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Snapshots: Lucienne Maheu
We've introduced a new column called "Snapshots" to celebrate the lives of people in Addison County. Every Friday, we will feature a different community member whose life story has a place in Vermont's history. Ranging from hardworking housewives to war veterans, every life has a story worth telling.By Chelsey PlettsBehind the F.C. Dyer Co. Inc. counter stood Ernest Maheu's wife, Lucienne. At around 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with thick hair that never saw a bottle of peroxide and compact teardrop teeth, Lucienne was marvelous to look at. She dressed in tailored suit jackets with slacks or skirts, a belt cinched tightly around her thin waste and a feminine cravat of paper-like scarf around her neck.Lucienne passed away earlier this year at the age of 97 after living 80 years in the Middlebury and Salisbury areas. Loved and appreciated by all who met her, she was, like the F.C. Dyer Co. Inc, a fixture in her community.Her husband, Ernest, was a shy, sweet man, who most would describe as a "workhorse." The fruit of his labor was a general store called F.C. Dyer Co. Inc. on Creek Road, just after the railroad tracks in West Salisbury. Given to him by Jessie Dyer, the white two-story building with gas pumps out front was previously a carriage and blacksmith shop. Now it was the heart of the town, selling staples from grain to groceries.To the east, Lake Dunmore runs along the foot of the Green Mountains. In 1935, this side of town was the livelier side. It still is. In the heat of summer, when the lake drew its annual crowd, the general store saw no lull in foot traffic — even though it stood far from the breeze of the water.Early morning brought the farmers to F.C. Dyer Co. Inc. for grain. Evening shoppers came to pick up groceries before returning home to Cornwall or Middlebury. It was a one-stop shop, with clothes, food, automobile service, domestic goods and farm supplies.Managing the store was a job unto itself. Yet Lucienne also sewed slipcovers and upholstered furniture for customers traveling from New England and New York. The seamstress trade was passed down to her from her mother, who sewed priests' vestments. Lucienne became a master craftswoman.She and Ernest worked well into the weekends. Some Sunday afternoons, the couple took their four children for drives in the Chrysler, bought from Ernest's friend Edward Foster, of Foster Motors. The children begged for Lucienne to drive because she "had a lead foot, and drove faster than Dad," recalled daughter Ann.The year of 1962 saw the demise of small-town business. Superstores like the Grand Union and A&P sucked people from West Salisbury to the cool, aseptic isles of the grocery store. F.C. Dyer Co. Inc. went out of business.The couple cleared out the store to make room for their amenities, and they moved into the bottom level. Commuting to Burlington, Ernest took a job as the manager of Hagar Hardware and Lucienne became head of the linen department for Abernethy's Department Store.Lucienne helped customers, from ordinary shoppers to the Kennedy's, who requested her by name. Able to speak fluent French, Lucienne was born in Ontario, Canada and immigrated to Middlebury in 1928 at the age of 17. Her sophisticated dress and master of a second language was attractive to customers, but drove her coworkers mad with envy. The faintest shadow of a French accent lingered in the pronunciations of certain words like "Rita."Her Canadian heritage did not prevent Lucienne's family from integrating into Middlebury. With numerous other Canadian families already in place, the Quesnel's settled easily into a farm house on Route 7, across from what is now Connor Homes. Alphonse, Lucienne's younger brother, was a self-taught, madcap crop duster and Vermont aviation pioneer who ran Middlebury Airport. Her younger sister, Yvette, founded Paquette Storage in Middlebury.Lucienne fell in love with a young Middlebury College student named George (his last name was lost over the years). In a black and white photo, Lucienne sits next to George on a stump in a field. A blond bear next to a dark pixie, George envelops Lucienne's body in a C, rounding his back around hers, his hand lightly pressed over her hand that rested on her kneecap. George dressed in a short-sleeved white collared shirt, and Lucienne in a manicured dark skirt-suit and Parisian hat.George was Christian and Lucienne Catholic and they were not allowed to marry. The families' beliefs forced them to separate. Heartbroken, 18-year-old Lucienne never forgot her first love. She saw George once more when he was an old man, and she an old woman. He died not too long after their final meeting.Her devotion to Ernest and her children never faltered in lieu of her broken heart, though Lucienne referenced her first love as "my George."Lucienne's devotion fell not just two ways, but four. Her family always came first. The store, even when it ceased to exist as a store, and her passion for sewing, were close contenders. Ernest passed away from a sudden heart attack in 1989, yet Lucienne stayed in the store and continued to upholster and sew slipcovers for locals.Eventually, her knees gave way to arthritis from so many years of standing on the cement floor of the store. The limiting effects of the condition finally forced her into her daughter Ann's house in Middlebury around 1993.Today, the store lies vacant. The evergreens Lucienne planted in front of the store almost 45 years ago--Ernest had warned her they would never grow--now shoot up to the second floor of the building. Still within the family, Ann wonders about the fate of her mother's store, the historical building that embodied the grit and determination of a town of true Vermonters."I've been dreaming about her a lot lately," Ann said. "And I think part of it is that I don't know what to do about that house, what she would want us to do."


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As the nation continues to embrace alternative energy sources, the challenge of distribution becomes more pronounced. Utilities, providers, transmission operators and manufacturers need to find an efficient and reliable way to get all that new power to the grid.
Recognizing the urgency of that challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy recently dedicated a new facility for research into clean-energy grid-integration solutions. Scientists are wasting no time in embarking on potentially cutting-edge work.
In September, Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz dedicated the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo. Touting it as the nation's first major research facility focused on clean-energy grid integration and deployment, he underscored the importance of the relationship between the two facilities.
"New NREL supercomputing capabilities will support the groundbreaking science and innovation we need to address the effects of global climate change and pave the way to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future," Moniz said.
To demonstrate those capabilities, Moniz also announced that the ESIF will be the home for Peregrine, a new warm-water, liquid-cooled supercomputer, developed by NREL, HP and Intel. Described as the world's most energy-efficient, high-performance computing data center, it also will represent the world's largest computing capability dedicated solely to renewable energy and energy-efficient research.
With all of this power behind it, the ESIF already has two major projects underway. On the same day as the dedication, NREL and Toyota announced a collaborative research effort to integrate plug-in electric vehicles into the grid. Scientists and engineers at ESIF and NREL's Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility will use 20 Prius plug-in hybrid electric cars from Toyota to develop and explore ways to further integrate the use of electric vehicles into the nation's electricity infrastructure.
At the same time, NREL announced that it is working with the U.S. army to develop the Consolidated Utility Base Energy System. Through testing at the ESIF, scientists will be developing a solar, battery and generator hybrid power system that provides electricity to forward-operating military bases.

