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Wedding of Anna Ausubel and Sam Wolfson
June 16-18, 2017
ALL BEDS AT OHANA ARE FULL – Please be in touch with Anna and Sam if you need assistance finding accommodations.
This is where you will register to stay at Ohana Camp. Here are the details for Anna and Sam's wedding.
Adult Rates
2-nights in a cabin (includes 2 breakfasts, 1 bag lunch & tax) = $225.63 2-nights in a tent (includes 2 breakfasts, 1 bag lunch & tax) = $143.88
Child Rates (ages 4-12)
2-nights in a cabin (includes 2 breakfasts, 1 bag lunch & tax) = $146.66 2-nights in a tent (includes 2 breakfasts, 1 bag lunch & tax) = $93.52
- Children 0-3 are free; but please register them as well!
- Dinners will be provided by your hosts.
- Rates are per person.
- Two-night minimum is required.
- Your wedding couple makes the room assignments. Ohana will pass along any special requests.
With this information as your guide, make your reservations on-line at the Ohana secure web site. Please be sure to note in the Event Attending box that you are registering for the wedding of Anna Ausubel and Sam Wolfson. On this site, you can pay by credit card or check. We strongly prefer payment by check when possible. For either form of payment please fill out the online form completely. Click here for Ohana registration.
Paying by check: Fill out the online form completely, including credit card information. Your credit card will not be charged. Please note in additional information that you are sending a check. A check must be received within seven days of registering or your credit card will be charged. Please do not send a check until you have received a confirmation of what is owed. Thank you.
Checks can made payable to: OHANA CAMP
And sent to:
Ohana Camp – registration
2968 Lake Morey Road
Fairlee, VT 05045
Please list in the memo that your are attending the Wedding of Anna Ausubel and Sam Wolfson.
Paying by credit card: Your credit card is not automatically charged. You will receive a confirmation to review for accuracy. If everything is accurate, you do not need to do anything. Changes must be sent within 24 hours. We require full payment at the time of registration.
Questions? Contact Ohana Registrar Gretchen Grote, by email or by phone at 802-333-3460. Learn more about Ohana. We are looking forward to welcoming you to Ohana!
Cancellation policy: If you cancel more than 60 days before an event, we will retain a $25 processing fee and refund you the remainder. If you cancel less than 60 days prior to the event, you will not be refunded unless it is due to illness.


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A winter storm in the Northeast is dumping nearly a foot of snow, and bringing heavy winds and freezing temperatures with it.
The storm is stretching from Virginia to Massachusetts and is keeping nearly 300 flights on the ground.
RELATED: Local drama group stuck in NYC
Pamela Farnesi traveled to New York City with her two daughters and told Channel 4 that she is trying to make the best out of a bad situation.
Farnesi and her daughters were supposed to fly back Tuesday night to Jacksonville, but were delayed until at least 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Farnesi said they are passing time with a Broadway show, a snowball fight and some retail therapy.
"We've kind of done a little shopping and stayed inside the stores and going down to the subway, and then come back to the hotel and warm up for a little while, and now we're fixing to go to a Broadway show, 'Chicago,'" said Farnesi.
With nearly a foot of snow, strong winds and very low temperatures, Delta canceled the Farnesi family's trip back to Jacksonville, which means Farnesi's daughters will have to miss school.
"The biggest fear is our children -- who are seniors -- are dually enrolled in city college, so it's a little difficult for them," said Farnesi. "They can only miss so many college class days and that's a big concern for us at this point."
While her family is looking forward to a quick trip to the Statue of Liberty before they head back to Jacksonville, Farnesi said she's learned a valuable lesson in winter travel.
"Absolutely bring some extra money and maybe a couple extra outfits, and be prepared for some cold weather," said Farnesi.

subset: commoncrawl


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1. What is the goal of Project Degree Completion?
Answer: Nearly 500 (487) public colleges and universities commit to increasing the number of undergraduate baccalaureate degrees by 3.8 million between now and 2025. One method for accomplishing this, highlighted in the commitment, is by reducing the time to degree for students. These institutions have also committed to providing access to diverse populations and maintaining academic quality. Perhaps most significantly, these institutions pledge to constrain per student educational costs. On another level, we are also committing to transform our institutions, to make the difficult decisions and enact the changes required to be able to deliver on these goals.2. How will the goals be achieved?
Answer: Many campuses are already hard at work developing and implementing programs designed to ensure students who enroll are able to complete their studies. Others are working to attract adult students in need of additional training and who left school prior to completion. Campuses such as Florida State, Indiana State, Montana State, and Kentucky State Universities are at the forefront of these efforts, but many institutions are currently focused on these issues.3. Why are public colleges and universities doing this?
Answer: Education is the single most important driver of opportunity and economic growth for individuals, communities and the nation. It is worth the cost to students for their personal return on investment and it is worth the cost to the public sector for the broader public returns on higher education.Perhaps even more important, the economic prosperity of the future depends on it. If we don't advance the number of individuals attaining post-secondary credentials, the medium to long-term economic costs to individuals, businesses and the overall economy will be severe. Simply, significantly more jobs today require a higher education credential. While in 1973, only 28 percent of jobs required postsecondary degree, in 2007, that number had doubled to 59 percent. By 2018, labor market demand for postsecondary education is projected to rise to 63%. In other words, in five years two-thirds of all jobs will require post-secondary credentials. In fact, labor force data shows that employment growth since 1989 has been driven entirely by workers with education beyond high school.Despite increases in the average education level of the workforce, those increases still haven't been enough to keep up with demand. Given current education investment patterns, the gap will continue. Many entities, including President Obama, have called for increased postsecondary attainment for Americans. These calls are in direct response to the U.S.'s declining status in the world regarding the percent of the population with a postsecondary credential. Others, like Tony Carnevale at Georgetown, have projected that more college degrees will be needed to meet workforce needs in order to sustain our economic production. It is projected that this generation will be less educated than the one before – this is not a trend for prosperity. As such, this Commitment is about 4-year public institutions recognizing these needs and rising to the challenge. This Commitment is about the economic prosperity of our citizens and for national sustainability.4. There are now several groups with completion agendas; how do these relate or do they?
Answer: The efforts of Lumina Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education and other groups to advance the completion agenda are complementary to this effort by public colleges and universities. There are many possible approaches to this challenge and with 487 institutions working on improving their own results, we expect significant innovation in the delivery of instruction, remedial programs and student retention. There is already significant experimentation ongoing on campuses such as Florida State, Indiana State, Montana State, and Kentucky State Universities.5. How will the associations support their members?
College Readiness Partnership – A partnership between the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) centered on the awareness and implementation of the Common Core State Standards.
Innovations Exchange – AASCU developed a library of promising practices to assist Members with developing strategies to address campus issues.
HBCU dialogue – AASCU and APLU have begun an effort devoted to the unique challenges HBCU institutions face. One of the areas of focus is on retention and completion.
Annual Meeting sessions – AASCU has included a number of sessions in its Annual Meetings that expose members to creative solutions to the current funding situation that promote efficiencies and productivity.
Urban Serving Universities (USU) Student Performance Strand: group of USU focusing on improving the retention and attainment of students at member institutions. Each institution may focus on group/area of particular need on its campus.
Student Achievement Measure Project: Association partnership to build a website for institutions to report a more accurate and more complete measure of student progress and completion.
Minority Males in STEM initiative: Effort to better understand and facilitate effective practices at institutions to encourage more men of color to pursue and complete degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Academic courseware design project: Collaboration among 2 year and 4 year institutions to design and implement a more effective delivery method for core courses such as biology, algebra and composition that will increase learning and transfer more smoothly among institutions.
Annual awards/recognition for APLU institutions for innovations in improving student retention and completion.
Science and Math Teacher Imperative: Institution-led collaboration to increase the number, diversity, and quality of teachers in math and science.
Moving forward AASCU and APLU might consider:
Creating a Member Think Tank on completion.
Conducting webinars to show case innovative and promising practices.
Continue holding general or concurrent sessions at Annual Meeting focused on the topics important to the commitment.
Partner with other organizations on similar efforts (SHEEO, Ed Trust, Lumina, CCSSO, NGA)
6. How much will it cost to achieve these goals? Who will pay the costs?
Answer: Students, institutions, state and federal governments and private foundations will each share in costs necessary to meet these goals. We also must find new ways to keep public higher education affordable through improved efficiency in the delivery of instruction. The institutions making this commitment today will have to direct resources toward this effort. In some cases, these resources will be substantial; however, we expect the current financing structure to remain intact. Currently, the cost of education is borne by families, institutions, and the states. Institutions have and will continue (highlighted in the commitment statement) to do their part in keeping educational costs in check. Everyone is concerned about the rising burden on families, thus it is up to the states to continue doing their part and more if possible. If states are able to remain an engaged and viable partner in this structure, we are confident our institutions can reach this goal.7. How will you measure progress?
Answer: APLU and AASCU will annually report the number of bachelor's degrees awarded collectively by public universities and colleges during the previous year and progress toward the 2025 goal using data provided to the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Information on proven practices, key partnerships, and innovative programs underway on public university campuses also will be highlighted and shared through the Project Degree Completion webpages.8. What happens if there is no progress?
Answer: Failure is not an option. The nation must produce more college graduates over the next decade in order to remain economically competitive in the global marketplace. The economic future of our children and grandchildren is dependent on public universities achieving these goals.9. How can universities deliver on this commitment given the quality of many elementary and secondary education and the increasingly difficult financial burdens middle class and first generation students carry?
Answer: The commitment is a promise on the part of universities to do our part to change and deliver quality education efficiently to meet the needs of students, the economy and society. But we are not the only player on the field. Federal, state, and local governments, elementary and postsecondary education, community colleges and vocational schools and many others have their parts to play to ensure the medium to long term success of this country and its people.
Moving forward AASCU and APLU might consider:


