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Michas wins Overall Melges 20 winter regatta title, Golison Takes Corinthian Top Honors
Monday, February 6, 2017 9:45 AM
No wind for last day of racing on Biscayne Bay, Saturday results stand as final, first Melges 20 World League event complete
Congratulations to Jason Michas aboard Midnight Blue with crew members Stu McNay, Alec Anderson and Danielle Septembre as they are 2017 Melges 20 Miami Winter Regatta Champions. Drew Freides on Pacific Yankee placed second overall, and Igor Rytov aboard Russian Bogatyrs took third place.
Congratulations to Jay Golison and his all-amatuer Midlife Crisis team that included Steve Flam and Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, they are 2017 Corinthian Winter Regatta Champions.
After yet another very frustrating and breezeless day, the Melges 20 fleet wrapped it up early with a prize giving ceremony at Miami Shake-A-Leg to recognize and congratulate the champions, as well as name the Miami Winter Regatta Selfie Contest winner.
Needless to say, the racing was not the only heated competition this weekend. At the start of the event, Melges 20 teams went to work immediately on generating the best possible Selfie submission and then, there was the campaigning for the most likes. Although Rhonda Joyce and her Grinning Streak team caused enough controversy to be recognized as the most creative fleet Selfie, it was Wes Whitmyer and his SlingSHOT team that generated the most likes awarding them a fantastic $100 gift card to Vino's in the Grove!
The Miami Winter Regatta is the first Melges 20 World League event to complete in 2017.
A very special thanks always to Coconut Grove Sailing Club for the great race management.
All teams are kindly reminded that the next Miami Winter Series event - the final showdown happens March 3-5 in Coconut Grove. Sign-up now as Rob Wilber's Cinghiale has promised another smashing good pig roast and of course, get ready to party it up at the Melges Rocks Party, hosted by Melges USA happening on that Saturday!
TOP FIVE RESULTS (FINAL - After Four Races)
1.) Jason Michas, Midnight Blue; 1-1-5-2 = 9
2.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee; 4-7-1-5 = 17
3.) Igor Rytov, Russian Bogatyrs; 5-6-3-3 = 17
4.) Jim Wilson, Oleander; 13-3-2-4 = 22
5.) Liam Kilroy, Wildman; 8-9-6-1 = 24
View Full Results
2017 Miami Winter Regatta Yachtscoring Event Website
2017 Miami Winter Regatta Scratch Sheet
TOP FIVE MIAMI WINTER SERIES RESULTS (Two Events Complete)
1.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee = 3 pts.
2.) Jim Wilson, Oleander = 6 pts.
3.) Daniel Thielman, Kuai = 9 pts.
4.) Igor Rytov, Russian Bogatyrs = 9 pts.
5.) Jason Michas, Midnight Blue = 9 pts.
View Full Series Results
2016/17 Miami Winter Series Website


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Holy Week Laity Services are conducted by lay people from a number of local churches. These services take place at 7 a.m.
The locations this year are: Monday, April 13: St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, at the corner of North and Elm Streets; Tuesday, April 15: Nazarene Church, 514 North Chestnut Street; Wednesday, April 16: Evangel Assembly of God Church, 209 West Fifth Street; Thursday, April 17: First United Methodist Church, 515 North Park Street; and Friday, April 18: Lifeway Baptist Church, 601 North Dolores Road.
Call Betsy Jones at 970-565-9583 or at 970-565-7865.

subset: commoncrawl


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Three Minions -
Regular price
Three Minions -Germ Freak Designer Face Mask by Dena Tyson
Wear these unique and beautiful designer face masks by Dena Tyson's "Germ Freak" Collection with pride. They are light weight -breathable (even with all day wear) and quite comfortable on the face. The full width nose piece gives the proper adjustment to keep the mask in place. Each ear looped 2 ply mask was made with love using 100% cotton outer facing -soft breathable polypropylene inner facing for sanitary wearing- The mask helps protect against Flu Virus -dust-dirt-pollen and can be worn in the work place -hospital/medical environment- airplanes -and outdoor protection as well. The best part is it's machine washable (delicate cycle) or hand washable. You can use a warm iron if needed(fabric side only). I've gotten so many complements while wearing these masks as well as praise from staff and others that have to wear a mask in the work place due to not being able to get a flu shot in addition to other health concerns. I'm sure you'll find these designer face masks by Germ Freak enjoyable as well. The masks can also be worn during dialysis and chemo treatments also.
Check back often as more masks will be added to the collection!
*WARNING THIS IS NOT A TOY -**ALL baby infant and child mask's must be worn with adult supervision at ALL TIMES**
Please note: When cutting the fabric sometimes the placement of the print lines up slightly different then the picture shown. I always try to cut from the same print whenever possible.
• Accessories
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Legal Disclaimer For Germ Freak Designer Face Mask -- Dena Tyson/LiteraryWorksOfDena Tyson or dTkPublishing or any of its entities makes no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, of title, or of noninfringement of third party rights.This Germ Freak Designer Face Mask (referred to as "Product") will help protect against the Flu Virus - by blocking some dust-dirt-and pollen and can be worn in the work place including -hospital/medical environment- airplanes -and also for outdoor protection. No guarantee or warranty, either express or implied is being made regarding the effectiveness of this mask in protecting against any flu or other illness. In association with the product, Use of this product is at the user's risk.


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OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – We have seen search after search for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa with no results.
But this time, experts are taking Tony Zerilli seriously and believe he could be telling the truth.
This 85-year-old man so feeble he needs a walker to get around is the biggest break in over three decades in the case of Hoffa's disappearance.
Local 4 Defender Marc Santia sat down with Tony Zerilli who says, he knows where Hoffa is buried.
"They came to me and they wanted to know what happened to Hoffa," said Zerilli.
Watch: Mob boss says he knows where Hoffa is buried
When asked if he was involved in Hoffa's death Zerilli said, "Absolutely not, I know all about it I wasn't involved no way shape or form."
The FBI says not only was Zerilli in the mafia he was the Detroit underboss and is one of only two or three people on the planet still alive who are in a position to know what happened to the teamster boss.
~Tony Zerilli ~
Retired FBI Special Agent John Anthony says Zerilli is credible.
"This is the first time where you have an individual who has the credentials he was and is a major player in organized crime at that time and would have credibility," said Anthony.
Tony Zerilli says Jimmy Hoffa was killed and buried at a property 20 miles from the old Machus Red Fox restaurant, a rural property with a house and a barn owned by a member of the Detroit mafia.
Zerilli was never taken to the site but now with the help of a private eye property records were run against what he knows.
Zerilli says the location is Buell Road just east of Adams road, north of Orion Road in Oakland Township.
"He was put here I believe," said Zerilli. There is has no proof but, you can bet FBI agents are paying attention.
"You have to regard it as pretty damn good pretty credible reliable and worthy of the FBI following up on it," said Anthony.
Law enforcement has been burned before, they knocked down a barn in Milford, looked under a pool in mid-Michigan and at a house in Detroit.
Most recently police searched under a Roseville driveway and still no Jimmy Hoffa.
~Police search for Hoffa under Roseville driveway~
Is Hoffa on this piece of property, who knows, but those who have investigated for decades say there has never been anyone with the credentials and credibility of Tony Zerilli come forward.
"All this speculation of where he is and he's not. They say he was in a meat grinder, it's all baloney. What happened to Hoffa was very simple. He got picked up over there. And buried," said Zerilli.
Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa was last seen July 30th 1975 at the Machus Red Fox Restaurant which once stood on the corner of Maple Road and Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Hills.
Hoffa was there to meet two people, a member of the Detroit mafia and a member of the New Jersey mafia.
The meeting never happened and Hoffa was never seen again.
The FBI 35 plus year investigation leads them to believe Jimmy Hoffa was abducted and killed as part of a mafia hit.
Zerilli has come forward telling his story to the FBI and in 37 years no one this close to the plot has cooperated, until now.
He could not have killed Hoffa because, he was in a Las Vegas prison when Hoffa disappeared. Keith Corbett is a former Federal Prosecutor. "Clearly when he returned he would have been a person based upon his position in the hierarchy who would have been able to learn the facts and circumstances of the facts surrounding the disappearance of James Earl Hoffa," said Corbett.
Zerilli is now 85-years-old and is coming forward because, recent books and movies say he was involved.
He insists he was friends with Hoffa. "When I heard Hoffa was missing I didn't like it, Hoffa was a friend of mine," said Zerilli. When he got out of prison he says he was told what happened to Hoffa..
"There was a house and a barn where they gonna put him, " he said. The plan he says was to burry him in a shallow grave and then take him north to Rogers City.
"There was a hunting lodge and they were going to bury in a shallow grave then take him up there for final burial then I understand that that just fell through.
Once he was buried here he was buried and they let it go," Zerilli said.
Zerilli is trying to keep his code of silence, he won't say who killed Hoffa. "I am not a stool pigeon I found out where he is buried and I will talk to them about anything pertaining to that," he said.