subset: commoncrawl


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DNA repair
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
DNA repairany of the processes in the CELL in which damaged DNA is recognized and repaired. The process may involve precise reversal of the damage, or removal of the damage followed by replacement with normal DNA. See, for example, DARK REPAIR, EXCISION REPAIR, MISMATCH REPAIR.
DNA binding proteins
are of two general types, histone proteins which are part of the unit structure of chromosomes called nucleosomes and nonhistone proteins which are present in small amounts and include regulatory proteins.
chromosomal DNA
see chromosome.
circular DNA
a DNA molecule that is a closed-ring structure, found in mitochondria, prokaryote chromosomes, plasmids, and certain viruses.
closed DNA complexes
the first of two kinetically distinct steps required for RNA polymerase to initiate transcription in which the RNA polymerase holoenzyme binds electrostatically to the promoter DNA.
DNA construct
a DNA molecule which has been inserted into a cloning vector.
copy DNA
a DNA copy of mRNA which contains only regulatory and coding sequences, i.e. introns have been removed. mRNA is copied into double-stranded DNA using reverse transcriptase; the cDNA can then be cloned and amplified and introduced into an expression vector (plasmid or phage) and its protein product produced in either bacterial, yeast, insect or mammalian cells. Called also cDNA.
DNA deletion
see deletion.
DNA double helix
see double helix.
duplex DNA
double-stranded DNA.
end labeling DNA
methods for labeling DNA with radioisotopes or other detectable marker molecules at the ends using the terminal transferase 3′-labeling or polynucleotide kinase for 5′-labeling.
episomal DNA
that present in a cell as extra chromosomal; exemplified by plasmids of prokaryotic cells. See plasmid.
eukaryotic DNA
exogenous DNA
the DNA that has been introduced into a host by cloning.
DNA fingerprint
DNA glycosylases
enzymes involved in the excision-repair mechanisms for DNA.
heteroduplex DNA
duplex DNA with each strand from a different origin.
DNA gyrase
see gyrase.
DNA library
a collection of cloned DNA molecules from a genome.
DNA ligase
an enzyme that seals nicks in the DNA helix, joins Okazaki fragments together during DNA replication and is essential in recombinant DNA technology for DNA cloning.
DNA microarray
an ordered set of thousands of different oligonucleotides immobilized on a microscope slide or other solid surface used for the detection of cognate nucleotide sequences such as the pattern of gene expression in a particular cell population by hybridization with fluorescently labeled cDNA prepared from total mRNA isolated from the cells.
mobile DNA
a sequence present in the variable locations on the chromosome. Called also jumping genes. See also retrotransposon and transposable genetic elements.
open DNA complex
a local opening of about 10 base pairs formed at the transcription initiation site following the electrostatic binding of RNA polymerase holoenzyme to the promoter region.
DNA polymerase
of Escherichia coli; has three distinct enzymatic activities: (a) a 5′ to 3′ polymerase activity which, under the direction of a template DNA, catalyzes the addition of mononucleotide units, produced from deoxynucleoside 5′-triphosphates, to the 3′-hydroxyl terminus of a primer chain; (b) a 5′ to 3′ exonuclease active only on duplex DNA; (c) a 3′ to 5′ exonuclease primarily active on single-stranded DNA which can selectively remove mismatched terminal nucleotides, thus carrying out a proofreading function. Additionally it catalyzes both the pyrophosphorolysis of DNA, a reaction which is the reverse of polymerization, and pyrophosphate exchange which represents a repetitive sequence of nucleotide addition and pyrophosphorolysis.
DNA probe
see probe (2).
DNA repair
a series of enzymatic mechanisms whereby errors or damage to one of the two DNA strands are removed by excision and replaced by correct nucleotides using the undamaged strand as template. The mechanisms include removal of lesions of depurination and DNA glycosylases which recognize altered bases.
repeat DNA, repetitive DNA
includes (a) satellite DNA and so-called (b) interspersed repeated DNA sequences. The latter are interspread throughout the chromosomes in hundreds of thousands of individual copies, each about 300 nucleotides long; they are, unlike satellite DNA, transcribed.
satellite DNA
serially repeated DNA sequences of one or a few nucleotides with a repeat length of up to 250 nucleotides that are not transcribed and commonly located in the heterochromatin associated with the centrometric regions of chromosomes.
selfish DNA
a mobile DNA element that appears to have no function except to replicate itself. Part of junk DNA.
DNA sequencing
determining the order of nucleotides in DNA from which amino acid in a polypeptide chain can be predicted.
single-copy DNA
the fraction of DNA that contains most of the protein-coding genes and reassociates most slowly.
single-stranded DNA
produced when double-stranded DNA is denatured or found naturally in some viruses.
spacer DNA
single-copy DNA sequences which do not encode proteins or functional RNA molecules.
supercoiled DNA
the double helix is itself twisted.
superhelical DNA
a twisted structure formed by circular DNA molecules. See also supercoiled DNA (above).
DNA transcription
DNA translation
unique DNA
DNA sequences that occur only once in the haploid genome.
DNA viruses
contain a single molecule of DNA that is either double or single stranded. Parvoviruses and circoviruses are single stranded, hepadnaviruses are partially double stranded and all others are double stranded. DNA virus families are: Poxviridae, Asfarviridae,Herpesviridae, Adenoviridae, Papovaviridae, Parvoviridae, Circoviridae, and Hepadnaviridae.
an alternative structural form of DNA which differs from the more commonly occurring B- and related A-form in that the helix is left handed compared with the right hand helixes of B- and A-forms. Z is for zig-zag. The functional significance of Z-DNA is unknown.


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Just immediately after Malawi Blood Transfusion Service blood collection teams had finished unpacking equipment, Maria Banda, a street airtime sales lady close to her thirties, dashed to the registration table to be one of the first blood donors of the day. She had left her bench at a street close to Blantyre market in the city of Blantyre.
But this should not be a surprise, as Maria explains well how she learnt to give the precious gift of blood. "In 1999, I fell ill and was admitted at Ntcheu District Hospital," she began narrating her ordeal, placing a palm against the right cheek. "My mother got worried, I was very ill. She got very worried because the doctors said I needed blood," she said.
In the year 1999, MBTS had not started its operations. By then, blood was being collected in joint operations by hospitals and Malawi Red Cross Society. MBTS was established in 2003 out of financing agreement between government through the Ministry of Health and the European Union.
Maria was helped through the blood which MRCS and Ntcheu District Hospital collected from schools. Because of that generosity from well-wishing Malawians, she vowed: "When I recovered, I promised to donate blood as long as I am health. I started then with Malawi Red Cross and when MBTS came in I made the decision to continue assisting others. With MBTS now it is a little easier to donate blood."
Maria Banda is just a particle in the mounds of sand. There are many other people in Malawi who have gone through Maria's experience. Many people are spending days in hospitals across the country waiting for a turn to receive blood. This is because many Malawians are not donating enough blood for the country to MBTS.
It is annually estimated that Malawi requires at least 80, 000 units of blood to make blood shortage an issue of past. However, MBTS collects about 65 percent of the nationally required blood per year. Statistics show that around 65 percent of blood is consumed by women and children in the hospitals across the country. It is further estimated that at least 80 percent of people who donate blood are young people around the age of 16 up to 25 located in both urban and rural areas.
Realizing the need for blood to save mothers and children, First Merchant Bank in Malawi adopted the issue of safe motherhood as key part of corporate social responsibility strategy, focusing on blood donation. FMB has been working with MBTS on blood donation related issues for the three years. The bank's officials have pledged to continue supporting this cause.
As it is always said, blood donation is not only for young people. It is a collective responsibility of the nation's citizens. As long as they are health, 16-65 years, weighing at least 42 kgs and not engaging in risky behaviours, people do preliminary qualify to give blood.
Stepping into the blood donation area to donate blood are two key officials of two renowned corporates in Malawi. One is Sobhuza Ngwenya, Head of Marketing Division at TNM and the other is Sylvia Mataka, the Head of Marketing at First Merchant Bank. They have been donating blood with MBTS for at least 5 times respectively. "To me it's a personal commitment to save lives. All of us, Malawians have a responsibility to make blood available in the hospitals. On our part as TNM, we have taken part in these blood donation drives before," Ngwenya said.
How many lives of people can one unit of blood save? Well, this might be a million dollar question lingering in many Malawians. "With one unit donated, you can save 3 lives," MBTS Chief Lab Officer Charles Nyangulu says, squeezing the laboratory chair to explain more. "You know, we separate the blood into various components, and such blood is used on different patients according to specific disorders to be addressed."
Nyangulu adds, "Blood can be separated into plasma, red blood cells or platelets and the are the blood products we make to address specific patients' needs."
First Merchant Bank Head of Marketing Sylvia Mataka says the bank has organized blood donation drives with MBTS around 7 times, but was quick to state that: "This is not stopping point yet. We will continue to support blood donation drives and working with the MBTS."
Sylvia Mataka was donating blood for the fifth time and to her every human needs a precious gift at one point in time. "You see, the gift of blood is worth more than millions of kwachas. That is why as FMB we join MBTS to mobilize people to give the gift of life by sponsoring these open days," she says.
"Our customers are all over the country clustered around 28 branches. We know in one way or another, they are affected by blood shortage in the hospitals. By working with MBTS, it is our way of saying we are with them," explains Mataka.
To organize one blood donation open day, it costs slightly above K 0.5 million. MBTS pulls in various consumables, manpower, technical expertise and equipment while leaving the remaining logistical issues to the sponsors.
Recently MBTS has been making calls for many corporate partners to assist in blood donation events. This could be in the path pursued by FMB or other areas of sponsorship.
Related links
Thank you for saving life
Blood makes up around 7% of the weight of a human body
By donating one pint of blood four lives can be saved
Half your body's red blood cells are replaced every seven days


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Call Us: 877-786-5373
4101 Mobile Hwy. | Pensacola, FL 32506
This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
Alweld's larger line of boats are perfect for bay use. These are bigger boats for bigger water. With several options available, customize your bay boat to best suit your needs.


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Do you share our passion?
A passion for great food and service that brings joy to the customers we serve.
Whitsons Culinary Group is a family-owned company with strong values and a deep commitment to making a difference with the meals we serve. This commitment has been our mission from the very beginning—ever since Elmer Whitcomb and his wife Gina opened their first restaurant in 1979. Today, under the direction of the Whitcomb family, and with the support of an ever-growing team of culinary professionals, Whitsons has grown into one of the most respected dining service companies in the region.
We are seeking star performers who share our passion
Whitsons continues to expand at an impressive rate and is seeking fresh new faces to contribute their talents and share in the company's success. Our diverse career opportunities include management/culinary positions such as foodservice directors, chefs, chef managers, district managers, and corporate support staff in areas such as sales, marketing, accounting, human resources and administration. Non-management opportunities include drivers, shipping and receiving, utility, cashiers, food production and service staff, among others.


