text:
Keeping an Eye on Nitrogen
The almost automatic response to the sight of stressed turf is to apply nitrogen. But sometimes this is exactly the worst thing that you can do. Although nitrogen deficiencies are sometimes the cause of turf quality problems, it turns out that turf damage due to excessive nitrogen on the properties you manage is a more common problem than most people realize (see Figure 1, page 14). Once nitrogen levels are high, it takes a long time for turf to recover. It's clear that avoiding the build-up of soil nitrogen in the first place should be a key goal in all fertility programs.
Nitrogen is delivered to soils in a variety of forms. Nitrate-based fertilizers (ammonium nitrate, calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate, etc.) deliver nitrogen to the plant in the form of nitrate (NO
As for many other parameters of turf growth and health, there is no one single nitrogen concentration that will insure healthy turf. Instead, there is a wide range of values that can support good growth (see Figure 2, page 18). A look at PACE Turfgrass Research Institute's database of soils from around the country will give you an idea of the broad spectrum of nitrogen (N) concentrations found on good-performing greens and fairways (see Figure 3, page 18). You can gain some helpful insights by studying these summary graphs:
The majority of good-performing turf samples had 20 parts per million (ppm) or less of total plant available N.
Nitrogen levels that are too low (less than 3 ppm) can also compromise turf health.
Fairways consistently had higher levels of nitrogen than greens; our conclusion is that fairways are consistently over-fertilized and should be managed to have less than 20 ppm total nitrogen in the soil.
A small number of good-performing greens and fairways had high levels of total nitrogen — up to 40 ppm. So yes, it is possible to have high-quality turf at high nitrogen levels, but your odds of creating a problem are much, much higher under these conditions.
As we've described above, levels of total nitrogen (a sum of nitrate and ammonium nitrogen) that are above 20 ppm can cause damage to turf. But sometimes, even when total nitrogen readings are less than 20 ppm, we see problems that are related to the presence of ammonium in the soil. We have found that even relatively low concentrations of ammonium (7 ppm or more) are related to turf damage. Thus, you could have a soil with 15 ppm total nitrogen: 5 ppm nitrate and 10 ppm ammonium. This would be a problem soil, even though the total values are below 20 ppm.
Under normal conditions, ammonia-based fertilizers should break down in the soil to nitrate, a form of nitrogen that is less toxic to plants than ammonia. However, this break-down process, known as nitrification, can be inhibited if the soil is low in oxygen (due to compaction, black layer, poor drainage, high microbial populations, etc). Accumulation of toxic levels of ammonium is more likely to occur during the summer, when soils are typically more oxygen depleted than usual.
Healthy turf also appears to be correlated with a specific balance between nitrate and ammonium levels. Keeping this balance at three or more times more nitrate than ammonium appears to be optimal for turf health. For example, if nitrate levels are 9 ppm, then ammonium levels shouldn't be higher than 3 ppm.
Fairway and rough turf typically has higher soil nitrogen levels than greens or tees, even when they are all fertilized similarly. How is this possible? The most likely explanation is due to the higher levels of organic matter (in the form of thatch, dead roots or other plant material, such as clippings) in these areas. As the organic matter decays, carbon, nitrogen and water are released into the soil, thus contributing to rising nitrogen concentrations.
How much nitrogen is stored in soil organic matter? The average nitrogen release from organic matter is 1.5 pounds of N per 1,000 square feet for greens, and 3.8 pounds N per 1,000 square feet for fairways over the course of the year. From these values, you can see that nitrogen release from organic matter can provide significant amounts of nitrogen. Your soil reports should provide a rough estimate of nitrogen release from organic matter. If you have fairway soil that contains more than six percent organic matter, apply nitrogen cautiously, if at all. The reason is that a soil containing six percent organic matter will release most of its nitrogen during the warm summer months. The warmer the weather, the more rapid the release. The ideal organic matter content for fairways is below six percent and for greens is below two percent.
In addition to the role of organic matter in higher nitrogen levels, a high nitrogen water source can also play a role in delivering too much nitrogen. If you use either well water or recycled water with nitrogen levels greater than 8 milligrams per liter, turf may be at risk. You need to monitor both soil and water nitrogen levels regularly to avoid toxic build-up.
Regular monitoring (twice yearly is usually recommended) of soil nutrients should be the foundation for your turf management decisions. The monitoring can be performed by a variety of analytical labs across the country. To make sure that you receive enough information about your soils, be sure to request analysis (in parts per million) for nitrate and ammonium forms of nitrogen. From these values, you can calculate total plant available nitrogen (nitrate plus ammonium) and nitrate to ammonium ratios (nitrate divided by ammonium values). If you think that your water source may be high in nitrogen, a yearly analysis for total nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) can also be very important.
For a "quick and dirty" test for soil nitrate that you can do in just a few minutes, you can use Hach water test strips for nitrate/nitrite content levels. For details on the procedure, see "Quick Test for Soil Nitrate," left.
To keep nitrogen levels in check, follow these guidelines:
Monitor soil nitrate, ammonium and total plant available nitrogen one to two times per year. If irrigation water is a potential source of nitrogen, monitor annually for nitrate and ammonium.
Follow the guidelines for soil nitrate, ammonium and total plant available nitrogen shown in Figure 2, above.
Don't fertilize unhealthy turf unless you know that low nitrogen is the problem.
When you do apply nitrogen, base your program on low rates of nitrogen, applied more frequently. In general, an application should stay below 0.5 pounds per 1,000 square feet for fairways and below 0.25 pounds per 1,000 square feet for greens. Frequent application of lower rates of N will allow you to more safely judge the need for more N by monitoring turf growth, color and clippings yield (a good rule of thumb is to target less than ½ basket per 5,000 square feet of cool-season greens using a walk-behind mower. In areas with high rainfall, slow release fertilizers applied at higher rates of nitrogen may be necessary.
