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We're all riding the high from last night's Modern Bride Trendsetters Awards Dinner. It was a hit! The night started out on a very glam note, with the red carpet in the courtyard of the New York Palace Hotel. Flashbulbs were popping and camera crews were in place to capture our celeb presenters: Sex and the City's Kristin Davis; Christian Siriano of Project Runway; actress Holly Robinson Peete and her husband, former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete; Bethenny Frankel of Real Housewives of NYC; and models Lydia Hearst and Rachel Hunter. Read more ››
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Starstruck at MB
Sometimes my job here has nothing to do with helping to publish Modern Bride. Lately I've been spending a lot of time preparing for a big red-carpet event we're holding next month to honor our 25 Trendsetters of 2009. Read more ››


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The Bethlehem Fire Department responded about 12:30 and Deputy Chief Craig Baer said it took about 15 minutes to get the two-alarm blaze under control. Damage was contained mostly to the third floor, he said.
No one was hurt, he said.
Baer, who is also the city fire marshal, said the investigation into the cause of the fire was just beginning in the second of a six-home row near East Union Boulevard. He would not comment when asked if it appeared to be suspicious.
Bethlehem police said it was "unknown" if the public needed to be advised of any danger from the fire. Pennsylvania State Police at Bethlehem said they had not been called to assist.
Bethlehem police were on the scene, but Baer declined to say if anyone had been taken into custody.
At 1:40, Linden Street and East Union Boulevard remained closed for a few blocks in all directions.
The person who answered the phone at a business in the middle of the block said no evacuation order had been given in the neighborhood.
Stephen Posivak Jr. and Joanne Posivak own the home, but they list their address as the 900 block of Walter Street, according to Northampton County property records, which indicate it is not divided into apartments.

subset: commoncrawl


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Erasing a blemish that's been oozing since 1990, the San Francisco 49ers ventured triumphantly onto the humid tundra of Green Bay and served notice to the rest of the NFC that the long and winding road that leads to funky New Orleans in February of 2013 still parades it's way through smelly Candlestick Park.
The Beatles (whose final U.S. Concert was at the even-then smelly Candlestick Park) sang "All you need is Love", but for Alex Smith the song goes "All you pretty much need is Wide Receivers." To which I add: And Frank Gore, David Akers and that Defense, with a capital D. To further butcher the fine lyrics of the Lads from Liverpool "There's nothing you can do that they can't stop."
If Punter Andy Lee doesn't out-kick his coverage team in the 4th Quarter, and if Randall Cobb of Green Bay doesn't run it back all the way for a TD, and if the sometimes pathetic fill-in officials don't blow an obvious blocking in the back penalty on the return then the game is no where near as close as the score. It was 23-7 at the end of the 3rd, thanks in part to Kicker David Akers NFL record-tying 63 yard field goal just before halftime that received a beneficent bounce off the crossbar of the goal post.
The 49ers brought in Randy Moss to help bolster their anemic 2011 red-zone performance, and Moss did catch his first touchdown pass since 2010 in the first half, yet if 49er Quarterback Alex Smith wasn't so fixated on Moss near the goal line in the 3rd Quarter, he might have taken advantage of Green Bay's blown defensive coverage and found Michael Crabtree all alone in the corner of the end zone. I believe Green Bay ended up with a Defensive End covering Crabtree. No matter, Smith hit Tight End Vernon Davis with a four yard throw for a TD, capping the 49ers red-zone efficiency at a nice round 100%. Besides, Green Bay played the gracious host and provided several other blown defensive coverages, most of which Smith was able to fully exploit. At one point, the 'Niners ran off three straight 20 yard-plus plays.
Smith looks different this year. He seems to have shaken off the 49ers flirting with Peyton Manning and re-embraced Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. There was nothing he could do about all the offensive coordinators and head coaches and turmoil in the front office, but maybe he has learned how to be Alex Smith in time. He completed 76% of his passes, 15 to wide receivers, 3 to TE Vernon Davis, and only 2 to running backs. His 20 of 26 day with 2 TD's and 0 interceptions added up to a quarterback rating of 125.6, which is just below Peyton Manning and above Tom Brady. More importantly, Smith led the 49ers to a crucial 4th quarter score after Cobb's electric punt return brought the Green Bay crowd back from wherever they had gone to be quiet together.
Frank Gore looked good, with over a hundred yards and a 7 yard-per-carry average. Kendall Hunter proved an able back-up, taking 9 carries and averaging 4.6 yards per-carry. The offensive line is big and fast and has had a year to gel. Harbaugh is inspired, and obviously has the attention of his team. Yes, it's a long season, but Harbaugh, Smith, Gore and Willis may be the new Fab Four: "Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game. It's easy."


text: Mothers By Dr. James Robertson Jr. • Mar 6, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email In part 163 of our Civil War series, Virginia Tech history professor James Robertson pays homage to the mother who sends her son into battle. They experience a unique brand of suffering. Vintage Mother's Day Card Credit evhagen.com Listen Listening... / Mothers of soldiers View the discussion thread.


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City Council passes drinking ordinance
The City Council passed the underage drinking ordinance at their regular Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 5.
The measure, designed to combat adult-hosted drinking parties, passed six votes to one.
Councilmember Mike Grady, who wanted the ordinance to include underage people who are 20 or 21, voted no.
Last January, the Council directed staff to examine the option of creating a civil infraction as an additional method of deterring underage drinking in Mercer Island.
An underage gathering where alcohol is consumed "constitutes a public nuisance, is an immediate threat to public health and safety, and is prohibited," the ordinance states. The ordinance is designed specifically to deter drinking by anyone under the age of 19 and excludes landlords from liability.
In brief, a civil infraction or a ticket would be issued to a person whose residence is used for an underage gathering involving the consumption of alcohol, regardless of whether or not the responsible person permitted such activity. Those cited would be fined $250 for the first offense.
The ordinance invokes strict liability if a party occurs at the home of an adult, or premises they control. The intent is to establish that a violation has occurred — similar to driving at a speed higher than the posted limit on an Island roadway. The officer in such a situation has the discretion as to whether a ticket should be written. A judge can listen to evidence that a person was not responsible for what happened and reduce the fine or dismiss the case.
"These are the types of decisions that our police officers make every day," said Police Chief Ed Holmes. "They are trained to use their judgment and discretion to individual situations."
Some community members were worried that adults could be cited, despite truly not knowing what had occurred. City Attorney Katie Knight said it is intended to target homeowners who host parties with underage drinking — not to ensnare homeowners who do not.
Councilmember Dan Grausz stated that the reason the Council decided to prepare the ordinance was to take action on a serious problem concerning teen drinking on the Island.
"The reason we are doing this is to provide our police and Youth & Family Services another tool to prevent what we know is a serious problem in our country and in our own community," he said.
"This ordinance will allow us to ticket adults for not taking appropriate action to prevent teen drinking in their home or on their property," he continued. "With strict liability, those persons cannot get out of those situations by saying, 'I didn't know.'"
A civil infraction can be characterized as more serious than a speeding ticket, but less serious than a DUI. There are no criminal charges associated with a civil infraction. While the amount of the fine might seem small, state law limits the amount.
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Johnson Controls: Efficiency Projects Will Save Governments $4.7bn
Johnson Controls has announced that its current public sector building efficiency projects are "guaranteed" to save more than $4.7 billion in energy, water and operational costs over the next ten years.
The Fortune 100 company said that the future savings are on top of over $19 billion in energy savings already secured for public and private sector customers. These previous projects have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15 million metric tons since 2000, or about the same amount generated annually by 1.3 million homes, Johnson Controls said.
Such projects have no upfront costs to the facilities involved, according to C. David Myers, president of Johnson Controls' building efficiency unit. The projects are typically funded through a performance contracting model, under which the energy savings offset facility improvement costs, the company said.
But a 2010 study by Johnson Controls found that energy management was a higher priority in regions such as China and India than in Europe and North America. Cost saving as an impetus for investment also ranked lower in Europe and North America.
"Buildings are responsible for 40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Improving their performance represents a large opportunity to save energy and reduce the impact of harmful gases on the environment," Myers said at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C. "Leaders are already achieving substantial savings through building retrofits and many have said they plan to place a greater emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives as they look for ways to reduce spending and create local jobs."
Johnson Controls' building efficiency unit has over 1,000 ongoing projects for federal, state and local government in 50 states. These projects include offices, hospitals, schools, universities, airports, prisons and public housing. Efficiency measures used in the projects include installing new heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC) units and control systems, retrofitting lighting, installing insulation, improving water efficiency and installing renewable power.
Last December a UK study found that businesses are walking away from a £1.6bn (US$ 2.5bn) annual saving potential from energy investments because finance directors are undervaluing the financial returns from investments in energy efficiency by more than half.
A 2009 study from Verdantix found that including projects with a short-term investment return were beneficial in clearing roadblocks to energy efficiency investments.
Johnson Controls is a diversified technology and industrial company whose products and services include building management; HVAC systems; car batteries, electronics and interiors; industrial refrigeration; and alarm systems. It recently topped Corporate Responsibility Magazine's 2011 Best Corporate Citizens list.
It was also named as a top ten leader in the market for energy and carbon accounting software in 2011.
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An American Haunting
Movie Review
An American Haunting
by Eric D. Snider
Grade: C-
Released: May 5, 2006
Directed by:
The big selling point for "An American Haunting" seems to be that it's based on the only case in U.S. history where a spirit caused the death of a man. That credential is cited so authoritatively in the film's promotional materials and in the movie's opening titles that it's a couple seconds before you think: Wait a minute. Are you telling me the official cause of death was a GHOST? That was the undisputed medical opinion of the examiners? That a ghost killed him? I don't think so, movie. Not even in 1820, not even in Tennessee.
The legend of the Bell Witch who tormented a Red River, Tenn., family in the late 1810s is, of course, widely disputed, and is mostly believed only by people who like to believe in ghosts anyway. But even if the story were scientifically documented and universally accepted as truth, "An American Haunting" would still be a very lousy thriller.
Written and directed by Courtney Solomon -- the man who brought us "Dungeons & Dragons" in 2000 and hasn't done anything since -- "An American Haunting" firmly believes if something happens suddenly and is accompanied by a loud "sting" on the musical score, that's all that's necessary to scare an audience. There are no haunting images, no creepy scenarios beyond the basic "there's a ghost in my room and it keeps rattling the doorknob." Nope, just a lot of loud noises designed to make you jump.
The story is set mostly in 1817 and 1818, where John Bell (Donald Sutherland) is cursed by a local woman who believes he has wronged her in some business dispute. The woman, Kate Batts (Gaye Brown), declares that "darkness will fall upon you -- you and your precious daughter, too!" So if you wondered whether ALL witches talk like the Wicked Witch of the West, it turns out they do.
Soon thereafter, John and his precious daughter, Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), are indeed harassed by a violent spirit that drags Betsy around the room and rips pages out of Bibles. At first her father and mother (Sissy Spacek) think she's just having nightmares. Then they see her suspended in midair by an unseen force and slapped around like Faye Dunaway at the end of "Chinatown." That settles it: This house is haunted!!
For no reason at all, the story is framed by scenes of the house in 2006, where a mother and daughter live in it and are also beset by spirits. (The girl in these scenes has a poster behind her bed from the movie "Monster," where Charlize Theron played a trailer-trash lesbian murderer. It's such an odd, unlikely detail that I feel obligated to point it out.) The movie also offers a rather specious "explanation" for what causes the haunting, one that adheres to Hollywood's Principle of Religious Hypocrisy: If a character is portrayed as a hardcore Bible-quoting good-faith Christian, he will turn out to be evil.
Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek deserve better than this, and both use their considerable talent to imbue the generic ghost story with more weight than it deserves. Rachel Hurd-Wood, meanwhile, conveys her character's torment mostly by looking sleepy all the time. I guess she would be, what with the ghost pestering her all night, but still. Try to look a little scared, sweetie, not bored. Goodness knows I'm trying.
Grade: C-
Rated PG-13, lots of spooky stuff
1 hr., 31 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, nor reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Eric D. Snider.