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Fax: (206) 962-6499


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Writer/director Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me) is developing a feature adaptation of the Broadway musical Black Nativity at Fox Searchlight. If all goes according to plan, Lemmons will do so with a trio of Oscar-nominated talents. Variety reports Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, and Jennifer Hudson are in talks to join the project. The gospel musical follows a young black teen who spends Christmas with the grandparents he's never met: "Through his grandfather's Christmas Eve sermon and a stylized, dream-sequence retelling of the classic Nativity story, he learns about the importance of faith and family." Jackson and Bassett would play the grandparents, and Variety suggests Jackson will "likely play multiple characters during the Nativity sequence." Hudson is making a deal for the role of the single mother who sends the boy to the grandparents.
Hit the jump for a clip from a recent performance of the Langston Hughes musical.
This is an exciting project for many reasons, and it's encouraging that the adaptation is housed at Fox Searchlight, who always finds an audience for quality fare. Jackson and Bassett have aged perfectly into these roles, and you really can't go wrong with Samuel L. Jackson playing multiple roles. Let's keep an eye on this one.
Here is background on the play, followed by that clip:
Black Nativity is a retelling of the classic Nativity story with an entirely black cast. Traditional Christmas carols are sung in gospel style, with a few songs created specifically for the show. Originally written by Langston Hughes, the show was first performed on Broadway on December 11, 1961, and was one of the first plays written by an African-American to be staged there. It has been performed in Boston, Massachusetts at Tremont Temple since 1969. The original 160 singers were arranged by age group and vocal range, with an assortment of soloists, along with the narrator, and Mary and Joseph, who are both mute. [Wikipedia]


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Stinson dominates in win
No victory in late August is going to be easy. Friday night at Alliance Bank Stadium was no exception.
The Bisons defeated Syracuse 4-2 to snap their three-game skid and jump right back on the heals of the Columbus Clippers for the lone wild card spot in the International League. Triple-A rookie Josh Stinson shutout the Chiefs for seven innings before the Herd held on for the much-needed win.
Buffalo entered play Friday three games behind the Clippers and with just one win in their last six contests. Their 5-4 loss to the Chiefs in 14 innings on Thursday night could have been a devastating loss, as Buffalo lost more ground to the wild card race.
But the Bisons gained what ground they lost to the Clippers after Columbus lost 2-1 to IL West-leading Louisville. Buffalo is now two back with 12 games left in the season.
The story for most of Friday's game was the start of Stinson. In just his second Triple-A start, the righty was brilliant with nine strikeouts in seven shutout innings. He allowed six hits, but all were singles. Stinson also helped his cause by walking just one batter and letting Syracuse bat with runners in scoring position only twice.
Things did get interesting, or rather scary, for the Bisons in the ninth inning. Yhency Brazoban came in and allowed two singles and a sacrifice fly as the Chiefs cut the lead to 4-1. After a walk and a strikeout, he was lifted for Mike O'Connor, who allowed an RBI-single to Chase Lambin.
With the game-tying runs on the bases, pinch hitter Carlos Maldonado turned on an O'Connor offering but lined out hard to third baseman Mike Cervenak to end the game.
The Bisons got on the board in the first when Andy Green reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch from Chiefs starter Yuneski Maya. They tacked on two more runs in the fifth with four straight two-out singles by Lucas Duda, Nick Evans, Valentino Pascucci and Cervenak.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis provided insurance in the seventh with an RBI-double.
BISONS NOTES:Mike O'Connor earned his fourth save of the season…Valentino Pascucci reached base three times with a single and two walks. He has a .398 on-base percentage in 60 games with the Bisons…With two doubleheaders left on the schedule, including one on Saturday in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Buffalo has 12 games left while Columbus has just 10.


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For Young Learners (19)
Oxford Discover
CatalogueSecond Edition
New Edition
Creating young thinkers with great futures
Lesley Koustaff, Susan Rivers, Kathleen Kampa, Charles Vilina, Kenna Bourke and Victoria Tebbs.
Language Level: Beginner to Elementary (A1 - B2)
A six-level primary course for young learners, based on the tried and trusted inquiry based methodology.
Useful and free
Oxford Thinkers
CatalogueFirst edition
Inspire curiosity, inspire achievement
Language Level: Beginner to Elementary (Pre A1-B2)
Oxford Thinkers asks Big Questions to spark young learners' curiosity and promotes skills necessary for 21st century success.
Useful and free
Learn With Us
CatalogueFirst edition
Bring learning together. Bring learning to life.
Vanessa Reilly, Mari Carmen Ocete, Hawys Morgan, Plácideo Bazo, and Marcus Peñate
Language Level: A1-A1+
Bring learning together. Bring learning to life.
Rainbow Bridge
CatalogueFirst Edition
Sarah M. Howell, Lisa Kester-Dodgson
Language Level: Beginner
A five-level, British English course with lively stories for young learners, from the authors of Treetops.
Oxford Skills World
CatalogueFirst edition
Be the leader on your skills adventure!
Language Level: A1 - B1
Olly and Molly guide young learners on a skills adventure
Bright Ideas
Inspire curiosity, inspire achievement.
Cheryl Palin, Mary Charrington, Charlotte Covill, Sarah Philips, Katherine Bilsborough, Steve Bilsborough, Helen Casey
Language Level: Beginner
An enquiry-based course that links imaginative learning resources with real-world concepts.
Exam Power Pack Beginner DVD
Preparation and practice for Cambridge English Qualifications for young learners and Trinity GESE exams.
Cheryl Palin, Mary Charrington, Charlotte Covill, Sarah Philips, Katherine Bilsborough, Steve Bilsborough, Helen Casey
Language Level: Beginner
A DVD package offering all your students need to achieve success in the Cambridge English Qualifications for young learners and Trinity GESE exams.
Project Pack
|Mixed media format
A project-based learning pack to supplement your primary course and enrich your English classes
Shine On!
Susan Banman Sileci, Patrick Jackson, Helen Casey, Kirstie Grainger, Katie Foufouti and Joanna Heijmer
Language Level: A1
Play together, learn together, shine together!
Get ready for…
CatalogueSecond Edition
Maximise chances of exam success with Get ready for… Starters, Movers and Flyers!
Petrina Cliff and Kirstie Grainger
Language Level: Beginner- Elementary (Pre-A1- A2)
A new edition of the popular supplementary course that offers comprehensive preparation for the Cambridge English Qualifications for Young Learners examinations
Refine by
CEFR Level
- Assessment (6)
- Audio CD (12)
- IWB Component (10)
- Interactive Student Software (6)
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- DVD Video (1)
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- Paperback (6)
- Resource Pack (6)
- e-Book (3)


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|Biographical information
|Physical information
|Family information
|Family members
Morgan le Fay (half-sister)
King Arthur was a medieval ruler of what is today Britain.[1] Accounts of his life are legend in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds.[2]
Arthur ruled what is today Britain during the Middle Ages.[1] The Dark witch Morgan le Fay was his half-sister,[3] but his parentage is unknown,[4] and it is not known whether he was a Muggle, wizard, or Squib.
The wizard Merlin was a key member of King Arthur's Court.[1] The Knights of the Round Table were also an important part of the Court, and included Sir Lancelot, Sir Bedivere and Sir Percivale.[2] Wizards and witches commonly held that this order included a wizard, Sir Cadogan, who got the position by being a friend of Merlin.[2] Tellings of the story of King Arthur differed between the Muggle and wizarding worlds, in that Sir Cadogan was included in wizarding versions, but absent in Muggle ones.[2] In Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He was taunted by the French Taunters by the Castle Aaargh.
Behind the scenesEdit
- Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, played Arthur in the 1967 film Camelot. Following his death in 2002 a statue of him in this role was erected in Bedford Row in the centre of his home town of Limerick.
- Jamie Campbell Bower, who played the teenage Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, played Arthur in the TV series Camelot. Merlin was played by Joseph Fiennes, brother of Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), and Morgan le Fay was played by former Bond girl Eva Green.
- King Arthur and Harry Potter can be seen as similar; both held swords in fights (Arthur Exblibur and Harry Gryffindor's Sword), both had mentors (Merlin and Dumbledore) and both married woman with the similar name (Genievive and Ginerva).
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Mentioned on Merlin and Morgan le Fay Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Mentioned on Merlin and Morgan le Fay Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Mentioned on Merlin and Morgan le Fay Famous Wizard Card)
- Pottermore
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Famous Wizard Card (Merlin)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Pottermore
- ↑ Famous Wizard Card (Morgan le Fay)
- ↑ In traditional Arthurian legend, Arthur was fathered by Uther Pendragon, who had Merlin use magic to disguise him as his enemy, Gorlois, in order to allow him to spend a night with Gorlois's wife, Lady Igraine. However, Arthur's parentage has not been specified in any work in the Harry Potter franchise, and might differ from that found in Arthurian legend.
External linksEdit
- King Arthur at Wikipedia