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By Christopher Sabatini, Special to CNN
Editor's note: Christopher Sabatini is editor-in-chief of the policy journal Americas Quarterly. The views expressed are his own.
It's difficult to remember a time when Hugo Chávez didn't dominate the headlines, just as it is difficult to believe that, with his death, there will come a time when he no longer does. Elected as Venezuelan president in 1998 and sworn in in 1999, Chávez became the voice of a new group of leaders across South America that came to power with the collapse of traditional, elite-dominated party systems. He was the bête noir of the United States, a hero to the anti-globalization left and to the poor in his own country, a savior to the Castro regime in Cuba, and the clown prince of the regional summit circuit. For all this, though, Chávez's legacy in Venezuela and in the region will be one of institutional debasement and polarization.
The one-time lieutenant colonel rose to prominence in 1992, when he and a group of mid-level officers attempted a coup against the country's then-President Carlos Andrés Pérez. In a brief statement to the media, Chávez promised that while he may have failed, that he would return to correct the social injustices that led to his putsch. After serving time in prison he did, winning the 1998 presidential elections, overturning a two-party system that had governed Venezuela since 1958 through an increasingly closed, corrupt system held together by the country's oil riches and patronage.
But the revolutionary coup plotter proved a better destroyer of first the system that preceded him, and then the state that he created, than an institution builder. After convening a constituent assembly in 1999, Venezuela approved a new Bolivarian constitution – named after Chávez's hero, South American independence hero Simón Bolívar. Even before new elections and appointments to fill state positions like the Supreme Court, Chávez and his supporters in the constituent assembly started to subvert their own constitution. Over the course of the next 14 years, the Chávez government undermined judicial independence, used Central Bank reserves for patronage, created partisan militias, established parallel local government structures – including the police forces in Caracas – consolidated control over the media, politicized the electoral commission, and nationalized private companies by caprice.
More from CNN: After Chavez, a power vacuum
At the same time, President Chávez bullied political opponents and threatened opposition media. The result of the institutional vacuum, heated political rhetoric and arbitrary policies was the escalation of political polarization and a spike in corruption and criminality never seen before in Venezuela. Over the course of the last 14 years, the threat of political violence always hung in the background with competing street marches in the early years almost a daily occurrence and with a near majority of the population distrusting the state mediate social and political conflicts. At the same time, Caracas became one of the murder capitals of the world.
This ignominious distinction tracked (not coincidentally) with the growing evidence that sectors of the government, including the military, were involved in narcotics trafficking, leading the U.S. Treasury to blacklist seven Chavista government officials.
Through all of this, President Chávez cleverly avoided international criticism and oversight by angrily asserting national sovereignty, stoking anti-American suspicions and at times behaving like a buffoon. All three worked particularly well. Through the five referenda and presidential elections that were held after 1999, Chávez effectively beat back decades of advances in election observation and standards. While elections were never stolen in the traditional sense – though the opposition in 2004 clumsily attempted to claim so and then refused to participate in the 2005 elections – the disproportionate advantages that the government had in public spending and media also meant they were not free and fair.
More from GPS: Who comes after Chavez?
But the president's railing against imperialist intervention and blustering claims of national sovereignty intimidated the international community. President Chávez promoted the retrograde idea that any form of criticism of human rights came from political opponents, coup plotters (like him?) or was an affront to the country's dignity. Sadly, despite an international community that had evolved to defend and protect these rights, Chavez's bluster worked far better than many would have thought pre-1998.
Human rights concerns were all-too-often dismissed because the president was seen as a champion of the poor. And Chávez's decision to pull Venezuela out of the Inter-American Human Rights Court and efforts later – in collaboration with his ally Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa – strip the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of its independence did not provoke the sort of region-wide opposition that many would have expected. Such is the advantage of being an international bully.
In the end, the legacy of Chávez won't be so much his leadership or Chavismo more generally. There will be little institutional imprint left by Hugo Chávez. Quite the opposite. While the myth of Chávez and his considerable charisma will remain, little concrete will remain, except the age-old lure and echo of populism and its risk...not unlike that of his hero, Bolívar who wrote, shortly before his death "those who have served the revolution have plowed the sea."
Chavez was a nationalistic "Oil" despot with a populist following. He could have used his country's vast oil wealth to leave behind a real and tangible legacy but instead he chose a path of consipiracy theories and making friends with anyone or anything that he felt would annoy the US. My condolenses to the family for their loss and to the country for the loss of the last 12 years.
Nevermind that it was the peoples' revolution, Howard. If you were a wood tool, I would guess you were a skew.
It was a peoples' revolution that moved him into power. Everything he did after that was on him. The "people" did not make the economic and geo-political decisions, those came strictly from Chavez. I don't hold Chavez's feelings towards the US against him, but he actually didn't do very much to improve his country considering the power and the wealth that was at his disposal.
Bullsh@#, Sabatini. The reality of Venezuela's socialism and democracy will outlive our myth! Let alone the wedge we tried to drive between Venezuela and Brazil. Mythical.
chavez was a great man for the majority of the people.
the 100 – 200 families of greed who wanted 100% of venezuela's wealth for themselves hated chavez.
the american govt which serves the wealthy also hated chavez, a leader who served the people
I'm sorry your dictator died. Would you like ours?
Like Castro, and other left wing Latin leaders, Chavez had a lot of good qualities, and some bad qualities.
For good qualities, both were able to free their nations from the right-wing murderous dictatorships the United States established in their nations. As such, they stopped the murder's by our CIA and the military we created in those nations. Thousands, likely millions, of Latin civilians were murdered in Chile, El Salvador, Cuba and Venezuela with our nation's authorization.
Both helped the poor and moved out the rich who had enslaved the poor and stolen all the wealth of their nation. This was a huge problem in Cuba, where the rich right wing stole all the nations money and brought it to Florida.
But both also restricted individual freedom's, which is a weakness.
No black and white here with Chavez – a good leader who did a lot of good, but operated under a system designed to restrict liberties.
What a pathetic bunch of LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES
What achievements beside lining his own pockets?
This man will have far more impact than you think.
You will finally understand when ALL the jobs are done by robots.
I think he will be missed although I hope the people who replace him carry on and develop socialism in Venezuela. He seems to me to have gotten a bad press in US media which he was also able to use to enhance his image in his own country. He has been one of the leaders spearheading social reform throughout Central and S. America.. The historical picture has been one of exploitation by European , USA Corporations, and internal oligarch rule. The Chavez "revolution" was a form of military assisted populism. It takes force and power to shake up and remove power.. Hence the complaints about Chavez. No one likes losing their grip on power and wealth which is what happened to those oligarchs whose industries were nationalized.
"power and wealth"
You mean like the billions Chavez stole from his adoring lemmings?
"... a savior to the Castro regime in Cuba, and the CLOWN prince of the regional summit circuit." nice typo there.
Just like a tinhorn, Leftist dictator. He throws a few crumbs to the lemmings to keep them docile, while he steals billions for himself and his cronies. Classic Libearalism. He will burn in Hades for eternity.
CLassic capitalism as well.
Communism and capitalism all end up at the same place.
All the money goes to the very top.
Chavez was elected, Venezuela is a democracy.
Chavez was never ever an Amirican kissass that is why most Americans hate him,same as most of then hates Fidel,Lula,Correa,Cristina,Evo,America Latina needs more and more Chavez,is way better that a Venezuelan like Chavez stole the Venezolanos Money and not the Americans as they do all around Latinoamerica where they have kissass presidents.
He confiscated peoples property and opened the doors to the prisons and used the convicts as his personal gang and dissent oppressors.
Chavez squandered Venezuela's national oil wealth . He was Father Christmas to other corrupt Governments. In fact as an act of defiant against US, Chavez intentionally spent billions every year to prop up Cuba's economy which was and still is in a terrible mess.
As a result of his squandering over the years, Venezuela is now heading towards a financial crisis as its national debt continue to balloon to unsustainable level. Any prolong drop in world oil price could trigger that financial crisis for Venezuela.
Hugo Chavez Gave Heating Aid to U.S. Poor Following Obama Budget Cuts.
"As a result of his squandering over the years, Venezuela is now heading towards a financial crisis as its national debt continue to balloon to unsustainable level" Hey Johnny we can say the same for US government and all the European Governments. They are all facing financila crisis. Atleast under Chvez the poor Venezuelans did not suffer as much as the poor in the US and Europe. Did not your government squander US wealth on unnecessary wars? US government too has been Santa to many dictatorial government if you know your history. US media is programmed to be critical of any foreign government that challenges US government's hegemony. How else would they brainwash the minds of people like you.? You do not get a chance to thinkmfor yourself they do the thinking for you.
Chavez was a great leader of the 21st century. Half the world hated him (damn yanks...) and the other half loved him. But it is absolutely disgusting to hear that people are desecrating photos of his body. Nobody deserves that.
Viva Chavez!
i just want to throw this out there. The U.S. has never ratified the American Convention on Human Rights. Let's compare GDP and Gini to the United States shall we? We can move past all the demonization and just stick to facts if you like. I'm sure your assessment will look a bit biased if we do that. Happy to provide more facts if you need them.
The "Chavez Myth" will only live if you make it.
This web site offers pleasant quality YouTube videos; I always down load the dance contest show video clips from this site.
autocom http://gmtech2obdii.webs.com


