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All Aboard the high Speed Express
Touring the Island's West in High Style at the Highest of Speeds
Text / Rick Charette
Photos / Taipei 101, Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area, Taiwan High Speed Rail, Maolin National Scenic Area, Alishan National Scenic Area, National Museum of Natural Science, Vision Int'l
Touring Taiwan has now acquired a certain cachet, a certain sexiness, a certain "je ne sais pas." The island's long-awaited high-speed railway is set to power up in just a few nano-moments. Your wait is over. Instant travel gratification has arrived.
Want to be anywhere on the island's west side in no time flat? There you go, mesdames et monsieurs - you're now reading this in another city. Konnichi wa, traveling friend - in town for the catch of the day, headed back without delay? Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) lets you hit any west-coast city from your main island base and slide home safe again before your spouse, pet, or boss - maybe - even knows you've left to hit the fast track. The iron rooster has come a long way, baby.
As a child I was lulled to sleep each night by the rhythmic music of passing trains. Deep bonds for the romance of rail developed. Tracks seem like flowing rivers to me, leading to mystery and far-off adventure. On my sole grand tour of France, to date, I merrily rode the Train a Grand Vitesse (TGV; love that name - "Train of Great Speed" ). On my single to-date adventure into the mists of Japan I thrilled at the bullet train, the Shinkansen.
This is indeed a very sexy way to move, my adventurous friends, I assure you. Tres elegant, tres chic, sleekly exotic. And now Taiwan possesses the same sex appeal, an ultra-stylish bullet-train service stretching from Taipei in the far north to Kaohsiung in the far south along fair Formosa's western flank, the mist-kissed cathedral-like spires of the Central Mountain Range beckoning off to the east as you hurtle north-south at warp speed through western foothills and over plains and wide wadis, with stops at most all major urban agglomerations along the way - Banciao, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan.
Time Savings, Money Savings, Eco-Savings
As recent generations have learned from watching the big and small screens, the ultimate in speed is warp speed, and the ultimate in travel convenience is the transporter. In our present-day world the high-speed railway is perhaps the next best thing, with just a short trip to a downtown station before your molecules are hurtled en masse to some distant locale (same dimension, however), almost independent of the passage of time. Cheap, and eco-friendly too - less space used per traveling person compared to car, bus, and plane, far less FPT (fuel per traveler) used. Don't use "FPT" in your conversations; I made that up. So you save the world while traveling it. Neat trick.
Blazing Trails
The majority of travelers to Taiwan, long or short-term, use Taipei as base. The high-speed rail brings supreme convenience for day-trips, overnighters, and even longer explorations. Like greater London, greater New York, greater Tokyo, and other great concentrations of human beings, the expression "you can't get there from here" sometimes springs to mind when attempting travel from Taipei into her hinter regions - at a stretch meaning the entire west side of the island, five hours or so by car from Taipei to Kaohsiung on days when island denizens aren't also on the road pursuing leisure-time dreams.
The high-speed rail cuts through all this. In the rest of this short article we introduce the various THSR stops, many no doubt previously not among your list of travel possibilities, now most definitely on. Since as said most visitors use Taipei as base, and that city's global-standard Mass-Rapid Transit (MRT) system and the many color-coded bus routes shooting off from each station make traveling the compact mountain-ringed metropolis a breeze, we won't spend much time introducing the city's myriad only-place-on-earth attractions.
Taipei and Banciao
But note that in Taipei and attached Banciao (the second stop on a north-south THSR jaunt; also reached by the MRT) you can visit the planet's very tallest building, Taipei 101, with eye-popping views from the observation deck on the 89th floor. Soak in 5,000 years of learning in the single greatest repository of Chinese cultural treasures extant, the National Palace Museum, recently refurbished top-thru-bottom. Travel back to Taiwan-pioneering times to the fabulous residential complex of the Lin family in Banciao (Lin Family Gardens), the dominant clan in north Taiwan through the 19th century.
Red-Carpet Roll Call of City Destinations
An early-morn THSR launch from any point means you can hit any other point as the breakfast stands start opening, take in highlight tourist spots in-town-and-out, and be back home and wrapped up tight in your own blanket just when the sleep monster catches up with you. Or overnight on a weekend and be back at work all fresh and chipper Monday morning.
Banciao can be considered a bedroom community (of hundreds of thousands!) of Taipei, situated to the southwest of the city center just across the Sindian River. Taoyuan has grown in large part because of its proximity to the international airport that serves Taipei, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. This city is about 30 minutes southwest of Taipei. Hsinchu, a high-tech hub with its driving dynamo the Hsinchu Science Park, home to such home-grown powerhouses as Taiwan Semiconductor, is about one hour by vehicle from Taipei. Taichung, which translates literally as "Taiwan Central," is indeed central Taiwan's main urban center and marketplace. Starting life late in comparison to our other cities, its abundant room for expansion has led to expression on a grand scale, with some of the island's biggest restaurants, nightclubs, and karaokes.
Chiayi, about halfway between Taichung and Tainan and sitting on the flat plains, is a comparatively sleepy place. If a "rural city" can exist, this is it, for this is a market center for the surrounding farmlands, the latter stretched out to the horizon in all directions. For the out-of-towner the town is mainly used as a springboard to destinations in the central mountains and foothills such as Alishan National Scenic Area and Yushan National Park. In small towns between Chiayi and the Taiwan Strait are temples, most notable Fongtian Temple in Singang, renowned for their overwhelmingly crowded and frenetic Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) birthday celebrations each year - parties culturally unique, offering entertainment nonpareil. For Tainan, see the special sample-tour introduction below.
Our wheels finally roll to a stop in the Zuoying district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan's industrial powerhouse and home to one of the globe's busier ports, yet storehouse for many - and growing - pockets of beauty. The downtown Love River section has received much loving in the past decade, and is today equated with Paris' Left Bank by islanders, lined with cafs and small eateries, strollers entertained by musical troupes and buskers. Kaohsiung is also important as jumping-off point for the resorts of the far south, including the tropical-zone draws Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area and Kenting National Park, the latter locally touted as either Taiwan's Hawaii or Taiwan's California. East of the city in the high mountains is the rugged Maolin National Scenic Area, where you can jump headlong into the traditional culture of four of the island's aboriginal tribes and into vigorous, invigorating whitewater rafting.
A Taste of Tainan
In upcoming issues of Travel in Taiwan we'll be systematically exploring each THSR stop, providing you with detailed package-tour blueprints. Here we've picked the name Tainan out of a hat for a package-tour sample, though I admit I may have influenced the choosing, having just finished my umpteenth visit to this city-size bridge to the past.
This is where it all began for Taiwan in terms of its modern history - main point of the Han Chinese settler influx, base for the Dutch when they colonized the island in the 1600s, in imperial days Taiwan's capital. Like Japan's Kyoto, this easygoing nexus of traditional culture is a living vault of architectural riches. Many of these priceless historical relics saw life in the early days of Chinese rule on the island, after the Dutch were booted out in 1662.
You can't without shame wear your "I've Done Tainan" badge unless you've spent time at the following draws, all within an easy walk or taxi ride of the train station (the sleepy bus system is of limited value to the tourist).
The Confucius Temple is the oldest temple dedicated to the sage in Taiwan, built in 1665 by the son of the man who dis-Dutched the island, Koxinga. It was set up as, and long was, the island's premier educational institution, by design serving as the center for the Chinese cultural renaissance in Taiwan.
Every Chinese locality has its City God, an otherworldly mandarin official to watch over local goings-on and take note of citizens' good and bad deeds for tallying upon death. The wonderfully ornate Tainan City God Temple is an overwhelming visual cacophony (pardon my wordage!) of smoke-stained iconry and age-old exposed timber framework. The deep-hued incense-smoke stains are the irrefutable sign of effective resident gods and incessant client patronage. By the front entrance hangs a giant abacus and a sign with the characters Er Lai Le ("So You Have Finally Come" ). This means not you, the tourist, but the souls of the freshly deceased come for the final reckoning.
The Old Fort of Anping (Fort Zeelandia), a 15-minute taxi ride from the train station, is where the main Dutch military fortification stood. Only part of one wall remains. Background detail is available at the small on-site museum, which houses maps, paintings, relics, and other helpings of insight on Tainan's past. The bricks for the fort were brought from the main Dutch base, Batavia (Java); check out the ingenious mortar used - a mixture of glutinous rice, crushed oyster shell, and sugarcane syrup that has admirably stood the test of time. Massive Fort Zeelandia once stood out to sea, on a giant sandbar; river silting has since "moved" the site several kilometers inland.
Along the coast in the Tainan City region is the young Southwest Coast National Scenic Area, characterized by varied coastline that ranges dramatically from mudflats to sandbanks and dunes through marshes and wetlands and river deltas. Unique habitat is thus created for a wide lineup of wildlife, notably migratory fowl, and among these particularly the endangered Black-Faced Spoonbill, the pride and joy of the scenic area, in season found at Cigu Lagoon. Silting is serious along the west coast, which in imperial days created havoc for sailing and steam-driven ships. Many a Western adventurer went to a salty grave as a result of the constantly shifting underwater terrain.
Onland the terrain is exceedingly flat, making this area perfect for salt production. Perhaps the scenic area's most popular - and certainly unusual - attractions are the Cigu Salt Mountains and accompanying Taiwan Salt Museum. Bet you've never climbed a mountain of salt before - four stories high. It was piled up by Taiwan Salt Corp. and has stairs to allow ascent of the snow-like heights. The complementary museum gives you all you can swallow on the island's salt production industry, past and present www.twsalt.org website( in Chinese only).
Give Me More!
Now that we've got you salivating, you're no doubt breathless for more. Your best bet for greater detail on all the THSR stops listed above, including descriptions of sites in-town-and-out and how to get around from train stations, is to start with the Tourism Bureau's website (www.taiwan.net.tw). Go to "Attractions" on the English home page. Follow-on links will get you to the respective tourism/travel authorities for each site/area.
See you on the train!


