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One of the in-things our environmental manager has been practicing recently has been self-audits. These are periodic walkthroughs in which an observer looks for practices or situations that are not up to snuff and should be addressed.
His discussion got me to thinking about performing my own self-audit.
Got any bad habits? Or perhaps I should ask, do you have any habits that you would like to break? Who is to say what is bad and what isn't. Are they just quirky daily routines, or are they truly habits?
I used to think I just practiced quirky daily routines. I'm sure many of mine are like yours.
A typical day
The alarm clock goes off as usual at 5 a.m. You stretch for a couple of minutes then direct both feet to hit the floor. Stretch and yawn. You make your way to the kitchen, fill the coffeepot with water, grind the beans, or just dump some in from a can, turn the coffeepot on and head for the shower, dry off, and throw on some clothes.
How about breakfast? Do you sit down and enjoy it with your spouse? Do you do the drive-through thing, or do you skip it altogether?
Finally, you put on your jacket, pet the dog on the head, and it's off to the races. You call the dispatcher, check for any voice messages left from the evening before, and depending on what your actual position is, you might head to the office or just start going out to see some of your customers.
Does any of this sound familiar? They are all part of our daily routines. Does that routine include any truly bad habits?
One part of my routine that was more of a bad habit than I realized was smoking. At the urging of my doctor and with the support of my wife, I decided I would try to kick the habit.
My first self-improvement
As far as my habit was concerned, I really didn't practice it too much. Normally it was a reward or satisfier. I would smoke when I had a cold beverage in my hand, or had a particularly nasty day.
Despite some initial troubles, I'm happy to say I kicked the habit. I soon realized how much better I felt after I quit. With this success, I began studying my everyday routines to decide what other habits I needed to break. I focused on waking up earlier so I didn't have to rush so much in the morning, reducing my coffee drinking, and driving more carefully.
After a couple of months of these changes, my sales increased, I found some new customers to call on, and I even found some new places of interest to visit. I still enjoy the smell of the smoke, and I do still savor a good cigar every now and then.
Overall, my boss seems to be happier with the results, my wife doesn't spray the fragrances after I leave the house, and all is well, or at least a little bit better anyway.


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To do
We have lots to do as a new episode airs. Below is a list of aims to get us up to date with this episode. Please strike through any completed tasks. The aims for the moment are:
Update the lead to change the tense of the premiere date Ensure the writer and director are listed Ensure that the relevant writer and director articles have been updated Check that the synopsis is correct Update Template:Episodes to reflect the correct episodes Write a summary. Copy edit the existing summary. Write a recap Check that the notes section is in place and includes an explanation of the title reference where possible
- Compare the episode to the source material and note the relevant chapters in the notes section
Ensure the characters section is in place and note first appearances and deaths
- Ensure all new characters have an article
Consider adding new characters to relevant family tree and navbox templates Ensure all deceased characters articles are updated to reflect this Ensure the cast section is in place and matches the credits of the episode Ensure all new cast members have an article. Ensure all relevant cast articles are updated to reflect the cast members work in the current season and credit in this episode Update Season 2 Cast with information from the episode. Complete the cast notes section noting changes to the starring cast, credits order and significant uncredited appearances Consider updating Season 2 or Starring cast where cast notes reflect major changes. Ensure all relevant character articles are update to reflect the character's appearance in this episode
- Ensure all relevant character articles are updated with a summary of their role in this episode and a reference citing this episode as the source of the information
- Work through the recap creating articles for Red Links
- Ensure the appearances section is in place and notes the houses, creatures, items and locations that appear in the episode
- Ensure the relevant house articles are update with a summary of their role in this episode and a reference citing this episode as the source of the information
- Ensure all relevant location articles are updated with a summary of their appearance in the episode and a reference citing this episode as the source of the information
Add Memorable Quotes from the episode
- Add screenshots of new characters to the image gallery
- Add screenshots to illustrate the summary and recap
- Consider whether plot developments warrant changing any of our navboxes (see Category:Template (Navigation))
- Ensure screenshots are also present on the relevant related articles
--Opark 77 09:56, May 14, 2012 (UTC)
Reference to outcome of Jaime cliffhanger
Should the last paragraph in the "In the books" section, referencing what happens after Catelyn asks for her sword, be here just yet? At this point in the series (and the books), we don't know why she is asking, so I'm pretty sure this breaks the Spoiler policy. —DouweM 18:31, May 14, 2012 (UTC)
- I was unsure of how to deal with this exactly; maybe we should wait and reshuffle it to next week's episode when the time comes?--The Dragon Demands 19:19, May 14, 2012 (UTC)

subset: commoncrawl


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Bookmark this site
MYRTLE BEACH, SC -- Exhibit space at the 2012 Atlantic Coast Exposition here is being reserved quickly, the events organizers report. Two days after exhibitor registration opened, 50% of the available space had been reserved.
This year's ACE is set for October 4-6, again at Kingston Plantation, and planners foresee it surpassing last year's convention and trade show. Registration for the 2011 confab was up 15% over 2010, and exhibit space sold out.
The Atlantic Coast Exposition, now in its 57th year, is cosponsored by the North Carolina Vending Association, South Carolina Vending Association and Virginia Automatic Merchandising Association. It is managed by TayCar Inc. (Cary, NC).
The theme of ACE 2012 is "Game On!" Exhibitors are encouraged to design booth decor that celebrates their favorite college or professional football teams.
Educational sessions will begin the ACE program on Friday, Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The trade show will be open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. An evening gala will provide an opportunity for showgoers to network.
The sponsoring associations will present their annual awards on Saturday, Oct. 6, at an 8 a.m. ceremony, and exhibits will reopen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
ACE will come to a festive conclusion with the Corn Hole Beach Tournament from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Registration is available online at atlanticcoastexpo.com. A more detailed agenda for the 2012 convention will be posted on the site within the next few weeks.


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The house designs should be selected derived from the style of you. You have to acquire the design of your house to be relaxed. A house has a lot of rooms. You have to acquire the right design derived from the room. You have to acquire your...[Read More]
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|From: PLaneT (planet at racket-lang.org)
Date: Mon Dec 13 12:48:51 EST 2010
This announces the availability of a new package from PLaneT: ------- Name: smt_solver.plt Package version: 1.0 Owner: ianj Package Description An implementation of the DPLL(T) framework. Release Notes 0.1 (1 0) - first release ------- Go to http://planet.racket-lang.org/display.ss?package=smt_solver.plt&owner=ianj for more information.
|Posted on the planet-announce mailing list.


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Edugyan, Esi. Half-Blood Blues
Edugyan's Booker Prize shortlisted novel evokes Berlin and Paris during World War II through the eyes of a rag-tag bunch of jazz musicians looking for their big break. Having achieved some limited notoriety in Berlin during the Weimar era, the Hot-Time Swingers—two black ex-pat Americans, a Jewish pianist, and a couple of Germans, one of whom is black himself—are now struggling to stay alive in a Berlin that has turned against jazz and turned against half-breeds, or mischlings, Jews, and black people of all nationalities. When a jazz singer from America shows up to find them with word that she represents Louis Armstrong, the band thinks their fortunes are made. But first, they have to get from Berlin to Paris—and not all of them are going to make it. Eventually hitting Paris just in time for the Occupation to catch up with them, the group has to keep their heads down even further while at the same time trying to cut a record—the Half-Blood Blues, an anthem rejecting everything Nazis stand for. But it's only a matter of time before the Boots—the Gestapo—catch up with them.
Cutting between 1940 and 1992, Half-Blood Blues is a story of race, friendship, secrets, and betrayal. Showing a side of World War II not often written about—that is, the story of the other, non-Jewish ethnic groups persecuted by the Reich—it is fascinating and textured.


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Every once and awhile we stumble upon (or they post on our Facebook wall) some awesome band using Sharpie to kick start their music career.
In this case, that stumble led us to Reaper in Sicily, a new, unsigned (hint hint record label folks) group from across the pond that put together their entire music video for their new single, "Worlds End" using black Sharpie markers!
Check out more music from the boys on i-Tunes and hit them up on Facebook!


