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An Early Test for Chris Christie's Brand
Will the popular governor be able to secure a Senate seat for the GOP?
June 7, 2013 -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has lived a charmed existence this election cycle, winning plaudits from both left and right for his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and dismissing critics of his wholehearted embrace of President Obama in the days before the 2012 election with his usual bombast.
Combined with his successful record of reform and growing national profile, he has enjoyed a record-setting approval rating and is on the short list of serious candidates for the Republican nomination for president in 2016.
While the governor's sharp political instincts and straight-talking style have served him well thus far, the sudden death of New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg will provide him with the first test of his potential 2016 run.
To be sure, the governor hasn't shied away from difficult decisions before, as evidenced by his willingness to take on teachers' unions in the state and speak with great candor about his personal struggle with his weight. His decision to appoint a Jeffrey Chiesa, a longtime friend who won't seek the seat in October, displays a political intelligence that has served him well, but the decision isn't without risks.
Regardless of who becomes the Republican nominee, he or she would face an uphill climb in traditionally Democratic New Jersey. Coupled with the with the high name I.D. and organizational head start enjoyed by presumptive Democratic candidates Cory Booker and Frank Pallone, the race could turn out to be a fascinating look at whether Governor Christie's brand translates to races beyond his own.
Viewed in that context, Christie's decision to eschew an appointment until 2014 and opt for a special election could be seen as a confident bet that his personal popularity could carry the Republican standard bearer to victory – a gamble, but betting against the governor hasn't shown to be a safe stance to this point.
Moreover, he could come under more scrutiny if interim Senator Chiesa violates conservative principles on abortion, marriage or the size of government. Support for these issues, while in step with the state, would be used against him in traditionally conservative states like Iowa and South Carolina as evidence of the kind of judges and appointees a President Christie would choose. While these attacks aren't always grounded in facts, they are ready-made for attack ads as candidates look to define one another.
Clearly there are those in the governor's administration who would have preferred to avoid the situation altogether and even as we analyze the politics of his decision, it's important to remember that Sen. Frank Lautenberg was an American hero who served his country well. While the kickoff to the 2016 election may be years away on the calendar, Governor Christie's decision marks an unofficial beginning to what promises to be a fascinating race.
Joe Brettell is a former Capitol Hill aide and Republican strategist. On Twitter: @JoeBrettell


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I am so honored! I was selected as Customer Card of the Day at Our Daily Bread Designs!
What a nice thing to wake up to! I guess they search the 'net for worthy projects, and they chose this project of mine!
To read my original post, click HERE.
This was a real blessing to me today! I want to thank the team at ODBD for the honor and the shout out. I love the work of the ODBD design team, especially my friend, Angie! I am a huge fan of her work. These women are Lights in a dark world. I appreciate them all so very much.
THANK YOU also for the really sweet write-up. I am humbled!!

subset: commoncrawl


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"On … Patriot Day, we remember and honor those who perished in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We will not forget the events of that terrible morning nor will we forget how Americans responded in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in the skies over Pennsylvania — with heroism and selflessness; with compassion and courage; and with prayer and hope."
~ Excerpt from a proclamation by President George W. Bush, 2002
On this day that many Americans refer to as 9/11 or September 11th, the flag of the United States of America should be displayed at half-mast on the homes and in the hearts of Americans. Nearly 3,000 people died in the surprise attacks and the economic impact was immense. The attacks have greatly increased attention to national security in the United States.
Patriot Day is a day to take a moment to thank the brave men and women of that fateful day, and of our everyday lives. It's a special time to stop and say "thank you" to the police officers, fire fighters, EMT's and military personnel who guard our communities and our nation. It's a time to remember that the term "hero" applies to these everyday individuals, more so than to comic book characters, sports stars and entertainers.
It is also a day to display and salute our American flag, which represents the fabric of our country and our national character. The 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and 50 stars on the blue square are a symbol of our unity and our perseverance. On Patriot Day, we fly it at half mast to honor our country and those lost on this terrible day. Americans are strong. Americans are free. Americans have always come together for one another in times of great distress. President George W. Bush said it best, continuing the excerpt from above:
"Americans also have fought back against terror by choosing to overcome evil with good. By loving their neighbors as they would like to be loved, countless citizens have answered the call to help others. They have contributed to relief efforts, improved homeland security in their communities, and volunteered their time to aid those in need. This spirit of service continues to grow as thousands have joined the newly established USA Freedom Corps, committing themselves to changing America one heart at a time through the momentum of millions of acts of decency and kindness."
Let us remember those we lost. Let us be diligent in keeping each other safe. Let us hold our families a little closer, and our friends a little bit more dear. And let us move forward into the future as a stronger, kinder and more aware nation.
Please take a moment now to remember those we lost that day, and God bless America.


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Note: This review is based on the Sundazed CD edition, which includes bonus tracks that were not on the original U.S. version of Dear Eloise/King Midas In Reverse. Additionally, the British version of this album, which was titled Butterfly, had different tracks. Apologies for any confusion that might ensue.
The finale of a trio of pop masterpieces released by The Hollies from 1966 through 1967, Dear Eloise/King Midas In Reverse found the band in a particularly adventurous mood. There's a running theme about escaping the frantic pace of everyday life to find peace and enlightenment, or to just have a giggle at all the "small-minded men with their small-minded wives." Once again, there were some fully orchestrated tracks, this time arranged and directed by Johnny Scott, but there were also some straight-up pop songs.
"Dear Eloise" bridged the gap between The Hollies' new experimental approach and the tried and true, by incorporating more complex lyrics and electronically altered vocals within a catchy pop arrangement. Graham Nash's "King Midas In Reverse" wandered further afield, with a slightly disturbing sentiment ("I'll break you and destroy you" ) and ambitious instrumentation. Its disappointing performance on the charts (particularly in America) would cause friction between Nash and his band mates. Interestingly, the current lineup of The Hollies still performs it in concert. Some of the other orchestrated tracks, such as "Away Away Away," "Wishyouawish," and "Pegasus," were much more lighthearted.
Allan Clarke's massive and brooding "Would You Believe" was a monument to unrequited love, and he would later scale it down on his solo release, Headroom. Nash's picturesque "Butterfly," which was the title track on the UK version, serves as The Hollies' most delicate love song, outside of the rarity, "Wings." The exotic "Maker, " with its sitar and tablas, and the psychedelic "Elevated Observations" both preach reaching a higher consciousness.
Within this context, the old-fashioned wisdom of "Do The Best You Can" seems kind of simple, although once again Tony Hicks' banjo playing is entertaining. "Leave Me," as previously mentioned in my review of the UK version of Evolution, found The Hollies successfully exploring garage rock, while "Step Inside" is an infectious invitation to a woman to drop by for tea and crumpets. And other things. The breezy "Post Card" sports some of Nash's quickest rhymes as well as a fascination with exotic locales that would surface later on "Marrakesh Express" (originally intended for The Hollies) and "Lady Of The Island" from Crosby Stills and Nash's debut album.


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PLEASE NOTE: These currently are not supplied with a case. We are not epecting cases to arrive for 8-12 weeks.
Beautifully powerful - 13-sided crystals that work with a high degree of smoothness. 100% Lab Grown, 100% clear quartz hand cut. Hold large amounts of energy and deal with most difficult heeling's with ease. Specially made with double terminated points that direct or hold as required without energetic wobble. Size & Weight can vary due to a natural product.
Lab grown quartz has become the preferred option for healing crystals. This is because the clarity can be controlled as it grows. It means less waste and some believe a much better crystal. Natural quartz is very expensive and very hard to obtain. Cutting requires a much larger raw piece of rock that has to be cut down and down until the required finish is found.
NOTE: Crystal sizing is very hard to get exact. Each crystal hand cut varies slightly. This depends what type of RAW stock is obtained. This is why we give guide line approximates on all VOGELS.
Vogel Clear Quartz LAB GROWN Double Terminated Extraction Crystals.
How many sides to a crystal is a big topic of discussion! Whilst 8 sides is said to bridge the ordinary to non-ordinary worlds and then between the physical and emotional aspects of the soul and beyond, many moved from 12 sided to now the most popular 13 sided crystals for healing and extraction work.
13-sided crystals are considered as workhorses of the healing word. They help to bridge and look much deeper into the physiological and emotional worlds. They work exceptionally well with difficult healings.
We noticed a trend change that could co-insides with the magical number 13: 13 Moons, Mayans consider 13 to be Ascension, The hidden One - 13 Apostles! etc.
36-sided crystals are extremely powerful. Working with a high degree of smoothness and able to deal with the most difficult healing's holding steady from any energetic wobble.
Choosing a crystal:
One thing is for sure the more sides can increase the power, ability and depth. However in our experience its like learning to drive, we first start to drive in a car that has an accelerator, brake, clutch and gear stick, and then chose later when we have saved enough money for a bigger better version to progress to a faster more powerful racing car!
It's worth remembering its not how fast or powerful the car is but how well you drive either of them!
We have a lot of feed back and experience with crystals – For some they need the Ferrari perhaps the 36 sided crystal to help them do wonderful work, but many feel the 13 sided is just as gifted and in some instances better than the 36. Another way of looking at it is: How could you drive an F1 car around the town to do your shopping!
Crystals know there job, its how we refer to them relating and transposing what they do with ease that's important.
Therapists tend to have more than one crystal finding their unique preferences allowing the crystal to be used for.
For those unsure on which crystal: A good school of thought for those undecided is simply wait. It's a big commitment not to be rushed. We would rather see you happy than making a quick decision on an expensive and important tool.
If you have a couple of options to chose from then you can always:
Make a note of the different types on different pieces of paper. Fold them in half so you cannot see which type it is. Mix them up and sit holding, meditating with each piece of paper…….. See what they feel like, which one calls more than another…...You will be probably surprised which one it is!
Please also feel free to call us or email us to discuss the options.
All these crystals are either Naturally grown in the earth or Laboratory controlled grown (AAA) grade crystal that is hand cut 100% clear, 100% inclusion free. They are double terminated allowing directing and holding as required with anything that's intended to be housed in them. They are used for healing practices, energy work including extraction processes, journeying and meditation.
Clear quartz is a natural conductor and offers a great temporary home for large amounts of energy enticing what needs to go back to its rightful place in a safe and held way. The cut of the crystal offers a crystal palace!
Size and weight vary due to natural or lab grown crystal specifically cut for this purpose.
Orders are processed in priority. Orders placed before 11am the same day will get shipped on the relevant chose delivery method. Orders received after this time will be processed and shipped in the following 24 hours.
Processing delays will be notified at the time of order.
Standard Shipping time is 7 days unless an alternative method is chosen.
Please note any special delivery instructions need to be notified in the notes section of the shopping basket at the time of order:


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- 9.24.2020 Letter to EC&FE families from EC&FE Program Nurse
- EC&FE Parent/Guardian COVID-19 Response and Guidelines Handbook 2020-2021
- Online Registration
- Preschool Brochure 2020-21
- ECFE Brochure 2020-21
- EC&FE Letter to families 8/6/20
- Immunization Form
- Census Form
- ECFE Handbook
The components in most of our ECFE classes:
GROWING TOGETHER: Time for you and your child
The first half hour of each class is devoted to activities planned by a licensed early childhood educator for you and your child(ren) to explore together. Together you can enjoy learning through art, music, stories, and a variety of developmental activities. It is also an opportunity to learn new ideas, games, and activities that you can do at home.
Watch a short video about parent-child interaction time.
GROWING CREATIVELY AND COGNITIVELY: Time for stories and songs for you and your child
Each ECFE class has at least one group time. The teacher leads parents and children in song, movement, stories, flannel boards, and so much more. During group time, children are learning important skills such as how to self-regulate and pay attention for longer periods of time. Teachers are intentional about pacing and choosing engaging activities to keep children attending and actively participating.
Watch a short video about group time.
GROWING INDEPENDENTLY: Time for your child
The remaining portion of each class is for children to have fun learning through play using art, science, movement, fingerplays, games, and stories with the early childhood educator, the paraprofessional and the other children. New friendships are formed and children discover new aspects of me while they are apart from you. The goal of the children's program is to develop a healthy self-concept and a joy of learning.
Watch a short video about child only time.
GROWING CONFIDENTLY: Time for you
While children take part in the children's program, parents join with other parents in an informal group setting for discussion time led by a licensed parent educator. The challenges of being a parent are enjoyable, complex, and at times stressful. Parents have the opportunity to choose and discuss current family topics, share ideas and concerns, and feel encouraged by the support of others. Parents and children in baby and selected other classes do not separate. Each toddler class will decide when they are ready for separation.
Watch a short video about parent education time.
Can't get to us? We could come to you.
Home Visiting Program
Osseo Areas Schools Home Visiting Program is designed to help children and families prepare for successful experiences in school through a variety of learning experiences. This is a cost-free service provided to our district residents. The objective of the program is to develop, with the parent, an Individualized Family Plan based on the children and family's strengths and needs. Visits are provided by a licensed parent or family educator from the school district's Early Childhood & Family Education Program. Our Home Visiting Program features visits to your home (or visits at an EC&FE center). Visits provide ideas for creative, fun, age appropriate activities, as well as time to discuss questions on kids and family. Information and ideas on child development, parenting and community resources are also available. For more information or to receive a visit call 763.391.8766.
Watch a short video about home visiting.
Infant massage
Infant massage provides many benefits to babies, including: better sleep and digestion, increased brain and nervous system development and deeper sense of safety and attachment to caregiver's.
To register for infant massage click here


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Hi, welcome! I hope you make lots of friends! It's nice to meet more fans!!
Where did your avatar come from? It's so cute.
terry175 wrote:
Hello to you too.
I am from Singapore and have been following batsu game for a very long while as you can see from my registration date of this account.
But I have been only really active during the November - Feb of each year (Looking for sneak preview, raws, translation in forum mostly).


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There's a new attorney heading to The Good Wife.
Former Vegas and Terra Nova star Jason O'Mara has booked a "high-profile recurring role" on the CBS drama, Deadline reports. His character, Colin, is an Irish attorney who's built a career out of defending gang members and crime families and is now looking to join a corporate law firm such as Lockhart/Gardner, according toDeadline. His transition into the conservative culture there is not exactly seamless, however.
VIDEO: The Good Wife's Julianna Margulies teases Season 5
The Good Wife returns Sunday, Sept. 29 at 9/8c on CBS. Are you looking forward to meeting O'Mara's character?
(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS.)


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Justin Smith to Undergo Surgery, Three Months Rehab
SAN FRANCISCO -- Former Missouri football and current San Francisco 49ers defensive end Justin Smith is expected to undergo surgery this week to repair a partially torn triceps suffered in December.
According to Matt Maiocco of Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area, it is expected to be a three-month rehabilitation for Smith.
Smith was injured in the 49ers Week 15 win over the New England Patriots. He missed the final two games of the regular season and got an extra week to rest with the 49ers earning a first-round bye. Smith played in all three postseason games for San Francisco and was credited with 12 tackles.
Smith's effectiveness was noticeably affected due to the injury and it impacted the 49ers defense as a whole. Linebacker Aldon Smith had 19.5 sacks in 14 games during the regular season playing with Justin Smith. In five games after the injury to Justin Smith, Smith was held without a sack and the 49ers allowed 28.8 points per game defensively over that span.
Per Maiocco, Smith is expected to be back to full strength in time for training camp next season.


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Tour our communities
Stop in or schedule a tour at an Embassy Healthcare center near you. We'll explain the many services we offer and show you around our state-of-the-art skilled nursing and rehabilitation areas. Embassy Healthcare's experienced admissions staff will work with you to explain the admission process and answer any of your questions.


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Sensing Technologies
for Action Sport
Richer sport Experience, mixing Technology and Action
Take your gear
to the Cloud
Wearit is the system to track, store and analyze any kind of sport activity. It provides unique sport metrics leveraging on data-fusion capabilities beyond GPS, taking fun and performance to an higher level.
Am I doing my best? Today, this week, this month... How do I compare vs. myself / my friends / others? Can I setup the equipment for a better performance?How do I stay motivated? Can it be more fun?Are there patterns of improvement? Can I share the experience? ...Today you can widen the product offering with data-driven innovation, integrating sensing technology to the equipment, and engaging with the End-Users on many more levels. Data, to quantify your sport experience, and Social, to share it with your Community.In Sports, where Data rules, to raise the joy of doing what you love.
We offer a step-by-step approach for our Partners to evaluate the costs and the benefits of creating a richer digital experience for the End-Users.
Preliminary Analysis
Working with your team, we analyze your requirements, tests different sensing technologies on the equipment, and provide feasibilities on the development of unique sport metrics and experience.
Platform Customization
Once the solution is clear, we customize our hardware and software platform tailored to your use-case, selecting and integrating the technologies at hand. This will take your gear to the Cloud, allowing you to engage with your users at a higher level.
Engineered Product
We can engineer a final solution for Mass Production, overlooking all Manufacturing, Quality and Certifications aspects, integrating electronics and software modules into your existing company products portfolio.
Wearit Srl ha realizzato il progetto "Digital Ski" grazie anche ad un co-finanziamento da parte della Regione Veneto sul Bando POR FESR, DGR 1159 del 19/07/2017 - Azione 1.1.1 Sostegno a progetti di ricerca alle imprese che prevedono l'impiego di ricercatori presso le imprese stesse". Il Co-finanziamento ha permesso l'inserimento di un nuovo ricercatore all'interno del team R&D di Wearit per sviluppare una piattaforma di Activity Tracking, composta da un sensore "wereable" ed un'applicazione smartphone e di integrarla ad attrezzatura sportiva utilizzata in ambiente montano.L'importo del cofinanziamento della Regione Veneto è di € 42.225,00.
Contact Us
Want to say hello? Want to know more about us? Give us a call or
drop us an email and we will get back to you as soon as we can.