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Pandora (P) now -16.9% in response to the WSJ's report (I, II) on Apple's (AAPL) Internet radio ambitions. Pandora has thus far been successful in weathering challenges from Clear Channel, Spotify, and others, in part because of the time invested by its users in building custom stations. But a service that comes pre-installed on iOS devices, features tight iTunes integration, and is backed by Apple's brand and marketing machine would present a different kind of competition.
Pandora (P) now -16.9% in response to the WSJ's report (I, II) on Apple's (AAPL) Internet radio...
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Comments (17)
And now companies with walled garden applications (Itunes, Google Play, etc.) take pause to realize the advantage they might have given to the owners of the garden. Apple can see the popularity and margin that is out there based on the apps in it's store. Additionally apps in Itunes have very restricted limitations on branding, logos and protection. Apple might be effectively running the worlds biggest crowd-funded prototype product search.
And Pandora, you just gave them their next greatest idea.
Pandora is a great site. It works well and is dependable. It seems that P is on the verge of finnally making money. Going in the right direction for sure. Would be such a good buy for Apple to buy them. Just good common sense for P to sell at 18. Hey Apple..read this..
Thanks. I was wondering whether there was anyone left that looks any further than their own personal preferences.
Liking Pandora, the service (I do) is one thing. Liking Pandora, the stock is quite another. I've bought and sold it a couple times, but I'm not convinced of their long term prospects. If they turn belly up I don't want to be missing my money as well as the channels I've set up.
You definitely have not used the service; but in case you were genuinely asking; it's a service that tailors what you hear based on your taste and selections. You usually start with a "seed" of a song or group you like, then it intelligently plays things similar or based on your overall tastes in music.
Sure, sure the service is very good ... but that, the company serves only the service to be good? I think not .. more questions ... is profitable music business? I think the thread is very fine, or you're doing very well with the music or you sink. Lots of illegality in this area. Also as I said above, the Pandora service is so limited that it does only in one country.
And on top of that, Apple gets in competence. I think Pandora would expect more bad than good.
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Syracuse, NY - A former Syracuse School District official was arraigned today in City Court on charges he falsified his payroll records and committed tax fraud.
James J. Monto III, 37, of 164 Forest Hill Drive, was arrested Thursday on felony charges of first-degree falsifying business records and third-degree tax fraud.
Monto is identified in court papers as a Human Resources director who committed the alleged crimes while employed with the Syracuse City School district. Defense lawyer Eric Jeschke said Monto no longer is employed by the school district but he did not know the circumstances of how that happened.
The falsifying business records charge accuses Monto of altering the city school district's payroll records - from January through July 2008 - to reflect that $26,123.83 in federal income taxes were withheld from his 2008 wages when no federal income taxes actually were withheld from his wages that year.
Court papers indicate Monto's W-2 reflected the federal income tax withholding based on the altered school district records.
According to the court papers, the records were altered to allow Monto to take a credit for the amount of the reported withholding when he filed his 2008 federal tax return. That amounted to a larceny from the school district because the school district paid the tax to the Internal Revenue Service when the money had not actually been withheld from Monto's wages, the felony complaint charges.
The criminal tax fraud charge accuses Monto of failing to file personal New York State tax returns for 2008, 2009 and 2010. He evaded $12,161.00 in taxes - $3,256 for 2008, $4,985 for 2009 and $3,920 for 2010 - as a result, according to the court papers.
Monto could face up to seven years in state prison for the tax fraud charge. The falsifying business records charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.
Monto was arrested following an investigation by the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office. Jeschke said he did not know the basis of the allegations against Monto at this point.
Monto was arraigned today before City Judge Vanessa Bogan who allowed him to remain free on his own recognizance and adjourned the case to April 30.


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I have a Viewsat Extreme I am planning to sell. Before I do I want to up load the latest sat files, because the original files (cir 2003-04) are out of date. Any idea where I can get them. I have a copy of the Viewsat loader, so I'm okay there.
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Need Viewsat Sat Files
Started by thebigeazy , Oct 29 2012 07:28 AM
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Posted 29 October 2012 - 07:28 AM


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- By pion2012Collection
Robert Abbey Addison Wide Weathered Brass Table Lamp
$613 lampsplus.com
The Addison wide table lamp from Robert Abbey features a wonderful, aged brass finish with decorative accents of smoky, antique mirror glass. Ornamental pattern covers all four sides of this rectangular design. Taupe dupioni fabric shade completes the design. Great transitional accent to complement your decor.
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Posted by Sanjit Shah on November 21st, 2011
CAMBRIDGE, MA. – Nov. 21, 2011 — Bradford Networks, the best choice to enable secure network access for corporate issued and personal mobile devices, today announced that it has been named a finalist in the 2012 SC Magazine Awards. Selected by SC Magazine's esteemed reader base, Bradford's Network Sentry was named a top product in the Best Network Access Control (NAC) Reader's Trust Award category. As the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement accelerates, Network Sentry was recognized for its ability to provide enterprise IT administrators with greater visibility and control over any and all mobile devices on the network, and its unique ability to differentiate between corporate and personal assets and provision network access accordingly.
This year, the SC Magazine Awards introduced the Best NAC product category to its list of prominent industry awards for the first time, recognizing that the consumerization of IT has emerged as a serious enterprise security threat. Network Sentry was selected as a finalist from among hundreds of entries.
"We have worked hard to ensure we are the top NAC solution in the market for addressing BYOD issues, and we couldn't be happier that SC Magazine readers have recognized our value," said Frank Andrus, CTO of Bradford Networks.
SC Magazine distinguishes the achievements of the security professionals in the trenches, the innovations happening in the vendor and service provider communities and the passionate work of government, commercial and nonprofits – all working to help improve global security.
In its 15th year, the information security industry's most prominent accolade, the annual SC Awards, showcase the best solutions, services and professionals while recognizing achievement and technical excellence. Winners from each category will be selected by the wide distribution of SC Magazine readers – security and technology experts from large, medium and small enterprises from all major vertical markets and announced at a gala dinner and award ceremony to be held in San Francisco on Tuesday, February 28, 2012.
"This year, we mixed things up a bit and added four new categories: Best Cloud Computing Security, Best Fraud Prevention Solution, Best NAC Product and Best Database Security – driving even more submissions than the previous year," said Illena Armstrong, editor-in-chief, SC Magazine. "At the SC Awards gala, we'll celebrate the brave men and women battling a new era of cyber crime, where stealthy and persistent threats are stealing the daily headlines. We look forward to hearing the stories of innovation and victory, as we encounter a new frontier of corporate security threats designed to steal the heart of an organization: data."
About SC Magazine
SC Magazine provides IT security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders and the best, most extensive collection of product reviews in the business. By offering a consolidated view of IT security through independent product tests and well-researched editorial content that provides the contextual backdrop for how these IT security tools will address larger demands put on businesses today, SC Magazine enables IT security pros to make the right security decisions for their companies. The brand's portfolio includes the SC World Conference and Expo, SC Congress Canada, SC Magazine Awards, SC Directory, SC Magazine Newswire and SC Magazine IT Security Executives Forums


