text:
another migration January 16, 2009Posted by Madeline in Uncategorized.
2 comments
happy holidays November 29, 2008Posted by Madeline in Uncategorized.
7 comments
From us to the world: peace on Earth.
settling in September 27, 2008Posted by Madeline in daily dilly-dally.
4 comments
So, my mom says I'm not posting enough here. Yeah, she's right. Here's where I'm at:
A full third into my first semester at the new gig. I'm still giddily happy, though my giddiness is interspersed with moments of holy-crap-I've-never-had-this-much-responsibility-in-my-life. But then I remind myself that I began raising children at the age of 20, and that they're all fairly well-adjusted, healthy, and smart.* And so I can *do this.* And I am.
I now officially have three hockey players. Little J started this morning at our local rink. After a bout of shyness and fear because he was just about the smallest/youngest boy there, he happily ran the drills with the big kids.** H has had a great field hockey season; while I am less-than-thrilled that they wear skirts to play, I will admit it's a pretty tough-looking sport, and her coach is fabulous: lots of encouragement and team-building.
Still trying to find/make a local running community for myself. I'm on a mailing/listserv for an active runners' club in Reading, but the drive is too far to make the weekly trail runs. What I need is a GOOD FRIENDLY LIBERAL KINDERGARTEN TEACHER NEIGHBOR who's got a little more discipline and a little less restraint than I do. She needs to paint home made campaign signs*** and make lemon bars.
*H is currently brushing her hair for the gad-zillionth time today. Which I suppose is healthy for an-almost-12-year-old.
**SC PA is not like CNY, where people start their kids in hockey before they can walk. Most kids in the beginning hockey class were Big J's age/size, and Little J was a bit disgruntled: "Where's the LITTLE KIDS, Ma?? You said there'd be little kids here!!"
***Though I'd settle for running with the person who fashioned this sign:
bleg for advice August 28, 2008Posted by Madeline in Uncategorized.
13 comments
So, it's not really fair of me to neglect you all for so long, and then when I give you some attention, it's only because I need something. Sorry for that.
Really what I need is a friendly ear: it's about H. Regular readers know she is my sixth-grade daughter, and that she has been dancing since she was 4. In fact, dance has been a regular topic for my posting here. I could link back to the many instances of recital-anxiety I've had, running to buy bobby pins and convertible tights at the last minute, learning how to sew ribbons and elastic into pointe shoes, and spending grocery money on tuition and gas to get her to classes.
As a non-dancer myself, but as her mom, I understand that she has a good deal of raw talent and have also watched her devote enormous time and energy to her training.
When we moved last month, she had to switch studios. She was thrilled with finding new friends and continuing to dance; we found a local dance school and signed her up (and I spent all my grocery money again) on their summer intensive program.
Which she promptly hated. She came home pretty much every day wanting out of it. Their instructional style was far different from what she was used to, and they seemed to have a strict policy on everything (mostly prohibitions: no water bottles in the studio, no underwear under their tights, no smiling–OK, they could smile, but pretty much no one did, especially the instructors).
B and I convinced her to remain in the intensive and were certain that once she got into the groove of the studio and made some friends, that she would settle down and fall in love with her pas du chas once again.
As the summer wore on, things did not get better. She told me tales of being humiliated by the instructor because she had learned and performed steps slightly differently than they taught them. If she left the studio for a drink of water (no bottles, remember), she was chastised. The biggest problem involved the instructor, a man, telling her (very publicly) that she was not allowed to wear underwear under ANY circumstances. (The seam of one's underwear is often visible through the tights, as leotards tend to be higher-cut than most underwear). And when I consulted with the directors of the studio about this policy, they confirmed. No underwear, ever.
They expect my 12-year-old daughter to wear a tampon, or to sit out of lessons (which I would be paying for regardless)? The directors nodded. Yes, they did.
This sealed the deal for me. I felt as though this was a ridiculous– outrageous, even — policy. Plus, the public humiliation was unnecessary; couldn't the instructor pull her aside and make her aware of the "no underwear" rule more gently?
So, because H is so like me, a bad experience with something can often turn us off for good. School started this week and she's started playing field hockey and has informed us that she really isn't interested in dancing anymore. I've talked her into taking one class a week, if only to keep her connected a little, but she refuses to attend the odious no-underwear school, so I'm going to have to shop around a little to find her another studio. Plus, I'll have two grandmothers to deal with, both of whom will be devastated if H does not continue her pre-professional program.
