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According to the American Optometric Association, even if you have perfect vision it's still a good idea to have your eyes examined every two years if you're under 60 and annually if you're over. That's because there are a number of diseases without symptoms, which can be identified during an eye exam. And at least one of these, which can cause blindness, can only be found by an eye doctor. In this regard, I'm talking about an optometrist. Unless you've got some eye-related medical symptoms there's no need to see an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor specializing in diseases of the eye) for a routine eye exam.
The most important eye disorder that can only be identified by an eye doctor is glaucoma. Even if your regular physician looks in your eyes with an ophthalmoscope, he or she won't be able to tell if you have glaucoma unless it's far advanced. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and it most often occurs in people over age 40. People with a family history of glaucoma, African Americans over the age of 40, and Hispanics over the age of 60 are at an increased risk of developing glaucoma. Although there are several forms of glaucoma, the most common type, called open angle glaucoma, develops slowly and usually without any symptoms. In order to diagnose this treatable condition before it causes visual damage, you need a thorough eye examination including the painless measurement of the fluid pressure inside your eye. Even if you have perfect vision you are still at risk for glaucoma and this alone is reason enough to get your eyes checked on a regular basis.
Another asymptomatic illness that can be identified on eye exam is high blood pressure, a disorder I've written about before in this blog. If you see a physician regularly the odds are they measure your blood pressure (many offices do this on every visit). But not everyone goes to the doctor regularly and many people, unfortunately, have undiagnosed hypertension, which is the technical name of high blood pressure. Turns out, that hypertension, even without any symptoms, visual or otherwise, can already be damaging the retina and these changes can be seen when looking in the eye with an ophthalmoscope. It's quite possible for the eye doctor to be the first one to recognize that a person has high blood pressure that needs to be treated and brought under control.
Similarly, diabetes is another systemic illness that can damage the retina and be seen on eye exam even before loss of vision occurs. As with high blood pressure, it's possible for someone without any symptoms and perfect vision not to know they have diabetes and to have it recognized for the first time on examination of the eyes. Diabetic retinopathy is all too common in people with diabetes; both type 1 and type 2. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in American adults and that's why everyone with diabetes should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she will get diabetic retinopathy. In addition, people with diabetes are twice as likely to develop glaucoma as other adults. And cataracts develop at an earlier age in people with diabetes.
Another eye disorder that you might have even without visual difficulty is macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a deterioration of the central part of the retina, called the macula, which can cause blurred vision and blind spots. But because it could be affecting only one eye you might not notice any problems seeing since your good eye is compensating for the weaker one. Macular degeneration tends to affect adults age 50 and older. It's more common in Caucasians, women, cigarette smokers and in those who are severely overweight. While macular degeneration doesn't cause blindness it can severely impact quality of life because clear central vision is necessary for reading, driving, recognizing faces and doing any type of detail work.
Clearly, there are many reasons to get your eyes checked even if you have no difficulty seeing. You could have undiagnosed high blood pressure and/or diabetes, which could be recognized during an eye exam. You might have glaucoma or macular degeneration and be completely unaware. And of course if you are having problems with your vision don't wait any longer to schedule an appointment. If you want to read more about eye examinations there's lots more information here.
Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health.


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Antalya Style Kidney Bean Salad
(Antalya Piyazi)
1 can of kidney beans, 540 ml, do not drain all the juice, leave 2-3 tbsp juice in it
1 medium size tomato, cut in small cubes
1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp vinegar
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Dressing (Tarator):
2-3 garlic cloves, smashed with salt
3 tbsp lemon juice
~1/4 cup tahini
1 slice of inside of 1 or 2 days old Turkish bread, crumbled (if you use fresh bread, use blender to mix all the dressing ingredients)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 hard boiled egg, cut in 4
Extra virgin olive oil
Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Dilute it with a little bit water.
Toss the kidney beans, onion, tomato, olive oil, salt and dressing (tarator) in a bowl. Then place it on a serving dish. Garnish with egg slices and parsley. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.
*The Antalya Style Kidney Bean Salad" must be served with the olive oil and vinegar carafes on the table, so that people can use it as much as they want....
Meal Ideas:
- Turkish Hamburger and Turkish Rice Pudding
Labels: Salads

subset: commoncrawl


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One day after the Cubs rallied in the ninth inning to tie the game and win in extra innings the Cardinals did the same thing. After trailing for the majority of the game today the Cubs broke through in the 6th inning, scoring three times to take a 4-3 lead. The Cubs pen held strong into the ninth, that's when Carlos Marmol blew his first save in his last 20 chances by giving up a one out solo homer to Carlos Beltran to tie the game at four. Jaye Chapman took over in the 10th for the Cubs and after retiring the first two hitters he walked the next two guys which is all the Cardinals needed to take advantage. Jon Jay, who was 0-for-the series ripped a two out double down the right field line to put the Cardinals up for good. For the second straight day a Cubs starter struggled with pitch count, today it was Travis Wood. Wood went five innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking two and striking out seven, he settled for a no decision. Offensively the Cubs couldn't get much strung together against Adam Wainwright. David DeJesus blasted his 8th home run of the season as he continues to haunt the Cardinals. Dave Sappelt had the biggest hit of the afternoon, an RBI single in the sixth inning to put the Cubs up 4-3, he finished 1-for-3 with a walk. The rubber game of the series will be tomorrow afternoon, which is also Kerry Wood appreciation day.
Game Highlights:
Castillo's Sac Fly
DeJesus Goes Deep
Barney's Nice Play
Sappelt's RBI Single
Thanks for reading,
– George


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Product Description
God's love is unstoppable. And that's a promise.
In this unique Bible storybook, young readers will not only find conversational retellings of fifty key Bible stories, but they will also uncover the thread of God's promises throughout Scripture. Starting with the first promise in the garden and coming full circle with the promise of the new heavens and earth, each story focuses on the heart component and then uses follow-up questions and tools to connect young readers to the message.
The Promises of God Storybook Bible lets your child hear their favorite stories with new ears, repeatedly assuring them that each word was placed there to show them God's unstoppable love and unbreakable promises.
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- Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
- Release Date: October 1, 2019
- Pages: 320
- Language: English
- Binding: Hardcover
- Height: 0.90 inches
- Width: 6.60 inches
- Length: 7.90 inches
- Weight: 1.60 pounds
- Recommended Age Range: 04 through 08 years
- Recommended Grade Range: Preschool through 3rd Grade


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I took the liberty of taking a closer look at the data from Infoshare and did the same calculations for several periods. What I found was rather interesting. From a national perspective, I calculated the year on year percentage change in guest nights for domestic, international and combined. For the March-August 2011 period, the national change in guest nights was -0.39% when compared to the same period in 2010. The domestic guest nights for this period in 2011 were up by 6.25% on the same period in 2010 while the international guest nights were down by 9.75%.
I wondered if the aggregated March-August period results were influenced by the March month results (when the immediate effect of the Christchurch earthquakes), so I separated out the year on year percentage changes. These were the outcomes:
March: Total guest nights: -5.44%; Domestic guest nights: 1.65%; International guest nights: -13.1%
April: Total: -3.76%; Domestic: 0.41%; International: -9.91%
May: Total: 0.90%; Domestic: 6.41%; International: -7.54%
June: Total: 0.29%; Domestic: 3.83%; International: -6.25%
July: Total: 1.99%; Domestic: 8.55%; International: -8.86%
August: Total: 8.4%; Domestic: 14.39%; International: -1.01%
It is clear that the March and April months are influential in the aggregated period - the other months had increases in total guest nights. What is interesting about these monthly figures is how the change in domestic guest nights was positive and growing in July/August, suggesting a time-shifting effect is occuring when compared to the October figures. It appears that domestic travellers decided that they should do their travelling before the RWC rather than during it. Without question the school holidays being shifted to accommodate the timing of the RWC will have contributed to this effect. Also of note is the negative change in international guest nights for all six months - although there was a marked improvement in August. The negative year on year percentage changes in international visitor nights seen above actually began in September 2010.
The September 2011 period saw a small increase from 2010, with the change in total guest nights an increase of 0.23 percent. International guest nights were up by 20.72%, although this was almost offset by a fall in domestic guest nights by 11.8%.
When the RWC months of September and October are aggregated and compared with the same period in 2010, overall guest nights were down by 0.69%, with the 13.45% increase in international guest nights being more than offset by the 9.03% fall in domestic guest nights. It would appear that the overseas visitors did come for the RWC, but locals decided to travel before the influx of international visitors, resulting in a dampened effect on the accommodation sector (and. most likely, on the net economic impact of the tournament) during the RWC period.
A quick look at the total guest nights for regions for the RWC period reveals that each region experienced:
- Northland: a fall of 2.53% compared to an increase in the March-August period of 2.62%;
- Auckland: a smaller increase (12.5%) compared to the March-August period of 14.06%;
- Waikato: an increase (6.32%) compared to the March-August period of 5.05%;
- Bay of Plenty: a fall of 1.58% compared to an increase in the March-August period of 4.13%;
- Hawkes Bay and Gisborne: an increase (9.47%) compared to a fall during the March-August period of -5.51%;
- Taranaki, Manawatu and Wanganui: an increase (0.36%) compared to the March-August period of 0%;
- Wellington: a smaller increase (6.5%) compared to the March-August period of 13.48%;
- Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman: an increase (7.35%) compared to the March-August period of 5.17%;
- Canterbury: a smaller fall, (-25.1%) compared to the March-August period fall of -26.06%;
- West Coast: a larger fall, (-9.87%) compared to the March-August period fall of -7.29%;
- Otago: a smaller fall, (-1.3%) compared to the March-August period fall of -2.66%; and
- Southland: a smaller fall, (-2.04%) compared to the March-August period fall of -8.09%.
It will be particularly interesting to see what happens to these figures in the November and December months.