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CLEVELAND, Ohio — It's been quite a season for Peyton Manning.
On Sunday, the Denver Broncos crushed the Texans, 37-13, at Houston to clinch the AFC West title. In the process, Manning threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, giving him the single-season record with 51 TD passes, breaking Tom Brady's record of 50. He's also the first quarterback to throw for than 5,000 yards and 50 TDs in a season.
And there's one more game to go.
Despite clinching the division, next Sunday's game against the Raiders at Oakland is not meaningless. Home-field advantage throughout the playoffs is still up for grabs. A loss to the Raiders and a New England victory over the Buffalo Bills would give the Patriots home-field advantage.
That's just scratching the surface of the AFC playoff scenario. Although five of the six spots are claimed — by the Broncos, Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs — seeding is not set.
So Manning likely will tack on some more TD throws to his record in order to avoid traveling to New England. He probably has no desire to go to Foxboro, Mass. — the Broncos lost at New England, 34-31, on Nov. 24 after leading, 24-0, at the half. In 2004, when Manning played for Indianapolis and first set the season record for TD passes with 49, the Colts lost at New England twice, on opening day and in the AFC Championship Game.
Manning wants to avoid a repeat of history, but he's also making his own. And his superb play at the age of 37 has some, like Andrew Corsello of GQ, calling him the greatest quarterback ever — and he made this declaration before Sunday's game:
The rap against Manning is that his postseason record pales next to those of Brady, Aikman, Bradshaw, and especially Montana — who went four for four without a single pick in his Super Bowl appearances — and that he's got "only" one ring. But Manning has played at a rarefied level more consistently than any other player. (His four MVPs are the most of any player in history, and his 12 Pro Bowl selections are the most by any QB.) His best is categorically different from any other QB's best. It's got more working parts and gears. It's more orchestral.
Manning's achievements brought plenty of praise on Twitter:
Congrats to Peyton Manning 1 of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play for breaking the all time single season TD pass record.— DeionSanders (@DeionSanders) December 22, 2013
If Peyton Manning doesn't win the MVP they might as well throw the trophy away ..— Glenn Quagmire (@AzeemTheDream_) December 23, 2013
Let's venture over to the NFC side for a bit. The playoff picture is much more unsettled in the NFC, with only the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers clinching spots. The Seahawks failed to clinch the NFC West, suffering a rare loss at home in falling, 17-10, to the Arizona Cardinals (10-5), a win that kept the Cardinals' playoff hopes alive. The Panthers now lead the NFC South after defeating the New Orleans Saints, 17-13, but did not clinch the division. The Saints and the San Francisco 49ers currently lead the wild-card chase, and the Chicago Bears lead the NFC Central at 8-7 despite getting throttled, 54-11, by the Eagles at Philadelphia on Sunday night.
The Bears will host the Green Bay Packers (7-7-1) next week to decide the division. Meanwhile, the Eagles (9-6) will travel to Texas to play the Dallas Cowboys (8-7) in a game that will decide the NFC East. One week after again being labeled a choker following a catastrophic loss to Green Bay, Tony Romo rallied the Cowboys from nine points down in the fourth quarter on the road to beat the Washington Redskins, 24-23. It's the third season in a row the Cowboys are playing in a "win or go home" game in the final week of the season. They lost the previous two years, and it could be three straight losses because the Eagles are peaking at the right time, says Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report:
We talk a lot about the importance of getting hot at the right time, and that is admittedly a cliche. But cliches aren't necessarily false. The Eagles have now won six of seven; Dallas has lost two out of three. After dominating the Bears, the Eagles can now forget about that one blip within this seven-game stretch. In a Week 17 game that is expected to come down to the wire, that could be what puts Philly over the top against a less confident and less healthy Cowboys squad.
One team that is sure to go home after next week is the Detroit Lions. At one point the Lions were at the top of the NFC Central at 6-3. They've now lost five of their past six games, including a 23-20 overtime loss at home Sunday to the New York Giants. The loss eliminated the Lions from the playoffs. Now it appears coach Jim Schwartz's job is in jeopardy. At one point during Sunday's game, Schwartz seemed to be yelling at booing Lions fans — a poor move for a head coach, says Detroit Free Press columnist Jeff Seidel:
If a team is a reflection of a coach, this moment explained everything. It was totally undisciplined. And he let his emotion take over. ... It is hard to find a reason to bring back Schwartz after the way the season has ended. If you give him credit for a 6-3 start, you have to hold him accountable for this complete collapse. This team is loaded with talent and primed for the playoffs. But the season slipped away. And now, the Lions have been eliminated from the playoffs, in a year when nobody deserves to win the NFC North.
Schwartz is far from alone in having a coaching job in jeopardy. Rex Ryan reportedly told his players he would soon be fired before the New York Jets defeated the Browns, 24-13. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett likely will be fired if the team fails to make the playoffs, according to reports. The Raiders' Dennis Allen, the Redskins' Mike Shanahan, the Buccaneers' Greg Schiano and the Vikings' Leslie Frazier also are in danger of losing their jobs once the season is over.


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Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Langenbrunner and Taormina improving, but won't accompany team to Toronto
Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said this afternoon that the MRIs taken Monday on right wing Jamie Langenbrunner's sore neck and defenseman Matt Taormina's left ankle "didn't show anything specific" as far as structural damage and both are out day to day.
Both will remain home, however, when the team leaves Wednesday afternoon for its trip to Toronto (Thursday night game) and St. Louis (Saturday).
"Neither at this point will make the trip because they're still sore," Lamoriello said. "We're going to wait until they're right. When it comes to those things, you can aggravate them when you start to feel good. But they are better today than they were yesterday and better yesterday than the day before. So, it's just the way it's going to be monitored."
Lamoriello said the best term for Taormina's ankle injury is sprain because neither the X-ray nor the MRI showed a bone break.
"The X-ray and MRI showed there's no structural damage," Lamoriello said. "So, right now, it's soreness that you go through."
Langenbrunner's MRI also showed no structural damage to his neck and his soreness has been subsiding, but the Devils want to wait until it's completely gone before letting him return.


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Money isn't the answer.
It certainly seems like the answer when the focal point is budgets and dwindling resources. Money, money, money. If we had more money in Michigan we wouldn't have all these problems, right?
Just think, if Steve Jobs, out of the goodness of his heart, decided to provide laptop computers for every child in America, it would level the playing field for children so that all would, theoretically, have access to information. But would it improve educational attainment?
Or consider this: There are millions of cell phones out there and many people have access to a phone at all times. It seems like people are yakking constantly, while they're walking down the street, while they're driving their cars, while they're in meetings or at lunch. Are they better communicators?
In Kalamazoo, a remarkable investment, through The Kalamazoo Promise, allows the public school district to offer college scholarships to graduating seniors. Does that mean all these students will be eligible for and receive The Promise scholarship?
Make no mistake; money creates opportunities for young people, provides employment, or a safety net when necessary, and helps people in poverty. And taking money away from programs that serve children, particularly in early childhood, can do harm.
But money is not the answer to the difficult problems we face.
Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo is recruiting volunteers as part of its "600 Plan." The goal is to grow the number of volunteers to 600 adults working with students this year. At last count, this initiative was not quite half the way there. They need more volunteers.
Educators know that the key to student achievement is, quite simply, the relationship between the child and a caring adult.
Technological innovation and excellent school programming can take us so far. But nothing can replace the power of that bond between a teacher or mentor and a child.
According to Coco Pratt Cook, director of mentoring/tutoring for Communities In Schools Kalamazoo, 2009-10 school year data show that KPS reading, writing and math scores, as well as attendance and behavior, improved the most in schools that had the greatest numbers of volunteers.
Volunteers are not required to have a college degree or specialized academic training, but they must be at least 18. College students looking to give back to the community, people who are in transition in their lives, retirees who would like to add something to their day — all are potential mentors.
Taking the time each week to read a book with a child or help with homework, for example, may provide much-needed individualized attention and positive reinforcement for the student.
Sometimes, these mentoring relationships can make the difference between students achieving academically or dropping out of school.
When viewed from that perspective, a small gift of time can end up contributing something truly profound in the life of a child and, ultimately, the community.
We are embarking on a time when money for programs serving children is growing scarce and may even dry up. Difficult decisions must be made and everyone will end up sacrificing something. So we all can sit back and accept that one of our most vulnerable populations — the children — will have to do with less. Or we can decide that this is simply unacceptable. We can stand up, get involved and make a difference in the fate of our community.
That's why we're saying money isn't the answer.
People are.