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(RSF/IFEX) - Several Honduran judges have unanimously rejected complaints made against five journalists for "damaging his reputation", by the director of the Honduran telecommunications company, Hondutel, Marcelo Chimirri.
The judges ruled that there were insufficient legal reasons for a case to be brought against Renato Álvarez and Rossana Guevara, of Televicentro, Melissa Amaya and Juan Carlos Funes, of Radio Cadena Voces, and Carlos Mauricio Flores, editor of the daily "El Heraldo".
The journalists had published articles relating to alleged fraud involving international phone calls revealed by the Mexican daily "El Universal". Judges in San Pedro Sula, North-West of Honduras, were due to rule shortly on a suit against Nelson Fernández, managing editor of the regional daily "La Prensa".
The National Human Rights Commission told RSF that this legal decision constituted a "victory for freedom of expression in the face of a wave of intimidation aimed at abolishing the right to the truth and to information."
"We knew that we had committed no crime, we have published news on a piece of information having repercussions abroad and which should be the subject of a thorough investigation," Melissa Amaya told the worldwide press freedom organisation.

subset: commoncrawl


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EAC maintains the National Mail Voter Registration Form, which voters can use to register to vote and update their registration information. The form is available in seven languages.
EAC also provides voter guides in 11 languages and a variety of links to helpful resources for voters relating to registration, military and overseas voting, accessibility, and volunteering as a poll worker.
HAVA mandates that EAC accredit voting system test laboratories and certify voting equipment, marking the first time the federal government has offered these services to the states.
EAC is committed to running the program in a transparent manner, releasing voting system test plans and reports for the public to review and posting detailed information about the voluntary voting system guidelines, program policies, and related correspondence.
One of EAC's top priorities is providing assistance to election officials. We do this by issuing guidance, advisories and best practices to help officials comply with the Help America Vote Act and make other election administration improvements and enhancements.
EAC administers federal funding to improve the administration of U.S. elections as authorized by the Help America Vote Act. The commission also manages discretionary, competitive grant programs authorized by HAVA, including the HAVA College Program to recruit college students to serve as poll workers and the HAVA Mock Election Program, which supports activities to educate secondary students in the electoral process.
EAC is responsible under the Help America Vote Act for collecting information about election administration issues and sharing that information with Congress, election officials and the public.
This section contains completed research and reports commissioned by EAC, information about EAC research in progress, and additional elections research issued by other organizations. Datasets are also available to download.
Voters can use the National Mail Voter Registration Form to register to vote, update registration information due to a change of name, make a change of address, or register with a political party.
The National Form also contains voter registration rules and regulations for each state and territory. For more information about registering to vote, contact your state election office. Read our Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the national form.
Use the National Mail Voter Registration Form to register to vote, update your registration information with a new name or address, or register with a political party.
Note: If you wish to vote absentee and are a uniformed service member or family member or a citizen living outside the U.S., contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program to register to vote.
Sign up to receive information about EAC activities including public meetings, webcasts, reports and grants.
Share your feedback on EAC policy proposals, Election Resource Library materials, and OpenEAC activities. Give feedback on general issues, including the Web site, through our Contact Us page.
EAC has several projects under way to assist states in serving military and overseas citizens who register and vote absentee under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Learn more
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986 protects the voting rights of members of the Uniformed Services (on active duty), members of the Merchant Marine and their eligible dependents, Commissioner Corps of the Public Health Service, Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S.
View current and previous efforts in Military and Overseas Voting Projects.
UOCAVA requires states and territories to allow these citizens to register and vote in elections for federal office using absentee procedures. For more information, view the links below.
America Supports You
Federal Voting Assistance Program
FVAP State Voter Registration Verification Websites
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Air Force Voting Resources
U.S. Army Voting Assistance Program
U.S. Coast Guard Voting Assistance Program
U.S. Marine Corps Voting Resources
U.S. Navy Voting Assistance Program
Overseas Vote Foundation
Overseas Vote Foundation Military Voter Services
Contact Your Election Official
The League of Women Voters' Vote 411


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Lifting Ban On U.S. Crude Oil Export Would Enable Massive Fracking Expansion
Justin Mikulka | August 10, 2015
By Justin Mikulka • Monday, August 10, 2015 - 16:24
In a recent Washington Post editorial supporting oil industry efforts to lift the existing ban on exporting crude oil produced in America, the editors stated:
"The most serious objection to lifting the ban comes from environmentalists who worry that it would lower fossil fuel prices and lead to more oil consumption."
And then they make the case that this is actually a positive as there may be some negotiations that result in support for "energy research funding, efficiency programs or, in an ideal world, a charge on carbon dioxide emissions to the package could balance its possible effects on the environment."
In an ideal world, the climate wouldn't be changing either. But we don't live in an ideal world, do we? And the oil industry usually gets what it wants and environmental concerns go by the wayside regardless of who is in the White House. See arctic drilling permits for recent proof.


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Hey guys! I'm a Senior at DePaul University, studying PR and Advertising. I've been a follower of the site for years, but never really wanted to get involved with the community until recently. Other than sitting around playing video games all day, I love playing music of all sorts and playing table top games with close friends. Also, I have a man crush on Vinny... so yeah
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Student wins 80-inch TV, thanks to Miami's offenseAP , Associated Press
Sep. 25, 2013 4:22 PM ET
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Thanks to Miami's offense, one of the school's students won an 80-inch television. He just doesn't know where it'll fit in his house. RJ Curcio won it through a promotion by TigerDirect, a store that invited fans to text and enter a contest to win a TV, the size coinciding with the 15th-ranked Hurricanes' point total last weekend. They scored 77, and the closest TV size to that was 80 inches. Curcio takes delivery Friday. Curcio says he has "no idea where we can put it." He was looking for a new TV recently, since his old one was damaged in a power surge. TigerDirect Brand Manager Steven Leeds says "with the way the Hurricanes have been playing, we expect to be giving out a lot of big TV's." © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. |


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Rodin Museum The Burghers of Calais Signed top of base between feet of Jean de Fiennes and Jacques de Wiessant: A. Rodin Foundry mark rear of base to right: ALEXIS. RUDIER. / FONDEUR. PARIS. Made in France, EuropeModeled 1884-1895; cast 1919-1921 Auguste Rodin, French, 1840 - 1917. Cast by the founder Alexis Rudier, Paris, 1874 - 1952. Bronze * Rodin Museum, Parkway F1929-7-129 Bequest of Jules E. Mastbaum, 1929 |
LabelIn 1346 the English king Edward III laid siege to the French port of Calais. Eleven months later, Edward demanded the surrender of six of the town's leading men, or burghers, in return for sparing its citizens. Rodin's sculpture commemorates this episode and emphasizes the internal struggle of each man as he walks toward his fate wearing a sackcloth and rope halter. The burghers were later spared thanks to the intervention of the English queen, who feared that their deaths would bring bad luck to her unborn child.* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit. |


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Win a Mio M404/410 Sat Nav
Win a Mio M404/410 Sat Nav,4.3" LCD Touch Screen, UK Maps worth £49!
The Mio M404 4.3 UK portable car satellite navigation system guides you to the new streets and addresses without hesitation; it has been designed to make getting to your destination a lot easier.
With stunning 3D junction views and lane guidance you need never miss a motorway exit again. Spoken street names allow you to keep your eyes on the road as you listen to your guidance on where to turn.


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Schlenkerla Shop
The smoked beer mailorder from the UNESCO world heritage city Bamberg
Have something special for a change! Order our Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer online from home. Please select from the categories on the left. Our service for you:
- Shipment directly from the Schlenkerla brewery
- Easy and quick payment options (bank transfer, PayPal, credit card, withdrawl). Detailed information on payment.
- Shipping with German mail service (DHL). Delivery time within Germany 1-2 days. Delivery time within the EU 2-12 days (depending on country of delivery).
- Gift service: Shipment and billing to different addresses possible.
- Customer account: When you register, you can access your old orders including invoice printing and addresses by login in. Registering is however NOT mandatory for ordering.
Schlenkerla Shop: Secure, comfortable and reliable shopping. Schlenkerla has been around since 1405 and is "currently" being operated in the 6th family generation. We assure you a proper fulfilment of contract. Enjoy shopping at Schlenkerla!
Family Trum