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LEBANON -- Jared White booted a 30-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining as 17th-ranked Cumberland won a seesaw contest, 36-34, over 14th-ranked Bethel Saturday at Lindsey Donnell Stadium-Kirk Field.
With the victory Cumberland (6-1, 3-0 Mid-South West) moved into first place in the division, one game ahead of Bethel and two in front of Union College and Shorter University, who both lost on Saturday. The Bulldogs play at Union next Saturday at 11 a.m. Central Time.
The contest had seven lead changes, mostly because the Bulldogs failed on two extra point attempts by Beau Baker, including one that was blocked and one that hit the left upright. Cumberland took a 33-20 advantage after Simon Moriarty forced a fumble that was recovered by Cody McCallister for a touchdown with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter.
There were a lot of different big plays in the ballgame. Our guys hung in there, kept playing and answering the bell, CU head coach Dewayne Alexander said. It was kind of like an old heavyweight fight; someone would take a big swing and hit somebody and the other team would come right back and hit them again.
But Bethel (5-2, 3-1) answered with a pair of touchdowns, the second one after Prennis Thompsons interception and 23-yard return gave the Wildcats 1st-and-goal at the two-yard line. Two plays later 260-pound running back Dominique Allen barreled in for the score and a 34-33 BU lead with 7:20 left in the game.
Cumberland answered the bell though, methodically driving 59 yards on 11 plays and eating 4:49 off the clock. CU converted a pair of third downs on the drive but stalled at the Bethel 13, setting up Whites 30-yard game-winner that was right down the middle.
Our guys made a big drive there at the end after the interception, a good answer. I thought Reed Gurchiek showed a lot of poise there after throwing the interception, not hanging his head but coming back, moving us down the field and a then big kick from Jared White for the win.
The Wildcats still had plenty of time and two timeouts and took the ball at the Cumberland 46 after a 35-yard kickoff return from Patrick Cann, part of 170 yards in kick returns on the day for BU. A short rush and a short pass left Bethel with 3rd-and-6 and Will Masoud overthrew Cann down the left sideline after scrambling away from pressure. Masoud was pressured again on fourth down and his throw to Delano fell off the receivers hands and incomplete.
Bethel got the ball back one more time, but with only five seconds remaining. They tried the hook-and-ladder but it did not work and after a lot of running around and two laterals, McCallister fell on a fumble to end the contest.
Gurchiek, a Mt. Juliet, native, enjoyed his best game as a Bulldog, completing 26-of-35 passes for 294 yards and three TDs, two of them to DeJeay Woods, who caught nine balls for 78 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
The Bulldogs rushed 39 times in the contest for 152 yards and one score, done by committee as usual.
Tim McCord leading the way with 15 carries for 57 yards.
The Bulldogs piled up 446 yards of total offense to just 283 for Bethel, but the Wildcats had short fields on many occasions because of the great kickoff returns. The visitors drove 37, 47 and 49 yards for touchdowns in the contest.
Masoud finished 11-of-20 for 126 yards and one touchdown and also scored one TD with a quarterback sneak. Cordarious Mann rushed 23 times for 88 yards and a score, while Cann carried 11 times for 50 yards and one TD.


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- 5 Rocket Stocks for Gluttonous Turkey Day Gains
- Time to Sell These 5 'Toxic' Stocks
- 5 Earnings Short-Squeeze Plays
- 5 Must-See Charts
- 5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying
5 Unloved Stocks to Crush the S&P - views
BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- You should be buying the stocks that everyone hates right now. In fact, you should be buying the biggest, most hated stocks with both hands this summer.
Why? The research shows that it pays to be contrarian.
I've argued for a long time that it makes sense to look at big, financially secure stocks with hefty short interest. After all, piles of shorts in a good name have a very big possibility of getting squeezed and driving share prices higher for the folks on the other side of the trade. But that's not just an opinion -- the data bear that strategy out as well.
>>5 Hated Stocks Poised to Pop on Earnings
Taking a look at the last decade, buying heavily shorted large and mid-cap stocks (the top two quartiles of all shortable stocks by market capitalization) would have beaten the S&P 500 by 9.28% each and every year. That's some material outperformance during a decade when decent returns were very hard to come by.
It's worth noting, though, that market cap matters a lot -- short sellers tend to be right about smaller names, with micro-caps delivering negative returns when the same strategy was used.
Today, we'll replicate the most lucrative side of this strategy with a look at five big-name stocks that short-sellers are piled into right now.
>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy This Week
In case you're not familiar with the term, a "short squeeze" is the buying frenzy that ensues when a heavily shorted stock starts to look attractive again to investors, causing share price to skyrocket. One of the best indicators of just how high a short-squeezed stock could go is the short interest ratio, which estimates the number of days it would take for short-sellers to cover their positions. The higher the short ratio, the higher the potential profits when the shorts get squeezed.
Naturally, these plays aren't without their blemishes -- there's a reason (economic or otherwise) that these stocks are being heavily shorted. But for investors looking for exposure to a speculative play with a beefier risk/reward tradeoff, these could be powerful upside plays for the coming year.
Without further ado, here's a look at our list of large-cap short squeeze opportunities.
AvalonBay Communities
First up is AvalonBay Communities (AVB), a $13.7 billion real estate investment trust that owns close to 50,000 apartments spread across major metropolitan areas from New York to San Francisco. By focusing its portfolio on pricey, in-demand geographic areas, AVB is a more attractive offering than many of its peers, particularly now, when homebuyers are more anxious about dropping a mountain of cash on a home in a pricey region. A strong rental market in AvalonBay's key markets has been boding well for shares of late.
AVB doesn't have the same characteristics that you'd find in a commercial REIT -- super long-term leases and maintenance paid for by the tenant are out of the question, for instance -- but the firm has still managed to churn out a respectable income payout. At their core, after all, REITs are essentially purpose-built income-generation vehicles. AVB's attractive positioning helps make it the best-in-breed among housing REITs.
>>5 Financial Stocks Hedge Funds Love
Not everyone agrees, of course. The firm's short interest ratio of 10.4 indicates that it would take more than two full weeks of buying pressure at current levels for short sellers to cover their bets against AVB. That hefty pressure against the stock makes it a prime short squeeze candidate; with shares trending higher over the last couple of years, shorts are probably already feeling the pain.
Garmin (GRMN) is one of those stocks that seems crazy to go short against. The firm boasts huge profitability, no debt, more than $2.5 billion in cash and investments (paying for around 30% of its market cap right now) and a huge 4.3% dividend payout.
But shorts are betting that increasing competition in the GPS business will torpedo those stellar financials and send the stock sinking. That's why Garmin currently has a short interest ratio of 18.7, indicating that it would take almost a month for shorts to cover their bets.
It's true that consumer GPS devices aren't a very attractive business anymore. Units are becoming commoditized, margins are dropping, and other devices (such as cellular phones) are taking their place as navigators. But if anyone can shake the industry headwinds, it's Garmin. For starters, the firm still earns hefty margins on automotive GPS units, as well as an impressive share of other lucrative markets for GPS: Outdoors, boating and aviation are just a few. Ask any pilot who owns the navigation market in general aviation (or look at the firm's amazing $50,000 G1000 avionics suites), and Garmin is the clear winner.
Exposure to those other high profit, low volume markets enable Garmin to pour R&D into big-ticket electronics and then transition the tech to the more margin-sensitive consumer market. While the breakneck growth of consumer GPS is effectively over, Garmin's business model isn't.
SBA Communications
Cellular tower stock SBA Communications (SBAC) owns a chunk of the mobile infrastructure spread throughout North and Central America. By leasing antenna space to wireless carriers, the firm has built a business that others dream of: It's chock full of recurring revenues, it's recession-resistant, and more capacity is very much in demand right now. But that hasn't kept shorts from hiking SBAC's short interest ratio up to 10.8.
SBAC gives carriers a way to increase the number of bars subscribers get without increasing their debt loads -- building a cellular network is capital-intense to say the least. But SBAC's growth has been staid and measured, keeping its balance sheet manageable as the firm expands in size.
>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts
The biggest tailwind for SBA Communications right now is demand. The proliferation of smart phones has greatly increased the bandwidth needs of cellular operators, driving up the number of sites that SBAC can build and economically justify. Because the firm is the smallest tower operator of the big three, it's got ample room to stretch out its network footprint.
Financially, SBAC is in solid shape. Obviously, the cell tower business isn't cheap, and it's no surprise that this firm has financed its network primarily with debt. But the debt load is more than manageable, especially given the prolonged low interest rates that firms are enjoying right now. As SBAC continues to throw off cash (and buyback shares and pay down debt), the short case is going to be harder to keep going.
Virgin Media
The standard bearer in the UK cable TV market, Virgin Media (VMED) provides service that serves close to two-thirds of the country's population. Like SBAC, Virgin Media's entire value proposition (both to investors and to customers) lies in its network infrastructure. As a relative newcomer in the space, the firm boasts a modern network that delivers faster speeds for broadband internet than most rivals can offer. That's secured it the country's number-two spots in pay TV and internet service.
On the flip side, Virgin has financed that speedy network through debt. VMED is one stock where the debt load is truly substantial relative to its size – but the cash that the cable network throws off should easily cover it provided that VMED doesn't suffer a mass customer exodus in the next few quarters. A debt restructuring pushed maturities way back for the firm as well, removing the biggest liquidity concerns from investors' shoulders.
But the stocks' short interest ratio of 11.8 means that short sellers are still betting against VMED en masse. That makes this stock a solid short squeeze candidate for 2012.
As of the most recently reported quarter, VMED was one of David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital holdings.
Alliance Data Systems
Alliance Data Systems (ADS) is all about customers – their customers' customers, that is. The firm provides marketing and loyalty services for other companies, handling more than 120 million customer relationships with a specific focus on Canada, where its Air Miles subsidiary operates. From gas stations to airlines to banks, Alliance Data is all about outsourced customer relationships.
That's proven to be a lucrative business for ADS. The firm earns double-digit net margins for its trouble, while at the same time building itself an attractive moat. With clients' customer lists and very long-term contracts as standard, revenues are stickier than they would be if ADS didn't own many of the networks that it administers for firms. ADS has also established itself as a major player in the private-label credit card business, processing transactions on behalf of retailers who don't want the hassle or balance sheet risks of issuing cards themselves (for its part, ADS securitizes its receivables, so little credit risk remains on its balance sheet).
ADS currently sports a short interest ratio of 13.7, which means that it would take short sellers close to three weeks to cover their positions. That puts this $6.7 billion firm directly in line with our market-beating strategy this summer.
To see this week's short squeezes in action, check out the of Large-Cap Short Squeezes portfolio on Stockpickr.
-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.
>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar
>>7 Dividend Stocks That Want to Pay You More Cash
>>5 Consumer Stocks Hedge Funds Love
Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.
Jonas Elmerraji, based out of Baltimore, is the editor and portfolio manager of the Rhino Stock Report, a free investment advisory that returned 15% in 2008. He is a contributor to numerous financial outlets, including Forbes and Investopedia, and has been featured in Investor's Business Daily, in Consumer's Digest and on MSNBC.com.