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It is a symbolic irony the Golden Mantella frog's habitat and the species' very survival is under threat due to the proliferation of artisanal gold mining among the rivers and ponds that form its jungle habitat in Madagascar's Mangabe region.
As men dig for gold, they dislodge another precious treasure from its home. The Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca) is Critically Endangered and inhabits a tiny range of about 10km2 in eastern Madagascar. This is where Madagasikara Voakajy (MV), an SOS grantee are working to reverse the destruction with the help of local communities through a number of conservation activities including the restoration of damaged pond habitats affected by the clash of man and nature.
Yet gold fever has spurred scores of amateur miners to defy the law, tearing up the riverbeds and ponds in the process as they search for traces of the precious metal. What is more, the practice is utterly destructive and pollutes the water source for local communities living nearby. The profits from gold mining are extremely attractive especially in a country where poverty is rife. Stopping for short periods before they move on deeper into the forest while prospecting for gold, it has proven nearly impossible to identify much less to capture the miners. Meanwhile, the restoration process can take months to implement and up to ten years before a pond system is fully restored, according Julie Hanta Razafimanahaka, MV Director.
While the terrain and the economics of the situation make the MV team's job a challenging one, fortunately they have support from local community members. Once locals realised the Golden Mantella was unique to their home they became supportive of MV's efforts to protect the tiny frog, participating in pond restoration activities and patrolling initiatives. Effective patrolling of the thickly forested area is difficult so community involvement is valuable. According to Julie many of the community members have grown up in Mangabe witnessing first-hand the gradual degradation of their forest home and are keen to make a positive impact to turn the situation around.
As such, community engagement efforts in 2012 are beginning to pay off with community oriented project management training completed in October and the first phase of the restoration process well underway at one pond. With four months to go before the frogs enter their winter hibernation period, now is the time when the two worlds of frog and man collide in Mangabe. Some may dig for gold, but others will sow and tend to the ponds of Mangabe's living gold. Building on the work in 2012, Julie's team will need to support the communities with implementing the projects they have already designed to maintain momentum in the project's development.
Furthermore, plans to begin three more projects in 2013 along with other related community training initiatives will make it a busy year for MV. In fact, a recent plant survey determined a list of species that should be used for pond restoration. As these are not available in the seeds and seedlings resource developed, MV and the participant communities will have to collect the seedlings from the wild.
It is a slow process restoring the ponds, taking years but with local support, knowledge sharing and plenty of elbow-grease, hopefully the waters of Mangabe will shine bright with a living treasure once more.


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Extavium Potsdam, the interactive science museum and educational facility for children and young people, promotes a DIY approach that encourages trial and experimentation from an early age.
Maths, physics, chemistry. In order to understand things you have to experience them. That was the idea behind the Extavium Potsdam, which turns science into fun and games. The giant laboratory with numerous exhibits, tailor-made for children and young people, invites big and small explorers on an exciting tour of discovery through the world of science. This interactive world offers something new to try out or marvel at around every corner. Freezing your own shadow on the wall, transforming movement into bird song or music, making a sphere hover slowly through an aluminium tube – these are only a few of the exciting things children can experience here and which teach them how it all works. Many have worked up a sweat while attempting to boil a cup of water by pedalling on the energy bicycle.
At the Extavium Potsdam children can build solar cells, create tornadoes, see around corners and run experiments with the tutors in the laboratories. One particular highlight is the marshmallow pump: the children put a chocolate-covered marshmallow ball under a cheese dome. They watch, fascinated, as the marshmallow inflates, growing larger and larger as the air is pumped out. As the air returns it shrinks again until it looks almost exactly as it did before. To top it all off, the children then get to eat the marshmallow ball. The fascinating and exciting experimentation courses are also very popular. These include building a mouse maze and learning about kitchen chemistry, photovoltaics, forensics and the physics of football. There is no better place for children to experiment and discover the secrets of science than this fun and educational children's museum in Potsdam. Interested? Well, what are you waiting for?
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Classic Thanksgiving Dinner
A Classic Thanksgiving Feast
A Classic Thanksgiving Feast
This year a lot of people are focusing on hosting trendy Thanksgiving dinners, influenced by South or East Asian flavors. We think that's awesome — it's great to branch out and try new things. But just in case you were looking for a more traditional spread, we've got you covered. Check out our picks for a classic Thanksgiving feast! On the menu:
- Apple cidercar cocktail
- Mushroom leek tart
- Herb-butter turkey
- Sausage and kale stuffing
- Mashed potatoes
- Creamed collard greens
- Caramelized onion cranberry sauce
- Classic pumpkin pie
- Classic apple pie
Read ahead for more on the meal, including recipes.
Source: Thinkstock


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For your weekend reading pleasure, the articles listed below contain some of the best dividend and value investing insights found on the web. They were written by various members of the Dividend Investing and Value Network over the past week:
Articles From DIV-Net Members
- 8 Stocks Heating Up Their Yields With Higher Dividends
- Key Ingredients for Successful Dividend Investing
- Top- And Bottom-Performing Dividend Stocks Through September
- Procter & Gamble (PG) Expensive Dividend Stock?
- Nike, Inc. Has Strong Financial, Operating And Dividend Metrics
- Investor Letter Fall 2014: Sailing Into The Wind
- Recent Buy
- Are You an Anxious, Impatient, Irrational Person?
- My Growth & Rental Portfolio Update Q3 2014
- New Purchases – 10/28/14
- Archer Daniels Midland
- Dividend payments - October 2014
- Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Stock Analysis
- A Giant Home Run with General Dynamics Corporation
There are some really good articles here, please take time and read a few of them.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Weekend Reading Links - November 2, 2014
For your weekend reading pleasure, the articles listed below contain some of the best dividend and value investing insights found on the web. They were written by various members of the Dividend Investing and Value Network over the past week:
Recent Posts From DIV-Net Members
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'Avengers 2′ Viral Site Wants to Know if You're on Team S.H.I.E.L.D. or if You Hail Hydra
With 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' hitting DVD and Blu-ray in a couple of weeks, and 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' in the works, Marvel has set up a cool new viral site that neatly ties everything together (just like their movie universe). And fans will be rewarded handsomely for visiting the site to find out if they're on team S.H.I.E.L.D. or part of the nefarious Hydra organization.
Most of the time viral sites just offer neat little puzzles to help uncover new images or clips, but Marvel has definitely upped the ante this time around. The S.H.I.E.L.D. vs Hydra site was launched today, which allows fans to enter information into Armin Zola's algorithm, like which decade was the most influential in American history, and which trait you find most important.
By entering all of the information, the algorithm determines if you belong to S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra, and you will go on to participate and compete in a series of missions, which will be assigned to you online every week for the next four weeks. Among the prizes are autographed posters, flash drives, and Marvel comic subscriptions -- all leading to the grand prize: a trip for you and a friend to next year's premiere of 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' in Los Angeles. The grand prize will be announced sometime around September 22.
Hail Hydra!


