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Broken Benefits: Public vs. private explored
Robert Hammon spent more than 30 years in education; 21 of those years were in Sycamore School District 427, where he retired as superintendent after 13 years of service.
Hammon's lengthy career has guaranteed him a monthly pension of $11,806 for as long as he is retired – or $141,672 annually. To earn that type of retirement package in the private sector, investment managers said one would have to save anywhere between $2.2 million to $2.8 million.
Six-figure pensions for public employees have sparked debate about public- versus private-sector compensation for years, and it has grown more heated as the economy continues to struggle. Experts point out each sector has advantages and disadvantages when it comes to public- and private-employee compensation and retirement benefits.
Locally, 101 people who have retired since 2000 and worked at a public agency in DeKalb County collect six-figure pensions annually, according to pension data the Daily Chronicle received through Freedom of Information Act requests sent to state and local pension funds.
Additionally, there are 36 retirees – not included in the 101 – in the Teachers' Retirement System who at some point worked in a DeKalb County school district and now collect a six-figure annual pension. Many of those started at a local district before moving to districts in suburban Chicago.
"The problem with the pensions is not the ones receiving the pensions," Hammon said. "It's because the people in Springfield decided not to do what they said they would do."
Compensation comparisons
Illinois has fallen behind on pension fund payments, resulting in at least $85 billion in underfunded liabilities across the five pension systems the state is responsible for funding. The Teachers' Retirement System – which Hammon draws from – carries $44 billion in unfunded liability and is set to receive $1.6 billion in back payments from the state this year.
While the state arguably holds the crux of the blame for Illinois' current pension issues, Andrew Biggs said when it comes to comparing private- and public-sector employees, public employees walk away with the better deal.
Biggs, the former principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration and current scholar at America Enterprise Institute, has studied comparisons between private and public employees for years and recently submitted a report on Ohio's pensions.
The report found public workers make 43 percent more in total compensation than their private-sector colleagues – a relationship found in most states, though not always at the same percentage, Biggs said.
In Illinois, Biggs said public-sector workers make about 5.8 percent less in salary than comparable private-sector employees.
Biggs said public employees often will make 2-3 percent less in salary compared to private-sector counterparts, but benefits, including retirement, plus the much higher job security, exceed private-sector compensation.
"If you take someone who earns the same wage and run the earnings through public pensions and the private sector, the public employee benefits are much, much higher," Biggs said.
But not every public employee rakes in a monthly pension of $11,000. The retirees not receiving pensions that high are who Cathy Hill, president of the DeKalb County Retired Teachers Association, is concerned will be hurt the most in the backlash against the pension system.
Proponents of public employees say the focus of pension reformers is often on those making the highest pensions or those who have used loopholes to boost their monthly amount.
The Illinois Taxpayer Education Foundation, for instance, issued a list in April of the top-100 government pensions in the state. Those retirees earned anywhere from $16,250 a month to $34,539.24 a month. In all, the list said 5,294 government retirees in Illinois receive annual pensions greater than $100,000.
But Anders Lindall, spokesman for AFSCME Council 31, said the average annual pension for members in all of the state's public pension systems is $32,000, and 80 percent does not receive Social Security benefits. AFSCME represents 100,000 active and retired public employees in the state.
Information the Daily Chronicle received through FOIA requests to the statewide pension funds – which includes the systems for teachers, university employees, municipal employees, judges and other state employees – found that of the 3,361 people who have worked at a public agency in DeKalb County and have retired since 2000, 54.33 percent of them – or 1,826 – receive a pension of $32,000 or less annually.
That number does not include information included in the FOIA data the newspaper received from the General Assembly Retirement System, the pension fund that serves the General Assembly and other state officials, because the majority of people on that list have not worked in the county.
The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker was about $1,777 at the beginning of 2011 – or $14,124 a year – according to the Social Security Administration.
Hill said public backlash has increased unfairly in recent years against people who sacrificed higher salaries now for more secure benefits later. The average retired teacher in TRS makes $46,452 per year, while the average retired teacher in DeKalb makes $34,152, said Dick Ingram, executive director for TRS.
"Because of what [the state] did everyone is now mad at the public employees," Hill said. "It's not like we created it. ... We stuck with the agreement we made."
Hill also said many teachers work second jobs but will never receive Social Security benefits from that work, making the pension even more important.
Matter of fairness?
Social Security benefits are under just as much stress as public pension systems, and many private-sector workers rightfully believe their retirement packages are at much greater risk than public employees, said Gavin Wilson, of Country Insurance in DeKalb.
There are stark differences between defined-contribution plans found in the private sector and defined-benefit plans found in the public sphere.
In a defined-contribution plan – where employers' investments differ greatly – the employer contribution is the compensation the worker receives. That's opposed to a defined-benefit plan in the public sector where the retirement plan is a guarantee based on salary and years of service.
"There is no doubt a defined-benefit plan is the best retirement package you can get," Wilson said.
But Wilson added the public-sector versus private-sector compensation is not really a matter of fairness because the state and public employees agreed to a contract. For Wilson, it's a matter of perspective.
"Whether that money could be better spent is really a capitalism versus socialism question," he said.
The state recently has taken steps to spend public pension money differently.
On Jan. 1, a new hires package went into effect for state employees and mandated that retirement pay for new hires be calculated based on a maximum salary of $106,800, percentage increases will be more closely tied to inflation and the retirement age for full benefits will be 67 instead of 60.
Called the two-tiered system, it is expected to save the five state-run pension systems $200 billion through 2045. But it does nothing to eliminate the present $85 billion shortfall that would make them fully funded.
And legislation being considered in Springfield would require current participants in the state's five main pension systems to choose one of three options: Keep pension benefits the same, but employee contributions would jump from 9.4 percent of salary to 13.7 percent of salary; choose the existing benefit package for new hires, which has a lower employee contribution and scaled-down benefits; or a self-managed plan similar to a 401(k).
Changes looming
While the proposed changes might be tough, even some of those who have benefited from the current system know it has been coming.
Thomas Donnelly, a former supervisor for the Illinois Department of Revenue, receives a monthly pension of $7,068. Donnelly, a farmer from Malta who worked for the state for 40 years, said he knows there needs to be changes in this economy, but changes to the health care package already have shifted costs to the employee and put some in a tough spot.
"My pension is large enough that, yes, I am going to survive fairly well, but the people who were only in the system eight to 12 years – those pensions aren't exorbitant," he said. "If they start changing health care even more, are these new employees ever going to be able to afford it?"
Hammon said it is frustrating to see stories on employees or union bosses who abused the system by drawing from multiple pensions because the large majority of public employees make modest salaries and pensions.
Hammon said there is no need for honest public employees to apologize for their pension because it was a contract agreed upon between the state and individual.
But he said the state's inability to live up to those contracts likely will hurt future employees, who already are in a tough position because of the lean job market.
"I do think there will be significant changes," Hammon said. "It's just not a good [financial] time right now. People are hurting."
Both sides to the private-versus-public-sector debate have legitimate gripes, but the reality for Laurence Msall is the state and private business are both struggling.
Because of that, Msall, the president of the non-partisan fiscal policy think tank Civic Federation, has supported the state's proposed 401(k)-style pension plan for employees.
Msall said the reality of the situation trumps the argument.
"It isn't so much a question of fairness as it is a matter of financial reality," Msall said. "It's not the fault of any individual employee, but [the state] can't change benefits for retirees so it has to change where it can."


text: Chris Bosh Takes LeBron's Mask, Becomes BoshmanSamer Kalaf2/28/14 12:33amFiled to: chris boshnbamiami heatlebron jamesmask273EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalinkChris Bosh nabbed LeBron's mask and added a cape for an excellent photo. He says he's Batman in his Instagram caption, but come on, he's really Boshman. LeMask and Boshman would be the perfect crimefighting duo.Advertisement[Instagram]Reply27 repliesLeave a reply

subset: commoncrawl


text: Sitzfleisch Chair Cushion (That's "Flesh For Sitting")Nicholas Deleon6/02/06 2:43pmFiled to: GadgetsChairsComfortSiliconeDesign0EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink This image was lost some time after publication, but you can still view it here. The silicone flesh cushion known as "Sitzfleisch" attempts to give people stuck in office chairs all day long a bit of a respite by mimicking the look and feel of real human flesh, delivering the utmost in comfort. Made out of a silicone polymer, the chair cushion promises to act as an extension of the human body, since, as the South American manufacturer Exsil claims, "healthy human soft tissue is nature's unequaled solution for utmost sitting comfort." Advertisement Exsil also says that the cushion may help people who suffer from aches and pains, since many of those ailments can be attributed to sitting on lackluster chairs for long periods of time. Who's going to argue about sitting on top of $80 slab of fake skin?A fair warning for those looking to further investigate the comapny's Web site: there's quite a bit of nudity, but it's mostly the artsy kind. Advertisement Product Page [Exsil via Shiny Shiny]Exsil Store (in Portuguese)