Use of ammonium-based and slow-release fertilizers should be limited in locations that have problems with excess nitrogen.
Maintain soil organic matter levels below six percent for tees, fairways and roughs, and below two percent on greens.
Increase soil aeration to promote higher oxygen levels and improved nitrification in soil. This is particularly important before and during hot weather, and can help to prevent build-up of excessive ammonia in the soil.
Don't forget that low levels of soil nitrogen (less than 3 ppm) can also cause turf stress.
Wendy Gelernter, Ph. D., and Larry Stowell, Ph. D., are the research directors for the PACE Turfgrass Research Institute (San Diego, Calif.).
We have developed a quick, easy, on-site test that can detect excessive levels of soil nitrates. Although this test does not replace analytical testing, it provides values that are rough estimates of nitrate levels, and should be a useful and rapid diagnostic tool.
Materials needed:
Hach water test strips for nitrate/nitrite (Cat. # 27454-25, Hach Company, P.O. Box 389, Loveland, CO 80539; 800-227-4224; www.hach.com). A bottle of 25 strips is $15.50 as of April 2006.
Small beaker or container
Soil from problem area and from nearby area of healthy turf
Notebook for recording data
Mix equal volumes of soil and tap water (for example, 1 tablespoon of each) in a small container and stir thoroughly. Allow the soil to settle for 1 minute.
Dip the test strip into the soil suspension.
Allow the strip to develop for 1 minute.
Lightly rinse the strip with water to remove soil.
Compare the color on the tip of the strip to the nitrate/nitrogen color chart on the test strip container. Write down the ppm value that you think is closest to the color you see on the strip. This value must be converted to obtain the nitrate concentration (in parts per million) of your soil, using the formula below:
(Dipstick value × 1.5) + 2.9 = Soil nitrate concentration (ppm)
For example, assume that the color on your dipstick indicates roughly 15 ppm nitrate. Remember, the dipstick value needs to be converted to one that is accurate for soil nitrate! The soil nitrate concentration is therefore = (15 × 1.5) + 2.9 = 24.9.
If the final value is over 20 ppm as it is in the example above, nitrogen applications of all types should be halted until levels are well below 20 ppm. If possible, leach the area to help bring nitrogen levels down more rapidly.
Keep in mind that the dipstick test has several limitations, including:
It does not test for ammonium levels — only for nitrate levels. Therefore, even if you have high ammonium levels in your soils, you will get a low reading from the dipstick.
The test is designed to detect an excess of nitrogen, but it will not detect nitrogen deficits. To determine whether your soils are lacking in nitrogen, the soils should be sent to an analytical laboratory.
The values you get with this test are rough estimates, at best. For more accurate readings, soils should be sent to an analytical lab for testing.
Source: The PACE Turfgrass Research Institute Web site at www.paceturf.org (click on "Turf Guidelines").
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text:
Solo Championship Event #2 - Milwaukee Region SCCA
SCCA - Milwaukee Region - Autocross
Registration closed July 7, 2019 8:30 AM on July 7, 2019 8:30 AM CDT Registration ends July 7, 2019 8:30 AM on July 7, 2019 8:30 AM CDT Registration opens May 21, 2019 12:00 PM on May 21, 2019 12:00 PM CDT Registration runs from May 21, 2019 12:00 PM to July 7, 2019 8:30 AM
Event Location:
Road America Motorplex
N7390 State Highway 67
Plymouth, WI 53073
Season Sponsor:
7:00 - 8:00am Registration
7:15 - 8:15am Tech Inspection
7:45 - 9:00am Course Walking
8:40am Novice Course Walk
9:00am Drivers Meeting & 1st Heat Worker Check-in
9:15am First Car Off
11:30am Cousins Subs Onsite (purchased separately)
We typically finish up around 5:00pm
There will be a hard registration cut off at 8:00am on the day of the event. Please be prompt! Showing up after that won't allow you time to walk the course. Drivers not familiar with the course often get lost and slow the event down which isn't fair to others.
Entry Fees:
$50 for Annual SCCA member Early Registration (closes two days before event at midnight)
$55 for Annual SCCA member Late Registration
$65 for Non-member Registration (included Weekend Membership)
Note: Registration for non-SCCA members will open on Monday, June 24, 2019
Are you new? During this registration you'll be asked for a car class. Don't worry, we have a couple worksheets to help you determine your car class, reviewing these will help you class your car. We offer a Novice Class for entrants in their first year, while registering place Novice (N) in the "Class" field, then the base class in the "PAX" field, and a number. If you still do not know what class your car is supposed to be in, then select "I Don't Know" in the class list and we will help you in registration.
Tentative Run/Work Order:
Running Heats 1 and 3 ---- Working Heats 2 and/or 4:
Pro, T, STF, STS, STX, STR, STU, CAM-T, CAM-C, CAM-S, HCS, HCR (including Ladies versions of these classes).
Running Heats 2 and 4 ---- Working Heats 1 and/or 3:
SS, AS, BS, CS, DS, ES, FS, GS, HS, SSC, SSR, SM, SMF, SSM, SSP, ASP, BSP, CSP, DSP, ESP, FSP, CP, DP, EP, FP, XP, AM, BM, CM, DM, FM, JA, JB, JC, KM (including Ladies versions of these classes).
Note: Novice Class drivers run with their standard class (ie. N-STX would run & work with STX). Also, Run/Work order is subject to change, in order to balance the heats. Large classes will not normally be moved. Any changes to the Run/Work Order will be announced the day of the event.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
-The directory is sorted by member's last name.