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$ 59.99 $ 64.99
Sold Out $ 139.99
View full product details
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Sold Out $ 114.99
Several of our award-winning Root Slayer family products have been adopted by metal detecting hobbyists: Root Slayer Shovel, Root Slayer Nomad, and Root Slayer Soil Knife with Holster. We've bundled these three essential metal detecting tools together in one economical set. Metal detecting aficionados have found that the Root Slayer Nomad is a fantastic, lightweight but serious shovel that slices right through roots and sod, exposing the treasures that lie below in all but the most challenging environments. For those, the Root Slayer Shovel is the heavy duty champion digger you need to get down to the best-protected treasures. The Root Slayer Soil Knife will ride on your hip in its durable holster for precision digging and delicate extractions of precious finds
Sold Out $ 139.99


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For those who have dreamed about traveling through space and exploring uncharted planetary territory, reality could be right around the corner.
In just 10 years, four men and women plan to depart Earth � forever � weaving through stars and the celestial sphere to make a new home on Mars.
But who will go?
Well, just about anyone age 18 or older who dares to sign up. The spots are open to nearly everyone. The only requirement is enthusiasm.
Mars One, a private, not-for-profit space project dedicated to colonizing the Red Planet by 2023, is looking for hardworking and dedicated individuals from around the globe to become history�s first interplanetary settlers. The applications require no specific set of pre-existing skills. People don�t need astronaut training, medical experience or anything else.
Bas Lansdorp, the co-founder of Mars One, explains the open application process will most likely attract a large, diverse group of people who, perhaps never before having considered a career in physics or astronomy, would have the drive and enthusiasm to be successful modern pilgrims.
�A lot of (scientific) people could think they fit and actually don�t,� said Lansdorp, who has a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, in an interview via Skype. �So the people we�re looking for could be the type of person that isn�t the kind most have in mind � it could be someone completely different. They just need to be healthy and mentally stable.�
The Astronaut Selection Program applications are available online (www.mars-one.com), and Lansdorp says Mars One is going to take its time picking and choosing the different squads. The program plans to send four astronauts to Mars every two years to colonize the planet. And the general public will be able to see every step of the way. The selection process, which could take as long as two years, as well as much of the on-Earth training and then life on Mars, will be recorded for a science-oriented reality TV show.
Cameras plan to follow the astronauts as they complete the program and are prepping for their one-way trip to outer space. Once on Mars, the crew will be filmed to see exactly how colonization, and group dynamics in space, functions. The show, which Lansdorp says will be one of Mars One�s main projected financial resources, will help answer some the most burning questions viewers may have: How does someone prepare to live on another planet? What will they eat? Will they still be able to communicate with friends on Earth?
And ultimately: Can I go?
RAYMOND FUNK, an aerospace specialist and former NASA engineer, believes that filming Mars One�s process from start to finish is crucial to understanding the United States� (and other countries�) space aptitude and ability to move forward in science.
�There is a great value in what astronauts do,� Funk says. �Recording what they do has great learning value. And the open application is fantastic. We can see what kind of people will be attracted to (this program) and why. They may be young and just want to escape, or they may have another reason.�
While scientists have high hopes for the program, Mars One has received little publicity so far. Dirk Trimble, a science teacher at Williams High School in Burlington, has noticed a misalignment between potential inspiration and proper marketing.
�I think there could be some interest in the Mars One project from high school students,� Trimble says. �However, there has not been a lot of publicity about the project. Because of this, I do not think many high school students even know about it.�
Still, Trimble says he is looking forward to seeing what effect the project will have on high school-level courses.
�I do think that this would cause a spike in the science field,� Trimble says. �Those students that are interested in it would indeed take more science and math classes. In response, I think teachers would also try to include more engineering and problem-solving skills. A large project like Mars One would need skills in all of those fields to face the challenges of going to Mars and setting up a permanent settlement.�
Not just high school classes would change if colonization became a comfortable reality. James McLeod, a senior political science and European studies major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says he believes the open process applications of the Mars One program will have a large effect on his generation and the idea will be a catalyst for many future developments.
�(It�s) an inspiration for the spirit of discovery,� McLeod says. �I personally would not apply, despite the draw of being among the first to explore a new planet. Overall though, I believe that any expedition as monumental as starting a colony on another planet is a positive development for humanity.�
MANY, HOWEVER, do not believe that Mars One can complete its mission in the given timeframe. Tony Crider, chair of the department of physics at Elon University, admires the ideals behind the project but doesn�t believe the technology it plans to use will successfully transport four individuals to Mars.
�I�ve got my doubts,� Crider says. �For a business model, (Mars One) is perfect. Everyone is on board with it. But they�re proposing something that�s not technically possible. Not even NASA has the technology today to even send people to (live on) the moon. We might be able to do that in 10 years if someone was willing to pay for it. The moon is a three-day trip; Mars is a seven-month (trip) � if we had futuristic ion engines that haven�t been built yet.�
Like Crider, Funk is also skeptical of the projected calendar.
�My first reaction is that I think this is a great thing to attempt, but I do feel as if (Mars One) is extremely optimistic and aggressive about their timetable,� Funk says.


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Poland has always been the Doctor Who of the European continent, undergoing successive bouts of regeneration in response to the challenges of war, revolution or regime change. For the traveller, many of the old clichés about this country's grim post-communist cities can be safely thrown out of the window – in fact, there's hardly a single dull destination in the entire country. Here is a timeline of the dramatic changes that led to some of the country's best places to explore Polish culture.
2004: Warsaw Rising
In 2004, Poland saw the sixtieth anniversary of the heroic but doomed Warsaw Uprising, an event marked by the opening of the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The first all-new museum in the country to offer an artfully designed walk-through experience, it's an object lesson in how to impart key historical lessons to a sophisticated contemporary audience. Similar techniques have been employed in Kraków's spectacular Rynek Underground and the Oskar Schindler Factory, which both opened in 2010.
Warsaw Uprising Monument, Warsaw © Tjomek/Shutterstock
2005: the brewing revolution
Deservedly celebrated as a country of vodka drinkers, Poland has also undergone something of a beer-brewing revolution over the last ten years. A key moment was the decision of small-town brewery Ciechan to start producing connoisseur-friendly unpasteurized ales in 2005. Ciechan is now a cult brew, swilled eagerly by hearties and hipsters all over the country. Boutique breweries and beer pubs have been cropping up all over the place ever since; the mind-bogglingly well-stocked House of Beer in Kraków is a great place to start a sampling session, while Piwoteka in Łódź brews its own wheat beer and serves draught brews from all over the country.
2006: vodka-and-herring bars
It all started with Zakąski-Przekąski ("Snacks 'n' Nibbles"), the 24-hour bar that opened in central Warsaw in 2006, serving vodka, beer and traditional stand-up snacks such as pickled herring, jellied meats and gzik (sour cream, onion and cottage cheese). All drinks were priced at 4zł (roughly €1), the snacks at 8zł. The venture was an instant success, drawing hip young drinkers as well an older-generation, nostalgic for the good old days of cheap-and-cheerful nights on the town. The original Zakąski has since closed its doors, but the concept has spread all over the country and shows no sign of going out of style. Head for Kraków's Ambasada Sledzia and Katowice's Lorena z Meduza for further indications of where the trend is going.
© gubernat/Shutterstock
2007: design festivals and post-industrial regeneration
Held in 2007, the first Łódź Design Festival was an instant hit that brought together Poland's best in the business. It's now the major design event in the country, embracing exhibitions, lectures, children's activities and a chance to buy unique designer products. A leading example of post-industrial regeneration, the former textile-producing powerhouse of Łódź can also boast an International Comics Festival, the Urban Forms street art festival, and a bohemian bar, bistro and design-store quarter in the shape of OFF Piotrkowska.
2008: contemporary art spaces
A globally esteemed art institution ever since 1931, Łódź Art Museum muscled its way into the big league in 2008 with the opening of a new gallery in a former textile factory. It was an important step in putting Polish contemporary art back on the international map, and Kraków enjoyed a similar boost with the opening of MOCAK in 2010. Warsaw's Museum of Modern Art, currently in temporary accommodation as it awaits the construction of a new building, looks set to be one of the talking points of the next ten years.
2009: cult culture
There was a time when children's cartoon characters like Bolek and Lolek and Miś Uszatek (Teddy Floppy-ear) were household names not just in Poland itself but across the whole of Central-Eastern Europe. It's a world celebrated by Rzeszów's Museum of Bedtime Stories, a private collection that grew into a full-scale display in 2009. Another private initiative that has proved hugely popular with visitors is the Neon Museum, which opened in Warsaw's Praga district in 2012. This collection of former shop signs and advertising slogans sheds a misty nostalgic glow on Poland's art-and-design heritage.
2010: Frédéric Chopin superstar
The heritage of Poland's ivory-tinkling wonder boy underwent a spectacular relaunch in 2010 when the Chopin Museum in Warsaw was thoroughly redesigned in celebration of the composer's 200th birthday. With interactive handsets, touch-screen displays and a Chopin jukebox, it's a must for the music enthusiast with modern media sensibilities.
Frederic Chopin Museum at the Ostrogski Palace, Warsaw © Fotokon/Shutterstock
2011: the Copernicus Centre
When it comes to hands-on science museums, Warsaw's Copernicus Centre is at the head of the pack. Completed in 2011, the boldly contemporary building comprises a range of activity zones for different age-groups on two large floors. The sheer wealth of touch-screen computers, physical tests and mind-bending challenges can keep visitors occupied for hours.
2012: hipsters at the end of a Rainbow
Few sights express the paradoxes of contemporary Poland quite so eloquently as the Tęcza or Rainbow, a metal arch covered in multi-coloured artificial flowers that spans the central roundabout of Warsaw's Public Square. Conceived by artist Julita Wójcik to mark Poland's six-month presidency of the EU in 2012, the Tęcza was quickly associated with the rainbow symbol used by the LGBT movement – a connection that largely won the approval of the broad-minded Varsovians who tend to congregate in the area's hipster-friendly bars. The Tęcza has burned down three times since its construction – on the last occasion set alight deliberately by right-wing hooligans on November 11 2013. Word is the rainbow will be restored to its full floral glory by May 2014.
Church of the Most Holy Savior on Savior Square where the rainbow stood © Artur Bociarski/Shutterstock
2013: The Museum of The History of Polish Jews
Despite constituting a third of Warsaw's population on the eve of World War II, Poland's once-strong Jewish community had to wait until April 2013 before getting the museum that their contribution to the country deserved. The Museum of the History of the Polish Jews was opened just in time to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. A glassy structure filled with organic, curvy surfaces, the building is itself a statement of Warsaw's ongoing urban transformation. Currently only temporary exhibitions are on show, but the museum's permanent collection is due to open in autumn 2014.
And the next ten years…
Poland's ongoing transformation shows no sign of letting up. The most significant new attraction for 2014 looks set to be the European Solidarity Centre in Gdansk, pencilled in for late summer (although no-one really knows if it will be ready on time). The multimedia museum will celebrate Solidarity, the free trade union born in the Gdansk shipyards in 1980, covering its contribution to people-power, not just in Poland, but across the continent too.
Explore more of Poland and the surrounding countries with the Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget. Book hostels for your trip, and don't forget to purchase travel insurance before you go.