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Hold everything, folks. That's the recent message from the U.S. Postal Service on phase two of its network consolidation plan and associated changes to service standards. The Postal Service has delayed the second phase, which was set to take effect this month.
The Postal Service launched its consolidation plan – the Mail Processing Network Rationalization Initiative – in 2011 as part of a larger $20 billion cost-reduction strategy that seeks to realign the size of the postal network and workforce with reduced mail volumes. In phase one, the Postal Service targeted 178 consolidations. It also adjusted service standards for certain types of mail. For example, the Postal Service significantly reduced the overnight delivery area for First-Class Mail and cut in half the geographic reach of 2-day delivery.
Phase two planned to eliminate overnight delivery of First-Class Mail and consolidate another 89 facilities. Current processing operations were designed primarily around providing overnight delivery of First Class Mail, the product line that is in steepest decline. So at some times in the day, mail processing machines sit idle. Without the constraint of overnight standards, the Postal Service would have a more flexible operating schedule, allowing for higher efficiency and lower costs.
Customers have mixed feelings about network consolidation. On one hand, mailers support reducing costs and eliminating excess capacity. It makes no sense to pay for unused capacity. They also understand the need for the Postal Service to have greater operational flexibility. On the other hand, a reduction in service standards acts as something of a de facto price increase: Customers are paying the same for reduced service.
Further, some mailers are suspicious that these kinds of efforts, such as the latest proposal to add a day of service to some drop-shipped Standard Mail and Periodicals, are merely shifting postal costs onto their backs. They support approaches that reduce total combined costs. Other stakeholders, such as the American Postal Workers Union, have raised outright objections to changes in service standards.
We want your thoughts:
Should the Postal Service continue with phase two as originally outlined or does it need to make adjustments?
Are changes to service standards a reasonable trade-off for lowering overall postal costs?
Can the Postal Service afford premium service standards in a time of declining volume and revenue?
How do the changes to service standards affect you or your business?
Have you seen an increase in mail delays or service problems due to network consolidation?


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TOPEKA, Kan. (May 30, 2014) – For the third-consecutive year, SCCA will welcome a total of 100 Formula SAE teams to Lincoln, Nebraska, June 18-21, for their final meet of 2014. The Club will not only host, but administer the event held at the Lincoln Airpark in association with its philanthropic subsidiary – the SCCA Foundation.
Promoted by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), SCCA members play key roles in every aspect of the event. Throughout the three-day meet, specially developed cars designed and constructed by students from around the country, and the globe, are put through a battery of tests including autocross, braking, endurance and business plan competitions.
"Formula SAE serves as a wonderful experience for students to combine education with an outside interest in a constructive, real-world way," SCCA Vice President of Rally, Solo and Special Programs Howard Duncan said. "For students with no prior experience in motorsports, this program gives them a taste of what our world is all about. While it gives students with a racing background a place to merge their passion and skills.
"It is vitally important that the Club be a part of this program. It gives these students an opportunity to see some of what SCCA is all about: problem solving, competition and having fun with our cars."
Active SCCA members who volunteer to work the event have the opportunity to get rewarded for their time spent supporting this fun event. Eligible SCCA Club Racing workers can use this event to earn credits toward their Volunteer Incentive Program account. If you are a member of the Solo community, there is an opportunity to earn free entry into a Nebraska Region Solo meet that follows FSAE Lincoln on June 22.
The competition, while hosted by SCCA, is put on by SAE, which is made up of more than 138,000 engineers and technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries, from all over the world. The goal of FSAE, in conjunction with the society's other educational programs, is to give collegiate-level students from all over the world the chance to use engineering and other related skills in a real-world environment.
"As the leaders in amateur motorsports in the United States, it is ourresponsibility to be involved in encouraging programs like Formula SAE," SCCA President and CEO Lisa Noble said. "I It is about supporting the education ofautomotive engineers as they are the future of the motorsports industry. These highly-talented people will be the innovators and designers of the cars we race in the future.
"This is our opportunity to show FSAE competitors the passion,excitement and dedication that Club members have for our sport. And how it can be a part of their lives after graduation as they move into the workplace. This event also allows each of these students to better understand and appreciate the role that competition can play in the continued evolution of the automobile."
In many ways, FSAE is like college athletics for motorsports. Teams made up of students are tasked with the goal to develop and build a prototype of a new autocross-specific car. Teams are allowed to use a variety of materials and performance enhancements, such as aerodynamic wings, to produce the car with the best performance.
While this opens the door for teams to utilize advanced materials, such as carbon fiber, teams are also judged based on the cost to produce these vehicles, as the proposed end goal is to mass produce these vehicles for consumers interested in a high-performance autocross vehicle. That means these cars must balance performance with cost to both the manufacturer and consumer.
Many of these students involved in the competition represent the future of the motorsports industry, and the automotive sector as a whole. Domestic and foreign auto makers, such as General Motors and Honda, use these events as a chance to find new, up-and-coming talent to add to their pool of engineers and designers.
The close geographical proximity of Lincoln means that many of the Midwestern schools involved in the program may enjoy a slight 'home field advantage.' A large number of schools from the SCCA's Midwest Division have traditionally attended this event, including Kansas State University, Pittsburg (Kan.) State University, the University of Kansas, Wichita State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, St. Louis University, the University of Missouri, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Oklahoma. Many of the students that make up these teams are also Club members, with some having already claimed National Championship honors.
If you are interested in volunteering, contact Clancy Schmidt, SCCA Project Manager, at email@example.com, or Linda Duncan, SCCA Volunteer Coordinator, at email@example.com.
Information on FSAE Lincoln is available at http://students.sae.org/cds/formulaseries/west/.
Additional information on the SCCA Foundation can be viewed by visiting http://www.scca.com/about/?cid=44407.
Founded in 1944, Sports Car Club of America, Inc. is a 60,000-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both club and professional levels. It annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 115 regions and professional subsidiary. Landmark events and series for the Club include the SafeRacer SCCA National Racing Series, which includes the BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour and the U.S. Majors Tour; the Club Racing National Championship Runoffs® at Road America; and The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Championships and ProSolo Championship at Lincoln, Neb. For more information, please visit www.scca.com, like SCCA on Facebook at facebook.com/sccaofficial, or follow the club on Twitter @SCCAOfficial.
Image: An example of the Formula SAE machinery you will see at the Lincoln competition.
Credit: Perry Bennett
PR Contact: Chris Berg, SCCA Public Relations Coordinator, (913)317-6966


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Many of you found something that you did not expect to see when you went to your mailbox and found today's edition of the Spencer Magnet. Customarily, it is towards the end of July each year, as families work hard to prepare for the upcoming school year that we, too, are working hard at the Magnet to publish and distribute our annual Back to School countywide sample edition. Last summer, over 9,300 copies of the Magnet were printed and distributed not only to our regular subscribers, but to every household and business in the entire county.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the The Spencer Magnet, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
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FRIDAY, Feb. 15, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Flu activity continued to decrease in many areas of the United States during the week ending Feb. 9, federal health officials reported Friday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Eleven states and New York City experienced high activity (Alabama, California, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas, Utah and Vermont).
- Ten states experienced moderate activity (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Virginia).
- Thirteen states and the District of Columbia experienced low activity (Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Washington and Wyoming).
- Sixteen states experienced minimal activity (Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin).
The flu continued to hit older people hard, with more than 50 percent of hospitalizations involving adults 65 years and older.
Sixty-four children have died from the flu this season, with five deaths reported last week, the CDC said.
There's no system to report adult deaths from flu, but the agency said the number of deaths remains higher than the threshold used to declare a flu epidemic.
The predominant strain of circulating flu this season continues to be influenza A H3N2, which typically poses bigger problems for young children and the elderly, according to the CDC. But, predominant strains can vary across states and regions of the country, the agency noted.
The 64 pediatric deaths so far compare to 153 deaths reported during the 2003-04 season, which was another H3N2 season, the agency noted.
An estimated 36,000 people die from the flu and its complications in a typical season, according to the CDC. From 1976 to 2006, estimates of flu-associated deaths in the United States ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.
Flu season usually peaks in late January or early February.
The best defense against the flu remains the flu vaccine and it's not too late to get vaccinated, the CDC said. The agency recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older get vaccinated.
This year's vaccine appears to be well matched for the circulating flu strains, the CDC said. A recent report put the vaccine's effectiveness at 62 percent. No vaccine is 100 percent effective. But if flu strikes, vaccination often results in milder illness, the agency said.
Two antiviral medications, Tamiflu and Relenza, can reduce flu symptoms and the course of the disease. To be effective, however, they must be started within 48 hours after symptoms appear.
Flu symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, head and body aches, and runny nose. People at particular risk for flu and its complications are pregnant women, those 65 and older and anyone with a chronic illness. The CDC urges these people to get the flu vaccine, which is available as an injection or nasal spray and in a stronger dose for seniors.
More information
For more on flu, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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Germany To Put Special Monitoring Software On School Computers To Search For Infringement
from the preserving-monopolies-at-any-cost dept
Just under a month ago, the "Chaos Computer Club" (CCC), which styles itself as "the largest European hacker club", had some disturbing news for Germans:
The largest European hacker club, "Chaos Computer Club" (CCC), has reverse engineered and analyzed a "lawful interception" malware program used by German police forces. It has been found in the wild and submitted to the CCC anonymously. The malware can not only siphon away intimate data but also offers a remote control or backdoor functionality for uploading and executing arbitrary other programs. Significant design and implementation flaws make all of the functionality available to anyone on the internet.
Since then, a debate has raged about the extent to which these technologies are permitted by German law when tackling crime. But now it seems that such electronic spying is being institutionalized further thanks to a deal between the Culture Ministers of the German States and publishers of educational materials that allows school computers to be searched annually for unauthorised copies (post in German on Netzpolitik.org):
There it has been contractually agreed that 1% of school computers [in Germany] shall be investigated with the help of a "school trojan" for "plagiarism", by which is meant copyright infringement.
Nor is this some mere statistical exercise: there will be real consequences for school authorities and teachers accused of having unauthorized copies:
"Upon notice of infractions against this contract's conditions for the reproduction of copyright-protected works, the German States undertake to institute disciplinary measures against the school management and teaching staff involved." Civil and criminal claims of rights-holders naturally remain intact. This then represents a further sanction if, with the help of this sniffer software, teachers are caught copying.
Although the spyware has not yet been introduced, the contract was signed last December and came into force in January this year. It is yet another example of politicians and their advisers agreeing to what look like easy technical fixes to issues, but not thinking through the consequences.
As the Netzpolitik.org article asks: who will be responsible for ensuring that the spy software does its job without breaking the German data protection laws? Has anyone thought about the security issues of introducing this software into schools? Will the software work on all platforms - and if it doesn't, what happens to schools using Macs or GNU/Linux?
Even leaving aside such issues, you have to wonder what on earth the German States' Culture Ministers were thinking when they agreed to allow this gross invasion of privacy of teachers and students. Perhaps they hoped that the fuss would all blow over after a while; in the wake of the other revelations about the German government spying on its citizens through software on their computers, that seems unlikely now.
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+
Filed Under: germany, monitoring, privacy, schools, spying