-Click on "View All" for list of names, then click on a name to get full member profile.
-Within a member profile, click on city, state or zip code to for list of all members with that chosen attribute. Click "Clear Search" to return to full member list.
-Use "Member Directory Search" in right hand column to search words in the name and farm name fields of the directory.
– Member info can be downloaded into your own/local address book by clicking "Add to Address Book".
Use Browse Members to browse by breeds kept, state or county, products sold or services provided.


text:
We were very sad to hear of the passing of David Nelson, a stalwart member of the Lewes Friends of Pestalozzi and an enthusiastic supporter of Pestalozzi's work over many years. David's funeral service was held on Thursday 14th February 2019 at The Downs Crematorium, Brighton. The Main Chapel was packed to capacity with many friends and colleagues standing on the Chapel steps and outside in the sunshine and the fresh spring air to listen to the service.
David's daughter Alex read the following poem by Helen Dunmore:
My Life's Stem Was Cut
My Life's stem was cut,
But quickly, lovingly
I was lifted up,
I heard the rush of the tap
And I was set in water
In the blue vase, beautiful
In lip and curve,
And here I am
Opening one petal
As the tea cools.
I wait while the sun moves
And the bees finish their dancing,
I know I am dying
But why not keep flowering
As long as I can
From my cut stem?
Our thoughts and prayers are with David's partner and family.
Donations in Memory of David may be made to
'Friends of Sussex Hospices'
either online at www.gracefuneraldirectors.co.uk
or sent by post to:
Grace Independent Funeral Directors
74 Springett Avenue
Any Questions?
Please contact us by clicking the link below.


text:
This is a quick reminder of the upcoming May meeting for the Las Vegas SQL Server Users Group. We will be meeting on May 12, 2011 at the usual time and at the usual place.
We would really like to get a gaggle of database professionals out to support the group and the speaker this month. Erika Bakse will be treating us to a slick presentation on MDX. You can see the original info on this upcoming meeting here. Time, date, meeting info, abstract, etc is all available in that original post.


text:
Tel-Aviv bus bombing.
What might the conflict in Gaza have to do with Iran?
The Fourth Street mall is not a "thriving urban environment."
Uganda's parliament has placed a terrifying "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" on today's agenda.
Hector Camacho was shot in Puerto Rico.
The White House turns down requests to release photographs taken the night of attacks in Benghazi.
A DEA agent says he was told not to go after drug perps in white neighborhoods.
The future of a mainstreamed UFC.
"All Hail the Sweet Potato."
"All Hail Calculated Risk."
Bourbon marshmallows like whoa.
Brace yourself for the next (food-based) financial market bubble.
Grupo Bimbo wants to ease your Twinkie anxiety.
Hip-hop fatwa.
Happy birthday, René Magritte!
Russian government claims that a YouTube shutdown was the result of technical difficulties.
A rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo is threatening to overthrow the president.
Flaming Lips radio special this weekend.


text:
SAN JOSE -- Anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee, who buried himself in the sand to hide from police in Belize, faked a heart attack in a Guatemalan detention center and admits playing the 'crazy card,' says he's now ready for his next adventure: a return to Silicon Valley.
At age 67, McAfee is promising to launch a new cybersecurity company that will make the Internet safer for everyone.
'My new technology is going to provide a new type of Internet, a decentralized, floating and moving Internet that is impossible to hack, impossible to penetrate and vastly superior in terms of its facility and neutrality. It solves all of our security concerns,' McAfee said in an interview with this newspaper.
Despite his colorful lifestyle and his even more colorful recent history, McAfee remains one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley history. In 1989 he founded the anti-virus software company in Santa Clara that still bears his name and once was worth an estimated $100 million. In 1994 McAfee ended his relationship with the company and moved to Colorado.
In a nearly one-hour interview, McAfee was typically tantalizing and elusive, declining to answer other questions about his proposed company, saying more details will come Saturday when he speaks at the inaugural C2SV music festival and tech conference at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
But he did mention the two competing movies about his life that are due out within the next two years, along with a biographical book, a 90-minute TV documentary and a series of graphic comic books about his five years in Belize.
'In the crazy topsy-turvy world of America, the blend of good looks, money and technology could be formed into a brew that could be a Hollywood success story,' said Roger L. Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates.
Police in Belize still want to talk to McAfee, who remains wanted as a 'person of interest' in the shooting death of his neighbor, police spokesman Rafael Martinez told this newspaper Tuesday.
No one has been arrested in connection with the November killing of Gregory Viant Faull, a 52-year-old fellow expatriate who had well-publicized run-ins with McAfee in Belize before he was discovered two doors down in his home with a single gunshot to the head.
Rather than face questions, McAfee took off into the jungle with one of his girlfriends, 20-year-old Sam Vanegas. With authorities in pursuit, McAfee hid by burying himself in the sand with a cardboard box over his head so he could breathe, fled into neighboring Guatemala where he was detained, then played the 'crazy card' by faking a heart attack to buy time for a deportation hearing.
All the time he was on the run or in custody, he wrote cryptic blog posts, misdirecting authorities and fueling a worldwide media frenzy.
'Of course I arranged all of that,' McAfee said. 'How are they (Belizean authorities) going to whack me if every newspaper in the world is looking? You have to be willing to sacrifice a bit of your public persona to get the media to feed on you. I'm willing to do that. As long as you're honest to the press, as long as your stories are consistent and you can feel good when you go to bed, it doesn't matter what they say as long as they spell your name right.'
McAfee now lives in Portland, Ore., but says he will commute to Silicon Valley if his new company takes off.
