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A study of analyst recommendations at the major brokerages shows that Travelers Companies Inc (TRV - Get Report) is the #24 broker pick, on average, out of the 30 stocks making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to ETF Channel. Within the broader S&P 500, when components were ranked in terms of analyst favorites, TRV claims the #399 spot.In forming this rank, the analyst opinions from the major brokerage houses were tallied, and averaged; then, the underlying components were ranked according to those averages. Investors often interpret analyst opinions from different angles — when companies have a low rank among analysts, it isn't necessarily the case that investors should conclude that the stock will perform poorly. It can, of course, but a bullish investor could also take the contrarian angle and read into the data that there is lots of room for upside because the stock is so out of favor.
15 Forgotten Giants of the S&P 500: Analysts' Current Least Favorites » From the other direction, a popular analyst pick could mean that many sharp minds individually came to the same bullish conclusion, and therefore the stock should do well, but it could also mean that if the company stumbles, that would come as a negative surprise.
The Top 15 Broker Darlings of the Dow: Current Top Analyst Picks »


text:
How to Use
the Readings
Inquiry Question
Farming and timber harvesting and jobs associated with the iron industry were the primary occupations of people living in the Catoctin Mountains during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Several sawmills operated in the area, and wood—especially the abundant American Chestnut—was used for fuel, railroad ties, barrel staves, and mine supports. Thousands of additional acres were clear-cut to make charcoal for the Catoctin Iron Furnace. Other residents found work in the range of manufacturing industries that prospered in Mechanics Town, now known as Thurmont.
At the end of the 19th century the area's economy began to decline. In the 1880s many local workers became unemployed when the furnace stopped using charcoal; those who survived this cutback lost their jobs later when the entire operation closed in 1903. Sawmills used up the remaining large timber by 1911; the last barrel stave factory closed in 1926, after the Chestnut blight, a fungus originally from Asia, had killed virtually all of that species. Years of poor farming practices and many fires from logging operations also had damaged the natural resources of the region.
Conditions in the area deteriorated as the 1930s continued. During the early part of the Great Depression, rural Maryland fared better than much of the country. While many urban residents found themselves without work, farms managed to provide an adequate living for their occupants. As a result many city dwellers returned to the country, which for a short time supported them as well. Several years of drought, however, combined with the increased population to overtax the local economy. Limited state aid was insufficient to ease these economic problems, and so in 1933 Maryland applied to participate in federal relief programs.
Maryland's struggle coincided with a growing back-to-nature movement. Many influential people, including members of the Roosevelt administration, believed that Americans needed to move back to, or at least spend their leisure time in, a natural environment. A National Park Service study of the time illustrated these ideas:
Man's loss of intimate contact with nature has had debilitating effects on him as a being which can be alleviated only by making it possible for him to escape at frequent intervals from his urban habitat to the open country....He must again learn how to enjoy himself in the out-of-doors by reacquiring the environmental knowledge and skills he has lost during his exile from his natural environment.¹
President Roosevelt's New Deal contained programs that attempted to meet these goals and at the same time offer relief from the Great Depression. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration, for example, spent $5 million to acquire submarginal land—that is, agricultural property that did not provide its owners reasonable incomes—that would create new sites for public recreation. A series of federal agencies subsequently created 46 "Recreational Demonstration Areas" (RDA) across the country; these spots were either waysides along important highways, extensions to national parks, additions to state scenic areas, or camping areas. In addition to providing recreation, RDAs also contributed to efforts to conserve water, soil, and wildlife resources.
The federal and state governments soon identified the Catoctin Mountains of Frederick and Washington Counties, Maryland, as a potential camping area. The guidelines for that type of RDA called for 2,000 to 10,000 acres deemed submarginal, a metropolitan area of at least 300,000 people within a day's round trip (considered at that time to be 50 miles), an abundance of water and building materials, and a generally interesting environment. Around the Catoctins much of the land was submarginal: of the 50 families relying on agricultural production, 8 were making a subsistence living from the land, 26 were cutting timber, and 16 were living on relief. The area was just under 50 miles from Baltimore and Washington, each of which far exceeded 300,000 people. Though most of the forest was gone, many large, dead trees remained; the area also had ample water. As a result, starting in 1934 the Federal Government sent letters to landowners in the area explaining the program and offering to purchase their land at a fair price. Enough landowners sold their property that the project began the next year.
The Catoctin RDA was scheduled to include four public recreation group camps and two picnic areas. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) hired hundreds of men: the number of workers at a given time averaged 250, but in one case rose as high as 595. In 1939, after the completion of the building program, workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)—another Depression-era relief program—occupied a camp and constructed waterlines, set stone walls, and trimmed trees. Each young man (ages 18-25) received $1.00 per day in wages, room, board, and the opportunity for some education. The men enrolled for six months and could reenlist. These federal relief programs ended abruptly with the onset of World War II. As the nation geared up for the coming battles, both industry and the military provided jobs for all who could be recruited.
Questions for Reading 1
1. How did the original settlers make a living?
2. What factors caused the collapse of the economy of the region?
3. What do you think the National Park Service meant when it referred to the "debilitating effects" caused by "man's loss of contact with nature"?
4. What were the criteria for selection of RDA vacation sites? Why did they have to be close to cities? How might modern transportation methods have affected the criteria?
5. How did the 18th- and 19th-century industries on Catoctin Mountain contribute to the site's eligibility for the Recreational Demonstration Area program?
6. What were the WPA and CCC? How did workers in those programs contribute to meeting the goals of the RDAs?
Compiled from Sara Amy Leach, "Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Architecture at Catoctin Mountain Park" (Frederick County, Maryland) National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1988.
¹ U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1941), 4.

subset: commoncrawl


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Incarnate Treasure Hunt Pimpage
Ten pages in which to fall in love.
Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge
First off, get thee hence to Fake Plastic Souks and read Alexander McNabb's newest post, titled "How to Write a Book", in which he managed to make a very long, complicated process seem rather simple, if one is just willing to devote themselves to observing what I think of as "the in between times".
Also, he gives you lots of terms to Google. Honestly, in some ways it's like a freaking college course syllabus.
Also, also? I have no idea what a is a souk. I'll have to Google it.
Now, onto my own post. Things are occurring 'round here. Helpful, YAY! sorts of things. Some of them are helping in The Lifting of the Spirits, while others are helpful in the Getting Done of Stuff Put Off For Far Too Long. I know, I know, all vague and completely not truly informative, but sometimes that what you get.
One thing I'll mention is this . . . well, actually, come to think, it's more akin to two things, but anyway! Last week, Amazing (husband) and I spent a painful amount of time cleaning out and reorganizing our bedroom and closet. I'm surprised we didn't get adopted by some the Gorgs due to our massively impressive, possibly sentient Trash Heap collected afterward. In the ensuing pushing and pulling of What Was Left, I ended up with a very charming new little writing nook. Wall-o-Books to one side, lamp to the other, cushy stool to sit on, and the bed about two and a half feet behind. Very nook-ish, which is great because I'm not that much a fan of wide open spaces. I like cubbies.
Also included in What Was Left were about three full Early Drafts of The Novel; big, inflated versions no one should ever see, and which I cut to ribbons several times. Guess what? If you go back and scratch out, or find the matching file and strike out or delete all the stuff you've adapted or used elsewhere, it's kind of easy to find those one-liner gems, or that particularly fine turn of phrase you hated to see go, but which you couldn't justify keeping, and sometimes, they're perfect for adding something your current draft lacks. (*pant, pant*--long sentence!)
See, your mom was right. Keeping your room clean is all kinds of helpful.
Personal Note: The Gunstringer hates me.


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Minimum wage hike helps, but is it a livable income?
This past Tuesday the federal minimum wage was raised for the first time in a decade. Workers who had been earning just $5.15 per hour will see their pay jump 70 cents to $5.85. That's meager progress, but the law enacted for this year's wage increase also stipulated jumps of 70 cents per hour for the next two summers to follow — meaning the wage will go to $6.55 in 2008 and $7.25 in 2009. But is it enough?A little math helps put the numbers in perspective: Someone earning $5.15 per hour and working a 40-hour week pulls in $10,712 per year; at $5.85 per hour, they'll earn $12,168 annually; at $6.55, they'll earn $13,624; and at $7.25, they'll make $15,080. The net effect of the legislation, therefore, is an effective increase for minimum wage earners of $4,368 annually — a significant amount of money and huge percentage increase.Naysayers of the legislation, and of progress being made by this Democratically controlled Congress, should laud the positive aspects of the legislation before leaping to attack its deficiencies. (It should be noted, as well, that during the decade that saw no increase in the federal minimum wage there was a solid Republican majority touting their "moral" agenda the entire time.)While the increases in the federal minimum wage are significant (Vermont's is $7.53 per hour as of Jan. 1, 2007), critics are right that such wages are far from adequate. The federal poverty level for singles is $10,210; for couples it's $13,690, and for a family it's $17,170. It's not easy to imagine that there are many single moms and dads out there taking care of children who are working at full-time jobs and still living in dire poverty.The numbers support that: About 1.7 million Americans earned $5.15 or less in 2006, according to the U.S. Labor Department. And labor supporters, like author Beth Shulman, suggest that low wages are failing 30 million Americans — more than 10 percent of the nation's population and a much greater percentage of working Americans. It's not surprising, then, that the low-wage issue is gaining steam in the upcoming presidential race and Democrats are riding that bandwagon. John Edwards and Barack Obama have already outlined aggressive stances on the issue with Edwards advocating a federal minimum wage of $9.50 per hour by 2012 ($19,760 annually) and Obama calling for a yet-unspecified amount that would sustain a livable wage.Before charging that Democrats are too soft on the working poor (a reaction by conservatives in the 1990s), Vermont voters can get a sense of the fairness of this issue by looking at one factor: How much does it take to reasonably survive in Vermont with rent, heat expenses, food cost, transportation expenses, a clothing allowance, plus extraneous expenses. Let's take a stab at assessing those basic costs for a single person: Rent $750 monthly for a modest two-bedroom apartment in Middlebury, plus $150 average for heat and utilities; phone and a cable hookup for computer access at $15 per week; food at $75 per week or just over $10 per day; gas and car payments at $50 for one tank per week, $50 car payment and $25 per week for insurance; and clothing at $25 per week. Extraneous expenses for household goods, the occasional gift, maybe a nearby yearly vacation at $10 per week. While that's pinching pennies with the best of them (though allowing for a second bedroom), the total expense amounts to $24,700 annually — well above the minimum wage income, and that's not including health care costs. (As a single person, the logical conclusion is to bring on roommates to share expenses and that works best for those still in their 20s, and not as well for those 30 and over.) If you think a frugal person could live comfortably with less than that, come up with your own budget and then reassess the minimum wage issue based on those numbers. Then send your budget to [email protected], along with an inkling of what a livable wage is. We'd love to know what you find.