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Apple iOS: Why it's the most secure OS, period
Some interesting analysis on why the iOS platform can be considered to be secure – largely as a result of the level of control that Apple maintains over the hardware, OS and available applications for commercial purposes and not because of any inherent choice for the sake of security.
To me, this opens up some interesting questions about the security design of the variety of programmable machines we now use, ranging from true "general purpose computers" to specific function devices and where a "phone" sits on that spectrum. We've moved a long way in the mobile device world in a very short amount of time – modern phones share more in common with our desktop computers than with first generation mobiles.
One potential cause of security issues (particularly in embedded or specialist systems) is allowing the device to do to much (in a basic betrayal of the principle of least privilege). If I'm making, for example, a domestic refrigerator I probably don't need to include a HTTP server, unless I want to start adding "features" such as inventory checking over a network (because, y'know, it's easier than opening the door). The issue then becomes that the HTTP server in question is configured by people who manufacture 'fridges and not by experts in apache (or IIS!).
Phones (or indeed tablets) are hybrid devices – more than a 'fridge, but not as flexible as a laptop – that's mostly a choice of the OS provider though and we see easy to use hacks (such as jailbreak) to extend that flexibility. The problem is that, in almost all security systems, the weak link is the humanity – by giving that greater flexibility we will see security issues – the fact there is a default "root" password on iPhones, or the ability to run applications that have not been vetted. For those of us that are advocates of open systems this can be a dilemma – how can we give freedom, but ensure that the stupid edge of the user-base is properly blunted?
This is worse when we consider what "security" means to the vendors rather than the owners of the device – preventing people from playing unauthorised media (DRM) or using functions that would "inhibit" revenue (smartphone data tethering).
This brings us back to a point about who controls the update process for a device and when those updates are released. The great success of Apple has been to remove control from the carriers – they deliver the update to your computer and the device is updated when you sync media – it's elegant and means that more people have the latest versions. Other devices do not fare so well – over the air delivery is one thing, but potentially less reliable, uses precious mobile bandwidth and pushes your phone back to being at the mercy of whomever controls that channel.
One other point about patching is that whilst it's almost always better to patch there have been plenty of examples where it has caused more problems – ranging from new security flaws, unexpected changes in functionality or rendering a device unusable. It's taken Microsoft many years to establish a process that works where Windows users can be kept up to date without too much worry – even so, it's always possible to roll-back. Would that be possible with an over the air update that somehow renders the device unable to re-connect..? Not a likely scenario, but something to consider.
As we get more and more connected devices understanding the software used and potential vulnerabilities will become more important – how we can quickly and easily update those, correcting the errors, is a vital part of the system, but will never be the most important – the ability to work around the security issues of the human element will be.
Ultimately, Apple may have the most "secure" OS, but that's because it's one of the most locked down. Security is easy to achieve on any system – switch it off, lock it away somewhere inpenetrable and don't allow any inputs or outputs – making it usable and secure is slightly tougher.