I'll be honest and say that part of me feels a little relief with this. The cost of pre-professional programs, which involve 5-day a week training, is equal to that of a decent car payment. Then there's the driving, and the costume costs, and the constant there's-a-run-in-my-tights-can-you-stop-and-get-me-a-new-pair. And I have a whole slew of cousins, and my youngest sister as well, who danced their entire K-12 lives and then went off to college to never don a toe-tapping shoe again (as far as I know). At the other spectrum, though, is another good friend whose daughters danced their whole lives growing up and who now pretty much own and run their own dance school, something that H often talked about doing herself.
The short of it is: what do I do as a mom? How hard to I press for her to remain the "serious athlete" that she was? And the field hockey thing could be serious, but she's coming late to that proverbial game, whereas with dance she'd be effectively throwing away 8 years of studying and training. I think she likes field hockey because the coach is good. She is encouraging and kind — she nurtures the girls, just like H's old dance instructors did.
there's a bit of adeline in all of us August 24, 2008Posted by Madeline in Uncategorized.
5 comments
Requisite Disclaimer:
This vid is rough: we are bedraggled and tired from a weekend of partying. And it gets tighter as we warm up, so leave the sound down for the first 30 seconds. Oh, and I had laryngitis from a trip to Hershey Park earlier in the week (I am hoarse from screaming on the Great Bear).
Happy 60, mom. My present to her: a granddaughter who will sing barbershop.
I can do math, kind of August 18, 2008Posted by Madeline in Uncategorized.
2 comments
First, happy happy to my Momma, who today turns 60. This weekend we'll travel to the mountain in WV with J and J's motely crew to let our children run wild let our children chase her sheep let our children eat all her food feed our children to the bears party, hike, and bonfire for a weekend. We'll have our own little Burning Man, with less nudity and more enthusiastic improvised sing-alongs. (Mom, make sure you find them chicken shakes!)
The business of this week, before the pilgrimage to the mountain, is making the revised dissertation a reality. I was pushing for the finished revision deadline to be yesterday, but last night I came to understand one of the mathematical forces driving my progress:
where anticipated deadline = n
and number of days Olympics on TV plus days of the Tour de France = t
and the requisite several days of waffling and worrying = W
actual finish date = n + t + W
Since I'm in an unfamiliar town with few acquaintances and no friends, I have turned, desperately, to the television to keep me company. When we first moved in the Tour was on, and I watched it regularly, developing a decent crush on Marcus Burghardt. Now with the Olympics, I am similarly keeping myself company with the men's indoor volleyball teams and the track and field competitions. Also, I make the barrista in my local Starbucks make small talk with me.
two lists for friday August 15, 2008Posted by Madeline in daily dilly-dally.
3 comments
The hideous crap I've eaten today:
1 monster cinnamon roll
1 pile of the dissertator's trail mix: Cheetos, Doritos, and Fritos
1 (admittedly smallish, because I needed room on the plate for above trail mix) roast beef and tomato on wheat
1 Grande Iced Coffee, cream and sugar
1 more monster cinnamon roll
(and just let me remind you that the day is not over…)
I think it's safe to say that 1) I've eaten NOTHING of any nutritional value today, and 2) it's pretty freekin' obvious why I can't wear any of my clothes.
The great music I've listened to today:
The Proclaimers _Sunshine on Leith_
Tori Amos _Little Earthquakes_
Sarah McLachlan _Fumbling Towards Ecstasy_
Edie Brickell's _Ghost of a Dog_
Jimi Hendrix _Are You Experienced?_
Simon and Garfunkel _Greatest_
Rockapella _Primer_
Van Morrison _Best of_
Harry Connick, Jr. _30_
I had to take a writing break when Rockapella came up on the player to google Sean Altman. I adore his work and his voice; apparently he's still around, singing with The GrooveBarbers, a name I'll forgive him for, that's how much I like him.
the floppy cat and the tween with bangs August 6, 2008Posted by Madeline in Uncategorized.
5 comments
So, remember the story of george? He is now the world's longest, skinniest, deaf-est cat ever. He's actually sleeping in the above picture.