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Valenzuela set for Caribbean Hall of Fame induction
HERMOSILLO, Mexico -- Fernando Valenzuela's no-brainer induction to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame will take place Sunday, at 10 a.m. MT at the University of Sonora's Arts Center.
Valenzuela -- a six-time All-Star with the Dodgers, who won the National League's Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards while en route to a World Series title in 1981 -- will be joined by ex-manager Tommy Lasorda, Dodgers vice president Lon Rosen and broadcaster Jaime Jarrin, now Valenzuela's partner in the booth.
Caribbean Baseball Federation president Juan Herrera will make a speech and present Valenzuela with his Hall of Fame plaque, officially placing him in a group that includes Tony Perez, Rod Carew, Willie Mays, Dave Concepcion, Edgar Martinez and Roberto Alomar. Also being inducted Sunday are ex-players Houston Jimenez and Ever Magallanes, along with former Mexican Pacific League presidents Renato Vega and Dr. Arturo Leon Lerma.
Valenzuela's last season in the Majors came in 1997, but he continued to suit up for his home country in the Mexican Pacific League until 2006 -- at age 46 -- and pitched in three Caribbean Series (1982, '93 and '01).
On Friday, Valenzuela kicked off the 55th Caribbean Series and helped christen a brand-new ballpark in Sonora by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
"It looks like a very comfortable stadium for the fans," Valenzuela said while hounded by the Spanish press. "It's a stadium designed for baseball, and I think the people here will enjoy it."


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At least it was yesterday at the Mullins Center, where UMass's Derrick Gordon and LSU's Johnny O'Bryant III took out a laptop, a couple of sodas, and some guy in a red shirt during their relentless pursuit of a loose ball. Be sure to watch Gordon completely launch himself during the slow-motion replay at the 37-second mark. That really is great hustle.
More from Deadspin


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Each week Ed Shepp and his guests explore a theme plucked randomly from the perfume cloud over Macy's. May include (but is not limited to) talking, music, turkey sounds and eargasmic eclectitude.
<-- Previous playlist | Back to The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment playlists | Next playlist -->
February 15, 2007: The Art of Seduction
|Ed Shepp
|The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment Theme
|Because I can't think of any other way to phrase it right now, let's call this one the "seduction mix"
RSS feeds for The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment: Playlists feed | MP3 archives feed| E-mail Ed Shepp | Other WFMU Playlists | All artists played by The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment |


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The Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) is a program of state-wide surveys of local government leaders in Michigan. The MPPS is designed to fill an important information gap in the policymaking process. While there are ongoing surveys of the business community and of the citizens of Michigan, before the MPPS there were no ongoing surveys of local government officials that were representative of all general purpose local governments in the state. Therefore, while we knew the policy priorities and views of the state's businesses and citizens, we knew very little about the views of the local officials who are so important to the economies and community life throughout Michigan.
The MPPS was launched in 2009 by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the University of Michigan and is conducted in partnership with the Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Municipal League, and Michigan Townships Association. The associations provide CLOSUP with contact information for the survey's respondents, and consult on survey topics. CLOSUP makes all decisions on survey design, data analysis, and reporting, and receives no funding support from the associations.
The surveys investigate local officials' opinions and perspectives on a variety of important public policy issues and solicit factual information about their localities relevant to policymaking. Over time, the program has covered issues such as fiscal, budgetary and operational policy, fiscal health, public sector compensation, workforce development, local-state governmental relations, intergovernmental collaboration, economic development strategies and initiatives such as placemaking and economic gardening, the role of local government in environmental sustainability, energy topics such as hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") and wind power, trust in government, views on state policymaker performance, opinions on the impacts of the Federal Stimulus Program (ARRA), and more. The program will investigate many other issues relevant to local and state policy in the future.
How often does the MPPS take place?
The MPPS is conducted twice per year, once in spring and once in fall. Spring surveys contain several batteries of "core" fiscal, budgetary, and operational policy questions that get asked each year, thereby building up a time-series of data on fundamental issues and allowing tracking of change and continuity over time. Fall surveys target specific unique topics such as workforce development, intergovernmental collaboration, performance measurement and management, etc.
How is the MPPS funded?
The first two waves (and the overall startup) of the MPPS were funded by internal CLOSUP funds and a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Since then, MPPS activities have been funded solely by internal funds at CLOSUP. In the future, CLOSUP may seek additional external support from foundations or other interested organizations.
Who will use the MPPS?
The MPPS serves a wide-range of stakeholders in Michigan and elsewhere, including local and state policymakers, nonprofit organizations, foundations, citizen groups, the media and the academic research and teaching community.
"I appreciate the professional work of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and the information included in their public policy survey reports. The survey data is gathered, assembled, and shared logically in a manner that allows for practical application. I focus on the summary and then follow on to the detailed supporting data and illustrative charts. The survey findings and work of CLOSUP are critical tools in our policy development toolbox. We use it in our local municipality to inform, discuss, guide, and develop appropriate polices."
-Bud Norman (Administrator/Controller, Branch County, March 2015)
Access to MPPS datasets
CLOSUP is depositing MPPS datasets at ICPSR for other researchers to use. See more info.
What does the MPPS do?
The surveys:
- provide local public officials with a better understanding of the decision-making environment in which they operate, including the views, values, priorities and experiences of their peers across the state;
- enhance opportunities for regional cooperation and coordination with resulting cost savings and/or public service improvements;
- give state-level policymakers a better understanding of the policy priorities in different kinds of communities as well as the likely resistance or support they will find for various state policy options;
- increase government transparency and accountability and therefore result in better opportunities for high quality civic engagement by community activists, nonprofits, foundations and the public;
- provide unique and powerful data for academic researchers and students to better understand local government operations.
How can you get involved?
We are eager to hear your ideas about the surveys: the key issues or questions that should be included, the general topics that should be covered, the types of analysis and reports that would be most useful. If you would like to share your input, please contact Tom Ivacko at 734-647-4091 or by email to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Voting on the new C++14 standard completed in August with approval of the document. All that remains before we can say it is officially complete is publication by the ISO. In this article, I visit the high points of the new standard, demonstrating how the upcoming changes will affect the way you program, particularly when using the idioms and paradigms of what is termed Modern C++.
The committee seems intent on keeping the standards process in a higher gear than in decades past. This means that C++14, having had just three years since the last standard, is a somewhat constrained release. Far from being disappointing, this is a boon for programmers because it means implementers are able to push out compliance with the new features in real time. Yes, you can start using C++14 features today nearly all of them if you are flexible in your tool chain.
At this point you can get a free copy of the draft proposal here. Unfortunately, when the final standard is published, ISO will have it paywalled.
Shortening the time-frame between releases is working to help compiler writers keep up with the language changes in something closer to real time. With just three years between releases, there are fewer changes to adjust to.
The examples in this article were mostly tested with clang 3.4, which has great coverage of C++14 features; g++ has a somewhat smaller list of features covered; and Visual C++ seems to be trailing the pack.
C++14: What's Important
What follows are descriptions of the C++14 changes that will have significant impact in your coding work, along with working examples and discussions of when and why you would employ the features.
Return type deduction
The capabilities
auto are expanded in this release. C++ itself continues to be typesafe, but the mechanics of type safety are increasingly being performed by the compiler instead of the programmer.
In C++11, programmers starting using
auto for declarations. This was keenly appreciated for things like iterator creation, when the fully qualified type name might be horrendous. Newly minted C++ code was much easier to read:
for ( auto ii = collection.begin() ; ...
This code is still completely typesafe the compiler knows what type
begin() returns in that context, so there is no question about what type
ii is, and that will be checked every place it is used.
In C++14, the use of
auto is expanded in a couple of ways. One that makes perfect sense is that of return type deduction. If I write a line of code like this inside a function:
return 1.4;
It is obvious to both me and the compiler that the function is returning a
double. So in C++14, I can define the function return type as
auto instead of
auto getvalue() {
The details of this new feature are pretty easy to understand. For example, if a function has multiple return paths, they need to have the same type. Code like this:
auto f(int i) { if ( i < 0 ) return -1; else return 2.0 }
might seem like it should obviously have a deduced return type of
double, but the standard prohibits this ambiguity, and the compiler property complains:
error_01.cpp:6:5: error: 'auto' in return type deduced as 'double' here but deduced as 'int' in earlier return statement return 2.0 ^ 1 error generated.
There several good reasons why deducing the return type is a plus for your C++ programs. First, there are times when you need to return a fairly complex type, such as an iterator, perhaps when searching into a standard library container. The
auto return type makes the function easier to write properly, and easier to read. A second (maybe less obvious) reason is that using an
auto return type enhances your ability to refactor. As an example, consider this program:
#include <iostream> #include <vector> #include <string> struct record { std::string name; int id; }; auto find_id(const std::vector<record> &people, const std::string &name) { auto match_name = [&name](const record& r) -> bool { return r.name == name; }; auto ii = find_if(people.begin(), people.end(), match_name ); if (ii == people.end()) return -1; else return ii->id; } int main() { std::vector<record> roster = { {"mark",1}, {"bill",2}, {"ted",3}}; std::cout << find_id(roster,"bill") << "\n"; std::cout << find_id(roster,"ron") << "\n"; }
In this example, I'm not saving many brain cells by having
find_id() return
auto instead of
int. But consider what happens if I decide that I want to refactor my
record structure. Instead of using an integral type to identify the person in the
record object, maybe I have a new
GUID type:
struct record { std::string name; GUID id; };
Making that change to the
record object will cause a series of cascading changes in things like the return types of functions. But if my function uses automatic return type deduction, the compiler will silently make the change for me.
Any C++ programmer who has worked on a large project is familiar with this issue. Making a change to a single data structure can cause a seemingly endless series of iterations through the code base, changing variables, parameters, and return types. The increased use of
auto does a lot to cut through this bookkeeping.
Note that in the example above, and in the rest of this article, I create and use a named lambda. I suspect that most users of lambdas with functions like
std::find_if() will define their lambdas as anonymous inline objects, which is a very convenient style. Due to limited page width, I think it is a little easier to read code in your browser when lambdas are defined apart from their usage. So this is not necessarily a style you should emulate, you should just appreciate that it is somewhat easier to read. In particular, it will be much easier if you are light on lambda experience.
Turning back to
auto, an immediate consequence of using it as a return type is the reality of its doppelgänger,
decltype(auto), and the rules it will follow for type deduction. You can now use it to capture type information automatically, as in this fragment:
template<typename Container> struct finder { static decltype(Container::find) finder1 = Container::find; static decltype(auto) finder2 = Container::find; };
Generic Lambdas
Another place where
auto has insinuated itself is in the definitions of lambda parameters. Defining lambda parameters with an
auto type declaration is the loose equivalent of creating a template function. The lambda will be instantiated in a specific embodiment based on the deduced types of the arguments.
This is convenient for creating lambdas that can be reused in different contexts. In the simple example below, I've created a lambda used as a predicate in a standard library function. In the C++11 world, I would have needed to explicitly instantiate one lambda for adding integers, and a second for adding strings.
With the addition of generic lambdas, I can define a single lambda with generic parameters. Although the syntax doesn't include the keyword
template, this is still clearly a further extension of C++ generic programming:
#include <iostream> #include <vector> #include <string> #include <numeric> int main() { std::vector<int> ivec = { 1, 2, 3, 4}; std::vector<std::string> svec = { "red", "green", "blue" }; auto adder = [](auto op1, auto op2){ return op1 + op2; }; std::cout << "int result : " << std::accumulate(ivec.begin(), ivec.end(), 0, adder ) << "\n"; std::cout << "string result : " << std::accumulate(svec.begin(), svec.end(), std::string(""), adder ) << "\n"; return 0; }
Which produces the following output:
int result : 10 string result : redgreenblue
Even if you are instantiating anonymous inline lambdas, employing generic parameters is still useful for the reasons I discussed earlier in this article. When your data structures change, or functions in your APIs get signature modifications, generic lambdas will adjust with recompilation instead of requiring rewrites:
std::cout << "string result : " << std::accumulate(svec.begin(), svec.end(), std::string(""), [](auto op1,auto op2){ return op1+op2; } ) << "\n";
Initialized Lambda Captures
In C++11, we had to start adjusting to the notion of a lambda capture specification. That declaration guides the compiler during the creation of the closure: an instance of the function defined by the lambda, along with bindings to variables defined outside the lambda's scope.