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Mysql On Sl6000, Without running it as userid root |
Mysql On Sl6000, Without running it as userid root |
Dec 16 2004, 08:40 PM
Group: Members Posts: 157 Joined: 6-November 03 From: Harrisburg PA Member No.: 867 |
I managed to get MySQL to run on the 6000 without changing the userid to root - it runs under the id daemon. It's been a lot of trial and error but here's how I think I did it.
I wanted to store my databases on SD so I created the directory 'mysql' on sd. CODE mkdir /mnt/card/mysql To tell MySQL that the database storage area is in this new directory, edit the file /etc/mysql/my.cnf and comment out the old 'datadir' line and add a new one. CODE datadir = /mnt/card/mysql #datadir = /var/lib/mysql Go to the /mnt/card/mysql directory. All databases are stored in this directory as subdirectories. You need to set up the 'mysql' control database here too and copy the contents from the original install location. The tables in this database control the actual running of MySQL. You have to change the ownership of the new directories to the userid & group of 'daemon'. CODE cd /mnt/card/mysql mkdir mysql cp /var/lib/mysql/mysql/* mysql/ cd .. <== this should put you at /mnt/card chown -R daemon:daemon mysql/ As root, start the database management system: CODE mysqlstart Any messages should go to /var/log/mysql.err To stop the database management system: CODE mysqlstop
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 29th March 2017 - 03:23 AM |


text: AT&T Launches iPhone MMS September 25matt buchanan9/03/09 2:10pmFiled to: iPhoneiPhone MMSAt&tAppleTopMmsattCellphonesSmartphonesiPhone 3Giphone 3gs1841EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink Sweet Jesus, AT&T just told us that MMS for iPhone launches September 25. Which is emphatically not summer. It'll be coming via software update for iPhone 3G and 3GS (remember, old iPhones are getting left out). AT&T admits they're late, saying "it was important to give our customers a positive experience from day one" so they needed the extra to "to make sure our network is ready to handle what we expect will be a record volume of MMS traffic." Which I think means if MMS doesn't work, everybody can ream the shit out of them for it. At least it's free. The wait for tethering continues though, with "no set date." They simply "expect to offer it in the future." Again, 'cause the network isn't ready: "This function could exponentially increase traffic on the network, and we need to ensure that some of our current upgrades are in place before we can deliver the expanded functionality with the excellent performance that customers expect." Advertisement Advertisement One out of two ain't bad, right?An Update on iPhone MMS for our Mobility CustomersWe know many of our iPhone customers are eager for an update on our rollout schedule for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). We've been working for the past several months to prepare our systems and network to ensure the best possible experience with MMS when it launches – and that launch date is: September 25 for iPhone 3G and 3GS customers. MMS will be enabled through a software update on that day.We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS. The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone's multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One. We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end.We're riding the leading edge of smartphone growth that's resulted in an explosion of traffic over the AT&T network. Wireless use on our network has grown an average of 350 percent year-over-year for the past two years, and is projected to continue at a rapid pace in 2009 and beyond. The volume of smartphone data traffic the AT&T network is handling is unmatched in the wireless industry. We want you to know that we're working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in data demand, new devices and applications for years to come.We thank you for your business and look forward to keeping you updated on our initiatives.Reply184 repliesLeave a reply


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Avaire at menards
Author: ERIKA
Date: 8/1/2007 4:39 pm EDT I WAS TOLD THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE PUTTING AVAIRE IN TO THE BIG BOX STORES (MENARDS) I THE VERY NEAR FUTURE? IS THIS TRUE/ WHEN SHOULD WE LOOK FOR THIS? WILL YOU START WITH STORES IN LINCOLN OR OMAHA? |
Author: Jonathan
Date: 8/1/2007 10:53 pm EDT Avaire is available at the two Menards locations in Eau Claire, WI. We cannot comment on any plans that our customers may have for the future. In Omaha, Avaire is available now at Nebraska Furniture Mart. |
Author: ERIKA
Date: 8/2/2007 11:07 am EDT I CALLED MENARDS 4.29/SF, NEB. FURNITURE MART 5.99/SF! THAT IS A BIG DIFFERENCE! |
Author: JimE
Date: 1/6/2008 0:11 am EDT Tomorrow's (6 January 2008) Menards flyer here in northern Illinois introduces Avaire :-) Whether the local stores have it in stock is another question, it says some colours may be special order, but they only list 3 colours to start with ;-) JimE |
Author: Jonathan
Date: 1/6/2008 2:29 pm EDT Avaire is now available in all Menards stores. The large-format stores will stock all three colors (Beige, Camel, and Moss). The smaller-format stores will stock one color, typically Beige; however, Camel and Moss will be available via special order through the small-formate stores. |
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Though we didn't get quite the huge amount of PS3 exclusives that we've had in previous years, 2012 still proved to be a stellar year for Sony's console, thanks mostly to a knock-out set of multiplatform titles and a handful of fantastic downloadable games. These are not only the best PlayStation 3 games of the year, but some of the best this year had to offer in gaming, period.
Here are the Nominees:
And the Winner is...
Xbox 360 and PC owners should definitely play the other nominees listed above, but Thatgamecompany's PlayStation 3-exclusive Journey is far and beyond the best that the PlayStation 3 has to offer this year. Through its fantastic art design, Grammy-nominated soundtrack, and innovative use of multiplayer, Journey provides something that we've never seen in gaming before.
As a standalone experience, Journey is moving in its own right. But it truly shines when played online with a partner - an anonymous player who partakes in your journey with you. Much like life itself, your experience with Journey is defined by the people you meet along the way.
Critics looking for proof of games as art? This is it. Here is your definitive proof. Journey validates the argument that we have been making for years. Gaming has never seen a game like Journey before, and it's possible we may not again for a long time.


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By Mallory Simon
(CNN) — In the first sign that the Fukushima nuclear disaster may be changing life around it, scientists say they've found mutant butterflies.
Some of the butterflies had abnormalities in their legs, antennae, and abdomens, and dents in their eyes, according to the study published in Scientific Reports, an online journal from the team behind Nature. Researchers also found that some affected butterflies had broken or wrinkled wings, changes in wing size, color pattern changes, and spots disappearing or increasing on the butterflies.
The study began two months after an earthquake and tsunami devastated swaths of northeastern Japan in March 2011, triggering a nuclear disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi plant spewed radiation and displaced tens of thousands of residents from the surrounding area in the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine.
In May 2011, researchers collected more than 100 pale grass blue butterflies in and around the Fukushima prefecture and found that 12% of them had abnormalities or mutations. When those butterflies mated, the rate of mutations in the offspring rose to 18%, according to the study, which added that some died before reaching adulthood. When the offspring mated with healthy butterflies that weren't affected by the nuclear crisis, the abnormality rate rose to 34%, indicating that the mutations were being passed on through genes to offspring at high rates even when one of the parent butterflies was healthy.
The scientists wanted to find out how things stood after a longer amount of time and again collected more than 200 butterflies last September. Twenty-eight percent of the butterflies showed abnormalities, but the rate of mutated offspring jumped to 52%, according to researchers. The study indicated that second-generation butterflies, the ones collected in September, likely saw higher numbers of mutations because they were exposed to the radiation either as larvae or earlier than adult butterflies first collected.
To make sure that the nuclear disaster was in fact the cause of the mutations, researchers collected butterflies that had not been affected by radiation and gave them low-dose exposures of radiation and found similar results.
"We conclude that artificial radionuclides from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant caused physiological and genetic damage to this species," the study said.
The results of the study bring up concerns about the larger impact of the Fukushima disaster and the impact it will have on the ecosystem in Japan and nearby areas, as well as what we can learn for future nuclear disasters.
"Our results are consistent with the previous field studies that showed that butterfly populations are highly sensitive to artificial radionuclide contamination in Chernobyl and Fukushima," the study said. "Together, the present study indicates that the pale grass blue butterfly is probably one of the best indicator species for radionuclide contamination in Japan."
One of the researchers, Joji Otaki, an associate professor at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, told reporters that while butterflies may be the best indicator, the study should also lead to more research on what else may be affected by the radiation.
"Sensitivity (to irradiation) varies between species, so research should be conducted on other animals," Otaki told the Japan Times.
Otaki said while there is still plenty of research to be done on radiation, there shouldn't be large-scale concern about this kind of mutation in humans.
"Humans are totally different from butterflies and they should be far more resistant" to radiation, he told the newspaper.
™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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Reece Roberson of La Junta and Blaine Larson of Fowler both picked up individual championships as the Colorado State High School Rodeo Association competed at Eagle on this past Saturday and Sunday.
Roberson won the tie-down roping on Sunday in a time of 10.630 seconds. He was also seventh in steer wrestling on Sunday in 18.040.
Larson won steer wrestling on Sunday in 5.290. He took second place in the same event on Saturday in 5.360.
Brock Wahlert of La Junta also placed in Sunday's steer wrestling as he was third in 6.270.
Bryan Denton of Rocky Ford placed in tie-down roping both days. He finished seventh on Saturday in 16.820 and he was fourth on Sunday in 12.310.
Denton's brother, Blake, was fourth in Saturday's tie-down roping in 11.310.
The Denton brothers finished seventh in Saturday's dally team roping in 12.570.
For local girls, Missy Allen of Timpas placed three times Saturday and twice on Sunday.
On Saturday, she finished 12th in pole bending in 22.400, 29th in barrels racing in 25.987 and she and Garret Arnold of Strasburg were third in dally team roping in 9.530.
On Sunday, Allen was sixth in pole bending in 22.010 and 23rd in barrel racing in 21.562.
Jessica Larson of Fowler placed 26th in Saturday's barrel racing in 21.803 and she was 30th in Sunday's barrel racing in 26.679.
This week, the CSHSRA will host a three-event in Fort Collins. The rodeo begins Friday and concludes on Sunday.
Roberson, Larson win in Eagle
May 8, 2013 at 11:13 AM
May 8, 2013 at 11:16 AM


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TPM Livewire
It's Come To This: Joe Scarborough Is Officially Treated As A Presidential Contender
The congressman-turned-pundit has been talking about that stuff for years, of course, but it reached a fever pitch last November with the release of his book, "The Right Path."
"The buzz among GOP insiders is that 'The Right Path' has the potential to galvanize conservatives in the way Barry Goldwater's 'Conscience of a Conservative' did half a century ago — especially conservatives ready to return to the winning ways of Ronald Reagan, who is on the cover, shown striding down the White House colonnade," gushed Politico's buzz arbiter Mike Allen.
Scarborough talked to TPM about the book, casually suggesting that "Joe Scarborough's worldview" was in sync with "Ronald Reagan's worldview and Bill Buckley's worldview and Margaret Thatcher's worldview."
You knew where this was going.
Inevitably, Joe Scarborough's book tour was viewed as a springboard for Joe Scarborough's 2016 presidential campaign. A few months after the book's release, The Daily Caller's Alex Pappas reported that it's "widely believed" at MSNBC that Scarborough has presidential aspirations.
Two days after that story ran, Scarborough told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he "won't rule anything out."
All of which brings us to this weekend's scheduled presidential survey at the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference in New Hampshire, where Scarborough's name will appear on the ballot alongside the likes of Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and "Morning Joe" hero Chris Christie.
If any of this sounds familiar, it should. Back in 2010, Scarborough was said to be exploring an independent presidential bid with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Then, as now, Scarborough did his part to keep the speculation going.
"We haven't discussed it directly," he said at the time. "Have people discussed it in his sphere and in my sphere? I think so."