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Jordan loved Auburn. With the exception of wartime tours of duty in Europe and the Pacific and a few years in exile as an assistant coach at UGa, he literally spent his entire adult life on 'the plains'. A year after graduating he returned to API as head basketball coach and assistant football coach. He served through the Depression without great distinction in either sport. API football and basketball both hovered slightly above .500 during the 1930s. Jordan was a soft spoken coach, never the kind of coach to make great waves or draw attention. But there was no doubting his determination. Nor his courage, given his wartime service record. Jordan participated in the invasions of Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Okinawa. He was wounded seriously enough in the Normandy campaign to require lengthy recuperation and transfer to the Pacific. His service earned him both the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Toward the end of his life as he struggled through a losing battle with aggressive and painful cancer Bear Bryant commented to a reporter:
"[Ralph Jordan] has more courage in his little finger than I've got in my entire body."
Understandably after such selfless wartime service Jordan wanted to return to the place and work that he loved. He resumed his work as API basketball coach for one season, but he found the appeal of football growing and decided to take an assistant position with the professional Miami Seahawks. After one year Jordan moved to Athens as an assistant to Wallace Butts. His time at Georgia coincided with Earl Brown's disastrous tenure as head football coach in Auburn. After Brown posted an 0-10 record in 1950 there was only one choice for API. The school's most loyal son received the call.
Jordan didn't right the ship overnight, but in his quiet, committed way he began coaching with simplicity, clarity and humanity. Shug kept his play-book very simple, running only variations of roughly ten plays but insisting that they be run well every time. He also refused to exact too high a price from his players in practice. He once told a reporter:
"We don't eat ourselves alive in practice… It's unthinkable for us to lose a Saturday game in a Tuesday scrimmage."
After a three decade hiatus following a dispute regarding gate receipts from the 1907API-Alabama game the state's leading football schools resumed their annual series in 1948. Since the 1907 fixture the Crimson Tide had become a national power, winning national titles under two coaches and claiming multiple Rose Bowl crowns. The Plainsmen, on the other hand, remained a regional power at best and were clear second in the state. Men of Alabama's less favored institution chaffed under the feeling of second-class status. Athletics offered a way to regain some pride, but from 1948 to 1953 Bama won five of six. Jordan's first two seasons were tough going. He followed a 5-5 record his first year with a disappointing 2-8 campaign. But through a combination of confidence, charm and some dubious recruiting practices that quickly landed API with six-years of NCAA probation Jordan began to convince the state's better athletes to play for him. As API's stock rose the Crimson Tide fell. From 1954 to 1958 Shug took five straight over the state's flagship university, restoring API pride and giving the Plainsmen their longest winning streak in the rivalry until recent times.
Jordan's career was not one long string of championships. Many might not even consider his coaching success to be outstanding. Shug coached Auburn football for twenty-five seasons from 1951 to 1975, compiling a record of 175-83-7. 1957 provided his only conference and national titles. But Jordan's teams finished second in the conference seven times. After his first four seasons as coach Auburn finished below third in the conference only ten times in twenty one seasons. That doesn't sound too impressive at first. Nor does a 5-7 bowl record without a single victory in any of the four major New Year's Day games. But finishing in the top third of SEC play in almost two of every three seasons over several decades is very difficult. Ask a coach who has tried. Very, very few have done better.
Jordan was voted coach of the year by the national coaches association, the AP and the SEC. Even though NCAA regulations prohibited API from accepting their Sugar Bowl bid, it was a great year. But Auburn fans don't remember Shug for one great season, or even for a considerable number of very respectable seasons. They remember him as a consistent, committed, unassuming, unerringly loyal servant of their school. Shug Jordan was, more than anything, an Auburn man. His legacy would be remembered with more reverence by people outside of eastern Alabama had Jordan not suffered the misfortune of spending much of his coaching tenure across the state from a man whose legend became utterly insurmountable.
Paul Bryant was simply a football man. Growing up dirt poor in Fordye, Arkansas life didn't offer many opportunities. Bryant earned his life-long nickname by agreeing to wrestle a bear at a travelling carnival. He was promised a dollar for every minute he stayed in the ring but never saw a cent because the bear's muzzle came off and Bryant wisely ran away. Bryant was no coward. When Frank Thomas offered him a scholarship to play football for Alabama he grabbed the first real opportunity life had given him with both hands. The Bear played hurt on numerous occasions, including the entirety of a famous game against Mississippi State on a broken leg. He went to be the most demanding coach in the business, but no one could call him a hypocrite. Bryant gave 100% as a Bama player, despite not possessing the most talent. He played opposite Don Hutson on the 1934 Rose Bowl winning team and was jokingly known as "the other end". Hutson, not Bryant, went on to set countless NFL receiving records. Bryant later said of his own coaching career that he was an ordinary coach of great players but a great coach of average players. He boasted that he could make his players think they were all-Americans. That boast wasn't arrogance, it was fact.
Alabama has never had a Heisman Trophy winner. Through a quarter-century of unrivaled success in Tuscaloosa the Bear never produced a single player that critics viewed as individually peerless. Bryant excelled by producing not a handful of great players but hundreds of players like himself. He made men play above their ability, consistently give full effort, and perform as a team far beyond individual capability. Bryant's records speak for themselves. After graduation he worked as an assistant to Thomas. He never wanted to do anything but coach. Bryant committed his entire life and legacy to the game and the men football can produce. When the U.S. entered WWII he went to the Iowa pre-flight program and coached with various future greats including Woody Hayes to help physically prepare pilots for war. Bryant coached the University of Kentucky from 1946 to 1953, going 60-23-5. More than half a century later Bryant still holds the best winning percentage of any Kentucky coach. The Wildcats have yet to repeat his 1950 SEC and Sugar Bowl championships.
The Bear's practices were demanding; probably unnecessarily so. After taking over a lifeless Texas A&M program in 1954 he famously drove his entire football squad into rural west Texas and held brutal workouts for two weeks. Half his team quit and the Bear posted the only losing year of his career with a 1-9 record. A lot of commentators look at that camp as a sacrificial separation of men from boys that founded the nucleus of an A&M program that lost only four games over the next three seasons. It seems more likely that Junction was the disaster it appeared. For the only time in his career the Bear lost most of his team, literally and metaphorically. Bryant was a great coach for the same reason Alexander was a great general. His players believed in him and would do anything for him. At Junction, the Bear learned how far was too far. He remained a grueling, exacting, gruff and demanding mean cuss of a coach, but he never pushed a team so far again.
In 1955 Jennings Whitworth's Tide went an unacceptable 0-10. The next two seasons were little better at a combined 4-14-2. A university accustomed to Rose Bowls and national acclaim did not like losing football games to the state's agricultural school. The Bear took over in 1958. His first Crimson Tide team finished 5-4-1. That was the only time in twenty-five seasons that Bryant did not take Alabama to a Bowl. In a quarter-century, without ever incurring any penalty for any kind of NCAA violation, Bryant went 232-46-9. He went to 24 bowls with a record of 11-10-2, winning seven Sugar Bowls, two Orange Bowls and a Cotton Bowl. His teams earned six national championships and ten SEC titles. In an incredible eleven year stretch from 1971 to 1981 the Bear's teams won nine SEC titles and finished second the other two years. After finishing sixth and fourth in the SEC his first two seasons Bryant never came in lower than third in the SEC standings - twenty-three consecutive seasons in the top third of the SEC! His coaching record is not only peerless, it will never be matched. No one will ever come close.
Year in, year out with whatever players he had, Bryant found a way to win. He once called over to the Auburn football office at 6 a.m during Iron Bowl week. Someone answered the phone and told him that no coaches were in their offices yet. The Bear asked:
"Don't they care about football over at Auburn?"
That was the effort he demanded. That was the effort he gave himself. When he saw his all-American quarterback Joe Namath slacking off in practice and heard other players complaining, he instructed an assistant to give Namath a dirty old jersey. Bryant told his quarterback in front of the entire team that he had to work harder than the other players to earn a clean jersey back. That was the summer of 1966. The Tide went unbeaten that year, won a national title and Namath went on to the New York Jets where he did quite well.
Everything Paul Bryant did at Alabama he did well, but especially beating Auburn. Over a quarter century the Bear went 19-6 against the Tigers. The record prior to Jordan's retirement is slightly more favorable to Auburn at 13-5. But out competing Bryant on a consistent basis was simply impossible. Even the best coaches failed to keep pace. But every so often Shug's patience, tenacity, and humble resolve would produce teams that caught their perennially more favored in-state nemesis off guard. Sometimes, as if in response to shows of hubris of Homeric proportions, the gods themselves intervened on Auburn's behalf.
Such was the case with Auburn's most legendary Iron Bowl triumph. Heading into the Birmingham showdown on December 2nd 1972 the second ranked Crimson Tide were 10-0 and already had the SEC title wrapped up. Bama had not lost a regular season game in two years, since Auburn's last Iron Bowl triumph in 1969. The line on the game was Bama by 16. Auburn men had every right to take exception to such an insult. The Tigers were 9-1 with only a lopsided loss to LSU blemishing another manifestly respectable season for Shug's boys.
Despite Auburn's determination to upstage their rival the Tiger offense accomplished nothing all day. Superior execution and athletes appeared to have made the difference, as they so often had before, with Bama leading 16-3 deep into the fourth quarter. With 5:30 left in the game Auburn forced a punt on the Alabama forty yard line. As Greg Gantt wound up for his kick Auburn committed about everyone but their return man to the rush. The Bama line collapsed almost instantly and linebacker Bill Newton spread his huge body in front of Gantt with abandon. The ball bounced back with enough force to carry it to the Bama 25, where defensive back David Langer reeled it in without apparent effort and strode into the end zone. Langer's move from Auburn's line into rushing the punter and on through Bama's goal-line took place in one fluid motion. Auburn celebrated, but at 16-10 the victory appeared a moral one.
The gods had other ideas. After receiving the ensuing kickoff the Alabama offense once again reached only their own forty-yard line before stalling. By that point only 1:30 remained. The chances of Auburn achieving offensively in a minute and a half what they had failed to manage in the preceding fifty-eight were negligible. With nothing to lose Jordan signaled for his team to send everything at the kick again. Incredibly Auburn repeated the penetration of an Alabama line that seemed to evaporate under the pressure as it hadn't done in two entire seasons. Once again Newton reached the ball first, swatting it as it left Gantt's foot. Once again it fell into the path of Langer, and once again the Auburn defensive back sailed without breaking stride for a score. Auburn won 17-16, derailed Alabama's national title hunt, and earned a Gator Bowl berth for themselves. Without having gained anything worth remembering on offense all day Auburn posted an immortal victory on the strength of two special teams TDs and a missed Bama point-after. The odds were so staggeringly improbable that even the most casual of fans can readily ascribe the legendary "Punt, Bama, punt!" Iron Bowl of 1972 to the football gods. This game was their gift to a long suffering API graduate who spent his life faithfully toiling in the Bear's expansive shadow.
Two years later, the 1974 Iron Bowl featured undefeated 1st ranked Alabama and 4th ranked one-loss Auburn. The national as well as SEC championship was on the line. But in the state of Alabama one thing is more important than national fame. Bryant told a reporter succinctly in the run up to the game:
"The state championship of Alabama means everything. This is for bragging rights for the next 365 days."
Alabama had limped through the season with various injuries, finding ways to win with whoever was available. Starting quarterback Gary Rutledge was lost early. Later his replacement Richard Todd missed three games with a knee injury. Despite the unblemished record and top ranking it had been an ugly season from the Tide, including a late comeback 8-7 win over a Florida State team that had lost sixteen straight. The '74 Iron Bowl proved no exception. Both teams moved the ball but also made their share of mistakes. Only gritty special teams play kept the Tide unbeaten.
Early in the first quarter a 35 yard strike to tight end Ozzie Newsome took Bama into Auburn territory. The drive continued to the Tigers' three yard line before Todd lost a fumble. Bama's next possession started deep in their own half after a clipping penalty on Auburn's punt. After grinding their way into Auburn territory the Tide seemed to have settled down when Todd hit Willy Selby on a short swing pass that the receiver converted for a 45-yard touchdown. After Bama extended the lead to 10 on their next possession Auburn responded with an impressive long drive, pounding the same basic inside running play with Sedrick McIntyre most of the 71 yards to the end zone. The teams would have finished the half tied at ten except for Alabama end Leroy Cook managing to get his long arms in the way of a seemingly simple 21-yard field goal attempt from Auburn's Chris Wilson. Alabama extended the lead to 17-7 early in the third quarter behind the gritty running of Calvin Culliver and Randy Billingsley. Auburn responded with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Phil Gargis, only to see the score wiped off because the receiver had stepped out of bounds prior to catching the ball. In the fourth quarter Todd was stuffed in brutal fashion on 4th and goal before Auburn drove 72-yards two possessions later on a touchdown drive that included a twelve yard pass from a fake field goal attempt. After a two-point conversation failed Bama led 17-13. Auburn gained one last possession with a minute remaining but defensive end Mike Dubose sealed the victory by busting up a developing reverse hand-off in the back field. Dubose batted the ball from Gargis' hand and fell on it gratefully.
As Auburn had in their famous win two years earlier, Alabama rode their luck. In the grand scheme however, the Bear made his own luck. As a freshman Mike Dubose had suffered an excruciating injury when another player accidentally stamped on his crotch in a scrum. Dubose underwent surgery to remove a crushed testicle and doctors told Bryant the boy could not play again. When he heard the news Dubose threatened to transfer to Troy State and continue playing there. Bryant realized that if an athlete that tough wanted to play football so badly, he should play it for Bama. Dubose was the kind of player that gave everything. He gave as much as Bryant demanded. He gave as much as Bryant had given for Frank Thomas.
Players like Dubose, whom Bryant seemed to produce or find by the truck-load, were the reason Alabama won so many titles in that magical quarter century. No one else could keep up. In many senses it is hardly fair to say Bryant had any rivals. His career truly was peerless. And yet, without the constant, unyielding service of Ralph Jordan there is no knowing how much farther behind Auburn might have fallen. Bryant respected and admired Jordan more than anyone. He told viewers on his Sunday morning TV show after the 1973 Iron Bowl:
"Coach Jordan's a wonderful person and I consider him a close personal friend."
That was a friendship built on competition that bred mutual respect. Bryant's commendation of another coach's career should be high enough praise for any critic.
The Bear not cooperating with a new fangled female sideline reporter.


