy I like a lot of places in the lineup, and in some ways, it keeps the other guys in place with some continuity there with the way that the guys have been swinging the bats," Sandberg said.
Sandberg also said pitching coach Bob McClure "is a little under the weather." McClure will be in the dugout during Tuesday's game, though.


text:
Adam and Beth Halsey, owners of Halsey Farm & Nursery on Deerfield Road in Water Mill, the 12th generation of Halsey farmers on the East End since 1747, know very well that in the Hamptons, people have the opportunity to choose their farm stand, just like they have the opportunity to choose their restaurants. You have to have a strength, theirs being the one-stop-shop for all local farm-fresh vegetables. And we mean all! Chefs and caterers come to the Halseys because of how they have put their farm together, going way beyond the basics. They grow 22 varieties of lettuce, eight varieties of sweet corn, seven of potatoes, four kinds of beets, three kinds of radishes, exotic greens like tatsoi and exotic herbs like epazote and papalo. So even if you never met the Halseys, chances are you are eating their produce at any fine restaurant or catering event in the Hamptons.
Another strength is in the way the Halseys' produce is picked fresh, on demand. They don't harvest a huge amount of produce and store it in a cooler; instead they work all day long, constantly picking.
"Sweet corn, when it's in season, is picked in the morning and it's picked again as soon as that first corn is gone," says Adam Halsey. "We're generally picking at six o'clock in the morning, 10 o'clock, right after lunch, and late in the afternoon. This is because as soon as the corn is picked, the sugar starts to turn to starch, so the corn is fresher the more recently picked it is."
Sweet corn is planted every seven to ten days. When the last corn crop is an inch tall, they plant the next, which makes generally sixteen crops a season. Peas are planted every two weeks. Radishes are planted every four days, about 40 plantings of radishes. That's because they come in and go by so fast from that ideal size.
Another strength is Halsey's attention to size. "We try to have the freshest things picked as close to when you are going to eat them," says Halsey, "and we are constantly moving from one crop to the next crop in order to guarantee that we're picking the optimum size. All vegetables taste better at a certain size. Zucchini gets very seedy when it gets to be too big. Potatoes, like the red potatoes, are discarded if they get too big."
When a crop is finished, the Halseys mow it, disk it up, which means chop up the green matter of the crop, and work it back into the soil. When an area is done for the year, they immediately plant a cover crop on that ground, which is more green matter that will grow there for the rest of the season, and be there until next spring, when they turn it back into the soil. The goal is to keep something on the land all the time. "We don't use herbicides; instead we cultivate and we keep the soil moving," explains Halsey.
Halsey started on the family farm at age four. Gradually, he did a little bit more in the fields through high school. When he came back from agricultural college (Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania) he was on the farm full-time.
"It's one of the best things that my parents made me do," says Halsey. "I didn't want to go away to school. I knew all I needed to know about farming. But I learned at college about different techniques, management practices, and I met my wife, Beth—probably the best thing I got out of college."
Their children, Elijah (11), Lauren (9), and Evan (2) can do whatever they want to do, notes Halsey, but he wants to give them the same opportunity he had, and if they choose farming, he wants to have a successful operation for them.
In early spring, the Halseys' greenhouses are stocked with perennials, annuals and vegetable plants. The retail store is open from April 1 through late June. The farm stand, which is open from the end of June to Thanksgiving and is self-service for a month after that, not only carries the field grown vegetables from the surrounding eighty-two acres, but also California privet hedge (more than one size, of course), local fruits and preserves and fresh cut flowers. Flowers in the greenhouse are grown from seeds, and are patent-protected varieties.
"The reason for growing flowers is that when my father was a potato farmer, my mother wanted some flowers for around the house. He went to buy them and thought they were a lot of money," explains Halsey. "So he decided to build a small greenhouse. That's how the greenhouse business started. He was a potato farmer with his father into the '80s. When my grandfather died, my uncle (John Halsey, of the apple-peach-pumpkin-farm and The Milk Pail) and my father farmed together for a little while, and then they both went their own way, my uncle to the apples, my father to the greenhouses. My father wanted something to keep his good employees busy year-round, so he started planting some vegetables."
By the way, mom and dad, Dot and Tom are still involved in the operation.
"It started very slowly, and we were very small. Farming is different today than from my father's generation, even though my father was always one who wanted to have the latest technology for the greenhouse business, and as he started the vegetable business, he purchased new machinery. Later, I purchased another round of machinery. For instance, our corn planter is new and spaces the corn better. The transplanters are newer technology that reduces transplant shock, compared to the old machines. We use the industry standard that fits into our operation such as a one-time plastic mulch (raised plastic beds of food grade-approved plastic) to grow our crops on. It allows us to plant into an ideal environment for the plant, isolates the plant from weed composition, and allows us to feed the plant, not the weeds. We irrigate with drip irrigation that's laid underneath the beds, so we're feeding the water right to the plant."
Halsey enjoys being local. He doesn't want to go bigger, sell nationally, and ship out of the local region.
"People want to know their farmers," says Halsey. "They want to know where the food comes from. People see us in the field and they are happy to get their produce close to home."
Flying over the 82 acres is exhilarating, in even a small vehicle, seeing the rows of plants, one bigger than the one behind it, gives you a sense of time in nature. What kind of farming is it? Halsey sums it up: "I hate the term "traditional" farm, or "conventional" farm, because nothing that we do is traditional or conventional. We are a sustainable farm. We are very passionate about protecting our soil. Farmers are the best environmentalists out there, because the environment is our livelihood. The soil is what we make our living off of, so we want to be as nice to it as we possibly can."


text: This Messiah! Round Neck Women T-Shirt is 50% Polyester, 25% Coton peigné à fil de chaîne continu, 25% Viscose Women's t-shirts with round neck are a much loved and much worn style of women's top that is hugely versatile and easy to wear. If you don't know what to put on in the morning, or need something casual to wear, nothing beats a great t shirt for women, perhaps with a fun print or colourful pattern on it,