H is of an age, now, where I cannot take a pic of her without the requisite rabbit ears. Even if she's giving them to a kitty. Or is that a peace sign? I really don't know…she's slowly turning into an alien tween. She yelled at me this morning for 1) waking her up too late to take a shower, 2) failing to wash her convertible tights, and 3) because her bangs would not lay down properly.
Wow. SHE yelled at ME. I stood there, flabbergasted, wondering how exactly to deal with this. I wanted to simultaneously apologize and kick her skinny fanny. Instead, I asked her why on earth she needed a shower BEFORE she spends an entire day dancing and sweating, why she couldn't wear a different pair of tights, and then I paused. Of all the problems she had this morning, uncooperative bangs she could NOT BLAME ON ME.
Because I'd told her, when she asked if she could cut them last week, that she could, but that it wasn't a good idea. And so I ended my retort to her, feeling quite smug:
mork August 5, 2008Posted by Madeline in daily dilly-dally.
1 comment so far
Nearly two full days of watching TV has turned Big J into Mork from Ork. He's bored out of his mind. Tomorrow, I promise I'll take them to the pool. Promise.
single-minded August 4, 2008Posted by Madeline in Uncategorized.
5 comments
After about two weeks of hand-wringing, despairing the hollow pain in my throat and neck, and tossing through sleepless nights, I've finally found a groove in making some major revisions to my dissertation.
It's been physically painful, these past weeks, sitting at the computer with a stack of printed chapters at my right. I'd stare from the stack of paper to my computer screen…*blink blink* a couple times, and have absolutely no idea where to start. The introduction needed complete tear down and re-build. But I couldn't really re-write the intro before I made major changes to nearly every chapter. But I couldn't make any major changes to any of the chapters without having a better idea of how those changes would affect the overall project…and so I needed a good introduction to tell me what the overall project would look like so I could make the changes to the chapters.
*blink blink*
And I apologize to all of you who could give two shits about my writing process. I imagine it's boring as hell to listen to me ramble, in the abstract no less, about an esoteric project. But it is all-consuming for me. Which brings me to the title of this post: when I am in a writing space as productive as this, the sacrifices are fairly significant. The boys didn't eat lunch today until 2:30. And all they did before and after lunch was WATCH TV. Thank god for the Cartoon Network. I have not showered today. The dishes, laundry, and bathrooms all need attention. I'm ignoring the phone and most email. I have not run in 6 days, and the marathon that I'm ostensibly training for in October will probably be another killer like Albany was for me last October: I'll start out on the freshest legs I've ever had (because I won't have run in weeks), feel great until mile 13, and then I'll want to throw myself into the bushes with the cow patties for the balance of the race.


text:
Vegan Health Blog – 'I've banished all my menopausal symptoms by going VEGAN,' claims woman, 47
A woman who began suffering symptoms of the menopause at just 41 claims she has managed to stop them all by going vegan.
Lorraine Palmer was shocked when she started suffering from hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings at such a young age.
She also battled skin problems and became depressed.
But six years on, she claims she has never felt better – thanks to her natural diet.
Not only did she dramatically change her diet, cutting out all meat and dairy products, she also shunned HRT and other medical treatments.
Six years on, she credits her smooth journey through the menopause to swapping chips for carrot sticks – and adopting a mostly raw diet.
Ms Palmer, from Wolverhampton, said: 'I want to shout from the rooftops to give other ladies a chance to fight the menopause and get healthy too.
'By changing my diet and eating raw foods, I've managed to make the symptoms go away.
'I now want to help others with their symptoms, too.'
Whereas her daily diet before typically consisted of fried plantain, meat pie and dumplings, she now eats beetroot casserole, washed down with plenty of kale juice.
Ms Palmer, who is single, is now a full-time health coach.
She said: 'I was fit and healthy and always at the gym, doing spinning classes.
'But one day I started feeling terrible – I was forgetful, my temperature kept going from hot to cold and my libido was gone.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3087653/I-ve-banished-menopausal-symptoms-going-VEGAN-claims-woman-47.html#ixzz3aagJMk4r Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The influence of male body remains with its testosterone level that overall regulates the muscle development and sexual life. As you age a decline to this hormone level may result out in low physique size as well as energy resources.
The struggle keeps on arriving unless you ask for a pre workout supplement that accelerates your power boost and gives you long lasting workout sessions. Yes, the end result would always be amazing with ripped shape muscle structure.