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Vet Nitkowski taking on many roles
Lefty making acting debut, trying to work his way back to MLB
By Benjamin Hill / MLB.com | April 10, 2013 6:27 AM ET
Left-hander C.J. Nitkowski has pitched for nearly two dozen teams over his globe-spanning professional career, but it all started at Chattanooga's Engel Stadium in 1994.
Nitkowski was the first-round Draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds that season and was dispatched to Chattanooga to begin his career as a member of the Double-A Lookouts. Engel Stadium had seen better days by the time Nitkowski arrived -- the stadium was built in 1930, and the Lookouts vacated it after the 1999 campaign in favor of brand-new AT&T Park.
Improbable as it may seem, Nitkowski once again had reason to toe the Engel Stadium rubber in 2012. The 40-year-old left-hander plays the role of Phillies pitcher Dutch Leonard in the upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic 42, portions of which were filmed in Chattanooga's now-82-year-old ballpark. Before Spring Training -- where Nitkowski hoped to break camp with an MLB club -- he talked with MiLB.com about his acting career, his return to Engel and his last attempt to make it back to the Major Leagues after a seven-season hiatus.
MiLB.com: What led to you obtaining a credited role in 42? Did you have show-biz aspirations you were keeping under wraps until now?
C.J. Nitkowski: It's a long story...
I coach my son's 12-year-old baseball team here in Atlanta. One of the players on my team has a younger brother who plays on an 11-year-old team. This 11-year-old has a teammate whose mom, Donna, does some work in casting and has been an extra herself. She was helping a local casting agent find experienced ballplayers for an upcoming feature film about Jackie Robinson. Donna mentioned this to the mom of my player, who in turn mentioned that her 12-year-old's coach is a former baseball player. My player's mom told me, and I made a connection with Donna.
(Go to C.J.'s site to read the rest of this improbable casting saga.)
MiLB.com: When were your scenes in 42 filmed and what was the process like? Was the pressure to perform similar to what you usually feel on the mound?
Nitkowski: I filmed in the summer -- I think it was mid June. The days were longer than I expected, sometimes 12 to 14 hours. A lot of standing around waiting for cameras to be moved or just waiting for your scene to be shot. I never really felt any pressure, they were asking me to do what I had been doing my entire life.
MiLB.com: The Ebbets Fields scenes in 42 were filmed at Engel Stadium, the same ballpark where you started your professional career. Nearly two decades later, what was it like to return to Engel? And what are favorite memories from when you played there?
Nitkowski: It was great to go back there. The stadium left such an impression on me when I first played there in 1994. It wasn't so much the building itself but what it represented to me at the time. I was 21 years old -- my entire life I had dreamed of playing professionally and now I was. Engel was where it all started. To go back and visit again, after all these years, was really a treat for me.
MiLB.com: Meanwhile, in real life, you are in the midst of a big league comeback attempt. What was it like to return to the world of affiliated baseball last year, and how do you feel about your chances in 2013?
Nitkowski: It was strange being back last season. I hadn't played in the United States since 2006; a lot has changed. The guys all seemed so young to me. I didn't know what to expect at first, it had been so long and I was using a new side arm delivery. Overall, it went pretty well. I quickly proved I still belonged and got really close to making it back to the big leagues. I'm not sure if I'll get the chance in 2013. Teams have some hurdles to jump to see value. I'll be 40 in March and I have a new delivery that doesn't light up the radar gun. But I see a few other guys doing what I do in the Major Leagues right now. I am very capable of holding down a left-handed-reliever role in the big leagues. It just takes the right team to see the value in what I do, that has a need and is willing to give me a shot.
Ed. note: Nitkowski is not currently pitching in a Major League organization.
MiLB.com: Your pitching career has featured many twists and turns, and would make a good film in its own right. Who would you choose to play yourself in The C.J. Nitkowski Story?
Nitkowski: First, we'd have to change the name of the movie if we'd want anyone to come see it. Truthfully, I don't know. I think I prefer it be an unknown actor. Someone who could best portray what this journey has been like for me -- one filled with amazing experiences and lots of ups and downs.
Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MLB.com and writes Ben's Biz Blog. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.View More


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Blake Shelton & Shakira to perform together at ACM Awards
Listen to Blake Shelton on iHeartRadio
Blake Shelton will have a special guest with him when he performs at this weekend's Academy of Country Music Awards.
The country star will team up with Shakira to sing their duet, "Medicine." The two "Voice" coaches recorded the song for the Colombian pop star's recently released self-titled album.
Shelton is also hosting the ceremony with Luke Bryan. Blake and Shakira are joining an already packed lineup of performers that includes Bryan, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, The Band Perry, and many others.
The 49th annual ACM Awards will be presented in a ceremony in Las Vegas, and air on CBS this Sunday.
Photo Credit Getty Images


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43: Camera Raw in Lightroom or Photoshop with Bridge? (from Trieste)
Show: Ask the Adobe Ones
Most Photographers want to know if there is a difference between using Lightroom to make adjustments as opposed to using camera raw controls when opening into Photoshop through Bridge? Is it the same camera raw technology? Julieanne Kost answers this frequently asked question while Kush thinks about ways to edit his pictures of the ocean front of Trieste Italy.


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/ Cyclist, small bump. Am I being unreasonable here?
Dutch climber Jorg Verhoeven recently penned a short Facebook post on the issues surrounding the upcoming European Bouldering... Read more
An independent organisational review of the BMC is well underway and the next step the Review Team is taking is to perform a... Read more
Most walkers or hikers like to keep a tally of the mountains they have climbed and for those of you who love ticking off or... Read more
By far the best crag on the Culm Coast some might say. Three precariously balanced yet magnificent fins of rock protrude out into... Read more


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Chronicles of American Women
To create a Chronicle, you must first become a member of the NWHM. By donating $35.00 or more, you will be able to create a Chronicle.
To become a NWHM member, please go to the membership page to donate.
If you would like to donate by phone please call 703-461-1920. You can also fill out the form here and mail it to us at:
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After donating, you will receive the Member's Only Password that will allow you to create a Chronicle. Your password will arrive in the mail in approximately one week.


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California Lutheran High School is a proud supporter of all the arts, but specializes in music performance and drama. Students may participate in the following arts programs. (Programs marked with an asterisk are classes that meet during the school day to practice and are taken for credit.)
Handbell Choirs
Praise Band
Piano Lessons
Concerts and Recitals
* These classes meet during the school day to practice and are taken for credit.
Dates and times for this year's concerts can be found on the CLHS Home Page, under Calendar.
California Lutheran High School • 31970 Central Avenue • Wildomar, California 92595Phone - 951.678.7000 • FAX - 951.678.0172©2008-2013 California Lutheran High School • All Rights Reserved


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Patrick Allen, the director of Haven Hospice in Chiefland, was the special guest speaker at the March 29 Suwanee Valley Rotary meeting.
Allen said the cancer foundation he helped organize, BACK Fighting Cancer Inc., is on a new mission this year: to provide financial assistance to the families for children fighting cancer in the Tri-County Area.
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The Presentation Division of Media Services provides audio, visual, and presentation support. This division is also available for presentation and event consultation. Additionally, this division keeps a wide variety of equipment that is available for checkout to Faculty and Staff.
The Production Division of Media Services provides assistance in converting media from one type to another. Additionally, this division is available to record events and overseas usage of the TV Studio located in the Education Resource Center.
The Learning Commons is a revolutionary new perspecitve in utilizing technology resources within the Educational Resource Center. One of the main goals of this initiative is to create a single access point for student support.
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During the first three to six days after you've contracted yellow fever — the incubation period — you won't experience any signs or symptoms. After this, the infection enters an acute phase and then, in some cases, a toxic phase that can be life-threatening.
Once the infection enters the acute phase, you may experience signs and symptoms including:
These signs and symptoms usually improve and are gone within several days.
Although signs and symptoms may disappear for a day or two following the acute phase, some people with acute yellow fever then enter a toxic phase. During the toxic phase, acute signs and symptoms return and more-severe and life-threatening ones also appear. These can include:
The toxic phase of yellow fever can be fatal.
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Results 1 to 6 of 6
Thread: Age gap between siblings
29th December 2011 02:50 AM #1
Age gap between siblings
What age gap do you have/ would you like to have between your children?
I have a gentle parenting style with my 12 month old baby (we breastfeed on demand, baby wear and co-sleep etc). I am keen to continue this but I wonder how far my parenting style is viable (as it stands) with two or three young children?
29th December 2011 05:41 AM #2
I had almost 3 years between baby no. 2 and 3. I found this a great gap as my second child was becoming more independent and could understand to some degree about the new baby. I did find the sleeping arrangements tricky. So we made a separate bed in our room for the toddler - so he was close and as we didn't have enough space in our bed (I know a lot of families that get a king sized bed). I tandem breastfed for a while and this eased the transition for our toddler. We did everything gradually so that our toddler could adjust. I can't comment on having three young children as my first child was a lot older (10 years when our second child came along).
29th December 2011 06:29 AM #3
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- Dec 2011
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- 115
I have four children that are all close in age. There is an age gap of almost two years between my first and second, as well as my second and third. My third and fourth are about a year apart. I did tandem breastfeed my oldest two, and I did co-sleep with each of my children for some length of time. My third was a very sleepy baby, and she was able to transition to her own bed fairly easy. So, when my fourth arrived, things were easier. I still use a baby carrier with both of my younger two, so I just baby wear at different times, depending on which child may need held then. If you do want to have children close in age, it can be challenging at times. Yet, it is also fun to have children close in age, as they grow and become friends and play together. I do know families that have a larger age gap, and they like that the older ones can help out with the baby and that the older children are more independent. I do feel very blessed to have my children, even if it has been challenging to have so many that are close in age. I did find that going from three to four children was quite easy for me, and our youngest fit in the family perfectly. I agree with aussiemidwife that it is good to make changes gradually. I think continuing to breastfeed through my pregnancy and tandem breastfeeding helped make the transition easier on my oldest.
29th December 2011 12:10 PM #4
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- Dec 2011
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- 532
I have four children they were 22 months apart, 28 months apart, and 16 months apart. As of right now, the oldest is 6 and the youngest is about to turn 1. For me, I think that attachment parenting has worked well for us, in spite of the closeness in age. I also agree with Jessica on the positive aspects of having children who are so close together and with number four being an easy transition.
With that being said, I think it would have been easier with 3-4 years between each child. Breastfeeding, cosleeping, cloth diapering, and all the other facets of natural parenting would be so much simpler with only one "baby" at a time.
Is it possible to follow this type of parenting with them so close together? Yes.
Is having several babies that are so close together kind of fun at times? Yes.
But, if I were planning my family today, knowing what I know now, I'd probably leave a bigger gap for my own sanity.
29th December 2011 01:47 PM #5
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- Dec 2011
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Well my son is 2 and I am having my second son next year in March. They will be about two years apart. I did not want a huge age gap between them at all because I think that they should be close at least. This is why we decided to have them a little close together.
14th January 2012 04:19 AM #6
Thank you for your replies on this! Really interested to read about your families.