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Job Losses Soar, Jobless Rate at 14-Year HighBy Reuters - Print
So far this year, 1.2 million U.S. jobs have been lost -- 651,000 of them in the past three months alone -- in a sign that a deterioration in labor markets may be gaining steam and heightening odds of deep recession.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers cut payrolls by a much steeper-than-expected 240,000 jobs in October as the unemployment rate shot up to its highest in more than 14 years, underscoring the economy's steep slide.
According to the Labor Department's report on Friday, last month's job cuts followed a steeply revised cut of 284,000 in September, the most severe monthly loss since November 2001 just after that year's September terror attacks. The department also revised August job cuts higher to 127,000 -- meaning a total 179,000 more jobs were cut in August and September than previously thought.
The national unemployment rate jumped to 6.5 percent from 6.1 percent in September, the highest since March 1994.
"We have entered the phase of serious recession conditions. Unfortunately we will encounter more of this going forward," said Richard DeKaser, chief economist for National City Corp. in Cleveland. "This is going to increase the urgency for another stimulus package to staunch the slide."
October job cuts were much worse than forecast by Wall Street economists, who had expected 200,000 would be cut and that the unemployment rate would be 6.3 percent.
Stock futures pared gains after the data, while the dollar extended losses. U.S. Treasuries turned negative after the report.
In manufacturing alone, a whopping 90,000 jobs were cut in October -- a period when 27,000 Boeing Co. assembly workers were on strike. That followed a loss of 56,000 factory jobs in September.
Service-producing industries cut 108,000 jobs in October on top of 201,000 lost in September. Construction industries dropped 49,000 more jobs after eliminating 35,000 in September, many of them in specialty trades related to home building, the department said.
Average weekly hours of work held steady at 33.6 in October. At factories, the average workweek also held steady at 40.6 hours, while overtime was unchanged at 3.6 hours.
(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
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Tangy Roast Beef Sandwiches
From Juneau, Wisconsin, Amy Krause writes, "Everyone enjoys these sandwiches. The filling can be assembled early in the day to cook until dinnertime or party time."
Total TimePrep: 15 min. Cook: 5 hours
Makes3 servings
- 1 boneless beef chuck roast (1 pound)
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 3 sandwich buns, split
- Place the roast in a 1-1/2-qt. slow cooker; add water. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or until meat is tender. Remove roast; set aside 1/3 cup cooking juices. Shred meat with two forks and return to the slow cooker.
- In a small skillet, saute onion and celery in butter. Stir in the ketchup, lemon juice, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and reserved cooking juices. Add to slow cooker. Cook on low for 2-3 hours or until heated through and flavors are blended. Serve on buns.
Nutrition Facts1 each: 557 calories, 23g fat (10g saturated fat), 109mg cholesterol, 899mg sodium, 51g carbohydrate (14g sugars, 3g fiber), 38g protein.
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Dec 22, 2007
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Dec 16, 2007
I tried to print one of your recipes. The print was so big and the line spacing was terrible--one word on a line and then a new line. I'd like to print these recipes so that they fit on a 4 X 6 card or piece of paper. I really enjoy looking at your recipes and trying new recipes. I am going to try the cheese soup one today. Your format is new and it probably needs some work on it. You do do a good job though!


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Meet Wilbur Huckle. Again.
Last month I introduced you to Wilbur Huckle, the latest apparent inductee into a very unfortunate, star-crossed club: guys who were on big league rosters, eligible to play in big league games – and never did.
San Antonio's Wilbur Huckle, who was named the all-star shortstop in the Class A Carolina League, has joined Casey Stengel's Mets.
Huckle flew from Raleigh to New York Tuesday to join the parent club. "He didn't know whether the Mets planned to play him any, or whether they just wanted him to work out with the club a few days," his father, Allen Huckle said Wednesday. "We've been hoping to see his name in a box score."
Wow. That last line – given that they never would, is particularly poignant.
17 Comments
"He (Lyndon B. Johnson) wanted to see poverty, so he came to see my team (1964 New York Mets)."
– Casey Stengel
The stole Goldwater's quote or he stole it from them?
I read your excerpt in BP 2009, Keith. If you see this comment, just wondering how often you get a chance to read their work.
"Other than the word "Mets," the slogan is a direct quote from the man who would ultimately be the 1964 GOP nominee, Senator Barry Goldwater."
Not exactly; if that one word was the only difference Goldwater's quote would have been "extremism in defence of the is no virtue," which wouldn't have made much sense.
Goldwater actually said "let me remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice… [and] moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue" (RNC speech, 1964); he was quoting the Roman statesman Cicero. If those buttons are actually from Spring Training 1964 then they pre-date the Convention speech, which took place in July of that year. Perhaps Goldwater had already said something similar earlier; I'd certainly assume that the Mets took the phrase from him, and not the other way around. Or perhaps it was just a weird coincidence (maybe the Mets' PR staff were classically trained?).
…hey kids…
those buttons are hilarious!….my family stumped bigtime for
goldwater, and republicans in general.
So my first real political memories are door to door with
Pops in the evening after dinner…but I have bunches of stuff from
that campaign and the similarities is perfect…right down to the
choice of colors…i have always been grateful for those memories
as it, as well as watergate and the church comm, made it very easy
for me to become the political animal that I am…thanks Barry!
with love and prayers kids,
Keith, I could not find any other way of e-mailing you. I think you should check out the story of the people of Greenfield, Ohio that all pulled together to save their youth baseball for this year. About half the town has lost their jobs in the last year and the town has NO budget for much of anything. The parents and townspeople did whatever it took to save baseball for the kids. You should read the story.
Thanks, JIM
I have to admit that I am reading this the second time around, and since I grew u in NY, I am ashamed to call myself a fan when I had no idea who the hell this guy was.
thanks for sharing these quirky stories. Love your research.
I have spoken to many Philly fans that made the trip. I was at the point of dismissing the Phillies till I remembered they won in Oct. (I was out of the country in Sudan)
Taking up the story, I was in Baltimore when the Yankees came to town and there were more Yankee fans than Orioles in the stadium. Something I enjoyed.
I am reading this the second time around, and since I grew u in NY, I am ashamed to call myself a fan when I had no idea who the hell this guy was.
a man is not out of the woods until he can use a hydraulic log splitter!
I was in Baltimore when the Yankees came to town and there were more Yankee fans than Orioles in the stadium. Something I enjoyed. Admission essay | dissertation
The blog is quite amazing and wonderful and will help the students to understand the real and correct meaning of the structure, beautiful work.
I'm 57, I grew up in Forest Hills, Queens and was such a huge Met fan. Today out of nowhere I started reminiscing about names like Sherwin Minster, Glenn Ezell, and Wilbur Huckle, all of whom "made the Mets" in my pre-pubescent mind when playing stickball with friends, or creating Strat-o-Matic cards for prospects, etc. My stepfather and I used to talk about Wilbur Huckle all the time… well, when we talked, which wasn't often… he wasn't that nice a guy 🙂
Anyway, it was amusing to read about this stuff, and to see that there's a 70-something year old guy named Wilbur A. Huckle living in a small Texas town. I would hope someone stays in touch with him and lets him know his legendary status.
I am the proud owner of both of Huckle's campaign buttons.
my name is Joe huckle Wilbur Huckle was my great uncle I would very much like to find one of these buttons if anyone can help me i would greatly appreciate it.thanks…joe huckle
Hi, my name is Cristin and will huckle was the greatest coach – across all sports – that i ever had. We havent spoken in almost 20 years, but i am trying to find him. Can someone please advise if he is sill alive? And if so, how to contact him? Thank you
I have 2 of his buttons
Sent from my iPhone