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One of the greatest aspirations of the Chinese is to ensure that they have good descendants, thus when looking for a spouse they consult Feng Shui experts to ensure that descendant's luck of a couple is present. In fact, once the wife gets pregnant she is treated like a goddess, even the mother-in-law will definitely make sure that the pregnant daughter-in-law is taken care of properly to ensure a smooth pregnancy.
Also, in the old days much effort is given to ensuring that a boy is born, is to ensure the family's lineage is well preserved. A girl is considered as a less important child because she is destined to be married off to another family, and thus considered as somebody else's child. In fact, this practice or belief has become so bad that there are some Chinese families who don't give names to their daughter because they're destined to be known as the wife of so-so. Thus when addressing them in the household they're simply called as First Daughter, Second Daughter, Big Sister, or Second Sister, or Third Sister. When addressed by somebody else other than their family they're simply called as 'First Daughter of Wong Family' they're simply defined by their family name and whether they're the eldest daughter or the youngest, etc. When they get married they're then simply defined by the husband's family name. My own grandmother doesn't even have her own name.
However, because I don't believe that women are of a 'lesser' being compared to men, I will not write about Feng Shui tips in ensuring that the couple are to have a boy, rather, I'd like to share some Feng Shui tips to activate one's Descendant Luck or Fertility Luck.
Several of the Feng Shui tips that I'm going to mention are things that I've recommended to friends and family.
RED KUAN YIN PENDANT. Kuan Yin (also known as 'Goddess of Mercy', 'Buddha of Compassion') is a Bodhisattva revered both in Taoism and Buddhism. Kuan Yin grants the wish of having of babies. For this purpose a red Kuan Yin (also spelled as Kwan Yin, Quan Yin) is best to help you activate your Descendant's Luck. It is highly recommended that both the husband and the wife wear a red Kuan Yin pendant. However, if this is not possible, then it is recommended that the woman wear the pendant. I have three different previous post about Kuan Yin. Get to know her by reading them. The first post is KUAN YIN: THE ONE WHO HEARS THE CRIES OF THE WORLD, the second post is UNDERSTANDING MERCY AND COMPASSION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AVALOKITESVARA TO KUAN YIN, and the third post is PAYING HOMAGE TO KUAN YIN, THE BUDDHA OF COMPASSION.
RABBIT. A rabbit is a very powerful symbol of fertility. It's believes that placing the image of a rabbit in the East section of the bedroom can increase the chances of fertility.
HAPPY FAT BUDDHA WITH CHILDREN. Having the image of the Happy Fat Buddha whose real name is Maitreya Buddha in your house helps increase your potential of having a good descendant luck. You can also know more about the Happy Fat Buddha by clicking here.
CARNELIAN BRACELET. Carnelian or Carnelian Agates or Orange Agates worn as bracelet is one of the best fertility charm. Carnelian is a stone or semi-precious stone that directly controls our sixth chakra – the sire where our reproductive organs are located. Wearing a carnelian as a bracelet will increase the wearer's chance of being more fertile. This charm is also great for people who have found to have low sperm or egg count.
IMAGE OF KUAN YIN WITH A BABY. Placing an image of Kuan Yin with a Baby is another Feng Shui Descendant Luck enhancer. For this purpose, it's best to place the image of Kuan Yin with a Baby on the west section of your house. If this is not possible you can also place the image of Kuan Yin with a Baby in the West corner of your living room.
A PAIR OF ELEPHANTS. This is one of the most effective Feng Shui cure and enhancer to activate one's descendant luck. You should note that the trunk of the elephants should be down and not up. Place a pair of elephants with the trunks down on the west section of your room and if possible both couples should stroke the trunks of the elephant three times each night.
THREE PIECES OF CERAMIC OR PORCELAIN POMEGRANATE AND/OR PEACH. Both the pomegranate and the peach are powerful Feng Shui tools to enhance your descendant luck or fertility luck. In choosing a ceramic or porcelain pomegranate, choose the one that has a color of deep red. For ceramic or porcelain peach choose one that has a color of bright pink.
RECITE THE MANTRA OF GODDESS TARA. Goddess Tara or Green Tara is a Buddhist deity born out of Avalokitesvara or Kuan YIn's tear drop. I'll discuss more about Green Tara on a future post, however, allow me to say that calling on Goddess Tara by reciting her mantra is one way of activating one's Descendant Luck. Furthermore, placing an image of the white manifestation of Goddess Tara called White Tara on the west section of your house also activates one's descendant luck. Goddess Tara's mantra is OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA. Wearing her seed syllable TAM is also a powerful tool to activate one's descendant luck. The seed syllable TAM is one of the featured symbolic syllable in the WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA'S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT.