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Radiance and Rosebud
¶ When the girls go on trips, they write reports on what they have seen, even if their school does not require it.
¶ Technology is for weekends. Malia can use her cellphone only then, and she and her sister cannot watch television or use a computer for anything but homework during the week.
¶ Malia and Sasha had to take up two sports: one they chose and one selected by their mother. "I want them to understand what it feels like to do something you don't like and to improve," the first lady has said.
¶ Malia must learn to do laundry before she leaves for college.
¶ The girls have to eat their vegetables, and if they say that they are not hungry, they cannot ask for cookies or chips later. "If you're full, you're full," Mrs. Obama said in an interview with Ladies' Home Journal. "I don't want to see you in the kitchen after that."
Obama Girls (NY Times)
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One Vancouver photographer is trying to lose weight AND do something incredibly nice for primates. Nicholas Beatty, who tried to lose weight in 2006 but failed, tipped the scales at 285 lbs. right after the holidays. Now the pressure's on. He's turned his 2007 weight loss goals and new diet plan into a fundraising effort to raise $25,000 for Oregon Primate Rescue, a non-profit shelter for former pet and rescued research monkeys. Make your pledges and find out all about the Pounds for Primates campaign here. Good luck, Nicholas. Hungry Girl subscribers and monkeys everywhere are counting on you!
All-Bran Crackers, Multi-Grain - We've been hearing a lot about these new fiber-packed snack crackers. Each 18-cracker portion has 130 calories and 6g of fat. Not terrible, and fiber-lovers will LOVE getting 5 Gs of the stuff in each serving.
The Laughing Cow Light Cheese Spread - Ok, we haven't seen these with our own eyes, but apparently tubs of spreadable Light Swiss Original have been popping up in stores in Denver and various other cities. If you've seen them, let us know!
Crystal Light White Tea With Blueberry Flavor - Infused with antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, this new Crystal Light On The Go flavor has just 5 sugar-free calories a serving. We're looking forward to sampling it.
Never one to be left in the dust, Hershey's is following in the footsteps of fellow chocolate maker, Mars (the creators of HG fave, CocoaVia). Next up for the classic candy company are three new products -- whole-bean chocolate, antioxidant milk chocolate and organic chocolate bars. The whole-bean stuff will have 40% LESS sugar plus added fiber, the antioxidant milk chocolate will appeal to milk chocolate fans who want the health benefits of dark chocolate (sign us up!), and the organic bars are, well, for organic food fans. Hey, we love our CocoaVia, but you'll never have to twist our arms to get us to check out other chocolate options with a healthy spin!
Sad movies may make you eat more! A recent study of 38 administrative assistants found that they ate 36% more popcorn while watching the tearjerker Love Story than they did while watching the funny upbeat film Sweet Home Alabama. There's nothing conclusive here, but we think it's an interesting finding and can even understand the psychology behind it. Lots of people eat more when they're sad and need a distraction. Just something to chew on. ***Want to do something good for the Girl Scouts and our overseas troops? Many GS troops are offering you the chance to buy cookies to send to our deployed soldiers. Check with your local GS council for details. You'll get the satisfaction of buying Girl Scout Cookies without all the nasty calories. Yay! ***Dole is putting healthy vending machines in 15 schools across 4 states. The machines will feature healthy fruit bowls, salads, sandwiches and wraps. Let's hope they expand this effort soon! ***Heads up! Vitalicious has FINALLY launched its Canadian site. Give it a look, eh? That's all we've got. HG out!
Hey, did you know that today is Oatmeal Monday? Well, it is! Click here for our Rockin' Oatmeal Guide!


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The Patriots Day Season Has Begun
But only one. Also yesterday was the Merriam's Corner Exercise in Concord and the Liberty Pole Capping in Bedford—the first a commemoration of another part of 19 Apr 1775, the second a more modern local tradition but honored nonetheless. Today at 2:00 Lexington folks practice for their reenactment of the skirmish on the town common, a chance to actually see the action instead of the back of someone's head, and at a civilized hour of the day.
Keeping track of all the different events related to Patriots Day is a huge challenge. A few years back I tried it on this blog and wore myself out. Now BattleRoad.org offers a round-up of events in Middlesex County. But there are others in Boston and nearby towns, a talk at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, and more. I've come to look at that multitude of separate events, some coordinated and some operating on their own, as emblematic of New England town culture.
The History List has taken up the task of listing every Patriots Day event from as many websites as its staff could find. But it could use some help. This site is a "Web 2.0" enterprise that allows users to register, list events, and update those listings. Organizations can spread the word about their upcoming lectures, ceremonies, reenactments, exhibits, and so on. Visitors can get a broad overview of opportunities. But only if folks list their own events!


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Sorry, no translation available
We don't currently have a translation for this page in Italiano.
Lancement de l'Organisations des jeunes pour un plan d'action « drogue » en Europe (YODA Europe)
It is with great pleasure that we are announcing the launch of, 'Youth Organisations for Drug Action in Europe'.
YODA Europe is a new network of students and young people across Europe working to promote drug policies based on evidence and human rights. We are looking for students and young people to join us in developing the organisation in order to build capacity for drug policy reform all over Europe.
If you are in contact with young people or students in Europe who may be interested in getting involved, please contact the YODA team.
For more information about getting involved, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Dolphin Research Center is delighted to announce the birth of Aleta's calf! The little one arrived this afternoon at 2:22 pm to the cheers and applause of staff, volunteers and visitors.
From the moment of birth, dolphin calves are always swimming. Aleta went right into "mommy-mode", expertly guiding the baby around the lagoon. When dolphins are born, they need that guidance. They can swim right away, but their steering ability needs some work!Their dorsal fins, which provide stability in the water, are floppy when the babies are born and usually straighten in a few hours. You can see in this photograph, which was taken soon after the birth, that the dorsal isn't straight.
Periodically, Aleta also "surfed" her newborn on her chest.
Aunt Santini, who acted as Aleta's midwife, split her time between swimming with Aleta, with the baby in the middle, and entertaining the onlookers by breaching, diving, and giggling.
Soon after the baby's tail flukes appeared and everyone gathered around the lagoon, someone noticed that we weren't the only beings in the vicinity. Out in the Gulf, a pod of wild dolphins appeared and swam in the area for quite some time. One staff member remarked that, perhaps, the baby's father Kibby sent a text message.
We don't know the baby's gender and might not for quite some time. The little one won't receive a name until we know whether it's a boy or girl. It's also too soon to decide whether she looks more like her mother or her father.
Coincidentally, the newest member of the DRC family shared its birth day with its older half-sister and cousin Pandora. (Pandora's parents are Kibby and Merina, who is Aleta's half-sister.)
It's a happy day for sure!


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Increasingly, students are coming to us with skills on (electric) guitar, keyboards and other instruments (mandolin has become popular recently because of it's use by some mainstream pop artists). Students who don't play instruments are coming to us with much greater exposure to music specifically because of pop culture influences (Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Glee, video games, etc..). A 6th Grade student recently asked if we could play the theme to Halo, a science-fiction video game. Why not? If we don't do it at school, students are busy learning it anyway , despite the school music program! This is NOT a position we in Music Education want to be in. Imagine students dropping music classes because they don't do music there (or at least music they know). Unfortunately this happens every day in music programs everywhere. I know a student who won the local 'American Idol' contest but dropped Chorus at school. She didn't see the relevance. There are, of course Music Directors who get it, the one's who understand that connection is more important than coverage. So, to further expand the paradigm shift I am suggesting, here's what I think *secondary music programs should include now:
- A Music technology Classes (formerly called General Music) where students create, remix and share music (and, yeah, learn the basics, too)<---largest population of students. I suggest this for 100% of the school population if possible.
- Guitar "Clubs"<---if don't play guitar, have your students teach you. They would love to teach you how to shred a solo.
- Jazz/Rock-Pop Ensembles (any combination of instruments/voices)
- (World) Percussion Ensembles (mallet instruments as well as djembes, bongos, congas)
- Traditional Music Ensembles (Band/Chorus/Orchestras)