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FC Dallas has signed first and third-round draft picks Tesho Akindele and Nicholas Walker (pending Walker's P-1 Visa). Per league policy, terms of the deals will not be disclosed.
The club selected Akindele with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, and then later added Walker in the third round.
A native of Thornton, Colo., Akindele played four seasons for the Colorado School of Mines where the 6'1" forward became the school's all-time goals leader with 76 goals scored. He ranked second in the nation in goals scored in 2012 with 22 and was named a First Team NSCAA All-American and the 2012 RMAC Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts. Also an NSCAA First Team All-American and the RMAC Freshman of the Year in 2010, Akindele was the first player in the history of his school's conference to score three consecutive hat tricks.
Walker, selected with the fifth pick in the third round (43rd overall), was a two-time all-North Atlantic region first team selection at Fairleigh Dickinson. The 24-year-old center back was also named 2013 Northeast Conference Defender of the Year as a senior. Walker started 69 of the 71 games he played as a four-year starter for the Knights. He finished his collegiate career with four goals.
FC Dallas opens the 2014 season at Toyota Stadium on March 8 against the Montreal Impact, presented by AdvoCare.
Transaction: Signed F Tesho Akindele, D Nicholas Walker


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Pure Solid State amps have their place in this world. They can produce a lot of volume and distortion but save on the weight because they don't have the huge chassis, transformer and everything else associated with tube circuitry. Also since solid state parts cost less, they produce high volumes for low dollars. They keep relatively cool, especially at loud volumes but many people think that the solid state sound is not as rich and their distortion not as gutsy as tube amps. Fender and Roland are the two most popular pure solid state amps.
Hybrid Amps. A hybrid amp is basically a solid state power amp with tubes in the preamp section to help warm up the sound and punch up the distortion. These are very popular because, when designed correctly, the Hybrid Amp gives you the tube amp's sound and much of the solid state amp's low weight and price. Some people swear it is the design of the preamp that is critical to the Hybrid Amp sound and other say the design of the power amp is more important, but we feel it is a combination of both. Marshall and Peavey are the leaders in this design category.


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Hong Kong art explosion: What to see this month
'Tis the season for art in Hong Kong.
Increasingly each year, the month of May ushers in a flood of modern and contemporary art events, anchored by Art Basel in Hong Kong, the region's largest contemporary art fair (formerly known as ART HK).
In the past few years, Hong Kong has cemented its place on the international art calendar, with the steady expansion of ART HK, the entrance of several blue-chip Western galleries and the city's growth -- it's now the world's third-largest auction market after New York and London.
Whether you have a novice appreciation or a long-time love of art, a penny or a million to spend, a taste for Chinese abstract expressionism or American pop art, there are plenty of opportunities to look, learn and purchase.
Here's our guide to the key art affairs taking over Hong Kong this month -- and our top picks to help you navigate the crush of events.
Art Basel in Hong Kong
Date: May 23-26
Art Basel will hold the sixth edition of ART HK under its own brand, after its parent company purchased a 60% stake in the fair's organizer two years ago.
This year, the fair has attracted nearly 250 galleries from 35 countries and is divided into four sections: Galleries (leading modern and contemporary galleries from around the world, including many blue-chip regulars); Insights (galleries based in Asia or the Middle East exclusively exhibiting artists within those regions); Discoveries (galleries showcasing one or two emerging artists); and Encounters (large sculptures and installations from artists around the world).
To kick off the fair, "Paper Rain," a cinema-themed artist parade choreographed by Brazil-based Arto Lindsay, will unspool along the harborfront on May 23.
Fair highlights include Marnie Weber's eerie "Log Lady & Dirty Bunny" (Simon Lee Gallery), Zhu Jinshi's richly layered abstract expressionist paintings (Pearl Lam Galleries) and Chen Wei's fanciful photographs of purpose-built installations (Leo Xu Projects).
There are also daily free talks. Visitors can learn more about Indonesian contemporary art (May 23) or attend the book launch of revered Hong Kong graffiti artist, the King of Kowloon (May 25).
Intelligence Squared will also host a live debate on the motion, "The market is the best judge of art's quality." (May 24)
Art Basel; Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai; admission HK$250/$150 concession for one day, four-days is HK$750/$450
More on CNN: Glamorous photos of '60s Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
Gallery exhibitions
Tired of the fair crowds? Aside from Art Basel, dozens of galleries in Hong Kong will host exhibitions in their own spaces.
Highlights include de Sarthe Gallery, which will showcase bronze sculptures by French legend Auguste Rodin, including versions of iconic pieces such as "The Thinker," "The Kiss" and "Eternal Springtime."
Lehmann Maupin will present "Writing Without Borders" -- works by 11 acclaimed artists, including Tracey Emin, Barbara Kruger, Teresita Fernandez and Shirazeh Houshiary.
Hong Kong installation artist Nadim Abbas will show new work at CL3 Architects, inspired by visual similarities in microscopic bodies, animated GIFs and graphic production technologies.
Several artists will have their first solo exhibitions in the city. Pearl Lam Galleries will unveil 26 new abstract oil paintings by Zhu Jinshi. "Oil skin" painter Angel Otero will be featured at SCAD. The figurative drawings of Fabien Merelle will hit the walls of Edouard Malingue Gallery. The Gagosian will feature neo-expressionist paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
From May 25-29, Christie's will host 10 Asian art auctions, ranging from Chinese imperial ceramics and works of art and Chinese classical and modern paintings to Asian 20th century and contemporary art.
Modern and contemporary highlights include works from painters celebrated for blending Eastern and Western techniques, including Zhou Chunya, and Chinese-French abstract expressionist masters Chu The-Chun and Zao Wou-ki, the latter whom passed away in February.
Sanyu's "Two Standing Nudes," which has been compared to Picasso's "Group of Nudes" and Moore's "Reclining Figure," will also be up for auction.
Southeast Asian artists will also have a strong presence, including the Philippines' Fernando Zobel, acclaimed for his blend of classical Western chiaroscuro, Chinese calligraphy, and minimalism.
From May 23-27, Christie's will also hold three private sales featuring Andy Warhol, Chinese contemporary ink and Impressionist and Modern Art.
Not sure what the fuss over art is about? From May 22-26, Christie's will hold its Art Forum –- free daily panel discussions and tours led by leading collectors, academics and art specialists.
Topics range from collecting art, Andy Warhol's influence in Asia, or Qing Dynasty cloisonné enamel. For HK$9,000, you can attend a two-day course on Asian contemporary art.
Christies; Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai; free admission; +85 (0)2 2760 1766
Hong Kong Eye
Date: On now until May 31
A showcase of 24 local artists, Hong Kong Eye is a welcome addition to an art calendar often criticized for excluding homegrown artists. A smaller version of the exhibition received nearly 200,000 visitors at London's Saatchi Gallery in December.
There's none of the characteristic Mao imagery of mainland Chinese contemporary art, although some pieces, such as Leung Kui Ting's "Vision: Change No. 2" ink on silk scroll, pay homage to traditional Chinese landscape painting.
Others are wholly of the 21st century, especially Justin Wong's "Difficult Life Situation," a touch-screen display featuring a quirky variety of stress reduction programs laid out in an iPhone-like grid format. Wong also delights in "Object-Oriented-Objects", which sorts images of everyday objects -- such as a book, hole puncher and USB cable -- according to internet search engine filters.
Wilson Shieh's ink and gouache drawing on silk appropriates Hong Kong's five tallest commercial buildings, transforming these phallic symbols into feminine forms as women in dresses.
What draws the most eyes (and ears) is Adrian Wong's prone Mr.-Potato-Head-like animatronics figure with his hand on his stomach, rolling from side as side as he grunts monosyllabically, seemingly in pain or "In search of Primordial Idiolect IV" as the installation is named.
During Art Basel, Wong will also cull Hong Kong culture to create "Wun Dun," a performative, participatory "art bar" installation at the Fringe Club, complete with an animatronic backing band and custom cocktails.
ArtisTree; 1/F Cornwall House TaiKoo Place, 979 King's Road Island East Hong Kong; free admission; +85 (0)2 6210 4520
More on CNN: Hong Kong: An art hub minus grassroots buzz
Mobile M+: Inflation!
Date: On now until June 9
Curated by M+, the flagship visual culture museum under construction in the West Kowloon Cultural District, this open-air exhibition of six enormous inflatable sculptures and a temporary performance piece test the limits of public art.
Visitors can sit inside Cao Fei's roast suckling pig, jump on Jeremy Deller's Stonehenge-shaped bouncy castle or venture over to Paul's McCarthy's pile of excrement. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
If you can wake up at dawn on May 25 or June 8, you can witness the temporary staging of Tomas Saraceno's solar-powered iridescent dome, inspired by hot air balloon technology.
Free guided tours are available on weekends, as well as a series of interpretative musical performances and workshops led by local artists.
Mobile M+: Inflation!; West Kowloon Cultural District promenade (closed Mondays); free admission
More on CNN: Fowl play? Giant rubber duck drowns in Hong Kong
Asia Society
Date: On until September 1
"Light Before Dawn: Unofficial Chinese Art 1974-1985" showcases influential Chinese contemporary artists from the Wuming (No Name), Xingxing (Stars) and Caocao (Grass Society) collectives that quietly operated under the highly restrictive conditions of the period, inclusive of the Cultural Revolution.
To go deeper, there's an introduction by its curators on May 21.
The society will host several contemporary art panel discussions this month, including a look at the state of Hong Kong's art scene with renowned Chinese contemporary art collector Uli Sigg, and a screening and discussion with Pia Getty about her documentary "China Power: Art now after Mao."
Asia Society Gallery; 9 Justice Dr., Admiralty; admission HK$30
Date: May 27 (auction preview May 23-26)
Sotheby's will auction a second set of paintings by 20th-century Chinese master Zhang Daqian from the private Mei Yun Tang collection -- one of the world's leading compilations of the artist's work.
In 2011, Sotheby's first auction of works from this collection set an auction record of nearly US$26 million for the artist.
The 25 pieces will range from fine-brush traditional portrayals of birds, flowers and landscapes to expressionistic "splashed ink" paintings from his later period. These works haven't been publicly exhibited since 1997.
Sotheby's gallery, 5/F, One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty; free admission; +85 (0)2 2524 8121
Date: On until July 20
"A Journal of the Plague Year. Fear ghosts, rebels. SARS, Leslie, and the Hong Kong story."
This multi-artist exhibition examines the cultural and political fallout of the 2003 SARS outbreak that killed 299 Hong Kongers. It links it with a deadly plague during the British colonial period, the suicide of pop icon Leslie Cheung, a mass protest against a security bill that toppled the city's first leader and the thorny relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Ai Weiwei will debut a brand new sculptural installation on the divisive problem of baby formula in China –- a food safety scandal in the mainland has led to a controversial formula shortage in Hong Kong.
From May 17-26, the exhibition will be split across Para Site's office in Sheung Wan, the Sheung Wan Civic Centre Exhibition Hall and a private apartment on 5/F, 30 Queen's Street, Sheung Wan. Afterward, it will run at Para Site's office until July 20.
Para-site; G/F, 4 Po Yan St., Sheung Wan, Hong Kong;+85 (0)2 2517 4620
Asia Contemporary Art Show
Dates: May 23- 26
In the second edition of this fair focused on emerging artists, the rooms on the top four floors of the J.W. Marriott hotel will be taken over by 75 galleries from 17 countries.
Among the highlights are Shen Jindong's quirky paintings of soldiers (Art Futures Group), the red-lipped girls of Attasit Pokpong (A Gallery) or the paintings of plastic-wrapped dolls by Luu Tuyen (Art House Vietnam).
Asian Contemporary Art Show; J.W. Marriott Hotel, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway; admission, HK$120 (VIP $240)
More on CNN: Do you care if your hotel has good art?
Date: May 22- August 18 (closed Mondays)
"Embark Beyond the Horizon" will kick off the opening of Oi!, a new government exhibition space renovated from a former yacht club.
Hong Kong's Cédric Maridet, Tang Kwok-hin and Tsang Kin-wah and mainland China's Yuan Gong have created site-specific works for the heritage building, based on the theme of the sea as a metaphor for transformation.
Oi!; 12 Oil St., North Point; admission is free
Asia Art Archive
Dates: May 23-25
The Asian contemporary art archive will host four talks exploring what "global" means in the context of art, with the keynote lecture by Delhi-based critic, author and curator Geeta Kapur.
It will also offer monthly talks until July on the development of Hong Kong art.
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong; free admission; +85 (0)2 3111 9600
More on CNN: Chinese hotels open a new window on Chinese art