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Centre Speakers
A centre speaker is often regarded as most important speaker in a home cinema 5.1 speaker set-up as the centre channel is often used for speech and direct front centre action, handling the vast majority of this vital task. For this reason, we recommend selecting a centre speaker that integrates well with at least your other front speakers. Ideally, select the same brand and same level of speakers for the front and centre channels (for example if you use KEF R-series speakers on the fronts, we'd recommend using a KEF R-series centre speaker). We also sell pre-selected 5.1 speaker packages.
Centre speakers typically use two main drivers as well and a tweeter. As suggested, in order to tonally match this with the rest of your equipment and deliver optimum stereo integration and imaging, it is highly recommended that the centre speaker is purchased to match the rest of your equipment. Using the same type of driver and tweeter across the whole of the front (and ideally rear) of your Surround Sound Speaker System is ideal, as it ensures that coherency and integration is maintained throughout your AV system. While we cite choosing speakers from the same range as being ideal, the reasoning is, for example, that pairing front channel speakers using dome tweeters with a centre speaker that uses a ribbon tweeter would be less than ideal, as there would be two differing presentations of high end frequencies, which could result in a confused and incoherent soundstage and imaging.
Thankfully, most manufacturers design their centre speakers to tonally and aesthetically match their other speakers, meaning that pairing with your AV kit is a breeze. If your existing kit is older or discontinued, our dedicated and knowledgeable team is always happy to assist with advice or demonstrations to help find the ideal centre speaker to integrate seamlessly with your equipment. We also offer free UK delivery, so you can be setup and ready to go in no time.
One factor to consider when purchasing is the height of the speaker, as typically it will be positioned beneath a TV, so ensuring it is not too large and blocking your TV is essential. Much like typical hi-fi and AV speakers, a centre speaker will usually perform better on a dedicated speaker stand. While they may be suitable for use, most speaker stands come in pairs. However, we also offer a range of centre speaker stands, which are available singly, and are designed to accommodate the wider footprint, and also tend to be of a lower height in order to position the speaker beneath a TV.
A dedicated speaker stand will position your speaker at the ideal listening height for optimum stereo imaging and integration. It will also assist in preventing unwanted resonance from affecting the sound your speaker produces. Many stands are fillable, which will add stability to the stand, as well as improving bass depth and authority.
Manufacturers are aware that an AV speaker system can be as much a piece of furniture as it is a functional piece of equipment and, with this in mind, many centre speakers are designed and built to the highest standard from a range of real woods and veneers. We stock a wide range of centre speakers, ranging from entry level models to high end, with a choice of styles and finishes to suit every taste and requirement. Some models are designed to be exceptionally slim, making them much easier to accommodate and position than their full-sized counterparts.
Centre Speakers
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Mission QX-C Centre Speaker


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Black College Football Hall of Fame announced that legendary Tennessee State football coach Joe Gilliam, Sr. and defensive end Ricahrd Dent are among the 25 finalists that will be on the ballot for the fifth annual enshrinement. The list includes 20 players, five coaches, and five contributors.
The finalists were selected from a field of more than 125 nominees by an 11 member Selection Committee comprised of prominent journalists, historians and football executives. The committee will meet again in the coming weeks to select the seven members (six players and one coach/contributor) to be inducted as the Class of 2014.
"On behalf of the Black College Football Hall of Fame, we would like to congratulate all of the 2014 finalists. With so many deserving nominees, narrowing the list down to 25 finalists is not an easy task for the committee," explained Roscoe Nance, Chairman of the Selection Committee.
The Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2014 will be announced on October 23, 2013. New members will be honored at the Fifth Annual Enshrinement Ceremony, presented by the Atlanta Falcons on March 1, 2014. The event will take place at the Loews Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia in conjunction with Black College Football weekend.
"The Falcons are once again honored to support the Black College Football Hall of Fame," said Atlanta Falcons Owner & Chairman Arthur Blank. "The history and heroes of Black College Football are stories that must be told."
The Black College Football Hall of Fame was established to honor the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Each inductee's college or university will receive a $5,000 grant to support continuing academic and athletic opportunities at their respective institutions.
From 1963-1981, Gilliam was the assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator for Tennessee State University. During this period, Tennessee State University had nine Black National Championships, and four undefeated teams. As an assistant coach under John A. Merritt, Gilliam helped create one of the best defenses in the country.
In 1989, he took the helm as head coach for four seasons and was selected as Coach of the Year in the Ohio Valley Conference in 1990.
Over 80 TSU student-athletes reached the NFL during Gilliam's tutelage.
That list includes Dent who was a three time All-American and is currently third in the school's all-time sack list. While helping to lead the Tigers to three Black college National Champions, Dent finished his career with 39 sacks.
After playing Football at Tennessee State University, Dent was drafted to the Chicago Bears in the eighth round of the 1983 NFL Draft. In 1986, Dent won a NFL championship with the Bears and was named Super Bowl XX MVP. He is also the Only TSU tiger alum to be named game MVP.
Dent was selected for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Feb. 5, 2011. His jersey was also retired by the university earlier this season.
- Emerson Boozer (RB, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 1962-1965)
- Robert Brazile (LB, Jackson State University, 1971-1975)
- Roger Brown (OL, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 1956-1959)
- Harold Carmichael (WR, Southern University, 1967-1970)
- Richard Dent (DE, Tennessee State University, 1979-1982)
- L.C. Greenwood (DE, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 1965-1968)
- Harold Jackson (WR, Jackson State University, 1965-1968)
- Leroy Kelly (RB, Morgan State University, 1960-1963)
- Ernie "Big Cat" Ladd (DL, Grambling State University, 1957-1960)
- Jethro Pugh (DE, Elizabeth City State University, 1961-1964)
- Donnie Shell (DB, South Carolina State University, 1970-1973)
- John Stallworth (WR, Alabama A&M University, 1970-1973)
- Michael Strahan (DE, Texas Southern University, 1989-1992)
- Ken Riley (QB, Florida A&M University, 1965-1968)
- Willie "Satellite" Totten (QB, Mississippi Valley State University, 1982-1985)
- Otis Taylor (WR, Prairie View A&M University, 1961-1964)
- Emmitt Thomas (QB/DB, Bishop College, 1962-1965)
- Everson Walls (DB, Grambling State University, 1977-1980)
- Doug Wilkerson (OL, North Carolina Central University, 1966-1969)
- Aeneas Williams (CB, Southern University, 1987-1990)
- Marino Casem (Head Coach, Alcorn State University, 1963-1992)
- Joe Gilliam, Sr. (Tennessee State University Defensive Coordinator)
- William Joe (Head Coach, Central State University 1981-1993, Florida A&M 1994-2004)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones (President, Grambling State University, 1936-1977)
- Arnett Mumford (Head Coach, Southern University, 1927-1961)