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MAGNETOM Vida
Cogli la natura umana a 3T
MAGNETOM Vida achieves new levels of 3T performance with a completely new magnet and system architecture to support the clinical, operational, and financial requirements facing MRI today.
|Magnet System
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XT gradients 60/200 simultaneously [2.70 MW]
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|Minimum room size2
|31 m2 / 333.68 sq ft
Related Products, Services & Resources
1Channels (coil elements) that can be connected simultaneously.
2Minimum total space requirement for magnet, electronics, and console room.


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Georgia State coaches offer youth camps in the following sports. Click on the links below for dates and registration information.
"The camps/clinic listed here are operated by Georgia State University coaches in their personal capacity and Georgia State University solely provides the facilities for these activities (unless otherwise noted). These activities are not sponsored by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, Georgia State University or the Georgia State University Athletic Association, Inc., and none of these entities assume any responsibility for injury or damages to person or property arising out of any occurrence during these activities."


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Throughout the history of radio there have been some amazing music radio program directors.
The legends always come to mind: Chuck Blore (KFWB), Ron Jacobs (KHJ), Sam Bellamy (KMET).
One of my favorites who seldom gets the credit he deserves for bringing KHJ back from the brink only to have owner RKO drag it down again is Chuck Martin (also with K-WEST).
Last week I mentioned John Rook as the man responsible for an amazing Top-40 format on KFI circa 1976-1982. I happened upon his website (www.johnrook.com) and found something interesting: a link to some Top-40 program notes from … Rush Limbaugh.
Now before you start sending hate mail because, in mentioning Limbaugh, I am either too conservative or too liberal (I've received both complaints from the same column in the past), hear me out. In a prior life, back in the early 1970s, Limbaugh was a Top-40 jock named Jeff Christie on WIXZ/McKeesport, Pa., and KQV/Pittsburgh.
Within the tight boss-jock type formats of the stations, he developed many of the formatics you hear today on his syndicated talk show heard locally on KFI weekdays 9 a.m. to noon. Basically, like all Top-40 jocks of the era, he had to develop a personality to stand out. Little time was given to talk between the hits, but the best — The Real Don Steele comes to mind, as does Bobby Ocean and many more — figured out how to shine in those rare seconds and would work their way toward the great stations in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, San Francisco and Chicago.
Limbaugh, er, Christie never had that kind of fame as a Top-40 jock, but listening to airchecks (try http://tinyurl.com/JChristie or search on ReelRadio.Com) you can hear that the potential was there. Add in Limbaugh's success as a talk host and there is some reason to give him some credit for knowing radio.
Back in 2010, a caller to his political talk show asked an off-topic question: Could Top-40 radio (as done in the past) make it today? Limbaugh's response, presented as a transcript was spot-on. Here are some highlights:
"I think it could be made to work. If John Rook could come back around and put WLS (Chicago) back together the way it was in the '60s and '70s, it would be fun to try it; it could be interesting to see.
"I've always believed that all media, but particularly including radio, it's content, content, content. That will determine whether something will have an audience or not, not so much the format, not so much the frequency, just content, content, content. I'm convinced that a number of you, if you had to, would use string and tin cans to listen to this program 'cause if that was the only place you could get it, that's what you would do.
"The primary competitor (to Top-40 radio today) would be iPods or MP3 devices, which is the thing facing all music formatted radio today."
And what can't listeners get if they play music on their iPods instead of radio?
"They can't get great talent; they can't get great disk jockeys. (To work today, Top-40 radio would have to be more personality-oriented radio than it ever was allowed to be. )"I think it could still be done."
That could have been written by me. I've said the same thing many times over in this column since I started writing it in 1987. And I truly believe the time will come when it does indeed move in that direction, with content that can't be duplicated elsewhere. It has to do so, or risk losing an entire generation. And in my opinion, that is the direction AM radio must move even faster. I believe it will happen. The big question is when.


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My Favorite Makeup Tool: The BeautyBlender Pro + a Giveaway./
There is one makeup tool that I use more than any other and that is the BeautyBlender makeup sponge. I use this each and every day to apply my makeup. It simply helps me to apply my makeup flawlessly.
The BeautyBlender makeup sponge is made with a thick velvety texture that more than doubles in size as it lightens in texture when wet. It makes application of foundation and concealer totally even, while covering skin and making it appear almost flawless.
To use, I first dampen the large round bottom side of the sponge by spraying a a few squirts of water on it. I then apply the foundation to the back of my hand and dip the sponge in it and bounce (stipple) it quickly over my face. I bounce a bit more where I need more coverage and continue to bounce and adjust the pressure as needed all around my face. I use the opposite, dry, smaller slightly pointed end to apply concealer under and around my eyes. The contoured shape makes getting into smaller parts of my face easy.
The new version of the BeautyBlender is the BeautyBlender Pro. The BeautyBlender Pro is the same sponge, but in an updated chic black shade.
Because I love this sponge so much and want as many of you to experience its awesomeness, I have five of them to giveaway. Five lucky readers will win one BeautyBlender Pro Sponge.
To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me you want to win.
Please read all of the sweepstakes rules below. By entering this sweepstakes, you agree to all official rules. US only.
The BeautyBlender Pro (the "Sweepstakes") is intended for participation only in the United States (excluding Rhode Island) and shall be construed according to, and governed exclusively by, United States law. Do not participate in the Sweepstakes if you are not a legal resident of the United States (excluding Rhode Island) physically located in the United States (other than in Rhode Island) at the time of entry or do not fall within the eligibility requirements set forth in these official rules.
PROMOTION DESCRIPTION: The Sweepstakes begins on or about October 18, 2013 at 6:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time ("EST") and ends on or about October 31, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST (the "Promotion Period"). By participating in the Sweepstakes, each entrant unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of Beautiful Makeup Search ("Sponsor"), which shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right to modify or terminate sweepstakes if conditions arise that compromise its integrity or intended play
. ELIGIBILITY: Only legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia (excluding Rhode Island) who are eighteen (18) years of age or older and located in the United States and the District of Columbia (excluding Rhode Island) at the time of entry are eligible to enter the Sweepstakes. Employees of Sponsor and Sponsor's advertiser partners and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, distributors, retailers, sales representatives, advertising and promotion agencies and each of their respective officers, directors and employees (and immediate family members and those persons living in the same household of any such officers, directors and employees) (collectively, the "Promotion Entities"), are ineligible to enter the Sweepstakes or win the prize. Subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void in Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, all U.S. territories and possessions and overseas military installations, and where prohibited.
TO ENTER: "Post a Comment" on this post telling me you want to win. Each comment is assigned a number and five winning numbers will be randomly selected by random.org on or about October 31, 2013. Winner will be notified by email left by entrant in the comment form. Winner has 48 hours to respond or prize will be forfeited. All decisions by the sponsor are final.
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By entering this sweepstakes, you agree to all official rules.
Congratulations to the winners Emma Z., Helen R., Heather C., Carole M. and Novella S. Winners have been notified and have responded. Thank you to everyone who entered.