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Please join our cause! We can't do it alone.
We are run entirely by volunteers who give of their time to help find these precious pups their forever homes! Please consider joining us in our fight to find "furever homes" for these pups! We can always use volunteers, FOSTER HOMES!!!!, and donations, including quality dog food, healthy treats (like BULLY STICKS!) belly bands for boy dogs, exercise pens, pee pads, collars, leashes, and Dog shampoo
3rd Saturday of each month - 11:00 AM- 1:00 PM
Meet-n-Greet at Garland Petco, 3055 N. George Bush Highway (Firewheel)
Come meet the Poms we have in our program and see if one is right for your family!
Also, feel free to email us about a prospective pet, and we will put you in touch with their foster home.
The required minimum adoption donation is $250. That amount covers the spay/neuter, annual vaccinations, heartworm testing, and one month of heart worm preventative.
We spend about $300.00 just to treat the pommies that are heartworm positive. We have invested more than $1000.00 in several of our pommies--treating them and kenneling them. Kenneling cost $16 a day per dog. We need foster homes!
To fill out an application, simply go to http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TX150.html and fill out the application and email it to


text: Here Are 19 Ways to Destroy the Undead in Resident Evil 6Chris Person9/07/12 9:00amFiled to: Resident EvilResident evil 6CapcomXbox 360PS3Toptweet1061EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink GIF They say 'There's more than one way to skin a cat'. Man, that's such a weird saying. Who skins cats? They should replace 'cat' with 'zombie' and 'skin' with 'utterly destroy'. That'd make way more sense! Advertisement In that vein, here are 19 ways you can utterly destroy the living dead in Resident Evil 6. Served up in animated GIF form! Click through to see. GIF 1. Smack 'em in the face with the back of your fist! GIF 2. Pick em up by their legs and 'caber toss' them! GIF 3. Elbow them in their weirdo faces! GIF 4. Kick em in the jaw! GIF 5. Falcon punnnnnnch! GIF 6. A roundhouse kick to the back of the dome! GIF 7. Sneak up behind them and smash their skull against a partition... GIF 8. ...Or a wall! GIF 9. Give em a good old fashioned elbow drop! GIF 10. Get it into a guilliotine from behind and break it's neck! GIF 11. A jumping head slam! GIF 12. Push em over a railing! GIF 13. Crush their brains with a rifle! GIF 14. Get 'em in a Bulldog! GIF 15. Stab 'em in the guttiwuts! GIF 16. SUPLEX! GIF 17. An Uppercut! GIF 18. Take their 9-iron away from them and whack 'em in the head! GIF 19. Or if they're boozy, take their bottle of wine and plunge it into their back! There! Now you're prepared for the inevitable return of the shambling undead! Here's hoping I didn't crash your browser.Reply106 repliesLeave a reply


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Recent Meetups
Sep 19, 2011 · 8:30 AM
RAD PHP Studio Workshop Launch EventThe Dubai PHP, Dubai MySQL, and Dubai Linux groups are pleased to collaborate with bit Time International on a FREE full-day interactive workshop and launch event for... Learn more
Jan 13, 2010 · 6:30 PM
Boosting Performance, at Sun MicrosystemsWe're pleased to have Giuseppe Maxia, MySQL Community Team Lead at Sun Microsystems, speak with us at this very special FREE event, hosted at Sun Microsystem's offices.... Learn more
Oct 26, 2009 · 6:30 PM
Dubai PHPThis will be our first meeting! Come by for informal discussion and to meet the community. We'll also discuss future meeting topics and locations. Then in November,... Learn more
- See all past Meetups


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Bravo might be breaking up with its latest matchmaker.
"Love Broker" has been pulled off the air after just two episodes, according to TV Guide.
The network is expected to burn off the remaining episodes sometime this summer.
"Love Broker" featured Lori Zaslow, of the boutique matchmaking service Project Soulmate, playing cupid for upscale New Yorkers.
The show premiered on March 5 and its first two airings garnered less than 500,000 viewers.
Episodes of "Bethenny Ever After" will now air Mondays at 10/9c in its place.
Bravo is also home to Patti Stanger's "Millionaire Matchmaker."
Watch: One of the Millionaires Actually Proposes!
[iframe http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/tv/The-Millionaire-Matchmaker/96285/2174454863/The-Proposal/embed 580 476]


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By Reinout De Bock, Andrea Maechler, and Nobuyasu Sugimoto
(Versions in Français and deutsch)
Low interest rates in the euro area pose substantial challenges to the life insurance industry. Insurers—particularly in Germany and Sweden—offer their clients long-term policies, sometimes more than 30 years, without holding assets of a correspondingly long duration. Moreover, many policies contain generous return guarantees, which are unsustainable in today's low interest rate environment.
In 2014, stress tests showed European life insurers are vulnerable to a "Japanese-like" scenario.
Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic outlook, Economic research, Europe, Finance, Fiscal policy, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Multilateral Cooperation, Reform | Tagged: Europe, European Union, Germany, interest rates, Japan, Life insurance, pension, stress tests, Sweden, United States | Leave a comment »


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S&P 500 Climbs to Record to Finish Best Year Since 1997
Callie BostU.S. equity gauges rose to records, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index posting its biggest annual advance since 1997, as gains in consumer confidence and housing prices bolstered confidence in the world's largest economy.
Phillips 66 paced gains in energy shares after saying Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will swap about $1.4 billion in shares for full ownership of the company's pipeline-services business. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. climbed 10 percent to a record after saying it adopted a one-year shareholder-rights plan. Marvell Technology Group Ltd. rose 4.5 percent after KKR Fund Holdings disclosed a 6.8 percent stake in the chipmaker.
The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 1,848.36 at 4 p.m. in New York. The equities benchmark jumped 30 percent in 2013, ending the year at an all-time high for the first time since 1999. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 72.37 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,576.66, also a record. About 4.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 24 percent below the three-month average. U.S. equity markets are closed tomorrow.
"It's been a terrific year and people should be very satisfied about how the market has reacted," Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC, which manages $4.5 billion, said in a phone interview. "You can question it all you want if there was enough reasoning behind the 30 percent gain. Lots of things went on this year, but you're starting to tack this one on and put it in the book and be thankful."
The S&P 500 gained 2.4 percent in December, its fourth straight monthly advance. The gauge climbed 3.7 percent from Dec. 13 through Dec. 27, its biggest two-week rally since July, as the Federal Reserve announced plans to reduce the pace of bond buying amid faster-than-estimated economic growth. Three rounds of Fed stimulus have sent the S&P 500 up 173 percent from a 12-year low in 2009.
Economic Reports
Data today showed the Conference Board's index of consumer confidence in the U.S. rose to 78.1 in December from 72 in the prior month, the New York-based private research group said. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a reading of 76. A separate report showed home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in October from a year ago by the most in more than seven years, signaling the real-estate rebound will keep bolstering household wealth in 2014.
The Dow rallied 27 percent this year, its best performance since 1995. International Business Machines Corp. is the only member of the 30-stock gauge that declined, even as the world's largest provider of computing services boosted its dividend and added about $20 billion to its buyback plan.
Central Banks
Asset purchases by the Bank of Japan and the Fed have supported the global economy and helped to increase the market value of world stocks by $9.5 trillion this year. Speculation over a reduction in bond buying whipsawed financial markets after May 22, when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke first indicated cuts to the central bank's stimulus program could start this year. The S&P 500 advanced 12 percent since then.
This year's rally in stocks sent the S&P 500's valuation up more than 20 percent to 17.4 times reported earnings, the highest since 2010.
All 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced this year, led by a 41 percent gain in consumer-discretionary companies. About 460 stocks in the index were up for the year, the broadest rally in data going back to 1990. Phone companies had the weakest performance, with a 6.5 percent increase. The increase is the best showing for the worst-performing group since 1995, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
2013 Performance
Netflix Inc. soared 298 percent in 2013 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500, as the world's largest video-subscription company reported earnings that surged more than analysts forecast. Micron Technology Inc. rallied 243 percent, making it the second-best performer. The chipmaker is projected to return to a profit in the fiscal year ending in August. Best Buy Co. climbed 237 percent, rebounding after a 49 percent drop in 2012.
Newmont Mining Corp. plunged 50 percent for the biggest annual loss in the S&P 500. The price of gold fell 28 percent in 2013, its biggest decline in three decades. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., the second-worst performer in the index, lost 32 percent.
'More Volatile'
Equity returns will slow next year, Wall Street strategists forecast. The S&P 500 will end 2014 at 1,950, according to the average of 20 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That represents a 5.5 percent gain over the next 12 months.
"I don't think the market is overvalued, but will it continue this nice smooth ascent with almost no volatility?" Tobias M Levkovich, chief U.S. equity strategist at Citigroup Inc., said in an interview with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop with Betty Liu." "We will see a more volatile year that might scare off some investors, which might be good. Sentiment is getting way too positive. It's beyond complacency."
The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P 500 options known as the VIX, rose 1.2 percent to 13.72 today for a third straight day of increases. The gauge finished the year with a 24 percent drop, the largest decline since 2009.
Seven out of 10 main S&P 500 groups increased today, with energy shares adding 0.9 percent to pace gains.
Energy Companies
Phillips 66 climbed 3.2 percent to $77.13. Warren Buffett's company will exchange about 19 million shares, Phillips 66 said in a regulatory filing. The specific number of shares Berkshire will pay for Phillips Specialty Products Inc. will be determined when the deal is completed, the energy company said.
Valero Energy Corp. advanced 3.6 percent to $50.40 and Marathon Petroleum Corp. added 3.7 percent to $91.73 for the largest gains in the S&P 500. Tesoro Corp. rallied 3.5 percent to $58.50 for the index's third-biggest increase.
U.S. gasoline production jumped 4.3 percent to 9.72 million barrels a day in the week ended Dec. 20, the most in weekly data going back to 1982, the Energy Information Administration reported on Dec. 27. Refiners have ramped up operations to benefit from a flood of less-expensive domestic crude as U.S. oil output reached the highest level in 25 years.
American Express Co. rose the most in the Dow, adding 1.3 percent to $90.73 for a ninth day of gains that extended an all-time high.
'Unusual' Activity
Hertz climbed 10 percent to $28.62. The largest publicly traded U.S. rental-car company adopted the plan after observing "unusual and substantial activity" in its stock. The board voted unanimously for the plan, which Hertz said wasn't adopted in response to any specific takeover bid or proposal to acquire the company, according to a statement.
Marvell Technology jumped 4.5 percent to $14.38. KKR Fund Holdings' disclosure comes after two people familiar with knowledge of the matter said on Nov. 5 that KKR & Co. had acquired almost 5 percent of the computer chipmaker.
KKR sees the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company as undervalued and has discussed its holding with the company's co-founders, Chief Executive Officer Sehat Sutardja and his brother Pantas, said one person, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
Urban Outfitters fell 0.6 percent to $37.10. The clothing retailer was the only annual loss among consumer-discretionary shares in the index, dropping 5.7 percent this year.