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No. 96,658
1. Standing is a jurisdictional issue. Whether jurisdiction exists is a question of law over which this court's scope of review is unlimited. Similarly, whether a party has standing to sue is a question of law subject to unlimited review.
2. Standing is a question of whether the plaintiff has alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to warrant his or her invocation of jurisdiction and to justify exercise of the court's remedial powers on his or her behalf. Standing to sue means a party has sufficient stake in an otherwise justiciable controversy to obtain judicial resolution of that controversy.
3. Kansas law permits organizations to sue on behalf of their members if certain requirements have been met. However, when a petition for judicial review of an agency action is filed under the Kansas Act for Judicial Review and Civil Enforcement of Agency Actions (KJRA), K.S.A. 77-601 et seq., the court must first look to the KJRA to determine whether the petitioners have standing. Therefore, whether petitioners meet the traditional test for standing becomes relevant only if they first meet the standing requirements of the KJRA.
4. In this case, where the petitioners had an opportunity to participate as a group and individually in the public hearing process preceding issuance of the permit at issue, they are entitled to standing as a "party" pursuant to K.S.A. 77-611(d).
5. Under the traditional three-part standing test, an association has standing to sue on behalf of its members when: (1) the members have standing to sue individually; (2) the interests the association seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purpose; and (3) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested require participation of individual members.
Appeal from Shawnee District Court; TERRY L. BULLOCK, judge. Opinion filed October 12, 2007. Reversed and remanded.
Robert V. Eye, of Irigonegaray & Associates, of Topeka, for the appellant Board of County Commissioners of Sumner County, and Robert J. Vincze, of the Law Offices of Robert J. Vincze, of Lone Tree, Colorado, for the appellants Tri-County Concerned Citizens, Inc. and Dalton Holland.
Nancy L. Ulrich, of Kansas Department of Health and Environment, for appellees Secretary of KDHE and KDHE.
Robert H. Epstein, of Gallup, Johnson & Newman, L.C., of St. Louis, Missouri, and John Terry Moore, of Moore Martin, L.C., of Wichita, for the appellee Waste Connections of Kansas, Inc.
Before CAPLINGER, P.J., ELLIOTT, J., and BUKATY, S.J.
CAPLINGER, J.: This appeal is from the district court's dismissal of a petition for judicial review of an agency action for lack of standing. The Board of County Commissioners of Sumner County (the Board), Tri-County Concerned Citizens, Inc. (TCCCI) and Dalton Holland, collectively, "petitioners," challenged the issuance of a permit by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to Waste Connections of Kansas, Inc. (Waste Connections) to construct a solid waste landfill in Harper County. Petitioners alleged the KDHE failed to collect data and determine the appropriateness of the site pursuant to Kansas law.
The district court dismissed the petition for lack of standing, finding none of the petitioners were parties to the agency proceedings under the Kansas Act for Judicial Review and Civil Enforcement of Agency Actions (KJRA).
Factual and procedural background
In August 2002, Waste Connections applied to the KDHE for a permit to construct and operate a municipal solid waste landfill on a site in Harper County known as Plumb Thicket. In September 2002, the Board authorized a study by Terrane Resources to evaluate the site's suitability as a landfill. The Board submitted the results of the Terrane study, which discovered regulatory deficiencies in the site, to the KDHE in May 2003.
In April 2003, the KDHE held public hearings in Harper County, Kansas, regarding the proposed permit. These proceedings were not, however, conducted pursuant to K.S.A. 77-501 et seq.
Thereafter, members of TCCCI and other groups submitted comments on the pending permit. KDHE formally responded to the comments. In September 2005, KDHE granted Waste Connections a permit to construct and operate the Plumb Thicket Landfill.
On October 3, 2005, the Board, TCCCI, and Holland filed a petition for review in Shawnee County seeking to stay the effectiveness of and nullify the permit granted to Waste Connections. Petitioners filed a first amended petition on November 10, 2005, generally alleging damages and procedural injuries had or would result from operation of the landfill. They further alleged that if the site of the proposed landfill failed to meet applicable legal requirements, it might affect the quality of water in the Chikaskia River, a source of water for some residents of Sumner County. Additionally, the petitioners alleged the landfill could cause damage to real property belonging to members of TCCCI, including Holland. Finally, petitioners asserted the KDHE failed to collect adequate information as required by Kansas law regarding the propriety of and potential contamination from the site. In support of these allegations, the petitioners cited to the Terrane study as well as to a second study conducted at the request of petitioners by Burns & McDonnell. Waste Connections later intervened in the action as a party respondent/defendant.
Shortly thereafter, Waste Connections filed a motion to dismiss or in the alternative for a more definite claim. The district court granted the motion to dismiss due to the petitioners' lack of standing. The court reasoned the KDHE's determination was directed at Waste Connections rather than the petitioners. Morever, the court held because no agency proceedings were conducted pursuant to K.S.A. 77-501 et seq., the petitioners could not have been "parties" to the proceedings.
The petitioners appeal the district court's dismissal of their petition for review, arguing the district court erred in finding they lacked standing under K.S.A. 77-611.
Standard of Review
Standing is a jurisdictional issue. Whether jurisdiction exists is a question of law over which this court's scope of review is unlimited. Similarly, whether a party has standing to sue is a question of law subject to unlimited review. Mid-Continent Specialists, Inc. v. Capital Homes, 279 Kan. 178, 185, 106 P.3d 483 (2005).
"'Standing is a question of whether the plaintiff has alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to warrant his invocation of jurisdiction and to justify exercise of the court's remedial powers on his behalf. . . . "Standing to sue" means that a party has sufficient stake in an otherwise justiciable controversy to obtain judicial resolution of that controversy.' [Citations omitted.]" 312 Education Ass'n v. U.S.D. No. 312, 273 Kan. 875, 882-83, 47 P.3d 383 (2002).
Pursuant to United States Supreme Court precedent, Kansas law permits organizations to sue on behalf of their members if certain requirements have been met. Hunt v. Washington Apple Advertising Comm'n, 432 U.S. 333, 343, 53 L. Ed. 2d 383, 97 S. Ct. 2434 (1977); NEA-Coffeyville v. U.S.D. No. 445, 268 Kan. 384, 387, 996 P.2d 821 (2000).
A. Did the petitioners have standing to sue under the KJRA?
Here, because petitioners filed this action as a petition for judicial review under the KJRA, K.S.A. 77-601 et seq., we must first consider whether they had standing to sue under that Act.
K.S.A. 77-611 defines standing under the KJRA. That statute provides:
"The following persons have standing to obtain judicial review of final or nonfinal agency action:
"(a) A person to whom the agency action is specifically directed;
"(b) a person who was a party to the agency proceedings that led to the agency action;
"(c) if the challenged agency action is a rule and regulation, a person subject to that rule; or
"(d) a person eligible for standing under another provision of law."
Here, petitioners assert standing under K.S.A. 77-611(b) and (d).
First, petitioners claim they were parties to the agency proceedings that led to the agency action and thus have standing under K.S.A. 77-611(b). In support, petitioners primarily rely upon Families Against Corporate Takeover v. Mitchell ["FACT"], 268 Kan. 803, 1 P.3d 884 (2000). There, the Kansas Supreme Court concluded FACT, a nonprofit corporation concerned about the environmental, economic, and social impacts of large-scale hog farms, had standing to seek judicial review of the KDHE's authorization of a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for construction of a hog farm under K.S.A. 77-611(b) as a "'person who was a party to the agency proceedings that led to the agency action.'" 268 Kan. at 804, 810.
The FACT court spelled out the basis for its application of subsection (b):
"At the request of FACT and others, a public meeting was held in Hodgeman County. At that meeting, members of FACT and two consultants hired by FACT submitted comments on the pending permit for Murphy's hog farm. The record does not disclose whether KDHE formally responded to FACT's comments.
"FACT participated in the agency proceedings (permit review and public
comment) that
led to the agency action (granting the permit). During oral argument before us, KDHE's counsel
said: '[T]hose citizens did both as a group and individually have the opportunity to participate in
the permitting process through the public hearing process, through the opportunity to submit
comments on the permit.' We hold that FACT is entitled to assert standing as a 'person who was a
party to the agency proceedings that led to the agency action' under K.S.A. 77-611(b)." 268 Kan.
at 810.
Citing the court's observation that FACT had fully participated in the agency proceedings through permit review and public comment that led to the agency's action of granting the hog farming permit, petitioners here argue they similarly participated in the review process for the Plumb Thicket landfill permit. Thus, petitioners insist they have standing pursuant to K.S.A. 77-611(b) and the rationale of FACT.
Despite the broad language utilized by the court in FACT, the respondents suggest petitioners' reliance on FACT is misplaced. Respondents suggest the Supreme Court did not conclude FACT had standing simply because the organization was allowed to participate in the public hearings. Instead, they argue the court determined FACT technically was a party to the agency proceedings because it was explicitly permitted to challenge the issuance of the permit based on the underlying statutory and regulatory schemes. See 268 Kan. at 810-11. The respondents point out that the FACT court held:
"The KDHE administrative regulations support FACT's standing as a 'party.' K.A.R. 28-16-62(g) specifically governs the procedures for modifying, revoking, reissuing, and terminating NPDES permits. Any interested person may request that a permit be modified, revoked, reissued, or terminated. K.A.R. 28-16-62(g)(1) (as FACT did here). Denials of such requests are not subject to public notice, comment, or hearings. However, the regulations state that this informal process is 'a prerequisite to seeking judicial review of agency action' in denying the request. K.A.R. 28-16-62(g)(2). This is a clear indication that citizens are allowed to both comment on proposed NPDES permits and seek judicial review of permit granting." 268 Kan. at 811.
Based upon this quotation, the respondents argue that but for the specific authorization of K.A.R. 28-16-62(g), FACT would not have been found to be a party to the agency proceedings and would not have had standing to seek judicial review based solely on its participation in the agency proceedings.
We cannot agree with the respondents' interpretation of FACT. The Supreme Court clearly and distinctly held, as set forth above, that FACT was entitled to assert standing as a person who was a "party to the agency proceedings that led to the agency action" under K.S.A. 77-611(b). The court did not condition this holding upon the existence of underlying regulations providing for judicial review. Rather, the court held the citizens in FACT had the opportunity to participate as a group and individually in the public hearing process preceding issuance of the permit and that this participation entitled them to standing as a "party." Moreover, upon reaching this conclusion, the court immediately proceeded to consider application of the three-part test of NEA-Coffeyville, further indicating it had concluded its analysis with respect to the application of K.S.A. 77-611(b).
Nevertheless, as respondents point out, after concluding petitioners met the three-part NEA-Coffeyville test, the FACT court briefly returned to the issue of standing under K.S.A. 77-611(b). Discussing certain underlying regulations, our Supreme Court specifically noted the regulations "support" FACT's standing as a "party." The court did not indicate, however, that its holding was dependent upon this determination. In fact, it appears to this court that the Supreme Court, in conducting its subsequent analysis of the underlying regulations, actually may have been applying K.S.A. 77-611(d), rather than K.S.A. 77-611(b). In any event, it is clear our Supreme Court held that the citizens in FACT were entitled to standing as a "party" based upon their opportunity to participate as a group and individually in the public hearing process preceding issuance of the permit. Based upon this rationale, we conclude that the petitioners here are similarly entitled to standing as "parties" pursuant to K.S.A. 77-611(b).
B. Do the Board and TCCCI Have Organizational Standing to Sue on Behalf of Their Members?
Waste Connections next contends that even if petitioners can obtain standing under K.S.A. 77-611, they cannot satisfy the three-part test of NEA-Coffeyville. Under that test, an association has standing to sue on behalf of its members when: (1) the members have standing to sue individually; (2) the interests the association seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purpose; and (3) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested require participation of individual members. NEA-Coffeyville, 268 Kan. at 387.
Waste Connections contends petitioners have failed to allege any actual injury and, instead, have alleged only an imminent threat or potential injury if the landfill is improperly constructed. They suggest petitioners' allegations are highly speculative and do not indicate harm will result to any individual. Similarly, KDHE argues petitioners have failed to allege any type of specific injury or causal connection between KDHE's review of the permit application and any potential harm.
We are greatly aided in our analysis of this issue by this court's decision in Tri-County Concerned Citizens, Inc. v. Board of Harper County Comm'rs, 32 Kan. App. 2d 1168, 95 P.3d 1012, rev. denied 278 Kan. 852 (2004). There, a panel of this court considered zoning issues regarding the same sanitary landfill–Plumb Thicket–at issue in this appeal. Specifically, in Tri-County, Waste Connections appealed the district court's order setting aside the original special use permit arguing, inter alia, that TCCCI and the plaintiffs had no standing to challenge the decision. Although the panel in Tri-County reversed the district court and remanded with directions to reinstate the special use permit, it nevertheless concluded the plaintiffs had legal standing. 32 Kan. App. 2d at 1170. Significantly, the panel applied the three-part test of NEA-Coffeyville, reasoning:
"Applying these various criteria, we are convinced that [TCCCI] has standing to challenge the zoning decision. It is beyond question that [Waste Connections'] application generated significant public interest due to perceptions that the project had major implications for the County. Moreover, [TCCCI] appears to have fulfilled all the requirements for standing: (1) The individual members of the association have standing in their individual capacity since they live within 1,000 feet of the landfill; property owners this close to a landfill site are aggrieved because they potentially suffer a substantial grievance and a loss of a pecuniary interest. (2) Since the stated purpose of the corporation is to protect the environment, the prosecution of this lawsuit is wholly consistent with the association's purpose. (3) The participation of the individual members is not necessarily required." 32 Kan. App. 2d at 1174-75.
Thus, this court has previously determined TCCCI meets the three-part standing test of NEA-Coffeyville and we see no reason to reconsider application of that criteria herein.
Because we have concluded standing was proper pursuant to K.S.A. 77-611(b) and the three-part test of NEA-Coffeyville, we hold the district court erroneously concluded that petitioners lacked standing to sue.
Reversed and remanded.