I recently researched an advertorial page that narrated 51/50 pre workout supplement arrival in market. However these advertorial page promise a lot, but are just a personal analysis and could not be considered as end result.
The supplement further includes different ingredients list Maca root, L Arginine, Yohimbe, Minerals, Tribulus Terrestris, Ginseng extracts, Vitamins and Antioxidants. However, unfortunately L Arginine and Creatine do not stand up with any property in aiding muscle building sessions. Several websites even demonstrate that none of these ingredients have a single percent impact on muscle enhancing sessions.
Because 51/50 pre workout is only sold through a trial basis it would not allow you to make cancellation and ask for refund of the money. Still If you are interested in getting refund of your amount then consider its cancellation within 15 days of your booking period.
The product is sold through 14 day trial basis, which asks for $4.56 first, prior to 15th day user would be charged $89.45 for 30 day supply. The supply would keep on arriving until you ask for its cancellation. Still personally I would suggest you to get in touch with a health expert before starting its course schedule as it may not favor you in muscle building sessions.
51/50 pre workout must never be considered as a means to treat, diagnose or cure any disease and its final result would vary from person to person, depending on their physique type and the way supplement is being used.
The supplement must never be considered in use by individuals who are below 18 years of age as well as undergoing medical prescription. For related inquiries you may contact customer support department at 866-209-8001.
As far as reputation of the website is concerned you must know that these trial offers are sold through fake news and various means of promotion, so are never accepted with a good reputation. Tons of promises made in a single product flags a red signal that 51/50 pre workout is offered by unethical manufacturers. They simply manipulate customers by showing banners of free trial and charge higher amount as soon as customer enters the detail of credit card.
The products are even disapproved by food and drug administration (FDA) and website completely lacks enough customer reviews as well as ratings. These companies simply force customers to keep on receiving the orders, whether they like it or not. So far if you are interested in some good pre workout alternative better consider local stores and consultation of health expert.


text:
Sergio Natera, 35, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Anna McElaney, 38, Norwalk, Connecticut, have been indicted and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud. Natera and McElaney are licensed real estate agents and the charges stem from an alleged "short sale" mortgage fraud scheme involving four properties located in Connecticut.
The indictment was returned on October 6, 2009. Natera and McElaney appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons in Bridgeport and each entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. Following the arraignment, each was released on a $50,000 bond secured by property.
A "short sale" transaction involves a mortgage holder or lender entering into an agreement to release its mortgage or lien on real property in exchange for payment of less than the total amount owed on the underlying debt. Many short sale transactions are legitimate.
The indictment alleges that in 2007 and 2008, Natera and McElaney conspired to defraud financial institutions of the full proceeds due to them on four separate real estate transactions in Bridgeport (2), Monroe and Wallingford, Connecticut. The indictment alleges that Natera and McElaney created straw buyer transactions in order to negotiate with mortgage holders to allow sales of the properties to occur without paying the mortgages in full. During the negotiations with the mortgage holders, Natera and McElaney knew that legitimate purchasers already had executed purchase and sale agreements with the property owners to purchase the property at higher prices. On each of the transactions, Natera and McElaney are alleged to have arranged for two closings to take place, the first from the property owner to the straw buyer at the short sale price, and the second from the straw buyer to the legitimate purchaser at a higher price. The indictment alleges that the mortgage lenders did not know about the second closing and received no proceeds from the second closing.
If convicted, Natera and McElaney each face a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million, on each count.
U.S. Attorney Nora R. Dannehy stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial at which it is the Government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann M. Nevins.
In July 2009, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the formation of the Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud cases and related financial crimes occurring in Connecticut. In addition to investigating past mortgage fraud schemes, the Task Force will focus on emerging crime trends that are associated with the growing tide of foreclosures, including foreclosure rescue schemes, and short sale schemes. Citizens are encouraged to report any suspected mortgage fraud activity by calling 203-333-3512 and requesting the Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force, or by sending an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Attorney's Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General, and State of Connecticut Department of Banking.
Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced the two-count indictment.


text:
What a year 2014 has been! We cannot believe how quickly that it has flown by! We have had an eventful year and have created this infographic to illustrate some of the highlights!