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Pac-12 M5: 10.12.12 EditionPosted by AMurawa on October 12th, 2012
- One of the things we love about college basketball is that every year, there are loads and loads of teams with brand new looks. You've got freshmen coming in and transfers and kids back from injuries. The entire makeup of a team can change from year to year, for better or for worse. This year in the Pac-12 is no different, but in some cases, these changes seem to be a bit more extreme than normal, with several teams across the conference ready to unveil a completely remade roster. Today, as practices kick off around the country, we'll take a look at five of those teams, beginning with Utah, where second-year head coach Larry Krystkowiak welcomes in a roster that returns just two scholarship players from last year's 6-25 team. Given the depths to which the talent level plunged in Salt Lake City last year, the remake was desperately needed, and Krystkowiak is certain that the team is ready to be much more competitive. With 10 new scholarship faces on the roster, the battle for time is tight and ongoing, with the head man mentioning that the Ute starting lineup may be a shifting five over the course of the year.
- As bad as the Utes were last year, USC was even worse, limping (quite literally) home to a 1-17 record. Along the way, the Trojans turned into the walking wounded with dozens, if not hundreds, of players (overstatement is of use here) lost for the season to injury. But not only does Kevin O'Neill have many of those players coming back from last year's injuries, but he's got transfers galore and, all told, plenty of talent up and down the bench. Never one for understatement, O'Neill last season called then sophomore center DeWayne Dedmon a future NBA lottery pick, while this year he is going out on a limb and projecting Rice transfer Omar Oraby as a future 12- or 13-year pro, although USC is still waiting on word from the NCAA as to whether he'll receive a waiver to be able to play this year. But O'Neill is most excited about getting back the services of senior point guard Jio Fontan, whom he calls the heart and soul of the team.
- Washington State's 2011-12 season was slightly more successful than either of the above teams', but like both USC and Utah, the Cougs will unveil a new-look squad as well. Brock Motum returns after his breakout junior season, as does returning starter DaVonte Lacy and four other players, but things are going to have to be different in Pullman this season. But despite being minus recently-dismissed point guard Reggie Moore, head coach Ken Bone thinks this will be a better team than last year, with the combo of Lacy and Kansas-transfer Royce Woolridge being an upgrade over the would-be senior. And Bone hopes that the Cougs' underdog status will help the squad "pull together." Reading between the lines a bit, it seems I may not be the only one who thinks the loss of Moore could turn out to be addition by subtraction.
- Oregon advanced to the NIT last season, but after five graduating seniors and three freshmen transferring out of the program last year, the Ducks were in need of a talent infusion of their own. Enter a five-man freshman class, two junior college transfers, and Rice transfer Arsalan Kazemi (who is appealing to the NCAA for immediate eligibility), and returnee EJ Singler, for one, is excited about the additional size and athleticism added to Dana Altman's roster. The number of new players could jump to nine once the football season ends, assuming freshman Arik Armstead joins the team in January, but the number could have even been 10. However, junior college transfer Devon Branch opted not to enroll at UO for the fall semester, instead opting to go the Division II route, which would give him one more season of eligibility than he would have had in Eugene.
- The roster makeover for Washington is not as massive as in any of the above four stops, but the Huskies are without their two highest profile stars from last season's Pac-12 regular season champion. Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten Jr. left eligibility on the table when they split for the NBA, but it was no secret that last year's squad underachieved in part due to chemistry issues that never got fully resolved. Lorenzo Romar commented on Twitter that this team has the chemistry and attitude that the coaching staff appreciates, a remark that seems to draw a direct comparison to last year's squad. Put on your special glasses and it might as well read: "last year's team had no chemistry because there were too many guys worried about getting the credit." There's still plenty of talent up in Seattle, with proven upperclassmen Abdul Gaddy, C.J. Wilcox and Aziz N'Diaye leading the way, so if the intangibles shift a little in the right direction, the 2012-13 edition of the Huskies could be an improvement on last year's more talented squad.


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7 CFR § 520.6 - Preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA).
(a) Actions requiring EA. The following actions would normally require an EA:
(1) Programs, supported in the majority by ARS, which may assist in the transition of a particular technology from field evaluation stage to large-scale demonstration or simulated commercial phase;
(2) Field work having an impact on the local environment such as earth excavation, explosives, weather modifications, or other such techniques; and
(3) The testing outside the laboratory, such as small isolated field plots, of control agents which require containment precautions or either a special license or a permit from a regulatory agency.
(b) Multiple agencies actions. If more than one Federal agency participates in a program activity, the EA shall be prepared by the lead agency as provided in 40 CFR 1501.5.
(c) Format and conclusion. An EA can be in any format provided it covers in a logical and succinct fashion the information necessary for determining whether a proposed Federal action may have a significant environmental impact and thus warrant preparation of an EIS. The EA will contain the information required by 40 CFR 1508.9. This information will include brief discussions of the need for the project or other proposal, alternatives, environmental impacts of the proposed action and alternatives and a listing of agencies and persons consulted.
(d) Decision notice. Upon completion of an EA, the responsible official will consider the information it contains, decide whether an EIS is required or that no significant environmental impact will occur, and will document the decision and the reasons for it. The decision and the EA shall be available to the public in a manner appropriate to the situation. If there is a finding of no significant impact, the EA may be combined with the decision notice.


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Private Baltimore school exceeds expectations
100% of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School graduates going to college
Graduates of a private Jesuit high school in Baltimore City are exceeding all expectations.
The school started out six years ago in east Baltimore, and in that short time, it has been able to chart record success.
It was a proud moment Thursday for the class of 2013 at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. They made history for the third year in a row, as 100 percent of the school's graduates, 46 in all, were accepted into college.
"It means that we are a success to our community and our family. We've achieved a lot in life," Cristo Rey High School salutatorian Darnell Thigpen said.
Critso Rey seniors have been awarded almost $2 million in merit scholarships and close to $1 million more in financial aid. It's proof that the school's investment in its student body has paid off. The class valedictorian is just one example. She's heading to Wake Forest University.
"I had trouble just paying for those fees. The school paid for them, which gave me an amazing opportunity. I applied to 12 schools. I got into about seven of them, and I was just honored to make these choices on where I decided to go," valedictorian Brittnay Wood said.
During the school's baccalaureate mass and awards ceremony, Cristo Rey's president urged students to hold fast to the school's mission to succeed in college, work and life.
"When you think of the very, very beginning, it was just -- we had a half an idea and $1.50, and people just started to gather around this dream, and it's coming true," Cristo Rey president Rev. John Swope said. "(It took) a lot of faith and a lot of worry, but here we are."
Faith not only taught, but lived.
"We've learned that no matter what, we can do anything as long as we trust in God and stuff like that," Thigpen said.
Members of the class of 2014 are already taking notes on how they plan to climb the ladder of success.


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42U 800mm x 800mm PI Data Cabinet
Incorporating common features such as adjustable 19 mounting angles and fitted with transportation castors as standard, the PI range offers a configurable top panel system to incorporate fan and brush entry solutions and also provides an open base design to promote trouble free installation.
Cabinets can be fitted with a range of options including side panels, solid steel doors, vented glazed doors and vented steel doors all designed to offer the flexibility to meet everyday requirements.
Product Features and Benefits
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- Lockable rear metal door with low level venting
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- Earth bonding kit
- Full range of complenting accessories
- Supplied assembled or in flat pack option
- Multiple door configurations available
- Configurable roof options to cater for overhead cable installations
- Full range of airflow management accessories


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- General Motors Co. (GM) - Get Report announced that it will take a $1.3 billion charge in the first quarter, a result of its recall related repairs that has affected the automaker for weeks.
The company said, "On a preliminary basis, despite the $1.3 billion recall charge, GM currently expects to report solid core operating performance in the first quarter financial results."
Shares of General Motors are up 0.2% to $33 69.
Must Read: Warren Buffett's 10 Favorite Growth Stocks
STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.
TheStreet Ratings team rates GENERAL MOTORS CO as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
"We rate GENERAL MOTORS CO (GM) a BUY. This is driven by a few notable strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income."
Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
- Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 4.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 3.0%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
- Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 291.54% to $3,058.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, GENERAL MOTORS CO has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 30.77%.
- The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.85, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. Although the company had a strong debt-to-equity ratio, its quick ratio of 0.85 is somewhat weak and could be cause for future problems.
- Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 27.48% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
- GENERAL MOTORS CO has improved earnings per share by 5.5% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, GENERAL MOTORS CO reported lower earnings of $2.35 versus $2.93 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($3.57 versus $2.35).
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: GM Ratings Report
STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.