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When an inheritance is a burden - Printable Version
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When an inheritance is a burden - it-man - 07-30-2015
For everyone who dreams that an inherited windfall would make their lives easier, there are plenty of inheritors who say otherwise. Chuck Collins, great-grandson of packaged-meat magnate Oscar Mayer, is one of them.
Collins says that when he found out he would inherit a small fortune at the age of 21, his sense of self-worth was knocked a little off-kilter because he always expected to earn his own way. "I remember feeling a little bit of dread," he adds.
When young inheritors discover they may never have to work for a living, it alters their values as well as their position within their social network of peers, who are busy building careers. "Kids tend not to do well when they come into an inheritance at 21," says Madeline Levine, psychologist in Marin County Calif., and author of "The Price of Privilege" and "Teach Your Children Well."
Levine says that for many young adults, an inheritance is a burden.
Giving it all away
Collins says he felt the money would separate him from his goals and his friends. So by the time he had full custody of the inheritance, in his mid-20s, he made a somewhat drastic decision to give all the money to charity. He donated it to a variety of community foundations. "I didn't do this immediately," he says. "I had about five years to think about it."
Nearly 30 years later, Collins doesn't regret his decision. "I felt like I was doing it from a healthy place," he says. "I didn't want to be seen as a bag of money just because I was born into certain circumstances." Today, Collins earns his living as an author and expert on economic inequality and taxation. In 2008, he co-founded Wealth for the Common Good, a network of business leaders and wealthy individuals promoting fair and adequate taxation.
"My advice to inheritors is to pause, take a breath and think about what kind of values you want to live by," Collins says. "All around you, people will want you to hold onto the money; there's an entire industry devoted to wealth preservation." He encourages inheritors to figure out how much they need in order to invest in skills to earn a living and then consider giving the rest away.
Fear of being without will be a challenge that will lead many young people to hold onto the money as a safeguard, but Collins advises giving in to the impulse to be generous. "Trust yourself to share," he says.
He also suggests gaining perspective by examining the relationship between consumerism and happiness. "Look at role models of happy people and look at how much materialism is necessary," he says. More money doesn't increase happiness, he adds.
(This article was copied from here - http://www.bankrate.com/financing/wealth/when-an-inheritance-is-a-burden/)


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Archer refining changeup to keep hitters guessing
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Change is coming for Chris Archer.
Archer starred with the Rays last season, notching the American League's highest average fastball velocity for a starting pitcher and finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year Award balloting. But now, with an encore in sight, Archer is working on a changeup to round out his repertoire.
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Change is coming for Chris Archer.
Archer starred with the Rays last season, notching the American League's highest average fastball velocity for a starting pitcher and finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year Award balloting. But now, with an encore in sight, Archer is working on a changeup to round out his repertoire.
According to FanGraphs, nobody -- not Justin Verlander, Yu Darvish or anyone else -- averaged more than Archer's 95 mph on his fastball last season, and the Rays are comfortable letting that pitch ride. But if Archer can change speeds and keep hitters off-balance, he can be even better.
Archer has been working on refining his four-seam circle changeup grip, and he said he doesn't mind if there's only a six or seven mph difference between his changeup and his fastball. Archer threw the pitch three or four times in his spring debut Tuesday, and he was thrilled with the way it worked.
"I think it's just an added weapon to my arsenal," said Archer, who also throws an effective slider. "It will be something that they'll have to respect and it will make my other pitches better."
Archer was impressive as a rookie last season, but his splits showed a disturbing trend. The right-hander held same-side hitters to a .176 batting average and a .218 slugging percentage in 193 at-bats, but left-handed hitters reached him for a .261 average and a .471 slugging mark.
And that's where the changeup comes in. If Archer can show that he can throw the pitch effectively, he can keep left-handed hitters from sitting on his fastball. Manager Joe Maddon also wants Archer to improve on his control, and if he does, the 25-year-old can really improve his game.
"Fastball command and something that really bothers left-handed hitters," he said of Archer's keys for success. "There's different things we're working on in regards to his defense too, but for him to take it to the next level, he needs a little bit better fastball command and something that bothers a lefty."
Archer said that each of the changeups he threw was down in the strike zone on Tuesday, and he said that the pitch was only called for a ball once. Even that pitch was exactly where he wanted it, though, and Archer is enjoying the experiment of using the changeup early and late in the count.
"Right now, it doesn't matter," Archer said of the timing. "It's weird, but the Rays would rather me fail trying than to not try at all. Regardless of the count, they want me to go out there and practice it."
There wasn't a huge amount of time for Archer to work on Tuesday, but he retired six of the seven batters he faced. The former fifth-round draftee said it helped him to be facing the defending World Series champion Red Sox, and he took special satisfaction from one particular at-bat.
Archer got to face off against cleanup man David Ortiz on Tuesday, and the righty struck out the nine-time All-Star on a back-door slider. For Archer, that at-bat meant everything. It's one thing to imagine how you'll face off against an elite hitter, but it's another thing to actually do it in your spring debut.
"I was happy," said Archer. "I'm a big person on visualization. I visualized that pitch. I do it out in the bullpen, but nothing is like executing it in a game to one of the best hitters of all-time."
Archer, who was acquired from the Cubs in 2011 as part of a trade for Matt Garza, was rarely challenged on Tuesday. He got a ground ball, a liner and the Ortiz strikeout in the first inning, and after a leadoff single in the second, Archer managed to coax a double play and a line drive to end the inning.
When it was over, veteran catcher Jose Molina raved about Archer's day of work.
"For his first outing, he was really good," said Molina. "We always talk about being consistent, and the more consistent he is, he's going to be even better. We've been talking a lot about that, about every pitch being consistent. For it being his first outing, he got a really good couple innings there."
Archer, for all his skill, is succeeding with the Rays because of his preparation and perspective. The youngster was asked Tuesday if his mindset has changed since experiencing success at the Major League level, and his response spoke volumes about the kind of player he's becoming.
"I've been thinking about that and I knew somebody was going to ask me," said Archer of how much his comfort level has increased after having success in the Majors. "Honestly, it's the same comfort level I've always had, because ultimately, it's not just to be successful, it's to maximize my potential. Right now, I don't even think my potential is in sight. I have a lot more work to do to get there."
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com.


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DIABAL by PHS is a multi faceted formulation whose herbal ingredients are known to help balance circulatory ionic nutrient levels. The ingredients in DIABAL are known to help via the cardiovascular system, digestive and liver response, urinary excretion and cellular glucose response.
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My Cake Wreck Is Greater Than Yours
Here at CW we've seen misspellings, random capitalization, improper punctuation, bizarre spacing - you name it.
But this?
This is a first.
"Ooo, sooorry, that is incorrect! We would have accepted '&', '+', or even the word 'and' written out. This, however, is so WTF crazy that the show key grips will now take you out back and shake you vigorously. Thanks for playing! Buh-bye, now!"
Emily W., your wreckporting skills > my expectations.
- Related Wreckage: Say What?