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The trip was doomed before it even began. My wife and I (mostly my wife) had been planning our first anniversary trip to Hawaii with focus on spending time in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We poured over places to stay and tried to compile a list of things to do inside the National Park as well as outside the park. We settled on a promising little cottage just outside the park in the village of Volcano where we would be close enough to the park entrance that we could easily get in early and have no trouble staying late (so I could get my sunrise and sunset opportunities). But things began to unravel early…
Two weeks before our departure from the mainland my knee decided to fail me. I had been training again trying to get in shape from my foot being broken nearly all Summer. Miserable as that was, I was excited to be out again and getting in shape in time for some Winter fun and our anniversary trip. My knee thought otherwise and I was reduced (once again) to painfully hobbling around the house with limited mobility. Awesome…Hawaii here we come!
Also looming on the horizon was the giant black cloud of the government shutdown. In my mind, it would be a game of chicken until the 11th hour and then someone would give in and the crisis would be averted. Never did I expect it to actually happen and, even if it did, I didn't expect the National Parks to shut down. I guess that's the naturalist in me that considers the National Parks and Monuments part of the "essential" services that would be untouchable during a shutdown. I also, naively, thought of the National Parks as truly public spaces that would still be accessible even if the Park's services were closed. But clearly I was mistaken…
Honolulu and the North Shore
We arrived in Honolulu for the first leg of our trip. We would be staying one evening here before moving on to the Big Island so that I would get to see the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. My wife has been, but since this was my first trip to the islands we made time to make sure I would be able to see the Memorial.
The long flight had been hard on my miserable knee so we reluctantly chose to push Pearl Harbor off to the next morning and explore the North Shore a little bit and maybe catch the sunset. We fought our way through afternoon traffic to get outside Honolulu and head toward the beaches. Still pretty sore and stiff from the long flight, I had a hard time getting around but luckily the road pretty much follows the shoreline and there wasn't much hiking to get to the beaches along the North Shore.
We stopped at a few places, got to see some turtles, had a little snack and waited out the sun as it slowly settled to the horizon. We stopped at Sunset Beach and while my wife got out the beach towel to lay in the sand and soak up the last hour or so of sunlight, I hauled out the camera gear and set up to catch the fading light. The weather was nice, there was a slight breeze and a nice set of clouds in the west for the sun to play with as it set. The sunset wasn't spectacular but it was pretty nice and it allowed me to get the equipment dialed in.
After sunset we headed back to Honolulu for a nice sushi dinner and some much needed rest. My knee kept me from getting much rest, but we were excited to get out to the National Memorial before our flight to Hawaii. My wife turned on the news as we were getting ready and that's when we found out about the closure of the National Parks. Blindsided and somewhat devastated that we were going to be denied access to the only reason we stayed in Honolulu AND potentially miss out on the main reason we were visiting Hawaii we scrambled for some answers. I called the number listed for the Pearl Harbor Visitor's Center and spoke with a woman who assured me that the memorial, or at least most of it, was still open.
She was partially right, the collection of memorials and monuments at Pearl Harbor are managed by the NPS but some of them, like the Pacific Aviation Museum are actually on the military base property and were therefore still open. DOD funding was intact, so the USS Missouri and the museum were still open but access was now cut off so they were shuttling visitors onto the military base to access these memorials. It was a mess and no one really knew what was going on. We spoke with some very helpful NPS Rangers stationed in front of the visitor's center, but their news was grim. This would not be a quick resolution, the parks would likely be closed for a while.
We reluctantly gave in and headed to the airport. After a pretty rough flight (my knee was really having a fit with all this travel) we landed in Hilo, grabbed our car and headed to Volcano to check in to our cottage. We rented a private cottage from Hale Ohai cottages in Volcano. Our place was awesome and set back in the thick jungle vegetation making for a beautiful setting. Unfortunately, we wouldn't get a chance to spend much time there.
As most everyone knows now, the National Parks stayed closed for over two weeks which meant that our 5 day adventure in Volcanoes NP was spent outside of Volcanoes NP. Every morning we woke up hoping that the shutdown was over the park would be reopened. It was sort of our obsession throughout the trip. The upside of being locked out of the National Park was that we got to see much more of the rest of the island than we had originally planned.
There is so much to see on the Big Island. Even being limited by my meager mobility we still got to see a ton of diversity in Hawaii as we ventured out from our home base in Volcano. Exploring the gardens and waterfalls around Hilo, the rough and rugged coastlines around the southern tip of the island, the high grasslands between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea and various beaches. Ultimately we had a great time driving around the island exploring State Parks, beaches and old lava flows. We had some great meals in Kona and Waimea and found some amazing little roadside mom-and-pop restaurants. Parks closed or not, we still had a great time exploring the diversity in Hawaii and spending time with each other on our anniversary.
Cape Kumukahi
Cape Kumukahi is just outside Hilo near Puna and was a rough and tortured coastline of old lava flows broken and twisted by the relentless action of the waves. Throughout our trip, this area was usually cloudy and raining but we happened to catch it one morning when the sun was out and the clouds were still gathering in the distance. It's beauty is in it's hostility, the sharp black lava rock with very little vegetation and the hard crash of the waves on this side of the island.
Rainbow Falls
Just minutes outside of Hilo is Ranbow Falls, one of the most visited falls on the island from what I've read. It's really easy to access and there are paved walks to view points to see the falls. Many tour buses drop off loads of cruise ship tourists to come in and snap some pictures and gawk at the dramatic falls and lush vegetation. It is no doubt a beautiful spot, and the falls is much larger and more dramatic during other seasons but I would have liked to visit more remote falls had I been more ambulatory.
Lava Tree Gardens State Park
Lava Tree State Park is also near Puna and hosts a unique feature on the island. Vertical lava tubes dot the park. These unique features were created when molten lava washed through the area in the 1790s and cooled faster around the large trees as it washed over the land. The trees burnt out leaving hollow vertical tubes that still stand today.
Punalu'u Black Sand Beach
Past the south end of the National Park is Punalu'u Black Sand Beach County Park. It's a small protected black sand beach area with some cool lava formations and a small section of black sand beach where we saw another turtle on the shoreline. We actually visited this spot a couple of times during our trip because it was close enough to Volcano to be an easy drive.
Southern Tip of Hawaii
The southernmost tip of the Big Island is also the southernmost tip of the United States and is a pretty harsh area. The seas are calmer here but the currents are still strong. If you can brave the undertow, there is supposed to be some excellent snorkeling at the base of the shear cliffs. There was a lot of long-line fishing going on here when we stopped by. The rugged, windswept cliffs and the expanse of endless ocean beyond really do make this spot feel like the "edge of the world".
Grasslands outside Waimea
Totally unexpected to me were the rolling hills and open grasslands dotted with cattle. I never expected to see expansive wild grasslands in Hawaii and I found myself staring out at it every time we drove through these areas. It was different than anything I expected to find on a Pacific Island I was slightly in awe of it. We stopped one evening on our way from Kona to Waimea as the sun was setting to grab some pictures at the edge of the highway and these ended up being some of my favorite pictures from the trip.
As disappointed as we were to NOT make our trip about the National Park in Hawaii, we still made the best of it and had a great time checking out all that Hawaii had to offer. As I said to my wife several times throughout the trip, there's no way to see it all in a week. We could spend years out here and never get to see it all.
We are already talking about getting back to Hawaii soon to handle some unfinished business. Keep those parks open, Hawaii, and we'll be back soon!