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It started with an infection.
Laurie Kelly, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 45, had undergone a mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery. A few days later, she began to feel ill, eventually ending up in a hospital emergency room in her hometown of Victoria.
Kelly had picked up an infection, likely because she was not given antibiotics after surgery. A blood test revealed a startlingly high white blood cell count of 32,000.
She was told her plastic surgeon would meet her in the ER, but when she arrived at 2 p.m., it took another six hours before she was eventually examined, admitted and hooked up to IV antibiotics. The next day, Kelly had emergency surgery to remove the infected tissue expander, a device used in the first stage of implant-based breast reconstruction.
"I was big-time sick," she said. "That's getting on the verge of septic. . . . I could've died."
The episode planted the first of many seeds of doubt in Kelly's mind about reconstructive breast surgery in this country.
Once she recovered, Kelly finally had a clean bill of health. She wanted to feel whole again and move on with her life.
But her options for reconstruction in Canada were "very, very limited." The only surgery for which she was a candidate was not widely practised in Canada, and the only surgeon who could offer her the procedure had a wait list of two to three years just for a consultation.
She decided to go to the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery, a world-renowned private hospital in New Orleans lauded for innovation in microsurgical breast reconstruction, where she paid more than $50,000 out of pocket for the procedure.
Kelly is one of several Canadian breast-cancer patients who travel to the United States every year and pay tens of thousands of dollars for reconstruction.
Many complain of limited surgical options in Canada that pushed them to seek surgery abroad. Part of the problem is a lack of plastic surgeons who perform microsurgical breast reconstruction in this country. And the few who can perform this surgery operate in a select few centres, are in high demand and, as a result, have incredibly long wait lists.
Rather than put their lives on hold for two or three years, some women, regardless of whether they can afford it, choose to go to the U.S., where they pay to bypass the wait lists.
Kelly still remembers the twisting and turning sensation in her stomach as she was wheeled into the operating room of a Victoria hospital to have her right breast surgically removed. The fluorescent lights above her, lit up like patchwork on the hospital ceiling, blurred together as her eyes began to fill with tears.
"It almost seemed like a dream," she recalled. "Like a bad dream . . . a nightmare."
She had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year earlier, in 2008, and subsequently underwent a lumpectomy followed by 30 rounds of radiation. The next year brought a second breast-cancer diagnosis, and it was recommended that she have a mastectomy.
Kelly requested immediate breast reconstruction. But after meeting with her plastic surgeon, she had no idea what type of reconstruction she would be getting. "There wasn't any game plan," she said.
Kelly is thin and did not have enough excess abdominal tissue to attempt a TRAM or DIEP flap surgery, a procedure in which a patient's abdominal tissue is transplanted to create a new breast. As she had undergone radiation, the skin over her chest was damaged and fragile, and it was unlikely it would be able to stretch enough to accommodate an implant.
Depending on the severity of the skin and tissue damage, implant-based reconstruction has not been successful in many patients who have had radiation. Still, her plastic surgeon, who only offers those three procedures, decided to attempt it.
During the surgery, a tissue expander was placed under her chest muscle. Tissue expanders are implants that are injected with saline solution every few weeks to slowly stretch the chest muscle and skin. After a few months, the expander is removed and replaced with a permanent implant.
That's where Kelly's breast cancer journey was supposed to end.
Instead, she found herself back in hospital where she spent the next three days being pumped full of IV antibiotics.
"My nurse said, 'If it starts burning your veins, let me know,'" she recalled. "They were pounding it into me."
Kelly said she later learned she was not given antibiotics after her mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, which was likely why she picked up the infection.
It was a major setback in her cancer treatment, which also included five surgical procedures within a year prior to the infection.
"At some point, you want the journey to end," she said. "It's almost like you've been diagnosed terminal. It never ends!"
Once she had healed, Kelly returned to her plastic surgeon to find out what other reconstructive options were still available.
She was a candidate for one procedure, called the latissimus dorsi flap, which uses a flap of muscle and skin from the patient's back along with an implant to rebuild the breast. But her sister had undergone that surgery years earlier and still suffered from muscle weakness. Kelly didn't want to experience the same problem.
Her only remaining option, she said, was the SGAP flap, which uses a flap of skin and fat from the patient's buttocks and hips to rebuild the breast. However, the procedure is not commonly performed in Canada.
Her plastic surgeon referred her to a colleague in Winnipeg who specialized in the procedure. When she hadn't heard back from anyone after four or five weeks, she started phoning every week and leaving messages.
"If I made 10 calls to them, I got five back," she said. "And I always ended up talking to a nurse. Never to a surgeon or a surgeon's office."
She was told the wait list for a consultation would be two to three years. Because she no longer had active cancer, she wasn't considered a priority patient, the nurse told her. Delayed reconstruction patients often get bumped down the list as more urgent cases arise, she was told.
"I asked, 'At what point do I become a priority?'" Kelly recalled. "Because that's always going to be happening. It's a revolving door."
Tracking down a plastic surgeon who specializes in microsurgical breast reconstruction in Canada is like a game of pin the tail on the donkey.
Microsurgical breast reconstruction is an intricate type of surgery that requires the use of an operating microscope and precision instruments to re-connect even the most minuscule blood vessels in tissue transplanted from another part of the patient's body.
Microsurgery allows plastic surgeons to spare the patient's muscle, using fatty tissue either from a patient's abdomen, buttocks or even their thighs, to build a new breast.
Sparing the muscle often results in a better outcome for the patient.
Despite being considered the Cadillac of breast reconstruction, there is a shortage of plastic surgeons who specialize in the microsurgical procedure in Canada.
Dr. Toni Zhong, a plastic surgeon in Toronto trained in the procedure, estimates there are only about a dozen surgeons who perform it on a regular basis. The top tier of expert microsurgeons includes only a few names, she added.
"I think this issue, unfortunately, this shortage of plastic surgeons who offer this service, is under recognized," said Zhong.
Of the plastic surgeons who do offer microsurgical reconstruction, they mostly practise in teaching hospitals. The surgery is a drain on resources, requiring hospitals to have microsurgical equipment, long periods of available operating time, and specially trained nurses and OR staff.
"They're very specialized (procedures) and they're only really offered in very select centres across the country," Zhong explained. "It's not offered in every city, but in major breast-care centres, you might be able to find one or two plastic surgeons that do this."
While hospitals struggle to fund the resource-intensive surgery, there are also few plastic surgeons choosing to undergo fellowship training in microsurgery, typically an additional year of studying.
Compensation is a major factor, said Dr. Edward Buchel, a plastic surgeon who founded the Breast Reconstruction Program at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre.
Not only are plastic surgeons poorly paid for microsurgical breast reconstruction compared to the more traditional implant-based surgery, but it's a more difficult surgery to perform.
Microsurgery also requires more operating room time, which means surgeons perform fewer breast reconstructions.
"It's difficult, and it doesn't pay well," he said. "Some of us only do it for about 10 years. It is actually difficult to continue to do it, because you might get a little bit of a tremor or whatever, and you can't do it."
While everyone has some tremor—an involuntary movement often so small that it can't be seen— for microsurgeons, it can mean the end of their career.
Some surgeons take beta blockers, medication usually prescribed to patients with high blood pressure, which blocks adrenalin and has been shown to reduce hand tremors. Hand stability, however, also deteriorates with age and can be exacerbated by fatigue, alcohol and caffeine, restricting the number of surgeons that qualify for the difficult specialty.
Meanwhile, plastic surgeons are compensated four or five times higher for cosmetic surgery, said Buchel.
"That's the No. 1 reason (surgeons) stop," said Buchel. "Toronto is probably actually one of the most embarrassing areas because they've got a wicked number of plastic surgeons, and they're all just doing cosmetics."
Dr. Stefan Hofer, a plastic surgeon and head of the reconstructive surgery program at Toronto's University Health Network, said "it's ridiculous" how many plastic surgeons work in Toronto. But only a handful are performing breast reconstruction, he said, and even fewer offer microsurgical reconstruction.
"There's less long work days and better remuneration in cosmetic surgery, so it's really hard to motivate people to do longer days and make less (doing breast reconstruction)," said Hofer.
Hofer runs a breast reconstruction fellowship program in Toronto, which he said churns out two doctors every year. However, he said they are often international medical students who don't stay in Canada once trained.
"Canada is very, very popular for international people from the UK, Ireland, Germany and Australia," he said. "But Canadians? Not so many."
Even in the U.S., a country with a population nine times that of Canada, plastic surgeons specializing in microsurgical breast reconstruction are hard to come by for many of the same reasons.
Dr. Scott Sullivan, a plastic surgeon at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans, described microsurgery as "the red-headed stepchild of plastic surgery."
"Most people in plastic surgery want to be the Hollywood cosmetic surgeon," he said. "(Microsurgery) doesn't have that much appeal, and it's one that doesn't tend to attract a lot of the people who are in plastic surgery."
Driven by a bitter mix of disappointment and desperation when told she faced a minimum two- to three-year wait for reconstruction in Winnipeg, Kelly began searching online for other options.
She eventually found the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans. After speaking with surgeon Dr. Frank DellaCroce, she said she was impressed.
"For me, it came down to who's touching me," said Kelly. "It had just been such a journey up to that point, going back in surgery and infections. It played a huge toll."
After her ordeal, Kelly said she didn't want just anyone performing her breast reconstruction. If the surgery, which would take tissue from her buttocks, failed, all options would have been exhausted. "I only had one part of me left to give," she said.
At the New Orleans centre, there is a focus on the cosmetic aspect of breast reconstruction that is sometimes ignored in other hospitals. Three months after her surgery, Kelly would have the option of returning to New Orleans to undergo a less-invasive, second-stage surgery.
During the second operation, the plastic surgeons would liposuction the area on the side of her buttocks opposite to where they had removed tissue to even it out. If the patient has only one breast reconstructed, the surgeons often also perform a lift so both breasts are symmetrical.
Patients also have the option of returning for a third visit to have their nipples reconstructed or tattooed.
"In Canada, I would have had to come back home and pay privately to have my buttocks revised and symmetrically balanced," said Kelly.
After researching the centre and speaking with former patients, Kelly was sold. She said her decision wasn't based on an attitude that she could get better care in the U.S. Rather, she said it boiled down to where she felt the most comfortable undergoing such major surgery.
"There are women in the States who have had surgery and haven't been happy," said Kelly. "It's not like every surgeon in the States is fabulous."
Once she decided to go to New Orleans, Kelly said she had to figure out how she was going to afford the surgery, which would not be covered by provincial health-care insurance.
She booked and cancelled her surgery several times as she and her husband struggled to find the funds.
"We used air miles and did whatever we could to get there," she explained. "It was a real stretch for me to get there, but I got there. It makes me very sad that there are women out there who will never have the opportunity that I had."
When Kelly returned to Canada, she was able to claim some of her medical expenses on her income tax.
"You don't get 100 per cent back, but you do get a percentage back, which helped," she said. "But outside of that, the whole financial cost was on us."
Although she struggled to find a plastic surgeon who could perform her breast reconstruction in Canada, the cost of her surgery in New Orleans could not be reimbursed by the B.C. Medical Services Plan.
In order to have international surgery covered, a physician needs to advocate for the patient that their surgery was medically urgent and that all other avenues within Canada had been exhausted.
While he couldn't comment on Kelly's case for reasons of patient privacy, it's unlikely a patient in similar circumstances would be reimbursed for their costs, said Stephen May, a spokesman for the B.C. Ministry of Health, in an e-mail.
"It would be very unusual for the Medical Services Plan to approve public funding for an out-of-country breast reconstruction as the appropriate standard of care (breast reconstruction by implant, flap transfer) is done in B.C. and elsewhere in Canada," he said. "If a particular reconstruction procedure is available elsewhere in Canada, albeit with significant wait time, MSP would not approve funding for an out-of-country reconstruction due to the wait time, as a delay in breast reconstruction would not be typically life threatening/medically urgent surgery."
"While some patients may be impressed by private American clinics, B.C. taxpayers cannot afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars more for these surgeries when we have the expertise and the capacity to do it in a reasonable time frame here," he continued.
Still, Kelly said she thinks the province should help with at least part of the cost. Although she could have had the surgery in Canada, she said she didn't feel comfortable with the level of experience here compared to the New Orleans' surgeons incredibly low failure rate of less than one per cent. The wait time was also unreasonable, she added.
Kelly said she is fine with paying for her hotel and airfare, but she thinks the cost of her surgery should be picked up.
"Either that, or they should be encouraging having a facility like that in Canada and giving us better options," she said.
Although the financial setback of the surgery has been stressful, Kelly said she is confident she made the right decision.
"I had so much peace in New Orleans, and I had no peace here (in Victoria)," she said. "It played a huge toll on us. But it was the best decision I ever made, and it's very sad that it has financially strained us the way it has."
If she hadn't gone, Kelly said she knows waiting years for surgery without her breast would have weighed heavily on her emotional health.
Every time she glanced in the mirror during her time spent without a breast, her mastectomy scars stared back, reminding her of her battle with cancer.
"It's looking you in the face every day," said Kelly. "It's there, and you know you're not done with it."