text: OK, thanks Peter. Your input, as usual, has a certian enlightening quality. I appreciate it. Really. K. "Hello! I'm The Doctor." (Dr. Who) ________________________________ From: "CWMHTours at aol.com" <CWMHTours at aol.com> To: gettysburg at arthes.com Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 9:55 AM Subject: Re: GDG- skirmish line vs line of battle Esteemed GDG Member Contributes: I would not make permanent conclusions on battle line vs. skirmish lines based on body locations. Wounded men crawl around or are carried. Corpses get moved around also for a variety of reasons, including preparation for burial. Sometimes their bodies are looted. Then the photographers move the bodies such as the Sharpshoooter in Devils Den. I don't see how you can accurately presume a battle line or skirmish by body locations in this case. They could have been moved many times. Unless they are arrayed in a specific way, such as the Yanks at Brawners Farm,m you really can't make assumptions based on body arrangements. Your Most Obedient Servant, Peter In a message dated 1/11/2012 9:38:08 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, bluzdad at yahoo.com writes: Esteemed GDG Member Contributes: OK, I understood the principle, a little dim on the mechanics but both explanations cannot fail to help achieve a greater understanding. Now, In (both)you're considered opinion, are the bodies in the "Harvest of Death" (HoD, for future ref) more likely indicative of a line of battle, or a skirmish line? the spacing between the bodies may not prove anything, but does it disprove anything? Thanks for jumping in. Don't jump out now, I sense a breakthrough. K. "Hello! I'm The Doctor." (Dr. Who) ________________________________ From: "CWMHTours at aol.com" <CWMHTours at aol.com> Esteemed GDG Member Contributes: Gary- In your excellent description you do omit the principle of the two.... There are two different purposes. In a line of battle the intention is to heavily engage and assault the enemy with all the forces you can bring to bear. You are committing all the forces that you can bring to bear with a face-to-face confrontation at close quarters. in order to achieve victory. Whereas.... a skirmish line is meant for the skirmishers to not excessively risk themselves when possible but to perhaps take advantage of defensive advantages to protect themselves while engaging the enemy. The skirmishers' goal is not to overwhelm the enemy forces but to harrass, slow down, or even stop the progress of the enemy. A skirmisher, even when spaced some 10 ft apart from the others can take advantage of such things as trees and rocks. A line of battle is simply out there to assault and accept loses as part of the cost. That is the big difference and it hasn't been mentioned much in the GDG. It's about time I fixed this problem. ;-) !!! Your Most Obedient Servant, Peter In a message dated 1/10/2012 11:31:15 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, durangoks at hotmail.com writes: Esteemed GDG Member Contributes: In a skrimish line the soldiers are 10 feet to 10 yards apart. In a line of battle soldiers are lined up almost shoulder to shoulder. That said, not every soldier in a line is killed. so just because there is spacing between the men does not prove anything. Gary McGinnis ----------------http://www.arthes.com/mailman/listinfo/gettysburg_arthes.com -to unsubscribe http://arthes.com/pipermail/gettysburg_arthes.com/ for Archives ----------------http://www.arthes.com/mailman/listinfo/gettysburg_arthes.com -to unsubscribe http://arthes.com/pipermail/gettysburg_arthes.com/ for Archives


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Get an overview of this hotelFamily-friendly Flagstaff hotel in Southside Flagstaff with free parking
Popular property highlights
This family-friendly Flagstaff hotel is located near the airport, within 1 mi (2 km) of Riordon Mansion, Northern Arizona University, and Walkup Skydome. Lowell Observatory is 2.6 mi (4.2 km) away.
Hotel Features
A restaurant, an indoor pool, and a fitness center are available at this hotel. Free WiFi in public areas is provided, as well as free self parking, a free airport shuttle, and free train station pick-up. Additionally, a bar/lounge, a coffee shop/café, and a snack bar/deli are onsite.
Room Amenities
All 89 rooms provide free WiFi and free wired Internet, LCD TVs with cable channels, and conveniences like refrigerators and microwaves. Guests will also find iPod docks, room service, and premium bedding.
Guest Highlights
- Spotless guestrooms
- Good, quiet location
- Pool
- Helpful staff
- Overall room comfort
- Guestrooms were a little noisy
Hilton Garden Inn - Flagstaff
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
In addition to an indoor pool, Hilton Garden Inn - Flagstaff provides a spa tub, a sauna, and a fitness center. The hotel offers a restaurant, a coffee shop/café, and a snack bar/deli. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. A computer station is located on site and wireless Internet access is complimentary.
This 3-star property offers access to a 24-hour business center. This family-friendly hotel also offers a terrace, tour/ticket assistance, and multilingual staff. A roundtrip airport shuttle during limited hours and a train station pick-up service are complimentary for guests. Complimentary self parking is available on site. A total renovation of this property was completed in November 2016.
- Indoor pool
- Free airport transportation
- Fitness facilities
- Express check-out
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Total number of rooms - 89
- Number of floors - 3
- ATM/banking
- Laundry facilities
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Bar/lounge
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Coffee/tea in common areas
- Coffee shop or café
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Express check-in
- Fireplace in lobby
- Grocery/convenience store
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Free WiFi
- Computer station
- Luggage storage
- 24-hour front desk
- Multilingual staff
- Terrace
- Restaurant
- Free train station pickup
- Free self parking
- Year Built 1997
- 24-hour business center
- Snack bar/deli
- Sauna
- Ski storage
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Spa tub
- Steam room
- Television in common areas
- Wedding services
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Indoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Grocery/convenience store
- Snack bar/deli
- Laundry facilities
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Cribs/infant beds (complimentary)
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi , Free wired Internet
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Premium TV channels
- Premium bedding
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Air conditioning
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Free weekday newspaper
- Phone
- Free local calls
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea maker
- Microwave
- Daily housekeeping
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Iron/ironing board
- Desk
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Cable TV service
- Free WiFi
- Free wired Internet
- MP3 docking station
- iPod docking station
- Room service (limited hours)
- Sofa bed size
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Free cribs/infant beds
Where to Eat
Buffet breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning between 6:30 AM and 10 AM.
Garden Grille and Bar - This wine bar specializes in American cuisine and serves breakfast and light fare. Open daily.
Coco's Restaurant - This family restaurant specializes in American cuisine and serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and light fare. A children's menu is available. Open daily.
Room service (during limited hours) is available.
Nearby Things to Do
An indoor pool and a spa tub are on site. Other recreational amenities include a sauna and a fitness center.
Children under 18 years old are not allowed in the swimming pool, fitness facility, or spa tub without adult supervision.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Downhill skiing nearby
- Cross-country skiing nearby
- Snowboarding nearby
- Snowmobiling nearby
- Snowshoeing nearby
- Kayaking nearby
- Water skiing nearby
- Rafting nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Scooter/moped rentals nearby
- Mountain biking nearby
- Ski lessons available nearby
- Ski equipment rental shops nearby
- Golf lessons available nearby
- Fitness classes on site
- Sledding nearby
- Snow tubing nearby
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- In-room accessibility
- Accessible bathroom
- Roll-in shower
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Minimum check-in age is 18
Special check-in instructions:
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Children 18 years old and younger stay free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets not allowed (service animals welcome)
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
Only service animals are allowed
24-hour check-in
No rollaway/extra beds available
Optional extras
- Fee for buffet breakfast: USD 9.95 for adults and USD 4.95 for children (approximately)
Hotel Name
- Flagstaff Hilton Garden Inn
- Hilton Garden Inn Flagstaff
- Hilton Garden Inn Hotel Flagstaff
- Hilton Flagstaff
- Hilton Garden Inn - Flagstaff Hotel Flagstaff
- Hilton Garden Inn Flagstaff Hotel
We should mention
This property offers transfers from the airport and train station. Guests must contact the property with arrival details before travel, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. Children 18 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding. The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.