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Everyday Business | Pro bicyclist pedals his way to Wenatchee
Professional mountain biker Evan Plews has lived in the Wenatchee Valley for only nine months, but he's got the place pegged.
"What's exciting about Wenatchee," he said, "is that people here love where they live and want to invest in it." Of course, he's talking about the area's network of mountain bike trails and the big plans by a couple of groups to develop even more.
Plews is a mountain biker through and through — sells bikes, fixes bikes, designs bikes, tests bikes, promotes biking — and his new Ridge Cyclesport, which opened in February, has quickly become a hub for mountain biking in the region.
The 37-year-old pedaler and his wife Caroll (a manager at Central Washington Hospital) moved here last August with the inkling to open a bike shop way in the back of their minds. But everything — financing, location, interest from local bikers — came together quickly. By November, they were drawing floor plans and ordering inventory.
At Ridge Cyclesport, Plews repairs just about any bike and sells high-performance models from KHS, Devinci and Ibis, an iconic brand that's the dream of many trail riders. Prices for "a legitimate mountain bike, one that's trailworthy with hydraulic brakes" start at around $800, said Plews. But eager mountain bike enthusiasts often spend closer to $3,000.
And when you spend that much for a two-wheeler, "you definitely want to try it out, see how it feels," said the bike shop owner. He lets customers test-ride the bikes on local trails to see "if it's the perfect fit."
"When it comes to sales, we specialize in mountain bikes and kids bikes," he said. "I really want to get kids into biking — provide them with their very first bike in what could become a lifelong sport for them."
So what makes Plews a "professional" mountain biker? He discovered mountain biking at age 9 and just wouldn't stop pedaling. His first job as a teenager was in a bike shop. So were his second and third jobs. His college degree is in structural engineering (think bike frames and stress points). He won the state mountain bike racing championship here in 2003 on trails around Squilchuck State Park. That led the following year to his professional status — races, sponsors, travel, endorsements — and sparked the idea to maybe, one day, move to Wenatchee.
Now he's excited about plans to expand the region's network of mountain bike trails. Groups are working to further develop trails at Squilchuck State Park and build a new set of trails above No. 2 Canyon west of Wenatchee.
"Big things are in the works," he said. "And it's very exciting."
Details: Ridge Cyclesport, 509 N. Western Ave., Suite 106, Wenatchee. Phone: (503) 949-4879. Web: ridgecyclesport.com and evanplews.com.
Upscale on the Loop Trail
If you're in the market for some classy digs, then check out the website for Riverside9 Apartment Homes, that honkin' big waterfront complex at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Ninth Street in Wenatchee.
You know this place, right? It's built partially on the site of the old Ninth Street Trailer Park, which caused some serious hubbub when it was closed in 2008 to make way for new development. Now the site, located on the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail, has 312 upscale apartments with some snazzy amenities like a gym, swimming pool, club house and views of the Columbia River and foothills.
Because of mild winter weather, construction is further along than originally expected (although it's still underway on several buildings). The website sprung to life last month with floorplans and prices. You can open an account and sign a lease, too.
So, let's see … what do these puppies cost? The smallest apartment — a 498-square-foot with single bath — runs $769 to $834. One-bedroom apartments (740 to 851 square feet) run from $839 to $944. Two-bedroom units (930 to 978 square feet) run $994 to $1,104.
By the way, Kirkland-based Weidner Apartment Homes is building the complex, which is the latest for the company. Weidner is ranked as the 33rd largest apartment company in the nation with 214 complexes in seven states and four Canadian provinces. Weidner owns and manages nearly 38,000 units, with about 95 percent as residential rentals and the rest commercial properties.
This weekly column is compiled from "Everyday Business," a blog by World reporter Mike Irwin. You can reach him at 665-1179 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The bacterium, Enterococcus faecalis, which lives in the human gut, is just one microbe type that will be studied as part of NIH's Human Microbiome Project.
Credit: Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Monitoring rise and fall of the microbiome
Trillions of bacteria live in each person's digestive tract. Scientists believe that some of these bacteria help digest food and stave off harmful infections, but their role in human health is not well understood.
To help shed light on the role of these bacteria, a team of researchers led by MIT associate professor Eric Alm recently tracked fluctuations in the bacterial populations of two research subjects over a full year. The findings, described in the July 25 issue of the journal Genome Biology, suggest that while these populations are fairly stable, they undergo daily fluctuations in response to changes in diet and other factors.
"On any given day, the amount of one species could change many fold, but after a year, that species would still be at the same median level," says Alm, the Karl Van Tassel Career Development Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering and senior author of the paper. "To a large extent, the main factor we found that explained a lot of that variance was the diet."
Alm and Lawrence David, an assistant professor at Duke University and the paper's lead author, began the study in 2009, around the same time the National Institutes of Health launched the Human Microbiome Project — an effort to analyze the composition of bacterial communities found in humans, including the gut but also other organs such as the skin, nasal passages, and mouth.
There are a few thousand strains of bacteria that can inhabit the human gut, but only a few hundred of those are found in any given individual, Alm says. For one year, the two subjects in the study collected daily stool samples so bacterial populations could be measured. They also used an iPhone app to track lifestyle factors such as diet, sleep, mood, and exercise, generating a huge amount of data.
Analysis of this data revealed that dietary changes could produce daily variations in the populations of different strains of bacteria. For example, an increase in fiber correlated with a boost in the populations of Bifidobacteria, Roseburia, and Eubacterium rectale. Four strains — including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, which has been implicated in protecting against inflammatory bowel disease — were correlated with eating citrus.
During the study, each of the two subjects experienced an event that dramatically altered the gut microbiome. Subject B experienced food poisoning caused by Salmonella, and Subject A traveled to a developing nation, where he experienced diarrheal illness for two weeks.
During Subject B's infection, Salmonella leapt from 10 percent of the gut microbiome to nearly 30 percent. At the same time, populations of bacteria from the phylum Firmicutes, believed to be beneficial to human health, nearly disappeared. After the subject recovered, Firmicutes rebounded to about 40 percent of the total microbiome, but most of the strains were different from those originally present.
"There really wasn't an overall change in the level of Firmicutes. The levels are very different from person to person, but whatever it is about a person that is maintaining a certain level is able to survive a huge insult like that. What's keeping it at that level is a really interesting research question," Alm says, adding that the answer may lie in dietary differences.
Subject A also exhibited severe disruptions to his microbiome during his trip, but once he returned to the United States, it returned to normal. Unlike Subject B's recovery from food poisoning, Subject A's populations returned to their original composition.
The researchers now plan to investigate why microbiome populations tend to return to an average value, specific to the individual host, after going way up or down. They also plan to study how the immune system responds to changes in the microbiome by measuring daily changes in cytokine and hormone levels. To make such follow-up studies easier to do, they are also working on wearable sensors that would collect much of the needed data with less effort required from the subjects.
The ultimate goal, Alm says, is to generate data from individual patients that could be analyzed to produce a personalized monitoring system for people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease or other diseases prone to occasional flare-ups. Such a system could detect when someone is heading for a flare-up and recommend dietary changes that could help avoid it.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Anne Trafton.


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Though Justin Bieber still has a very, very, very (x100) long way to go before he reaches Michael Jackson status, this bit of info might serve to give us some perspective on Bieber's phenomenal cultural impact at the moment: He's just beaten one of Michael's many records.
Bieb's film, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," just surpassed the Michael Jackson postmortem hit "This Is It" as the most successful concert-themed movie ever. As of Sunday, Bieber's flick had earned $72.2 million in the US box office, just sneaking past "This is It's" $72.1 mil — and Bieber's movie is still raking in money.
One thing Michael Jackson had that Bieber still hasn't been able to garner is international box office clout. "This Is It" earned $189.1 million overseas — while "Never Say Never" has thus far earned less than $11 million outside the US.
Could Bieber's career ever measure up to Michael Jackson's? Catch up with us in 30 years and we'll talk.


text: Mitt's VP App Unsurprisingly Fails At Its One Simple JobEric Limer8/11/12 12:00pmFiled to: appsElection2012romney70EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan is Mitt Romney's running mate. No doubt you've already heard. You been hearing about it for hours now, but you didn't hear it first from Romney's dedicated app, which promised punctuality but showed up hours late to the party. Advertisement "There's no telling when Mitt will choose his VP. But when he does, be the first to find out with Mitt's VP app," reads the promotional material. In actuality, the Mitt's VP app announced the news at 7:07 AM ET, despite the fact that the cat got out of the bag hours before. That shouldn't come as a big surprise though, Obama tried the same trick with text messages back in 2008 and was similarly unsuccessful."First" is a lofty promise. You'd be hard-pressed to control the increasingly voracious world of political gossip, but that doesn't mean people won't keep trying. In the end, the app will probably be able to mine some data, but as for breaking the news, it's a failure. The question is, did anyone really think it wouldn't be? [The Atlantic]Reply70 repliesLeave a reply