Asked about his personal wealth, McAfee said he turned control of his Belizean properties and businesses -- once valued at more than $20 million -- over to friends in Belize and 'I never took a penny out.'
'I live and eat well,' McAfee said. 'I buy cars and boats just like I always did. Maybe I have less than I had 15 years ago. Maybe I have less now than I'll have five years hence. In my position, you never know how much you're worth because it changes constantly. It doesn't interest me.'
McAfee continues to live a self-described 'manic lifestyle' that includes regular visits to the Caribbean and the Bahamas to visit 'the girls' -- Vanegas and 17-year-old Amy Emshwiller, whom McAfee frequently has accused of stabbing him and shooting at his head, which left him deaf in one ear.
McAfee's lifestyle -- his taste for young women, history of drug use before turning sober, he says, and his run from the law in Belize -- may limit corporate interest in whatever his new security company produces, according to some industry analysts.
But his reputation as a good-looking, charismatic, wealthy innovator with many of the same online security concerns as the average American also could make him a perfect frontman for an Internet security company aimed at the consumer market, analysts said.
'Security is a very conservative field, one that you don't talk about what you're doing or your customers,' said Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. 'For corporate security, I can't picture a firm doing business with him. And his skill with security is about 25 years out of date. An awful lot has changed since he ran McAfee in the 1990s. But on the consumer level, here his visibility may draw people to the brand and products. He's a rebel. He's fighting against The Man. For the folks that are probably most concerned about the government getting involved with their stuff, he could be their spokesperson. His celebrity could work for him.'
While McAfee plans to launch his new company in or around Silicon Valley, he clearly prefers the relative quiet of Portland over Silicon Valley.
'The motto of the city is 'Keep Portland weird,' ' McAfee said. 'Well that fits right in with me. I'm not going to be living down here. It has changed a lot since last I worked here (26 years ago). It has grown. The traffic is nightmarish. It's just too busy for me.'


text:
As social leadership is an increased focus for global businesses, BusinessNext went in search of the top 25 CMOs in Fortune 100 Companies. In the end, they could only find 20 as only one in five CMOs on the Fortune 100 list are active in public social networks. I'd concur, though, that number is higher than previous years.
Despite The CMO Survey's recent projection of an 150% increase in social spending in marketing budgets over the next five years, the majority of the senior staff holding the purse strings are yet to establish a social footprint of their own. Is this an indication that they don't understand the space, or is it that they put their efforts in promoting the brands they work for instead of the brand of "me"?
As our business and personal lives shift toward a highly transparent and online focus, it is arguable that these unsocial CMOs will have a place at the table in five years time. As they move into new positions or look for new roles, there will be other highly experienced executives with a strong social background who will pique them to the post.
I've already seen colleagues in the print world who have been pushed out of jobs due to redundancy as companies downsize and close their doors and they are finding themselves no longer employable. Below are the top 20 CMOs in a breakdown of Twitter followers and a score created by BusinessNext. This weighted formula takes into account the number of Twitter followers, retweet frequency, social engagement frequency, social mentions, KRED scores, Klout scores, and related factors.
Do you think it's important for senior executives to rank high in social or do you think their strategic expertise will win over how often they tweet?


text:
David William Madsen, PhD
PhD, Classics
Professor Emeritus, History
Email: email@example.com
Teaching and Research Interests
Classical & Hellenistic Greece; Late Republican & Early Imperial Rome; intersection of Hellenistic, Roman, Jewish & Christian history; and Latin language & literature.
David W. Madsen was born in Everett, WA, and educated at Saint Edward's Seminary, Seattle University (BA, Classics, 1969), and the University of Washington (MA 1974, PhD 1981). He served in the US Army from 1969-1972, including 18 months in Munich, Germany as an interrogator in the 18th Military Intelligence Battalion. He came to Seattle University and the Matteo Ricci College as a professor in the humanities in the fall of 1981. He began teaching in the University Honors Program in 1982, and he was granted a tenure track position in the Department of History in 1987. Promoted to Associate Professor in 1996, he assumed the Directorship of University Honors in 1997 and held the position until 2005. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he is the Moderator of the University's Naef Scholars and he serves as the University's Grand Marshal. His current teaching load includes coursework in Matteo Ricci College, University Honors, Latin and History. Professor Madsen is married and has two adult children as well as two grandchildren; his wife and both children graduated from Seattle University in 1995, 2000 and 2002 respectively. He lives in Ballard in Northwest Seattle where he enjoys his art collection, wine cellar, and library. He regularly attends the theater and is a particular fan of early music. Firmly convinced that a mens sana can only be found in corpora sano, he is an inveterate walker and the vice-president of a local walking club.


text: lol you have to be more creative with your put downs bud. funny bit is i pulled up 3 of your past pieces and put em side by side. my wife saw em on screen and asked me why was that person tracing all his letters from battle to battle. i hadnt noticed it before but i figure thats why you like your lined paper so much. because if you go with decent weight paper you cant see through it to trace. dont know why i waste the time even typin to be honest. you prolly didnt make that lame assed alphabet anyhow to begin with. you just use it for every single battle with no variation in style or attitude. and both suck ( again only an opinion) your part of an elite group of people on the internet, second worst hated type out here. only ones to beat you out for annoyingness is the broadband bullies who run off at the mouth for days on end and if it came to it in real life they are actually sittin in their moms house mooching their food and afraid to go out and interact with the real 3d people. your just a genuine shit stirrer , a child who gets off on trying to hype other people up by talking as much shit as possible just to get a reaction.. hmmm what happened... dad left before ya were born and mom never paid ya any attention? go get some mental counceling , or at the very least a full frontal lobotomy , stop talkin shit to everyone , and just plain piss off.