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A psychologist by training, Daniels led community colleges in Los Angeles, Springfield, Ill., and Houston before landing his current job. In Madison, he is tasked with addressing sharp cuts in state aid to technical schools as well as new state mandates that tie technical college funding to a variety of measures, including the rate at which their graduates find employment.
Why might somebody seeking a bachelor's degree go to MATC and then transfer to a four-year college? Why not just go directly to the four-year institution?
Sometimes the transition for high school students to a system that is very large is challenging. UW has large classes; they're basically auditoriums. Students don't get the one-on-one interaction that they would at MATC. It eases them into that transfer ability.
And then for returning adults — our average age is 29 — it's an opportunity for them to ease back into that 4-year grind, to understand where their strengths are and their weaknesses. Especially for people who come from a low-income background, where the affordability goes hand in hand with accessibility.
It seems like a lot of that could just be criticism of our higher education system in general, the high price of four year colleges, the large class sizes.
I don't want to call it a criticism because they have their own resource issues and challenges. Those are research institutions and their cost of running is much greater than ours. But it is no different from across the country. In fact, in California, there will be a 5-to-1 difference in a unit cost between a four year institution and a community college there. It is not as drastic here.
Do many Madison College students just seek a liberal arts Associate's degree without intending to transfer for a Bachelor's degree?
Normally students doing a liberal arts Associate's are seeking to transfer. I haven't seen cases where that would not be happening.
What are typical Associate's degrees that you'd get if you're not planning to transfer to get a Bachelor's degree?
Well, I go back to my 60 percent of students in the trades. Automotive technician, diesel equipment technician… these are normally not transfers. It's difficult, because many of these degrees can't transfer to programs at four-year institutions.
But take an Associate's degree in advanced manufacturing. Now I could very well transfer to the school of engineering, however, what (Madison College has) developed are career pathways, so as soon as I complete my (degree) in advanced manufacturing I can actually go to work in a manufacturing company. I think the same thing holds true for health. You can transfer to get your Bachelor's degree in nursing, but you can also go to work with that Associate's degree in nursing. Same thing for respiratory therapy, physical therapy and all the health areas.
Do you think that focus on careers is lacking at four-year institutions?
I'd probably be a little disadvantaged to speak about that. I haven't been at a four-year institution in many years.
But an interesting thing here, with many liberal arts degrees, students can't get jobs once they get their baccalaureate. They're coming back to MATC after getting their baccalaureate. We have a high number of baccalaureate graduates who are coming to get further training to go to work. We have a high number of graduates from UW-Madison who are coming to get a paralegal degree. Same thing with biotechnology. And then we have those relationships with those (biotech) companies, like ProMega, so you have direct line to those areas.
Is there enough funding for technical colleges in this state?
(Laughs) There's never enough funding for them. We're experiencing a different type of funding now. Our funding will be more dependent on the state than property tax dollars. But you never have enough resources. It causes us to look at our priorities. Where do we shift dollars? We try to supplement that with grants and we also have substantial support from our foundation, especially with regards to scholarships for our students.
Does the foundation get most of its support from individuals, including alumni, or more from other nonprofit organizations?
The latter. We don't have an alumni association. That's one of the goals we have for the next year, to develop that. Because I'm quite sure that the number of students who have gone to MATC — and I've talked to a number of them in the past week — say, "Without MATC, we wouldn't be here." You hear these stories over and over again.
Talk to me about the new performance-based funding that has been mandated by the state.
In the first year, which starts July 1, there is a certain funding set aside and 10 percent of that is based on performance. There are nine (performance) categories and among them we will select seven of them on which we will be measured. In the next biennium it will go to 20 percent (based on performance) and then the following year it will go to 30 percent.
We're confident in those categories. We do very well.
Do you think this performance-based funding is a good development?
I think there's a necessity to have some level of accountability. If you think about it as a true developmental model, if you have a school that is not performing, what types of interventions do you make to make sure it is performing? But I think the 10, 20, 30 model is good. I wouldn't want to see it go much higher than that.
But if a school is under-performing, how is cutting its funding going to improve it?
That's a good question. I would think there would have to be some other guidelines set for how long do you get that funding. I don't think you can cut it off immediately.
We are continually looking at what we do. But one of the things the formula doesn't account for is transfers. It is purely based on technical trades and related outcomes from that.
So it's not assessing 40 percent of your student body? Is that a flaw?
I think there are a few colleges in the state that believe there need to be some modifications to account for that.


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SEOUL — North Korea appears to be readying for a possible third nuclear test as early as next March, a newspaper reported Wednesday, as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson headed to Pyongyang on an unofficial diplomatic foray.
U.S. and South Korean intelligence have been watching the North's nuclear sites for any activity.
Analysts say the North could use a test to try to gain leverage in international talks it is seeking and secure aid to prop up its destitute economy.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the Obama administration has concluded that that North Korea's new plant to enrich nuclear fuel uses technology that is "significantly more advanced" than what Iran has assembled.
North Korea already has the fuel for as many as 12 nuclear weapons, the newspaper said.
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo daily on Wednesday cited an intelligence official from Seoul as saying a tunnel was being dug at the country's nuclear test site that could be completed in March next year, possibly heralding a new nuclear test.
South Korea's foreign ministry said it was closely monitoring the site and said there was no concrete evidence to show the North Koreans were preparing for a third test.
The amount of earth removed from the site in Punggye township, in a northeastern region of North Korea, indicated the tunnel was about 550 yards deep, half the depth needed for a nuclear test, the Chosun Ilbo report said.
"North Korea is digging the ground pretty hard ... at its two major nuclear facilities," a South Korean intelligence official was quoted as saying.Slideshow: Daily life in North Korea (on this page)
"At this rate, (the Punggye tunnel) will reach (the) 1 km that is needed for a nuclear test by March to May," a separate intelligence source told the newspaper.
The death of Kim Jong Il
- Report: Red skies, stormy seas marked Kim's death
- Circumstances of Kim Jong Il's death fabricated?
- Politics trump hunger in N.Korea
- Slideshow: The life of Kim Jong ll
- Source: Military coup in N. Korea 'unlikely'
- NYT: In Kim's death, an extensive intelligence failure
- Cartoons: The life and death of Kim Jong Il
- Analysis: Opportunities, dangers loom over N. Korea
- Even in death, details of Kim Jong Il's life elusive
- Kim Jong Il remembered as 'Team America' star
North Korea is also speeding up work on new construction at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, where it revealed a previously unknown uranium enrichment facility last month, the newspaper quoted intelligence sources as saying.
South Korea's foreign ministry declined to confirm the details of the report, but said: "Nothing has been confirmed that would prove the North is preparing to conduct a nuclear test."
The South's nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac, was in Moscow meeting with his Russian counterpart, in the same week that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun and chided him over the North's nuclear program.
Civil defense drill
The report coincided on Wednesday with South Korea's largest civil defense drill in recent years after North Korea shelled an island near their disputed maritime border, killing four people, last month.
The exercise on a busy week day brought traffic to a standstill nationwide and saw mass evacuations to bomb shelters.
Castaway's parents thought they would never see him again
The father of Pacific castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga said he was told his long-lost son vanished on a fishing trip but he didn't have the heart to break the news to his ailing wife.
- Scotland legalizes same-sex marriage
- Weapons deal strengthened Assad: US intel chief
- Outcry over the fate of Sochi's stray dogs
- Olympic construction leaves Sochi residents in the cold
- Castaway's parents thought they would never see him again
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-shik said the aim was to heighten readiness for a possible North Korean air raid and he also warned the North to expect reprisals if there was another attack.
"The government is ready to demonstrate that there will be due price to pay for any future aggression," he said.
Analysts say North Korea's unveiling of a modern uranium enrichment facility and preparations for another nuclear test were likely to be ploys to pull regional powers back to the negotiating table, where Pyongyang hopes to secure aid.
The impoverished state has in the past won economic assistance and diplomatic attention at six-country talks aimed at persuading it to abandon its nuclear ambitions.Slideshow: The life of Kim Jong ll (on this page)
Deputy U.S. Secretary of State James Steinberg was in Beijing to consult with the Chinese on North Korea and Richardson was on his way to the North.
"My objective is to try to get North Korea to calm down a bit, see if we can reduce tension in the Korean peninsula," Richardson said as he arrived at an Albuquerque airport for the first leg of a commercial flight to Beijing and then to North Korea.
The governor will return to New Mexico on Dec. 20.
This will be Richardson's third trip to North Korea since he became governor in 2003.
Richardson served as U.N. ambassador in the Clinton administration and often has played the role of an unofficial diplomatic troubleshooter, including missions to secure the release of hostages in Sudan, Iraq and North Korea.
The State Department has said Richardson isn't delivering a message to North Korea for the U.S. government. However, Richardson's contacts with North Korean officials may provide insights for diplomats trying to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea showed a uranium enrichment facility, which could give it a second route to make nuclear bombs, at the Yongbyon site to a U.S. expert in November and later announced it was operating such a program under a "peaceful" energy project.Video: Photos show possible advances in N. Korea nuclear program (on this page)
South Korea's foreign minister said on Tuesday he suspected there were more facilities in addition to Yongbyon where the North was enriching uranium. A media report said Pyongyang had three to four such plants.
North Korea conducted nuclear tests at the Punggye site in 2006 and 2009, when detonations in tunnels were detected by U.S. and South Korean monitoring.
The U.N. Security Council condemned last year's test and imposed tough sanctions aimed at banning North Korea's arms trade and cutting off funding for such programs.
Analysts say ailing leader Kim Jong-il's plan to transfer power to his son Jong-un is also creating domestic political pressure, as the regime resorts to military grandstanding to try to build legitimacy for the untested and previously unknown successor.
The Associated Press, Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.


text:
- Assists in the development of the district's community education program.
- Promotes citizen involvement in the planned activities of community education.
- Fosters positive communications between school and community.
- Works with community education advisory councils and civic, faith, service and governmental organizations when necessary to provide for the needs of the community.
- Promotes the community education philosophy of lifelong learning for all ages.
Membership consists of representatives from schools and the community-at-large; members are chosen based on their interest in community education and willingness to be an active participant of CEPAC.
Membership is composed of:
- up to four Community Education program representatives members-at-large acting as representatives of the ISD 279 Board of Education, faith community, service and civic organizations, parks and recreation, school principals, seniors, youth, and interested citizens
- the Executive Director of Community Education and the District 279 Foundation, acting as an advisor
- the Secretary of Community Education and Services shall serve as the secretary to the council
Be actively engaged in the advancement and success of CEPAC.
Share information to and from district learning sites, organizations or groups that the member represents as well as the community at large.
Attend CEPAC meetings of the full council.