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So it seems that the fine wine buyers of the world are not too interested in the latest vintage of bordeaux. The 2011 Bordeaux primeurs campaign is one of the most sluggish so far. So how about something entirely different? Not bordeaux at the beginning of its long life, but fine burgundy at the end of its majestic, if often unpredictable, graph of maturity.
Whereas most bordeaux is made in relatively vast quantities – there can be as many as 700 barrels of Château Lafite and more than 800 of Château Pontet-Canet in a good vintage – anyone who has visited a typical Burgundian domaine will know that cellars here may be counting their total number of barrels in dozens. Sometimes there are just one or two barrels of a particular wine. Partly because of this, the secondary market for burgundy is confined to a handful of famous names that sell at jaw-dropping prices. It is extremely difficult for us mere mortals to get our hands on mature burgundy unless we buy the wine young and do the maturing ourselves.
If we were to map the location of every case of fine burgundy more than 10 years old, there would be a cluster of dots for various cellars in Switzerland, sizeable clusters on both coasts of the United States, isolated spots in the UK, France and the Australian state of Victoria, but the biggest blob of all would be in Burgundy itself. Wine producers on the Côte d'Or, the heartland of Burgundy, tend to be hugely individualistic, often answerable only to themselves rather than to a slew of shareholders. Many have tended to view their mature wines as others view savings accounts, though they have often been fiscally wily.
Put this together with the complexities of the French tax system – presumably currently undergoing a Hollandean shift – and you have an intriguing network of possibilities for supplying burgundy lovers around the world with bottles of mature wine that have been kept in perfect condition and are of impeccable provenance.
But the typical Burgundian wine producer is not the sort who is likely to entrust precious old bottles to a slick outsider. And, anyway, an outsider would probably not know where to look for them. Intensive local knowledge and personal contacts are needed, which is where Nicolas Potel comes in. Son of the late Gérard Potel, he was raised on the family's property, the beautiful Domaine de la Pousse d'Or at the southern end of the village of Volnay, now in other hands. With a popular and respected wine producer for a father and a notable taster for a mother, Nicolas grew up with a keen sensibility for wine and an enviable network of contacts the length of the Côte d'Or.
He makes his own negociant wine under the name Roche de Bellene, and has 15 hectares or so of organic vines which supply his own Domaine de Bellene wines (Bellene being an old name for the wine town of Beaune where he is now based). But his latest addition is the Collection Bellenum, a wonderful treasury of serious older burgundies.
In 2000, when he set up on his own, he had no stock, so he had to acquire some older wines for entertaining and so on. And the locals were perfectly happy to let him taste. This personable, hard-working 42-year-old reckons he has by now tasted a total of about 2,500 older burgundies, of which he has bought about 160, in lots varying from perhaps only 12 cases of the rarest up to as many as 200 cases of a single wine.
He is just starting to sell the Collection Bellenum, in the US via importer Loosen, in the UK via Berry Bros, and also in Germany, Switzerland and Japan. None of the wines has been rebottled, nor recorked, so although all the wines in the Collection Bellenum look the same, and their original producer is not cited on the label, cork spotting will presumably be an intriguing activity for burgundy lovers.
In fact, it takes only a second's cross check between the list of wines and a decent guide to Burgundy to guess who, for instance, must have supplied the multiple vintages of the wonderfully named Chambolle-Musigny, Derrière La Grange and therefore probably all of the Grands Crus Latricières-Chambertin and Clos de la Roche. Perhaps part of the charm of the Collection Bellenum will be the detective work.
Potel has assembled his collection from a total of 26 different domaines, and is apparently also in talks with a couple of negociants over potential future acquisitions. "We deliberately decided to have different styles of wine in the Collection. And we've bought magnums where possible to use for tastings and dinners," he says. In all, lucky Potel has about 3,000 magnums, but always tries to buy in bottle when he buys in magnum.
It is perhaps inaccurate to describe Potel as lucky. In theory, anyone with the right palate and connections could have assembled this collection. But it hasn't been done before because so much administrative work is involved. Some producers are selling their wine to Potel over a number of years, presumably for carefully gauged fiscal reasons. "Some domaines have traditionally held back stock. Some kept old stock as a sort of pension. Some have been told by the brokers not to ask high prices for it. Many of them have had no one knocking on their door for 10 years. Some just don't know what to do with it," he explains.
Perhaps I'm the lucky one. I've now had two chances to taste wines from this unique collection. I'd say they magnificently reflect the reality of Burgundy in that they are very varied, provide a thoroughly useful overview of how different vintages are developing, and include some completely stunning wines that are not Grands Crus, not even Premiers Crus but are simple village wines. A 1959 Meursault and 1999 Volnay spring particularly to mind.
The youngest wine I tasted was an incredibly pure 2005 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet; the oldest that 1959 Meursault, but most are red and from vintages in the 1990s and early years of this century – a treasure trove for burgundy lovers without a well-stocked cellar of their own.
Fifty-four tasting notes on Collection Bellenum wines on Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com


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LANSING, Mich. - Legislation that will require insurance companies to offer coverage for autism treatments has been signed into Michigan law.
Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed the measures Wednesday. Gov. Rick Snyder is in Afghanistan.
Lawmakers gave final legislative approval to the measures last month.
Snyder supported the legislation that was championed in part by Calley, who has a daughter with autism.
Previous efforts to mandate insurance coverage for autism had failed in Michigan. But a bill backed by Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville helped soften opposition by setting up a fund to help reimburse some companies for paid claims related to diagnosis and treatment of autism.
A majority of states already have laws aimed at requiring insurance companies to cover some types of autism therapies.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Vencei to Marco Polo Airport or Treviso
2 Jun 2010 coolspot said
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7 Jun 2010 Explorer1174252 said
Hey, I just took that trip. I left from venice. The hotel is Vive. It is actually located outside of Venice. There is a train about a 15 min walk (The day you go into venice with the tour you will take this route) You can take the Train a couple of stops then get off (there is a mcdonalds at that station) and take the shuttle bus to the airport. The train is 2,50 euros and the bus another 2,50 euro compared to 60 euros for a cab.
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text: Chilperic IChilperic I (chĭlˈpərĭk) [key], d. 584, Frankish king of Neustria (561–84), son of Clotaire I. He feuded bitterly with his brother Sigebert I, who had inherited the E Frankish kingdom that came to be known as Austrasia. Their struggle became savage after Chilperic and his mistress and future wife, Fredegunde, murdered (567) Chilperic's second wife, Galswintha; she was the sister of Sigebert's wife, Brunhilda. In the wars between the two brothers, Sigebert overran Neustria before his death (575). Later, Chilperic was murdered, probably at the instigation of Brunhilda. The feud was inherited by Chilperic's son and successor, Clotaire II. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: Ancient History, Late Roman and Byzantine: Biographies |


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Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials
Carbon Nanotubes - Growth and Applications
Edited by Dr. Mohammad Naraghi, ISBN 978-953-307-566-2, 616 pages, Publisher: InTech, Chapters published August 09, 2011 under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license
Edited Volume
Carbon Nanotubes are among the strongest, toughest, and most stiff materials found on earth. Moreover, they have remarkable electrical and thermal properties, which make them suitable for many applications including nanocomposites, electronics, and chemical detection devices. This book is the effort of many scientists and researchers all over the world to bring an anthology of recent developments in the field of nanotechnology and more specifically CNTs. In this book you will find:
- Recent developments in the growth of CNTs
- Methods to modify the surfaces of CNTs and decorate their surfaces for specific applications
- Applications of CNTs in biocomposites such as in orthopedic bone cement
- Application of CNTs as chemical sensors
- CNTs for fuelcells
- Health related issues when using CNTs
This book is indexed in the Book Citation Index in Web of Science™ Core Collection (BKCI). BKCI is part of the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) together with SCI Expanded, SSCI, AHCI and other databases.
- Chapter 1 Carbon Nanotubes and Carbon Nanotubes/Metal Oxide Heterostructures: Synthesis, Characterization and Electrochemical Property
- Chapter 2 Synthesis of Carbon Nanomaterials in a Swirled Floating Catalytic Chemical Vapour Deposition Reactor for Continuous and Large Scale Production
- Chapter 3 Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes Using Metal-Modified Nanoporous Silicas
- Chapter 4 Dispersions Based on Carbon Nanotubes – Biomolecules Conjugates
- Chapter 5 Defected and Substitutionally Doped Nanotubes: Applications in Biosystems, Sensors, Nanoelectronics, and Catalysis
- Chapter 6 Carbon Nanotubes in Biomedicine and Biosensing
- Chapter 7 Carbon Nanotubes - A Potential Material for Affinity Biosensors
- Chapter 8 Imaging and Biomedical Application of Magnetic Carbon Nanotubes
- Chapter 9 Organically Structured Carbon Nanotubes for Fluorescence
- Chapter 10 Simultaneous Detection of Multi-DNAs and Antigens Based on Self-Assembly of Quantum Dots and Carbon Nanotubes
- Chapter 11 Electrochemical Biosensing with Carbon Nanotubes
- Chapter 12 Carbon Nanotubes as Suitable Electrochemical Platforms for Metalloprotein Sensors and Genosensors
- Chapter 13 Carbon Nanotube-Mediated Labelling Platforms for Stem Cells
- Chapter 14 MWCNT Used in Orthopaedic Bone Cements
- Chapter 15 Carbon Nanotubes in Electrochemical Sensors
- Chapter 16 Application of Carbon Nanotubes Modified Electrode in Pharmaceutical Analysis
- Chapter 17 Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Network Gas Sensor
- Chapter 18 Ammonia Sensors Based on Composites of Carbon Nanotubes and Titanium Dioxide
- Chapter 19 Carbon Nanotubes – Interactions with Biological Systems
- Chapter 20 Impact of the Carbon Allotropes on Cholesterol Domain: MD Simulation
- Chapter 21 Electric-Field and Friction Effects on Carbon Nanotube-Assisted Water Self-Diffusion Across Lipid Membranes
- Chapter 22 Acute Toxicological Effects of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT)
- Chapter 23 Nanotoxicity: Exploring the Interactions Between Carbon Nanotubes and Proteins
- Chapter 24 Carbon Nanotubes Supported Metal Nanoparticles for the Applications in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs)