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Find the right product for your application in a fast and easy
GF Piping Systems develops and manufactures trendsetting products and systems, used all around the world. This expertise and experience cannot be covered by brochures only. We want you to get to know us better. That is why we let our customer success stories speak for themselves. By highlighting selected reference projects, we would like to give you some deeper insight into our work. The successfully realized projects represent highly diverse requirements, environmental conditions and applications in the fields of industry, utility and building technology. In their sum they show the large variety of functions and the flexibility of our products, giving you a feel for the individual value, from which you could benefit as well.


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Bennett Campus Center
Few single buildings can offer such a variety of venue options, which is why so many choose to put their meetings and events right in the hub of our students' campus life. Inside the Bennett Campus Center you'll find small conference rooms for meetings or discussion sessions, as well as a large, open mezzanine area for receptions or small dinners. Connected you'll find Shamblin Theatre, a unique multi-level venue for meetings, award banquets and video presentations. Step outside to a below-ground amphitheater, ideal for star-lit receptions and musical performances. Whatever your event, we'll make sure you get the best grades.
For additional information and a closer look at the Bennett Campus Center please click here to view our brochure.


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This week at My Curious City, we talk about beauty. From inner beauty to the beauty of the city, our collaborators are presenting many ways to have a better and beautiful life. In a report, we visit Adrenaline Montreal, a tattoo and piercing shop, and in studio, we have a dentist, Dr. Karim El-Samram, and a musical performance with Meryem Saci.
Guest(s) : Guest – Dr. Karim El-Samram, Doctor, Dentist at D Dental Office Report – Adrenaline Tattoo Musical performance – Meryem Saci accompanied by Frank O'Sullivan Volunteer collaborators – Helene Lokoka (Host), Sandra Flessas, Rusual Al-Shawkat, Eddie Karratt, Barbara Plascencia, Pamela Pagano, Berline Dorleans, Brittany Henriques (reporter), Francine Romano Volunteer technicians – Faye Hitchen, Jean-Roch Coupal, Steve Lapommeray, Matthew Naoufal, Saher Gerais, Martin Lebel
Produced by the members of the MY Volunteering program, My Curious City presents different themes connected to the Montreal cosmopolitan life. Through reports, columns and interviews, the team of My Curious City highlights places, companies, events and individual Montreal citizens, around a weekly theme. Invited artists add a musical touch every week with live performances recorded in the studio.