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Facing what is perhaps the greatest challenge to regional stability since the end of the Central American wars more than a decade ago, the presidents of this tiny yet tumultuous isthmus are scheduled to meet in Managua Monday afternoon to round the wagons in defense of Honduras's recently ousted and beleaguered President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya.
Mr. Zelaya, accused of breaking Honduran law to seek reelection after his presidential term ends in 2010, was deposed from office Sunday morning in a court-ordered military coup. The mustachioed and self-styled "cowboy president" said he was rousted from his bed around 5:30 a.m. by some 200 masked Honduran soldiers who whisked him out of the country in his presidential airplane and dumped him unceremoniously in Costa Rica's international airport, still wearing his pajamas.
In a midmorning press conference Sunday alongside Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, a slightly disheveled-looking Zelaya told the press that he had been "kidnapped" but is still the president of Honduras. Back in Tegucigalpa, meanwhile, the Honduran Congress yesterday afternoon appointed legislative president Roberto Micheletti as interim president until new elections are held in November.
Sunday's coup
For most of Sunday, the power, phone lines, and international cable TV were cut or blocked throughout Honduras, keeping the majority of citizens in the dark, while tanks and armed soldiers took to the streets of the capital city. Honduras's outspoken foreign minister, Patricia Rhodes, and several dozen other government officials were taken captive. The ambassadors of leftist allied countries Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela claim to have been detained and beaten by Honduran troops before being released on Sunday.
When congressionally appointed President Micheletti finally went on television later in the afternoon, he boldly announced that Zelaya's ouster represents the will of "80 to 90 percent" of the Honduran population and hailed the military for its actions.
Latin leftists hold 'emergency meeting'
In response to the coup in Honduras, the presidents of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a leftist bloc headed by Venezuela, held an "emergency meeting" in Managua Sunday night shortly after 10 p.m. to offer "unconditional support" for their beleaguered comrade. Zelaya arrived in Managua from Costa Rica shortly before the emergency meeting, looking freshly put-together in a white guayabera dress shirt and with his hair neatly in place. He was met at the airport by allies Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Ecuador's Rafael Correa, who hugged Zelaya and slapped his back chummily.
"We have to get Zelaya's cowboy hat back; it's still intact!" Mr. Chávez bellowed. "Tomorrow we will rescue his hat!"
Calls for Zelaya's return to power
The presidents of ALBA demanded that Zelaya be returned to power immediately and without condition – a call echoed by other governments across the world, including the United States. Mr. Correa called for the punishment of those behind the coup.
Latin American representatives to the Organization of American States (OAS), which held an emergency meeting in Washington yesterday to discuss the situation in Honduras, also denounced the coup, calling it a "20- to 50-year setback" in the region's democratic advances.
"We thought that Central American democracies had been consolidated enough to avoid this from happening again," said Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
Who's the least democratic?
Yet others say it's Zelaya who's guilty of turning back democratic progress. According to Article 239 of the Honduran Constitution, not only is presidential reelection illegal, so, too, is any attempt to reform the law for the purpose of reelection.
Zelaya, however, argues that popular consultation should never be illegal in a democracy. So, he proposed a nationwide, nonbinding poll June 28 to ask the Honduran voters if they would be willing to support a ballot proposition on constitutional reform in the November general elections. Among the proposed changes would be an extension of presidential term limits that would allow Zelaya to run for reelection. Most state institutions argued – and the Supreme Court ruled – that his initiative was illegal.
Interim leader warns against outside interference
Micheletti said the coup was needed "to defend respect for the law and the principles of democracy" and threatened to jail Zelaya and put him on trial if he returned. Micheletti also shot back at Chávez, saying "nobody, not [President Obama] and much less Hugo Chávez, has any right to threaten this country."
Earlier, Mr. Obama said in a statement he was "deeply concerned" about the events, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Zelaya's arrest should be condemned.
"I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law, and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter," Obama's statement read.
Military refused to help Zelaya set up illegal vote
When Zelaya ordered the military to give logistical support to his popular consultation by distributing the ballots to polling stations across the country, Honduras's top general, Romeo Vásquez, refused the order and was subsequently fired for disobeying the commander in chief. The minister of Defense and other military brass resigned in solidarity.
Zelaya pushed forward on his plan anyway, prompting Sunday's coup.
Now the question is, who's responsible for Honduras's meltdown?
"There is plenty of blame to go round in Honduras," says Kevin Casas, Latin American expert for the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank. "While there is no doubt that President Zelaya bears the largest share of responsibility for the crisis, he still is the legitimate president of Honduras."
Mr. Casas added, "What we are witnessing in Honduras is the return of the sad role of the military as the ultimate referee of the political conflicts between the civilian leadership. This is a huge step back in the democratic consolidation in the region."
Not everyone agrees.
Is this coup different?
"In the past, the militaries ousted democratically elected governments and tore up the constitution to remain in power forever. But now it was the president who was tearing up the constitution and the military that stepped in to protect it and install a new civilian-elected government," says Nicaraguan opposition lawmaker Francisco Aguirre, head of the legislature's Foreign Affairs Commission. "That's a big difference."
Twenty-four hours into the coup, most questions about the future of Honduras and greater regional stability have yet to be answered.
Some analysts think a reinstitution of Zelaya could embolden ALBA, while others think his forced ouster could strengthen the leftist allegiance by providing it with an excuse to accelerate what critics say is an authoritarian agenda in the region.