text:
Mr. Gardner: "Yeah, I saw Dr. Grumpy last week for my arm problems."
Annie: "What's up?"
Mr. Gardner: "My accountant is out of town. Does Dr. Grumpy recommend cash value or term life insurance policies?"
A Blog detailing the insanity of my medical practice and the stupidity of everyday life.
You are well respected!
Buy term and invest the rest.
i know some docs are getting into related business opportunities (like the opthalmologists who want to correct your vision AND fix those little wrinkles) but a neurologist selling life insurance might be a conflict of interest that even a really forked-tongue lawyer would have a hard time justifying!
any clue as to your choice of pseudonym for this patient?
I had a reason when I wrote the post, but honestly don't remember it now. Usually there's a significant time lag for privacy reasons.
@clairesmum: I resent that term "forked toungued lawyer"
You have know idea how hard it is to make up plausible stories to explain the inexplicable things clients do.
Note to self, Accountant is out of town, try Neurologist and if he is of no assistance, try Insurance Agent as a last resort.
Farmer's insurance to gardner?
Buy term and invest the rest...in shares of the insurance company!
Little Calf Creamery. Delicious homemade ice cream and food in Thousand Oaks!


text:
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ABC Cancels Christian-Bashing Show 'GCB'
Despite ABC's best efforts to degrade Christianity and Texans, the anti-Christian hate-mongering series "GCB" (short for "Good Christian Bitches") has been canceled because of poor performance in the ratings
"GCB" earned significant backlash from both Christians and Texans, and had a dynamic history of mocking Christianity and the south. The worst of its agenda included advocating for porn in Christian marriages, malicious use
of Scripture, an unholy fixation on sex and the sexualizing of teenagers, and more than 100 attacks on Christianity in its short run.
'"GCB" was slated to replace the dying soap "Desperate Housewives," but it seems audiences won't be desperately supporting the renewal of the series.
Maybe next time Kristen Chenoweth and company will remember that red states and Christians won't back down without a fight. Goodbye to "GCB" and good riddance.


text:
The road to Corcovado National Park was once paved with gold – lots of gold – and although most of it was carried off by the Diqui Indians, miners still pan here illegally. These days, though, it's just an unpaved track that fords half a dozen rivers during the bone-rattling two-hour ride from the nearest town, Puerto Jiménez, and which runs out at Carate, the southern gateway to the park.
The journey in doesn't make an auspicious start to a hike in Corcovado – and it gets worse. Trekking here is not for the faint-hearted: the humidity is one hundred percent, there are fast-flowing rivers to cross and the beach-walking that makes up many of the hikes can only be done at low tide. Cantankerous peccaries roam the woods, and deadly fer-de-lance and bushmaster snakes slip through the shrub.
But you're here because Corcovado is among the most biologically abundant places on Earth, encompassing thirteen ecosystems, including lowland rainforests, highland cloudforests, mangrove swamps, lagoons and coastal and marine habitats. And it's all spectacularly beautiful, even by the high standards of Costa Rica.
Streams trickle down over beaches pounded by Pacific waves, where turtles (hawksbill, leatherback and Olive Ridley) lay their eggs in the sand and where the shore is dotted with footprints – not human, but tapir, or possibly jaguar. Palm trees hang in bent clumps, and behind them the forest rises up in a 60m wall of dense vegetation.
Corcovado has the largest scarlet macaw population in Central America, and the trees flash with bursts of their showy red, blue and yellow plumage. One hotel in the area offers free accommodation if visitors don't see one during their stay – it's never happened. And after the first sighting of the birds flying out from the trees in perfectly coordinated pairs, the long journey to reach Corcovado seems a short way to come.
It's best to visit Corcovado during its dry season (Dec–March). Meals and camping space or lodging need to be booked six weeks in advance (+506 257-2239, [email protected]).
For hundreds more ultimate travel experiences, get Rough Guides' Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth
Top image © Cameris/Shutterstock


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Kodak Flash Supermatic questions, manual? (pics)
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Joined: 01 Jan 2014
Posts: 7
Location: duluth, minn.
Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:39 am
Post subject: Kodak Flash Supermatic questions, manual? (pics)
I'm halfway through reassembling a sad Kodak Flash Supermatic shutter, that an Ektar 203 came mounted in, on a sad Burke & James 4x5 press. I'm having a few issues with the shutter. I'm not sure why this thing is giving me such a hard time, as I've had no issue tearing down Rapax shutters and getting them up and running again, but this thing is getting the best of me.
Is there a manual floating around for the Flash Supermatic? I've looked at the military anniversary speed graphic manual that briefly covers this and gives an exploded view, but I'd like something a little more detailed.
The first issue I'm having is that the shutter blades don't always open as they should. I figured out the blade controller latch isn't always doing its job...sometimes it catches the tab that sticks out from the blade controller, sometimes not. Is something misadjusted, is the spring weak, or is the latch just worn out?
shutter cocked:
shutter tripped, blade controller latch not doing its job:
shutter tripped, blade controller latch working properly:
Next, when I was taking the plate/cover for the escapement gears off, this ridiculously tiny spring was just hanging out, loose. I can't tell if it's broken or not, nor can I figure out where it belongs. Any insight? The spring is sitting on top of the escapement plate.
Lastly, do I have the high speed spring positioned correctly on the high speed cam? When installing the metal plate that covers all of this, does one have to preload this spring? It was really late at night when I tore this thing apart, and I can't remember if it had tension in it.
Any insight is very much appreciated!
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Joined: 28 Sep 2001
Posts: 3875
Location: Mid Peninsula, Ca.
Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 5:51 am
Post subject:
Have you torn it down to a bare case? If not, do so.
Pictures 1, 2 & 3: Loosen the slotted screw post between the main drive assembly and the outer case, reposition the latch spring so that it puts just enough tension on the lug of the latch arm so that the latch arm moves to its closest position toward the outer case edge then tighten the screw post. The spring may change position and under tension the latch arm when tightening the screw post which is what may have happened.
Picture 4: Lift the gear plate up so that the retarding sector will just slide under the delay gear plate and mesh the gears so that the retard plate gear when at its travel limit meshes with the retard sector gear with the outer edge of the sector gear approximately 1/8 inch from the case.
The anti backlash spring goes between the gear plate and the gear plate stud at the sector gear end. Install the gear plate screw, align the anti backlash spring parallel to the case and tighten the screw. Place the exposed end of the anti backlash spring in the lug on the plate sector gear.
Picture 5: You're good to go.
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.
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Joined: 01 Jan 2014
Posts: 7
Location: duluth, minn.
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 12:57 am
Post subject:
And that was exactly the information I needed. Thank you very much.
I ended up not tearing it down to the bare case; the blades and blade actuator moved really freely and snappy. I got the shutter back together, and it runs awesome. 1/400 runs a little slower than I'd like...I might end up tearing it down to the bare case to see if that remedies it. Other than 1/400, the thing runs awesome. I'm impressed with how spot-on the rest of the speeds are.
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Joined: 28 Sep 2001
Posts: 3875
Location: Mid Peninsula, Ca.
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:59 am
Post subject:
The aperture should be silky smooth from wide open to fully stopped down and back.
The shutter blade controller should move the shutter blades with the weight of a 1/4 inch long down feather applied to it when free of any operating mechanism.
An aperture repair requires full case disassembly.
Shutter blades and the blade controller require the removal of the main plate.
The speeds above 1/100-1/125 are controlled by the cam and spring in picture 5.
You have a very good shutter if all speeds except 1/400 are in tolerance.
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.
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Jennifer Rankin Byrne
(571) 272-8400 or
Washington - Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Margaret J.A. Peterlin testified today before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in a hearing entitled "Telework: Breaking New Ground." The USPTO has long been recognized as a pioneer in the area of telework for its innovative and flexible programs.
"The USPTO has demonstrated that telework is a business strategy that benefits our employees, our agency and the American economy. Our experience shows telework programs result in greater employee productivity, higher levels of sustained performance, reduced traffic congestion and air pollution, and reduced real estate costs," Deputy Under Secretary Peterlin explained. "Our motivated, high-performing employees have shown they can perform their responsibilities regardless of physical location."
Deputy Under Secretary Peterlin shared that, as a performance-based organization, the USPTO communicates expectations and manages by results-requisites for any functional telework environment. Her testimony also included lessons learned over the course of the decade since USPTO began its telework programs and insights on the many benefits telework offers the agency and its employees.
At the close of the 2007 fiscal year:
- There were 3,609 USPTO employees participating in some form of telework, a roughly 59 percent increase over FY 2006. This number equals 40.7 percent of USPTO's total workforce and 45.7 percent of total eligible employees.
- USPTO employees who telework collectively save more than 613,000 gallons of gas per year and save more than $1.8 million annually in fuel costs. Additionally, there is a combined reduction in emissions of more than 9,600 tons per year.*
- The USPTO has 17 formalized telework initiatives and three pilot programs in process, designed to serve the specific needs of seven different business units. Participants in these programs telework from one day a week to four days a week.
- The USPTO has a full-time telework coordinator on staff, and a dedicated intranet website to provide information on telework opportunities to employees. Of particular note are the successes of the USPTO's two largest telework programs, the Trademark Work-at-Home Program and the Patent Hoteling Program.
Trademark Work-at-Home Program
The Trademark Work-at-Home (TWAH) program began in 1997 as a two-year pilot program with 18 examining attorneys working from home three days a week. Today, the TWAH program is a leading, comprehensive program involving more than 240 employees (86 percent of the eligible examining attorneys) who spend the majority of their work week at home and come to the office one day a week, sharing space they reserve online before they come in.
TWAH has been honored with a number of awards, most recently including the 2007 Telework Driver Award from the Telework Exchange, the 2007 Work-Life Innovative Excellence Award from the Alliance for Work-Life Progress, and the 2006 Telework Program with Maximum Impact on Government Award from the Telework Exchange.
Patent Hoteling Program
Following the success of the Trademark Work-at-Home program, the USPTO expanded its telework initiative to include patent examiners. In 2006 a group of approximately 500 patent examiners participated in the Patent Hoteling Program (PHP). Similar to the Trademark program, the PHP is a flexible telecommuting program that provides participants the ability to access all relevant USPTO patent business systems, job performance tools, patent information and patent application documentation as efficiently at their remote worksite as on USPTO's Alexandria campus.
Today, more than 1,000 patent examiners participate in PHP. Earlier this year, PHP received the Excellence in Telework Leadership Award from the Telework Exchange, an honor specifically designated specifically for programs initiated within the last 12 months. Over the next several years, the USPTO expects to hire 1,200 new patent examiners a year, and by the end of FY 2011, it is expected that 3,000 patent examiners will be teleworking.
The Future: A USPTO National Workforce
In her testimony, Deputy Under Secretary Peterlin shared the agency's goal of achieving a national workforce model where some employees work full-time at headquarters, some telecommute one day a week, some hotel, and some live outside of the metropolitan area and rarely come to headquarters. By expanding the concept of an "office" in this way, the USPTO will leverage current technological capabilities to best serve its employees and the American public. This strategy will also allow the agency to hire the best and brightest employees from outside the Mid-Atlantic region, retain employees in a competitive market and minimize real estate costs associated with workforce expansion.
*Estimates provided by the Telework Exchange