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After an eight month long hiatus, I am back. And I could not be more excited about it.
***My comments are located at the top of my posts***
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins0 comments Posted by Ali at 4:29 PM
My Overall Rating:
Age Recommendation:
This book steps up the violence and gore a bit more than Catching Fire did. It is a lot more brutal of a tale and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has read the other books already. If you are a young reader, I would say that you most definitely cannot have a light stomach to handling violence and gore. Your strong reading abilities will not help you there. This books takes emotional turns that were not even attempted in the other two.
Cover Art:
My usual statement for this series remains. Simple. Clean. Elegant. Eye catching. Doesn't give away a thing. These covers continue to capture my eye and draw me to them whenever I see them. It is now a symbol with immense meaning that can be incorporated into our own lives in today's world.
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.
My Thoughts:
With how impressed and in love I am with the first two novels in the trilogy, my hopes were set incredibly high for the epic conclusion. Collins, however, had other ideas. It seems as though she was trying to please every single reader with outcomes rather than creating a single, solid, and undeniable ending. For the most part, a lot of things were left up in the air and I had questions. So many questions. If I can get a hold of her, I would absolutely love to do an interview with Suzanne to talk about why she did what she did in the finale of her amazing series.
This final chapter of the trilogy tests a lot of factors in the character's lives. This book is mentally and emotionally trying, which is quite impressive since Collins' writing style is so simple. So much happens in this book that at times I think that it could have been split into two separate novels creating a saga which would have given more time for her to expand on the story and not leave readers with so many unanswered questions. But so much of it is necessary to happen all in one book to create the continuous flow of events that Suzanne has spun for us.
This book took me on a roller coaster of adventure, pain, love, and joy. While a lot of this book did not sit well with me, I could not put it down at all. Just like her other books, this was an absolute page turner. So much happens to Katniss that it's almost unfathomable how one person could have so much bad luck in life.
The entire series is incredibly re-readable and you definitely cannot borrow these books. You definitely have to own them in some way, shape, or form. It is an amazing series that you will be drawn to again and again.
Mockingjayby Suzanne Collins
Pages: 400
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: August 24, 2010
Purchased from store


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Heidi Allen joins the Liberal Democrats
Originally published by UK Liberal Democrats
I am delighted to announce that Heidi Allen has joined the Liberal Democrats.
I'm delighted to welcome Heidi to the party. She has been a tireless campaigner for a people's vote and has time and time again put the country's interests ahead of her own.
I'm absolutely thrilled for Heidi to join our fantastic and ever-growing team and I know that her skills, experience and passion will be a real asset to our party.
Heidi is one of 50,000 people who have joined our party as members this year - along with more than 21,000 registered supporters.
Heidi will be standing in South Cambridgeshire as the Liberal Democrat candidate at the next election, is the seventh MP to join the party in 2019.
In joining the Liberal Democrats, she has called on others to reject the status quo, and unite behind the party's campaign to Stop Brexit.
I am delighted to welcome Heidi Allen to the Liberal Democrats. She has long been an ally in the fight to stop Brexit, and having worked with her I know the energy and passion she will bring to our party.
This once again proves that the Liberal Democrats are the strongest party of Remain. The best deal we have is as members of the European Union, and I look forward to working with Heidi in order to stop Brexit.


text: There were many really big moments in science this year. From finding a long, long sought subatomic particle to pushing the limits of extraterrestrial exploration to righting an ethical wrong, science took some big steps in 2012. While they may not all be discoveries exactly, they all will have a major, lasting impact on science and the world. Here are Wired Science's picks for the biggest discoveries, breakthroughs and moments in science this year. Above: Higgs Boson Discovered In July, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider ended a 5-decade-long search when they announced the discovery of the Higgs boson. This long-sought particle is responsible for giving all other subatomic elements, such as protons and electrons, their mass, and was the final piece in the Standard Model, which describes the interactions of all known particles and forces. While LHC researchers were cautious, only calling their results a "Higgs-like" particle until more data and analysis is available, the finding was widely hailed as the most important fundamental physics discovery in more than a generation. And the story is far from over. Scientists had been hoping that spotting the Higgs would also provide their first glimpse of physics beyond the Standard Model, which has various problems and inconsistencies that need fixing. But the particle has so far proved to be stubbornly normal, with little to no deviation from what was predicted under the Standard Model. The LHC will shut down for repairs and upgrades next year, returning in 2015 to probe the subatomic universe at higher energy scales and hopefully turn up even more interesting phenomena. Image: Data from the CMS experiment, which helped uncover the Higgs boson. The yellow and green lines are characteristic signals that point to a Higgs particle decaying. (Thomas McCauley, Lucas Taylor / CERN)Curiosity Lands on Mars Millions of people stayed up very late, or got up very early, to witness the nail-biting but successful landing of NASA's latest and greatest Mars rover, Curiosity, on Aug. 6. Anxiety had been running high in the days prior to the event, with the rover's descent sequence including the fully automated "seven minutes of terror" and a never-before-attempted, seemingly crazy sky crane maneuver to bring the probe safely down to the soil. Engineers at JPL mission control broke into laughter, applause, and a few tears when touchdown was declared. The entire sequence can be relived in the many mind-blowing videos made from Curiosity data by both NASA and video professionals. Since then, Curiosity has fascinated the public, beaming back amazing information about the rocks, regolith, and atmosphere of Mars. But most importantly, it has sent back pictures, pictures, and more pictures, transporting us Earth-bound humans to the Red Planet. The rover will continue on its 2.5-year trek up the slopes of Mount Sharp, searching for organic compounds and signs of habitability on Mars, past or present. The entire mission has been so successful that NASA recently announced a new rover built from leftover Curiosity parts that will be sent to Mars in 2020 (and that our readers think should be named "I Should Be on Titan"). Image: NASA mission control for Curiosity the moment the signal came back informing them that the rover touched down. (NASA TV)The Rise of Rare Variants Late in the millennium's first decade, after the first great wave of disease genomics studies, genetics came to an uncomfortable realization: For all the many common diseases and traits that clearly had heritable, biological components, researchers could only link a small fraction of them to genes. They called this conundrum the missing heritability. At the time, however, researchers had only analyzed very common types of genetic variation. In the last year, the results of studies involving rare genetic variants, too uncommon to be identified with earlier tools, came to light. The upshot: The vast majority of genetic variation in humanity is indeed rare, arising only in the last few thousand years as human populations boomed. The image above represents this visually. The top row shows genetic variants identified in each chromosome, dated to before (left) and after (right) the boom. On the bottom, the age of the variations is displayed. It turns out that harmful variants tend to be new, probably so new that natural selection hasn't yet weeded them out. That's potentially troubling news for human population health, but there's a bright side, too. The sheer accumulation of new genetic variants means that humans are more evolvable than ever. Image: Fu et al./NatureGenome Sequencing for Fetuses In June, researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle announced the successful sequencing of a complete fetal genome using nothing more than snippets of DNA floating in its mother's blood. Unlike earlier techniques, it was completely noninvasive and posed no risks to the baby-to-be. They said the test might be clinically available in just five years -- an optimistic outlook, perhaps, but even if it takes a decade, the consequences could be profound. After all, genetic tests for newborn babies are already routine. Millions of parents would almost undoubtedly want to scan their fetuses, too. The scans might pick up potentially fatal conditions early, saving lives and easing pain. The scans would also, however, detect more ambiguous medical signals, such as predispositions to disease, or information about traits like personality or physique. What would parents do with that information? What should they do? Is there a limit to how much genetic information parents want about their babies? And how much of that information should be shared with a child? None of these questions have clear answers, and they'll be debated in years to come. Images: A 3-D ultrasound of a fetus in its first trimester. (Biagio Azzarelli/Flickr)Quantum Teleportation Distance Record Broken Over the summer, two teams of researchers, one from China and the other from Austria, broke a world record by teleporting quantum particles more than 50 miles through the open air. This little trick involves entangling two particles, like photons, so that they both have the exact same properties. Using a third particle, the characteristics of one of these photons are beamed to a distant location, creating a remote copy. Scientists now think they will one day be able teleport particles to a satellite in space and then beam them back to any location on Earth. Such technology could allow spies to pass unbreakable codes back and forth and might one day form the backbone of a quantum internet. China plans to test this possibility with a dedicated quantum information satellite, to be launched in 2016, while other countries are racing to make sure they don't fall too far behind on this important technology. Image: A laser beam aligns the sender and receiver for a quantum teleportation experiment in Tenerife, Spain. (IQOQI Vienna, Austrian Academy of Sciences )Life's New Chemical Code For the last three billion years, life on Earth has relied on two information-storing molecules, DNA and RNA. Now there's a third: XNA, a polymer synthesized by molecular biologists Vitor Pinheiro and Philipp Holliger of the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom. Just like DNA, XNA is capable of storing genetic information and then evolving through natural selection. Unlike DNA, it can be carefully manipulated. For now, researchers hope it might be used for medical or industrial purposes. It will also be a useful tool for researchers studying the origins of life. And while both XNA and human understanding are still too rudimentary to synthesize a life form fundamentally unlike any yet known, it can now be imagined. Image: An XNA molecule. (Pinheiro et al./Science)SpaceX Launches to the International Space Station It was a very good year for the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX. After successfully launching and orbiting its Dragon spacecraft around the Earth in 2010 – the first time a private company has done so – SpaceX celebrated ever greater milestones in 2012. In May, it delivered Dragon to the International Space Station for the first time. A second mostly successful launch in October actually transferred cargo to the orbiting laboratory, proving that SpaceX was capable of bringing supplies and potentially U.S. astronauts to the ISS. While it remains to be seen exactly what the achievements will mean in the long run, they have bolstered SpaceX's reputation as the most successful company in the burgeoning private space sector. This could be good news for NASA, which will soon start relying on SpaceX to get to the ISS. Such schemes are part of SpaceX's good business sense, but the company has longer term and far more ambitious goals. Their CEO, Elon Musk, has stated many times that he hopes to build a human colony on Mars and is even starting to test fully reusable rockets toward this end. Image: Dragon docked to the International Space Station in May. (NASA)Earth's Exoplanet Twin A rocky, roughly Earth-size exoplanet orbits Alpha Centauri B, one of the stars in the nearest stellar system to our own. Reported in October, the planet is just 4.4 light-years from Earth. But, with a year lasting 3.2 Earth-days, the planet is probably too close to its star to host life as we know it. A team using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher found the planet after detecting its small, gravitational tugs on Alpha Centauri B. Scientists suspect that Alpha Centauri's three stars might host a few more planets: Where there's one rocky planet, there are usually more. But don't plan on visiting the system any time soon. Though Alpha Centauri is a favored destination for proposed interstellar space missions, it's still too far away to reach with today's technology. Image: Artist's rendering of the Earth-size planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B, one member of the star system closest to Earth. The sun is depicted in the upper right. (ESO/L. Calçada/Nick Risinger)Scientists Reach Lake Vostok After more than a decade of drilling, Russian scientists finally reached Lake Vostok,14-million-old Antarctic lake buried beneath the ice, in February. About the size of Lake Ontario, Vostok is the largest of some 300 lakes carved into the southern polar cap. The Russians broke through to the lake's surface -- after drilling through 2.2 miles of ice -- just as the drilling season was coming to an end. In October, a preliminary analysis of ice that had frozen to the drill bit revealed no evidence of microbial life in the pristine subglacial oasis, a disappointment to those who had been hoping for evidence of extremophiles living in icy darkness. But the lake itself could still harbor life, and two teams from the U.S. and the U.K. are currently in Antarctica preparing to drill through the ice and hoping to retrieve samples from Lake Vostok itself. Image: After drilling through more than 2 miles of ice, scientists finally reached Lake Vostok, a buried Antarctic body of water that's been sealed for millions of years. (NSF)Ending Invasive Chimp Research For decades, invasive research on chimpanzees has cast a shadow on the conscience of medical science in the United States. Mankind's closest relative is clearly capable of thinking and feeling in ways similar to humans, yet thousands have been held in brutal captivity, subjected to procedures that even the coldest mind would shudder to think of inflicting on a person. Even after every other country in the world outlawed invasive chimp research, it persisted in America. At the end of 2011, an expert panel convened by the Institute of Medicine, the nation's medical science advisers, declared that invasive research was not only cruel, but mostly unnecessary. Many animal advocates cheered their recommendations. It remained uncertain, however, whether the National Institutes of Health, the largest sponsor of chimp research, would actually stop the research. In September the NIH announced the retirement from research of 110 chimps. Another 475 remain in government labs, and another 500 or so are privately owned by pharmaceutical companies, but the retirement sent a message: Medical research on chimps is no longer acceptable. It's coming to an end. Image: Juan, a chimpanzee at the Chimp Haven sanctuary. (Brandon Keim/Wired)