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"Dear Kids,
Am sending you the letters I got from Beany today. I feel bad, very bad about him and I'm so helpless to. I cant do anything for him but as he sais its nothing serious. I would rather he'd be were he is, at least I dont have to think hes on the battlefield fighting. He must have been on this fight they had around the 16 of Dec.
I had a letter from Dolores also today. He had written her to about it. I have gotten 2 more letters from Cliff. He knows we're here. We are all thru cleaning and we're both plenty tired. I'm sending you the Press also today. Please send these letters right back to me wont you as I save all their mail. I wrote you a long letter nite before last.
Lets hope our Beany dear is not suffering. I just feel so bad now.
Hope you are all over your cold. Be good.


text:
The Economic Effects of Vintage Differentiated Regulations: The Case of New Source Review
This paper analyzes the effects of the New Source Review (NSR) environmental regulations on coal-fired electric power plants. The New Source Review program, which grew out of the Clean Air Act of 1970, required new plants to install costly pollution control equipment but exempted existing plants with a grandfathering clause. Previous theoretical research has shown that vintage differentiated regulations, like NSR, can lead to distortions, and if the distortions are large, the short-run effect of a regulation like NSR may be to increase pollution rather than reduce it. Older, dirtier plants may be kept in service longer or run more intensively since replacing them becomes more expensive. In the case of NSR, there is also an effect associated with its enforcement. Since upgrading a plant could potentially qualify it as a new plant, the old plants may have done less maintenance leading to lower efficiency and higher emissions. This paper attempts to estimate the extent to which these mechanisms have impacted coal-fired electric power plants. We find suggestive evidence that NSR increased operating lifetimes of plants in areas where environmental regulations were most stringent. We also find evidence that the risk of NSR enforcement reduced capital expenditures at plants. However, we find no discernable effect on the operating costs or fuel efficiency of these plants.
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Everyone likes to peek at fresh and wet young pussy and if you not an exception you should better check that explicit adult site right now! There are virtually thousands of sexy nude young girls who get screwed on these sex pictures. These young porn models definitely have fun so come inside and watch nude sexy teens go wild.
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Highlighted Show chord diagrams
Title: Still Doll Artist: Kanon Wakeshima Lyrics by Kanon Wakeshima Music Composed by Mana Sama Official site: http://www.kanonweb.jp Hi Guys this is my first tab! Unfortunately I was only able to work out the chorus/ Intro/outro but if I can work out the verse too I will put it up! E a d g b e Chords: Dm: X X 0 2 3 1 G: 3 2 0 0 0 3 Em: 0 2 2 0 0 0 Am: 0 0 2 2 1 0 [ Tab from: http://www.guitaretab.com/k/kanon-wakeshima/192665.html ] Dm G Em Am Dm G Mada Atashi Kokoro Ga Sakete Em Am Nagare - Deru Dm G Em Am Dm G Tsukurotta Sukima Ni Sasaru Em Am Kioku - Tachi Chorus 2/Intro: Mou atashi kotoba o tsumaku shita ne netsu Same Kitte Materu Outamo Utae nai outro: Still you do not answer... |


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Harry Connick Jr.is returning toAmerican Idolfull-time. The former mentor is in the process joiningIdol's upcoming 13thseason as the third judge, according to theThe Hollywood Reporter.
Dr. Luke was originally slated to help replace departing judgesMariah Carey,Randy JacksonandNicki Minaj, but he dropped ...
Harry Connick Jr. is returning to American Idol full-time. The former mentor is in the process joining Idol's upcoming 13th season as the third judge, according to the The Hollywood Reporter.
Dr. Luke was originally slated to help replace departing judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj, but he dropped out of negotiations last week due to a conflict with his label at Sony Music. Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun was also rumored to be the next possible frontrunner, but he reportedly passed.
Fall TV: Add the new shows to your Watchlist now!
Connick will join returning judges Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez, the latter of whom served as judge for Season 10 and Season 11.
On Thursday evening, Idol creator Simon Fuller hosted a party to celebrate the new judging panel with Connick Jr., Urban, Lopez and Jackson, who reportedly will continue with the show in Jimmy Iovine's role as full-time mentor, in attendance. The next morning, host Ryan Seacrest tweeted, "Got some @AmericanIdol news coming for you very soon..."
Are you excited about Connick joining Idol?
View original Report: Harry Connick Jr. Joins American Idol as Third Judge at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com American IdolJennifer LopezMariah CareyRyan SeacrestHarry Connick Jr.Keith UrbanRandy JacksonSimon FullerJustin BieberNicki Minaj
TV Guide iPhone App TV Listings New Tonight on TV


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What are the mobile web development tools available?
Hi! Here are the most popular tools for mobile web development: Jimdo - quite intuitive platform for creating web sites GinWiz - focuses on keeping desktop and mobile web site editions in synchronization DudaMobile - is compatible with the major smartphone operating systems, including Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry and Windows. GoMobi - offers a redirection code that sends visitors from your main site to whichever one might be best for their browsing experience. bMobilized - converts existing Web content into HTML 5 web sites.
Software development is a Passion!
Top 11 Mobile Web Development Tools Used at Mobify Sublime, text editing Bootstrap, prototyping framework, Free! Divvy, window management, Chrome and Webkit Inspector, debugging tools, Free!
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Despite having hardly any time to write on account of trying to finish a PhD, I am determined to improve this blog, at least a little bit. I don't think I ever intend to become a full-time blogger and make money from it as a website, but I would still like it to look a bit prettier and have a better following. So to that end, this week two things are happening. First of all, I have guest-posted on another blog! The blog is called Doctorate Housewife and is written by a Belgian named Jessica,. who largely writes about food and fitness. While she is on holiday she asked for volunteers and I put my hand up - I figured it was fitting, with having PhDs and living in Europe in common. So if you head over today you will see my yummy cookies (really, I'm not just bragging, they got a lot of positive feedback) being featured:
However, if people reading that guest-post then decide to come check out my blog (which I hope they do) I want them to be impressed and look around, which brings us to the second blog improvement - a little bloggy face-lift. It's slow going, partly because I don't have a lot of time and partly because all of this website/html/pixels/hyperlinks stuff is a little bit over my head. So to begin with we have a new header (this one is just for now, I want something brighter and more cartoon-ey when I have time), new pages, new sidebar and new footer. Which will all be appearing over the weekend. Next step will be index pages with pictures. Then at some point a whole new background. And a logo. Perhaps less rambling and more structure ... or perhaps not.


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The Living Learning Community
Housing Information
There are a limited number of slots available for this LLC. Students can request a roommate but all residents of the LLC must also apply and be accepted in the program individually. Specific assignments are made by housing staff. Thus, your roommate must be a student in the Welch College of Business who qualifies for the LLC.
More Information
Welch LLC Students enjoying a golf lesson. |
For more information on the Welch LLC, contact:
Sean Heffron
Director of the Student Experience
Jack Welch College of Business
For more information on housing, contact:
Joel Quintong
Director of Residential Life
Tel: 203-416-3417


text: Ursula the Sea Witch Forced to Get Liposuction for Disney Villains Beauty LineDodai Stewart6/28/12 5:20pmFiled to: DisneyBeautyWeighty IssuesMakeupUrsula the sea witch153EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalinkThe new Disney Villains Beauty Line, hitting stores in September, features lip colors, eye shadows and nail polish inspired by evil ladies like Cruella De Vil, Maleficient and the Queen of Hearts. The Little Mermaid's Ursula the Sea Witch is also included, but you might might not recognize her: As you can see in the image on the left above, her waist has been whittled and her double chin's gone. Talk about a poor, unfortunate soul! (And the Queen of Hearts is looking mighty slimmed-down, as well.)It's obvious they wanted to transform these nostalgic, children's characters into cool, hip, Sephora-friendly ladies whose style you admire, even if their MOs have been distasteful (especially you, Cruella). But was Ursula forced to go on a crash diet so she could model for beauty products? Because that's bullshit.Advertisement[Bella Sugar]Reply153 repliesLeave a reply


text: Hardin Memorial Hospital's Wellness on Wheels mobile health unit will be available 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Hometown IGA. No charge for blood pressure, blood glucose, body mass index, body fat analysis and weight. Osteoporosis bone density heel screening is $20; cholesterol panel is $20. For more information, visit www.hmh.net.