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It's a good year for U.S. travelers to venture abroad. The strong dollar helps stretch your travel budget, making train tickets, hotels and restaurants in many destinations around the world more affordable. Just don't expect similar bargains on plane tickets. Low fuel prices haven't lowered the cost of airfares. Consolidation in the airline industry and decreased competition mean bargain prices are harder to come by.
But we can help you get good deals on all your travel plans. We asked industry insiders and travel Web site editors to weigh in with their top tips and smartest strategies for getting the best prices with the least hassle on airfares, cruises, hotels and vacation packages.
SEE ALSO: 10 International Travel Bargains
1) Fly when no one else wants to. Fares rise and fall with air traffic -- so says the law of supply and demand. In general, plan to fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday or in the afternoon on Saturday to bag a cheaper domestic flight.
Early mornings and late nights are also less popular and more affordable times to fly, as are Thanksgiving and the eves and days of Christmas and New Year's. If you want to find the best month to take your trip, plug your home airport and getaway location into Hotwire.com's TripStarter tool to see the cheapest times to fly. Besides saving money, avoiding peak travel days will often mean you'll travel on less-crowded flights and go through shorter airport security lines.
2) Be flexible about where you go. You can use Kayak's Explore tool to pinpoint on a world map all the destinations you can visit within your airfare budget. This interactive tool lets you select a departure city and month or season of travel, then adjust a sliding scale to set a maximum ticket price. Airfares that fit into your budget will populate a map, and you can click on a city for details. Google Flights has a similar feature, and you can browse by precise dates. Select "expand map," enter your travel dates, choose a price limit, and airfares that fit will pop up. Click on a city for a bar graph displaying fares for other date combinations.
3) Sign up for free e-mail alerts from airlines or other travel sites such as Airfarewatchdog or follow them on social media. You can get early access to coupon codes and flash sales, which can reduce a round-trip fare that's typically $1,200 to $1,800 down to $700, says George Hobica, president of Airfarewatchdog. Plus, getting pinged regularly with ticket prices can help you develop a point of reference to recognize good deals.
4) Make sure you're buying your tickets at the right time. According to airfare booking site CheapAir, the magical time to score the cheapest domestic flight is 47 days before departure, on average. Data from Kayak falls in line with this recommendation, finding that the best time to book a domestic flight is four to six weeks ahead of take off. Optimal booking days for international trips vary, from two to four weeks in advance to head to the Caribbean to six months before leaving for Europe, according to Kayak. Also, be sure to check out Kayak's price-predicting tool. Just enter your itinerary, and the site will return a list of fares with a recommendation to either buy now -- because it expects the fare to rise -- or wait for a soon-to-come fare drop.
5) If you're booking a last-minute flight, consider buying a vacation package. Online travel agencies lock in lower fares early and combine them with cheap hotel stays. At the eleventh hour, when fares may spike elsewhere, these bundles may cost less than purchasing the flight alone.
6) Keep an eye on fares, even after you book. You have the right to change or cancel your flight plans for free within 24 hours of booking, thanks to rules introduced by the Department of Transportation in 2012. So if you find a better fare within that window, you can snatch the savings with no penalty.
After 24 hours, if you find your booked fare has dropped, some airlines may be willing to refund you the difference. Use Yapta.com to track any price changes on nine major airlines. Most airlines charge change fees, but Yapta takes those into account and notifies you only if a price drop exceeds that fee. Then the site guides you through the process of contacting the airline to get your voucher.
7) Avoid the extra baggage fees that most airlines charge. Southwest continues to allow two free checked bags; JetBlue permits one (though the airline has announced that it will introduce a new checked-bag fee structure in 2015). See SmarterTravel for a comprehensive list of fees from 13 major U.S. airlines. And weigh the costs of carrying luggage versus shipping it -- see KIP TIP: Save Money By Shipping Your Luggage.
8) Add a free destination. You may be able to squeeze an extra destination into your itinerary at no cost--or for a smidge more than what you're already paying for your flight. Some airlines offer a free stopover (a break of more than 24 hours) in their hub cities en route to another country. Find these deals under "special offers" or by searching "stopover" on the airline's Web site.
For example, Icelandair lets passengers hop off in Iceland when traveling between North America and Europe. Air Canada allows breaks in three cities on routes to foreign countries. For layovers more than six hours long in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, the airline even provides you with a one-night hotel stay for free or starting at $49, depending on your ticket type. Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines offer similar deals including lodging. If you can't find details online, call the airline to inquire about no-cost stops on your route.
9) Get a travel rewards card. Keep these ingredients in mind when shopping for a travel-friendly credit card: no foreign transaction fee, a microchip and generous rewards. Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard ($89 annual fee, waived the first year) offers a chip along with extra-secure PIN capability. You earn 40,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 within 90 days of opening your account. If you would rather trade significant rewards for no annual fee, consider the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature, which is also chip- and PIN-enabled.
SEE ALSO: 8 Fabulous Travel Freebies
10) Go off-season -- an especially savvy strategy if you select a destination that's designed for large peak-season crowds. Desperate to fill rooms, hotels will slash rates or throw in perks, such as free Wi-Fi or spa credits. For example, consider business or convention hotels after the suits have departed for the weekend and beach resorts in the spring (after spring break) or fall.
11) Book directly through a hotel's Web site. Many places offer lower rates for online booking. You can also sign up to get hotels' e-mails about special promotions and discounts. Just remember the lowest rates are usually prepaid and non-refundable. If you think your plans might change, you'll have to pay the higher, more flexible rates.
12) Pick up the phone. Sometimes a call can yield greater savings than booking on the Web. For hotels, contact the front desk and see whether the agent can beat the online rate. Mention anything that could get you a discount, such as being a senior, a member of AAA or a government employee. If the agent won't budge, ask for the duty manager.
13) Be flexible to save on a high-class stay. Private-sale sites, such as JetSetter.com, offer deep discounts on luxury hotels for a limited time. But the destinations are random and most sites only offer a few deals at a time.
14) Book blind for rock-bottom rates. The "Priceline Negotiator" and Hotwire.com's "Secret Hot Rates" can cut up to 60% off regular hotel rates. With either site, you specify your length of stay, preferred neighborhood and a guaranteed minimum star class; with Priceline's "Name Your Own Price" tool, you must also submit a bid. But you won't know the exact hotel or location until after you pay -- an especially big risk when visiting unfamiliar areas, particularly overseas. (Blind booking works fine for car rentals, too; a sedan is a sedan is a sedan. But it's a bigger gamble for flights because you won't know exact departure times or airlines.)
15) Keep an eye on lodging rates, even after you book. If you see a lower rate on the same type of room at your hotel, call the front desk and see if they'll match it. Tingo.com specializes in this kind of cash-back courtesy -- if you book a "Money Back" room through the site, it will track the hotel's rates and automatically refund you if the price drops. One catch: You have to prepay for your stay.
Even better, take advantage of the best-rate guarantees from hotel chains such as Hyatt and Starwood. If you find a better rate on a third-party site for the same hotel and room type, they'll beat the lower rate by 20%. Orbitz offers a similar guarantee to its rewards members. After booking, if you find a better rate on another site, the online travel agency will award you 100% of the difference in "Orbucks." You also get $50 to $200 in the site's trademark currency, depending on your rewards-member status, up to the total price you paid.
16) Fight the fees. Call your hotel to confirm an online reservation -- especially if you booked at the last minute -- and check to see whether you're being charged additional fees. Hotels may be willing to waive fees, especially for frequent visitors or rewards-program members. Also, request a copy of your bill the night before you check out so that you have time to dispute any extra charges.
17) Switch hotels mid stay. Say you're booking a hotel for a five-night stay starting on Saturday night. If Saturday and Sunday are more expensive than Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, you may pay for all five nights at the highest daily price. Consider switching hotels midway through your trip if you can find a comparable hotel for a cheaper weekday rate.
18) Visit the concierge. You'll get the inside scoop on discount theater tickets, two-for-one restaurant deals and other entertainment. Or get help before you check in. Expedia offers "Local Experts" to give advice on a few popular vacation destinations, including Hawaii, Orlando and Mexico. And Room 77, a hotel aggregator start-up, offers concierge service to help you locate the right room for you at three- to five-star hotels.
SEE ALSO: Best Times to Buy Airline Tickets
Vacation Packages
19) Hotels and airlines don't like to advertise sales because it hurts the brand, says Sean Murphy, editor in chief of travel Web site Jetsetter. Instead, he says, they'll often package a trip to disguise the discount. Online travel agencies Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz are well known for their bundled bargains. But don't forget to check packages offered by airlines, such as United Vacations and Southwest Vacations, as well as smaller travel operators such as Apple Vacations and Gate 1 Travel. Daily deal sites have gotten in on the act, too, with Groupon Getaways and LivingSocial Escapes.
20) Seek all-inclusive deals to pay just once for your whole vacation -- including lodging, food, drinks and activities -- and make it easier to stay within your budget, especially if you're traveling with children. As the peak summer season cools off, beach resorts should get more generous with their perks.
21) Price it a la carte. To see if a package makes sense, research prices for all of the elements before you commit. For example, a cruise package typically charges per person for hotel rooms at the port of departure. See whether you would save by reserving a double-occupancy room outside of the package.
22) Defy hurricane season. Cruise lines offer the most enticing deals for travel from June 1 to November 30, which is hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Demand is low because of the risk of storm, but ships can circumvent the worst of the bad weather. If your cruise is canceled (which rarely happens), you'll receive a refund or credit toward a future cruise. Check out Cruise Critic's "Hurricane Zone," which provides storm updates and links to hurricane-season deals.
Warning: the cruise company won't reimburse you if rerouting delays force you to shell out for extra hotel nights or other itinerary changes. You may want cover your bases by booking travel insurance through a third-party provider, such as Travel Guard
23) Use a travel agent. Especially for first-timers, cruises can prove more complicated than your standard trip by air or land. A good cruise agent can help you avoid any costly booking snafus, as well as score you solid deals, cabin upgrades and other extras. At CruiseCompete.com, submit your cruise preferences, and the site will relay your request to more than 300 travel agents, who will then make you their best offers.
But beware of upselling: Agents typically receive a commission from the cruise line, so it's in their best interest if you book a cruise bundle that includes airfare and hotel. Think twice -- and check flights and hotels on your own -- before purchasing one.
24) For all-inclusive, go luxury. Cruise lines are starting to nickel-and-dime passengers. Expect to pay an extra $25 to $35 for the fanciest onboard restaurants and to pony up for other extras. Luxury liners tend to include amenities, such as shore excursions and gratuities, in their prices. A luxury line might even cover airfare -- often a good deal if you're considering a Mediterranean cruise. Plus, you'll typically have the run of a smaller ship, with a roomier cabin and more one-on-one service.
25) Book at the last minute. Cruise ships set sail as scheduled whether or not every cabin is occupied, so cruise lines often offer great last-minute deals to bring aboard as many paying guests as possible. Just don't expect the really cheap tickets to get you a stateroom with a view. You might also miss out on completely booked shore excursions.
26) Sail into big savings with a repositioning cruise. Ships need to take these one-way voyages in order to relocate for the season. For example, ships that cruise near Alaska in the summer head south once fall arrives. And cruise lines invite passengers aboard for the ride at deeply discounted rates. Look to CruiseCompete.com for current deals on repositioning cruises.


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I had a dance with anaphylaxis on Saturday (accidental ingestion of kiwi in a beverage), and the after-effects were unpleasant and persistent. So I finally caved this morning and took the drugs to counteract the rabid hives which had proliferated across my neck and chest. A common side-effect of the drug is mild anxiety-like symptoms and extreme woolly-headedness (like I don't have that already!). Cue fun take on assignment!
I'm bringing you along on my journey so you can see what it's like, first-hand. I used two glass jars and my camera phone, and the results are pretty darn good, if I say so myself! Ready to tumble?