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This audio product is now discontinued and can hardly be found in stores. It was replaced by Terratec Aureon 5.1 USB MK.2. You may find it on eBay.
Terratec offers passive support for GNU/Linux. It is a recommended choice for people needing good sound quality, without investing in a professional sound card.
Like other USB devices, Terratec audio devices do not have hardware mixers. You need to create a custom .asoundrc file, using the softvol plugin, to provide software level mixing.
This card is a two-way audio card with USB-1 support.
To drive this card at low latencies, some things need to be done. Thanks to the infos of Clemens Ladisch, do the following to get latencies of about 13msecs (less will be possible but will lead to audible xruns):
[ ] Enforce USB bandwidth allocation (EXPERIMENTAL)
[ ] Dynamic USB minor allocation (EXPERIMENTAL)
are disabled.
modprobe snd-usb-audio nrpacks=1
jackd -R -P89 -dalsa -dhw:2 -r48000 -p256 -n3 -S
or entering the corresponding values into Qjackctl
Retrieved from "http://alsa.opensrc.org/TerratecAureonUSB5.1"


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'"He's a great kid and he's a really great person. Combine that with his unbelievable talent and his work ethic, and you're looking at somebody who's going to be a great player in this league for a long, long time. I can't say enough about how good Timmy is going to be."'
Connolly faces up to hard NHL knocks
January 28, 2002 Submitted by


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Its Finally Here!
Well after a little bit of waiting around, I was able to take delivery of my new X1 yesterday. I received it with only 8 miles on the clock, but now I have 66. I managed to increase my odometer by a factor of 8 in just one evening. :D
So far I am generally very pleased; I quickly got used to the funky joystick shifter, and have set up my bluetooth calling and universal garage door opener buttons without much fuss. I don't have to deal with the Auto Start/Stop function as it will be a long time yet before the temperature here reaches the minimum 37°F for that process to work. But when it does, I'll disable the system... it's not for me.
I am loving the adaptive headlights! I sat stopped in the middle of the street, with my lights focused on a garage door down the road, turning the steering wheel slightly left and right and watching the headlights follow suit. Being in Alaska, at this time of year it is dark for all but five hours a day so the headlights are pretty often used. They follow the road nicely, and light up the area in front of the car very well.
The quick-reference owners guide is very useful and quickly gives me just the basic info needed to use a wide variety of functions on the car. Trying to glean this info from the main manual was about as painful as being smashed by a bus. However, I think once I have the initial understanding of the more complex systems, the main manual will make much more sense. I believe it may be best to study the quick reference guide before attempting to digest the main manual, but that's just me.
I have been trying to not push the car too hard since the engine is still so new, but even so, I find numerous occasions where I think to myself "I can't believe this is only a 4 banger!" Despite poor throttle response off the line (must find a way to fix this), once I'm moving, very little go-pedal movement is needed to force a downshift and receive a healty return of acceleration. It will move pretty quick, and the engine does not get any noisier in the process; the general experience reminds me of a (much quieter) version of the 7.0 V8 in my Corvette, in which a request for power, no matter how much, is easily met without a whimper. It never feels like I am "asking too much" of the engine, and that's awesome. The car just takes off like you're doing it a favor!
I was initially annoyed when I found out I would not be able to stream Pandora via Bluetooth since I don't have iDrive; but I was doubly annoyed when I found that I could also not stream audio via my USB cable! My radio told me that the cable was not authorized or some silly nonsense. :mad:
A few phone calls and $72.50 later, I ended up with BMW's proprietary and impossibly short aux cable to allow me to connect my iDevice to the radio. I think they could have provided more than 10 inches worth of cable, but it works as long as you leave your device in the storage tray immediately beside the aux ports. Once I accomplished this, I finally had my Pandora. I did not explore the USB option as that would not solve my Pandora issue, though I may investigate it for using music I already have stored and could then place onto a thumb drive.
It also seems BMW keeps a lot of info close to their chest. I went to a few car audio shops looking for aftermarket solutions, and they all told me that BMW's are the worst cars to work with because they share so little information about their radios / etc. Nobody had an alternative cable for the dealer's $72.50 cable, and one shop told me that even if they did have such a cable, it would be more than 72.50. When I inquired about solutions to allow a bluetooth audio connection to the sound system, again the common answer was that due to the lack of available info from BMW, nobody had anything. So initially it appears that if I want to add this type of functionality, I need to retrofit a bunch of OEM components and invest 3-4k. I'm not yet convinced there is no REASONABLE solution to this; still have a few tricks to try but hey, I like a good challenge!
Overall... VERY pleased with the car. I look forward to spending more time with the documentation and becoming more familiar with everything, and researching the few issues I do have.
Here's the obligatory picture... I apologize for the crummy phone-cam quality picture, but once I get my good camera out of the closet, I'll get some better shots.
Car specs:
2013 X1 AWD 28i
X-Line trim
Mineral Gray paint / Nevada Terra leather
Cold Weather Package
Lighting Package
Premium package
Paddle Shifters
Some other stuff
Looks awesome! Great review.
I pick up mine next week (same color).
I also didn't get iDrive and will ask for that cable you mentioned when I pick up the car. It's good to know I can dump my iTunes collection on an old iPod and connect that, I might do that instead of dumping the music onto USB drives. Benefit of USB is I can just keep it in the USB port and the iPod, I would have to hide each time I get out of the car. The benefit of the iPod is that I can use playlists and stream online music.
It would be great to hear from BMW why bluetooth music streaming doesn't come standard.....seems so basic now to have that and makes a huge impact on practicality.
Nice looking car- love that color. Happy driving up there in Alaska
I have IDrive but I prefer to use the front USB connection (with a regular cable). I don't want to run my Iphone5 all the time on Bluetooth just for music, and the glovebox USB/hard drive option seems like just an additional step I don't need. Although it would have the benefit of not having an Ipod hanging out...maybe I'll try it. I don't worry about leaving the Ipod out though - I really don't think that's a big theft item at this point.
Have to admit I don't know much about Pandora - it's a subscription service, right? So it exists as an app on your phone, and then you stream it through the phone into the X1 audio?
Pandora is one of a number of free applications that will stream music of your choosing. Every now and again you have to tolerate a commercial, but its a small price to pay. With Pandora, you can create your own personal channels, and then tell Pandora which artists should be the foundation for that channel. After that, Pandora delivers a steady stream of music from those artists and similar artists that it thinks you may like. You have the option of rating each song "thumbs up" or "thumbs down", which further educates Pandora on your particular tastes. No subscription fees, unless you want to listen without ads. You can access Pandora on a computer, or most portable devices as well such as iPhones, so long as you have a net connection. Pandora will even work over 3G.
Thanks for Pandora tutorial. I'll check it out. So it is played through one's phone, via Bluetooth? I'll probably look into it after I have an in-car charger for the Iphone 5...
Pandora is so much better than satellite radio and far cheaper subscription. And pandora doesn't skip when you pass under a bridge.
I signed up for Pandora last night, downloaded app to my Iphone 5 and had fun listening for a couple hours. Not sure how this will work in the X1 - the Pandora site says Pandora plays through BMW Apps, which I don't have...I'll investigate further.
Pandora is excellent but watch out for your data usage which is limited to whatever data plan you have with your cell phone provider. You can soon use it up with a few hours usage!
So how do you listen through the car speakers with Pandora
However, there is a device out there called the Blackberry Media Gateway which can simplify things a bit, allowing you to get Pandora to your car's stereo wirelessly via Bluetooth. (Again, this is if you don't have iDrive). I have one on order, and it should be here in a few days. It should alleviate the need for attaching and unattaching my phone every single time I drive the car.
Now if your car has iDrive, I believe you can stream music directly via bluetooth without the need for gateways or cables, but I don't know how that is accomplished.
When streaming Pandora over Bluetooth the song title always updates. When using the USB port or the y cable the screen doesn't update with the current song. That's so annoying.
Congratulations on your new baby!! Very fun ride.:)
OP, Can I trouble you to post photos of you terra interior?
I just ordered a '14 X1 xLine sapphire black with terra leather, and some of the photos I've seen recently make it look much lighter, more orange, than I'm hoping for.
It looks MUCH darker on the BMW configurator online, and in their gallery photos (http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...iaGallery.aspx ).
Let me know. Thanks!
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For the coming season, Arnette's Uncommon Projects division is releasing two signature goggles for Zac Marben.
Zac's Uncommon Projects Skylight goggle has a deep red matte finish and gold chrome lens, while his Uncommon Projects Series 3 comes in a gray / black combo with a shadow chrome lens. Both models feature signature art by Zac.
The oversized Skylight features Arnette's No-BS (Blind Spot) technology to give riders a superior field of vision. Both models come stock with Arnette's signature F#%G OFF! anti-fog lens coating, Cool Breeze venting, scratch resistant lens and the ultra-plush Combo-Plate triple-layer face foam that ensures supreme fit and comfort.
Zac's Arnette Uncommon Projects goggles are arriving at better shops worldwide right now.
More info and retailers can be found online at www.arnette.com, www.facebook.com/arnette and twitter.com/arnette.