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Lowell Wastewater Project a Model of Sustainability
Four More MassEnergyInsight Users Gain A+ Rating
Seven New Green Communities Named in Sixth Round of Designations
DOER Awards 21 Owner's Agent Grants
Green Communities Grants at Work – Four-Region Roundup of Projects
Lowell Wastewater Project a Model of Sustainability
For many people, the words "clean" and "green" don't conjure up thoughts of sewage treatment. But those familiar with recent activities and accomplishments at the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility know otherwise. Featured in December's Treatment Plant Operator, a national trade publication, the Lowell facility boasts an array of clean energy and environmentally-friendly features that are yielding greater reliability and cost savings, thanks to a $22 million investment that included over $4.6 million in federal Recovery Act funds. Serving a population of 180,000 in Lowell and surrounding communities, the facility has improved its aeration system, installed two solar photovoltaic arrays totaling 48 kilowatts, and installed green roofs and pervious asphalt and concrete to reduce runoff.
These projects demonstrate the efforts of both City Manager Bernie Lynch and Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility Executive Director Mark Young to cultivate a culture of sustainability in Lowell. Consistent with other sustainability investments - including a $21.1 million energy performance contract with Ameresco that is expected to save the city $1.5 million annually in energy costs over 20 years, improvements at the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility are projected to produce electricity cost savings of over $75,000 annually.
Four More MassEnergyInsight Users Gain A+ Rating
Belchertown, Easthampton, Hamilton and Palmer have joined the ranks of the Commonwealth's MassEnergyInsight A+ users – defined as municipalities that are using this free online energy tracking tool and have at least 90 percent of their:
- accounts assigned to specific facilities
- buildings entered with square footage data
- facilities classified with categories and subcategories.
Created in 2010, MEI works by assigning account numbers to a municipality's or public water/wastewater district's buildings or other facilities such as pumping stations, streetlights or vehicles. MEI then loads usage and cost data related to those accounts directly from electric and gas utilities, without requiring data entry by the municipal user. Other energy data (such as oil, propone, gasoline and diesel usage and cost, competitive supply cost and renewable energy generation) do require entry into MEI by the user. MEI has reports that allow municipalities to compare energy use, costs and associated greenhouse gas emissions across years for all municipal operations, by department, or for individual facilities. There are 226 municipalities, representing 77 percent of the state's population, currently signed up to use MEI. Including the four new additions, MEI A+ users are:
Agawam, Arlington, Becket, Belchertown, Beverly, Bridgewater, Cambridge, Concord, Dedham, Duxbury, Easthampton, Easton, Egremont, Great Barrington, Hamilton, Harvard, Huntington, Lakeville, Lancaster, Leverett, Medford, Medway, Milton, New Marlborough, New Salem, Newton, Norfolk, Northampton, Palmer, Plympton, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Truro, Tyringham, and Woburn. To add your city, town or regional district to the list, visit your "Setup Completeness Dashboard" in MEI today.
Seven New Green Communities Named in Sixth Round of Designations
DOER designated seven new Green Communities in December, bringing to 110 the number of Massachusetts cities and towns committed to five clean energy leadership criteria spelled out in the Green Communities Act.
With addition of Petersham, Rockland, Wendell, Westminster, Westwood, Whately and Winthrop, nearly half of Massachusetts residents ─ 45.2 percent ─ now live in a Green Community. By choosing to earn Green Community status, these 110 cities and towns have qualified for approximately $24 million in Green Communities grants since DOER launched the designation and grant program in 2010. The state's Green Communities have also committed to reduce their municipal energy use by 20 percent over five years – a commitment equivalent to the annual energy consumption of over 13,600 homes, which, in greenhouse gas reduction terms, equates to taking nearly 31,000 cars off the road.
DOER Awards 21 Owner's Agent Grants
In February, 21 cities, towns, and other municipal entities received Owner's Agent Technical Assistance grants of up to $12,500 each. The Green Communities Division awarded a total of $252,840 to assist a range of local projects including solar PV systems, energy management services, ASHRAE Level 2 audits in oil- or propane-heated buildings, and engineering studies for more efficient heating systems or conversion to renewable or alternative fuel-sourced heating.
Grant recipients include: Falmouth, Gill, Medford, Melrose, Merrimac, Methuen, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, North Andover, Otis, Pepperell, Petersham, Sherborn, South Essex Sewerage District, Springfield, Sudbury, Sunderland, Wayland, Westborough, West Newbury, Weston, and Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District.
The Division plans to offer another round of Owner's Agent Technical Assistance grants later this year.
Green Communities Grants at Work – A Four-Region Roundup of Green Communities Projects
- Western Region – Chesterfield Efficiency Seekers Get a Leg Up
- Southeast Region – Easton Gymnasium an Energy Savings Slam Dunk
- Northeast Region – Cycling Success in Salem
- Central Region – Millbury Taps Utility Incentives for Efficiency Project
Western Region – Chesterfield Efficiency Seekers Get a Leg Up
When it comes to cutting heating bills, every little bit helps. Chesterfield residents are getting more than a little help from their municipality this year, thanks to an innovative local program funded through the town's 2011 Green Communities grant. Some $55,000 of the town's $140,000 grant is funding the Chesterfield Residential Energy Efficiency Program, which has received 24 applications for measures such as exterior door replacement, pipe insulation, and window curtains since it launched with a series of information sessions in November. One project has already been completed and reimbursed.
Developed by the Chesterfield Green Communities Committee in conjunction with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the Hilltown Community Development Corporation and Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO), the Chesterfield Residential Energy Efficiency Program adds value to incentives already offered through WMECO's MassSave program. As is the case statewide, following a MassSave home energy assessment, the local utility (through MassSave) reimburses homeowners for 75 percent of assessment recommendations up to $2,000. Chesterfield residents are now incentivized to make further efficiency improvements through the town's reimbursement of up to $1,000 in additional costs – for total potential savings of $3,000 on efficiency and weatherization measures.
Energy Committee Chair Joe Gazillo said Chesterfield residents are motivated to participate in the program for reasons related to both saving money and protecting the environment.
"The goal of the Commonwealth's Green Communities program is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut our carbon footprint. In a community like ours, where most homes are heated with oil, this is done most effectively at the household level," he said. "This program is protecting the environment and saving money, and it helps people to feel better about their community."
Over 40 people attended the program information sessions last fall, and the town is planning additional sessions to introduce more residents to the program later this winter and in the spring.
Southeast Region – Easton Gymnasium an Energy Savings Slam Dunk
Following its December 2010 designation as a Green Community, the town of Easton began work on five Green Communities grant-approved energy efficiency projects, including upgrading the gymnasium lighting systems in the Oliver Ames High School – a project that included replacing 66 320-watt fixtures with efficient T5 lighting and upgrading existing sensors.
A collaborative effort between town Department of Public Works staff and the School Department and completed during the 2011 winter break, the Oliver Ames High School gymnasium lighting project is estimated to save over 35,200 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and cut the school's electricity bill by approximately $6,000 per year, according to Northern Energy Services, National Grid's small business vendor. The payback period for the project is approximately four years.
While the town is unable to track the energy reduction from the lights alone, the school overall has seen a nearly 10 percent reduction in energy usage – from 2,212,500 kWh in 2010 to 1,992,000 kWh in 2012.
In completing the project, the town of Easton took advantage of $12,540 in cost savings through National Grid incentives, as well as a no-cost energy assessment of the high school. After application of $8,580 in Green Communities grant funds, the final project cost is being charged to the School Department at no interest.
"Because the gymnasiums are among the largest of facilities, Easton can expect substantial savings in energy use and associated costs as a result of this project," said David Twombly, Easton's Director of School Operations. "This will significantly help Easton fulfill its Green Community commitment to reduce its energy use by 20 percent over five years."
Northeast Region – Cycling Success in Salem
Salem Spins, an urban bike sharing program funded in part with Salem's Green Communities designation grant, racked up nearly 1,000 "rentals" during its first full season of operation from April – November 2012. Assisted with $22,500 from Salem's 2010 Green Communities grant, the program enables city residents, visitors and students to avoid motorized traffic and parking woes by checking out bicycles at two hubs – the Hawthorne Hotel in downtown Salem and at Salem State College. Ten hybrid bikes are parked at each location and available for use by those aged 18 and up. Operated with cooperation and support from Mayor Kim Driscoll's office, the Hawthorne Hotel, Salem State College, and several city agencies, Salem Spins was "well received" during its inaugural year, and will start up again this spring, said Salem Energy and Sustainability Manager Jeffrey Elie. Salem Spins patrons receive a bike path brochure indicating local roads with shared lanes for bikes.
"A lot of the users were people staying at the hotel. Parking is a pretty big challenge, especially during the Halloween holiday season. During September and October, we saw an increased surge," Elie said, adding, "I definitely think convenience and not having to drive at Salem State was a big, big thing for students. Parking is an issue there as well."
Elie said plans for improvements for the 2013 season of Salem Spins include exploring a more streamlined rental process and a more protective downtown bike shelter, and development of a more aggressive marketing campaign that includes a dedicated website and greater presence on Facebook and Twitter. The city is also looking into expanding the program with additional bike racks in other Salem locations.
Central Region – Millbury Taps Utility Incentives for Efficiency Project
The town of Millbury leveraged $11,530 of its 2011 Green Communities grant for more than twice that amount in utility rebates in order to complete a $38,434 energy efficiency project at its Municipal Office Building. Estimated to save 36,488 kilowatt hours of electricity annually and over $4,050 in municipal energy costs annually, the project involved upgrading the building's interior and exterior lighting and the addition of a soda vending machine miser.
Completed last summer, the Millbury's project replaced existing fluorescent lighting with high performance T8 and T5 lamps and converted the building's rear parking lot and driveway lights to LEDs. In addition to saving the town money, the more efficient lighting will yield estimated greenhouse gas emissions savings of nearly 39,600 pounds – an impact roughly equivalent to taking four cars off the road.
"Because the Municipal Office Building is an inefficient building and it is visited by most Millbury residents and businesses, the Energy Advisory Committee decided to focus many of our energy conservation measures there. We are grateful that National Grid and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources saw fit to finance this project," said Laurie Connors, who is Millbury's Town Planner as well as Chairman of the Energy Advisory Committee. " It is unlikely that the town of Millbury would have been able to make such a large initial investment, particularly when considering the high cost of LED lights. We are hoping that the long-term cost savings realized through the lighting upgrade project will inspire the citizenry to support the use of town funds to make similar investments. Not only is it the right thing to do for the environment, but it saves the town a good deal of money over time."