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Tipograf is a frontend for the powerful anything to PostScript converter a2ps. It encapsulates a2ps's many command-line options into a user friendly GUI and provides some additional functionality. It has been translated to English and German.
English user guide available in HTML format from http://falk-henrich.de/documentation/html/en/index.html; German user guide available in HTML format from http://falk-henrich.de/documentation/html/de/index.html; English user guide available in HTML format from http://falk-henrich.de/documentation/userguide.ps; German user guide available in HTML format from http://falk-henrich.de/documentation/benutzerhandbuch.ps; English user guide available in HTML format from http://falk-henrich.de/documentation/userguide.dvi; German user guide available in HTML format from http://falk-henrich.de/documentation/benutzerhandbuch.dvi
Related Projects
License | Verified by | Verified on | Notes |
GPLv2orlater | Janet Casey | 29 October 2002 |
Leaders and contributors
Contact(s) | Role |
Falk Henrich | Maintainer |
Resources and communication
Audience | Resource type | URI |
Bug Tracking,Developer,Support | mailto:email@example.com |
Software prerequisites
Kind | Description |
Required to use | a2ps 4.0 or higher |
Required to use | Qt libraries 3.0 or higher |
Weak prerequisite | GCC 2.96 or higher |
Weak prerequisite | GNU Make 3.79 or higher |
Weak prerequisite | Working Qt 3.0 tools (all for building from source) |
This entry (in part or in whole) was last reviewed on 9 January 2017.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the page "GNU Free Documentation License".
The copyright and license notices on this page only apply to the text on this page. Any software or copyright-licenses or other similar notices described in this text has its own copyright notice and license, which can usually be found in the distribution or license text itself.


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Stock #52063 -
KI 1000TRS/CH/SBD Burgundy (bordeaux) Shell Right Hand Stacking Tablet Arm Chair
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MSRP of $190.00
1000 Series Stacking Tablet Arm Chair by KI offers durability and comfort in one package. The soft shell comes with a textured finish to prevent slipping while in the seated position. It can be used as an ideal classroom chair. The chair can be chosen with right or left hand tablet arms. The tablet arms come handy to students, and offer them a compact desktop with laminated writing surface. Stack these chairs up when not in use with tablet arms in upright position.
- Strong injection-molded polypropylene shell with rounded edges
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- Rolled edges for strength and convenience
- 1000TRS/CH - Right Hand Tablet Arm chair
- 1000TLS/CH - Left Hand Tablet Arm chair
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- Self leveling glides
Shipping Details
Normal Ship Time:Approx. 4 weeks to 5 weeks
- Please add 2-5 business days for transit time
Your Cart Has Been Updated


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text:
Mobility Minute: Solution Providers See Big Opportunities Selling Unlocked Mobile Devices
Solution providers are finding big opportunities selling unlocked devices to customers who prize flexibility and freedom.
Cisco Channel Chief: 5 Routes To Partner Profitability Within Digital IT Transformations Cisco's channel leader Wendy Bahr keynote at Partner Connection Week revolved around the five key routes to profitability to partners around digital opportunities in 2017. |
How ARM's DynamIQ Chip Design Will Disrupt AI And Machine Learning Tech ARM recently unveiled its DynamIQ chip design, which the company says will be "the foundation for future ARM Cortex-A processors." Here's everything partners need to know. |
2017 Channel Madness Tournament Of Chiefs: Round 2 Results, Round 3 Matchups Voting for Round 3 of the 2017 Channel Madness Tournament Of Chiefs is now open. Bang it here to get some insight into the Enterprise 8 matchups. |
CRN's third annual Channel Madness Tournament of Chiefs is under way! Choose your favorites:


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Hand Hygiene
Dear Sir/Madame
I am a lecturer with the University of Nottingham and an ex infection control nurse.
I am undertaking a PhD and as a part of this am examining the Hand Hygiene policies of all Acute, PCT and Mental Health Trusts in England
Through general internet searching I have been acquire about 30% of these policies. Your organisation is not one of these.
Therefore I would like to request your trusts most recent hand hygiene policy. An e-mail attachment would be great.
Kind Regards
Mark Cole
University of Nottingham
C/O Grantham & District Hospital
Telephone 01476 565232
Dear Mr Cole
Please find attached the Trust's response to your request for information, processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Yours sincerely
Russ Moore
Freedom of Information Officer
Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Looking for an EU Authority?
You can request documents directly from EU Institutions at our sister site AskTheEU.org . Find out more .


text:
User Name: Password:
Baxter and Gemma
Click on Hannah's photo above for a touching and wonderful piece from a puppy's point of view ... a must-read for ALL Westie lovers!
Westie Breeder Pages
Breeder Referral in Canada and the US
Westie Breed Information
Westie World Westie-L (Email list) Westie Show Results
Westie Goodies
Westie Mail - Free, @westiemail.com email service.
Westie Rescue Pages
Westie Rescue of Canada 5th Annual WRC Toronto Westie Walk & BBQ Photo Album/Slideshow
Personal and Fun Westie Pages (Greetings, Celebrations, Announcements etc.)
Friendship Friendship Page


text: Nine Things We Really, Really Want from Windows Phone 8Sam Biddle6/20/12 11:00amFiled to: Windows phoneMicrosoftSmartphonesWindows 8WindowsMetroTop992EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink Windows Phone has a great premise—a set of beautiful, minimalist tiles take the place of a million apps. It's brilliant in its simplicity. But it needs to get its shit together. Today, we could get a first look at Windows Phone 8. Here's what it needs to deliver. Social skillsWinPho's People tile is one of its best draws—at times it actually makes you forget how mediocre the third party apps for Twitter and Facebook are. Your contacts and social media pals are all whirled into one hub, giving you a stream of updates, favorite people to check in on, and a quick way of chiming in. But it's severely lacking. You can't attach photos to a tweet, hashtags aren't clickable, there's no way to view your Facebook Timeline (or someone else's), and there's no way to view a full Twitter conversation. Foursquare is missing entirely. For this stuff, you'll have to fire up the dedicated apps for each service, which defeats the purpose of Windows Phone.Helpful notificationsWindows Phone's notifications suck. From the lock screen, you can see if you've received emails, but it'll take several swipes to see who they're even from. Swiping down from the top only shows you the clock and battery life. Where's the notification center? Oh right! There isn't one.Media makeoverWP's music player is a hand-grenade-rolled-into-Sephora mess, crowded among too many other offerings in the "Music + Videos" tile. Music shouldn't be hub-ified. We want instant gratification when it comes to this stuff, not a broad menu of podcasts, movies, apps, and playlists. Really, just rip off the iOS music app—it's more or less perfect.Please stop making me click to load images in emailsEvery single time you receive an email with inline graphics, you have to tap to load them. Even if it's from your best friend from whom you've received tens of thousands of emails, and has earned your email trust. Every. Single. Time.Internet Explorer is slowToo slow. Apollo needs to light some Sun God fire under IE's ass, because it's considerably lagging behind Android and iOS' mobile browsing. So, then, what's the point of the LTE speed?Brightness adjustmentThere are three settings for WP screen brightness: low, medium, and high. Or you can let it auto-adjust, based on God knows what. Give us a slider. This is standard stuff, and a small absence that will slowly drive you crazy.Play nice with othersAdd AIM and GChat to the IM offerings—be the bigger phone-man than Apple. Nobody is going to use the Windows Live substitutes, and Microsoft needs to accept that. Make maps rich as hell with Yelp, Foursquare, MenuPages, and OpenTable data. Bring. It. All. Together. Use the people who do it best.Public transitApple is taking a beating on this one—the lack of public transportation guidance in iOS 6 Maps is awful. Give us what Apple won't. Or maybe validate those rumors about Nokia's stellar map apps replacing Microsoft's own in WP8. That'd be nice. Camera controlWe need a better camera app. Now, when you touch to focus, the camera automatically takes a picture. It's straight-up annoying. You need to be able to focus on something and then decide to take a picture. Advertisement Advertisement Please do these things, Microsoft. We want WP to be great. This is tough love.Original image: Shutterstock/brushingupReply99 repliesLeave a reply


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He embezzled $825,000, but gets no prison time
But another who stole $557,000 gets 33 months
Don Bauder 5:30 p.m., March 27
A nonstop joke machine (Billy Crystal) and his equally overbearing wife (Bette Midler) are forced to spend time with their work-obsessed daughter (Marisa Tomei), son-in-law (Tom Everett Scott), and a trio of estranged grandchildren, all of whom have Dr. Kevorkian on speed-dial. The set-up seemed idiot-proof: stick a pair of technologically inept oldsters in a voice-controlled prototypical "Smart House" (it's a Type-A A-frame), and watch the gags begin. Frank Tashlin did it without breaking a sweat, but all Andy Frickman (She's the Man, You Again) does is break wind. Freaking Frickman quite literally places his camera (audience?) in a toilet. Is this man not embarrassed to take credit for what little direction there is?
And how far the mighty have fallen: Crystal, the self-appointed corporate spokesperson for American comedy, is reduced to vomiting on a child for laughs. Later, like the snake charmer using his voice as a laxative, gramps sits on the bowl — with his red-headed(?) grandson parked on his lap — singing, "Come out, come out, Mr. Doody."
By the time it's over, Billy and Bette have the kids buzzing on sugar, watching Saw films, and playing with guns. The tykes would have stood a better shot at life had they been raised by wild dingos.
Bonus: when was the last time you laughed at a score? The pathos-laden scenes between Billy and his stuttering grandson — backed by composer Marc Shaiman's weepy-strings — are more amusing than any of the intentional jokes. It's not fun, it's not funny, and the fact that this thing is bankrolled by the family-friendly folks at Walden Media makes it even moreso. A mother lode of awful, destined to delight even the most jaded bad-film connoisseurs among us. As for the four-star rating, it's there to punish those who only look at the numbers without reading the review.
it would be hysterical if the studio used that in their adds. "4 stars -- Scott Marks, San Diego Reader."
Scott, If you would be so kind as to determine who rated Parental Guidance with 3 Stars, and inform him/her that people with either/or learning and physical disabilities rely on the star-ratings before spending their paltry social security money to watch a movie and stay warm. Thank you for not allowing ego to get in the way of sound professional decision-making.