text:
The Dish: I've always been really active, but lately I've been in a rut. Sure, I bike to and from work each day, and just by living in a bustling city without a car, I walk a lot more than your average American, but honestly it's not enough. I love to eat! And unfortunately, my eating has completely taken over my fitness regimen. So I'm writing this post not only for you fellow readers, but for myself as well, because I have a lot of fitness knowledge under my belt—I just need to get back on the wagon. Here are some tips to get fit, and save on the dough, because we all know it's easy to throw away a ton of money on gym memberships.
1. Running/Walking. This is the cheapest way to get fit, hands down! All you need is a good pair of running shoes, and you're set. And a good pair of running shoes certainly doesn't have to break the bank. Yes, there are $100-plus shoes that you could buy, but you can get the same quality shoes for way less. Now that's not to say that you can get a good pair for $10—a good, top-notch pair of shoes is something you don't want to skimp on—but you could definitely find a good pair ranging between $40 and $60 if you look hard enough. Shoe stores have sales every day. And again, that's all you need! So save up for a pair, and hit the road. You can easily map a running route anywhere in the US on the USA Track & Field website, which will give you the exact mileage of your run. And if you need a little extra motivation to get started, I suggest that you sign up for a race in the not-too-distant-future, and start training. You can find cheap races on Active.com, and training guides on the Runner's World website. Now, hit the pavement!
2. At Home. If you have the proper motivation, you could get super-fit at home for really cheap. You could pimp yourself out with a bunch of fancy equipment, yes, but you don't need to. I suggest that you at least get a set of cheap hand weights, but those aren't really necessary either—it's called body weight, people! All you need to do to get in shape is to do a basic strength routine two to three times weekly, including but not limited to push ups, triceps dips, squats, lunges, and crunches—the list goes on. Don't forget to do some jumping jacks in between to get some much-needed cardio. If you don't know how to do these moves, just Google them and you soon will learn—that's my promise to you. If you're able to spend a little more money, then try out a subscription to a fitness magazine. I enjoy Women's Health and Health, but there are many. You could also purchase a few cheap exercise DVDs—I recently purchased the Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 from Amazon, and once I get tired of it, I plan on selling it back. If you have the luxury of having On Demand on your TV or Netflix Instant Watch, there are plenty of free exercise videos on both (not including the monthly fees for both services). Very simple!
3. Gyms—without the expensive memberships. I'll admit, I've been really tempted to join a gym recently, but something keeps me from doing it—I'm guessing it's the money drain and the crowds. If you're really interested in checking out a gym though, then do it the cheap way! There are many coupons for gym classes on such sites as Groupon, and I bet that most gyms will give you a free trial if you ask. You may like it well enough and decide to shell out the dough, but don't forget to negotiate—many people pay a lower amount than the stated gym membership cost. You just need to ask! And don't forget about your local YMCA and community recreational centers—these are usually much cheaper than other gyms.


text:
I have a pretty flexible schedule so I can hit during the week anytime. I can play on afternoons and evenings some weekends.
Views: 247
Replies to This Discussion
hey i live in the loop
hi, I'm Tommy and I'm new to Chicago.
I'd love to hit some balls before this summer is over.
I played USTA 3.5 league last year but haven't had chance to play much this year.
I live close to UIC, so it will be nice if we can meet somewhere close.
let me know if you want to play some tennis.
sounds awesome.
let's hit some balls soon.
here is my number.
Hey Tommy. Ill be able to hit next week. I'll give you a call.
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text:
Israel carries out strikes in Gaza
Israel carried out an intense series of airstrikes in Gaza Tuesday, not long after the country's leaders said they would launch invade the Gaza Strip if needed to halt renewed rocket fire from an area controlled by Hamas.
Israel said it struck 34 targets across the coastal territory controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic terror group, The Israeli military said the strikes were in response to a hail of 18 rockets fired into Israel since last Sunday.
"The IDF will continue to act in order to restore the peaceful living to the civilians of the state of Israel," said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman." The Hamas terror organization and its extensions are solely responsible for any terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip."
There were no further details on the targets, but in recent weeks Israel has repeatedly targeted launch sites and weapons storage areas in similar attacks. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The attacks came after Monday's warnings by Isreali leaders that they would invade the
Gaza Strip if necessary to stop renewed rocket fire from the coastal area controlled by Hamas.
The comments came shortly before Israel's cabinet held an emergency meeting on three Israeli teens missing since June 12. ABC News and Al Jazeera reported that the bodies of have been found near the West Bank city of Hebron.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told members of his security cabinet that either Hamas will end the rocket fire from Gaza or Israeli forces will do so, like they did in 2012, in a mini-war that Israel dubbed Operation Pillar of Defense.
"I say in the clearest way possible, if the quiet that was achieved after Operation Pillar of Defense will be breached and the firing continues, there are two options - either Hamas will stop it, or we will stop it," Netanyahu said, according to Israeli TV station Arutz Sheva. "We will not allow the continuation of this (rocket) firing."
The 2012 operation involved eight days of Israeli air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza and was intended to stop rocket fire on communities in southern Israel. It ended before a threatened invasion with a truce brokered by Egypt. Sporadic rocket fire from Gaza continued, but the majority of those attacks were claimed by terrorist factions other than Hamas, Arutz Sheva reported.
Tensions have been high between Israel and Hamas since the kidnapping 18 days ago of three Israeli teens in the West bank, which Israel has blamed on Hamas. The kidnapping came 10 days after Palestinian leaders formed a unity government with Hamas and the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a union strongly opposed by Israel.