text:
Visualizing the Solutions to Deferred Road Maintenance
Sponsored by: Board of Commissioners
Visualizing the Solution to Deferred Road Maintenance
Some of the biggest challenges we face as a county are not always visible in our day-to-day lives. Such is the case with how we should pay for on-going maintenance of our city and county roads now — before it costs more later.
Decades ago, this problem was much clearer. Our countywide road system had a reputation for being in disrepair. Without the resources needed for maintenance, we essentially threw up our hands. In many cases, we were forced to grind pot-holed paved roads back into gravel.
When faced with such a visible challenge, and in the midst of our national energy crisis, Washington County voters approved a 1-cent-per-gallon gas tax in 1977 dedicated to improving maintenance of our county and city roadways. In the decades since then, multiple funding sources for our road system have been established. State and local gas taxes support maintenance. Voter-approved property tax dollars – combined with developer fees, and state and federal grant funds –support improvements to our transportation system. Washington County is now considered a shining example of how to fund local roads.
Fast forward to today and our community faces a less visible problem. Just as home budgets have been squeezed, so too have road maintenance budgets across the country. Gas tax revenue is not keeping up with increasing maintenance costs. For example, liquid asphalt costs have tripled since 2004. As a result, county roads are beginning to deteriorate.
Most of us would not notice this problem while driving around our community today because our roadways seem to be in pretty good shape. But over time our deferred maintenance costs have grown to more than $10 million. Some of the needs are in the form of pavement that has reached the end of its useful life, but other needs are more serious, such as culverts and bridges needing repair or replacement. At current funding levels, we're falling behind on preventive maintenance. By the time this problem becomes obvious, it will cost substantially more to address. In short, letting our roads deteriorate now will cost us all much more later. That is not good public policy.
As a result, your Washington County Board of Commissioners, with recommendations from its citizen and elected advisory committees, is considering a $30 annual vehicle registration fee dedicated to maintaining our road system and preventing further backsliding. That amount – which works out to $2.50 per month – would bring many county roads up to adopted standards and keep them there for 15 to 20 years. Cities would receive 40 percent of the funds to maintain or improve city roads and some traffic signals could be updated to help move traffic more efficiently.
Many residents have questions about how a vehicle registration fee would be applied. Others feel strongly that our proposal should be placed before the voters. Your Board of County Commissioners has heard these concerns and tabled its decision until next summer. In the meantime, we plan to do a better job of illustrating a challenging problem that is hard to visualize today.
Chairman Andy Duyck
Commissioner Greg Malinowski
Commissioner Roy Rogers
Commissioner Bob Terry


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January 23, 2017 Monday 9pm 4D results from PCSO are posted below:
Results shall be posted here after the Monday 9pm draw (tonight).
**Numbers must be in exact order to qualify for prizes**
NEXT: Monday verified results for 6/45 Lotto, 6/55 Lotto, SWERTRES and EZ2 lotto.
PCSO 4D Result Prizes
(as of 1/23/2017)
- 4D: Min. Guaranteed Amount (MGA) of Php10,000.00 if you got all 4 Digits (1st Prize)
- 4D: MGA of Php 800.00 if you got last 3 Digits (2nd Prize)
- 4D: MGA of Php 100.00 if you got last 3 Digits (3rd Prize)
Go here if you want to know more about the PCSO Prize Payout scheme for the 4-Digit game.
Note: There is no 6-Digit draw today. Results for this game will be published tomorrow (January 24, 2017).