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Everyone loves a bargain, but rarely can you get a top-quality product and still have enough change for the bus fare home.
While you wouldn't quite call this Alba the pinnacle of design excellence, it's cheap as chips and, like a can of Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin.
For your spare change, you get a digital radio with top-notch reception and an easy-to-use interface. It's also got an analogue FM tuner sitting alongside the digital one, and you can run it from batteries.
On the downside, it does feel very plasticky - especially the buttons, which are overly sticky - and the sound from the speaker is particularly tinny. For the price, however, it's a bit of a bargain.


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Leg Extension for Women
To strengthen and define the quadriceps muscles in the front of the thighs, practice this leg extension for women. Remember not to lock your knees when you extend your legs.
Step 1
Assume starting position as shown.
Step 2
Slowly straighten legs out in front of you, making sure you do not lock your knees.
Step 3
Return to starting position.
For more great exercises to improve your strength and fitness, check out:
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.


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The Leak-Stopper - Top Plate - 18"x18" has corrugated support ridges to prevent any sagging of the chimney liner system. The top plate fills two needs in a chimney liner system.
The top plate mounts the liner system to your roof or chimney. This supports the weight of the liner system and helps keep the system secure in high winds. The top plate also acts as flashing to help protect your roof or chimney from the dangerous effects of invading water.
Each of our top plates are backed by our Lifetime Warranty. As well as being backed by our skilled technical sales staff. Just give us a call and we will help you plan your chimney lining project.


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Wirtgen AutoPilot: fully automatic 3D control for small slipform pavers
Wirtgen launches a pioneering 3D control system for use with the SP 15 and SP 25 slipform pavers. The Wirtgen AutoPilot is a user-friendly, cost-effective machine control system for the construction of poured-in-place concrete profiles, such as curbs or safety barriers, in offset application. The GPS based system guarantees highest precision and maximum efficiency, regardless of whether straight profiles, highly complex curved profile paths, or even closed profile configurations need to be paved. The AutoPilot enables fully automatic, high-quality paving at extremely small radii of merely 600 mm or 2 ft. The proprietary Wirtgen 3D control system gives construction companies a distinct competitive edge, for it pays off quickly and opens up new fields of application. Establishing a digital terrain model is not required as programming of the profile path or profile configuration is completed on site.
Save time and reduce costs in many applications
The production of poured-in-place concrete profiles is often part of major projects, such as the construction of new housing areas, shopping centers or parks. The new AutoPilot from Wirtgen assists the rapid completion of most diverse profile shapes, such as curbs, curb and gutter profiles, canals, safety barriers or narrow paths. The system is capable of producing extremely small radii of no more than 600 mm with great ease and without the use of stringlines. This entirely dispenses not only with the time-consuming and labor-intensive work of surveying but also with the installation and removal of stringlines, thus enabling the contracting companies to save significant amounts of money and time. The Wirtgen AutoPilot also automatically negotiates any obstacles on the construction site, such as manhole covers.
Ease of operation: ready to go in no time at all
The system comprises a computer integrated in the machine as well as a control panel that allows intuitive operation. Two GPS receivers, which are mounted on masts on the machine, communicate with an additional GPS reference station positioned on site. The machine control software is a proprietary Wirtgen development.
The new control system is handled skillfully even by inexperienced personnel after only a short period of time. After positioning the total station and laser on the construction site, the slipform paver is taken to the specified starting position and heading. Parameters are directly entered into the system via the rotary push-button and function keys at the clearly structured control screen. Menu navigation is self-explanatory, and graphics visualize the various profiles and profile configurations.
Fully automatic paving in just six steps
Programming the Wirtgen AutoPilot is a matter of mere minutes. In a first step, the machine operator selects a profile configuration at the control panel. Next he enters length, width and radius of the configuration to establish the steering path of the slipform paver. The starting point is determined in a third step, followed by machine level and elevation profile. In a final step, the machine operator determines the cross slope. A laser sensor or ultrasonic sensor mounted on the slipform paver scans the ground surface to ensure precise level control. The fully automatic paving operation commences.
Previously programmed profile configurations can be saved and retrieved as required. The operator is in full control during the entire process. He can intervene in the automatic paving operation at any time if necessary, for example, to modify the machine's level and angle of incline.


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GLIBC DNS Vulnerability
You need to update your Linux server's installation of
glibc immediately to protect it from a stack-based buffer overflow which was discovered on February 16, 2016.
Note: You only need to perform this update if you have a VPS or dedicated server. Customers with shared hosting accounts do not need to do anything.
Have GoDaddy update glibc for me
For $79, GoDaddy will update
glibc for you. To buy this service, give us a call at (480) 463-8824.
Update glibc myself
- Connect to your server via SSH.
- Run one of the following commands, based on your OS:
OS Do this... CentOS 6+
Fedora 22+
Red Hat 10+sudo yum -y update glibc glibc-common glibc-devel glibc-headers glibc-static glibc-utils nscd
Ubuntu 12.04+sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade libc6 CentOS 5 Nothing - this OS is not affected Other OSes See Unsupported operating systems (GLIBC DNS vulnerability)
Your version of
glibc should now be updated.