text:
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This series of investigative activities for Cadette Girl Scouts begins with an overview of our inner solar system, emphasizes the planetary histories of Mars, Earth and Venus, then concludes with evidence for the greenhouse effect on Earth. The... (View More) activities introduce and reflect the scientific goals of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN), which reached Mars on September 21, 2014, and began its study of the Martian atmosphere. Cadettes will simultaneously learn about new technologies and gain new knowledge as they explore career pathways and develop potential service projects linked to the Cadette leadership journey. (View Less)
Learners will explore aspects of the Sun and solar activity by modeling them as solar cupcakes. Information and imagery are supplied to learn about the Sun, solar activity, eclipses, transits, observing the Sun, and the color of the Sun at different... (View More) times of the day. Links to resources are also provided that highlight NASA's solar missions and where to learn more about the Sun. (View Less)
This is an interactive, real-time display system of space science images and data designed for museums and schools. The program displays hundreds of images and movies from space science research, all documented, with web references of how to find... (View More) out more information. The materials also include a large number of space science educational activities. The software is available for purchase. Full-screen versions without support files are available for download but require a registration number after a 30-day demo period. (View Less)
This Flash-based interactive provides access to illustrations, visualizations, videos, and near-real time images of the Sun from a variety of NASA satellites. Learners can access this information to supplement other materials related to the Sun and... (View More) heliophysics. A scale tool with the size of the Earth is also presented with the solar images. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free
Students place stickers showing images of objects in our solar system, galaxy and universe in appropriate sections of a Venn diagram. Images are provided- along with instructions to make the stickers. This short activity can be used as a formative... (View More) assessment. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
In this activity, children observe common objects and images from close up and from far away to learn the importance of perspective. Comparing a close up image and a satellite image of the Colorado Black Forest fire encourages learners to examine... (View More) and evaluate the different types of information that can be gathered from different perspectives. Finally, using an image of Mars, they identify a geologic feature. This activity was designed for use in a library program. (View Less)
Students "observe" an imaginary new planet in our galaxy from the relative distances of a ground-based telescope, the Hubble Telescope, and a fly-by mission. After recording their observations and discussing the differences, they compare their... (View More) observations to actual images of Pluto taken from the New Horizons spacecraft during its July 2015 fly-by. (View Less)
Explore lunar phases as viewed from Earth using paper plates. While standing in the appropriate spot in the moon's orbit, students hold paper plates that depict the Moon's phase. This activity can be used to assess understanding of lunar phases or... (View More) to continue to build a conceptual model of the phases through kinesthetic activity. Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are listed. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
Learners create scale models of Earth, the moon, and Mars out of playdough. Based on the size of the models, they must determine the relative distance between them and then display them at that scale. This activity was designed for use in a library... (View More) program. (View Less)
Using a plastic tray filled with sand to represent a planetary surface, learners simulate the effects of wind, water, and impacts. They will compare the surface effects they create with actual images of planetary surfaces- and determine the causes... (View More) of the features in the images. This activity was designed to be used in a library program. (View Less)


text:
Candy Crush Level 102 Walkthrough
Bring the ingredients down and score 65000 points
1 star: 65000 points
2 stars: 115000 points
3 stars: 145000 points
Try to make as many special candies as possible before you set them off so the chocolate doesn't grow all over the place. Keep an eye out for the bombs! They only come with 5 moves


text:
Reed, when I pick him up to hug him: "Aww, Mommy! You are so friendly!"
Reed, when he eats something yummy: "Mmmmm. That feels good."
Me: "Where is Daddy?"
Reed: "He's warming up his shirt again." (ironing) "Daddy? Is it warm enough yet?"
Reed, when telling me to put the Jillian Michaels' workout DVD on. "I need some cardio."
Pulling one of my sports bras out of the dryer: "Here you go, Mom- you need this for the cardio."
Every morning on our way to Reed's daycare, we drive past the building where Sam got his vasectomy. Every morning, right on cue, Reed says:
"That's daddy's doctor. That's where he got the shot."
and then... Skyler always adds: "Right in his bum!"
and Reed comments:
"That's not good."
It's the same conversation, every morning.
Friday, January 15, 2010
More of Reed's funnies
Posted by Emilie at 7:00 AM
Labels: crazy kids, jillian michaels
1 comments:
- Catherine said...
that's hilarious. Mark got a vasectomy last Friday and keeps trying to convince Helen that he can't jump up and down for a week or so. I wish I knew what was going on in her head after these conversations.
- January 19, 2010 at 9:35 PM
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text:
BALTIMORE — Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns in his college debut, and No. 5 Ohio State beat Navy 34-17 Saturday for its 25th consecutive regular-season victory.
Elevated into a starting role after senior Braxton Miller injured his right shoulder on Aug. 18, Barrett went 12 for 15 — including an 80-yard TD pass to Devin Smith that put the Buckeyes up 20-14 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
Ohio State (1-0) won despite allowing Navy (0-1) to gain 370 yards on the ground, including 118 by Ryan Williams-Jenkins.
Barrett became the second freshman since 1950 to start a season opener at quarterback for Ohio State. He ran nine times for 50 yards, did not throw downfield often and relied heavily on a ground game that finally wore down the Midshipmen in the fourth quarter.
After Navy closed to 20-17 with 13:54 remaining, the Buckeyes launched a 10-play drive that featured just one pass. Ezekiel Elliott converted a fourth-and-1 from the Navy 45 and Barrett threw a 19-yard completion before Elliott ran in from the 10.
Barrett's 9-yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas made it 34-17 with 2:09 left.
Navy held a 7-6 lead and was driving on the opening series of the second half when Joey Bosa hit Keenan Reynolds as the quarterback was tossing a pitch to Demond Brown. The ball went awry, and Darron Lee took it 61 yards the other way for a touchdown.
The Midshipmen responded immediately. Williams-Jenkins ran 67 yards to the Ohio State 17, and Reynolds scored from the 1 to put Navy up 14-13. That gave Reynolds a touchdown in nine straight games, tying the school record.
Ohio State then turned the ball over on downs, when Elliott was stuck for a 2-yard loss on fourth down from the Navy 45.
But the momentum turned when Smith got behind the Navy defense on the right side, broke a tackle and scored on the longest touchdown against the Midshipmen since an 87-yarder by Tulane in November 2004.
Navy drove to the Ohio State 18 on the final possession of the first half before Nick Sloan missed a 36-yard field goal, keeping the Buckeyes' deficit at 7-6.
Throwing mostly short, safe passes, Barrett went 8 for 11 for 96 yards and an interception before halftime.
Barrett's first play at Ohio State was a pass completion for 14 yards. Although he appeared comfortable in the no-huddle offense, the Buckeyes quickly punted.
Ohio State's next possession began with four straight runs, followed by a sack. A shovel pass on a third-and-21 gained 16 yards to set up a 46-yard field goal by freshman Sean Nuernberger.
Navy answered with an 11-play drive, 10 of them runs, capped by a 1-yard touchdown sweep by DeBrandon Sanders.
Midway through the second quarter, Barrett went 4 for 4 for 54 yards to bring the Buckeyes to the Navy 8. But he hurried a first-down pass and was intercepted by Parrish Gaines.
Barrett's inexperience showed again on the next series, when Ohio State had to settle for a field goal. On a third-and-2 from the Navy 4, Barrett rolled right and pitched too late to Elliott, who was smothered for a 7-yard loss.
Sports News And Rumors
- Bradley Beal Sets Wizards Franchise Record for 3-Pointers
- 30 Players: Alex Bregman Can Do It All For Astros
- A step in the right direction for Redskins receiver Josh Doctson
- Joe Ross Would Pick Kevin Durant to Throw 1st Pitch
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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We'll be premiering the first issues of our respective books at the LOCUST MOON FESTIVAL in West Philadelphia tomorrow. Here's some shots of Back and Forth:
I've finally drawn my first fifty-plus pages of a continuing comic story. Feels like a pretty decent accomplishment…if I don't think about how much time has passed since I drew the first page. Almost a year and a half stretched over the duration of the fifty drawings. The biggest challenge of any cartoonist is realizing how many hours they need to devote to their craft to cover even smaller ground. Working a full time job, attempting to be involved in local paintings shows, playing and recording music, and my social life in general has slowed the pace of my comic page build-up. The other obvious issue with too much time passing between pages is how my style begins to shift. Take a look at the first page…now take a look at the 50th or beyond. See what I mean? Ah well, so it goes…
I'm still excited to keep on keepin' on with this character and this wacky jumbled storyline.
Here's a 2008 sketch of the first looks of Dale and his buddy Bryan. Dale didn't have his giraffe-like neck he seems to have these days…
Greetings, ladies and gents. I'm Steve Teare, and I welcome you to my webcomic "Back and Forth."
I started drawing and writing "Back and Forth" in December of 2009, reusing characters I had in a six page story published by Always Comix called "Peppers."
Uggh, I hate looking back at that story. I didn't really know how to properly do lettering or scan a comic page…but it was fun to make and it got me hooked on the comic-drawing bug.
I wasn't sure what exactly was going to happen to this long-faced character with poor posture named "Dale" when I set out to begin regularly inking pages. The title "Back and Forth" swam in my head, but I didn't know what it was actually referring to. As the stories and scenes of Dale's life began began developing in my mind, I realized I wanted to literally jump back and forth in his life. Eureka! A collection of vignettes five, ten, maybe even twenty years apart in an attempt to get a scattered portrait of this individual.
I'm a full time high school art teacher involved in a healthy variety of Philadelphia activities, so I apologize if I slack on my personal quota of at least a page a week. But check back often, leave comments, leave suggestions, or simply leave any thought that pops up while spying on the life and times of Mr. Dale Strainard.
Thank you.