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CHICAGO (July 13, 2012) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that Hyatt affiliates signed management agreements for an Andaz hotel in Gurgaon and a Grand Hyatt hotel in Kochi, bringing the total number of announced Hyatt-branded hotels under development in India to 56.
"We are focused on creating preference by enhancing distribution of our full-service, extended-stay and select service brands in both new and established markets in India where our guests are increasingly traveling," said Ratnesh Verma, senior vice president - real estate and development, Asia Pacific for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. "Creating a strong presence for our complete brand portfolio in India is critical to Hyatt's leadership in the global hospitality sector."
"The new agreements being announced today, along with the previously announced properties under development, demonstrate growing confidence among owners and developers in the strength of Hyatt-branded hotels in India," said President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Hoplamazian.
Slated to open in Q4 2014, Andaz Gurgaon will offer 275 guestrooms and 75 serviced apartments. Additionally, the hotel will feature a three meal multi-cuisine restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a bar and a gourmet store, a six-treatment room spa, a fitness center, and a swimming pool. The hotel will also offer more than 11,500sq ft of meeting space, including five Andaz Studios and a ballroom. Located in Gurgaon, the industrial and financial center of the state of Haryana, Andaz Gurgaon will be situated on the junction of the National Highway 8 (NH-8) and Northern Peripheral Road (NPR), which provides access to many of the city's main business districts, including Cybercity and UdyogVihar, and manufacturing districts, including Industrial Model Township (IMT).
Grand Hyatt Kochi, will be located on Bolgatty Island in Kochi, which is situated on the eastern coast of the Indian state of Kerala. It will feature 250 guestrooms and amenities including a three-meal multi -cuisine restaurant, two specialty restaurants, a bar and lobby lounge, a 10-treatment room spa, fitness center, swimming pool, and Grand Club lounge. The hotel will also offer more than 60,000 sq ft of meeting and event space, including a 26,000 sq ft ballroom. Expected to open in Q1 2017, Grand Hyatt Kochi will be in close proximity to many key areas of the city, including Ernakulam, the main commercial district; Fort Kochi, the main tourist center of the city; Willingdon Island, which houses Kochi Port, the Kochi Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the Naval Air Base; and the International Container Transhipment Terminal, one of the largest container terminals in India.
Hyatt plans to open three new hotels in India in the remainder of 2012 across its Park Hyatt and Hyatt Place brands, including:
- Park Hyatt Chennai, a 204-room hotel set to open in late 2012, will be situated in the capital city of the state ofTamil Nadu. The property will offer an innovative food and beverage outlets, residential style meeting and event space, and recreational facilities, including a spa and fitness center.
- Hyatt Place Hampi, a 115-room hotel planned to open by the end of the year, will be situated near the Bellary industrial district. Hampi, which features spectacular views of the Sandur ranges and is home to a group of monuments classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, also serves as a popular leisure destination. The property will include a multi-cuisine restaurant, meeting rooms, and a fitness center, and swimming pool.
- Hyatt Place Pune, Hinjewadi, a 117-room property set to open at the end of the year, will be located within the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park at Hinjewadi, a prominent software hub. The hotel will feature a multi-cuisine restaurant and meeting space, as well as a business center, fitness center, and swimming pool.
With 56 hotels under development in India, Hyatt currently plans to offer its full portfolio of brands, including:
- 18 Hyatt Regency hotels under development, in addition to five already open
- 5 Grand Hyatt hotels under development, in addition to two already open
- 5 Park Hyatt hotels under development, in addition to two already open
- 23 Hyatt Place hotels under development
- 3 Andaz hotels under development
- 1 Hyatt House hotel under development
- 1 Hyatt hotel under development
As part of this expansion, Hyatt is seeking to attract and develop high-quality talent in India in order to drive future growth. Currently, more than 3,500 associates are employed at Hyatt hotels in India, and with the development effort, it is expected that more than 7,000 new associates will be welcomed into the Hyatt family. Hyatt is investing in training curriculums and accelerated leadership programs in order to ensure that new associates support the company's mission to deliver authentic hospitality and to develop new professional opportunities for its associates.
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company's subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt HouseTM. Hyatt House is changing its brand identity from Hyatt Summerfield Suites®. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt ResidencesTM and Hyatt Vacation Club®, which is changing its name to Hyatt Residence ClubTM. As of March 31, 2012, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 488 properties in 45 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsForward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements about our plans, strategies, occupancy and ADR trends, market share, the number of properties we expect to open in the future, our expected capital expenditures, depreciation and amortization expense, interest expense and effective tax rate, estimates, financial performance, prospects or future events and involve known and unknown risks that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, general economic uncertainty in key global markets, the rate and pace of economic recovery following economic downturns; levels of spending in business and leisure segments as well as consumer confidence; declines in occupancy and average daily rate; our ability to successfully execute and implement our organizational realignment and the costs associated with such organizational realignment; loss of key personnel, including as a result of our organizational realignment; hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, or fear of hostilities that affect travel; travel-related accidents; changes in the tastes and preferences of our customers; relationships with associates and labor unions and changes in labor law; the financial condition of, and our relationships with, third-party property owners, franchisees and hospitality venture partners; if our third-party owners, franchisees or development partners are unable to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; risk associated with potential acquisitions and dispositions and the introduction of new brand concepts; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; outcomes of legal proceedings; changes in federal, state, local or foreign tax law;foreign exchange rate fluctuations or currency restructurings; general volatility of the capital markets; our ability to access the capital markets; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.


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Illinois Department of Human Services
Division of Community Health and Prevention
Reduction of Infant Mortality in Illinois Fiscal Year 2010 (pdf)
Letter from Secretary of DHS (pdf)
Dear Governor Quinn and Members of the General Assembly:
It is my pleasure to present The Reduction of Infant Mortality in Illinois: The Family Case Management Program and WIC Program Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2010. These programs have contributed to a steady reduction in the state's infant mortality rate, which reached 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2007, the lowest rate in the state's history. As a result of these efforts, Illinois' ranking in infant mortality among the states rose from 31st in 2005 to 19th in 2006.
Illinois is unique in its effort to integrate the delivery of these two major programs for low-income women and children. The Department has been able to blend the delivery, financing, monitoring and evaluation of these programs through innovation and performance management. The comprehensive integration of maternal and child health programming is providing the foundation for future expansion and enhancement through the integration of additional service for this vulnerable population.
The Department has achieved uncommon results through this effort. Rates of prenatal weight gain immunizations, breastfeeding, well child care and developmental screening have been steadily improving. Crude rates of premature birth and infant mortality among Medicaid-eligible pregnant women who participate in these programs are substantially better than those observed among similar women who did not participate in either program.
While we continue to make progress, there is a persistent racial disparity in infant mortality that must be eliminated. An African American infant born in Illinois is still more than two and a half times as likely as a Caucasian infant to die before reaching one year of age. Our current efforts are commendable, but they are not enough.
This tragic loss of life must not continue and its disparate impact on Illinois' minority communities must be addressed. I look forward to working with each of you to improve the health of all Illinoisans.
Michelle R.B. Saddler
Executive Summary
Program Descriptions
Service Delivery System
Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality: The Persistent Challenge


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Anyone shop at Davelle Clothiers in reston? If so how is the quality vs price etc etc
The guy at the store said they average at around 1500 per suit. I was looking to see if it was worth it.
DUH! Its twice as good as a master designer or a certified designer! :)
When I said Reston I mean Reston VA in case anyone was confused. There stuff looked okay in the store, but I am no expert.


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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A former U.S. Marine facing murder charges in the Philippines denied that he entered a home and shot a couple at his extradition hearing Thursday.
Timothy Kaufman, formerly of Knoxville, Tenn., is one of three men charged by authorities in the Philippines with the 2011 killing of a retired Northern Ireland police officer and his girlfriend.
Handcuffed and wearing a green jail jumpsuit, Kaufman took the stand and told the court he was not involved in the killing of David Balmer, 54, and 26-year-old Elma de Guia. The couple was found dead on Sept. 2, 2011, in a bedroom of a home owned by a local club owner who was friends with Balmer.
"Did you go in their house?" asked defense lawyer Mark Sacco.
"No," Kaufman answered.
"Did you shoot them?" Sacco asked.
"No," Kaufman said.
Kaufman said he was in the Philippines helping a friend with an electronics company and helping at the U.S. Embassy. He did not elaborate.
Assistant U.S. attorney Rick Belliss told the judge there is sufficient evidence against Kaufman to meet the terms of the extradition treaty with the Philippines. Sacco cast doubt on testimony from a maid that incriminated Kaufman.
Magistrate Randolph Treece will issue a written decision sometime after July 12, the deadline for additional filings. Lawyers said the ultimate decision whether to extradite Kaufman will come from the secretary of state.
Kaufman, 35, was arrested in April near the Albany-area home of his grandfather, Sidney Kaufman. The younger Kaufman testified that he had had been living in the open before his arrest, working part-time as a bartender and holding a driver's license.
Timothy Kaufman's grandfather and father attended the hearing Thursday.
"This kid fought for his country," his grandfather said after the hearing. "It's about time his country fought for him."


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Co-Editors-in-Chief: Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD and Annemieke Aartsma-Rus, PhD Executive Editor: Graham C. Parker, PhD
ISSN: 2159-3337 • Online ISSN: 2159-3345 • Published Bimonthly
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Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is the leading journal in its field focusing on cutting-edge basic research, therapeutic applications, and drug development using nucleic acids or related compounds to alter gene expression. The Journal examines many new approaches for using nucleic acids as therapeutic agents or in modifying nucleic acids for therapeutic purposes including: oligonucleotides, gene modification, aptamers, RNA nanoparticles, and ribozymes.
Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is under the editorial leadership of Co-Editors-in-Chief Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD, Duke Translational Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center and Annemieke Aartsma-Rus, PhD, Leiden University Medical Center; Executive Editor Graham C. Parker, PhD; and other leading investigators. View the entire editorial board.
Audience: Molecular biologists, biochemists, DNA and cell biologists, and biopharmaceutical researchers, among others.
Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is a rapid-publication Journal, with peer review averaging 25 days from submission to first decision, and online publication of the article within four weeks of acceptance.
The Official Journal of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (OTS).
The views, opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations set forth in any Journal article are solely those of the authors of those articles and do not necessarily reflect the views, policy or position of the Journal, its Publisher, its editorial staff or any affiliated Societies and should not be attributed to any of them.
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Combining mechanistic and clinical studies from multiple systems in a single resource, the Journal delivers authoritative, peer-reviewed reporting on the latest research in the field of molecular biology.
This authoritative, rapidly peer-reviewed journal features original articles, application-oriented technology reviews, and reports in methodology and technology application.
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Friday, February 11, 2011
Padre Pio Under Investigation
A new book detailing the Vatican investigation of Padre Pio, with documents from the Secret Archive.
I wanted Padre Pio to look isolated and lonely on the cover. The crucifix at the top is a photo I took in Lisbon, from a cathedral that collapsed in the big earthquake they had in the 18th century.
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Posts Tagged alex caplow
Magic Man Climbs the Charts
Posted by Veronica Richter in Alumni, Social Media, Video on March 18, 2013
Tufts graduate and musician, Alex Caplow, A12, is reaping the fruits of his labor with the release of Magic Man's new single, "Paris."
This single is quickly captivating music lovers everywhere and has even proven its worth on Hype Machine, a music discovery site that compiles the songs music bloggers write about into feeds and playlists. One of their playlists, "Popular Now ranks the top tracks on the site based on how many likes each song received. According to the Last.fm blog, Magic Man reached the coveted #2 spot on the "Popular Now" list with more than 1,640 listens and 1,260 likes in less then a week.
Magic Man began as Caplow and his friend's side project while at Tufts and has since grown into a 5-piece group. Like what you hear? You can download the single here and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.