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Briggs Dog Bowl
By In Vogue Pets
High-style and craftsmanship are fused with natural and exotic materials to create Unleashed Life's sophisticated line of dog bowls and raised feeders. Their products are designed to not only benefit the pets that use them but also complete the interiors of the homes in which they live, blending in to any décor – from contemporary to rustic to traditional.
Made from reclaimed steel drums, the Briggs dish gives a nod to industrial design while being environmentally friendly. Each piece is truly unique in colour and texture and finished to maintain that beauty for years of dining enjoyment.
Additional information and key product features:
A wide range of products available in this range,
Made from Reclaimed Steel with removable stainless steel liners,
Wipe reclaimed steel body with damp cloth,
Stainless steel bowls can be removed for dishwasher or hand wash cleaning.
Size Guide:
Small: 20cm (diameter) x 8cm (height).
Medium: 24cm (diameter) x 9cm (height).
Large: 27cm (diameter) x 10cm (height).
Product code: CRI-00083
- UK Delivery (Mainland) - UK Standard Delivery - £0.00 - Delivery Time: 3 to 4 days
This item will be dispatched to you direct by our partner seller Crate Ideas & Designs Ltd who follows the general PetsPyjamas returns policy:
Please check your items on delivery. If you wish to return an item, it should be returned to our partner seller directly and not to PetsPyjamas. If you wish to organise a return, exchange or refund of any item, please go to the returns page on our website at www.petspyjamas.com/returns. For standard items, you have 7 days, from receipt of goods, to notify our partner and you must return goods at your own cost within 14 days of receiving the item.
For damaged/faulty items, you must contact us within 48 hours at email@example.com. To help speed up the returns process, we recommend you send us photographic evidence of the relevant item. You will then be issued with return guidance from us.
You must return items unused, in a saleable condition, with any labels still attached and in the original packaging that you received them in. Any items that do not comply with these guidelines, we hold the right to not refund. You should use a 'signed for' delivery method and obtain proof of postage.
Please note any exemptions and exceptions to the standard returns procedure, where the following items are likely to be non-returnable and non-refundable: personalised/customised items, perishable products (such as food), grooming products, large items of furniture which are often custom made and custom homewares. Please make sure you understand the relevant partner sellers' policies whenever you buy.
Please see www.petspyjamas.com/petspyjamas-returns/ for full PetsPyjamas general returns information.
Please click here for full PetsPyjamas general returns information.
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Petition of the day
The petition of the day is:
Hollingsworth v. Perry (Granted )
Note: Tejinder Singh of the law firm Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys work for or contribute to this blog in various capacities, was among the counsel on an amicus brief filed by international human rights advocates in support of the respondents in this case.
Docket: 12-144
Issue(s): (1) Whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the State of California from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman; and (2) whether petitioners have standing under Article III, § 2 of the Constitution in this case.
Certiorari stage documents:
- Opinion below (9th Cir.)
- Petition for certiorari
- Brief of respondents Kristin M. Perry et al. in opposition
- Brief of respondent City and County of San Francisco in opposition
- Amicus brief of Judge Georg Ress and The Marriage Law Foundation
- Amicus brief of William N. Eskridge, Jr. et al.
- Amicus brief of Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence
- Amicus brief of American Civil Rights Union (forthcoming)
- Amicus brief of Foundation for Moral Law
- Amicus brief of Indiana et al.
- Amicus brief of Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, Inc.
- Amicus brief of National Association of Evangelicals et al.
- Amicus brief of Public Advocate of the United States et al.
- Amicus brief of Judicial Watch, Inc. et al
- Amicus brief of Declaration Alliance & United States Justice Foundation
- Reply of petitioner
Recommended Citation: Ben Cheng, Petition of the day, SCOTUSblog (Sep. 27, 2012, 11:55 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2012/09/petition-of-the-day-344/