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05 September 2013 | News | By BioSpectrum Bureau
Imaxio's begins phase I human trials of tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate MVA85A-IMX313, which is a viral vector vaccine encoding the TB antigen 85A fused to Imaxio's IMX313
Singapore: Vaccine firm Imaxio's proprietary pro-immunogenic technology, IMX313, has been administered for the first time in humans in a tuberculosis vaccine phase I clinical study. The trial is being conducted by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, England, and is led by Professor Helen McShane, who is the tuberculosis program leader and professor of vaccinology at the institute.
This phase I trial is a dose escalation study that aims to assess the safety and immunogenicity of the tuberculosis vaccine candidate MVA85A-IMX313, a viral vector vaccine encoding the well-known tuberculosis antigen 85A, which is fused to Imaxio's IMX313.
Imaxio's proprietary antigen re-engineering technology, IMX313, is designed to enhance the immune response and, therefore, the effectiveness of each vaccine in which it is used. IMX313 brings significant potential as a solution to develop vaccines and immunotherapies for major indications. The technology was designed in response to the challenge in increasing the effectiveness of some human and animal health candidates. It is currently used for the development of vaccine candidates indicated for influenza, Staphylococcus aureus infection, tuberculosis and malaria.
As the currently available vaccine, BCG, is largely ineffective at protecting against adult pulmonary disease in endemic areas, the MVA85A vaccine candidate has been designed to enhance BCG's protective efficacy. Though first studies of MVA85A were promising, a recent phase II clinical trial revealed that the vaccine candidate did not offer extra protection against TB in South African infants who had already received the BCG vaccine. The Jenner Institute is investigating a number of options to see if the immune response generated by MVA85A can be improved.
The Jenner Institute identified IMX313 as one of the best vaccine technologies to enhance immune responses in a comparison study funded by a grant from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative. It is now starting to evaluate it in humans in combination with MVA85A.
Dr Fergal Hill, chief scientific officer, Imaxio, said that, "Following a number of successes with IMX313 in preclinical trials, we are really pleased to have reached this milestone: the first administration of IMX313 in humans. We believe strongly that this will confirm fully that IMX313 is a real solution for developing more effective human vaccines and for addressing major infectious diseases."
Professor McShane said that, "We are keen to find out whether this novel vaccine candidate will pave the way for new successes in addressing tuberculosis. We think IMX313 may be a key component to help MVA85A show even greater potency in humans."


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Buick gives LaCrosse an electric boost
Sedan's new eAssist mild hybrid system boosts fuel economy by about 25 percent.
General Motors stops short of calling its new Buick LaCrosse with eAssist a hybrid, but that's what it is, even though its 15-horsepower electric motor is used to boost the four-cylinder gasoline engine, not take over and run the car on its own.
What this pretty cool new system does is gives a full-size premium car with a four-cylinder engine (and the fuel economy that goes with it) the virtual power of a V-6.
Ford does that with a turbocharger on its new EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, but GM chooses to spike the LaCrosse's power with the electric motor, which is built into the six-speed automatic transmission. It's considered a "mild" hybrid, or "light electrification."
The eAssist system is standard on the 2012 LaCrosse, which has prices beginning at $29,960 (plus $860 freight). My tester, though, was the Premium 1 model ($32,440, plus freight).
There is no big price "premium" to pay for getting the system on the LaCrosse, as you would have with most other hybrids.
Although the base price of the car is up about $2,000 from 2011, the new price is about the same as last year's base model with the V-6 engine option. There are new standard features other than eAssist that account for some of that increase, including dual-zone climate control, 17-inch alloy wheels, a driver-information center with color display, and Bluetooth and USB connectivity.
Yet even with the small cost increase, there is a significant fuel-economy advantage with eAssist that makes sense in today's marketplace, especially with fuel prices going up, down and back up almost weekly.
GM said eAssist was designed to increase the fuel economy of the base LaCrosse four-cylinder engine by about 25 percent, and that's what it did for my tester.
EPA ratings are 25 mpg city/36 highway/29 combined, and during a week behind the wheel in this vehicle, I averaged just more than 30 mpg in combined city/highway driving. The highway part was about two-thirds of my travels (EPA bases its official "combined" ratings on 55 percent city/45 percent highway driving).
In the 2011 LaCrosse, which has the same 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder gasoline engine but no eAssist, EPA ratings are 19 city/30 highway/23 combined.
The eAssist provides an even more dramatic fuel savings over the optional 3.6-liter V-6 in the LaCrosse, which is rated at 17 city/27 highway with front-wheel drive; it's 16/26 with all-wheel drive. The V-6 engine has 303 horsepower for 2012, up from 280 last year.
EPA says it costs about $46 to fill the LaCrosse's tank, and it can go about 410 miles before refueling with the eAssist system. Annual fuel costs are estimated at $1,702, compared with $2,146 for last year's four-cylinder model and $2,468 for the V-6 with front-wheel drive.
The eAssist system comes with the same automatic stop/start technology found in full hybrids, which cuts off the gasoline engine when the car comes to a stop. The engine restarts automatically and quite smoothly when the gas pedal is pushed to get going again. But while the car is sitting still — which can happen frequently during city driving — the engine remains off.
More Information
2012 Buick LaCrosse sedan
The package: Midsize, four-door, five-passenger, four-cylinder/mild-hybrid or V-6 powered, front- or all-wheel-drive sedan.
Highlights: Redesigned two years ago, Buick's premium midsize sedan gets GM's new eAssist mild hybrid system as the base drivetrain for 2012, boosting fuel economy by about 25 percent over last year's four-cylinder gasoline-only engine.
Negatives: Electric power steering is too sensitive, could use more storage cubbies and 12-volt plug-ins in the cabin.
Engine: 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder coupled with a 15-horsepower electric motor; 3.6-liter V-6.
Transmission: Six-speed automatic.
Power/torque: 182 HP/172 foot-pounds, gasoline engine, plus electric boost motor with 15 HP/110 foot-pounds (eAssist model); 303 HP/264 foot-pounds (V-6).
Length: 197 inches.
Curb weight: 3,829-4,196 pounds.
Brakes, front/rear: Disc/disc, antilock.
Trunk volume: 11.7 cubic feet (eAssist); 13.3 cubic feet (V-6).
Side air bags: Front seat-mounted, roof-mounted side-curtain for both rows, standard.
Electronic stability control: Standard.
Fuel capacity/type: 18.4 gallons/unleaded regular.
EPA fuel economy: 25 mpg city/36 highway (eAssist); 17/27 (V-6, front drive); 16/26 (V-6, AWD).
Major competitors: Volkswagen CC, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Avalon, Hyundai Genesis, Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Nissan Maxima, Acura TL, Ford Taurus, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Infiniti G37, Volvo S60.
Base price range: $29,960-$38,270, plus $860 freight.
Price as tested: $36,685, including freight and options (Premium 1 model with eAssist).
On the Road rating: 9.1 (of a possible 10).
Prices shown are manufacturer's suggested retail; actual selling price may vary.
Starting from scratch, the electric motor gives the car a kick that accounts for some of the fuel savings; electric motors provide all of their available torque (pushing power) at startup, whereas a gasoline engine needs to build up to higher revolutions to develop the most torque.
The other place where the electric motor helps is during acceleration at highway speeds, giving the car a quick boost for overtaking and passing.
The electric motor gets its power from a 115-volt lithium-ion battery, which is recharged while the car is moving, using, in part, so-called regenerative braking. That makes use of the car's inertia while coasting to generate electricity.
Acceleration is quite smooth, and there is plenty of power, especially when it's needed for uphill freeway ramps and passing.
The gasoline engine provides 182 horsepower and 172 foot-pounds of torque on its own.
I didn't care much for the electric power steering, though — it was too sensitive for my tastes. That's good for tight spots at low speeds, such as getting into parking spaces. But I prefer firmer steering at highway speeds for more precise control. The electric steering is part of the effort to save fuel, however. It doesn't take power from the engine.
The battery pack is between the back seat and the trunk. It takes up only half of the trunk wall, though; the other half remains open as a pass-through for long cargo items such as snow skis. The battery pack uses about 1.6 cubic feet of the trunk space, leaving 11.7 cubic feet for cargo.
The aerodynamics of the LaCrosse's body were improved to help achieve better fuel economy. There are automatic shutters in the lower grille that close when extra air is not needed for the engine, reducing wind drag. There also are underbody plates that help reduce wind resistance.
Buick also offers eAssist on the 2012 Regal sedan, and Chevrolet will roll it out on the 2013 Malibu sedan early next year.
The LaCrosse eAssist model is not available with all-wheel drive, an option on V-6 models only. Also coming later this model year in the LaCrosse is Buick's IntelliLink system, which can connect a smartphone to the audio system. This will allow the phone to be controlled by voice commands or through steering-wheel-mounted controls, and will enable streaming audio from the phone (delivering services such as Pandora Internet radio through the in-dash audio system and speakers).
Five passengers can ride comfortably in the LaCrosse, which has bucket seats up front and a bench with 60/40 split-folding seatback in the rear.
Cloth seats are standard, but ebony leather upholstery came with our Premium 1 model, along with an in-dash navigation/audio/back-up camera system ($1,345) and a Harman/Kardon 384-watt/11-speaker audio upgrade ($600).
We also had the Driver Confidence Package ($1,440), which added adaptive high-intensity headlights, a side blind-zone-alert system that gives a visual warning in the outside mirrors when a vehicle is in the adjacent lanes, and a head-up display on the bottom of the windshield within the driver's view with speed, tachometer reading, radio information and outside temperature readout.
Other standard equipment on our tester included an eight-way power/heated front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, cargo net, ultrasonic rear parking assist, remote start, power windows/mirrors/door locks with remote, self-dimming rearview mirror with universal garage opener, memory for front seats and outside mirrors, LED taillights, OnStar, cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated/auto-dimming outside mirrors with turn signals, fog lights and rear defroster.
An ECO gauge is provided on the instrument panel to help the driver get the best fuel economy.
Among standard safety features are four-wheel antilock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist; electronic stability control with traction control; and six air bags, including front seat-mounted side air bags and roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for both rows.
The LaCrosse has a European-designed chassis and suspension system with real-time damping. Also standard is Buick's QuietTuning, which GM describes as "an engineering process that reduces, blocks and absorbs interior noise to provide a distraction-free passenger environment."
Contact Express-News automotive columnist G. Chambers Williams III at (210) 250-3236 or email@example.com.