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With the tree up and the mantel all trimmed, I couldn't wait any longer to bake/decorate the snowflake cookies. I loved making these cookies last year. The colorful snowflakes are the perfect addition as ornaments to the wall tree hanging in the front hallway. Without them, the tree was looking dull with its mostly silver ornaments. This year, I added pink and emerald to the color scheme.
Gingerbread Recipe:
1 1/2 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Dark Molasses
(cream together)
12 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
4 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
4 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
(sift and combine)
Chill dough one hour.
Prepare Royal Icing Recipe (below)
Royal Icing Recipe:
6 Egg Whites - Room Temperature
1 1/2 Cream of Tartar
2 Lb Confectioners Sugar, Sifted
(combine in mixing bowl and mix on high 7-10min)
Store icing at room temperature in covered container.
As you pipe your lines, sprinkle sanding sugar over the wet icing. I use a different paper plate under the cookie for each sprinkle color so I can funnel the excess sugar back into the container.Have fun with the designs and try something new with each cookie. Most of the cookies shown are outlined, but try filling in an entire cookie. It will absolutely sparkle! Store icing at room temperature in covered container.
Let the cookies set overnight. While still fragile, the icing will be hard and the sugar and candy pearls will be firmly set to the cookie.
If you are unsure about piping Royal Icing, these cookies are a great starting point. The sanding sugar is very forgiving over unsteady lines.
A couple of cookies decorated by my 8 year old daughter are included in the photo below. The snowflake designs are perfect for involving your kids in your holiday baking.