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Navy Relieves Commander Of Southwest Regional Maintenance Center
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The Navy announced today it has relieved Capt. Michael Wiegand, the commanding officer of Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, for "loss of confidence in his ability to command," according to a news release.
The announcement follows an investigation into what the Navy is calling "contracting improprieties" at SWRMC, which is headquartered in San Diego. While the Navy continues to investigate the matter, Wiegand has been reassigned to administrative duty.
SWRMC provides maintenance and technical support to U.S. Pacific Fleet's ships and submarines.
Capt. Mike Fulgham will now serve as acting commander of SWRMC.
To view PDF documents, Download Acrobat Reader.
Please stay on topic and be as concise as possible. Leaving a comment means you agree to our Community Discussion Rules. We like civilized discourse. We don't like spam, lying, profanity, harassment or personal attacks.


text:
Expandable Suitcases
Make packing an absolute breeze with a new expandable suitcase from our extensive range. With only the highest quality designs from the top brands – including Antler, Samsonite and Linea – you're spoilt for choice. Pick between two, four and eight wheels, then decide whether you need a small, medium or large size. Choose a traditional dark suitcase or opt for something more colourful to stand out on the reclaim belt. Why not invest in a luggage label to personalise your case further?


text:
Results 1 to 10 of 57
Thread: Very sad day
Threaded View
Because he will be dropped for a claim of that size and the agent knows that. I also made a legitimate claim about 10 years ago when my truck was broken into and everything stolen. The auto insurance covered the damage but personal property is on your homeowners. Shortly thereafter they dropped me and i had to get another provider at a higher cost. After five years or so with no claims I could get a cheaper rate again. Same exact thing happened to my neighbor a couple years ago when his very expensive golf clubs were swiped from his garage. It's BS because you pay thousands literally for this coverage but if you actually have to use it your hosed.
2007 Mobius LSV


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Ethical QuandariesA lively and entertaining presentation… with a chance to win a prize!This presentation will provide attorneys with case citations and Supreme Court Florida Bar ethical opinions in order to educate attorneys about the resulting penalties an attorney can expect to receive for violating the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar during litigation. Speaker: Caroline Johnson Levine, Esq.Office of the Attorney General, Tampa, FLTuesday, March 25, 20144:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registration from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m.St. Pete College - Community Room - Downtown 244 Second Ave. N., 2nd Floor, St. Petersburg1 hr. Ethics CLE applied for.Presented by the St. Petersburg Bar AssociationPlease Note: PARKING may be available in the SPC Garage on 2nd Avenue North depending on availability, please check with the attendant. Other options are the Bay Walk Parking Garage at 111 2nd Street North or the lot across the street from the SPC Downtown entrance on 2nd Avenue North COST: $25.00 St. Pete & Clearwater Bar Members$25.00 All Non-Attorney Staff (Members & Non-Members)$45.00 Non-Member Attorneys
CLICK HERE for a flyer or register on the link above.
For more information contact the St. Pete Bar Association at 727-823-7474 or email@example.com.
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3/24/2017CLE: Anatomy Of A Case at Staybridge Suites
3/25/2017St. Pete Bar YLS Beach Volleyball Tournament
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3/31/2017CLE: Common QDRO and Retirement Plan Pitfalls at SPYC
P.O. Box 172 St. Petersburg, FL 33731-0172 Ph: 727-823-7474 Fx: 727-823-8166


text: 000 FXUS63 KTOP 210758 AFDTOP Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Topeka KS 258 AM CDT Tue Mar 21 2017 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 256 AM CDT Tue Mar 21 2017 Today and Tonight, An upper level trough across the upper Midwest will dig southeast across the Great Lakes States and amplify. The resulting CAA across the northern and central plains will cause a surface ridge of high pressure to build southward towards eastern KS. The low-level CAA by northeast surface winds will bring a drier and cooler airmass southwest across the CWA. Highs Today will only reach the mid 50s along the NE border with highs around 60 for areas along and south of I-70. Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy with mid and high level clouds. Tonight, the surface ridge will slowly shift east into MO. Most models continue with a dry east-northeast low-level flow across the CWA. There may be some weak isentropic lift at the 295-300K level for some light rain-showers and if the precip can make it through the dry low-levels then wet-bulb cooling may cause a bit of snow to mix in at the low-levels. The only models show QPF across the western counties is the GFS. The WRF solutions keep any measurable precip west of the CWA and as it moves east into a drier low-level air mass it dissipates towards 12Z. Overnight lows will be around 33 degrees across north central and northeast KS with mid to upper 30s across east central KS. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Monday) Issued at 256 AM CDT Tue Mar 21 2017 Finally start to see a more active pattern weather wise as we go later into the month, as a series of systems make their way across the central part of the country. Wednesday marks the start of the transition as the frontal boundary keeps highs only near 50 but then retreats northeastward as the next upper longwave trof approaches the southwestern states. Could see a few showers as it does so, but chances are low and precipitation light. Could see a rumble of thunder as the boundary lifts north of the area and leaves most locations dry for the afternoon with warm southerly winds and highs in the 70s. ALthough still some variance in their details, both the EC and the GFS bring the upper low and stacked surface low into the high plains by 12z Friday, bringing a chance for rain across our area. The system remains rather dynamic, but struggles to tap into respectable instability. Could still bring some low topped strong storms across eastern Kansas on Friday afternoon and evening as the dryline and possibly the triple point move through, depending on where the track of the surface low ends up. As colder air wraps around behind the departing system, transition from thunder to rain and highs go from 70s Friday to the 50s to low 60s on Saturday. Sunday brings a break between systems, but not for long as the next wave rolls quickly out of the Central Rockies possibly bringing a chance for rain as early as Sunday evening to our western counties. Again will be a question of how much instability comes northward before it sweeps east, but worth mentioning this one could bring a chance for a strong storm as well, with better directional shear progged than its predecessor. Highs Sunday and Monday forecast in the 60s. Speed of the next fast moving shortwave trof varies by nearly a day between extended models, but would bring the next round of rain chances mid week next week. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Tuesday night) Issued at 1108 PM CDT Mon Mar 20 2017 Will keep VFR conditions in the forecast with VFR stratus expected to develop after 12z with weak lift north of elevated boundary. Expect northeast winds with gusts forecast to develop after 12z as well. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 256 AM CDT Tue Mar 21 2017 There will be a very high rangeland fire danger across the northern and central counties of the CWA this afternoon, with the greatest coverage along the I-70 corridor through the mid and late afternoon hours. Minimum RHs will drop into the 25 to 35 percent range and northeast surface winds will increase to 15 to 20 MPH with some gusts up near 30 MPH. Any planned burns may become uncontrollable wild fires. && .TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ SHORT TERM...Gargan LONG TERM...67 AVIATION...Omitt FIRE WEATHER...Gargan


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A land beset by magic.
In the High Ages, all lands were one until sorcery and hatred ripped them apart. Athgar, last bastion of that fallen civilization, has been brought to the edge of destruction, drained of men and hope in a terrible war caused by a wizard's hunger for vengeance.
A young and untried king.
In his first tumultuous year of a kingship he never wanted, young Herric must prove his right to hold the High Seat of Athgar. With his foreign bride, witch-born Elaine, Herric faces rebellion and overcoming centuries of hatred to find a lasting peace.
A thousand-year-old prophecy.
As enemies gather, Herric and Elaine learn how much harder it is to forge a peace than wage war, especially as the sinister implications of an age-old prophecy - that the High Kings' last heir will unite man and mages, or lead all peoples into darkness - begins to affect Herric directly, and all his choices can lead to doom. Can courage, honor - and love - possibly prevail?
This is the stirring sequel to Wolf's Cub.
©2012 Books In Motion (P)2012 Books In Motion
"Worthy successor! Very engaging epic!"
This book starts off where the first one ends. This book focuses more on courtly intrigue / politics of dealing with mages and back stabbing lords.
Unlike a lot of other epic fantasies, this book does not slow down and burden reader with too much detail about the surroundings. There is enough for user to get a good feel for what is going on yet story moves along at a quick pace. Decisions are being made, and consequences of those decisions coming forth in short order.
The policies of making a peace, I found, as entertaining as the battle focused first book. Struggle to forge a peace with mages turned out to be challenge, if you ever wonder how things would unfold if a nation of mages were to be your mortal enemy then this is the book for you.
Again, there is no complacency from the king, yet kingdom is in a struggle for its survival. The magic is there, but it subtle and evil. I really enjoyed how it was used.
This book concludes the story, and it is only the second book; however, author did a great job flushing out characters to a point a reader would really care for them. The only gripe about the book is that it is very serious, and there is not much levity.
Narrator did a great job here again, and I have become a fan of Mackay Wood that I will be impatiently waiting for his next book
Wish there were more books in this series. Narrator was fantastic. The only complaint the ending seemed rushed and need more of a epilogue