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'The deal comes one day before Pominville was scheduled for an arbitration hearing in Toronto. But the Sabres have yet to reach an agreement with defenseman Toni Lydman, who has an arbitration hearing on Thursday. Right wings Maxim Afinogenov and J.P. Dumont and centers Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad and Adam Mair are the other Sabres with arbitration hearings, which are scheduled through August 4.'
Sabres agree to multi-year deal with RW Pominville
July 27, 2006 Submitted by
Via: Sportsticker


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A light spray of CorrosionX on power heads, generator sets, and engines two or three times a year will keep them looking like new, even in saltwater conditions. Use CorrosionX on fishing reels and guns. CorrosionX works on sheaves, hinges, locks, cable and wire ropes, windlasses, and other rotating devices. Use CorrosionX to unlock rusted bolts, nuts, and fittings. One spray penetrates further and faster than any household lubricant to stop corrosion and prevent it from reoccurring. CorrosionX works under heavy loads and in high temperatures.
The science behind CorrosionX is called Polar Bonding. CorrosionX bonds to the metal to which it is applied and displaces electrolytes (usually moisture or a salt crystal) and forms a dielectric film that blocks the path of the current. To put it another way, CorrosionX stops corrosion and then blocks it from reoccurring. CorrosionX stays bonded to the metal and is not easily displaced by friction or moisture. CorrosionX isn't just a rust inhibitor - it's a rust blocker! This dielectric film does not interfere with circuitry, switches, or electrical components.
CorrosionX penetrant oil lasts longer and withstands friction and moisture better than other oil-based corrosion inhibitors. The staying power of CorrosionX makes it a real asset on boats. Use it on deck hardware, fittings, and brightwork, bearings, locks, hinges, steering mechanism and cables, chainplates, outboard motor power heads, and as a yearly treatment on electrical connections. Regular maintenance with CorrosionX will extend the life of your boat's metal components almost indefinitely!
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You exercise your body to stay physically in shape, so why shouldn't you exercise your brain to stay mentally fit? With these daily exercises you will learn how to flex your mind, improve your creativity and boost your memory. As with any exercise, repetition is necessary for you to see improvement, so pick your favorite exercises from our daily suggestions and repeat them as desired. Try to do some mentalrobics every single day!
One way to remember a list of objects (like a grocery list) is to visualize each item in a particular place in your house.
For example, you may visualize the broccoli on your nightstand, the tomatoes in the sink, and the apples on the couch. When you need to remember the grocery list, picture yourself walking through the house and seeing all the objects in their unusual places.
Making associations like this will give your memory something to grab onto. It's much easier to remember tomatoes in your sink than it is to just remember tomatoes!
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This puzzle requires logic and a good memory.