text: If you're anything like us, you're wondering just how well Motorola's Fort Worth factory is coping with demand for Moto X smartphones. The answer? Well enough, thank you: CEO Dennis Woodside just told Reuters in an interview that the US-based plant is shipping about 100,000 Moto X units each week. While that's nowhere near the millions of units that Apple or Samsung would ship in a similar space of time, Woodside notes that the factory is still ramping up. Current numbers also don't reflect sales, since only some devices already have buyers. We'd add that Motorola is targeting just a handful of countries versus the global scale of its rivals. It's doubtful that the company's Fort Worth production will ever come close to that of manufacturing hubs like Shenzhen, but there's early signs that the American factory is here to stay.


text:
Group Releases "2012 Dangerous Toys" in Time for Black Friday
BOSTON - Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) released its 2012 report "Troubled in Toyland" just in time for Black Friday shoppers. The report details dangerous toys including choking hazards, toxic toys, magnet hazards, lead and noise hazards among the dangers.
The report lists toys that could cause choking because of unlabeled small parts or toys categorized in the wrong age group. These include:
- "Dragster" cars by Z Windups
- "Bowling Game" by Cool Novelty Products, Inc.
- "Ball on a stick launcher" by R T Toy
- "Play Food" by WalMart
- "Golfing game" by Aoxing Toys
According to the research director, the best way to test if a toy is a choking hazard for a three year old is to see if it fits through a toilet paper roll. According to the research, between 1990 and 2011, more than 200 children died from choking incidents.
PIRG also listed toxic toys, including a "Dora the Explorer" backpack by Global Design Concepts, Inc. because of high levels of phthalates, and "Morphobot" by GreenBrier International, Inc. was cited because of high levels of lead. PIRG notes, "Exposure to lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body, especially the central nervous system. Lead is especially toxic to the brains of young children and can cause permanent mental and developmental impairments; it has no business being in children's products."
Magnet hazards were also a concern because, "If one magnet is in the stomach and another is in the small intestine, for example, they can cling together and quickly work their way through tissue, perforating the wall or creating a hole. Two or more magnets attracted to each other in the intestine can create a bowel obstruction or perforation." Snake Eggs by GreenBrier International, Inc. was cited for dangerous magnets.
Toys were also cited for noise hazards, meaning some toys test at higher decibel levels than recommended by hearing experts. These include the "Dora Tunes Guitar" by Fisher-Price,
"Honk and Rumble Wheel" by Toy State, and "FunKeys Car Keys" by Maison Joseph Battat Ltd.
KOMU 8 News spoke with a local daycare provider about dangerous toys and her habits regarding the selection of toys at the Child Learning and Development Center in Columbia.
"We look for safety. We don't want any sharp edges, any small pieces that detach themselves from the main part of it," Director Rachel Hutson said. "We look for durability, we look for paint that is part of the plastic, not something that can remove itself."
Hutson said the Child Learning and Development Center gets the majority of its toys from catalogs, discount school supply or oriental trading and says the safety of the children is the most important focus for the company.
The report warns shoppers to be vigilant this holiday season while shopping for children's toys. For more tips, check out the Toy Safety website.


text:
Word of the day: Arduous (adj): characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion.
And what an arduous day, indeed. I'm not two hours into my work day yet, and epic battles are already beginning. Mortars of policy, bombs of politics, missiles of blame and grenades of revolt are being exchanged liberally this morning. Commuting, though, is about getting to and from work (and other places, ostensibly), not about bewailing the current state of affairs between bike rides.
With that, I suppose you're expecting me to bewail yet another arduous ride to work on crappy hybrid tires. You won't find it today, because Hybridzilla was hauling ass this morning. I also got to see an amazing sunrise on my way out the door.
Some mornings, I feel like I'm just another commuter. I didn't have time to finish my cream cheese bagel before it was time to shove off for work. I ate and rode for the first 3/4 mile of my trip. Neither hand on the controls, and not paying attention to the road. Yep, I fit right in with everyone else this morning.
I threw the Forte Slick City tires back on last night. They're designed for 85 PSI but blew them up to 120 PSI to test the beads and make sure they would hold. They gladly took the excess pressure, so I guess I'll keep using them. 'Zilla still wants a new pair of shoes, but people in hell will certainly want ice water and The Twelve still wants a rear wheel. We can't always get what we want right away. These tires will suffice for now.
I put forth about the same amount of effort as I had put in the past few days. The result was a boost of 3 MPH to my average speed. Karen was nowhere to be seen this morning, but she'd mentioned being a bike buddy escort for a co-worker who's just getting into it.
I did, however, see a few more bikes out this morning, probably due to gas prices creeping back up again. Are the prices elevating in anticipation of the 4th of July? Or maybe a gnat farted in the middle east. One of the people I saw riding is the lady who has been piloting the green mountain bike that's been parked next to me lately. She's got some teenage kids and bought the bike from a thrift store a few months ago so she could ride on MUPs with her kids. Monday, she decided to start commuting by bike. It's now Wednesday and she says she's starting to feel the pain. I'm not sure how far she rides, and I don't think she really knows, either. She says she's from Kansas City Kansas but that could be 3 miles each way or more like 15. I'm betting it's probably 5-8 miles each way, though. I reassured her that the pain that comes with riding usually subsides a lot after 2 weeks. Maybe she'll have the chops to keep it up.
Here's something funny. I bought this watch probably about 5 years ago. It's got a solar power array around the watch bezel under the glass, which recharges the built-in battery. I shelved it after about 6 months of use because it kept dying on me and I'd have to leave it sit under a lamp for a few days to bring it back to life. I was spending all of my time indoors, and I liked my office dark. I was only out and about 30 minutes per day or so, which wasn't enough to charge it. I stumbled across it last week and have been wearing it for a while. It only took two good days of riding home from work in the sun to lift its battery meter to full power. I've missed this watch. I have a feeling it's going to stay charged these days.
Random Tunage:
Orbital - Know Where To Run
Fluke - Kitten Moon
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Zilla wants a new pair of shoes
Word of the day: Arduous (adj): characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion.
2 comments:
- Apertome said...
Gorgeous sunrise. Wow.
I have almost the same watch. Sarah got it for me a couple of years ago, I've never had a problem with its battery getting low, not even in the winter. On the other hand, I too used to spend a lot more time indoors.
- June 18, 2008 11:48 AM
- MRMacrum said...
When I drove trucks I saw more sunrises than sunsets. I decided that genmerally sunrises are much nicer. You captured that one for sure.
I have seen more folks commuting also. One fellow, a 50 something fire chief in Sanford bought a hybrid in April from me. It was his first bike in 35 years. He was just going to get someexercise. I think he has commuted the 20 mile round trip now about 40 days in a row. He loves it.
- June 18, 2008 8:02 PM
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Hosting USB
I've mentioned using Microchip PICs or Arduino Leonardo to work as USB clients. The truth is, though, that for many designs, it is just as easy to let the USB port pretend to be a serial port and then use the serial port drivers for your operating system to talk to the device.
What would be really interesting, though, is an easy way to act as a USB host. Using a USB drive for data logging storage is an obvious application. A USB keyboard or mouse might form a user interface or — with modifications — act as a sensor (I can imagine a CNC table with an optical mouse sensing position, for example).
If you want an all-in-one solution for doing USB to serial, you've probably found FTDI's offerings. They have a series of easy-to-use ICs and modules that look like a serial port to your design and a USB device to the host computer. It isn't surprising, then, that they also offer a solution for USB host duties. That solution is known as Vinculum.
You can get Vinculum as an IC or bundled in a module. There are several modules, but I picked up the VDrive3. It is an attractive little plastic enclosure with a USB jack on the face and some wires coming out the back. You should be able to connect a USB device to the front and your microcontroller to the back and be in business.
My experience so far has not been very good. In all fairness, maybe I've missed some key documentation, but I don't think I have. The hardware by itself does nothing. However, it is preloaded with one particular FTDI-provided firmware. You can load different firmware if you prefer. That leads to the first problem. To get to the documentation that you really want, you have to find the firmware documentation, not the hardware documentation.
When you find the firmware documentation, it appears to be for an older device (VDAP), but there is an application note that explains the differences between the old firmware and the new (V2DAP). There are some application notes that show the device being used but no real reference or tutorial type documentation. The User's Manual is the best thing I can find, even though it is out of date. It also discusses the different firmware available (and, of course, you are free to write your own from scratch if you want).
However, the manual has been only part of the problem. The device seems to think you will connect to it with an ASCII terminal and type commands to it. It has verbose messages and commands. However, you can shift to a short command mode and even a binary numeric mode. Although the chip starts in long command mode, it also starts in binary numeric mode. So while you can read the messages, the numbers come out as garbage.
For my purposes, I really wanted to be in an efficient machine-friendly format. That takes a few commands (and parsing of the prompt). It isn't impossible, of course, but it is strange for something clearly meant to interface to an embedded system. It reminded me of talking to a modem that was never quite sure you were not personally typing commands to it.
In addition, I found the USB connection unreliable. Again, this could be my fault, but some USB sticks would not read reliably even though they work fine on a Linux or Windows machine. If I were integrating this into a real product, that would be unacceptable.
I wanted to like the Vinculum. I really did. If it worked reliably, the software would be just painful and not a showstopper. The documentation — or, at least, what I found of it — was abysmal. It is a real shame. I've been so impressed with many of FTDI's other offerings that I expected better from Vinculum.
I was going to post some code, but with the problems the device has exhibited, I'll wait a bit and see if I can make it work any better. Meanwhile, if you've used the device yourself, leave a comment and share your experience, good or bad.