The teens, Gilad Shaar, 16; Naftali Frenkel, 16; and Eyal Yifrach, 19, were last seen hitchhiking near Gush Etzion, an Israeli town in the West Bank. An Israeli security forces searching for them have raided more than a 1,000 homes and rounded up hundreds of Palestinians, including senior Hamas leaders in the West Bank, and prisoners recently released to advance U.S.-brokered peace talks that later failed. Five Palestinians have died in clashes over the rescue operation.
Since June 27, militants fired at least 30 rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel, including four intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, according to AFP. The Israeli air force has struck back killing three Palestinians.
At least 15 rockets were fired at Israel Sunday night after Israel launched air strikes against a suspected Hamas rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip Saturday and Sunday, killing a member of the Hamas military wing, according to the militant group. Rockets fired from the Palestinian territory into Israel damaged a home and set a fire Saturday in a plastics factory in the Israeli town of Sderot, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Reserve Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, a former National Security Advisor in Israel, told Israeli radio Reshet Bet that a ground action is likely in the coming days if the situation doesn't calm down.
"I estimate that there will be an Israeli action, or at least there will be a call for an Israeli action that is much more massive – like Operation Pillar of Defense maybe even bigger than it, in order to achieve a renewed deterrence for another period of a year or two," Eiland said.


text:
Labor Board Case Against Boeing Points to Fights to Come
April 22, 2011
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
For businesses, it was the type of action they have
feared from a National Labor Relations Board dominated
by Democrats. For labor unions, it was the type of
action they have hoped for. And for both, it may be a
sign of things to come.
These fears and hopes were stirred this week when the
labor board's top lawyer filed a case against Boeing,
seeking to force it to move airplane production from a
nonunion plant in South Carolina to a unionized one in
Washington State. Boeing executives had publicly said
they were making the move to avoid the kind of strikes
the airplane maker had repeatedly faced in Washington;
Lafe Solomon, the labor board's acting general counsel,
said the company's motive constituted illegal
retaliation against workers for exercising their right
to strike.
The agency's unusually bold action angered business
groups and some politicians, who said it was an
unwarranted attempt by the government to interfere with
a fundamental corporate decision.
But under President Obama's appointees, the agency,
including Mr. Solomon and his staff, has sought to
reinterpret and more vigorously enforce the rules
governing employers and employees, from what workers
can say about their bosses on Twitter to the use of
Internet and phone voting in union elections.
How much ultimately changes will depend in large part
on the decisions made by the five-member board, led by
Wilma Liebman, that sits atop the agency. That panel
hears cases brought by the board's regional offices —
overseen by Mr. Solomon — after employers, workers or
unions file complaints.
Democratic-dominated boards often tilt toward unions
and reverse the decisions of Republican-leaning boards,
which usually tilt toward management, and vice versa.
The current board — made up of three Democrats and one
Republican, with one vacancy — is expected to reverse a
Bush-era decision that stripped graduate teaching
assistants at private universities of their right to
bargain collectively. Labor experts also predict that
the board will adopt a policy that makes it easier to
organize nursing home workers by allowing unions to go
after smaller units of workers inside those homes.
The biggest surprise has been the activist stance taken
by Mr. Solomon, a career civil servant at the board for
39 years. He became acting general counsel in June
2010, and President Obama nominated him to be the
permanent general counsel last January. The Senate has
not yet confirmed him to the post.
In the Boeing case, Mr. Solomon charged that the
company had illegally moved some production work of the
787 Dreamliner passenger plane to South Carolina to
punish workers for past strikes and to avoid future
ones. The remedy proposed by Mr. Solomon has been
denounced as extreme by many business leaders: that
Boeing move the work back to its unionized Puget Sound
facilities, after it made a $2 billion investment and
hired 1,000 nonunion workers in South Carolina.
Outraged, the National Association of Manufacturers
warned that if the agency won this case, "no company
will be safe from the N.L.R.B. stepping in to
second-guess its business decisions on where to
Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican,
complained, "This is nothing more than a political
favor for the unions who are supporting President
Obama's re-election campaign."
The Boeing case was not the first time that Mr. Solomon
has riled the business community and its Republican
allies. Saying it is the domain of the federal
government, he recently threatened to sue four
Republican-heavy states — Arizona, South Carolina,
South Dakota and Utah — in an effort to invalidate
recent constitutional amendments that prohibit private
sector workers from choosing a union by signing cards,
a process known as card check.
He has also sought to extend the labor board's reach
into the world of the Internet. He approved requests
from regional labor board officials to bring complaints
against businesses that punished employees for Facebook
and Twitter posts, including one case against Reuters.
Mr. Solomon has also proposed that electronic voting be
used when workers decide whether they want to unionize
their workplace — a proposal that business groups
maintain will make it easier for unions to coerce
In an interview, Mr. Solomon, a 61-year-old Arkansas
native, insisted that he was no radical.
"My goal is to enforce the National Labor Relations
Act," he said. That law, enacted in 1935, governs
private sector workers' right to unionize as well as
relations between tens of thousands of companies and
Mr. Solomon, who has worked for board members of both
parties, said this case was straightforward: Boeing had
retaliated against workers for exercising their
federally protected right to strike. "They had a
consistent message that they were doing this to punish
their employees for having struck and having the power
to strike in the future," he said. "I can't not issue a
complaint in the face of such evidence."
While the spotlight is on Mr. Solomon at the moment,
people inside the agency and out expect that attention
will soon move to the five-member board, whose
decisions often have broad effect, much like court
Marshall Babson, a Republican member of the board under
President Reagan, said the board had "teed up a lot of
important issues for consideration." He said its
behavior had been more moderate than the Reagan board,
which, he recalls, reversed about two dozen pro-union
decisions in one year.
The Obama board is expected to reverse a Bush-era
decision that lets workers petition to decertify a
union within days of a company's recognizing a union
through card check. That new ruling would most likely
restore the old requirement that workers had to wait a
year before trying to oust their union.