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"Buy land," the old saw—attributed to both Will Rogers and Mark Twain—goes. "They're not making any more of it."
Whichever of the storied American humorists said it, he had a point. It took 100 years to get from a world population of one billion to 2.5 billion (in the year 1950).
It took 50 years to go from that number to six billion at the end of the 20th century. Now, we're at seven billion and counting . . . all on the same terra firma. It's not just land that they're not making any more of, either. It's also water.
Just like land, the long-term cost of water is rising. In Ohio, for example, the cost of water increased by 289 percent during a recent 20-year period, and that is not a misprint. Small wonder then that we in the landscape business are hyper-sensitive about water.
We've moved to drip and low-volume irrigation, low-precipitation sprinkler heads, and smart controllers with advanced technology, as well as using native plants, and landscape fabrics that help soil retain moisture, all in an effort to help our clients avoid "meter shock."
One of the best methods to give our customers a helping hand is to use recycled water whenever we can. Recycled water begins as water that has already gone down the drain. It comes into water treatment and purification plants laden with soaps, detergents, grease, oils, feces, urine, deceased family goldfish—and whatever else we wish didn't go down the drain, but inevitably does.
Then, through a combination of mechanical, bacteriological, and chemical treatment, the effluent water is purified to where it can at least be safely applied to lawns, landscapes, and used in industrial applications.
Can you imagine how much potable water can be saved when recycled water is used for landscaping?
According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, just the cities of Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles combined use more than a trillion gallons of water a year.
That's a lotta flushes. The gulf coast city of Clearwater, Florida, is a leader in the use of recycled water at the local level. With three treatment facilities in the city itself, Clearwater residences and businesses use upwards of 5.75 million gallons a day of recycled water, according to Jerry Wells, public utilities coordinator for the city.
"Last year, we had 3,400 customers tied into our recycled water system," Wells says. "The cost savings to them is remarkable; 25,000 gallons of potable water cost the property owner $95. That same amount of recycled water costs only $25. With that difference in water rates, it makes so much sense to irrigate with recycled water when it's available." The problem is, there are only a few places where recycled effluent water is used.
Many water utility companies have not begun to build more facilities.
While many municipalities are using recycled water to irrigate highway median strips and land around public structures, Clearwater has made an exceptional effort to bring recycled water to the homeowner. "Since the mid-1990s," Wells explains, "we've been working with the Southwest Florida Water Management District to run reclaimed water from our treatment facilities to where the water can be used by homeowners. We even have a master plan that we revise every five years as to where we want to run the pipes (purple pipes, that is) next."
In projects jointly funded with the water district, the municipality accepts contractor bids to install mainline pipes dedicated to recycled water, plus service lines and separate meter boxes for property owners. There's neighborhood education every step of the way.
After the water meter for recycled water is installed, thus giving the homeowner two meters, one for potable water and one for recycled water, the homeowner will receive a door hanger advising that cheaper recycled water is available to them.
At that point, Wells says, the process goes local. "The customer would engage a licensed irrigation or plumbing contractor to make the PVC pipe connection between the meter and the customer's own irrigation lines. Then, the contractor would contact the city for an inspection. After a successful inspection for leaks and the like, the inspector will permit recycled water to flow through the meter."
There are practical advantages, in addition to cost, for using recycled water for irrigation. When drought occurs and Clearwater orders irrigation restrictions, those restrictions do not apply to those using recycled water.
Even with these advantages, Wells admits that not everyone in Clearwater who can connect to the purple pipes wants to connect. Customers who have wells of their own have been slowest to move toward recycled water.
Nor is the shift to recycled water moving as quickly as the administrator would like. Clearwater was one of the early Florida adopters of recycled water technology. Now, other water utilities are making the same kinds of co-funding requests for pipe construction, and it's slowing things down.
More communities will be making the move to recycled water if the innovative idea of smaller-scale facilities for wastewater treatment takes hold. Arizona's Global Water Resources in Phoenix, Arizona, is a pioneer in this technology. Essentially, these facilities aim to supply recycled water to as little as a 36-square mile area.
According to Graham Symmonds, senior vice president of regulatory affairs and compliance and chief technology officer for Global Water, that company is working with two Arizona communities that expect new growth once the economy stabilizes.
"We're not looking to put up the giant treatment facility that one city will need for the 22nd century. We want to do 10 to 12 million-gallon-per-day plants to handle current needs, and have those facilities close to the areas being served."
With these smaller plants situated close to where the recycled water is actually used, infrastructure water line costs, and costs of water transport are significantly diminished.
What's also good about small-scale plants, Symmonds explains, is that they have a smaller environmental footprint than their big brothers. "Here in Arizona, we have to think about odor, noise, and aesthetic controls. Smaller facilities are easier to manage on all three fronts."
Another small-scale plant paradigm, Symmonds says, is the so-called small-scale "scalping" treatment plant. These plants function by "scalping" a designated amount of effluent water from one of the big lines that carry effluent water to conventional large treatment facilities. The scalped water is diverted to one of these local treatment plants, who deliver the recycled water locally.
Most wastewater recycling follows the same straightforward process.
John Mays is the city environmental engineer for the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles. He points out, "We're at about 700 feet above sea level, and we're the catchment area for gray water coming from higher elevations than ours. It's gravity-fed to us, and consolidated into a main pipe that leads to our facility. We turn that effluent into usable recycled water—I've been in this business long enough to want to call it 'reclaimed' water."
All that effluent—80 million gallons worth a day, when the plant operates at full capacity—goes through filters that remove plastic bags, Styrofoam cups, clothing, rags, and other less savory non-biologic solids that have been carried downstream through the sewer pipes. Once filtered, the effluent continues through a piping system to the next stage of cleaning.
That next stage is physical and bacteriological. From filtering, water is directed into a series of massive holding tanks, where greases and oils rise to the top, while solids settle at the bottom. After this separation has occurred, and as many solids as possible are removed, specially selected bacteria are introduced to do their thing on non-settling solids. As these bacteria eat away at the non-settling solids, oxygen gets piped into the tanks to further nourish the bacteria. It's in these tanks that the majority of the specially selected bacteria go to work on the organic solids.
At the Tillman plant, these tanks are an awesome sight, laid out in long rows, each holding two million gallons of effluent water at a time. Yes, it smells, but the air is not as pungent as one might think. The bacteria do their job efficiently.
Following bacteriological treatment, the much-clarified water is moved to other tanks for further skimming of greases and filtering. The water is drawn through specially designed cloth filters by a mechanical process. Mays said the process is even self-cleaning. "As the filters fill with tiny debris, the water level in the tanks rises. Once they reach a high-water trigger point, the flow of water into the filtration tank reverses, automatically cleaning the filters."
The last step in the treatment process is chemical, where the water is disinfected. This often means that the water gets chlorinated, though some facilities are now moving toward exposing the water to ultraviolet light as a method of killing any harmful bacteria that might have survived the earlier parts of the process. If chlorine is involved in the process, dechlorination with sulfur dioxide is desirable.
What comes out the other end, Mays says, is excellent water for irrigation. With a little more processing, it would easily be good enough to drink.
Whether the process happens in big plants or small plants, recycled water is here to stay. We'll be using it until they start making more land . . . which will be the same time that they start making more water; which is to say, we'll be using it for a long, long time.