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The geekyfamily had been contemplating leaving the golden state. A potential career opportunity for me had us considering upping sticks and moving east. Ultimately the job fell through, and the move is not going to happen, but in considering it, we meandered conversationally through many different future scenarios for our lives. Who's career ascent will we follow? What kind of a community do we want to raise our family in? How far away from our extended family can we be?
For now we're going to carry on being a San Francisco family. Last year, after years of yearning after the pictures in "better homes and gardens" we finally bit the bullet and had our little backyard landscaped into a city oasis, and it would have been a shame to leave before we got a chance to enjoy it. While considering this other job, I was offered a great new position at my existing company, so the sting of this other position closing up is not so bitter.
I think we could have done it and been happy, left San Francisco behind as a chapter in our lives. I expect one day we will.
One day back in February when I first became aware of the job I considered, I took a day off with the kids and took them to the exploratorium. I drove back, climbing high through Pacific Heights with the sky azure and the bay glittering behind me. A ridiculous picture postcard day, made more ridiculous by the fact that we just have so many impossibly beautiful days here.
I moved here in 1996. My hair was long with a thick platinum streak. I dressed from thrift stores and had my belly button pierced. That afternoon I felt the twenty five year old I used to be looking at this woman in her Toyota Prius, wearing a worn overwashed Banana Rebublic T shirt and jeans, peering in the rearview mirror at her happy sleepy kids. I felt the intervening years between her and me fly past as the car efficiently powered up and coasted down the hills that I had staggered over between bars and clubs in unsuitable heels, then jogged up and down the next day in an attempt to shake the hangover. I felt so fortunate for the life that has happened to me here, and I'm glad that we will be staying a bit longer.
The Hairdog Chronicles. Tales from a scientist and an engineer raising a family in San Francisco
Saturday, May 16, 2009
California Dreaming
Posted by geekymummy at 10:57 AM
Labels: california
4 comments:
- followthatdog said...
so well written. I know that feeling well. And I miss San Francisco so sincerely it aches.
- May 18, 2009 at 3:29 PM
- chihuahua5 said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- May 19, 2009 at 9:32 PM
- chihuahua5 said...
ah my little 'stripe', i too remember when you first arrived in SF and into our lives on walter street. glad you'll be enjoying SF a bit longer too :)
- May 19, 2009 at 9:32 PM
- Manic Mama said...
Thanks for coming by and posting today! I love that you did, a San Francisco blogger to read- yay! I miss it there every day. Great post!
- March 23, 2010 at 4:49 PM
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Much Ado About Nothing: The Rise And Fall Of HuddleChat
from the harping-on-huddlechat dept
If you've heard of HuddleChat at all, you already know about its demise. Put together by a few Google engineers in their spare time, the web chat application was used to showcase Google's newly-announced App Engine offering. There was just one problem: it was nearly identical to 37Signals' Campfire, a well-known SaaS web chat application. 37Signals gave some petulant quotes to ReadWriteWeb about the situation, and shortly thereafter Google pulled the app down.
As Om Malik has pointed out, this is all a bit ridiculous. AJAX/Comet chat is a fairly simple feature to implement. If my fellow participants in the Web 2.0 economy are counting on earning their keep via a collective conspiracy to make our jobs look harder than they are, we're all in deep, deep trouble. There's additional potential irony here, too, given that 37Signals has been accused of ripping off others' work to create Campfire in the first place.
But while this incident may prove portentous to the long-term prospects of the 37Signals business plan, it's hard to see how it could mean anything for Google. Breathless declarations that "many in the developer community [will] view Google App Engine as a Xerox machine for copycat product developers" are downright laughable. Google's decision to kill HuddleChat makes good PR sense, but it's inconceivable that many cost-conscious, Python-friendly startups would give up on App Engine over this minor blog imbroglio. As in many other respects, Amazon Web Services will likely provide the relevant template for these issues, and so far AWS has wisely avoided getting dragged into policing its users' apps.
Of course there's a lot of speculation that App Engine will include a free offering, and for that reason it may attract more troublesome users than EC2 currently does. But even if Google finds itself obligated to fight more griefers, phishers and spammers than Amazon does, it seems certain that they won't waste their time arbitrating squabbles over who called dibs on which trivial featureset. Sadly, that will remain for the courts to decide.
Filed Under: appengine, copies, web 2.0, web platform
Companies: google


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Forty years after man set foot on the moon, water has been discovered on lunar soil, scientists say.
Three different space probes have confirmed water on the moon's surface, according to the online journal Science.
Jessica Sunshine, a University of Maryland astronomer who discovered the water, told NPR that the moisture seems to be a very thin film of molecules stuck to the moon's surface.
"It's not liquid water, it's not frozen water and it's not gaseous water," she says. "It's not your grandmother's water on the moon. It's a completely different mindset. You sort of have to throw out everything you think of by that phrase."
Although the amount of water is small, this discovery came as a surprise to scientists who have long thought of the moon as bone-dry.
The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft launched in India last October, discovered the first sign of water on the moon's soil. Scientist double-checked the findings with two other space probes, NASA's Cassini, which passed the moon in 1999, and Deep Impact, which went by the moon in June.
The discovery could be a potential resource for astronauts, namely drinking water and rocket fuel.
NASA has been working on a plant to return to the moon by 2020, but the plan is currently being reviewed by the Obama administration.


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Environmental Systems Design, Inc. (ESD) has promoted Austin Bredow to vice president. A member of ESD's Mission Critical Facilities Group, Bredow joined the firm in 2001. He has expertise in financial industry infrastructure needs and is responsible for managing the engineering design of commercial high-rise base building renovations, tenant build-outs, data centers, electronic trading offices, open outcry trading platforms, and mission critical facilities. Bredow received a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Washington University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and LEED Accredited Professional.
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Scooters are designed to provide you with mobility where and when you need it. Scooters can make basic tasks, like running errands, traveling, or just performing tasks around the house both easier and safer. With a scooter, you don't have to rely on your own strength and balance, and can save your energy while still being able to travel quickly and easily. This all amounts to increased independence and an improved quality of life.
Scooters come in a variety of designs. Some are designed specifically for indoor use, and offer tight turning radiuses for increased agility. Others are designed for outdoor use, sporting large wheels and clearances and higher speeds. Scooters are typically powered by rechargeable batteries. Whatever your needs, you can be sure that there's a scooter available to suit you and your lifestyle.
Don't be worried about the challenge of learning to operate a scooter – most scooters feature simple controls that are easy to use. Some scooters include safety turnoffs to keep you from accelerating too quickly, and others feature limited top speeds to help keep you safe. Additional safety features include lights, back-up alarms, and directional signals.
Within these pages you'll find scooters which fold up or disassemble for easy portability. You'll also find full size and heavy duty scooters ready to take on any task. We stock scooters from the top United States medical equipment providers, including Drive Medical Scooters, Pride Mobility Scooters, Golden Tech Electric Mobility Scooters, Afkim and eWheel Electric Scooters.
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lightgrid, St-Germain, gridwork, 7-Ray, Violet Ray, net-of-light
Search Members
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Welcome toLIGHTGRID - Lichtnetz - REDDELUZ
Sign Upor Sign In
Instinct CRYSTAL GRIDS
Help us to anchor the energy of the New Age on Earth. Get inspired and set up a grid with the intention to help HEAL Mother Earth and all Her Beings from the wounds of the past and WEAVE a new net of living LIGHT all around the planet to help all life forms evolve into Unity Consciousness.
Ascension is not about leaving the world - it is about bringing HEAVEN down to EARTH!
We are the living BRIDGE between the worlds and dimensions, between HEAVEN AND EARTH. We are free to move in TIME and SPACE when we enter the SACRED SPACE of the Divine Chamber of the HEART where the ThreeFold Flame resides and the god given Divine Blueprint is waiting to be downloaded into our earth bodies.
The TIME to ACTIVATE our Light Body is NOW.
Love Light BLESSINGS,
Sonja Myriel RAouine
"About the Use of the Violet Flame"
I have to tell you that when you as a conscious disciple manage the Violet Flame, a parallel activity of the Violet Flame is initiated internally. This results in the vibrational awakening of your chakras. Therefore, each time when you use the gift of the Violet Flame you are asked not only to focalize your attention on what you want to transmute but also on the internal activity which takes place within yourself.
One of the consequences of the continual use of the Violet Flame is the accelerated awakening of all your chakras, you will, step by step, wake up in a different world from where you live now.
This is the space for you to ORGANISE your personal connexion group, to look for likeminded people, to introduce yourSELF and say what you would like to contribute to the every expanding NET OF LIGHT around the world.
You have received clear guidance on a project,type of meditation, course of action to take? You are WELCOME to share here so we can start DREAMING and thus CREATING together!
Posted by Rhea Dopmeijer on September 22, 2019 at 12:06pm
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How Soul agreements are affecting our life
Our Soul's agreement will prevail yet the outcome hasn't been told in which way it will enfold. So my sadness today is coming to surface as if my goodbye is yet to come before my Love already will…
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A FUNCTIONING NETWORK FOR HUMANITY:- The Arcturians created a functioning network for humanity, and it is meant to allow all of you greater access to the points on your planet that are most powerful. For example, if you have always wanted to go…
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When the fog disappears from my headStill foggy in my head for these last couple of days,feeling like I am sitting in some sort of limbo.When it isn't possible to digest…
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When family comes around in different forms
Family has been defined by human perception in the western world as to the physical human blood relations, our parents, siblings, aunt and uncles, cousins and nephews, children and grandchildren.…
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When it is time to bow and surrender gracefully and the curtains have been opened to see the stage, life will enfold itself before your eyes and its of the beholder to witness it with…
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Trek Bicycle Store
No child should experience hunger. Not anywhere, but certainly not among the prosperity of much of Florida. The sad fact is that many children experience hunger in the 68 hours when they leave school on Friday afternoon and return to school on Monday morning.
We're going to do something about this hidden hunger epidemic and need your help. We have registered for the Pan-Florida Challenge Ride for Hungry Kids and have committed to raising money to feed hungry kids.
Consider these facts:
- One in five Florida children (20 percent) are food-challenged - so hungry they often can't sleep or study or do anything but worry about when they'll eat again.
- Kids suffering from poor nutrition miss more school, suffer developmental setbacks, experience social, emotional and behavioral challenges – all because they are hungry
- In just four years, Pan-Florida Challenge has provided over 4 million meals to hungry children.
- With your support, 2,500+ children will receive PFC Power Packs
This March, we will join hundreds of other riders who are all committed to feeding hungry children. We will endure physical pain so that children will no longer have to endure the pains of hunger. They will return to school on Monday fed, refreshed, and ready to learn.
Won't you help by supporting our ride? Just $25 will stave off a child's hunger for an entire month. For $250 you can feed a child for an entire school year. Whatever you can give will help - it all adds up!
We can cure childhood hunger, one meal at a time. We thank you, and thousands of hungry kids will thank you, too.