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Forums >Racing>2012 Sub-3:00 Marathon Goal Thread
Has anyone found a good sub-3 training plan?
I am wondering how many miles per week, etc that you guy are doing in preparation for this.
Nashville, TN
Has anyone found a good sub-3 training plan? I am wondering how many miles per week, etc that you guy are doing in preparation for this.
Just don't look at my log.....
13 weeks out and I'm not anywhere near what I thought I'd be....Sub 3 is still doable, not so sure about that 2:55.
Some guys have had good success (provided they started with a good base) with the Pfitz 70 mpw plans.
Brad Hudson faster 5k-Marathon...I'm doing 70-100 miles per week.
2015 Goals:
Get back to 80+ miles/week and 165 lbs.
Sub-3 plan. Pfitz - Advanced Marathoning 2nd edition. Pick a plan, probably the 12/55-70 at least....
NYC is $255, I've run it 3 times. I'll run it in 2012, and will probably keep running it if I continue to get the NYQ's (harder standards). Need to go sub-2:50 in Boston to do that for 2013.
It's also "local" for me, and I am a NYRR member (have to check when that membership runs out). So its about $35 cheaper for me. Cheaper than flying to a marathon somewhere else.
By comparison, Chicago is $150 and that comes with guaranteed summer weather.
I don't think I'm in 2:45 shape for Houston, it will be more of a game day decision. I am pleased where I am 15+ weeks out for Boston.
Thanks for the plan advice. I have read Advanced Marathoning, but forgot about the plans.
Put me down as a sub-3 goal for 2012.
I used Pfitz for my first 3 Marathons but have used Hudson for my last 3. I am planning to use Hudson this time again.
Houston fast approaches - I have not trained since November 10 or 11 - Just a few easy waddling miles here and there as I have ate and drank my way my way to 240#
Houston will be interesting - Maybe 3:30
I have decided I need a goal race to get refocussed - To try and be the best I can within my new selfimposed mileage limitations. I am thinking about April - But not April 28th weekend - DD#2's 7th B-day.
I need to be 205# to take a crack at it with reduced mileage - I think that is doable if I can stop being a drunk'n Glutenous fool. Maybe after tomorrow
Good running to all!
Retired 1/1/13 ... Tired of being broken and fat ... Hit 296# Memorial Day 2016 - New goal = To be able to enjoy running 4-5 hours through the woods again by Fall 2016. April 2017 ... Shit it is almost April !
I got my first sub-3 on the Pfitz 70MPW plan. Then I heavily modified it to something that would allow me to get in around 1 hour/day of training 4-5 days/week, 1-2 midweek long runs, and 1 weekend long run and still get up to 80MPW which has also resulted in sub-3 races.
The main factor is where you are at from a performance perspective. If you can't run a marathon at a 4:00 pace now chances are you have a lot of work to do vs if you can run a half marathon in 70 minutes, chances are you could run a sub 3:00 in your sleep...
I used Pfitz 55-70 for my first sub-3, and 70-85 for my second one. Overall I've used Pfitz plans 10ish times, I think.
Geo Runner, how would you contrast Hudson vs. Pfitz? Have you had better results with Hudson?
BTW it bears mentioning in this thread that Chuck "Marathon Junkie" Engle today ran his 5th sub-3 marathon... in 5 days. If you can believe it. He's at the Savage Seven, which is 7 marathons in 7 days. Sounds like he probably will not continue the streak tomorrow, but who knows. After yesterday he didn't sound optimistic about today.
Impressive... and insane. I'm just hoping to grow back my big toenail before my next one :-)
My sub 3 at Napa is toast. I'm running only two days a week right now with pool running and biking the rest of the time. The achilles healing is going SLOWLY. No way I could get enough training in the next two months to even try a sub 3. I'm still debating pacing a friend to his first marathon (3:30 pace), but I'm not sure I could do that pace right now. Ugh.
I used Pfitz 55-70 for my first sub-3, and 70-85 for my second one. Overall I've used Pfitz plans 10ish times, I think. Geo Runner, how would you contrast Hudson vs. Pfitz? Have you had better results with Hudson?
If you look at my training plan for the training plan for Milwaukee Indoor on my log...it is essentially Hudson's with a few edits to make it better for me.
Hi Clive & group,
Please put me down for sub-3 attempt at Eugene April 29th.
Much work to do. Been out gettin' heavy.
Right on Hereford...
Please put me down for Houston in 11 days, thanks!
Goal: 2:57:59
This has been my most slackerific training cycle yet. I started comparing my log vs. last year (Boston) and then decided that wasn't a good idea. I would rather think happy thoughts...