text: Tattoos could help diabetics track their blood sugarLauren Davis5/28/10 2:00pmFiled to: mad scienceDiabetesTattooGlucoseChemical engineeringMitNanotechnology48EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink Many diabetics endure daily finger pricks to test their blood sugar levels. But advances in nanotechnology could soon mean that diabetics need endure the needle only once: to get a glucose-tracking tattoo. Advertisement Postdoctoral researcher Paul Barone and professor Michael Strano of MIT's Department of Engineering are working to develop nanoparticle tattoos that will allow diabetics to constantly monitor their glucose levels. Studies have found that it's more effective for diabetics to constantly monitor their blood sugar than to test it a few times each day. But the technology currently available for constant monitoring — such as wearable devices — offers less accurate readings than finger pricks and still requires drawing blood.The MIT researchers are looking to develop monitoring technology that is both more accurate and allows for constant monitoring. To that end, they are cooking up a nanoparticle "ink" that detects glucose in blood. Advertisement The technology behind the MIT sensor, described in a December 2009 issue of ACS Nano, is fundamentally different from existing sensors, says Strano. The sensor is based on carbon nanotubes wrapped in a polymer that is sensitive to glucose concentrations. When this sensor encounters glucose, the nanotubes fluoresce, which can be detected by shining near-infrared light on them. Measuring the amount of fluorescence reveals the concentration of glucose.Once the sensor tattoo is in place, the subject can wear a monitoring device over the tattoo. Since the monitor will be in such close proximity to these subdermal sensors, the readings should be far more accurate than with wearable monitors. Strano and Barone say they're still a ways away from conducting human trials, but animal trials may be just on the horizon.[PhysOrg]Reply48 repliesLeave a reply


text: Blended by Nicaraguan legend Omar Ortez, Diamondback is here to take the world of lighter-wrapped stogies by storm. These mellow beauties are handmade in Nicaragua with Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed wrappers, along with earthy, zesty Nicaraguan binder and filler leaves. This blend makes for a cigar that is just shy of medium-bodied, boasting notes of cream, brown sugar, spicy cedar, and a little bit of white pepper on the finish. This, along with time-tested construction and eye-catching presentation in cedar boxes, makes Diamondback well worth trying.


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This morning, Amazon revealed they have sold "millions" of Kindles in the last 73 days. That may be the most concrete sales figure the company has ever offered about the popular eReader.
Here's why author Dave Cullen did check his sales figures: "Publishing is in the dark ages on market data. (And in involving their own artists.) Books are the only major pop culture market that doesn't report real data to the public (popular bestseller lists are kinda-true, but offer no numbers whatsoever), and the only one where no organization captures close to 100% of sales."
Here's why author Robert J. Bennett won't check his sales figures: "at first you may hate it, but you will have to accept not knowing. You will have to learn to shrug, and come to embrace your constant vulnerability. And no matter where you sit in the Amazon rankings, or what digit Bookscan returns to you, or how many kind words you hear about what you've submitted, it's not going to give you any more insight into what makes people come to love a book, or any work of art."


text: Rally Ho! Peking to Paris Motor ChallengeMike Spinelli5/30/07 12:41pmFiled to: Rally on 'RoidsChinaMongoliaParispeking to parisRallyRallyingRussia7EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink Today is day four of this year's Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, and participants are winding their ancien régime racers along the foothills of the Grand Tetons Altay range. They're heading along a dusty trail from Erenhot, China to Sainshand in southeastern Mongolia, on a route that would choke a Lamborghini to within a kilometer of its life. Thanks to the intrepid colinjmbrown, we can get a look at some of the old iron horses as they were preparing to set off on the nearly 12,000 mile trek. If they don't meet with some catastrophe or other, the cars will pull into Paris's Place de la Concorde on June 30. Here's hoping they have plenty of yak dairy products and axle grease. Advertisement [Peking to Paris Motor Challenge]More at Flickr]Related: Peking, Duck!: Spyker Unveils New SUV Concept [internal] Reply7 repliesLeave a reply


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Batman: Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and World of Goo were the top videogames of the year, according to critic averages on aggregation portal Metacritic. All three walked away with an average of 96/100.
Interesting, all three of the above now share the website's third-highest review score of time, alongside BioShock, Half-Life 2, Mass Effect 2, Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Solid 2 and The Orange Box.
As a comparison, the highest scoring games of all time on Metacritic are Grand Theft Auto III, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
Portal 2 also did well in 2011, scoring 95. While Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Rayman Origins, Contre Jour HD, Sonic CD, Anomaly Warzone Earth, iBlask Moki 2 HD and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword all attained 94.
Were Skyrim, Arkham City and World of Goo really the VERY best 2011 had to offer? No.
Looking for a more trustworthy list of 2011's best games? See IncGamers' Top 25 Games of 2011.
A Batman: Arkham City trailer:


text:
The Library
Items where Department is "Other > Institute of Advanced Study"
Up a level |
Jump to: Journal Article
Number of items: 1.
Journal Article
Kilbride, A. L. (Amy L.), Mason, Sam (Sam A.), Honeyman, P. C., Pritchard, D. G., Hepple, S. and Green, Laura E.. (2012) Associations between membership of farm assurance and organic certification schemes and compliance with animal welfare legislation. Veterinary Record, Vol.170 (No.6). p. 152. ISSN 0042-4900


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Grantham, town, South Kesteven district, administrative and historic county of Lincolnshire, east-central England. It lies on the River Witham.
Of Saxon origin, Grantham is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086), and its royal charter of incorporation was granted in 1463. In the Middle Ages Grantham grew prosperous from the wool trade. Located there is St. Wulfram's Church, one of England's finest medieval churches. The fine 18th-century George Hotel was made famous by Charles Dickens in Nicholas Nickleby (1839).
The town is an important junction on the railway line from London to Scotland. Its chief industry is mechanical engineering, notably the production of diesel engines and road rollers. Pop. (2001) 34,592; (2011) 41,998.


text:
A Defense of Bitcoin
Gary North wrote up an article today titled Bitcoins: The Second Biggest Ponzi Scheme in History. Having bought into the bitcoin "craze" about a year ago, I feel obligated to write back a response to some of the misconceptions he propagates in his article. Those misconceptions are not unique to Mr. North; others have expressed the same concerns, and they are relevant enough to deserve a thoughtful response.


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Spiced Nuts
- 1 pound mixed shelled nuts, such as almonds, cashews, peanuts, etc.
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss the nuts with the oil, sugar, Chinese five-spice powder and salt.
Lay the nuts in an even layer in a baking dish. Bake until lightly browned, stirring every 5 minutes or so to make sure the nuts cook evenly, 15 to 20 minutes.
Cook's note: For savory chili nuts, toss the nuts with 2 tablespoons peanut oil, 2 teaspoons chili powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, then finish the recipe.Advertisement


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This Grundig standmixer is great for making smoothies, milkshakes, crushing ice dips, sauces, soups or pancakes. Features:. ; 1.5 litre capacity. ; 650 watts. ; Variable speed control pulse function. ; Removable lender Blade For Easy Cleaning. ; Anti-slip rubber feet to ensure a secure base. ; Dishwasher roof glass jug
Check stock and price


text: TV/radio: Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 Back to Article Comments Need to Register? X Remember Me Forgot your password? SETX Sports Stroud takes 1-shot lead in Puerto Rico Walk-off homer secures Lamar's series against Incarnate Word Brent Ehrler carries lead into final day of Bassmaster Classic Kassie Mowry dominates barrel racing at RodeoHouston Anglers brave blustery conditions on day 1 of Bassmaster Classic PN-G soccer teams advance in playoff doubleheader Top Stories Jordan Lee's huge last day lands Bassmaster Classic tournament... Old attendance record shattered as curtains close on... Were you 'Seen' at Le Grand Bal? Beaumont man dies, woman critical after Jasper Co. crash Former WO-S football coach pleads guilty to fatal hit-and-run Will Supreme Court hear Calvin Walker's case?