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text:
Excitement is mounting at the Music/Arts Institute as the Millicent A. Daugherty Community School of the Arts moves closer to celebrating its 35th anniversary in conjunction with the centennial of the former McCoy School building � MAI�s home since 1985.
�For us, it is a milestone,� says Jon Donald, program director/percussion instructor at MAI, a brick-and-stone building at 1010 S. Pearl St., Independence.
�I don�t think the founders (of MAI) envisioned 35 years down the road when they started this school in 1979,� he says.
�Building Better Lives Through Excellence in the Arts� is the mission statement of the nonprofit school, founded by five Independence teachers. What they envisioned, Jon says, was a school �that could teach music theory classes and be collaborative with other private music lesson studios.�
Calling MAI a supplement to the music programs in public and private schools, Jon notes music teachers can�t do everything they need to do in the amount of time and with the resources they have.
�So I look at (MAI) as really supplementing the good work (school districts) are doing and being able to go more in depth and (present) more of the historical side of music they are studying,� he says, explaining MAI students have opportunities to perform in ways they can�t at school because they spend so much time with marching bands and other things.
MAI has a rich heritage and a bright future. Among its founders were Millicent Daugherty, Ted Stewart, Wayne Smith, Evelyn Allen and Jean Dexter. With no central place to meet as a school at its conception, students studied in the homes and studios of their teachers. Later they met for awhile in a little house northeast of the Square, before MAI purchased and moved into the vacant McCoy building in 1985.
Although MAI offers many outstanding programs, it is best known for the George Caleb Bingham Academy of the Arts.
Offered through the summer school program of the Independence School District, this year�s academy runs from June 2 through July 3. It is attended by to public and private school students who are gifted in the arts, grades 9-12, as well as homeschoolers.
Not all attendees will meet at the same location. Music students will convene at the Music/Arts Institute; theater and visual art students at the Metropolitan Community College-Blue River Campus on East Missouri 78.
�In celebration of the McCoy School building being 100 years old, our theme is �100 Years Ago,� and we are going to focus on the music, the drama and dance around the 1914 era,� says Sariah Pinick, MAI business office manager and chair of the voice division.
�That (time period) was at the beginning of (World War I), and there was a lot going on in music and pop culture that the children will get to explore this summer.�
If Jon and Sariah had their druthers, they would observe both the centennial open house and anniversary celebration on Oct. 11. That date is firm on the open house; but not on the 35th anniversary event.
What�s the problem?
�We are still trying to nail down that (Oct. 11) date,� Sariah says, explaining one MAI alumnus � an internationally known opera singer � has agreed to sing at the celebration, which includes a plated dinner and silent auction. However, his performance schedule determines when he can attend.
Although both events are still in the planning stages, Dr. Eph Ehly, a UMKC professor emeritus, has agreed to conduct the MAI Alumni Choir at the open house.
Sharing the program with Dr. Ehly will be one of MAI�s own � Jonathan Krinke, who was commissioned to write a special choral arrangement for the Alumni Choir to sing. A student of Millicent Daugherty, Jonathan also studied with Dr. Ehly at UMKC . He�s currently teaches at Lee�s Summit North High School.
Before MAI observes its two special events, students at the school will have participated in the following programs:
� Make a Joyful Noise-a-thon � This Feb. 22 event was a fundraiser in which students gathered pledges; then performed throughout the day both in solo and group performances.
� MyArtsKC on the Square � MAI�s ethnic drum ensemble,�The Global Rhythm Project,� performs at 8 p.m. today, Friday, Feb. 28, during the open mike session. MyArtsKC is on the northeast corner of Main Street and Truman Road.
� MAI Carol Marcks Scholarship Concert - This fundraiser begins at 7 p.m. March 7 at the Fort Osage Performing Arts Center. Featured are the Young MAIsterSingers, Global Rhythm Project Ensemble, Allegro Harp Ensemble and The Young MAIsterSinger Alumni.
� Spring Concert � 6 p.m. May 4 at Woods Chapel United Methodist Church, 4725 NE Lakewood Way, Lee�s Summit.
� Spring Festivals � The first of two solo and ensemble festivals for high school students is set for March 15; the other is April 26 for all students. The public is invited to attend both events at MAI.
Though Jon Donald never attended McCoy before it became the Music/Arts Institute or attended as an MAI student, he still feels something special when he enters the storied building.
�I feel the history here, and I would love to hear other people�s stories about how they were impacted through time in the McCoy building,� he says. �That would enrich and inform me that everytime I come into the building to teach my instrument, I would feel like I am carrying on the legacy or tradition that is 100 years old.�
Jon says he would like to hear about your remembrances of the school, its teachers and its programs so he can share them with other alumni.
Email Jon at: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Retired community news reporter Frank Haight Jr. writes this column for The Examiner. You can leave a message for him at 816-350-6363.


text:
U.S. Transportation Security officials have often been criticized for their handling of airline passengers in security lines all over the country, but one agent may have crossed the line when he hit Rep. Francisco Canseco (R-Texas) in the balls.
That's what the security camera video allegedly shows, and that's what the freshman congressman said happened, but the incident begs the question, would he be willing to cry wolf in order to score sympathy points with TSA-hating voters?
If you watch the video it also inspired a more interesting question: Just how low do Congressman Canseco's testicles go?
Photo credit: KENS 5 San Antonio


text:
The Columbus Crew reserve team were defeated by their Montreal Impact counterparts 2-1 on Saturday evening in their first MLS Reserve League match of the season. Lamar Neagle and Miguel Montaño scored for Montreal while Aubrey Perry tallied the lone Crew goal.