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Global Warming and Climate Change Facts
Science says: Climate reacts to whatever forces it to change; humans are now the dominant force.
A common skeptic argument is that climate has changed naturally in the past, long before SUVs and coal-fired power plants, so therefore humans cannot be causing global warming now. Interestingly, the peer-reviewed research into past climate change comes to the opposite conclusion. To understand this, first you have to ask why climate has changed in the past. It doesn't happen by magic. Climate changes when it's forced to change. When our planet suffers an energy imbalance and gains or loses heat, global temperature changes.
There are a number of different forces which can influence the Earth's climate. When the sun gets brighter, the planet receives more energy and warms. When volcanoes erupt, they emit particles into the atmosphere which reflect sunlight, and the planet cools. When there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the planet warms. These effects are referred to as external forcings because by changing the planet's energy balance, they force climate to change.
It is obviously true that past climate change was caused by natural forcings. However, to argue that this means we can't cause climate change is like arguing that humans can't start bushfires because in the past they've happened naturally. Greenhouse gas increases have caused climate change many times in Earth's history, and we are now adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere at a increasingly rapid rate.
Looking at the past gives us insight into how our climate responds to external forcings. Using ice cores, for instance, we can work out the degree of past temperature change, the level of solar activity, and the amount of greenhouse gases and volcanic dust in the atmosphere. From this, we can determine how temperature has changed due to past energy imbalances. What we have found, looking at many different periods and timescales in Earth's history, is that when the Earth gains heat, positive feedbacks amplify the warming. This is why we've experienced such dramatic changes in temperature in the past. Our climate is highly sensitive to changes in heat. We can even quantify this: when you include positive feedbacks, a doubling of CO2 causes a warming of around 3°C.
What does that mean for today? Rising greenhouse gas levels are an external forcing, which has caused climate changes many times in Earth's history. They're causing an energy imbalance and the planet is building up heat. From Earth's history, we know that positive feedbacks will amplify the greenhouse warming. So past climate change doesn't tell us that humans can't influence climate; on the contrary, it tells us that climate is highly sensitive to the greenhouse warming we're now causing.
Science says: In the last 35 years of global warming, sun and climate have been going in opposite directions.
Over the last 30 years of global warming, the sun has shown a slight cooling trend. Sun and climate are going in opposite directions. This has led a number of scientists independently concluding that the sun cannot be the cause of recent global warming.
One of the most common and persistent climate myths is that the sun is the cause. This argument is made by cherry picking the data - showing past periods when sun and climate move together but ignoring the last few decades when the two diverge.
Science says: Negative impacts of global warming on agriculture, health, and environment far outweigh any positives.
While CO2 is essential for plant growth, all agriculture depends also on steady water supplies, and climate change is likely to disrupt those supplies through floods and droughts. It has been suggested that higher latitudes—Siberia, for example—may become productive due to global warming, but the soil in Arctic and bordering territories is very poor, and the amount of sunlight reaching the ground in summer will not change because it is governed by the tilt of the earth. Agriculture can also be disrupted by wildfires and changes in seasonal periodicity, which is already taking place, and changes to grasslands and water supplies could impact grazing and welfare of domestic livestock. Increased warming may also have a greater effect on countries whose climate is already near or at a temperature limit over which yields reduce or crops fail—in the tropics or sub-Sahara, for example.
Warmer winters would mean fewer deaths, particularly among vulnerable groups like the aged. However, the same groups are also vulnerable to additional heat, and deaths attributable to heat waves are expected to be approximately five times as great as winter deaths prevented. It is widely believed that warmer climes will encourage migration of disease-bearing insects like mosquitoes and malaria is already appearing in places it hasn't been seen before.
Polar Melting
While the opening of a year-round ice free Arctic passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans would confer some commercial benefits, these are considerably outweighed by the negatives. Detrimental effects include loss of polar bear habitat and increased mobile ice hazards to shipping. The loss of ice albedo (the reflection of heat), causing the ocean to absorb more heat, is also a positive feedback; the warming waters increase glacier and Greenland ice cap melt, as well as raising the temperature of Arctic tundra, which then releases methane, a very potent greenhouse gas (methane is also released from the sea-bed, where it is trapped in ice-crystals called clathrates). Melting of the Antarctic ice shelves is predicted to add further to sea-level rise with no benefits accruing.
Ocean Acidification
A cause for considerable concern, there appear to be no benefits to the change in pH of the oceans. This process is caused by additional CO2 being absorbed in the water, and may have severe destabilizing effects on the entire oceanic food-chain.
Melting Glaciers
The effects of glaciers melting are largely detrimental, the principle impact being that many millions of people (one-sixth of the world's population) depend on fresh water supplied each year by natural spring melt and regrowth cycles and those water supplies—drinking water, agriculture—may fail.
Sea Level Rise
Many parts of the world are low-lying and will be severely affected by modest sea rises. Rice paddies are being inundated with salt water, which destroys the crops. Seawater is contaminating rivers as it mixes with fresh water further upstream, and aquifers are becoming polluted. Given that the IPCC did not include melt-water from the Greenland and Antarctic ice-caps due to uncertainties at that time, estimates of sea-level rise are feared to considerably underestimate the scale of the problem. There are no proposed benefits to sea-level rise.
Positive effects of climate change may include greener rain forests and enhanced plant growth in the Amazon, increased vegetation in northern latitudes and possible increases in plankton biomass in some parts of the ocean. Negative responses may include further growth of oxygen poor ocean zones, contamination or exhaustion of fresh water, increased incidence of natural fires, extensive vegetation die-off due to droughts, increased risk of coral extinction, decline in global photo-plankton, changes in migration patterns of birds and animals, changes in seasonal periodicity, disruption to food chains and species loss.
The economic impacts of climate change may be catastrophic, while there have been very few benefits projected at all. The Stern report made clear the overall pattern of economic distress, and while the specific numbers may be contested, the costs of climate change were far in excess of the costs of preventing it. Certain scenarios projected in the IPCC AR4 report would witness massive migration as low-lying countries were flooded. Disruptions to global trade, transport, energy supplies and labour markets, banking and finance, investment and insurance, would all wreak havoc on the stability of both developed and developing nations. Markets would endure increased volatility and institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies would experience considerable difficulty.
Developing countries, some of which are already embroiled in military conflict, may be drawn into larger and more protracted disputes over water, energy supplies or food, all of which may disrupt economic growth at a time when developing countries are beset by more egregious manifestations of climate change. It is widely accepted that the detrimental effects of climate change will be visited largely on the countries least equipped to adapt, socially or economically.
Science says: 97% of climate experts agree humans are causing global warming.
Science achieves a consensus when scientists stop debating. When a question is first asked—like "what would happen if we put a load more CO2 in the atmosphere?"—there may be many hypotheses about cause and effect. Over a period of time, each idea is tested and retested (the scientific method) because reputation and kudos go to those who find the right answer. Nearly all hypotheses will fall by the wayside during this testing period, because only one is going to answer the question properly, without leaving all kinds of odd dangling bits that don't quite add up. Bad theories are usually rather untidy.
Eventually, the testing period must come to an end. The focus of investigation narrows down to those avenues that continue to make sense, that still add up, and quite often a good theory will reveal additional answers, or make powerful predictions that add substance to the theory. When Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev constructed the periodic table of elements, not only did he fit all known elements successfully, he predicted that elements we didn't even know about would turn up later on, and they did!
So a consensus in science is different from a political one. There is no vote. Scientists give up the debate because the sheer weight of consistent evidence is too compelling, the tide too strong to swim against any longer. Scientists change their minds on the basis of the evidence, and a consensus emerges over time. Not only do scientists stop debating, they also start relying on each others' work. All science depends on that which precedes it, and when one scientist builds on the work of another, he acknowledges the work of others through citations. The work that forms the foundation of climate change science is cited with great frequency by many other scientists, demonstrating that the theory is widely accepted and relied upon.
In the field of climate studies, which is informed by many different disciplines, the consensus is demonstrated by the number of scientists who have stopped debating what is causing climate change—and that's nearly all of them. A survey of all peer-reviewed papers on the subject "global climate change" published between 1993 and 2003 shows that not a single paper rejected the consensus position that global warming is man-made. 75% of the papers agreed with the consensus position while 25% made no comment either way, focusing on methods analysis instead (Oreskes 2004).
Several subsequent studies confirm that "...the debate on the authenticity of global warming and the role played by human activity is largely nonexistent among those who understand the nuances and scientific basis of long-term climate processes." (Doran 2009). In other words, more than 95% of scientists working in the disciplines contributing to studies of our climate, accept that climate change is almost certainly being caused by human activities.
We should also consider official scientific institutions and what they think about climate change. There are no national or major scientific institutions anywhere in the world that dispute the theory of anthropogenic climate change. Not one.
In the field of climate science, the consensus is unequivocal: human activities are causing climate change.
Science says: All the indicators show that global warming is still happening.
When looking for evidence of global warming, there are many different indicators that we should look for. While it's natural to start with air temperature, a more thorough examination should be as inclusive as possible: snow cover, ice melt, air temperature over land and sea, even the sea temperature itself. A 2010 study included 10 key indicators, and as shown above, every one of them is moving in the direction expected of a warming globe.
The question of global warming stopping is often raised in the when weather events that we don't typically associate with global warming happen—a big winter storm or drought-relieving rain. Global warming is entirely compatible with these events; after all, they are just weather. In climate change, it is the long-term trends that are important; measured over decades or more, and the long term trends show that the globe is still warming.
Science says: Models successfully reproduce global temperature since 1900.
Climate models are mathematical representations of the interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, ice, and the sun. This is clearly a very complex task, so models are built to estimate trends rather than events. For example, a climate model can tell you it will be cold in winter, but it can't tell you what the temperature will be on a specific day—that's weather forecasting. Climate is weather averaged out over time, usually 30 years. Trends are important because they smooth out single events that may be extreme, but quite rare.
Climate models have to be tested to find out if they work. We can't wait for 30 years to see if a model is any good or not; models are tested against the past, against what we know happened. If a model can correctly predict trends from a starting point somewhere in the past, we could expect it to predict with reasonable certainty what might happen in the future.
So all models are first tested in a process called "hindcasting." The models used to predict future global warming can accurately map past climate changes. If they get the past right, there is no reason to think their predictions would be wrong. Testing models against the existing instrumental record suggested CO2 must cause global warming, because the models could not simulate what had already happened unless the extra CO2 was added to the model. All other known forcings are adequate in explaining temperature variations prior to the rise in temperature over the last thirty years, while none of them are capable of explaining the rise in the past thirty years. CO2 does explain that rise, and explains it completely without any need for additional, as yet unknown forcings.
Where models have been running for sufficient time, they have also been proved to make accurate predictions. For example, the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo allowed modelers to test the accuracy of models by feeding in the data about the eruption. The models successfully predicted the climatic response after the eruption. Models also correctly predicted other effects subsequently confirmed by observation, including greater warming in the Arctic and over land, greater warming at night, and stratospheric cooling.
The climate models, far from being alarmist, may be conservative in the predictions they produce. For example, here's a graph of sea level rise:
Sea level change; tide gauge data are indicated in red and satellite data in blue. The grey band shows the projections of the IPCC Third Assessment report (Copenhagen Diagnosis 2009).
Here, the models have understated the problem. In reality the events are all within the upper range of the model's predictions. There are other examples of models being too conservative, rather than alarmist as some portray them. All models have limits (uncertainties) for they are modeling chaotic systems. However, all models improve over time, and with increasing sources of real-world information such as satellites, the output of climate models can be constantly refined to increase their power and usefulness.
Climate models have already predicted many of the phenomena for which we now have empirical evidence. Climate models form a reliable guide to potential climate change.
Science says: The warming trend is the same in rural and urban areas, measured by thermometers and satellites.
Surveys of weather stations in the USA have indicated that some of them are not sited as well as they could be. This calls into question the quality of their readings.
However, when processing their data, the organizations which collect the readings take into account any local heating or cooling effects, such as might be caused by a weather station being located near buildings or near tarmacs at an airport. This is done, for instance, by weighting (adjusting) readings after comparing them against those from more rural weather stations nearby.
More importantly, for the purpose of establishing a temperature trend, the relative level of single readings is less important than whether the pattern of all readings from all stations taken together is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same from year to year. Furthermore, since this question was first raised, research has established that any error that can be attributed to poor siting of weather stations is not enough to produce a significant variation in the overall warming trend being observed. Even groups that have recreated the global temperature record on their own, with the intent to prove that there are problems with the data, have admitted that there is no substance to the claim.
It's also vital to realize that climate change not based simply on ground level temperature records. Other, completely independent temperature data compiled from weather balloons, satellite measurements, and from sea and ocean temperature records, also tell a remarkably similar warming story.
Confidence in climate science depends on the correlation of many sets of these data from many different sources in order to produce conclusive evidence of a global trend.
Science says: Global change is happening too fast for the ecosystem to adapt.
Humans are transforming the global environment. Great swathes of temperate forest in Europe, Asia, and North America have been cleared over the past few centuries for agriculture, timber, and urban development. Tropical forests are now on the front line. Human-assisted species invasions of pests, competitors, and predators are rising exponentially, and over-exploitation of fisheries and forest animals for bush meat continues to be the rule rather than the exception.
Given these existing pressures and upheavals, it is a reasonable question to ask whether global warming will make any further meaningful contribution to this mess. Some see no danger at all, maintaining that a warmer planet will be beneficial for mankind and other species on the planet, and that "corals, trees, birds, mammals, and butterflies are adapting well to the routine reality of changing climate."
However, global warming has already affected the ecosystem by changing where some species can survive, the timing of breeding, migration, flowering, and so on. Although it's difficult to predict the future extinction risk, some scientists have found that 18 to 35% of plant and animal species will be committed to extinction by 2050 due to climate change.
A large number of ancient mass extinction events have indeed been strongly linked to global climate change, including the most sweeping die-off that ended the Palaeozoic Era, 250 million years ago, and the less cataclysmic Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, 55 million years ago. These extinctions were natural, and there are a number of reasons why today's global change will have a particularly severe impact on biodiversity:
- Post-industrial man-made warming is already more rapid than anything the Earth has seen before, and it is expected to accelerate.
- An optimistic projection of future temperature is 2°C, which will shift the Earth's mean temperature into conditions which haven't existed since 3 million years ago. A more realistic projection, 4°C, will shift the Earth's climate back to the largely ice-free world that existed prior to 35 million years ago. When considering that the average species' "lifetime" is 1-3 million years, it easy to understand that our new climate will be unlike anything today's species have ever seen.
- Today's ecosystems have already been impacted by climate change. Most habitats are already degraded and their populations depleted by past human activities. For millennia our impacts have been localized although often severe, but during the last few centuries we have unleashed physical and biological transformations on a global scale. Feedbacks from global warming, ocean acidification, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and chemical pollution will likely lead to cascading extinctions.
- Past adaptation to climate change by species was mainly through shifting their geographic range to higher or lower latitudes (depending on whether the climate was warming or cooling), or up and down mountain slopes. There were also evolutionary responses—individuals that were most tolerant to new conditions survived and so made future generations more intrinsically resilient. However, because of how fast the Earth is warming, and because of all the infrastructure humans have built (roads, railways, massive cities), time is up and there is nowhere for species to run or hide.
Science says: 2010 is globally the hottest year on record, tied with 2005.
No, it hasn't been cooling since 1998. Even if we ignore long term trends and just look at the record-breakers, that wasn't the hottest year ever. Different reports show that, overall, 2005 was hotter than 1998. What's more, globally, the hottest 12-month period ever recorded was from June 2009 to May 2010.
Though humans love record-breakers, they don't, on their own, tell us a much about trends, and it's trends that matter when monitoring Climate Change. Trends only appear by looking at all the data, globally, and taking into account other variables—like the effects of the El Nino ocean current or sunspot activity—not by cherry-picking single points.
There's also a tendency for some people just to concentrate on air temperatures when there are other, more useful, indicators that can perhaps give us a better idea how rapidly the world is warming. Oceans for instance, due to their immense size and heat storing capability, tend to give a much more 'steady' indication of the warming that is happening. Here records show that the Earth has been warming at a steady rate before and since 1998 and there's no signs of it slowing any time soon.
Science says: Satellites measure Antarctica is gaining sea ice but losing land ice at an accelerating rate, which has implications for sea level rise.
Skeptic arguments that Antarctica is gaining ice frequently hinge on an error of omission, namely ignoring the difference between land ice and sea ice.
In glaciology, and particularly with respect to Antarctic ice, not all things are created equal. Let us consider the following differences. Antarctic land ice is the ice which has accumulated over thousands of years on the Antarctica landmass itself through snowfall. This land ice therefore is actually stored ocean water that once fell as precipitation. Sea ice in Antarctica is quite different as it is generally considered to be ice which forms in salt water primarily during the winter months.
Estimates of Total Antarctic Land Ice Changes and approximate sea level contributions using many different measurement techniques. Adapted from The Copenhagen Diagnosis. (CH= Chen et al. 2006, WH= Wingham et al. 2006, R= Rignot et al. 2008b, CZ= Cazenave et al. 2009 and V=Velicogna 2009)
In Antarctica, sea ice grows quite extensively during winter but nearly completely melts away during the summer (see above). That is where the important difference between antarctic and arctic sea ice exists. Arctic sea ice lasts all the year round, there are increases during the winter months and decreases during the summer months but an ice cover does in fact remain in the North which includes quite a bit of ice from previous years (Figure 1). Essentially Arctic sea ice is more important for the earth's energy balance because when it melts, more sunlight is absorbed by the oceans whereas Antarctic sea ice normally melts each summer leaving the earth's energy balance largely unchanged.
One must also be careful how you interpret trends in Antarctic sea ice. Currently this ice is increasing and has been for years but is this the smoking gun against climate change? Not quite. Antarctic sea ice is gaining because of many different reasons but the most accepted recent explanations are listed below:
- Ozone levels over Antarctica have dropped causing stratospheric cooling and increasing winds which lead to more areas of open water that can be frozen (Gillet 2003, Thompson 2002, Turner 2009).
- The Southern Ocean is freshening because of increased rain, glacial run-off and snowfall. This changes the composition of the different layers in the ocean there causing less mixing between warm and cold layers and thus less melted sea ice (Zhang 2007).
All the sea ice talk aside, it is quite clear that really when it comes to Antarctic ice, sea ice is not the most important thing to measure. In Antarctica, the most important ice mass is the land ice sitting on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Estimates of recent changes in Antarctic land ice (see above) range from losing 100 gigatons/year to over 300 gigatons/year. Because 360 gigatons/year represents an annual sea level rise of 1 mm/year, recent estimates indicate a contribution of between 0.27 mm/year and 0.83 mm/year coming from Antarctica. There is of course uncertainty in the estimations methods but multiple different types of measurement techniques (explained here) all show the same thing, Antarctica is losing land ice as a whole, and these losses are accelerating quickly.
Skeptical Science was founded by physicist John Cook in 2007 to explore what science has to say about global warming. In 2011, Skeptical Science won the Australian Museum Eureka Prize for the Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge. It is not affiliated with any organization, and is funded by contributions from readers.
John Cook is the Climate Change Communication Fellow for the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland. He created and runs skepticalscience.com. His efforts have concentrated on making climate science accessible to the general public, releasing smartphone apps for the iPhone and Android phones. He has produced climate communication resources adopted by organizations such as NOAA and the U.S. Navy, and co-authored the book Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand with environmental scientist Haydn Washington.