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Toronto, Canada - GAO Fiber Optics is offering this handheld optical power meter which provides a wider power measurement range and a higher frequency range than other similar devices. This power meter is commonly used in the testing of fiber optic networks and for CATV installation and maintenance, LAN and WAN testing and quality assurance and acceptance testing.
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The handheld optical power meter is calibrated over a large number of wavelengths to enable power measurements to be made on a wide range of single mode and multimode fiber optic cable systems. It communicates with a computer via USB port for data exchange. It is available for all common connector types including FC, SC, ST, and LC. In addition, this power meter provides more than 30 hours of continuous operation with a 3.7 V rechargeable lithium battery.
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Eveleth, MN (NNCNOW.com) --- A former head coach and a former player at the University of Wisconsin are among the four people set to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as the Class of 2014, it was announced on Wednesday morning.
Jeff Sauer and Brian Rafalski, who coached and played for the Badgers respectively, join two-time Olympian Karyn Bye Dietz and longtime coach Lou Vairo as this year's inductees to the Hall of Fame located in Eveleth, Minn.
Sauer coached the Badgers for 20 seasons, qualifying for 12 NCAA Division I tournaments and winning NCAA Division I championships in both 1983 and 1990. He also coached 11 seasons at Colorado College.
Rafalski, meanwhile, played at Wisconsin for four seasons and totaled 20 goals and 98 points in 146 games. He then went on to 11 seasons in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup in 2000 and 2003 with New Jersey and then again in 2008 with Detroit.
In his 11 seasons, Rafalski amassed 515 points that still rank as 10th-most among American-born defensemen. He also represented the United States in the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Bye Dietz also has experience with the national team, having played for the United States from 1992-2002. In that time, she helped the Americans win a gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Games and a silver medal in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Vairo, meanwhile, has been an influential player in USA Hockey since the 1960s, most notably as a scout and coach of the men's national team. He was a scout for the gold medal-winning 1980 team in Lake Placid, N.Y., and then he was head coach of the 1984 team before serving as an assistant coach on the silver medal-winning 2002 team.
The Class of 2014 will be officially inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Dec. 4 in either Minneapolis, Minn. or St. Paul, Minn., with specific details to be discussed in the coming weeks.


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March 2011
Donnie Baseball wins debut
With only an unearned run for support, Clayton Kershaw fired seven scoreless innings Thursday as the Dodgers edged the World Series champion Giants and ace Tim Lincecum, 2-1, presenting new manager Don Mattingly with an Opening Day first victory.
The 23-year-old Kershaw, the youngest Opening Day starter for the Dodgers since Fernando Valenzuela in 1983, struck out nine and allowed four hits with one walk. He outdueled Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who also went seven innings with five strikeouts, five hits and three walks.
— Ken Gurnick
E equals W for Padres
An error by Cardinals shortstop Ryan Theriot in the 11th inning on Thursday helped the Padres to a 5-3 victory before a sold-out crowd of 46,368 at Busch Stadium.
Chase Headley scored from third base when Theriot botched the relay throw back into the infield after a single by Cameron Maybin. Nick Hundley drove in a run later in the inning for the final margin.
The Cardinals (0-1) took a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning before Ryan Franklin allowed a home run to Maybin with two outs in the inning.
The Cardinals got three hits from Matt Holliday, including a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
— Corey Brock
Halo 2011!
Pitching, defense and power carried the Angels to an impressive 4-2 Opening Day decision over the Royals under threatening skies at Kauffman Stadium.
Jered Weaver, the Majors' 2010 strikeout king, was on his game, and Torii Hunter and Jeff Mathis smacked solo home runs to lead the assault against Royals starter Luke Hochevar.
Hunter's 446-blast to dead center – his third career Opening Day homer and second in Kansas City — snapped a scoreless duel in the fourth.
— Lyle Spencer
Mattingly ready
Don Mattingly said he was "definitely excited" as first pitch approached for his first game as Dodgers manager Thursday. He bought a luxury box for the "20 to 30" family and friends who traveled for his debut. "I feel a little better than I thought I would," he said. "I thought I'd be more edgy."
He said predecessor Joe Torre called earlier in the week to wish him luck "before going to Hawaii." He said Torre also "scolded" him for the Dodgers' bench-clearing confrontation with the Padres Saturday, the second such incident for the Dodgers this spring.
"I didn't mind what happened the other day," said Mattingly, who earlier said he liked the "spirit" his team showed in an exchange of hit batters that resulted in umpire warnings to both clubs.
— Ken Gurnick
Padres look stronger up the middle
It wasn't more than two days after the 2010 regular season ended when Padres general manager Jed Hoyer told reporters that he wanted the team to be stronger up the middle in 2011.
Hoyer then went out and traded for center fielder Cameron Maybin and shortstop Jason Bartlett and signed free second second baseman Orlando Hudson.
All three have made nice first impressions on Opening Day, as Maybin had a sliding catch in shallow center field on the first play of the game.
Bartlett and Hudson — with an assist to pitcher Tim Stauffer, of course — have combined to turn three double plays through the first five innings of Thursday's game.
Strong up the middle, indeed.
— Corey Brock
Hunter comes out smokin'
Three hours before the season opener at Kauffman Stadium, Torii Hunter was talking about how nice it would be to get that first hit out of the way so he could "relax and just play the game."
It took Hunter two at-bats. Leading off the fourth inning against Luke Hochhevar, Hunter launched one 446 feet over the wall in dead center, giving Jered Weaver the lead. In his next at-bat, Hunter singled to left center, but the Angels left two stranded.
"I've been hitting the ball hard," Hunter said before the game. "You like to get your swing right before the season starts. It's like Muhammad Ali when he was training for a fight. He didn't want to peak too soon. He wanted to be ready for the bell."
Hunter clearly was ready for the bell and came out smokin' like Ali's old adversary, Joe Frazier. — Lyle Spencer
It's a walk-off!
Ramon Hernandez sent Cincinnati fans home happy with two-out, three-run homer off Brewers closer John Axford in the bottom of the ninth inning. Watch Hernandez's walk-off shot.
Sweeney recalls first game for KC
Mike Sweeney, in Kansas City to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day, recalled his first game in the Majors for the Royals.
It was late in the 1995 season during a doubleheader against the Blue Jays.
"Believe it or not, I was thrown in as a defensive replacement. They thought I was a pretty good catcher back then," Sweeney recalled. "Paul Molitor hit a chopper down the third-base line and I threw a ball up the first-base line and made an error. And I got fined in Kangaroo Court for having more Major League errors than hits."
At that point, Sweeney turned to his young son, Michael, and asked him if he wanted to be a Major League player. "Yes," the boy replied.
Sweeney said, despite the error, his first game was special.
"It was all you dream of and more," he said.
–Dick Kaegel
Grand start for Yankees
Curtis Granderson may have been surprised to have made it into the Yankees' lineup on Thursday, but there was no doubt about his home run that pushed his team ahead on Opening Day.
Cleared to begin the season after mending a strained oblique muscle quicker than anticipated, Granderson connected off ex-Yankee Phil Coke for a solo seventh-inning homer, nudging New York ahead en route to a 6-3 victory over the Tigers.
It was the third consecutive Opening Day home run for Granderson, who was dealt to the Yankees in December 2009 as the biggest chip in a three-way trade that also sent Coke to the Tigers from New York.
Granderson also made two ridiculous catches in center — one in the first inning and the other a Willie Mays-esque grab in the ninth.
Mark Teixeira's three-run home run in the third inning accounted for the Yankees' scoring against Justin Verlander, who walked four and struck out eight.
–Bryan Hoch