text: Just this past week the National Football League's brand new pre-season went into play, with deals and steals happening from one coast to the other. These days are all about transactions and transformations (hopefully positive ones) to teams that need help. The biggest news came in the form of quarterback changes. Tony Romo will say goodbye to his position in Dallas…yet, where he will be going is still anybody's guess (all except Jerry Jones, most likely, who seems to know just about everything that happens in the NFL before any deals are signed). Whatever the case may be, it's a given that when the announcement comes from Tony about which team he will lead, experts worldwide will have something to say.


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The state border. Russian Federation and Chinese People 's Democratic Republic.
So unpretentious simple at first glance looks like the border of two states. With thereof by the city of Blagoveshchensk, on the other side of the city of Heihe, shares of the Amur River, and of course the border guards. This panorama of the Amur River stiff with ice, but after a few days, the shackles will fall, not the state of course, ice.
Heilongjiang is China's most northeastern province, an area of 46 square kilometers, the provincial capital Harbin. As early as three to four million years ago during the Paleolithic, there is human activity here. Heilongjiang Province is located in east longitude 121 ° 11'-135 ° 05 ', latitude 43 ° 25'-53 ° 33 '. The northern, eastern Heilongjiang, Ussuri River as the boundary, and the Russian River; adjacent to the western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; the southern border of Jilin Province.


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A few years ago, after buying a system from me, the customer (who considered himself an audiophile) complained that he could hear a buzzing noise coming from his TV speakers as well as from the headphone jack. He also mentioned that he had a low serial system that didn't have that issue at all.
Since I had another (unmodded) system with the same PCB revision (3-4), I tested it immediately and much to my surprise it was having the same issues described by the guy. I couldn't believe I had never noticed it because once it was pointed out to me it was impossible not to hear it.
To get a better grasp of the problem I ran tests with as basic a setup as possible: I ran the system without hooking up video, only with headphones plugged in and another system (revision 3-6) running next to it, also with only headphones in and only the 3-4 was having the buzzing issue. Both system were powered by the same power supply (without step-down transformer) so the PSU was ruled out as a possible cause.
When the guy sent the system back to me along with his other "silent" system (that turned out to be the very first PCB type NEO-AES) the tests confirmed that 3-4 had the issue and that NEO-AES was buzz-free just like 3-6. The thing was all the more puzzling as NEO-AES and 3-4, despite being different revisions, have the same audio circuit (while on revisions 3-5 and 3-6 it's partly different).
I was starting to put the blame on the different PCB layout of the 3-4 causing interference when I noticed the difference between the NEO-AES and 3-4 circuits: each audio IC (DAC, op-amps, headphone amplifier) on the NEO-AES has a decoupling (bypass) cap nearby (close to the VCC and GND leads) just like all the other ICs on the board which is what you would normally expect to see:
The 3-4 system doesn't have them though. Not a single bypass cap in sight:
After adding 0.1uF (104 marking) caps across the 5V and ground leads of each IC (on the bottom of the board) the issue was gone:
The cap for the DAC (YM3016) seems to make the most difference.
According to the datasheet, the bypass cap recommended for the headphone amplifier IC is a 100uF electrolytic cap.
The value for this cap on MVS boards is 470uF/16V. I used 100uF/35V:
Of course you will have noticed the 1000pF (marking 102K) caps soldered to pin 1 and 16 of the IC. Those are other components that SNK left out of the headphone circuit on AES boards but they're supposed to be there according to the datasheet (they are part of a low-pass filter on the inputs) and are not missing from MVS boards:
A further example of the lack of attention in designing the audio circuit on this revision is the incorrect placement of two polyester caps in the L channel path:
To rectify things desolder and swap them.
How about the other revisions? Will 3-3 have the same issue as 3-4? I didn't have the chance to test one but judging by the lack of bypass caps for the audio ICs it's safe to assume it has the issue too:
I mentioned above that revision 3-6 is buzz-free. Let's take a look at the audio circuit of this board:
In this case the caps used for decoupling purposes are electrolytic instead of the usual multilayer ceramic ones. They're the 10uF caps numbered 1, 3 and 9 in the previous pics.
Revision 3-5 is almost identical to 3-6 but guess what, the bypass cap for the DAC (number 1 on 3-6) is missing:
I haven't tested a 3-5 system so I can't tell if the missing cap makes any difference.
It may be worth mentioning here that the headphone out on revision 3-6 has the R and L channels reversed. I had noticed this years ago and wasn't the only one:
Since then I have found why. It's another mistake of good ol' SNK designers. Apparently they realized it and made a correction on later boards by moving a couple of resistors:


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Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2003 News Releases > October 2003 > Wayland students hit airwaves with weekly newscast
Wayland students hit airwaves with weekly newscast
PLAINVIEW - It's 3 p.m. on Thursday, and Paul Finley is giving the springs in an outdated office chair a workout with his nervous energy. Rocking quickly and tapping his fingers anxiously on the control desk in front of him, Finley is bouncing questions around the bustling control room and into his headset microphone, making sure all parties are ready to begin.
With everyone in place, Finley points a finger to his left, cuing the video operator to begin playing the introduction. A photo collage featuring Gates Hall comes up on the screen, and the audio controller begins the music, cuing the anchors to begin their introductions.
Just a minute in, the tape featuring a recorded interview lags, and Finley calls the whole process to a halt. A few takes later, they're back on track and well into the newscast. But time is ticking away, and Finley's slight rocking says he won't really be able to relax until the last fade out.
Welcome to the world of television news. Even as a freshman at Wayland Baptist University, Finley is familiar with the details of newscasts, having worked a few years at an Amarillo news station just out of high school.
But this is not a network station, and his cohorts are not professional anchors and cameramen. They're all students, getting valuable experience in television production and a crash course in patience and diligence.
A project of Wayland's department of mass communication, the weekly newscasts began airing a month ago and are broadcast on WIN-TV, Plainview cable channel 6 (the Plainview affiliate of FamilyNet), on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and on Fridays at 4:30 p.m. The cast features news from the campus as well as city and national news, with sports and profiles on Wayland faculty.
The 30-minute newscast is filmed, edited and staged completely within the Wayland campus. A working studio located in the Harral Arts Complex is home to the casts' two anchors, seniors E.J. Martinez of Mesa, Ariz. and Kira Ingle of Little Elm, and the camera operators, Tino Garcia, a sophomore from Plainview, and Curtis Beeman, a sophomore from Lovington, N.M.
In an adjoining room, separated by a large glass window, Finley sits at the control desk, while Daniel Coutinho, a sophomore from Komoros, operates the teleprompter and Senior Dean Forest operates the video tape decks. Jason DeGray works the audio controls at the back of the room, while Paul Sutton, a freshman from Abernathy puts a final read on his sports report from a nearby desk. Steve Long, assistant professor of mass communication at Wayland, oversees the newscast as advisor.
"The newscast is primarily put on by students from my production class, and there are about 10 students involved altogether," Long said. "Our journalism students also help gather and write stories, and we edit all the packages for stories together during the week."
Long said the newscast is the first regular attempt at such a project in nearly 20 years, and he's excited to see current students get involved.
"Back in the 1980s, they did a newscast regularly. They were trying to do it on a daily basis, though, and I think they just burned themselves out on it," Long said. "Every year, I've brought it up to our students, and when we mention what's involved with it, I don't get much interest."
This year, that changed. Long said Finley and Sutton became interested in the often daunting project last spring and began talking it up to other students. The two spent the better part of the summer working on ideas for the newscast and getting the studio and equipment in line with their needs.
"We have all this stuff here and felt like we should do something with it," Finley said. "If we're going to have a mass communication department, it just needs to be done."
Two recent donations of used cameras and editing equipment - from First Baptist Church in Lubbock and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary - helped beef up the studio resources.
The experience has definitely opened the eyes of students, who are learning exactly what is required in producing television news and the time commitment necessary to make it work on a college campus.
"A lot of people are getting good, hands-on experience here," said Martinez, a senior who is considering a career in broadcast journalism or other mass communication arenas. "It really feels like a lab because we can really learn how to do different things ourselves. Mr. Long knows a lot and brings a lot of information to the classroom lectures, but this experience just adds to it."
Finley said he's had to be patient and realize not everyone has the experience he has, and he feels that four weeks into the newscast, things keep getting better. The key, he said, was to realize the limitations of the group.
"Our second newscast was the worst. Everyone was so pumped for the first one, so I think the second one was our sophomore slump," Finley said. "We had to learn what we could and couldn't do. But it can only get better. The more experience we get, it'll start flowing better."
And what does Finley think will be key to keeping the newscast going each semester, a goal he has for his time at Wayland?
"We just have to keep showing up and making news."