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Journal Article
IC and Knowledge Formation by Hidden Structures Long Term Costs of new Technology and Participative Design pp221-235
© Sep 2011 Volume 9 Issue 3, ECIC 2011, Editor: Geoff Turner and Clemente Minonne, pp181 - 295
Look inside Download PDF (free)
Many innovative businesses formed around energy or bio‑related activities, for instance, are often the result of collective action of organisations involved in many‑sided markets, which can be found in and around focusing environments such as business incubators or tech¬no¬logy centres. Within such environments, group interests beyond those of single producers and their immediate clients exist and interfere. Rather generically, important economic outcomes of innovations are se¬quen¬ces of cost reduc¬¬tion events, the pace of which is influenced by technology and networking alike. Moreover, new products or technologies are producing long term costs difficult to anticipate, which eventually, in response to private and public awareness and knowledge formation, will have to be inter¬nalized. More traditional industries like textiles rely in general on conservative business models and use new technology in rather restricted ways. Product design is fashion orien¬ted and there¬fore predominantly "artistic" in nature, distribution channels are directed towards out¬lets facilitating physical contact of clients with the produce. New technology enters main¬ly via more mechanized production cycles for a given set of narrowly defined final products. The formation of Intellectual Capital (IC) in such industries is a slow. The presence of low creativity products indicates underutilization of both new product concepts and tech¬nological possi¬bilities. Participative design procedures for new product concepts using appropriate eCommerce features point here towards a way out. Such features include well adapted recommender systems based on trust creation and opinion formation. We propose to model the effects of these long term costs of new technology and the possibly complementary effects of participative design procedures by economic agents acting within specific adaptable neighbourhoods and by formation of some trust related assets. Thereafter, the influ¬ence exerted between firms is increasing in firm similarity, in the degree of product complementarity, and it also depends on (mutual) trust relations. A sustainable innovation is more expensive than a regular one but it may lead to long term benefits and to durable competitive advantage, espe¬cially if many firms from the network collude. The associated opinion formation process which leads to sustainable innovation may be viewed as a collec¬tive cognitive process resem¬bling that of branding and re‑branding. A similar trust‑based opinion formation is also regarded as part of a pro¬ce¬dure for assessing the acceptance of many new or parallel product concepts as they derive from Participative design procedures anticipating future product uses. Stylized dynamic models, which entail an opinion formation process, can in turn be identified with different levels of sustainability commitment by innovating and imitating firms within a dynamic multi‑firm setting. Such models tend to display the statistical behaviour of some aggregates known to occur in empirical innovative processes.
Keywords: IC and learning, long term environmental costs, opinion and trust formation, participative design and innovation networks, sustainability, recommender systems
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Today's technology also allows us to use wireless telephones to exchange information rapidly. Recently Wendy and I were on assignment on another continent when we learned that a new baby had arrived in our family. We received the good news minutes after that birth had occurred half a world away.
Even more amazing than modern technology is our opportunity to access information directly from heaven, without hardware, software, or monthly service fees. It is one of the most marvelous gifts the Lord has offered to mortals. It is His generous invitation to "ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."1
This timeless offer to provide personal revelation is extended to all of His children. It almost sounds too good to be true. But it is true! I have received and responded to that heavenly help. And I have learned that I always need to be ready to receive it.
Years ago, while immersed in the task of preparing a talk for general conference, I was aroused from a sound sleep with an idea impressed strongly upon my mind. Immediately I reached for pencil and paper near my bed and wrote as rapidly as I could. I went back to sleep, knowing I had captured that great impression. The next morning I looked at that piece of paper and found, much to my dismay, that my writing was totally illegible! I still keep pencil and paper at my bedside, but I write more carefully now.
To access information from heaven, one must first have a firm faith and a deep desire. One needs to "ask with a sincere heart [and] real intent, having faith in [Jesus] Christ."2 "Real intent" means that one really intends to follow the divine direction given.
The next requirement is to study the matter diligently. This concept was taught to leaders of this restored Church when they were first learning how to gain personal revelation. The Lord instructed them, "I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."3
Part of being prepared is to know and obey the relevant teachings of the Lord. Some of His timeless truths are applicable generally, such as the commandments not to steal, not to kill, and not to bear false witness. Other teachings or commandments are also general, such as those regarding the Sabbath, the sacrament, baptism, and confirmation.
Some revelations have been given for unique circumstances, such as Noah's building of the ark or the necessity for prophets like Moses, Lehi, and Brigham to lead their followers in arduous travel. God's long-established pattern of teaching His children through prophets assures us that He will bless each prophet and that He will bless those who heed prophetic counsel.
A desire to follow the prophet requires much effort because the natural man knows very little of God and even less of His prophet. Paul wrote that "the natural man [receives] not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."4 The change from being a natural man to a devoted disciple is a mighty one.5
Another prophet taught that "the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."6
Recently I observed such a mighty change in a man whom I first met about 10 years ago. He had come to a stake conference at which his son was sustained as a member of the new stake presidency. This father was not a member of the Church. After his son had been set apart, I put my arms around this father and praised him for having such a wonderful son. Then I boldly declared: "The day will come when you will want to have this son sealed to you and your wife in a holy temple. And when that day comes, I would be honored to perform that sealing for you."
During the subsequent decade, I did not see this man. Six weeks ago he and his wife came to my office. He greeted me warmly and recounted how startled he was with my earlier invitation. He didn't do much about it until later, when his hearing began to fail. Then he awakened to the realization that his body was changing and that his time on earth was indeed limited. In due course he ultimately lost his hearing. At the same time, he became converted and joined the Church.
During our visit he summarized his total transformation: "I had to lose my hearing before I could heed the great importance of your message. Then I realized how much I wanted my loved ones to be sealed to me. I am now worthy and prepared. Will you please perform that sealing?"7 This I did with a deep sense of gratitude to God.
After such a conversion takes place, even further spiritual refinement can come. Personal revelation can be honed to become spiritual discernment. To discern means to sift, to separate, or to distinguish.8 The gift of spiritual discernment is a supernal gift.9 It allows members of the Church to see things not visible and to feel things not tangible.
Bishops are entitled to that gift as they face the task of seeking out the poor and caring for the needy. With that gift, sisters may view trends in the world and detect those that, however popular, are shallow or even dangerous. Members can discern between schemes that are flashy and fleeting and those refinements that are uplifting and enduring.
Discernment was implicit in important instructions President John Taylor gave long ago.10 He taught stake presidents, bishops, and others: "It is the right of those holding [these positions] to obtain the word of God with regard to the duties of their presidencies that they may more effectually carry out His holy purposes. None of the callings or positions in the priesthood are intended for the personal benefits, emoluments and fame of those who hold them, but are expressly given to fulfil the purposes of our Heavenly Father and build up the Kingdom of God upon the earth. . . . We . . . seek to understand the will of God, and then carry it out; and see that it is carried out by those over whom we have the charge."11
For each of you to receive revelation unique to your own needs and responsibilities, certain guidelines prevail. The Lord asks you to develop "faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God." Then with your firm "faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, [and] diligence," you may ask, and you will receive; you may knock, and it will be opened unto you.12
Revelation from God is always compatible with His eternal law. It never contradicts His doctrine. It is facilitated by proper reverence for Deity. The Master gave this instruction:
"I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.
"Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.
" . . . To them will I reveal all mysteries [and] my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom."13
Revelation need not all come at once. It may be incremental. "Saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more."14 Patience and perseverance are part of our eternal progression.
Prophets have described what they felt while receiving revelation. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery reported that "the veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened."15 President Joseph F. Smith wrote, "As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me."16
Every Latter-day Saint may merit personal revelation. The invitation to ask, seek, and knock for divine direction exists because God lives and Jesus is the living Christ. It exists because this is His living Church.17 And we are blessed today because President Thomas S. Monson is His living prophet. That we may hearken to and heed his prophetic counsel is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes 1. Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9; emphasis added; see also 3 Nephi 14:7; Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 7:12, in Bible appendix.
2. Moroni 10:4.
4. 1 Corinthians 2:14.
5. See Mosiah 5:2; Alma 5:12-14.
6. Mosiah 3:19.
7. Such conversions are complete. John Newton (1725-1807), for example, changed his life from that of a slave trader to a devoted disciple of the Lord, summarizing his conversion when he wrote: "Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound!) / That sav'd a wretch like me! / I once was lost, but now am found; / Was blind, but now I see" ("Amazing Grace," Olney Hymns [1779], no. 41).
8. Discern comes from the Latin discernere, meaning "to separate [or] distinguish between." The Latin prefix dis means "apart," and the suffix cernere means "to sift." See Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (2003), "discern."
9. See D&C 46:23, 26-27.
10. After the death of President Brigham Young in 1877, the affairs of the Church were directed by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The apostolic interregnum continued until 1880, when the First Presidency was reorganized. John Taylor was President of the Quorum of the Twelve when this counsel was given on February 23, 1878.
11. In James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (1965-75), 2:307.
12. D&C 4:5-6; emphasis added; see also verse 7.
14. 2 Nephi 28:30.
16. D&C 138:11. Then followed the revelation about the preaching of the gospel to those who had died without an opportunity to hear the gospel in mortality (see verses 29-37).
17. See D&C 1:30.


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Story Time - Hosted by Fort Scott Public Library
Date and Time
Tuesday Jul 24, 2018
Tuesday and Wednesday 10am - 11am
Fort Scott Public Library
201S. National, Fort Scott, KS
Our Event Room is located downstairs, to the right of the clerk desk in the library building. The best entrance to use is on the north side of the building, on 2nd St.
WebsiteStory Time - Hosted by Fort Scott Pub...
DescriptionJoin Miss Val and other local families for a themed story time, featuring 2-3 books read aloud, songs or fingerplays, craft, and snack, along with a play table for before and after the stories. All story times welcome any-age children and teens.Some themes are based around seasons, holidays, and annual events, while others are chosen by regular attendees.For more information, visit fortscott.mykanEnjoy stories, songs, crafts, and snacks related to our theme in the downstairs event room. Hope you can come. Tell your friends!
saslibrary.org or see our Facebook events page at https://www.fac ebook.com/pg/Fo rtScottPublicLi brary/events/?r ef=page_interna l


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The Episcopal Diocese of Lexington was created in 1895 and covers the eastern half of the state of Kentucky. (The Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky covers the western half of the state.) The diocese's greatest membership strength is in the Bluegrass region in and around Lexington, with a smaller pocket of members in the Northern Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati.
Browse by Diocese
The Episcopal Diocese of Litoral Ecuador is headquartered in Guayaquil, and its bishop is the Rt. Rev. Cristobal Olmedo León Lozano.
The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island is organized into four archdeaconries, representing the four counties of the diocese: Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk.
The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles comprises 70,000 members and 147 congregations, 39 schools, and 18 major institutions. The diocese covers all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Riverside County.
The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, established in 1838, comprises 54 congregations, including 33 parishes, 13 missions (three of which are college chaplaincies), and five mission stations.