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'The regular season is no longer the issue with the Flyers, whose success is ultimately determined when the playoffs begin in April. That is when they won't face overmatched opponents like the Buffalo Sabres, whom they soundly defeated 2-0 Thursday in their season opener.'
Flyers open with shutout over Sabres
October 10, 2003 Submitted by


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Our Daily Correspondent
Opening DayBy Sadie Stein
If there is a baseball team in your area, you may one day be asked to throw out the first pitch. Throwing out the first pitch is a way to recognize someone who is famous or is being honored before the start of a baseball game. —eHow, How to Throw Out the First Pitch
A little after one this afternoon, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, a Red Sox fan, threw the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field, where the Mets were facing the Washington Nationals. He was surrounded by seven children affected by the recent East Harlem gas explosion. According to the New York Observer, "Mr. de Blasio, wearing a personalized Mets jersey bearing his last name and the number six, stood a few feet in front of the pitcher's rubber and tossed a strike to a Mets catcher. Still, fans aggressively booed the mayor when his name was announced, not long before he threw the ceremonial pitch." Read More


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Whether it's during the Super Bowl or the World Series, precast concrete is regularly on display to thousands of fans in the stands and tens of millions more watching at home on TV. The explosion of stadium projects throughout the country is an ideal stage for the industry to put its best foot forward.
Precast concrete risers have long been a standard for stadiums and indoor arenas, offering benefits for seating units that most designers have come to recognize. But today, precast concrete components are being used for a wider range of design elements that are both structural and architectural. Designers anticipate that trend to continue in this steadily growing market.
"The amount of precast concrete used in any stadium project depends on the specifics of the project, its location, and how early we can get involved in it," says Tom D'Arcy, head of the San Antonio, Texas, office of The Consulting Engineers Group. "We've done entire stadium structural systems with precast concrete, and it works quite well. It depends on the designer's goals and experience."
The ability to cast components off-site through any kind of weather has boosted the use of precast concrete. This not only speeds construction by eliminating weather delays but helps keep the site clear, which is receiving more focus, says Fred Heldenfels IV, president of Heldenfels Enterprises Inc. in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The producer fabricated 3000 components, mostly seating risers, tubs, and solid walls, for the new 80,000-seat Dallas Cowboys stadium under construction in Arlington, Texas. (The facility can be expanded to 100,000 seats for other events.)
"Construction on this stadium is the same as in the past, but the safety program is the most rigorous and most disciplined we've ever had," Heldenfels says. When work began, access to the site was restricted to those who had undergone a three-day safety-training program. That process now has been streamlined to two days.
"There are a lot of trades and individual crews working on fairly intense schedules in a compact area," he explains. "It's becoming a trend with large sites of all types to create more safety awareness."
Standard precast seating
Precast concrete seating is used in virtually every project. These riser units previously were designed as single-level modules, but precast producers now manufacture them as double and even triple units to save erection time. "The double units have become most common," D'Arcy notes. "Triple units tend to be difficult to cast. The forms are too high for caging and finishing."
Double precast concrete seating units probably will remain the standard well into the future, says Mike Achilles, northern regional sales director for High Concrete Group in Denver, Pa. "The seating technology has been the same for a long time, and it's not going to change because it works," he says. High Concrete has worked in numerous new stadiums and arenas in metropolitan New York.
Precast producers also are seeing more interest in other framing components, such as raker beams to hold the seating units, vomitory walls at exits, and stairs. "Some parts of the country have used these for a long time," says Roger Becker, vice president of the precast division of The Spancrete Group in Waukesha, Wis. "But in the Upper Midwest, we're seeing a transition from other materials to precast concrete for the primary framing elements. Designers are better appreciating the benefits of prefabricating these units."


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|Aaron James
Basketball Player, 1966-79
Inducted: 2012
To many who remember the infant days of the New Orleans Jazz, he was fondly known as "A.J. From the Parking Lot."
From the rough streets of New Orleans' 11th Ward, Aaron James began a basketball career at the Dryades Street YMCA that took him to All-American honors at Grambling State University, then onto the professional ranks and into three halls of fame. He learned the game by playing against some of the most skilled African-American athletes in the city, including former professional Bruce Seals and James "Shirt" Williams of Booker T. Washington, Bobby Bissant of Xavier Prep and Clark's Rodney Tureaud.
"I developed quickly by playing against the top players in the state," James said. "At that time, we didn't play against the white teams from the LHSAA, but we scrimmaged and beat De La Salle as well as Newman three or four times a year."
At Cohen, James led the state in scoring with a 30-point average, at Grambling he led the nation in scoring during the 1973-74 season with 32.1 points per game. He scored 2,251 career points and became a three-time All-SWAC selection.
The professional world became familiar with the tall, skinny kid in 1974 when the fledgling New Orleans Jazz drafted James in the second round of the draft, giving him the chance to play with fellow Louisiana legend Pete Maravich.
"All indications were that the (New York) Knicks were going to draft me," he said. "I knew that they and Chicago was interested, but, as it turned out, it couldn't get any better. I wasn't even aware that (the Jazz) were interested."
The team's first coach, Scotty Robertson, who was lured away from his college coaching post at Louisiana Tech, had tried to recruit James at the Ruston university. But he chose Grambling because its head coach, Fred Hobdy, promised James, "You will graduate on time and you will go to church." Robertson wasn't about to let the rookie get away a second time and convinced the Jazz management to choose him.
James gave the NBA five productive years as the Jazz' second most popular player to Maravich then retired in 1979 when the franchise moved to Utah after 356 games in which he averaged 10.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. After playing professionally overseas, he returned to Grambling and earned his master's degree. He eventually became Grambling's head basketball coach, assistant women's coach and assistant athletic director. Today he serves as Grambling's Associate Athletic Director.
Still, at age 59, James cannot shake the moniker Jazz broadcaster "Hot Rod" Hundley gave him 38 years ago. "I'll go some place and someone will recognize me and say, 'There's A.J. from the Parking Lot.'"
The name was a product of his propensity to shoot from well behind the foul line before the NBA adopted the three-point line. Had there been one present during his seasons, James would likely have had a much higher scoring average.
Story by Ron Brocato of the Greater New Orleans Sports Selection Committee, July, 2012.