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It was a mixed week in the grains as soybeans and old crop corn values had a positive performance, while new crop corn and wheat prices were lower for the week. The attention in the trade this week was on the rapid pace to corn planting progress.
Heading into this week, corn planting was running at its slowest pace in nearly 30 years. That all changed as the Corn Belt enjoyed drier and warmer conditions. The largest week-to-week jump in corn planting progress occurred in 1992 when 43% of the crop was planted. Some in the trade are looking for that record to be challenged when the planting progress numbers are revealed on Monday.
In more recent years, the largest weekly progress gains have been closer to 30%. This looks more likely, as although conditions were favorable this week, there are yet many acres unfit to plant.
The most impressive trade this week was reserved for July soybeans as they closed nearly $.50 higher for the week and has put together a very impressive chart pattern. Fundamental strength in the soybeans is based on a continuing strong crush rate in the face of near term tight cash supplies.
The strength to old crop soybean values drug November soybeans higher this week even in the face of a pessimistic outlook provided by many in the trade. Look for July soybeans to test the $14.75 level early next week which may pull new crop values toward $12.40 where additional sales should be considered.
We used this week's pullback in December corn as an opportunity to lift hedge protection ahead of what appears to be a wet start to next week's trade. This week the market was squarely focused on the 30-40% that likely was planted, perhaps next week the focus will shift back to the 30-40% left to go.
(click on a chart below to see a larger version)
Power Hour: Farm Debt on the Increase
Wheat Heading for Biggest Weekly Drop Since March on Output Gain


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Welcome to the brand new Amphora Aromatics website. We hope you enjoy using our new site and find it easier to use than our previous website.
Simply enter your postcode, city or country in the box below to find your nearest Amphora stockist.
To become a Stockist please contact us via our contact page
We are currently looking for new worldwide distributors. If you would like to become a distributor in your country please email firstname.lastname@example.com with your company details for further information.
New Distributor Page coming soon ...


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Learn more about Adler A110 Ban
In August 2015, Prime Minister Tony Abbott reversed a ban on the import of the A110 lever-action shotgun. This reversed a six-month ban of the gun that the government had enacted in July 2015. Gun rights advocates argue that the gun should not be banned since it is not semi-automatic and widely used by law-abiding hunters and farmers. Anti-gun activists of the gun argue that it is too similar to a semi-automatic weapon since a modified version can fire eleven rounds in eleven seconds and lifting the ban could lead to mass shootings. See recent Adler A110 news


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Hudson-ci/community meetings/May302012
|Hudson Continuous Integration Server
|Mailing List • Forums • IRC • mattermost
|Open • Help Wanted • Bug Day
|Browse Source
|Community Meeting 30-May-2012
Feel free to add you own points to discuss / questions to the following list.
- Release Update
- Release 2.2.1
- Distributions and release for tomorrow
- M3 Release
- initial setup feature complete and under testing - Geoff to test next week (Wed) prior to staging.
- bug fixes being tested
- 5/6 test harness errors being fixed
- Eclipse QC Update:Outstanding Eclipse Library approvals
- Approved Libraries or libraries in parallel approval: 62
- Remaining approvals needed: 5
- Outstanding tasks:
- Switch from Ganymed SSH to JSCH - Tracked by Bugzilla: 380545
major change, should be factored into M4 may mean new plugin manager into next release(M5?). Winston to look into getting addition resource to accomplish both tasks in M4
- Adopt version 04aug2007 of JTidy - Tracked by Bugzilla: 380806
Winston to look at this
- Migration to Antlr 3.0 - Tracked by Bugzilla: 377056
Winston thinks this is more complicated that at first thought. More research required - seems to still use 2.7 that is not approved by Eclipse
- Infrastructure
- Winston to check problems with login and edit existing bugs with java.net ID (seems to be issue with Crowd plugin)
- Plugins
- Bob Foster - working on Static Analysis 3.0 - forked for JFreechart
later try to find layer for compatibility between Jenkins/Hudson also broken in 2.2.1 - needs looking at prior to 2.2.1 release - Steve Christou to work on this
- Attendees
- Steve Christou
- Geoff Waymark
- Winston Prakash
- Paul Hartenstine
- apologies
- Duncan Mills
- Greg Stacknick