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The U.S. Supreme Court ended its 2010-2011 term Monday, deciding a slew of technology and civil rights issues, some of which have far-reaching implications for the Freedom of Information Act, intellectual property, warrantless searches of private residences, the "state secrets" privilege and freedom of speech.
The cases we tracked from October involved regulation of videogame sales, the limits of the Copyright Act's first-sale doctrine and the power of the government to collect sensitive data on employees. Another case asked whether convicted defendants have a right to sue under a civil-rights statute to obtain modern DNA testing in an attempt to prove their innocence.
Here is a summary of rulings in cases we followed:
Costco Wholesale v. Omega, 08-1423
Oral argument Nov. 8
Decided 4-4 Dec. 13
Question presented: Does the first-sale doctrine apply to imported goods manufactured abroad?
Answer: No
The court answered the question in the negative, but voted 4-4 with Justice Elena Kagan recused. That means there's no nationwide precedent, but the ruling stands for the case before it.
That case concerned Costco, which was selling the Omega Seamaster watch for about $1,300, well below the $2,000 recommended U.S. price. Omega, of Switzerland, had copyrighted the watch design in the United States by imprinting the company's emblem on the underside of the timepiece. Omega sued Costco for copyright infringement, because it was obtaining the watches from unauthorized dealers in Europe, which sold them far cheaper than U.S. Omega distributors.
But under the U.S. Copyright Act, the first-sale doctrine generally allows the purchaser of a copyrighted work to resell the work without the copyright holder's permission. That's why we have used bookstores, record stores, GameStop and even eBay.
That didn't stop the Supreme Court from upholding the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with Omega. The justices, in an unsigned opinion, ruled that the first-sale doctrine did not apply to Omega watches (.pdf) because they were made overseas. That meant Costco can be held liable for copyright infringement for the unauthorized resale of Omega's watches because Costco purchased them via unauthorized channels.
Costco had appealed the 9th Circuit's decision, pointing out that the ruling effectively urges U.S. manufacturers to flee (.pdf) the United States to acquire complete control over distribution of their goods in the American market. The Obama administration had taken Omega's side, saying the Copyright Act "does not apply outside the United States." (.pdf)
Skinner v. Switzer, 09-9000
Oral argument Oct. 13
Decided 6-3 March 7
Question presented: Do convicts have a right to to sue under a federal civil rights for post-conviction DNA testing?
Answer: Yes
The case concerned condemned Texas inmate Henry Skinner, who was convicted of the 1995 murder of his girlfriend and her two sons. Skinner claimed breaches of his Fourth Amendment due process right and Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, because he hasn't been allowed a test of the DNA found at the crime scene.
The Texas state and federal courts — hearing Skinner's habeas corpus pleas — refused to allow post-conviction testing of biological evidence, including blood, hair, fingernail clippings and vaginal swabs. The lower courts held that, under Texas law, a convict must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he or she would not have been prosecuted or convicted had DNA testing been performed. To get DNA testing, a Texas inmate must also demonstrate that his failure to seek such testing at trial was not a strategic decision.
With nowhere else to turn, Skinner sued local prosecutors under a federal civil rights statute, and the Supreme Court halted his execution to determine whether he could gain DNA access via that legal avenue. The states claimed that such legal jockeying was a backdoor attempt to rewrite both state and federal death-penalty law.
At least 22 states told the justices that granting Skinner DNA testing through a civil rights suit would undermine their individual statutes, which spell out when an inmate is entitled to it.
"To allow this type of procedural legerdemain would both diminish the sovereign interests of the states and at the same time impose a significant burden on the states' limited law enforcement resources," attorneys general from the 22 states wrote.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority, ruled only that inmates could sue under the civil rights statute to press a claim that they were unconstitutionally denied DNA testing in state court. Whether testing is actually granted is another story.
The justices, Ginsburg wrote, ruled in 2009 that inmates have no "freestanding right" to access genetic evidence. But Ginsburg said that decision "left slim room for the prisoner to show that the governing state law denies him procedural due process." (.pdf)
Skinner's civil right claim is pending.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration v. Nelson, 09-530
Oral argument Oct. 5
Decided 8-0 Jan. 19
Question presented: Must U.S. government contractors undergo the same background checks as federal employees?
Answer: Yes
The justices were weighing a lower-court decision surrounding the concept of so-called "informational privacy." The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down intrusive background checks on nearly three dozen NASA contractors as being an invasive, unconstitutional "broad inquisition."
The Supreme Court reversed, with Justice Kagan recused. As solicitor general, she urged the court to rule in favor of the Obama administration, which the court obliged. The high court found there was no breach in the contractors' privacy rights. The checks were "reasonable, employment-related inquiries that further the government's interests in managing its internal operations," Justice Antonin Scalia concluded for the court.
The checks sought information from any and all sources about the contractors' sex lives, finances and any drug use. The contractors being investigated were not privy to classified information.
The NASA contractors worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where it generally engages in the scientific study of the Earth and solar system.
Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T, 09-1279
Oral argument Jan. 19
Decided 8-0 March 1
Question presented: The Freedom of Information Act exempts the government from disclosing law enforcement records if they "constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." Does that personal exemption apply to a corporation, in this case AT&T?
Answer: No
The Supreme Court, with Kagan recused, reversed the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was the outcome the Obama administration had urged when Kagan was solicitor general.
The case concerned trade group CompTel's FOIA request in 2005 for records AT&T forwarded to the FCC's enforcement bureau concerning AT&T's admitted overpricing of telecom equipment and services to Connecticut schools under the graft-ridden E-Rate program.
The FCC, against AT&T's objections, said the records could be released because the company has no "personal privacy." AT&T appealed to the circuit court, which said corporations were, indeed, "persons" subject to protection from disclosure.
"Corporations, like human beings, face public embarrassment, harassment and stigma," the appeals court ruled last year. The FCC appealed.
"This is not to say that corporations do not have correspondence, influence, or tragedies of their own, only that we do not use the word 'personal' to describe them," (.pdf) Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.
Boeing Company v. United States and General Dynamics v. United States, 09-1298
Oral argument Jan. 18
Decided 9-0 May 23
Question presented: Can the government simultaneously claim a party owes it money and invoke the "state secrets" privilege to prevent a courtroom defense to that claim?
Answer: No
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled it could, a decision the justices reversed.
The dispute concerned the government's assertion of the state-secrets privilege, a privilege more often used in lawsuits surrounding terrorism and national security cases. The privilege, which has been used repeatedly by the Bush and Obama administrations, often requires the courts to toss a lawsuit once the government makes the assertion that the case would endanger national security. It was first recognized by the Supreme Court in a McCarthy-era lawsuit.
Before the justices was an appeal in a long-running case by the two defense contractors.
The government wanted them to repay as much as $3 billion for the scuttled A-12 Avenger stealth fighter program. The government demanded the money back after Defense Secretary Dick Cheney claimed in 1991 that the companies were in default on a 1988 contract to build eight of the planes for $4.4 billion.
Justices Scalia found that, if the government is going to withhold evidence by citing the privilege, it is not entitled to monetary damages (.pdf) in contractual disputes.
The justices, without questioning the government's privilege, ruled it would not be fair for the government to win monetary awards if the government was not required to turn over evidence to the other side.
Kentucky v. King, 09-1272
Oral argument Jan. 12
Decided 8-1 May 16
Question presented: Can police create their own emergency, "exigent circumstance," to bypass the need for a warrant to enter a private residence?
Answer: Yes
The Kentucky Supreme Court had answered "no" in a legal flap to which the nation's highest court has given little guidance — resulting in conflicting precedents on the topic across the nation.
"The Kentucky Supreme Court held that the exigent circumstances rule does not apply in the case at hand because the police should have foreseen that their conduct would prompt the occupants to attempt to destroy evidence," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority. "We reject this interpretation of the exigent circumstances rule. The conduct of the police prior to their entry into the apartment was entirely lawful. They did not violate the Fourth Amendment (.pdf) or threaten to do so. In such a situation, the exigent circumstances rule applies."
The appeal concerned a 2005 crack cocaine sting operation in Lexington, in which an informant purchased the illicit substance from a suspect outside an apartment complex. The suspect then walked through a breezeway of the complex, and officers on foot lost track of him.
The police smelled marijuana outside an apartment, which was not the apartment the suspect had entered. They knocked and yelled 'police,' heard some noise inside and kicked down the door to let themselves in on a belief that drug evidence was possibly being destroyed. The suspect they were looking for was not there, but three others were arrested for marijuana and cocaine possession.
One defendant, Hollis King, challenged his arrest, claiming it was based on an illegal entry. He pleaded guilty on the condition of an appeal and was sentenced to 10 years.
In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the police needed a warrant before entering the apartment.
"The court today arms the police with a way routinely to dishonor the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement in drug cases," Ginsburg wrote. "In lieu of presenting their evidence to a neutral magistrate, police officers may now knock, listen, then break the door down, never mind that they had ample time to obtain a warrant."
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 08-1448
Oral argument Nov. 2
Decided 7-2 June 27
Question presented: May the states ban the sale or rental of violent videogames to minors?
Answer: No
The case the justices decided concerned a 2005 California ban adopted by state lawmakers. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of San Francisco in 2008 overturned the law, saying there's not sufficient evidence that violent videogames harm youngsters under 18, and that the games were protected by the First Amendment.
Hearing California's appeal, the high court agreed with the lower court, with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the majority.
"Our cases have been clear that the obscenity exception to the First Amendment does not cover whatever a legislature finds shocking, but only depictions of 'sexual conduct,'" Scalia wrote. He added that the videogame law "abridges the First Amendment rights (.pdf) of young people whose parents (and aunts and uncles) think violent videogames are a harmless pastime."
Six other states and several local governments had adopted similar bans — which provide for a $1,000 fine for sellers. Every court that has heard a challenge to all these laws has struck them down on First Amendment grounds.
In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the First Amendment does not grant minors a right "to access speech," and that the law "is not facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment."
California's law, which was never in force, affected games involving "killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being."
See Also:
- Supreme Court Deciding Whether Congress May Copyright Public Domain Works
- Supreme Court Says AT&T Not Exempt From FOIA
- Supreme Court OKs Warrantless House Search
- Supreme Court Upholds Intrusive Government Background Checks
- Supreme Court Eyeing RIAA 'Innocent Infringer' Case
- Supreme Court Upholds $290 Million Infringement Award Against Microsoft
- All Rise: Supreme Court's Geekiest Generation Begins
- Supreme Court Takes Ashcroft Appeal in Detention Case
- Supreme Court Rejects Case of Tortured Canadian
Marijuana photo: Laughing Squid/Flickr
Microsoft photo: Nils Geylen/Flickr


text:
Nothing screams summer more than grillin' I love grilled chicken and vegetables.
What is it about that grilled taste that has me so hooked, I always hope there are leftovers!
I can never seem to get enough.
I even look to see if restaurants have kabobs on the menu, they are usually a good choice.
I didn't skewer this meal, but it was so delicious.
Chicken, potatoes, zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms!
Marinated with my all time favorite marinade.
Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
I love it on chicken and vegetables and chances are I always have those ingredients on hand and can whip dinner up quickly!


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Go Fish Education Center
See live fish exhibits, featuring trout, largemouth bass and more. Explore Georiga's underwater habitats from mountain streams to black water swamps. View aquatic wildlife, including live alligators. Catch fish in the stocked pond, and try out interactive fishing and boating simulators. Get 'Reel Tips' on how and where to fish. Visit the high-definition theater. Enjoy a walk on the nature trail, and so much more.
Info & Amenities
Hours of Operation
Sunday: 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Wednesday: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Thursday: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Friday: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Saturday: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Admission & Fees
Adults $5.00
Children 2 & under $0.00
Children 3-12 $3.00
Seniors 65 $ up $4.00
Facility Amenities
Free Parking, Parking on Site, Public Restrooms
General Information
Open Year 'Round
Near Interstate Highway
Suitable for Ages
All Ages