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Advantages of learning a foreign language
Posted 13 December 2004 - 10:27 AM
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.u...ion/3966413.stm
But this year the government removed the requirement for all children in England to study a foreign language to GCSE level. So, is it the government's aim to produce a poorer, boring, less intelligent and less sexy population?
Posted 16 April 2005 - 04:21 PM
which contains many public reactions to a news item on the claim made in a House of Lords report that poor language skills are having a negative effect on Britain's business performance - relating to the current situation in state secondary schools in England (Note: England, NOT Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) whereby foreign languages only have to be studied by children up to the age of 14. Most of the reactions are positive about studying foreign languages, but there are quite a few that support the view that there is no point in learning a foreign language as all the world trades in English.
What do YOU think?
Posted 05 May 2005 - 11:06 PM
foreign languages only have to be studied by children up to the age of 14. Most of the reactions are positive about studying foreign languages, but there are quite a few that support the view that there is no point in learning a foreign language as all the world trades in English.
Graham, it seems we are again revisiting some old grounds with this debate about learning languages. It seems that those who do know languages are the only ones to see the benefit of such learning. Do you think we should consider the problem from a different angle? I have been thinking for some time that we are the victims of some frustrated, hung-up people who'd rather adopt the 'politique de l'autruche' than face their own short-comings. My poiny being that it is easier to bring every boody down to your level than raise yourself to theirs...
Another point I wished to make on this forum was the inconsistencies of governmental decisions in terms of language learning and language teaching. The appearance of the KS3 Strategy seemed an excellent opportubity to make (or try to make) languages accessible to all within a well-thought framework. I read most of it to prepare for an interview, and for once I was quite impressed. The problem is that the next step has been that languages are basically being scrapped from the curricular map for the over 14s. Education in general and languages in particular are suffering from the lack of governmental stability in terms of Education Secretary. I've only been teaching three years (4 if you include my PGCE) and I'm already down to my third Ed Sec!!!
As for a world where every body speaks English, I can only disagree with such statement. First of all, some English-speakers should start by speaking English properly - every day I, the foreigner, have to correct my pupils, the British, on how to speak English properly, let alone another language.... Furthermore, I can definitely say that learning a language, or more than one, helps develop a more analytical and comparative conceptualisation of language in general which in turn helps speakers master their mother tongue better. I am currently learning my fourth language and it's never been so easy! I admit that it's taken me 16 years to get to that statement but it was worth it. Needless to remind ourselves, as well, of the benefits of language learning in terms of understanding different cultures and customs, the promotion of tolerance and acceptance, concepts which should be at the heart of the political debate, rather than rejection, ignorance and intolerance as some of our politicians and/or TV-presenters have suggested on air....
I have been away for a long time so I had a lot to say. Hopefully I will return sooner than in 6 months' time this time....
Posted 06 May 2005 - 09:59 AM
Languages have suffered as a result of the introduction of the performance tables. Headteachers are not well disposed to languages because, being skill-oriented, they require a larger number of hours on the timetable than a subject that one can simply read about. It's estimated by the Council of Europe that around 350-400 learning hours are required to achieve CEF Level B1 (which theoretically corresponds to GCSE).
I compare learning a language to learning to play a musical instrument, namely you only develop the skill to a high level if you practise every day. Similarly, to be good at sports you have to practise regularly. I wonder if Beckham would have got where he is if he had not practised every day.
But, as Audrey points out, knowledge of a foreign language also gives insights into foreign cultures and customs, and it raises awareness of one's mother tongue. One of the reasons why English native speakers are so sloppy is that they are often completely unaware of the way their own language works. I learned most of my English grammar from my German teacher at school.
Posted 07 May 2005 - 03:18 PM
One of the reasons why English native speakers are so sloppy is that they are often completely unaware of the way their own language works.
I would like to meet the person who decided that British children did not need to know the grammar of their own language and tell them what I think of that decision! How much more difficult our job is when we constantly have to correct pupils' speech, their writing, etc... let alone teach them anything worthwhile! This is so frustrating!
Let's see what our newly appointed governement decides to do about the appalling state of Education
Posted 10 August 2008 - 10:30 PM
According to a recent survey, knowing a foreign language can boost your income, and foreign language speakers are also seen as sexier, more intelligent and more interesting:
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.u...ion/3966413.stm
Let's see I know (and also teach) English, a little German and French but I haven't noticed
any boosting in my salary so far. I still have hope, though.
As for foreign language speakers' seen as sexier, more intelligent and more interesting
than those who are monolingual, I find this to be too much of a generalisation.
It all depends on what the person has done to be productive to contribute to the society he/she lives in.
But this year the government removed the requirement for all children in England to study a foreign language to GCSE level. So, is it the government's aim to produce a poorer, boring, less intelligent and less sexy population?
Another point is, nowadays the only purpose for the students who learn a foreign language
is to find a better job. It's the only motivation for these young people and sadly, learning a foreign
language for self-improvement is the last of their interests.
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In a not too distant future, a totalitarian state secret government organization run by the Director ontrols all aspects of life. All enemies of the state are dealt in the harshest way. Condor works as a hitman for the State, but a reunion with someone…
After breaking up with Mark, Bridget Jones decides to focus on her career only until she falls for dashing and handsome Jack. But then she finds herself pregnant, without being sure who is the father of her baby.
The film telling the thrilling story of a prisoner waiting to make bail who realizes that being incarcerated is the least of his problems as he is forced to play a madman's game to save his family's lives.
After attempting suicide, Lisa's best friend feels that a late night ghost hunt in an abandoned warehouse with another girl and a couple of jocks will cheer her up. But there, they unleash a murderous demon while playing a dice game made from human knucklebones.
Emily Barker is a cash strapped student trying to make money as a cleaner, working nights at the East Falls Museum. But then, Emily suspects that one of the exhibits, a creepy vintage doll named Robert, is alive and wreaking havoc after hours.