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Soup Starters Reflect Consumer Interest in Ethnic Dishes
To help retailers keep pace with the latest cooking trends, Tualatin, Ore.-based Pacific Natural Foods launches Soup Starters, a new soup segment of soup starters and bases.
Varieties include Vietnamese-style USDA organic Beef Soup Starter, Chicken Pho Soup Starter, and Southwest Tortilla Soup Starter will debut this summer. They reflect growing consumer interest in cooking ethnic dishes at home and provide an easy way to customize restaurant favorites and feature new QR Code technology on-package. This smartphone puts recipes, cooking demos and easy-to-access shopping lists at consumers' fingertips.
"Consumers are looking for healthy and convenient ways to put fresh, homemade dinners on the table. Although most people don't have eight hours to make a traditional Pho base, they still want to enjoy the complex flavors of labor-intensive soups at home," says Tim Ramsey, vice president of sales and marketing for Pacific Natural Foods. "Our new soup starters capitalize on the current do-it-yourself trend that we're seeing with so many everyday chefs. By providing a delicately-seasoned, slow cooked base they'll have limitless opportunities to prepare globally inspired meals with their own signature fresh ingredients."
Suggested retail price is $3.49-$3.69.


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MagnetStreet: From real estate to bridal customers, lessons learned . . .
Labels: Google Insights for Search, Google tools, Google Trends, Keyword Tool, tips
In 2005, MagnetStreet, a custom magnet developer, was 80% reliant on its Real Estate customers. Although Real Estate customers kept MagnetStreet employees busy from August to November, the rest of the year was stagnant. In order to resolve this staffing and seasonal production slump, to acquire new customers and to expand its product portfolio, MagnetStreet looked to Google and its suite of free tools.
MagnetStreet realized they were not utilizing an SEO or SEM strategy. So they leveraged Google's Keyword Tool to learn more about terms such as "magnets" and "promotional magnets", and how they could expand their keyword selection to be in front of actively searching magnet customers.
David Baird, Vice President of Marketing at MagnetStreet, was surprised to find out that "save-the-date wedding magnets" stood out as keywords of rapidly growing interest. This new product keyword trend spurred an information-gathering project that started with understanding what a save-the-date magnet was, and ended with a solution regarding how to enter the wedding market.
MagnetStreet was also pleased to learn, via Google Trends and Insights for Search, that this new venture revealed an interest peak in January, with a more consistent level of interest throughout the year than the real estate market. These Google tools also offered geographic data that gave MagnetStreet the opportunity to intelligently market to the local areas that showed the most interest in their product suite.
MagnetStreet continues to use Insights for Search to help them expand into new markets, discover additional product offerings, and to inform design, staffing and media decisions. They have expanded into selling wedding invitations and programs in addition to various occasion invitations and announcements.
When looking back at his business' success, Mr. Baird credits Google's tools with helping him to make smarter, low risk decisions and giving him the opportunity as a small business owner to compete with Big Box players.
Click here for more information on this success story.
Posted by Keri Overman, The Google Retail Team


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A state-of-the-art training center to be used to train not only its agents, but also the buyers and sellers, is what officials of one of Lee County's top realty companies think will help the city turn the corner and help bring in more homebuyers and businesses.
Century 21 Birchwood International held the grand opening of the new corporate training center at its headquarters at 601 Del Prado Blvd. North.
The 2,500-square-foot facility is fully equipped with audio, visual, and sound equipment, and will be available to the community for business venues, community events, and non-profit organizations as a community outreach incentive.
The event included city dignitaries Mayor John Sullivan and City Manager John Szerlag, much of the Century 21 family, as well as local companies that set up exhibits to promote their wares.
There were also light refreshments and lots of networking, along with a myriad of raffle prizes, including a one-week stay at a four-star hotel.
The event ended with a ribbon-cutting outside the new offices.
Joseph Interbartolo, broker and owner of Century 21 Birchwood, said the new room will be used to train their own on how to use technology and not just pound the pavement, as well as how to take care of customers on their journey.
"Technology is really taking over our business. Agents everywhere need to be educated on it and are not," Interbartolo said. "We will teach agents the technology as well as how to sell, overcoming objections, insurances it's not just about selling real estate. We want to guide the buyer and seller through the whole process."
Interbartolo added that the training center will also teach buyers and sellers of homes through free workshops and seminars.
"Everything has changed so much from short sales and foreclosures, our agents don't know how to handle them," Interbartolo said. "We're stepping out of the box and doing what no other company is doing."
The training center will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and every other Friday, Interbartolo said.
The idea, which was put into motion rather quickly, is the brainchild of broker/coach Lucy Quinones, who added the room will also be used as a meeting place for non-profit organizations, and to create strategic alliances with the community.
"We want to be an intricate part of serving our community and being at the forefront of that," Quinones said. "It was a door of opportunity that opened up and it's became a supernatural event."
Sullivan said during the ceremony that the training center will be a key component in bringing more business into the city, as well as allow people what to expect while living here, from schools to taxes and assessments.
"It is important this is happening because without business, we can't create jobs and without new jobs, people can't move here," Sullivan said. "People have the right to know what they're getting themselves into.
Quinones said, most importantly, that by sharing their knowledge with the public, it will help create a synergy with them, which will help business as a result.
"It's about giving knowledge and sharing energy and time and resources for free," Quinones said. "When you give, you get back hundredfold. Money will find you if you help people."


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By Paul Kampe, The Oakland Press
Across the street from a Rochester Hills retail development expected to feature big-name national retailers and restaurants sits another building poised for business.
Rochester Square, developed by Southfield-based Versa Real Estate, is located along the perimeter of the Meijer parking lot at the southeast corner of the intersection of Rochester and Auburn roads.
"(That corner) is a hot spot," city planning director Ed Anzek said.
The more than 15,000-square-foot building is expected to feature a Panda Express, Dibella's Old Fashioned Submarines, Eyeglass World, Verizon and SuperCuts.
The businesses are expected to open by Oct. 1, according to Ryan Schultz, vice president of development for Versa.
The building was constructed on an outlot in the Meijer parking lot, a role Versa has filled for the retail giant at its locations around the state, including a nearby Shelby Township store.
"Instead of creating urban sprawl, (these projects) densify existing retail corridors and outlets," Schultz said. "It's a much more successful way to spread."
Versa was drawn to the area by a high traffic count and strength of other retailers in the area, Schultz said, adding the project has been in the works for about a year.
"It was a dynamic site," he said.
Across the street, Rochester Auburn Associates plans to house 12 tenantsin more than 30,000-square-feet of space, including McDonald's and relocated Qdoba Mexican Grill and Starbucks stores.
The group is redeveloping a lot which used to be occupied by a gas station and car dealership.
At the nearby intersection of John R and Avon roads is the redevelopment of a once-popular Avon Country Market, being developed by the owners of several nearby businesses, Anzek said.
"They were tired of looking at the eyesore," he said.
The group purchased the building and leveled it last fall, Anzek said. They're now trying to attract a convenience store and beauty shop to fill the space.
Meanwhile, across town, the owner of a shopping center located on Walton Blvd. near Adams road is working with multiple possible new tenants for the space recently vacated by Peet's Coffee and Tea.
The California-based company is reportedly closing its other Oakland County locations in Royal Oak, Novi and Commerce Township, as well.
Loretta Adams of Adams Commercial Real Estate Group said the nearly 2,500-square-foot space will remain open while the company vets potential new suitors.
"We could put someone in right away," she said. "But we don't want to rush. We want a good tenant mix."
An insurance agency will fill a nearby vacancy soon, Adams said.
Anzek said the city will be working with developers in the future to encourage more redevelopment.
"The city would rather see redevelopment than new zoning," he said.
Anzek noted retail vacancy rates in the city have rebounded nicely from the economic recession and are currently at about 7 percent.
Versa is also developing a Starbucks location on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak scheduled to open in the early fall.


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May 11, 2012, 12:56 pm
Rockies Minor League Report: Anderson makes debut tonight in Asheville
Tyler Anderson has remained a mystery since the Rockies drafted him in the first round last June. The left-handed pitcher from the University of Oregon, who has been loosely compared to Jeff Francis, has yet to pitch in the pros, slowed by a groin/hernia issue. He will make his long anticipated debut tonight for the Asheville Tourists. The left-hander has spent the past two months healing and building arm strength in Scottsdale.
Read more…


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Heisman winner Jameis Winston of Florida State already has finished his 20 hours community service related to stealing $32.72 worth of crab legs from a Publix grocery store in Tallahassee, and the Leon County Sheriff's Department released video of the incident Thursday.
The clip isn't exactly riveting: It shows Winston leaving Publix without paying for the crab legs.
Winston was suspended for three games from the FSU baseball team, and Seminoles football coach Jimbo Fisher has said Winston faces no additional penalties from the football program because it is not football season.
"He's in baseball right now. ... If he would have been in football only, he would have been suspended from football activities only until we took care of all those things," Fisher told reporters at the ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., on Monday. "To him, that's (missing baseball) just as devastating. To me, too; I like baseball."
FSU opens the season Aug. 30 against Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.