Posts Categorized: Android Development
One more working week to go until it is Christmas week! The MCL office is starting to fill up with mince pies and Christmas songs to accompany the programming!
We have had another productive week at McKenna Consultants HQ! December is our favourite time of year to make some great progress on projects!
It's the end of another week at McKenna Consultants HQ and despite it being "Black Friday" today, we will not be venturing out to the shops or offering any one time crazy discounts today either!
Another week draws to a close, one week closer to Christmas and we are starting to ramp up the work at McKenna Consultants HQ!
November tends to be a busy month at McKenna Consultants for a number of reasons. One reason is that a lot of our clients want to get projects live and kicking before the Christmas lull. The other reason is that we seem to be inundated with sales leads!
So another hectic week at McKenna Consultants has drawn to a close, with a couple of projects nearing completion, apps being released and a new project kicking off!
It is the end of another productive week at McKenna Consultants that has been all about Agile! We have worked with three Agile clients, received professional acclaim for our Agile work and are all set to speak about Agile at a software development conference!
We are delighted to announce that the Story Of Jesus App On Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store! We have successfully developed a stunning iOS and Android app for Youth for Christ.
We have had so much great feedback on our Windows version of the My Body Mass BMI app that we have made the app available for download on the Google Play Store!


text:
Police now say the motorcyclist killed in yesterday's crash at West Keal was a man from the Nottinghamshire area.
As of 9.30am, the road remained closed because of damage to overhead lines.
• A motorcyclist was killed in a crash on Main Road, West Keal, yesterday Sunday.
Emergency services were called out at about 4pm.
The 44-year-old rider of the Kawasaki ZX was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say the road remains closed this morning because of damage to overhead wires.
A blue Vauxhall Zafira is believed to have been involved and police are appealing for witnesses who saw the car or motorbike before the accident to call them on 101.


text:
Admit it. You love it when you watch a film that sits with you for hours, even days after. Your stomach twists and turns, you cover your eyes but peek through your hands because you can't miss a minute. You get that strange internal shudder that goes down your spine all the way to your toes. Your mouth tastes slightly off afterwards.
Yes, I love a good ol' sick movie. Not necessarily scary as in jump-scares. More like scary as in could-this-really-happen-cos-if-it-did-I-would-never-sleep-again. The most disturbing horror movies have a range of characteristics; while some are stomach-churning with oozy visceral goodness, some are mentally disturbing that leave you questioning the sicko who actually came up with the film's concept. I know when I find a movie disturbing because I get a headache from frowning so much and I get the walkabouts. Here are the ones that particularly resonated with me – for all the WRONG reasons.
10. Dread
'Dread' is an interesting, thought-provoking movie; it follows a group of college students making a documentary about the things people dread most. It's a relatively slow film but quite enjoyable… that is, until the scourer scene pops up. In short, one of the girls in the film has a dark purple birth mark that covers one side of her body and after being humiliated, attempts to use a scourer and a bottle of bleach to 'clean' her body. That scene alone really messed with my head.
9. Deadgirl
Hmmm… interesting is all I have to say for this one. Oh, ok, I'll give you a summary. So this film is about a group of high school boys who discover a woman in an abandoned mental asylum who is literally unable to die. Bound to a hospital bed, the boys' hormones get the better of them and they proceed to experiment (in a number of different disturbing ways) with the woman. It is quite disgusting and creates a lot of questions about morals and integrity. Worth a look but not for the weak stomached.
8. The Woman
Similarly to 'Deadgirl', 'The Woman' once again has a woman help captive for a multitude of disturbing reasons. However, Jack Ketchum's film is centered around a seemingly family man who discovers the last remaining member of a wild clan of people. He attempts to 'civilize' her by chaining her up, however he is unaware of the effect this woman is having on his family. The film is violent and brutal, yet quite an interesting piece of social commentary. This fact doesn't make it any less disgusting. I get quite squirmy when people are not 'normal'; any deformities that are created for the purpose of sheer horror really make me feel quite ill. I have recently added Ketchum's 'The Girl Next Door' to my Quickflix queue, so I'm interested to see where that would've ended up on this list.