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Jonny Gomes Recipient of Jim "Catfish" Hunter Award
Award is Given Annually to A's Player in Memory of Hall of Fame Pitcher
By /
OAKLAND, Calif. – Outfielder/designated hitter Jonny Gomes has been named the recipient of the 2012 Jim "Catfish" Hunter Award, which honors an A's player whose play on the field and conduct in the clubhouse best exemplifies the courageous, competitive and inspirational spirit demonstrated by the late Hall of Fame pitcher. The award is voted upon by Oakland A's players, coaches and staff.
Gomes, a free agent signing by the A's during the offseason, provided power and team leadership for the playoff-bound Athletics. The 31-year-old Petaluma, Calif. native ranks first on the team in on-base percentage (.374), fourth in batting average (.260), home runs (17) and slugging percentage (.480) and sixth in RBI (46), while playing in only 98 games with 277 at-bats.
The 6-foot-1, 223-pound slugger is batting .292 (38 for 130) with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 43 games after the All-Star Break. He has particularly shined in the clutch, hitting .311 (19 for 61) with runners in scoring position, including a Major League-leading .480 (12 for 25) with runners in scoring position with two outs.
This is Gomes' second team honor this season, having previously been named the recipient of the 2012 Dave Stewart Community Service Award. He has contributed to many community organizations, most recently to the Petaluma National Little League team that finished third in the 2012 Little League World Series in Williamsburg, Pa.
This annual award, which was established in 2004, is named after Jim "Catfish" Hunter, a native of Hertford, N.C who posted a 224-166 record and 3.26 ERA during 15 Major League seasons with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. He holds Oakland's all-time career mark for wins (131) and won 20 or more games in five consecutive seasons (1971-75). In 1974, he won the American League's Cy Young Award after winning a career-high 25 games.
"Catfish" earned five World Series rings during his career and was 4-0 with one save in seven World Series appearances with the A's. An eight-time All-Star, he made his Major League debut in 1965 with the Kansas City Athletics and did not miss a start until the 1977 season. Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, Hunter is one of five Oakland players to have had his number retired, along with Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, Dennis Eckersley and Rickey Henderson.
Hunter was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in September of 1998 and died of complications from the disease on Sept. 9, 1999 at the age of 53. Previous winners of the Jim "Catfish" Hunter Award include Tim Hudson (2004), Mark Ellis (2005, 2007), Jason Kendall (2006), Mike Sweeney (2008), Kurt Suzuki (2009), Ben Sheets (2010) and Josh Willingham (2011).
Gomes will receive the Catfish Hunter Award in an on-field presentation prior to tonight's game against the Rangers.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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2VGXI, Houston, TX, USA
3Genzyme Corporation, Framingham, MA, USA
4The UK Cystic Fibrosis Consortium
Nonviral gene therapy utilizing plasmid DNA (pDNA) complexed with cationic lipids (lipoplexes) or cationic polymers (polyplexes) has demonstrated considerable potential for the treatment of a variety of diseases. However, progress toward clinical application is often delayed by the lack of reliable and scalable mixing of components sufficient to guarantee consistent performance in vivo. Attempts to improve and standardize mixing have been limited by the sensitivity of pDNA to shear-related degradation. Here we describe a simple pneumatic mixing device that enables the rapid and reproducible production of large volumes of nonviral gene therapy formulations and demonstrate its suitability for use with shearsensitive pDNA.
Due to the susceptibility of plasmid DNA (pDNA) to shear-related degradation (1), nonviral gene therapy formulations are typically prepared in the laboratory in relatively small volumes (<1 mL) by simply adding pDNA to a solution of lipid or polymer with subsequent mixing by repeated inversion or pipetting. Under such conditions, mixing parameters are virtually impossible to standardize leading to variability in the physical characteristics of complexes prepared in different laboratories, even when using identical starting material (2). Such variability is further exacerbated by attempts to scale-up mixing volumes for pre-clinical and clinical studies where differences in physical characteristics may crucially impact key in vivo outcomes including gene expression, toxicity, and biodistribution (3). While some attempts have been made to standardize mixing within the laboratory (2), many of the handmixing devices remain prone to operator variability and are unlikely to prove acceptable in a clinical setting.
To address these issues, we have developed a simple automated mixing device, the LMD 2 (Figure 1A), that utilizes compressed air to depress the plunger of a disposable dual barrel polypropylene syringe (Plas-Pak Industries, Norwich, CT, USA) containing pDNA and lipid/polymer in separate compartments (Figure 1B). Activation of the device initiates mixing of the components by simultaneous extrusion of the two reagents through an 8-element HDPE divide/merge static mixer device (Cat. no. 003M08B005; Plas-Pak) affixed to the outlet of the syringe. To generate the relatively high mixing speeds required for complex formation, the device utilizes a cylindrical pneumatic actuator (SMC Pneumatics, Milton Keynes, UK) connected via an adjustable supply regulator to a 50-psi compressed air supply. The supply regulator modulates the speed of the pneumatic plunger, making it possible to accurately control the mixing rate of reagents and enabling critical mixing parameters including the Reynolds number and shear rate to be defined and optimized for individual formulations. While the described LMD 2 model can prepare a single dose of ≤14 mL formulation, simple modifications to the LMD 2 design permit the use of smaller or larger dual-lumen syringes suitable for the production of 1–100 mL per actuation. The degree of component mixing can also be varied by inclusion of additional static mixer elements and as such, the device is useful for a wide variety of applications.
To investigate the viability of this mixing device, the LMD 2 equipped with a 2×7 mL dual-barrel syringe (Cat. no. 014B35X001; Plas-Pak) was used to complex the 5.6-kb luciferase expression plasmid pCIKLux (4) with two disparate nonviral gene transfer agents that have shown promise for lung gene therapy. GL67A (GL67:DOPE:DMPE-PEG5000) (5) is a cationic lipid that forms complex multi-lamellar lipoplexes with pDNA (Figure 1C) while 25-kDa polyethyleneimine (PEI) (6) is a synthetic polymer that forms small compact polyplexes with pDNA (Figure 1D). A total of 10 mL each formulation was prepared by mixing equal volumes of reagents using the LMD 2 operating at volumetric flow rates in the range of 1–20 mL/s. Importantly, high-speed video analysis of the mixing process demonstrated that at each flow rate tested, the plunger velocity–and hence the mixing rate within the device–was constant and highly reproducible (Figure 2A), even when relatively viscous formulations (>20 cP) were utilized.
To investigate the effects of mixing rate on the physical characteristics of gene transfer formulations, hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential were measured for complexes prepared over a range of mixing rates and compared with complexes prepared by standard mixing of small aliquots (<1 mL) by hand (Table 1). Initial validation studies utilizing an alternative pDNA/PEI formulation, demonstrated the reproducibility of the LMD 2 at all mixing rates tested with both size and zeta potential measurements associated with relative variability (CV) values in the range 5–12%. Typical data (n = 33 replicates) were observed using a mixing rate of 1 mL/s where size = +52.8 ± 1.2 nm (CV = 11.2%) and zeta potential = 52.4 ± 0.9 mV (CV = 9.5%). Importantly, production of large volumes (10 mL) of GL67A and PEI complexes at lower fluid mixing rates recapitulated exactly the physical characteristics observed with hand mixing. However, at higher mixing rates, significant increases in hydrodynamic diameter were observed for both reagents; this is possibly due to aggregation of complexes under increasingly turbulent mixing conditions, as indicated by calculated Reynolds numbers > > 2000 (7) (Table 1). These results demonstrate the importance of a fully adjustable mixing device to enable selection of optimized mixing conditions for a given gene transfer agent.
While volumetric flow rate is a key variable in controlling the mixing of components within the LMD 2 it is also a critical factor in determining the shear to which pDNA is exposed. Estimates of generated shear rates based on the geometry of the LMD 2 static mixer element (calculated using γ = 4V/φr3 (7), where γ is shear rate, V is volume velocity, and r is the smallest inner radius within the device) range from 3,000 s−1 at 1 mL/s to 30,000 s−1 at 20 mL/s. These values are lower than many common bioprocessing systems (8) and would suggest that the LMD 2 is a relatively low-shear device suitable for the mixing of delicate biomolecules including pDNA. This was confirmed by analysis of the physical integrity of a range of differently sized pDNA following mixing at 20 mL/s. No evidence of shear-related degradation was observed for any plasmid (Figure 2B), with complete retention of the biologically relevant (9) covalently closed circular and open-circular plasmid forms (Figure 2B), even when relatively large plasmids were examined.
To confirm that formulations prepared using the LMD 2 were functional in vivo, BALB/c mice were exposed to aerosols of pCIKLux/GL67A or pCIKLux/PEI generated using the LMD 2 at a mixing rate of 5 mL/s, or by combining multiple small aliquots (<1 mL) mixed by hand. Equivalent gene expression was observed for formulations prepared by hand or using the LMD 2 (Figure 2C) demonstrating that gene therapy formulations prepared using the LMD 2 retained full biological function in vivo.
In summary, we have developed a simple, practical mixing device that offers significant improvements over current production methodologies. The LMD 2 is quick, easy to use with a wide variety of reagents, and directly scalable for the production of formulations in the laboratory or in the clinic. All components in direct contact with experimental formulations are disposable, suitable for sterilization via gamma irradiation, and readily available. The LMD 2 device itself may be sanitized directly by application of pharmacy-approved detergent and/or alcohol-based cleaning products. Most importantly, the LMD 2 enables the standardized and highly reproducible production of nonviral gene therapy formulations. The device was recently approved for clinical production of gene therapy formulations and is currently being utilized in a Phase I clinical study in cystic fibrosis patients (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00789867). Although the device is not currently commercially available, researchers wishing to obtain an LMD 2 should contact the authors directly.
The authors would like to thank Steve Porter (Plas-Pak) for his help and advice in the selection of appropriate mixing syringes and Paul Whitehead (Intertronics, Kidlington, UK) for his assistance and construction of the LMD 2 device. This work was funded by a grant from the UK Cystic Fibrosis trust (Bromley, UK) to the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium (
The authors declare no competing interests.
Address all correspondence to Deborah R. Gill, Gene Medicine Group, Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. E-mail: [email protected]


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Can someone tell me because I have no idea.
I've been surfing the net for a couple hours now trying to figure it out. So far, I still don't quite understand.
I'm thinking of buying an external hard drive to back up some stuff from my laptop because it's crapping out and it has a handful of virus' I can't seem to get rid of.
I need around 100gigs of hard drive space to be comfortable. (I wish they made cheap usb flash drives with that capacity)
In the past i've had a "Western Digital My Book" external hard drive that died after 3 months of normal use. I lost 500gigs of data, so I'm a bit worried and cautious now. I don't want to repeat that.
I've read countless reviews of hard drives (external, internal, solid state, esata/firewire...usb3.0 etc.) but one thing I noticed is that they all have the possibility of "failing" at some point or another. Why is this ?


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Daniel Troy, FDA's top lawyer resigns from position
Daniel Troy, chief counsel of the FDA and the Food and Drug Division of the FDAs Office of General Counsel has resigned.Troy will be succeded by the FDA's current deputy general counsel, Jerry Masoudi who will become acting chief counsel until a permanent replacement is appointed.
The announcement was made in a memorandum to FDA staff from
Lester Crawford, the agency's acting commissioner.
"Dan has served the agency with tireless dedication," Crawford wrote.
Troy joined the FDA in August 2001, and soon after assisted the
FDA is addressing myriad public health dimensions of the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the soon-to-follow anthrax attacks. He
went on to initiate reforms to the Hatch-Waxman amendments to the
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, estimated to save consumers
over $35 billion over ten years.
According to published reports, Troy had no immediate plans for
future employment. Government rules stipulate he is forbidden from appearaing before the FDA, through legal briefs or on behalf of a client, for one year.


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MANAMA: Bahrain authorities say a policeman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the fatal shooting of a protester during the beginning of the Gulf nation's uprising two years ago.
The decision comes as Bahrain's leadership seeks to open crisis-easing talks with political factions. They have been pressing for a greater political voice.
More than 55 people have died in the unrest in the strategic nation.
The official Bahrain News Agency yesterday quoted a chief prosecutor as saying police gunfire killed the protester, Ali Abdulhadi Al-Mushaima, one of first people killed in the clashes.
A policewoman is accused of torturing detainees. A court hearing is scheduled next week.


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Nov 14, 2010
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (has announced its 2010 football bowl pairings. This year 14 teams will be competing in seven bowls on Saturday, Nov. 20. Each bowl will be hosted by an ECAC member institution.
North Atlantic: Mount Ida (6-3) at Springfield
North Central: Maine Maritime (8-2) at
Western New England (8-2)
Northeast: Framingham State (8-2) at Norwich
Northwest: RPI (6-3) at St. John Fisher (8-2)
South Atlantic: Lebanon Valley (6-4) at Johns
Hopkins (7-3)
Southeast: Moravian (6-4) at Wilkes
Southwest: Franklin and Marshall (6-4) at
Washington and Jefferson (8-2)


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Pokémon Pop Quiz 2: The Johto Journeys
From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Pokémon Pop Quiz 2: The Johto Journeys | |
Published: | 2001 |
Publisher: | Scholastic |
Author: | Tracey West |
Preceded By: | Pokémon Pop Quiz |
Succeeded By: | Pokémon Pop Quiz 3: Brain Busters |
Pokémon Pop Quiz 2: The Johto Journeys by Tracey West is a book which quizzes the reader on Pokémon facts from the third season of the Pokémon anime. It was published by Scholastic.
This book-related article is a stub. You can help Bulbapedia by expanding it. |
This book article is part of Project Merchandise, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all Pokémon toys, dolls, books, and collectible merchandise. |