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In celebration of Women's History Month, today we're highlighting a newly digitized collection of correspondence: a selection of Mary Newbury Adams letters from the Adams Family Papers found on our Digital Collections website.
Mary Newbury Adams was born in Peru, Indiana, in 1837 to Samuel and Mary Ann (Sergeant) Newbury. Her father strongly believed that both men and women should be educated, and so she attended Mrs. Willard's Female Seminary in Troy, New York, where she graduated in 1857. A few months later, she married Austin Adams, a young lawyer who had graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard. They moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where he eventually became a judge and was later elected to the Iowa Supreme Court and became chief justice there. The Adams had four children, Annabel (b. 1858), Eugene (b. 1861), Herbert (b. 1863), and Cecilia (b. 1865).
In an early letter, dated February 21, 1857, Mary writes from school to her fiancé Austin ("My dear one"). She suggests that his cousin might come to call on her while she is spending a Sunday with her aunt in Lansingburgh, New York, the following month. "I should be happy to see him," she writes, adding with maidenly modesty that disappears in later letters, "although I should feel rather embarrassed I fear."
Mary Newbury Adams was an avid student of science, history, philosophy, and poetry. In a letter to her sister Frances, she explains that she has been studying earlier that day about the formation of minerals. "I have little time to go to the library now," she writes, "but I manage to keep one or two subjects on hand to think about – just to hang my thoughts on." She adds, "I never was so driven in household matters" (November 9, 1869).
She established the Conversational Club of Dubuque in 1868 to promote access to education and ideas among women. Club meetings were held in the homes of members, and the topics discussed included education, local progress, political science and economy, mental and moral philosophy, the fine arts, political revolutions, belles lettres, ecclesiastical history, natural philosophy, and physical sciences.
Reflecting on the importance of the clubs to women's lives, she writes to her sister, "Our literary clubs are getting along finely and their beneficial effects are already evident in society. When women have clubs for study then they will not be driven for amusement to make society a business. Any amusement made an occupation becomes dissipation. All dissipation ends in disease. No wonder our American women are so weak" (Letter to Frances Newbury Bagley, March 18, 1869).
In another letter, however, she attributes women's weakness to a very different cause: the stress that comes from a very active life. Many women today can relate to Mary's frustrations!
"I am not very well and then am driven by outside work – our literary club's preparation for the opening of the Institute of Sciences and Arts. One doesn't want to go and examine minerals when they know nothing of them[,] nor rocks when one can't tell the difference between stratified and igneous rocks. Then the papers pile in and one keeps reading and taking notes & making scrapbooks so not to lose it before it is gone[.] Then the sewing, calls, church and one's own body to care for. It's no wonder American women are weak. They try to live ten lives in one and vote besides." (Letter to Frances Newbury Bagley, April 26, 1868)
In 1866, Mrs. Adams became interested in women's suffrage and did much to promote it through writing and speaking. She was a member of the Association for Advancement of Women, the American Historical Association, vice chairperson of Women's Branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary of the Colombian Exposition, and numerous literary societies. She was a founding member of the Northern Iowa Woman Suffrage Association.She wrote a letter home to her children on October 27, 1898, from the National Council of Women meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, describing her busy schedule, meeting with many people, old friends and new. She writes of her "level headed practical friend by my side Maria P. Peck." Peck was another prominent Iowa woman from Davenport and founder of the Davenport Women's Club (see entry: "PECK, Maria Purdy," Woman's Who's Who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915. ed. by John William Leonard. New York, NY: American Commonwealth Company, 1914. pp. 633).
The Mary Adams letters give a peek into the day-to-day concerns of a prominent Iowa suffragist and intellectual during her most active period. Be sure to take a look at the letters in Digital Collections. You can also come in to Special Collections and take a look at the entire Adams Family Papers, MS-10. To see what is included in this collection, take a look at the finding aid.
And to find other important women you can research in Special Collections, check out our Women's Collections subject guide.
We always look forward to seeing you in Special Collections–online or in person!


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Getting great pictures of your furry best friend just got easier – Kim Levin shows you all kinds of great tips and tricks on how to photograph your dog in PhoDOGraphy. Plus, the book is just fun to look at – it's filled with fabulous pictures of all kinds of dogs from sweet and adorable, to kind and noble.
There's a lot of good, basic photography skills explained here – using available light, framing the shot, choosing interesting settings and backgrounds, stopping action and composition. There's also a lot of information that is particular to photographing dogs for instance, photographing black dogs so that you don't lose the facial details and expressions. Tips are also included for photographing two or more dogs together, dogs with their people and dogs with cats. Special consideration is given for photographing puppies (high energy) vs older dogs (more sedate and dignified), and big dogs (need more room to feel comfortable) and small dogs (place them where you can be at their eye level)
Most of all, this book is about capturing the spirit and personality of that important and beloved member of the family, the dog.