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Fashion & Style
Chanel disses Danforth after fake storefront surfaces
Word spread this weekend of a new Chanel boutique opening in Toronto, though its neighbours were more baffled than excited by the news. The location of the French couture house's latest showroom? 1822 Danforth Ave., between Coxwell and Woodbine - right next door to the neighbourhood pest control business.
An image of the new storefront, bearing the iconic interlocking-C logo and the words "opening fall 2014", ended up posted on Reddit. "Look up gentrification," one Redditor remarked. (A Chanel boutique in your average residential neighbourhood would probably be filed under 'seriously?', but we digress.)
Others floated the possibility that the incongruous location was a pop-up shop for the brand's grocery-store-inspired Fall 2014 collection, which debuted on a Paris runway flanked with shelves of Chanel-branded cotton swabs, detergent and potato chips. (If that were true, the unusual location, more suited to a real-deal corner store than a Mink Mile-style boutique, would have been a pretty fantastic choice.)
As it turned out, the sign was indeed phony. Art of the Danforth is currently underway in the neighbourhood, and the imaginary Chanel storefront appears to be an offshoot of this project, which asks residents to reimagine what the area would look like after undergoing heavy gentrification.
Upon hearing of the signs, representatives from the brand were up in (boucle-jacketed) arms. "We've advised our legal services and we'll be investigating this," Chanel's public relations director, Virginie Vincens, told Canadian Business. "We would never go in that area." (Danforth residents, don't take that too personally; brands like these avoid being associated with anyone who's not an heiress, a very famous actress, or Cara Delevingne.)
Expansion within Toronto likely wouldn't have been in the cards for the French fashion giant. With existing boutiques in high-end spots like Yorkville and Yorkdale, Chanel's as visible as it currently needs to be in the city - if you're about to pick up a new 2.55, it's really not a problem to venture out of your neighbourhood. But if Chanel Marts ever really do materialize in cities worldwide, I would clean up in aisle No. 5.
Photo via Reddit.
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In THAT area" really? Good
News as I'm sure residents of "our area" wouldn't want you here now anyways. Not
To mention how you've now tarnished your uppity, snobbish brand in my eyes
Does anyone really wear these bags anymore? Every Susan, Barb and Mary on the subway has a fake one.
Seriously? People actually buy crap from a company that speaks about others like this? I feel sorry for them.
You should come out this way from your cul-de-sac in 905 sometime. We're good people.
That area is so up-and-coming. Maybe not forrest hill kind of money but a lot of people with money/good jobs are moving into the area. That being said .. no its not a chanel area or even much of a shopping area except for a few shops here and there
Seriously, though, am I the only one who wishes that pest control company would relocate? It's an eyesore on the Danforth. And I took the same picture as BlogTO (or wherever they got it from) with my phone. The juxtaposition says as much about the pest control group as about Chanel. They have giant plastic rats and fake snakes in the window, for goodness sake.
As for Chanel, several owners of nearby stores told me that they were looking forward to the new store in their midst. They hoped it would increase traffic and retail sales.
Gentrification is coming to the east side of Danforth. I just hope that the development falls between vermin on one side and princesses on the other. What about some healthy, multicultural, family-friendly, creative enterprises? We've got some and we need more.
The PR rep Virginie Vincens is concerned about the brand image being tarnished. A woman whose skill set is likely nothing more than being a stylish sycophant. That, and her following of 36 people on the Twitter feed she has not updated for 2 years.
That's what makes this artistic statement so brilliant. It highlights the soulless emptiness of associating one's self worth with material things, and feeling superior to others for no good reason.
Artist's bogus boarding suggests new luxury retailer in unlikely area.
Only a fool would pay a super-rich company to become a walking billboard for them. It makes far more sense for the company to pay YOU to be its billboard.
There sure are a lot of fools out there.
and judging by the dialogue, people have a lot to say about the trials of urban development.
Chanel is a highly desirable luxury brand, defined by exclusivity and also by the company it keeps. Of COURSE it wouldn't locate in that area (today) anyway – everyone who lives there knows that. The juxtaposition is the thing that makes it interesting – as well as the discussion it instantly provokes.
Is it art? It is at least "design", that is posed or arranged in such a way as to evoke some strong emotions and reflection about what's "right" for the neighborhood whose flavour is changing. To me, that's close enough to give me an experience I associate with art.
But would Chanel "never" locate in that area? Lets not forget posh Yorkville's humble beginnings (where I believe Chanel is located today). According to the Bloor Yorkville BIA website, Chanel's present Toronto home started as a brickworks and breweries. By the 1960's, it had become "shabby and rundown" and home to Toronto's bohemian cultural centre – and the likes of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Margaret Atwood.
Kudos to Chanel for being such good sports about it so far in the Star article in asking to be consulted so they could fix their logo and make it more realistic. Sounds like they are more concerned about not being invited to the party than they are about shutting it down.
I would like to say that if we really want gentrification, we should get together as a community and find ways to make that happen. For example, I would like to see the store fronts cleaned up a little – store windows to look a little more inviting, marketable, relevant…store signs looking a little less dingy and cheap than they appear now. But let's face it, most of these store owners are probably barely making enough in sales to pay their rents, keep their businesses afloat and put food on their tables. So it's a bit of a catch-22. If we were all shopping locally and supporting these stores, they could probably afford to polish up their images a little, which would improve the community's image overall and entice other businesses to move into the area. But most of us probably don't shop at these stores because of their images, appearance and also due to unawareness. I can honestly say the general 'feel' or 'mood' in that area brings me down to the point that I don't even want to venture into the stores there and see what their products or services are. And that's the shame of it. So what do we, as a community do to help ourselves?
I'm going to look into this because this article has got me curious and maybe somebody here can answer these questions:
Does the BIA regulate what types of businesses open up here? Because I think there should be more regulations regarding variety – meaning many different products and services offered as opposed to a line of bars or fast foods, for example.
Also, the businesses should represent all of the cultures that live in this community, in other words more diversity – something for everyone.
There should also be some basic standards regarding store fronts, display windows, signage – not so as to infringe upon people's rights but to hold business owners to a standard of keeping up the image that we want to represent us as a community. That is very important and not enough emphasis is placed on that by the looks of things. Stores along the Danforth, their products, services and images represent this entire community – at least at first glance, don't they? People do make judgments on a community based on the look and feel of their main streets.
So, I'm wondering what is done at that level in this area.
To summarize, I think that despite the difference in opinions here, it is important and good that we talk about it and this art piece initiated that conversation, so it did what it was supposed to do.


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Clyde's Butter-Free Apple Cake Makes 8 servings
1 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing pan (divided use)
2 cups sugar, plus 5 tablespoons divided use
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4-5 large, tart apples (preferably Granny Smith), peeled and thinly sliced
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
2½ teaspoons good-quality vanilla extract
Cook's notes: You'll need a 12-cup tube-style pan, whether springform, Bundt or regular tube cake pan.
Preliminaries: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease the pan with oil.
Prepared apples: In medium bowl, mix 5 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon. Add apple slices and toss until well coated. Set aside.
Make the batter: In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, oil, eggs, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Using a mixer, combine until batter is smooth and thick.
Assemble, bake the cake: Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Top with half the apples, distributing evenly. Repeat with remaining batter and apples. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until apples on top begin to brown slightly on the edges or until toothpick inserted into deepest part of cake comes out with a few crumbs. (Do not overbake, or the cake will be dry.)
Source: Adapted recipe from Vivian Gatta, Clyde's Bistro & Barroom, Cleveland Heights.
Hyde Park's Apple Bourbon Glaze
Makes 2 cups
3 tablespoons butter
12 Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded and cut into ¼-inch dice
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
4 ounces brown sugar
8 ounces bourbon
4 cups real maple syrup
Cook's notes: Use this as a finishing glaze on pork loin or double-cut pork chops.
Make the glaze: In a large saute pan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat and cook apples with ginger. When apples are tender, add the brown sugar and stir gently until dissolved. Add bourbon and syrup and cook until the liquids are reduced by about one-fourth.
Presentation: Spoon a portion over meat for last 10 minutes of cooking and pass the rest, served warm, at the table.
Source: Adapted recipe from Michael LaMarca, regional executive chef, Hyde Park Restaurant Group.
Crock Pot Apple Butter
Makes 10-14 cups
10 apples, cut in halves or quarters (or whatever amount will fill your large slow cooker)
½ cup sugar, or more to taste
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½-1 teaspoon ground cloves
Cook's notes: Straining is a little messy, but it can be easier than peeling the apples. You will need a slow cooker for this recipe, plus a food mill or a mesh strainer and a wide kitchen spoon. Or peel, core and chop and just run through food processor after first cooking. Use tart apples such as Granny Smith, or mix them with other tart varieties such as Lodi, Gold Rush and Jonamac.
Slow-cook the fruit: Pack the cut apples (no need to peel or core) into slow cooker; cover. Cook 18 hours on low setting without disturbing the lid.
Strain the fruit: Run apples through food mill or use back of the kitchen spoon to push through a strainer to remove seeds, stems, peel and cores.
Cook to reduce: Stir sugar and seasonings into the apples. Return mixture to slow cooker and resume cooking on low setting for 4 hours.
Presentation: Serve immediately. Or pack, while still hot, in sterilized canning jars and seal and process the jars. Or cool mixture, pack into containers and freeze.
Source: Adapted recipe from "Saving the Seasons" by Mary Clemens Meyer (Herald Press, 2010).
Ponte Vecchio Apple Fennel Risotto
Makes 4-8 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup diced onion
1 cup diced fennel
2 cups arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
2 medium Golden Delicious apples
3-4 cups apple juice or cider, heated, divided use
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook's notes: Arborio, required for this recipe, is widely available in better supermarkets and specialty stores.
Saute onion, fennel: Heat oil in saucepan on medium heat and cook onions and fennel until vegetables are translucent.
Cook the rice: Add rice and stir with a wooden spoon until rice starts to stick to the pan. Add white wine and apples and stir until the wine is absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of apple juice and stir until absorbed. Repeat until risotto is cooked through (no longer chalky) but still with some al-dente texture.
Presentation: Stir in the cheese, then salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Source: Adapted from Ponte Vecchio Ristorante, Cleveland.
Crop Bistro Mulled Cider and Cranberry Granita
Makes 8 servings
2 quarts apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
8 cardamom pods
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 fresh orange, cut in ¼-inch slices
¼ cup sugar
½ cup dried cranberries
Cook's notes: You can make this version with or without an ice-cream maker.
Simmer step: Add all the ingredients, except the cranberries, into a sauce pot. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
To freeze in ice cream maker: Add the chilled liquid, following manufacturer's instructions, and run until mixture achieves a soft, frozen texture. Add the cranberries and blend evenly. Remove the mixture to a suitable container and freeze until ready to use.
To freeze in a pan: Add the liquid to a 9-by-12-by-2-inch deep cake pan or casserole dish. Place in freezer. Once the mixture starts to become semifrozen (about 20 minutes) use a fork to scrape the ice into small crystals. Add cranberries. Continue to scrape the ice every hour, until the mix is totally frozen and the finished product will look like fluffy shaved ice. You can store this mixture, covered tightly, in the freezer for several weeks.
Presentation: Remove granita from freezer 15 minutes before serving, and fluff the ice with a fork before serving.
Source: Adapted from Steve Schimoler, Crop Bistro, Cleveland.