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Before the invention of the printing press, books started with leather binding. That tradition continues. Yet books are being produced at such a rate and the leather being used for their binding so thin, that people are making the joke that they are bound using dog leather. DogBounds are the pulp magazines and books of their day: cheap, lurid, with a charm of their own.
Additional Ideas (21)
This is a modern day soap opera of Karenia and the trials and tribulations of her life in high society. (She was a lost daughter, raised in poverty as an inn girl, found by a loyal retainer, and brought back to her elite clan). It is insanely popular, almost a craze. Women are wearing their hair (and clothes) based upon the illustrations and description of her clothing in the book. There are 8 in the series so far and the soap opera continues.
Karenia is of slightly above average height, with long wavy chestnut hair, that has a bundle of curls. She uses a hair clip or even an Antioch hair band (scrunchy). She wears bodice detailed blouses with skirts, sometimes even dresses (one piece dresses not being the fashion anywhere at the moment).
This is a travelog of places Shalmar and his faithful WolfDog travel to. Most of the geographic and social information for the places is fairly accurate (so the authors must have talked to someone from the area). In every book he travels there, finds people in trouble, and with his quick wit solves the problems. There are 33 in the series. (There must be a number of people writing these things).
Also known as the Knight's Tale. It is the action soap opera set in "The Villages", a highly balkanized section of ThirdLand where feudal lords fight it out for square feet of territory and peasants live in some squaller. The fight/ battle scenes are quite admusing. It paints a romanticized view of life in The Villages. There are 12 in the series.
This is a listing of about 30 recipes from a given district in the city. Most of these recipes are pretty good. There is one book in this series published every third of a year or so. Once a year there is a "cook off" where several Goodwives (or foodsmiths) present their best in a competition judged by the Guild Council. The best recipes and all the runner ups are published in an overpriced Gold Ribbon Recipes volume. Since the Goodwife series has been running for only two and a half years, there are only 9 total in the series.
There are Goodwife books to cleaning, laundry, sewing, and ettiquite. These are single volumes.
This is a compendium of tales from soldiers, sailors, guardsmen. Put out every month or so, it comes with one to five stories about warriors of all types. Supposedly the stories are all true, plied from soldiers over a tankard or two. They might be. The stories seem mostly factually, but the details have been obscured and the action increased to make it more exciting. Every few books have a informational articles on weapons, weapon use, tactics, horse care, and "secret of the Imperial larder" - recipes soldiers actually eat in the field).
Building on the success of Soldier's tales, the same press is trying to do it for magic users. These are stories about apprenticeship, scholarship, and the occasional odd theory or research accident. They tried the ambitious once a month format, but it did not sell well. So now it is published every half year to modest sales (mostly guild members).
A set of allegedly true stories about ghosts, hauntings, witches and supernatural creatures. Supposedly "well researched by the publishers", most are so implausible that it seems likely that the editors just made them up - or accepted at face value any tale that they heard. However, they are usually spine-chilling and often gripping and are lapped up by the general public. Published once a month.
The Red Parrot is a boat crewed by an ecclectic band of free-booting Sea-clanners. They sail doing odd jobs around the Known World, encountering bizzare Sea-Clanners, pirates, sea monsters, countries/ lands far away, corrupt officials, and unknown islands.
These highly romantic tales have no basis in any level of reality (except maybe The Ocean is wet, the wind blows, and boats sometimes float). Someone who knows little of sailing, sea-clans, and anywhere in the world except where they are living is writing them. Yet people are eating them up with a vigor and believing they are 'The Truth', much to the annoyance of the Sea Clans.
They are published irregularly, once every two to six months.
The Pageman's codex combines several small features every month into one 'book'. These features are all too small to support their own dogbound series. Together, they make an impressive collection.
On a given month, there will be
* A Report on the comings and goings of the Court.
* A profile of Court Members. (The Book of Peerage Exerpts)
* A Karenia exerpt (most of a chapter from one of the books)
* Poetry, even Dwarven Poetry.
* Dagbar, a Pressman exclusive, a tale about a man transformed into a magical dog who must do good deeds to make up for his life as a man.
* And one to four short stories (novellas broken into one to three pieces) from known authors who are not writing stories of their own 'line'.
This is the first magazine of sorts. However, it is pressed out just like a book. It is just a bit more expensive than your average dogbound, but you get a great deal.
The Scarecrow is a supernatural Robin Hood that steals from the rich, gives to the poor, and scares the bejezzes out of anyone who deals in injustice. This supernatural creature (not quite a man, not quite a ghost, not quite a demon, but some chaotic bonding of the three) protects the weak from the excesses of the powerful. He creates "strawmen" and other faux creations to help him "pull off" his various missions. Every now and again, he pulls other magical powers out of his hat. The Stories are set in The Villages, a politically instable region where nobles are nearly constantly at war and the peasants are worse the wear for it. These Dogbounds are illegal in that area of the world.
Note: There really is a vigilante called The Scarecrow with a band of assistants called The Strawmen operating out of the south western Villages. He is part Zorro and part Robin Hood. He would probably be admused with these stories.
A monthly series of amorous and quite naughty adventures, featuring the brother and sister team of Axell and Iphigenia. Originally nobles, disinherited due to their lustful antics, and given the boot from the 'high society' crowd for their lascivious ways, (which are too extreme even for the hedonists of their age), The siblings spend their time traipsing around the world, seducing everyone and anyone they come across. Each issue's story ends with the sister and brother culminating their debauchery, usually with holy men and women, who could not resist the twins carnal 'love'. Though never actually written, there are even allusions to their incestuous love for one another. Priests and Monks abhor these periodicals especially, and can often be found burning them, during public sermons. Of course the people can't get enough!
'...Father Paolo is sent as an exorcist, but after one look at Iphigenia's blue eyes and cascading copper hair, all that gets exorcised is his own inhibition'
The entire series of books is written by James Farvre 985. He lives in a little village not far from the city making up stories. The entire series is fantasy (in a fantasy world), filled with any number of odd things that no real group of adventurer types actually would meet. (Think fairy tale strange.) Some people swear his stories are true, but mostly they don't know better.
This is not a true dogbound. Once a month they produce these slim little volumes, just like a dogbound. While it is occasionally filled with lurid tales, it is all true. It is a non fiction accounting of what has occured in The City.
There are no newspapers here (despite the printing press), news is passed on at guild meetings or in public speaches. The Mayor's office has been keeping various records of this type for centuries, compiling the various announcements. Given the existance of the press, someone thought they could take this information and more, presenting it in a truly public format.
The Chronicles covers the various changes in the guilds, the new and changed laws, buildings and businesses started and closed, a listing of the weather for each date, population changes (by guild count), write up on "historical events" (parades, votes, etc) and a listing of other non guild events (notable crimes, riots, sporting events, big marriages, and other events that occured outside the city that effected the city). The sections are compiled and printed out each month.
The Chronicles Company is thinking about sending presses and LetterCrafters (clerks) to various areas of SecondLand, Amar, and possibly other lands.
This is a continuing novelization akin to the ovelry popular Karenia saga. While it does have its own central heroine, there are many more characters suppoting the stories. It is set in a AlBar - a land of Timeless Beauty and Savagry, which is a thinly disguised version of Amar with its ancient dueling traditions (long ignored there) actively used. There are beautiful women, dashing young men, plotting elders, and several elementals operating in the background. The stories occur in and around the halls of the Court. It is like someone has taken all the noble gossip of Amar for the last few decades and novelized it.
There is one unique feature to this saga is the presence of an Imperial Elventi representative who is involved in all these Human intrigues and pillow games.
It should not come as a suprise that the people who invented the printing press have their own monthly book.
This is the "Popular Mechanic" and "Popular Science" of Antioch. In addition to "white papers" and "green papers" telling of various technical and theoretical accomplishments as presented to the guild, T&I summarizes what is currently going on with the Impressors, Tinkers, and various Crafters doing "new works" and business in Antioch and beyond (WhiteCliff most notably, but some of the Dwarventi Holds are taking an interest in the work of Impressors). This does not replace Guild New, but is writen for Laypeople, home tinkers, and to keep Guildsmen who are notoriously bad about going to guild meetings, up to date. The monthly book gives a bit of business news, some new impressor theories, crafting hints, interviews and articles about various Impressors and Works (places Impressors do work), guild gossip, and how T&I people are interacting with the rest of the Guilds. It also includes occasional new spell theories as well, since Impressors are applying magical theory to material reality to develop new technolgies.
Follow the exciting adventures of Agent Hackett, one of The Eyes of Yocasta working undercover to uncover plots against Queen Yocasta and soceity in general. It is propaganda but well written, interesting propaganda that people can enjoy, that shows the Queen's secret servive as they wish to be seen, fighting evil cults such as The Children of Ma-O.
Gifted with surreal amounts of muscle, an animal magnetism and quick wits, there is little the star of this series can't do, notably resist the lure of ruins unexplored, resist the lure of treasure unclaimed and resist the lure of women un-Hrondared, and of course, resist the lure of a villain face unpunched.
Started by a retired adventurer as both hoax and blatant self-aggrandizement, the series has found a numerous following amognst pubescent males, who read it voraciously as to become more Hrondar-like; likewise, many a damsel dreams about a Hrondar of her own, dripping testosterone all over her nightgown.
While often dismissed by more sober-minded citizens as cheap and worthless, the series has several appeals: first of all, it is a fast-paced well-written read, and, second, there's a spark of truth in all of the tales... there -was- a Hrondar involved in the fall of the Liche of the Seven Sigils, the countess of Valmore -does- sigh blissfully at hearing Hrondar's name, and the traitorous duke of Ovenborth, currently in the royal dungeons, bears the scars of a searing gauntlet on his left cheek, bearing the words "Hrondar smash" along the imprint of a ring.
In an attempt to cash in on the success of Soldier's Tale and Spellsmith's Tale, a few writers were sent to the Bordertown of The Marches. There they plyed some Prospectors with a few drinks and recorded their tall tales. The danger of their regular lives and the exoticness of the local has made The Prospector's Tale a very successful Dog Bound.
All about the Sorcery Springs Geyser Basin and the many deaths and injures there, some of which have been caused by Geyser Ghosts this is handed out at the entrance by the rangers to warn people of the dangers that await the foolhardy.
Jackus Fishgatherer Pageman's Press 120p
This is a beautiful book that intertwines poetry and an story about an older man looking back over his life. The vignettes color a melancholy picture of a man's life. It is not your normal dogbound fare. It's style, story structure, and untraditional content are too radical for any book printing company. Fishgatherer was unable to secure any printing for his book. He persevered and found a dogbinder who was willing to "branch out". The book was printed out in 12 chapters to moderate or low success. Once a complete work was produced, sales of this "artistic novel" have done reasonably well, as those who would not normally read dogbounds have found they are "stimulated" bu the story.
A gazette popular with the rebellious, young, and uninformed, The Alternative Philosopher is filled with the rantings of various second-rate historians, theologians, and thinkers. The editor-in-chief and publisher is a certain "Doctor" Dorus Hechliemer, a former professor at a major university whose credentials were revoked after he published some particularly odious and unorthodox papers. Hechliemer started the publication as a soapbox for his myriad paranoid "research projects," but eventually it attracted other writers of his ilk. It now features an introductary "From the Editor" piece by Hechliemer, followed by various conspiracy theories, alternatives histories, outright slander, and other things kept out of more scholarly pieces. Much of it is ahistorical gibberish written to please the egos of their authors, but some say there are kernels of truth peppered throughout each publication.
An excerpt:
"...And thus we come to the recent destruction of Demosthene Abbey. The official report of the tyrant is that it was an 'accidental fire' began by poor Brother Procus, an ally of our causes. Accidental indeed! All who know Br. Procus agree that he was (or is, since there is no proof he is actually dead) the most upstanding and alert person of the whole monastery. What could cause him bring an exposed lantern into the hay barn? Even the abbot has betrayed the True Citizens of this kingdom by saying Procus was, and I must quote, 'habitually intaking wine and other liquors forbidden by our order.' Lest we forget, Abbot Zaran was once our greatest ally and a provider of funds for our cause! It was only the last months, since our publication on the Trvth of the 'religion' that he revoked our funds and stopped speaking to us. Clearly, he has been replaced (much like Senator Gharthus) by a doppelganger, some fiend working for the quasi-governmental demonic league. Now, the question on all your hearts I'm sure is this: how do the wizard guilds fit into this? That, friends, is obvious..."
- Professor-Comrade Thariel Zorst, "Demons, Wizards & Merfolk: What We Know, Who They Control, & What You Can Do"
Suggested Submissions
- Antioch Books Items By: MoonHunter
- Books Items By: manfred


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New Book Sheds Light on Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting
Nov. 4, 2013
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production working group has published the first major compendium of specific methods and tools needed for developing and characterizing materials for PEC water splitting, a promising renewable hydrogen production technology.
Titled "Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Standards, Experimental Methods, and Protocols," the book was recently published as a "Springer Brief in Energy" and serves as a how-to guide for researchers engaged in the rapidly growing field of PEC water splitting. This field of research aims to develop materials that can absorb energy from sunlight to drive electrochemical hydrogen production from the splitting of water.
Compiled and edited by Zhebo Chen of Stanford University, Huyen Dinh of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Eric Miller of the DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Office, this book outlines many of the techniques involved in materials development and characterization. Topics include 1) proper metrics for describing material performance, 2) how to assemble testing cells and prepare materials for assessing their properties, and 3) how to perform experimental measurements to achieve reliable results and enhance scientific understanding.
"The need to consolidate and standardize the most common methods used by researchers in the field arose because of the substantial complexity in the scientific understanding and experimental protocols required for pursuing accurate and reliable materials development," said Dinh.
For each technique, proper procedures, benefits, limitations, and data interpretation are discussed. Consolidating this information in a short, accessible, and easy-to-read reference guide allows researchers to more rapidly immerse themselves in PEC research and to better compare their results against those of other researchers.
DOE's PEC working group, led by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and NREL, consists of national and international PEC experts. The methods and definitions presented are the result of an effort to form consensus among experienced researchers in the field from various stakeholder groups including national laboratories, academic institutions, and international partners. Eleven members of the working group—including NREL's John Turner, Todd Deutsch, and Keith Emery—served as contributing authors.
"A number of international researchers, many affiliated with the International Energy Agency's Hydrogen Implementing Agreement, provided excellent feedback on the text," Dinh added.
Much of the technical work discussed in the book was made possible through the support
of EERE's Fuel Cell Technologies Office.
—Julia Thomas