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Brewers feel ready to rise up in challenging Central
PHOENIX -- With the signing of free-agent right-handed pitcher Matt Garza to a four-year, $50 million deal on Jan. 26, Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin delivered a message.
It came through loud and clear. No translation was needed.
PHOENIX -- With the signing of free-agent right-handed pitcher Matt Garza to a four-year, $50 million deal on Jan. 26, Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin delivered a message.
It came through loud and clear. No translation was needed.
The rest of the National League Central got it. So did the players on the Brewers' roster.
"That said that our front office and ownership felt we had an opportunity to win," said Ryan Braun, who is making the move from left to right field this spring. "They told us they believed in us. All you want is an opportunity."
So here the Brewers are in Spring Training, getting ready for the gauntlet of the NL Central, in which they finished in fourth place last year with a 74-88 record. They didn't merely finish 23 games behind division champion St. Louis. Milwaukee was 20 games behind second-place Pittsburgh and 16 games back of third-place Cincinnati.
Yeah, the NL Central that features a Cardinals team that has advanced to the postseason in four of the last five seasons, including each of the last three, winning the World Series in 2011 and losing in the World Series to the Red Sox last October.
Yeah, the NL Central that features a Reds team that advanced to the postseason in three of the last four seasons, but after a 90-win season that ended with a loss to the Pirates in the Wild Card playoff decided to relieve manager Dusty Baker of his duties.
Yeah, the NL Central that features an upstart Pittsburgh team that ended 20-year droughts for a winning season and a postseason appearance a year ago, and has a projected lineup in which first baseman Gaby Sanchez, age 30, is the old man of the starting eight position players.
And, yes, the Brewers were a combined 21-36 against those three teams last year. But, no, Milwaukee is not in awe.
"We know what's ahead of us," said catcher Jonathan Lucroy. "The Pirates are strong. Cincinnati is always strong. The Cardinals are the Cardinals. You've always got your hands full with them. We're in one of the toughest divisions in baseball."
What did the Brewers do to make up that ground between themselves and the division's top three teams?
The Brewers gave Garza the four-year deal. They signed a likely first-base platoon of Lyle Overbay and Mark Reynolds to Minor League deals. Milwaukee made a Rule 5 Draft selection of left-hander Wei-Chung Wang, a Taiwan native who came back from Tommy John surgery last year with Pittsburgh's Rookie League Gulf Coast League affiliate. The Brewers acquired lefty Will Smith, battling for a spot on the pitching staff, from Kansas City in a trade for outfielder Norichika Aoki, one of only three Milwaukee players who appeared in as many as 130 games last year. And they re-signed one-time closer Francisco Rodriguez, whom they dealt to Baltimore last July.
The Brewers certainly didn't overhaul the roster. But then they don't feel their roster needed to be overhauled. They just need to find a way to keep it together.
"We're not at a point where you look to rebuild," Lucroy said. "We've got several key guys in the final years of their contracts: [Aramis] Ramirez, [Rickie] Weeks and [Yovani] Gallardo. We've got the highest payroll in our history. We should feel good about where we are."
A lot of that is because, among others, Braun and Ramirez feel good about where they are. The two of them combined to start just 139 games last season. Braun was on the disabled list for 26 games because of a nerve problem in his right hand, and he then sat out a 65-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
Ramirez was limited to 85 starts because of a strained left knee that he suffered on April 5 and bothered him the remainder of the season.
"You lose guys like Braun and Ramirez, that's 60 home runs and 180 RBIs a year, easily," said Lucroy.
Ramirez added, "Take the [No.] 3-4 guys out of any team's lineup and there's going to be a problem."
The projected first baseman, Corey Hart, who was a noted quick healer and was expected back by early May a year ago at the latest after knee surgery, underwent a second knee surgery in-season and never spent a day on the active roster. He left after the season as a free agent, signing with Seattle.
"We were basically without our [No.] 3, 4 and 5 guys,'" manager Ron Roenicke said.
The injuries led to aches and pains. A Brewers lineup that led the NL with 776 runs scored in 2012 finished eighth in the NL with 640 runs scored in '13. Lucroy, who drove in 82 runs, and Carlos Gomez, who drove in 73, were the only Milwaukee players to drive in as many as 50 runs. The defense committed an NL-leading 114 errors, including the seven-man shuttle that manned first base and committed a combined 21 errors.
And none of that helped a rotation in which only three starters -- Kyle Lohse, Wily Peralta and Gallardo -- made as many as 22 starts, and nine other pitchers got a chance in the fourth and fifth sports of the rotation.
That's why Garza was so important. Combine him with the return of last year's Big Three and Marco Estrada, and the Brewers have a solid starting five with three young arms waiting in the wings. Tyler Thornburg was 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 18 games (seven starts) last year. Johnny Hellweg was 12-5 with a 3.15 ERA at Triple-A Nashville. And Smith was 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA in 19 games with Kansas City.
"You always are going to need six to eight starters to get through the season," said Braun. "We've got six to eight who are above average, which is a big asset."
It's among a handful of reasons that the Brewers can look forward to what awaits them in 2014 with the expectation it will erase memories of 2013.
Tracy Ringolsby is a columnist for MLB.com.


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DENVER (AP) -- The body of a 79-year-old woman was found beside the Big Thompson River, authorities said Monday, bringing to eight the death toll from the massive flooding in Colorado.
Evelyn M. Starner was found Saturday after she drowned and suffered blunt force trauma, Larimer County authorities said.
Starner was previously listed as missing and presumed dead after her house in the Big Thompson Canyon was swept away. Authorities initially said she was 80.
It wasn't clear why the discovery was not announced sooner.
Two other people were still missing and presumed dead -- a 60-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man, both from Larimer County.
The number of unaccounted for people dwindled to six as improving communications and road access allowed authorities to contact 54 people over the weekend who had not been heard from.
The floods caused damage across 17 counties and nearly 2,000 square miles. Some 200 miles of state highways and 50 bridges were destroyed.
Vice President Joe Biden arrived Monday in Colorado for a helicopter tour to survey the damage and recover efforts. Biden's plane landed at Buckley Air Force Base in suburban Denver, and the vice president boarded an Army Black Hawk helicopter.
He planned to make public comments later in the day with Gov. John Hickenlooper and Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
State officials awarded four contracts for emergency highway and bridge repairs Monday.
The federal government will reimburse the state up to $100 million for road repairs, Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Amy Ford said. But the state was pushing to raise that amount to $500 million, which Ford said was the cap for mid-Atlantic states rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Officials hope to complete temporary fixes to at least some of the heavily damaged roads by Dec. 1.
Quick repairs are critical because winter weather will make highway work more difficult and force the winter-long closure of the high-elevation Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park, one of only two routes still open into Estes Park, a small town at the park's east entrance.
Also looming are harvests from Colorado's $8.5 billion-a-year agriculture industry, which relies on trucks to get cattle and crops to markets.
Officials said it's too early to know how much time and money it will take to make permanent repairs, but they say it will cost more than $100 million.
State Transportation Department Executive Director Don Hunt said the biggest difficulties will be getting construction materials into damaged areas and protecting workers and travelers from falling rocks loosened by heavy rains.
Associated Press writers Dan Elliott and Steven K. Paulson contributed to this report.
Find Ivan Moreno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IvanJourno


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Nationwide has partnered with America's favorite zookeeper, "Jungle Jack" Hanna and the Columbus Zoo for more than 30 years. Hanna's "hands-on" approach to wildlife conservation has won him widespread acclaim as a conservationist, author, television personality and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Nationwide has been a long-time supporter of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, dating back to Hanna's early days as zoo director in the late 1970s. Along with the Columbus Zoo, Nationwide co-sponsors the syndicated TV show Jack Hanna's Into the Wild, as well as Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown and Hanna's national speaking tour Jack Hanna's Into the Wild LIVE.