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Portland will love the new Doug Fir Lounge, if only for the same reason we love Mount St. Helens. We can't wait to see whether it'll blow up or not.
By the time the Jupiter Hotel next door had hosted numerous MusicfestNW parties and Stuart Horodner's AFFAIR @ the Jupiter Hotel, every scenester worth his weight in white drugs had peeked into the half-constructed bar/lounge/restaurant's sawdust-choked maw. Well, last Saturday night, the log cabin finally had its coming-out party--complete with a one-two band blast from Quasi and the Joggers, as well as sightings of other Sleater-Kinney members and county commish Serena Cruz. The crowd was impressive. The space was luxe. But can this overhyped lounge love affair last?
Nightclubs are like crushes, you see. Everybody's head over heels about a bar for a few glittering nights (Level, anybody?). Two weeks later, the same joint barely merits a nod.
Doug Fir's owners Mike Quinn (Monqui Presents), John Plummer (East) and Skylab Design architect Jeff Kovel want you to commit the second you step inside the caution-light-yellow foyer. They're hoping to overcome your fickleness by turning the Doug into multiple clubs connected by rustic iconography and walls of finger-friendly fake beaver pelt. The deliciously cheeky furnishings flow, from the Brady Bunch stacked-rock fireplaces to the Bunyanesque logs that frame the entire structure. But only a few more benders will prove whether the club can withstand the ego-weight of its multiple personalities.
Last weekend, pint-sized mini-skirted girls and design majors gushed over the glitzy riot of gold-veined mirrored tiles in the Vegas-style bathrooms. Well-coifed men with tattoos demolished "Fir burgers" while perched on the dining room's stiff Naugahyde banquettes (they never noticed the half-finished benches were still sluttily flashing their foam innards at East Burnside's bums).
Meanwhile, downstairs, the bulk of Portland's music community was camped out in the concert venue, an echoey mash-up of glowing yellow floors and concrete parking-garage pillars hugging a low-slung stage.
Worlds collided. A few women dressed in rhinestone-encrusted evening dresses shimmied along with the Joggers' angelically damaged four-part harmonies and Sam and Janet's jarring blues-rock. And if the drinks keep flowing, the Doug Fir may someday host an epic upstairs-downstairs rumble: The sweaty kids in the basement vs. the fur-palace hipsterati above ground.
Regardless of social strata, everybody was trying to label Kovel's super-cool style. Is it Elmer's Pancake House meets Goldfinger's lair? Perhaps the Camp 18 truck stop on Mars?
In fact, it seems the biggest affair-breaker so far was voiced by patrons of the Jupiter. Evidently some people who checked into the mod-motel actually expected to sleep that night--rock haters, apparently. Sigh. See you there again this weekend.
, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. Check out www.dougfirlounge.com for weekly and upcoming events. The lounge is open seven days a week, 21 hours a day.


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"They have to make their own decisions, but I just hope I compete with them. I get to work while they get to stand in line at the airport. "
Another take on a fractional concept
Perhaps you like everything about fractional ownership except the ownership part. You want to be able to count on having the same model aircraft for every flight and the idea of sharing expenses with others appeals to you. But maybe you can't come up with the cash to purchase a fractional share or can't use the tax benefits that accompany ownership.
If that sounds like you, you're in luck if you live in Europe–or if a business being launched there catches on and the concept spreads to your neck of the woods. That business offers an alternative to traditional aircraft management and to fractional ownership.
The program, called Non-Equity Shares (NES), is being touted by Oxford, England-based Jet Connections, which is offering to find up to three people or companies to share use of an aircraft with the owner by dividing fixed-operating costs and making each party responsible for its own flight-hour expenses.
NES will be based on an annual contract between the owner and those sharing the aircraft. Jet Connections will handle aircraft scheduling and the legal agreements for an annual fee of approximately £40,000 ($66,000), which will also be split among the participants.
Aircraft will be managed either by the owner's existing management company, assuming it holds a commercial air operator's certificate (AOC) or by an AOC holder selected by Jet Connections. Managing director Zaher Deir told BJT that he has provisional agreements with several undisclosed aircraft management companies willing to operate specific aircraft under their AOCs. Eventually, Jet Connections may apply for its own AOC.
The aircraft's owner would be the main insurance holder, with the NES participants being named as additional insured parties. Users would share the cost of insurance, as well as the costs of management, maintenance and pilots. Users would pay their own fuel costs, landing and handling fees, en route air-traffic-control charges and other direct flight expenses.
According to Deir, NES will make aircraft available to users at "much lower" rates than they could find even in today's very competitive charter market, despite the fact that they will directly contribute to both fixed and direct operating costs. He said that a typical user would save "tens of thousands" of dollars each year, based on the assumption that each aircraft would fly around 400 hours annually.
For example, Jet Connections estimates fixed annual ownership costs for a Bombardier Challenger 604 at about $1 million. On this basis, each of the four users would pay $250,000, plus about $16,000 for a quarter of the Jet Connections management fee for an annual fixed total of around $266,000. Spreading this fixed cost between 100 flight hours averages out to $2,660 per hour. As noted above, users would also have to cover their own direct flight expenses, but even so, it does appear that the total hourly cost would be less than the average charter price for the same model, which was $6,672 outside the U.S. as of early April, according to online charter portal Avinode.
For aircraft owners, Deir said, Jet Connections will mean guaranteed income to cover fixed costs. He argued that this is not assured under the traditional aircraft management model. In fact, some management companies have offered owners guaranteed amounts of charter income but then found these guarantees unviable when demand dipped.
Another claimed benefit of the NES program for both owners and sharers is that the aircraft will be flown only by a small group of known individuals. Jet Connections manages equal, first-come-first-served access to the aircraft under a pre-agreed policy signed by all parties under a contract prepared by its law firm. The annual contract can be changed or cancelled only by the aircraft owner after a notice period of between 60 and 90 days.
Sharers have access to a specified aircraft without shouldering any capital outlay or depreciation costs. They also have the service consistency of having flights provided by a fixed crew and management company, rather than taking whatever is available on a given day in the charter market. The sharers pay only one quarter of the management fees even if Jet Connections has not yet lined up three parties to share an owner's aircraft.
Since aircraft users directly cover their own flight-hours costs, they pay only for the level of service they require. This means that those with relatively simple needs are not effectively subsidizing the champagne tastes of fellow users.
Deir, who has been in business-aircraft management since 1984, said that he has previously run a similar system to NES on an unofficial basis. These arrangements, operated under private rules in Saudi Arabia, have involved aircraft including Cessna Citation Excels, Bombardier Challengers, Dassault Falcons and Embraer Legacys. Deir is originally from Jordan, where he started his career with local operator Arab Wings. He launched Jet Connections with his son Tariq, operating from a base at Oxford Airport.
After consulting with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and its lawyers, Jet Connections has opted to operate NES under fully commercial rules, since money directly changes hands for use of the aircraft. Deir said he is well aware of widespread concerns over illegal charter activity in which some owners are fudging the rules to make privately operated aircraft available in return for payment of one sort or another.
For the time being, Jet Connections is focusing on the European market, but the company is laying plans to extend NES to the Middle East. From a database of nearly 900 aircraft owners and prospective users, Deir has received about a dozen "serious inquiries" in the first couple of weeks of marketing the program. He said two aircraft owners have provisionally committed to the program and that initial work is being done on the legal documentation.
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"They always come back, Owen. Until one day they don't."
And with that statement NCIS: LA goes into the Season 5 finale. Lining up the tone more than plot for next week, "Exposure" was mostly a strong episode showcasing each member of the team along with a solid story. The one fault I'm going to lay on it is the ending. Everything went back to normal too quickly following a terrorist attack that had our characters meditating on their feelings for those they loved. This episode had echoes of the Boston marathon, addressed the constant horrors that plague the Sudan, and even delved into the ruthlessness of the journalist. While Hetty had her ominous line to Owen at the end, none of the occurrences prior felt like they made a lasting impact. Sure, Eric and Nell finally expressed their thoughts to one another on sticky notes (which was a great moment for Barrett Foa and Renee Felice Smith), and Sam took a moment while holding a child's shoe at the attack scene to think about his daughter. Other than that though, the slate seemed to be wiped clean by the closing moments. NCIS: LA is not The Wire, Homeland, or The Americans, but it had a wonderful chance to explore the ramifications of Bakri Deng's (Anthony Okungbowa) actions and motives along with Dana Steele's (Tiffany Dupont) reliance on making her story stick. Over a year later, the effects of the Boston marathon still linger. The terror group Boko Haram continues to hold over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls. And any news outlet still jumps at the mention of a connection to the missing Malaysian airplane, no matter how flimsy. Every aspect of "Exposure" could have been continued through next week.
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(2011)When we started with this research project, we had been searching the internet, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Archives and more, but we were having trouble finding information on Beulah Drom. We were able to ...
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