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Gore's 'Assault on Reason' an Assault on Bush
Al Gore has written "The Assault on Reason" -- blasting the Bush administration.
May 22, 2007 -- When former Vice President Al Gore hosted "Saturday Night Live" in December 2002, he appeared in a skit comparing his vice presidential selection process from two years before to the reality TV dating show "The Bachelor."
In one scene, Gore appeared in a hot tub with a faux Joe Lieberman, both of them shirtless, drinking champagne, arms locked, romance in the air.
Anyone then looking for clues to see if Gore would run for president in 2004 probably had no trouble discerning that an exploratory committee was not in the cards.
Almost five years later, Gore still says he has no plans to run for president, but his latest book, "The Assault On Reason," is so nakedly political and sharply critical it's hard to discern what his plans may be.
Gore Uncensored
On one hand, Gore has written an stark look back at the previous six years that lays out his case as to how the world might look today had the chads fallen another way -- a world where U.S. troops would not be fighting in Iraq, Abu Ghraib would be known as the prison where Saddam Hussein tortured Iraqis not where American soldiers did so, where the nation would have been better prepared for Hurricane Katrina, global warming, and, yes, perhaps even 9/11.
But on the other hand, "The Assault On Reason" is an assault on President George W. Bush -- 308 pages of professorially rendered, liberal red meat that shuns the cautious language employed by any politician standing to the right of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and the left of Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.
"I'm not a candidate and this is not a political book, this is not a candidate book," Gore told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America Monday. "It's about that there are cracks in the foundation of American democracy that have to be fixed."
In the book, Gore is accusatory, passionate and angry.
He begins discussing the president by accusing him of sharing President Richard Nixon's unprincipled hunger for power -- and the book proceeds to get less complimentary from there.
While Gore stops short of flatly calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, he certainly gives the impression that, in his view, such a move would be well deserved.
He calls the president a law-breaker, a liar, a man with the blood of thousands of innocent lives on his hands.
Iraq War Takes Center Stage
Most of Gore's ire stems from, not surprisingly, the war in Iraq, a war that Gore opposed from the beginning.
"I cannot remember any administration adopting this kind of persistent, systematic abuse of the truth and the institutionalization of dishonesty as a routine part of the policy process," Gore writes of the president's case for and conduct of the war, saying that the president's policies "have left us less free and less secure."
"We are less safe because of his policy," Gore writes. "He has created more anger and righteous indignation against us than any leader of our country in all the years of our existence as a nation. He has exposed Americans abroad and Americans in every U.S. town and city to a greater danger of attack because of his arrogance and willfulness," particularly but not entirely with the war in Iraq.
"He has also pursued policies that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent men, women and children, all of it done in our name," Gore concludes.
"History will surely judge America's decision to invade and occupy (Iraq) … as a decision that was not only tragic but absurd," Gore writes.
"The Assault On Reason" begins as an academic discourse about the one-sided, corporate-controlled television medium with "no true interactivity, and certainly no conversation."
Gore argues that television not only creates a dynamic that runs contrary to Thomas Jefferson's desire for a "well-informed citizenry" but puts viewers in a "quasi-hypnotic state" that "partially immobilizes" them and allows unreasoned communicators to sell false bills of goods, such as, say, that there was a connection between the 9/11 hijackers and Saddam Hussein.
As an example of the failed democratic conversation, Gore said Monday that prior to the war in Iraq, "if we had a full debate and a full airing of the pros and cons of the invasion that brought out the fact that Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with attacking us on 9/11 then we would have been much less likely to have these troops trapped over there now in the midst of a civil war."
But very quickly Gore sheds his inner Marshall McLuhan for his inner Michael Moore.
Gore writes, "[If] Bush and Cheney actually believed in the linkage that they asserted between al Qaeda and Iraq -- in spite of all the evidence to the contrary presented to them contemporaneously -- that would by itself in light of the available evidence, make them genuinely unfit to lead our nation."
The former vice president then adds, "On the other hand, if they knew the truth and lied, massively and repeatedly, isn't that worse? Are they too gullible or too dishonest?"
Driving Dems to the Left
It seems likely that even if Gore opts not to run for president in 2008, his book may serve to drive presidential candidates, including Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Barack Obama, D-Ill., and former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., even further to the left, both in rhetoric and substance.
The former Tennessee congressman and senator accuses his former colleagues on Capitol Hill of complicity with what he sees as nefarious deeds committed by the Bush administration.
The book opens with Gore wondering why Senate Democrats were so silent during the debate before going to war in Iraq and towards the end faults them for failing to criticize the administration's warrantless surveillance program.
"Democrats as well as Republicans in the Congress must share the blame for not taking action to protest and seek to prevent what they consider a grossly unconstitutional program," he writes.
He doesn't assail any Democrats by name (though some will no doubt see Sen. Clinton's face when Gore dismisses those who say they would have opposed the war in Iraq if they knew then what they know now). Bush, however, he names over and over.
The Bush Grudge
"President Bush has repeatedly violated the law for six years," Gore charges regarding the warrantless surveillance program.
Gore -- who lost the White House if not the popular vote to Bush in 2000 -- picks apart the president's policy choices time and time again, often in very personal ways.
The prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib, Gore writes, were "the natural consequence of the Bush administration policy that dismantled the constraints of law and the Geneva Conventions, made war on America's system of checks and balances, and evaded accountability and responsibility for the actions in ordered."
The Bush Iraq policy was a "counterfeit combination of misdirected vengeance and misguided dogma."
The "radical Right" is a "political faction disguised as a religious sect, and the president of the United States is heading it."
Bush "takes an astonishingly selfish and greedy collection of economic and political proposals and then cloaks them with a phony moral authority."
The Bush White House "has engaged in an unprecedented and sustained campaign of mass deception -- especially where its policies in Iraq are concerned."
"[It] sometimes seems as if the Bush-Cheney administration is wholly owned by the coal, oil, utility and mining companies," Gore charges at one point.
And Gore argues that the president does not need enhanced domestic surveillance powers he has sought and received, often in secret, just competent use of the information already available.
He points out, for instance, the fact that 9/11 terrorists Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almidhar were already on a State Department/INS watch list.
He does not flatly state that 9/11 would not have occurred during a Gore administration. But, he writes, "whenever power is unchecked and unaccountable, it almost inevitably leads to mistakes and abuses. In the absence of rigorous accountability, incompetence flourishes."
Then, using a study from the Markle Foundation, Gore shows how "better and more timely analysis" -- not the increased data sought by the Bush administration -- would have led to other hijackers Salem Alhazmi, Mohamed Atta, Marwan Al-Shehhi and so on. Bush received that dire warning in August 2001, Gore notes at two different points in the book -- "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." -- which he refers to as "a headline more alarming and more pointed than any I saw in eight years of six-days-a-week CIA briefings."
Gore notes that he took pre-9/11 warnings seriously, even if Bush did not. After all, "unilateral action to protect the nation from a sudden an immediate threat" is "inherent power that is conferred by the Constitution to the president," Gore says, noting that as vice president he "made that very point to President Clinton when he had the opportunity to seize an al Qaeda operative who was planning an attack against us. And the president took my advice, though the individual we attempted to capture escaped."
But instead, Gore writes, incompetence rules the day and Bush has "taken us much further down the road toward an intrusive 'Big Brother'-style government -- towards the dangers prophesied by George Orwell in his book 1984 -- than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America."
Gore Redux: In or Out?
What might cause some to speculate that Gore isn't ruling out a third White House run (he also campaigned as a centrist "New Democrat" in 1988) is the cautious wording he uses about two claims against the administration, sensitive ones regarding Bush's religious views and whether or not the war in Iraq was a war for oil.
Gore raises those points, but even among his many incendiary charges doesn't claim them as his own.
"There are many people in both political parties who worry that there is something deeply troubling about President Bush's relationship to reason, his disdain for facts, and his lack of curiosity about any new information that might produce a deeper understanding of the problems and policies that he is supposed to be wrestle with on behalf of the country," Gore writes.
In another instance, Gore says that "many feel that one of the hidden reasons for launching the war in Iraq in early 2003 was the oft-stated and long-held opinion of Vice President Dick Cheney and others that ensuring continued U.S. access to the easily recoverable oil reserves of the Persian Gulf is so important as to justify even the extraordinary cost and reckless risk to America's reputation of invading another country on false pretenses."
There seems little attempt to see the world through the president's eyes.
"It is love of power for its own sake that is the original sin of this presidency," Gore writes, not that Bush or Cheney have ever tried to do what they think the right course for the country.
At another point, Gore posits, "If we had behaved as a democracy, we would not have invaded Iraq," an argument that hangs there in complete contradiction with the overwhelming bipartisan votes in October 2002, authorizing the use of force against Iraq in the House (296-133) and the then-Democratic controlled Senate (77-23), not to mention public support for the action.
Gore is presumably arguing that the U.S. didn't behave as a democracy because the people were so misinformed about the war, but those people included former President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and a number of others who weren't presumably part of George Orwell's vision in "1984."
As for, "What now?" Gore says the nation and the world are at a fork in the road.
Gore calls for the U.S. to rejoin the international community and lead the war on crises involving global warming, water, terrorism and pandemics such as HIV/AIDS.
He calls for a repeal of the Patriot Act and for the Bush administration to disclose all of its interrogation policies.
He wants more transparency in political TV commercials and an expediting of the shift from television towards the Internet as a method of communication.
After Random House published 200,000 copies of "Putting People First: How We Can All Change America" -- the soporific campaign tome purportedly written by then-Gov. Bill Clinton and then-Sen. Al Gore -- the ill-fated reelection campaign of then-President George H.W. Bush filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.
Republicans alleged that the book deal constituted an illegal corporate contribution to the Democratic ticket, which didn't directly profit financially from the book -- though the publicity certainly didn't hurt.
How quaint that book must now seem to those Republicans.


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Intolerance hit a new low last week in the form of an opinion piece and social media post by a former high school football coach and self-proclaimed "Christian activist," who after attending a gay Pride parade in Missouri, stated that gay adults are better off dead and that God hates both the sin and the sinner.
After attending the annual gay Pride march in Springfield, Missouri, last month, Coach Dave Daubenmire took his vitriol online in an opinion piece published on the far right wing "Christian" website News With Views titled "Would Jesus Go to A Homosexual Parade" complete with photos he presumably took himself.
"I just returned home with a group of hearty men from witnessing at the Homosexual Pride Parade in Springfield, Missouri." Daubenmire writes. "As usual, I was heartbroken by the age of those who have been captured by the 'lifestyle.' Take a look at these photos. Notice the young souls parading their sin in the public streets [..] These are somebody's daughters. I wonder if their Mom's and Dad's hearts' are broken too?"
Daubenmire then took aim at the adults at the parade by paraphrasing the biblical verse Matthew 18:6 by saying, "It would have been better for these adults had they been drowned with a millstone around their necks than having mislead one of these little ones."
After claiming that homosexuality is "gobbling up our young kids," Daubenmire takes a hard right turn into Crazy Town, indirectly berating Pope Francis for his famous "who am I to judge" comment.
It never fails that our greatest critics are the 'who-are-you-to-judge-Christians who think speaking the truth to sinners is hate. The fruit of the public schools is on display for all to see. Very few Christians, especially under the age of 30, think that homosexuality is a sin, or they believe that all sins are the same. If all sins were the same, why are there different penalties for more egregious sins? Why is murder a death penalty but lying ignored? If all sins were the same shouldn't all liars get the death penalty?
As if in an attempt to one-up himself and set a new insanity record, Daubenmire then departs from the mainstream hardline "Christian" love the sinner, hate the sin policy.
Love the sinner, hate the sin, Brother Dave, most Christians tell me. Except that is a lie. "God hates all workers of iniquity." It is the sinner He hates...not just the sin. It is the soul...the sinner and not the sin...that gets cast into the lake of fire."
According to the Encyclopedia of American Loons, Daubenmire came to the public eye in the late 1990's when while working as a high school football coach he was sued by the ACLU for coercing his players to pray. The case resulted in a court order for Daubenmire to stop leading religious activities at school. The school board paid an $18,000 settlement.
Post-coaching, Daubenmire built a new career on telling people how his first amendment rights were violated by the Constitution, and on running the ministry he founded, Pass the Salt Ministries. He also runs something called "Minutemen united", a group of people who disrupt church services to proclaim their anti-gay stance. He also advocates revolution to obliterate the distinction between church and state.
From our media partner EDGE