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0551-2200198, 9598072094
An ophthalmologist is an eye doctor who examines your eye for the range of conditions if you suspect any eye problems. Eyes are so sensitive organ that require at least one visit to eye doctor for the proper checkup every year. A checkup help you know the status of your eye health and vision. An ophthalmologist visit also helps detect the silent eye diseases which may completely cause vision loss if not diagnosed and treated at right time.
Eyes diseases can occur at any age of life, however it mostly hit as the age passes. Some of the most common eye problems include cataract, nearsightedness, night blindness, glaucoma, macular degeneration, dry eye etc.
Eye diseases can range from temporary discomfort to complete blindness. There are uncountable numbers of reasons that can lead to eye problems. Some of the most common causes are a bacterial, viral or fungal infection, external injury, genetics, diabetes, migraine, allergies, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, medication etc.
Eyes need proper attention and care throughout our lives. Sometimes you think that your eyes are fine enough to see the world but you might be wrong. Because its symptoms differ from other health condition and require extra attention. If you experience something wrong with your vision or physical changes in eyes, must consult with an ophthalmologist without any delay.
The signs and symptoms of eye diseases may vary from people to people. Some of the common symptoms include eye pain, recurrent pain around the eye, blurred or double vision, bright floating spot, sensitivity to light, red eyes, sudden change in vision, discharge from eye, changes in color of eyes, itching and burning etc.
Depending on the symptoms and the severity of the eyes condition, an ophthalmologist may perform one or more of these tests to detect the root cause of the problem. Some of the common tests include color blindness test, cover test, ocular motility (eye movements) testing, stereopsis (depth perception) test, retinoscopy, refraction, slit lamp exam, the glaucoma test, pupil dilation, visual field test, visual acuity tests, tonometry, ophthalmoscopy, gonioscopy, visual field testing, nerve fiber analysis, pachymetry etc.
Conjunctivitis is a common eye infection that occurs with symptoms like thick yellow or white discharge, redness, itchiness, inflammation, burning sensation, blurred vision, increased sensitivity to light etc. Conjunctivitis is a highly contagious eye problem that can easily spread from an infected person to a healthy person. Some of the top causes include viral or bacterial infection, irritants of dirt or smoke, dust allergy etc.
At doctoriduniya, you can access a list of best ophthalmologists or eye specialists, book online appointment and consult with them. In any medical emergency feel free to visit www.doctoriduniya.com.


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Discussion of Catan: Oil Springs and Demonstration at Bay Area Schools Environmental Conference
Eureka! Oil has been discovered on Catan! That's right, oil has been discovered on the island of Catan! And after many years of study, the great engineers of Catan have learned ways to improve production using this valuable new resource, both by converting it into other resources and enabling the upgrade of cities into metropolises.
Recognizing the value of making sustainability education fun and engaging, Worldwatch's Erik Assadourian has helped develop Catan: Oil Springs, a non-profit scenario for the award-winning board game that integrates a new resource into the mix—oil—and brings with it the opportunity for players to develop significantly faster, but not without risking industrial pollution and disasters such as coastal flooding triggered by climate change. Other sustainability challenges, including issues of development disparity, the resource curse, and limits to growth are integrated seamlessly into the game, where players struggle with whether they should use oil to grow even as they risk undermining the productivity of their lands and even risk inundation of the entire island of Catan.
At the Bay Area Schools Environmental Conference lunch, Erik will present " Educators' New Assignment: Teaching Sustainability." He will be discussing the many ways that educators are introducing sustainability into lesson plans, classroom activities, and the broader school culture with the goals of expanding students' environmental knowledge, making their behavior more sustainable, and most importantly, helping to shift cultural norms more broadly in society.
Later in the conference, Erik will also present a separate breakout session, "Catan: Oil Springs: Using Games to Teach Sustainable Management in a Constrained World,"where he will discuss the production of an environmental scenario for the board game Settlers of Catan and how it is being used as a teaching tool on issues like the tragedy of the commons, climate change, and growth on a finite planet.
Erik will be teaching and playing the board game Settlers of Catan after the conference concludes (4 p.m.) with any interested conference attendees at Fourth Street Pizza (150 E Santa Clara Street, San José) a pizza parlor which is just three blocks away from the conference venue. Join us at:
Bay Area Schools Environmental Conference
Corithian Center (San Jose Athletic Club)
196 North 3rd Street
San José, CA 95112
Learn more about the event here.
Read more about Settlers of Catan: Oil Springs.


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Shop Men Belt Bags
Luxury bags are not meant just for women these days. The style and design of mens bags today are meant to be sported by the modern man no matter what your style is. With delectable lines, shapes and bold colors, our mens designer bag options are as versatile as you are. Start your day with an easy messenger bag or backpack to carry everything you need for work, and then switch it up with one of our smaller mens designer bags for coffee out with friends. Pick from your favorite designer man bags from Gucci, Valentino, Givenchy, Calvin Klein, Burberry and more. We know that you will love these mens bags and your wardrobe will love you even more.
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If you are planning your estate, preparing a senior loved one's long-term health care or filing for divorce, the New York attorneys who provide practical solutions for legal problems — and have since 1972 — are Mullen and Iannarone, P.C., law firm in Smithtown.
Clients within and outside of Long Island appreciate our experience, proven skills, broad knowledge, quality advocacy, reputation for results and personal attention to their unique issues.
At Mullen and Iannarone, P.C., we listen carefully to your wishes and goals; respond with realistic assessments; guide you smoothly through the often complex, often intimidating legal process in ways that promote peace of mind; and deliver this efficient expertise in a timely fashion, at reasonable prices.
Experienced Smithtown And Commack Estate Planning Lawyers
Mullen and Iannarone, P.C., attorneys place special focus on practice areas that include:
- Matrimonial and family law — benefiting those who seek to negotiate favorable outcomes in uncontested and contested divorce; litigation of child custody, spousal support and equitable distribution of assets and property in a high net worth divorce; and representation for any domestic legal problem
- Estate planning — ensuring a family's future financial security with strategies such as wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, insurance trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies; estate administration; estate litigation and will contests
- Elder law — including asset protection and long-term care strategies, protection of rights against abuse and neglect in nursing homes, and preservation of an elderly person's dignity of life in any situation
- Negligence and accident personal injury — safeguarding the interests of victims injured in accidents caused by the negligence of others, negotiated settlements with insurance companies and litigation, if necessary
Additionally, our partners and associates excel at handling cases involving real estate, criminal defense, business law, collections and foreclosures.
No matter where you are when you contact us — Nassau County, Suffolk County, anywhere on Long Island, from Montauk to Manhattan and upstate New York — Mullen and Iannarone, P.C., attorneys are here when you need them.
These skilled, versatile Smithtown family law lawyers can speak with you right now, to discuss your problem in detail and in confidence during your initial consultation. Home and hospital visits are available to accident personal injury clients. We welcome your email and offer sign language translation for the deaf. Call today — 631-406-4088.


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Spring 2014 textbooks now available for purchase
Following the lead of institutions nationwide, the bookstore at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has moved to a virtual home at eCampus.com. Beginning today, students will be able to order textbooks for the spring 2014 semester.
Because the eCampus warehouse is located in Lexington, most orders will be shipped overnight for next-day delivery. Other benefits of eCampus.com include discounted prices on new and used textbooks, the option for students to rent some of their textbooks and to purchase eTextbooks, and online buy-backs at competitive rates.
"Once we get used to using the website, I believe eCampus.com will be a better option for both students and faculty," said Sue Garrett, dean of Louisville Seminary. "This should be a fairly seamless transition."
The bookstore's web address is www.ecampus.com/lpts. Questions should be directed to eCampus' Virtual Bookstore Program Customer Service Team at 1-877-284-6744 or email@example.com.


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Sussex secured their place in the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast after their match against Surrey at the Kia Oval was abandoned without a ball bowled.
Umpires Rob Bailey and David Millns made the decision two hours before the scheduled 6.30pm start as persistent heavy rain, which had started at 8.30am, continued to fall.
With both sides taking one point, Luke Wright's team moved above Hampshire into second place behind group winners Kent by virtue of a better net run rate.
Sussex were drawn with 2013 winners Northants in the last eight. The game will be played at Hove on Wednesday, August 12 (6.30pm start).
Rest of the draw: Kent v Lancs, Warwicks v Essex, Worcs v Hants.
Don't miss out on all the latest breaking sports news where you live.
Here are four ways you can be sure you'll be amongst the first to know what's going on.
1 Make this website your homepage
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4 Register with us by clicking on 'sign in' (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.
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RENO, Nev. (AP) Deonte Burton scored 17 points, leading four Nevada players in double figures, and the Wolf Pack defeated Boise State 75-59 Saturday.
Malik Story added 16 points and six assists, Jerry Evans Jr. scored 12 points and Devonte Elliott had 11 points and eight rebounds for Nevada (11-8, 2-3 Mountain West).
Nevada jumped to a 10-2 lead, but Boise State came back to lead at halftime 28-27. But Story scored eight points in a 10-0 run that gave Nevada a 50-41 lead, and the Wolf Pack pulled away in the final 5 minutes.
Anthony Drmic had 16 of his 23 points in the second half for the Broncos (14-5, 2-3). Derrick Marks and Mikey Thompson scored 11 points each for Boise State.


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at home i have a laptop (HP tc4400) with 1024 x 786.
at work is a destop with 1440 x 900 (although i'd never dream of playing at work ).
Same results on both.
Example: Doubledoom description area reads "Whenever the dungeoneering landscape gets a bit crowded, more economically minded...." The second line here "landscape gets a bit crowded," has top and bottom bits of letters missing. also the line 5 down from that one which reads "wander into the" looks to have the same issue.
Only occurs in full screen mode for some reason.
hope this helps.


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SPIRITS OF THE BASIN PARK HOTEL: Visitors to Eureka Springs may take in the view of the town and surrounding Ozark Mountains from the roof of the 8-story 1905 Basin Park Hotel, then proceed by stages to the mysterious, underground cave. On the way, they will stop at various locations to hear stories of the colorful characters who stayed, worked, died, and perhaps remain. The tour includes a guided ghost hunt of the most haunted space and ends with a chilling ghost story told by candlelight and a sample of the bootleg liquor (21 & over) once served behind closed doors at the 1905 Basin Park Hotel. TICKETS
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Earlier Event: October 14ANNA: A Haunting Experience
Later Event: October 15Underground Eureka Tour