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Teacher-Evaluation Plans Bedevil Waiver States
Even though 34 states and the District of Columbia have No Child Left Behind Act waivers in hand, many of them are still negotiating with the U.S. Department of Education over their teacher-evaluation systems—a crucial component if they want to keep their newfound flexibility.
More than six months after waiver recipients turned in their guidelines to the department, only 12 waiver states have gotten the green light for their evaluation systems. Education Department officials expect to start sending more approval letters soon, along with notices on which plans need more work.
The slow approval process comes as states continue to pilot their evaluation systems, grapple with issues such as evaluating teachers in nontested subjects, and figure out how to make student growth a significant factor in teacher ratings—all on a tight timeline dictated for the most part by the federal department.
In fact, 11 states had to change their planned teacher-evaluation systems, or create them anew, to qualify for a federal waiver, according to a new report by the Center on Education Policy, a Washington-based research group.
"You're going to see a lot of fits and starts," said Diane Stark Rentner, the CEP's deputy director. "And you hope states are playing close attention because there's going to be a lot to learn as we go forward."
In the CEP survey, which was set for release March 4, states by and large reported a favorable impression of the waiver process, but a few expressed frustration with federal officials. One state said there was so much back-and-forth with the Education Department that its process "erred on the side of ridiculous."
Clarity Lacking
The Obama administration is offering the NCLB waivers as Congress struggles to rewrite the outdated federal accountability law, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
In exchange for flexibility on key tenets of the 11-year-old law enacted under President George W. Bush—such as that all students be proficient in reading and mathematics by the end of next school year—states had to agree to have many strings attached.
Chief among them: Adopt teacher- and principal-evaluation systems that incorporate student academic growth as a "significant factor" and are used in making personnel decisions.
But states are not entirely clear on what satisfies the department's requirements for an acceptable teacher-evaluation system. For example, what is the minimum needed to ensure student growth is a "significant" factor?
Federal officials say they have generally approved systems in which student growth counts for between 20 percent and 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation. But also acceptable is a "trigger" mechanism, like one in Arkansas, where a teacher can't be rated as effective if he or she fails to meet expectations for student growth.
As a condition for receiving a waiver from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, states have to receive U.S. Department of Education approval for new teacher-evaluation systems. Most of the current recipients, 34 states and the District of Columbia, are still working on their plans and waiting for federal approval.
Another acceptable method is a matrix system, like one in Massachusetts, in which student growth doesn't receive a specific weighting but is coupled with other measures, such as unannounced teacher observations.
Still unclear is what the department means by informing "personnel decisions."
Department officials say that for defining personnel decisions, they relied heavily on peer reviewers of states' evaluation plans, but that what was approved varied greatly by state. Some states spell out consequences tied to evaluations in law; others leave it up to districts.
The high level of federal discretion has drawn the ire of some in Congress.
"This simple waiver authority has turned into a conditional waiver, with the [education] secretary having more authority to make decisions that, in my view, should be made locally by state and local governments," U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Senate education committee, said during a hearing last month on NCLB waivers.
The administration "pretty well wrote the law" on teacher evaluation, he said.
For states, the biggest issue is how much flexibility federal officials will allow as they design and implement their evaluation systems, said Janice Poda, the director of the Strategic Initiative for the Education Workforce at the Council of Chief State School Officers.
"The states have had different degrees of success," she said.
As one example, she said that some states may want to use only student learning objectives, called SLOs, for some grades or subjects to measure academic growth, but that federal officials don't seem open to that approach. (SLOs are goals for student learning that are informed by data and are often agreed on by both the teacher and the principal.)
Ms. Poda said federal officials also seem reluctant to let states first set up support for teachers before going down the path toward evaluating them. Being assigned a rating by itself doesn't mean a teacher is going to do a better job, she said—"you need the supports."
Complying with the federally driven teacher-evaluation rules, she said, "is almost like the price the states have to pay in order to get flexibility in the other areas."
Toward Implementation
The Education Department has sought waiver applications in four rounds; the fourth and latest application deadline was Feb. 28.
Waiver states that applied in the earliest two rounds must pilot their systems in the 2013-14 school year and fully implement them the next year. The systems then must be used to "inform personnel decisions" in 2015-16. (States that applied for waivers in later rounds are allowed to let each of those milestones slide by one year.)
States that did not have teacher-evaluation systems that met the federal requirements when they turned in their waiver applications in early 2012 or before had to agree to submit them by the end of last school year.
Since then, the department has been quietly going back and forth with states over what is and is not acceptable. To that end, states went through a second peer-review process in which outside judges scrutinized their teacher-evaluation plans.
(Even though the federal department has released an overall list of NCLB waiver judges, the department would not say exactly who is peer-reviewing the teacher-evaluation systems.)
Federal officials have not asked some states for any changes, but have instead asked for more—and more—information.
"It has been a lengthy process; it has been a congenial process," said Kerri White, the assistant superintendent in Oklahoma's office of educational support, adding that she was expecting her federal letter any day now.
For Oklahoma, which is piloting part of its teacher-evaluation system now, one area where federal officials are expected to want more details is how the state plans to use student-growth data for teachers of nontested subjects, such as the arts. The state school board is expected to tackle that issue this spring, Ms. White said.
Using student growth to evaluate teachers in nontested subjects is one of several challenges states are facing, federal officials say.
Among other tricky issues: how multiple measures used to evaluate teachers are rolled into one performance rating; how to appropriately judge teachers of English-language learners and special education students; and how to deal with special situations, like co-teaching.
Under Constraints
Many states have little wiggle room in dealing with federal officials because they are bound by what's in their own laws.
That's the case in Minnesota, which is waiting for federal approval. Its evaluation models, spelled out in state law, pretty much meet the federal criteria, said Rose Hermodson, an assistant commissioner of education. The state, though, is working out some issues—namely, how to figure out the "value added" by individual teachers and incorporate such data into the evaluation system.
In Kentucky, full federal approval will likely come as the legislature takes final action this year on the state's teacher-evaluation system, said state education department spokeswoman Nancy Rodriguez.
While most states are waiting for their letters to confirm exactly where they stand with federal officials, a few already know.
Arizona, for example, needs to revise its system to comply with the student-growth requirements, according to a condition attached to its waiver when it was approved in July. Peer reviewers expressed concern that the state was going to use schoolwide data, even in a transition period, to evaluate individual teachers.
And Oregon's guidelines are not approved because it has not completed its plans to incorporate student growth into its evaluation system, according to a January letter from federal officials. The state is field-testing a plan that lets districts, based on their needs, weight student growth at between 10 percent and 50 percent.
What the final range of weighting looks like will depend on the results of the pilot, said Heidi Sipe, an assistant superintendent in the office of educational improvement and innovation.
"We want to implement a model based on sound practice," she said. If federal officials require a certain percentage for student growth, she added, the state will have to accept that to keep its waiver.
"We are hoping to have continued flexibility for our districts," Ms. Sipe said.
Vol. 32, Issue 23, Pages 1, 24Published in Print: March 6, 2013, as Feds, States Dicker Over Evaluations
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Target 18. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications
Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development
E - Estimated. The figure is estimated by the international agency, when corresponding country data on a specific year or set of years are not available, or when multiple sources exist, or there are issues of data quality. Estimates are based on national data, such as surveys or administrative records, or other sources but on the same variable being estimated.
Source: United Nations Statistics Division - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of February 15, 2007