The match started with both teams sizing each other up. Montreal almost got on the board in the 21st minute when forward Andrew Wenger played a through ball to Mike Fucito who collided with Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer forcing him to deflect the ball into corner. Just two minutes later the Impact took the lead after Wenger squared a ball to Neagle who shot it past Hesmer into the back of the net.
The Crew's first chance came in the 27th minute with a straight shot by midfielder Cole Grossman saved by Impact net minder Greg Sutton. In the 35th minute Crew forward Aaron Schoenfeld saw his shot from the top of the box hit the post.
Montreal doubled its lead in the 55th minute when Montaño fired a shot from the top of the box to the left of Matt Lampson, who had subbed in for Hesmer at the half. The Crew tried to mount a comeback but shots by Josh Williams in the 66th and by Grossman two minutes later, sailed barely above the crossbar. Columbus' lone goal came in the 89th minute when Perry fired a shot from 25 yards out to beat Sutton.
Sutton was tested again in the dying seconds of the match when he made a game-saving dive to stop a booming shot by Crew defender Eric Gehrig.
Both teams return to MLS Reserve League action next week as the Crew faces Toronto FC at BMO field on Saturday March 31, at 4:30 p.m., while the Impact travels to New York to face the Red Bulls on Sunday, April 1 at 11 a.m.
Montreal Impact reserves 2, Columbus Crew reserves 1
Saturday, March 24, 2012 – Crew Stadium
Scoring Summary
MON – Lamar Neagle (Andrew Wenger) 23
MON – Miguel Montaño 55
CLB – Aubrey Perry 89
Misconduct Summary
CLB – Cole Grossman (Caution) 84
Columbus Crew: William Hesmer (Matt Lampson, 46), Aubrey Perry, Eric Gehrig, Josh Williams (Alex Crognale*,74), Nemanja Vukovic (Rhodes Moore*,71), Korey Veeder, Cole Grossman, Tony Tchani, Justin Meram (Omar Mohamed*,62), Ethan Finlay, Aaron Schoenfeld (Aaron Horton, 46)
Substitutes not used: Rylee Woods*, Blas Iribarren**
*Crew Soccer Academy player
** Guest player
Montreal Impact: Greg Sutton, Gienir Garcia (Francesco Augustin^, 77), Shavar Thomas, Karl Ouimette^, Calum Mallace, Lamar Neagle (Wandrille Lefevre^, 62), Brian Arguez, Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Anthony Jackson-Hamel^, 71), Miguel Montaño, Andrew Wenger, Mike Fucito
Substitutes not used: Maxime Crepeau^
^ Impact Academy U-21 player
Crew reserves drop 2-1 decision to Montreal Impact reserves
The Columbus Crew reserve team were defeated by their Montreal Impact counterparts 2-1 on Saturday evening in their first MLS Reserve League match of the season. Lamar Neagle and Miguel Montaño scored for Montreal while Aubrey Perry tallied the lone Crew goal.


text:
Have you ever had a QuickBooks problem where all the normal troubleshooting techniques don't work?
Maybe your computer got infected with a virus or a trojan program. You got that cleaned up and you reinstalled QuickBooks. But now QuickBooks just won't launch, or it's operating at a snail's pace, or something that used to work just fine now won't work.
You might get the wonderful error, "QuickBooks has experienced a problem and needs to be shut down. Error …." or "Unrecoverable error …".
If the relationship between QuickBooks and Windows gets messed up, QuickBooks will be messed up. If something alters or corrupts your Windows registry settings for QuickBooks, just uninstalling/reinstalling QuickBooks often won't help.
[NOTE: This has nothing to do with registering your installation of QuickBooks with Intuit, by the way.]
Here's a tool you can use that might help, and it's already right there on your computer. The REBOOT.BAT file gives you a one-click way to re-register your QuickBooks program files to the Windows registry.
The REBOOT.BAT file (sometimes seen as just REBOOT in your Windows folder view) can be located simply by right-clicking your QuickBooks icon on your computer's desktop.
If a menu item then appears saying "Open file location", click that and it will take you to the folder where REBOOT.BAT lives. If you don't see "Open file location", click instead on "Properties" and under the Shortcut tab, look at "Target". Don't change the contents of "Target", but make a note of the path it specifies. Then open My Computer and open the folders to drill down to that location on your computer.
Then double-click REBOOT.BAT (or REBOOT) and your QuickBooks program files will be re-registered to Windows. You'll see a command prompt-style window open and a number of commands execute. When I ran this on my computer, one of the commands took several seconds to complete. Be patient. When it runs through all the commands, the window will automatically close. Your computer will NOT reboot (I think this command is badly named.)
Then run QuickBooks again and see if REBOOT has cleared up your problem.
NOTE: This troubleshooting tip won't help solve company data file problems in QuickBooks. Data corruption issues have to be handled in a different way.


text: ©2011-2013 Activision Publishing, Inc. SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S ADVENTURE, SKYLANDERS CLOUD PATROL, SKYLANDERS BATTLEGROUNDS, SKYLANDERS LOST ISLANDS, PORTAL OF POWER, LIGHTCORE, BRING THE SKYLANDERS TO LIFE, BLOCK FU and ACTIVISION are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks and "PS3" and the PlayStation Network logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. KINECT, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. Wii and Nintendo 3DS are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2012 Nintendo. The ESRB rating icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All rights reserved. Activision makes no guarantees regarding the availability of online play or features, and may modify or discontinue online service in its discretion without notice, including for example, ceasing online service for economic reasons due to a limited number of players continuing to make use of the service over time. Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB. iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Kindle, Kindle Fire, Amazon, the Amazon Kindle logo, and the Kindle Fire logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.