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Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sun Goddess
22 comments:
- MaryB said...
I'm grateful for modern medicine and technology which will hopefully correct the mistakes of youth. Know that I am rooting for you. Take care of your special self.
- October 23, 2011 at 11:14 AM
- schmidleysscribblins,wordpress.com said...
I had a basal cell carcinoma removed in late August from the center of my perfect nose. Better than the melanoma I had removed at age 19, when the Navy surgeon cut a big hole in the middle of my back.
The doctor who removed the basal cell carcinoma in August of this year looked at me and said, "You really are a survivor." In more ways than one, I replied.
- October 23, 2011 at 11:54 AM
- nazelet said...
First, I want to tell you that I missed you and am so happy to have you posting again.
SS@wordpress is right - we women are surivors - in more ways than one.
Now to the real message. I will be sending you prayers while your prefect self is becoming more perfect. I hope you intend to stay at home for a day or so at least.
I can remember mising my special brew of baby oil & iodine, slathering up on Jones Beach as a teenager.
Living in Israel, where the sun can roast a turkey on the sidewalk, I slathered up with endless tubes of way too expensive for a kibbutz budget tanning lotion.
Now, living in Fl. I find that I'm not running to the seaside or laying hours oiled up at our community pool. We usually visit the sea late afternoon.
Camerman, on the other hand, from years of shooting (film) outdoors now visits the derm. and has bad growths removed from his very high forehead.
I'll be thinking about you and waiting for your next great post. Take care.
- October 23, 2011 at 2:22 PM
- Celia said...
Glad you got it fixed. Take care. I had one of those basel cell things removed a couple of years ago too. It was on the left side of my face where my face and arm were always hanging out the window in the car surprise, surprise. The last few years I put sunscreen on every day year round. Still, one of my aunt's got a basel cell carinoma in a place that never, never saw the sun, so check all over if you can.
- October 23, 2011 at 5:21 PM
- LC said...
Thinking of you.I'm embarrassed that thinking of you is only partly altruistic. The other part is pure selfishness. My funny bone doesn't get the same degree of exercise when you are not posting.
Glad you are scratching the itch you mentioned in the previous post.
Okay, so sue me . . . I was also worried that you were encountering something tough that was siphoning off all that creative energy that is usually bubbling up so delightfully.
Oh yes, from one former chicken on a grill to another!
- October 23, 2011 at 6:00 PM
- ain't for city gals said...
I hear you girl...the only thing I wish I could take back in my life was the time I spent in the sun! I had one taken off my shoulder a couple of months ago...like you glad they could do it..
- October 23, 2011 at 9:03 PM
- Friko said...
No, we had no idea what we were doing. Sunbathing was the leisure activity of choice.
Beloved has just had the second skin cancer removed, a squamous cell cancer this time. The first was BCC.
There nothing much to it, he's been fine and the stitches are coming out tomorrow, two weeks later. The only problem is that these things will come back and I've heard of people having had five or more operations.
You'll be fine.
I'm glad to have you back and I hope you'll get blogging again happily.
Best wishes, Friko
- October 24, 2011 at 9:33 AM
- Olga said...
My husband has had a few spots removed from shoulders and head. I burned easily so developed the habit of sun screen fairly early. He always tanned so quickly that he thought he was protected. Molly sounds like she can be a bit on the overly dramatic side.
- October 24, 2011 at 11:47 AM
- oklhdan said...
Never did much suntanning as a kid because my attention span was that of a knat.......just couldn't lay around doing nothing by baking. Plus I had too many freckles as it was. Glad you are taking care of this......missed your writing!
- October 24, 2011 at 12:35 PM
- Wisewebwoman said...
Take good care dear friend. You hit a raw nerve with me as my mother died of a malignant melanoma which started in one of her toes. She was a sun bunny. Red hair and deepest tan.
So as a consequence all her children are super cautious and I was really hard on my own kids for any exposure.
The stuff we didn't know back then!
All good thoughts go your special way.
- October 25, 2011 at 9:48 PM
- Freda said...
It's frightening what happens to elder skin, and we thought we were being healthy all those years ago - basking in the sun.
- October 30, 2011 at 12:11 PM
- Vagabonde said...
I hope you are doing fine and not stressed about your little operation. I have avoided the sun for the last 30 years and rarely go out to a beach unless it is late and I am covered with a long beach dress, long sleeve and a hat. Just don't like the sun that much, so I don't have too many wrinkles yet. I missed reading your posts.
- October 31, 2011 at 2:26 PM
- nazelet said...
How are you Marcia??
- November 3, 2011 at 12:05 AM
- marciamayo said...
Paula, I am well, just very busy. I spent last weekend in Miami (in the rain) at a meeting. I thought of you since I was in Florida.
- November 4, 2011 at 5:21 AM
- flutterby said...
Ooo, been there done that. Had a very small BCC blemish removed from my jawline in July and ended up with a 3-inch incision. I call it my "dueling scar". Very grateful for modern surgery.
- December 2, 2011 at 7:24 AM
- joared said...
Trust all has gone well with your surgical event. Family member had that on her forehead and all went quite well.
This redhead avoided the baby oil craze, lamented I could never really get tan like my many friends. Despite this I did get more sun exposure than I probably should have. Developed what I call barnacles on my back which I attribute to a few sun burns. Recent years I've had them removed. Did recently have a precancerous spot removed from one arm so hope no more. Hope you have no more BCC too.
- December 6, 2011 at 5:39 PM
- Wrinkling Daily said...
I did all the very same things you mentioned, in terms of worshiping the sun, except the tanning bed, and I am paying for it now. I just wanted to say that I am not sure how I stumbled onto your blog, but I am glad I did. You have a nice voice.
- December 14, 2011 at 9:45 AM
- Nance said...
I'm grateful that I found sunbathing so miserable that I did a limited amount of it. Overheated, sweaty, in need of a shower...hardly better than a sharp stick in the eye. It was college and the dorms had flat portions on their roofs that were covered in undergrads from stem to stern. Baby oil with iodine was all they used. Even having avoided most of it, I still have had a couple of spots excised; would hate to think what it would have been like if I'd been more tolerant of discomfort back then.
Hope your scar has vanished entirely by now!
- December 18, 2011 at 5:18 PM
- Murr Brewster said...
Oh jeez, I remember that. Lying out slathered in baby oil between tin foil reflectors. I could have been served with fries.
- January 17, 2012 at 2:33 AM
- nazelet said...
Marcia, how are you doing. Check in. Miss you.
- January 23, 2012 at 10:54 PM
- Jack said...
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Tonsil Stones Removal Guide
- February 15, 2012 at 12:46 AM
- PiedType said...
I did the same roasting and basting when I was young. But I gave up basking and bathing suits twenty years ago. A little color from a bottle to disguise my Moby Dick legs is about it these days. So far the old days haven't caught up with me (knock wood). Take care.
- February 24, 2012 at 12:23 PM
The Curious Lament of a Former Second Grade Teacher
The timing was perfect. I was 56 and looking toward retirement but not yet ready, either physically, emotionally, or moneta...
The other morning, I was listening to my favorite online radio station, KPIG, out of Freedom California, when the old George Jones song, Yo...
Mother love takes many forms. One of the more common ones is cooking for the family. Although it seems that, nowadays, as many dads...


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View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.
By Omar Villafranca, NBCDFW.com
Mix Governor Rick Perry, a Ted Nugent song, a military style rifle and an egg exploding during target practice, and you get the most talked about introduction video at this week's National Rifle Association meeting in Houston.
The short video played just before Perry took the stage to a welcome applause from the crowd. It shows Perry taking aim at an egg from about 100 yards out with a LaRue Tactical rifle, which is made by a company that recently opened up shop in Texas. The video then shows Perry hitting metal targets like a marksman.
The video got quite a reaction online, and not all of it was good. The responses on Twitter ranged from folks saying Perry's video did nothing but "promote and excite the already gun-thirsty and violent society" to others saying "I love Rick Perry! He should be President...great guy."
Several media outlets, from the Washington Examiner to the Huffington Post splashed the video on their websites. Some political pundits accused Perry of shooting the same type of weapon used in the Newtown, Conn. school shooting -- an AR-15.
Perry's office said he was shooting a LaRue PredatOBR 7.62. Tom Mannewitz with Target Master Indoor Shooting center, a Garland gun shop and range, said the gun looks like an AR-15 and has the same frame, but is different and shoots a different caliber bullet. You can see the YouTube video of Perry below.


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|Daily Ozone Summary Report
|Ozone Air Quality for the Day of
|Monday, September 24, 2001
|Based on preliminary data, subject to change.
|* Broader Sacramento Area includes Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, Yolo-Solano Air Pollution Control District, the southern third of Sutter County Air Pollution Control District, and the western portions of El Dorado and Placer County Air Pollution Control Districts.
|** Ventura Data represents through 8/29/01.
|State 1-hour: 0.09 ppm
|National 1-hour: 0.12 ppm
|National 8-hour: 0.08 ppm
|Weekly Ozone Summary | Daily Ozone Summary Archive | Air Quality Data Page
|A department of the California Environmental Protection Agency


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Utilities restoring power lost during storm
Thousands of Wisconsin residents who lost power in this week's rain and ice storms have had their electricity restored, and utility crews are continuing to restore the remaining customers.
Fewer than 1,000 We Energies customers remained without power Thursday afternoon, mostly in Shawano County.
But Wisconsin Public Service reported fresh outages in Stevens Point, Minocqua and surrounding areas. About 3,600 customers were without electricity on Thursday.
As many as 30,000 people lost power Wednesday. The most affected communities were those in the Lake Winnebago area. More than half were restored by Wednesday afternoon.
About a dozen schools in eastern Wisconsin were closed on Wednesday due to power outages. More than 20 others delayed opening for two hours.