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Evolution Hoax
"A find heralded as the greatest discovery in anthropology for a century has degenerated into one of its greatest rows." (1)
"Until more skeletons of the purported 'new species' are discovered, I will maintain that a well-known pathological condition was responsible for the peculiar appearance of the skeleton." (3)
As described by scientists, the differences in both skull size and jaw structure between Flores Man and Homo sapiens can be explained in terms of microcephaly.
"The lone skull came from a woman who had microcephaly, a rare disorder that causes a tiny head and brain. Microcephaly causes the face to grow at a normal rate, but not the head. People wind up with a sloping forehead and no chin -- just like Hobbit." (5) (Hobbit: The nickname given to Flores Man taken from the film The Lord of the Rings.)
"Another week, and another spat between scientists over some old bones and claims to have found yet another new, further, different species of human. This time the controversy centres on the discovery of 18,000 year old bones belonging to a 3ft-tall type of human on Flores island in Indonesia.... the scientists who dug them up had a paper in the journal Nature, declared them to be a new species of human, and given them a fancy-sounding Latin name: Homo floresiensis.Then, in time-honoured tradition, other scientists lined up to dismiss the claim as premature. One leading expert on palaeoanatomy told the rival journal Science that the 18,000 year-old grapefruit-sized skull was similar to a skull found on Crete belonging to a 4,000 year-old specimen of boring old Homo sapiens with secondary microcephaly, a condition characterised by an abnormally small skull.... Secondary microcephaly has a host of causes, from viral infection during pregnancy to injury or malnutrition shortly after birth. The specimens were found in an cave on an island. Who is to say that the island hadn't been swept by an viral epidemic 18,000 years ago that had caused an outbreak of the condition? Or perhaps the occupants had fallen prey to it elsewhere in the Indonesian archipelago, and been banished to Flores because of their odd appearance.Nor is it inconceivable that those with secondary microcephaly could survive and even breed: the condition is not ineluctably linked to low intelligence. Indeed, neither is small brain size per se: the most important factor is the amount of grey matter. As this is not preserved in fossil remains, we have no idea whether those "hobbits" were bright, stupid or indifferent. What is clear is that palaeontologists are worryingly keen to base big claims on decidedly meagre evidence. It is a penchant that has not served them well in the past. In 1922, the American fossil expert Henry Fairfield Osborn made headlines by announcing the discovery of what he declared to be the first anthropoid ape ever found in America, which he named Hesperopithecus ("Ape from the Land of the Evening Sun").The distinguished anatomist Professor Grafton Elliot Smith of London University went further, insisting that Hesperopithecus was nothing less than "the earliest and most primitive member of the human family yet discovered". And what was the basis of these dramatic claims ? A single fossilised tooth found in Nebraska.Prof Smith's response to those doubting the wisdom of relying on so little evidence was remarkably similar to that now being wheeled out by the discoverers of the Hobbit-Men of Flores: "One would regard so momentous a conclusion with suspicion", Prof Smith opined, "if it were not for the fact that the American savants' authority in such matters is unquestionable".Such bluster did not deter the American Museum of Natural History from searching for more evidence. It duly turned up in Nebraska, and revealed "Hesperopithecus" to be nothing more than an extinct pig. Prof Smith later distinguished himself by creating the popular image of Neanderthals as knuckle-grazing morons, while backing claims that skull fragments found in England in 1912 belonged to the earliest-known ancestor of H. sapiens. It later emerged that Smith's "typical" Neanderthal was actually a decidedly atypical male forced to stoop by severe arthritis. As for the skull fragments, they came from a quarry in Sussex known as Piltdown; need one say more.None of this appears to have dulled the enthusiasm of palaeontologists for dangling ever more "species" off the family tree of mankind. All one needs is some unusual bone fragments plus a decent Latin dictionary and a place in palaeontological history is assured.It all appears to hang on whether or not the bone fragments are deemed so "unusual" that they lie outside the limits of any known species. One shudders to think what conclusion palaeontologists would reach if presented with the bones of a modern-day pygmy and a Texan oilman." (6)
"Perhaps no area of science is more contentious than the search for human origins. Elite paleontologists disagree over even the most basic outlines of the human family tree. New branches grow amid great fanfare, only to wither and die in the face of new fossil finds." (7)
He Who has created all things in the best possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay; then produced his seed from an extract of base fluid; then formed him and breathed His Spirit into him and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show! (Qur'an, 32: 7-9)


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Love to the one who made it all possible
For me, every day is Mother's Day. It's always been that way, always will be that way. She's my guiding light, the one who always put that smile on my face and gave me the strength to handle whatever comes my way.
Shirley Hunter, my mom, was a teacher for more than 30 years in Little Rock and Pine Bluff, Ark. She taught high school early on, then third grade for the last 20 years or so. She's an awesome lady. She taught my brothers – Taru, Tishque and Tramar – and me while she was teaching all those other kids. My dad, Theotis, was like a kid too, so she really had her hands full with a house full of guys.
When she taught in Little Rock, it was a 40-minute drive, so she didn't get home until about 6 at night. With her gone all day, we made sure we took care of whatever we could to make it easier for her. She'd get home and make sure we were all good. If any of us got sick, she'd stay home and take care of us. She took care of everybody. That was just the way she was.
And she disciplined us. She did everything she could to keep us out of trouble. She knew how to put the fear of God in us. Any time I was thinking about doing something with my friends that I knew was wrong, I'd hear her voice in my head. She'd say, "You do that, I'm gonna whip your butt.' And she would, too.
There were a lot of men in my family; I have two nieces, and my mom takes care of them. They're the girls she never had.
Her dad, George Cobbs, is the one who got me interested in baseball. He played the game and taught me how to hold the ball and bat, when I was 7 or 8. As I got older, he told me about the history of the game, made me aware of all the great players. We'd watch games together, the Braves and Cubs usually, and he'd tell me all these stories about the legends.
My mom was very athletic when she was young. I remember she used to line us all up when we were kids and race us, and she'd beat us every time. That must be where I got my speed.
She didn't have it easy, raising all of us and working as hard as she did. But she never complained, never talked about her problems. She had to be tired, but she always took care of us, washing our clothes, cooking dinner every night. We got a little more time with her, an extra hour, when she started teaching in Pine Bluff, when I was in eighth grade. That was nice.
Even though I'm gone so much and away from my mom now, it still carries on. My wife, Katrina, takes care of our sons the way my mom took care of us. And they're doing everything they can to take care of her, like we did with our mom.
My wife is actually a lot like my mom. She cleans up after me, holds me when I'm sick. And she disciplines me! She makes me sleep on the couch when I mess up. She inherited my mom's role, but I try to tell her I'm a grown man now.
I'll be in Seattle this weekend, trying to get things turned around with the Angels. I want to send my love to my mom and my wife on their special day.
I'm really blessed to have had such strong women in my life. I don't even want to think about where I'd be if my mom hadn't kept me in line and taken care of me when I was young. I have her to thank for everything I've done in life. I've always tried to make her proud, and that never stops.
All my love, Mom. Have a great Mother's Day. I know all my teammates share my feelings about their mothers, so here's to all of you, too. All mothers deserve to be treated like queens on their day.
6 Comments
Mr Hunter,
That really was a beautiful post! Much love to all the mothers out there for Mother's day! No love like a mother's love! I also love how MLB supports breast cancer research with those pink bats and pins. It's a good cause 🙂
Best of luck!
I still remember you said you would hit a HR for your lovely mom last year, but end up you made a beautiful catch at the wall to take away a HR to help the Halos win the game. Keep it up this year! GO HALOS!!!
What an excellant tribute to your Mother and your Wife. It takes a very good hearted man to recognize the women in his life.
This year I was honored with flowers from my daughter, flowers from my son and daughter in-law. Also, this year being the Best Mothers Day ever, celebrating it with my first grandchild.
I know in time I'll be at an Angels game with LORELEI!!
Happy Mothers Day to all the fabulous Mothers out there!!!
That was an awesome tribute to your Mom, i'm sure she is always watching over you and your family and is extremely proud of you. She did an excellent job raising you and I can honestly say that you are easily one of the most humble and talented players in the league.
My girlfriend and I went up to Seattle from OC this last weekend to catch and Angels game and we were very lucky to run into you at your hotel on Saturday night. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to talk with us for a few minutes, it's a story we will never cease to tell.
Rest that knee and keep up the great work!
Hey Torii Good words you dedicated to your girls. Whats up with the Angels??? When are you guys getting over this hump? We want a championship this year! All eyes are on Anaheim…. ALL STAR HOME 2010…. you guys should be dominating this year…
What a great blog, Torii! We definitely miss you here in Minnesota, but I'm so glad you're with a class organization and team like the Angels. Keep up the good work!