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© 2011 The Museum of Modern Art
Architecture Research Office (ARO) – Proposed "greening" of Lower Manhattan. Parks and freshwater and saltwater wetlands create new ecosystems, facilitating greater ecological connectivity, improving water quality, and enhancing opportunities for habitat growth.
The killer storm that hit the East Coast last month and left the nation's largest city with a crippled transit system, widespread power outages and severe flooding has resurfaced the debate about how best to protect a city like New York against rising storm surges.
At a news conference the day after superstorm Sandy made landfall, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the city must plan and prepare for the reality of extreme weather patterns in the future.
"There has been a series of extreme weather incidents," Cuomo said Oct. 30. "That is not a political statement. That is a factual statement. Anyone who says there's not a dramatic change in weather patterns, I think is denying reality."
Before the storm, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration had said it was working to analyze natural risks and the effectiveness of various coast-protection techniques, including storm-surge barriers.
In a 2011 report called "Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan," NYC's Department of City Planning listed restoring degraded natural waterfront areas, protecting wetlands and building seawalls as some of the strategies to increase the city's resilience to climate change and sea level rise.
"Hurricane Sandy is a wake-up call to all of us in this city and on Long Island," Malcolm Bowman, professor of physical oceanography at State University of New York at Stony Brook, told NBC News' Richard Engel. "That means designing and building storm-surge barriers like many cities in Europe already have."
Hurricane Sandy provides 'wake-up call' for cities at risk of flooding
Bowman points to storm surge barrier projects in St. Petersburg, Russia, and in the Netherlands as models. In the Netherlands, a country where a considerable part of the population lives below sea level, such barriers help control flooding in some of the most densely populated areas.
© 2011 The Museum of Modern Art
Oyster-tecture implemented in the Bay Ridge Flats area, with reef, floating paths, anchorage areas for oyster harvesting, and constructed islands.
"If we had such barriers in place during Hurricane Sandy there would have been no damage at all," Bowman said.
But before Sandy and even before 2011's Hurricane Irene pummeled the New York area, a 2010 exhibition called "Rising Currents: Projects for New York's Waterfront" at the Museum of Modern Art brought together five teams to re-envision the coastlines around New York Harbor and to offer creative solutions to address the rising water levels.
Organizer Barry Bergdoll, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA, told NBC News that when Sandy hit, the images and ideas from Rising Currents came roaring back.
Bergdoll said he was pleased people remembered the exhibition, "but obviously not so pleased with people saying, 'Wow, you know, you guys predicted this and then nothing was done.'"
"I don't like to be suddenly typecast as the Cassandra of architecture," he added.
Bergdoll said a seawall and the proposals presented in the exhibition, which included artificial islands, reefs and ways to make the surfaces of the city more absorptive, are not mutually exclusive.
© 2011 The Museum of Modern Art
New Aqueous City: Storm barriers between man-made islands are inflated when storm surge flooding occurs.
FEMA-funded rapid reconstruction program to begin in NYC, mayor says
"The Stony Brook people are right to look to the Netherlands, but I wouldn't look to the Netherlands simply because they have a seawall; they also built intelligently for knowing that their flooding is frequent," he said. "The designers and the innovative thinkers need to be involved in the thinking of these issues now, rather than having them solved by politicians and engineers, and then letting them be designed by others."
Sandy, a category 1 hurricane, sent a record 14-foot storm surge into New York Harbor and flooded subway tunnels and airports. It forced the closure of the stock market for two days, the first time that's happened for weather-related reasons since 1888. The Rising Currents projects were modeled for a category 3 storm, Bergdoll said.
© 2011 The Museum of Modern Art
The Acquaculture Research and Development Center consists of a series of laboratories and testing beds. The second floor and roof are stable, but the floating docks rise and fall with the tide, allowing for controlled testing of aquatic species in the estuarine environment of the harbor. Studies at the ARDC focus on the interdependencies of farmed species with the goal of developing a balanced and environmentally beneficial cultivation of the harbor.
Some of the projects showcased at Rising Currents include:
- Ways to make the surfaces of the city more absorptive (through porous sidewalks) and more able to deal with water, whether coming from the sea or sky;
- Parks and freshwater and saltwater wetlands in Lower Manhattan;
- Artificial islands or reefs (including ones made of recycled glass) to make the shoreline more absorptive and break the waves.
"You need to plan assuming that [Sandy] is not a one-time event," Bergdoll said.
"What is really needed, I think, is a combination of the large-scale gestures and then the incremental ones," he said, adding that the city's building codes should be re-examined.
City administrators were involved in the exhibition, Bergdoll said, and they took it "very, very seriously," but he said it's worrisome that Sandy happened in the twilight of an administration that will be gone next year.
Rising Currents continues to live online, and Bergdoll said the next step would be to put a price tag on the different proposals.
"I think what's really needed is to figure out how to make it as a bridge from a hypothetical study to something that could become a plan of action," he said.
NBC News' Richard Engel investigates what experts say can be done to better protect coastal cities from storms like Sandy. Sandy sent a record 14-foot storm surge into New York Harbor, flooding subway tunnels and airports.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- CIA Director David Petraeus resigns, cites extramarital affair
- Petraeus' biographer under FBI investigation over access to his email, officials say
- During blackout, man uses Toyota Prius to light house
- Video: Security tape shows man crashing stolen jet
- Hispanics to Obama: We helped you, now you help us


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I don't know why I always forget how great T&T supermarket is.
Yesterday, I went grocery shopping. After 10 days away it was time to restock the fridge with vegetables and fresh herbs. I was really craving fresh herbs now that the temperature is starting to climb. (Mother Nature is, apparently, apologizing for the extra long winter by moving us straight into summer.) Safeway was out of basil, though, so after dropping a friend off at the airport this morning, I decided to quickly stop by T&T in the city's northeast.
Let's do a little comparison shopping, shall we?
Two shallots at Safeway: $1.99
Bag of eight shallots at T&T: $1.49
Packages of herbs at Safeway: $2.49
Bag of Thai basil about three sizes larger than Safeway's: $2.64 (by weight)
Okay, so I only needed a little bit of basil, but bonus basil means more room for creativity. Now, instead of one or two recipes that call for the stuff, I can make three or four. With three baby cucumbers sitting in my car (from my aforementioned friend who needed to ditch the last of her produce before heading on holidays), grape tomatoes at home and a package of mint also sitting in my fridge, I remembered this great little summer salad recipe that uses Saifun noodles.
These noodles — also known as mung bean noodles, bean threads or vermicelli — are the perfect summer food. They don't need to be boiled, just reconstituted in a little hot water, which is easily done while chopping the rest of the ingredients. The noodles are light and when dressed with lime, rice vinegar, garlic and fresh herbs can be very refreshing. The hits of fresh herbs also make it super tasty.
For the record, Thai basil (also known as holy basil, apparently) does not taste the same as traditional Italian basil, so I wouldn't suggest using it for your favourite tomato sauce or other Italian dishes. But if it's a Thai, Vietnamese or southeast Asian recipe that calls for basil, you could definitely use Thai basil if you can find it. A lot of Asian grocers seem to carry it, so keep an eye out.
I originally found this recipe in the Edmonton Journal. My additions and changes are noted in italics. Also note that these noodles suck up the vinaigrette like string sponges, so, when in doubt, don't skimp. Oh, and I like to use those baby cucumbers that seem to be cropping up everywhere these days; they're less bitter than the long English cukes. Either way, I'd recommend scraping out the seeds because that ups the soggy factor if you're not eating it all in one go (or, of course, serving it all in one go).
Saifun Salad
- 8 oz. (250 grams) saifun bean thread noodles
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (I chop mine in half so they stretch further)
- 1 small cucumber, diced
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2 or 3 green onions, minced
- a few cilantro leaves, chopped (cilantro and I are not friends. I do not like it nor understand everyone's obsession with it. If you like it, by all means add it; I do not.)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- grated zest and juice of one lime
- 2 tbsp. Thai basil, torn (Of course, if you can only find Italian, that's fine.)
- 2 garlic cloves, mashed (I mash them, throw them in the dressing, then fish them out just before eating so as to impart as much garlic flavour but without the burn of eating raw garlic.)
- 1 tsp. red chile paste
- 2 tsp. fish sauce
- 2 tsp. soy sauce
- 1/4 cup canola oil (I'm sure any vegetable oil will do. But I wouldn't use olive oil, which I feel would overpower the light flavours of the salad.)
- 1/2 tsp. sesame oil (I usually don't add this because I find it overpowering.)
Soak the noodles in a bowl of warm water just until softened, about five minutes, then cook one minute in boiling water. (I simply cover them with boiling water and wait about five or six minutes for them to soften.) Drain and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to make the salad.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Taste to check for seasonings.
Place cold noodles in a large salad bowl. Add tomatoes, cucumber, onions and herbs. Top with dressing and toss well, then put the salad in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving, so the noodles have a chance to soak up the flavours of the dressing.


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Interesting. I realize there are many barriers to making a move now for a guy like this and many legit reasons we might not want to do it – but it's also at least interesting to consider a line-up with Bob Sanders at strong safety and Nick Collins at free safety. Throw in Woodson, Tramon, Bishop, Matthews, Raji, Pickett etc – and offenses would opt to punt on 1st down. There would be no point.
Of course this won't happen because TT/MM don't like injury-prone guys (except Justin Harrell) and Sanders would come with a guarantee that he'd be injured at some point in the season. Because of his injuries, he is very unreliable. (Of course, when healthy, he's quite reliable.) Also, he will probably still command a decent salary and frankly, Charlie Peprah looked pretty good as the fill-in safety on a Super Bowl winning team. And, we have Morgan Burnett coming back as well.
Still, I always enjoy taking at least a brief moment to consider cool player combos like Nick Collins next to Bob Sanders.


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I assume that most of you will not be at Apple's "Come see our latest creation" event in San Fran @ 10 AM PST (1PM EST) – neither will we. But, we will be here to greedily discuss new items, apologise for the reality, and sympathise with those who want just 'one more thing' after the show.
Remember that the event most likely includes the unveiling of the following:
- the iSlate, iPad, iTablet, iWhatever
- iPhone OS 4
- Possible MacBook upgrades
- Announcement of the iPhone 4G
- Duke Nukem Forever
Keep an eye here for TMA's take of the event, but if you want to enjoy an up-to-the-minute show check out AppleInsider's live coverage of the event.