7. Funny Games
Not to be confused with the Naomi Watts remake of the same name (which also stands solidly on its own), 'Funny Games' is an eerie German movie about a family who is tormented by a couple of sick neighbours while on holiday. This is one film you definitely feel the need to watch with one eye closed; not for the scare factor, but because it is quite horrific in a totally different way. The thing that makes this film so disturbing is not only that it could truly be a possibility, but the lack of remorse and the sheer pleasure the tormentors get out of their sick games will burn a hole into your mind.
6. House of 1000 Corpses
I like Rob Zombie's music and his films are quite good. This one, being his first, still churns my stomach to this day. I first watched this movie as a teenager and while it wasn't particularly scary, some of the moments were quite horrific in my book. I can still picture the half-man-half-fish (Dwight Schrute everybody!) and it gives me some serious wiggins. Let's face it: anything with deranged carnies will make anybody feel sick.
5. Irreversible
I had only heard a little about this film before watching it. My partner's friend said his girlfriend had banned it from their house and said "I bet your missus can't sit through more than half an hour of it". Challenge accepted! But did I expect such a brutal, violent, grizzly film? Not at all. There are a lot of online references to the nine-minute rape scene of Monica Belucci, however I felt absolutely disgusted at the head-bashing earlier on in the film. Not for the faint hearted but worth fulfilling that sense of curiosity we all have.
3. Seven
Probably considered more thriller than horror, 'Se7en' is by far one of my favourite movies. Of all the concepts highlighted in the film, I have to say there is one sin that really got to me: Gluttony. I won't say any more.
3. The Hills Have Eyes
As I mentioned before, mutations and deformations make me absolutely sick to the stomach. As in those made for sheer horrific entertainment. The remake of 'The Hills Have Eyes' is one of the most disturbing films I have ever watched and is relentless even after multiple viewings. I will count all of the mutants as equally disturbing in this one. However, it is what they do to the family motor-homing across the state that really freak me out. The baby, the rape, the scene where they go into the mutants' house… ugh. My stomach is gurgling as I type.
2. I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
Rape and torture, when paired up, are always going to be incredibly disturbing. I'm not usually affected by these things, even as a woman, however this film sat with me in quite an unsavoury fashion. While I didn't enjoy the rape scene, I oddly enough enjoyed the revenge inflicted on Jennifer's tormentors, no matter how sick to my stomach they made me. When there is no supernatural element to a film, no demon possession, no comical masked serial killer, just sheer human brutality… that marks a deeply disturbing film which only leads to one thought: This could happen to me.
1. Pet Semetary
I know I'll probably cop some flack for putting this at the top of my list, but there are just so many elements of this film that give me some serious heeby jeebies. The flashback scenes with Aunt Zelda freaked the you-know-what out of me – and I only watched this movie for the first time a couple of years ago! There are a lot of actual scary moments in this film (a lot of them include post-mortem Gage), however this was one movie that truly made my stomach turn, primarily due to Aunt Zelda. Definitely worth a watch (and a highly recommended book by my dad), this is one that really disturbed me out for days to come.


text:
Terracotta Roof Restoration Melbourne
Terracotta tiles are not all the same. Some Terracotta tiles are manufactured with a clear glaze coating, some don't. Over time a Terracotta tile can deteriorate and start to soak water and become porous. This leads to moss and lichen growing on the tiles.
To resolve a terracotta tile growing moss and lichen we apply a hypo tile detergent designed to kill moss, lichen and algae on roof tiles.
After applying the treatment, we leave it for a period of 3-4 days to work. The roof is them cleaned using a high-pressure cleaner to remove all debris. This prepares the roof for a new terracotta glaze. This is a clear protective coating designed for porous terracotta tiles.


text:
Business Mantra: Faridabad
Whenever anyone sells or transfers agricultural land then questions arise in his or her mind are whether the gain on sale will be taxable or not. Under what circumstances this gain is not taxable and if taxable then how the exemption can be availed from paying tax on it.
To understand this issue first one should check following facts on case to case basis:
- Whether the land sold is Agricultural Land.
- It is rural agricultural land or urban Agricultural Land (based on population and distance from Municipality)
- Agricultural land has been transferred due to Compulsory Acquisition of Land by Government or it has been sold to some other person.
- Whether amount of gain on transfer of Agricultural Land has been invested in purchase of another Agricultural Land or not.
For this purpose, we should understand section 2(14), section 10(37) and section 54B of Income Tax Act, 1961.
Analyzing these facts and deciding whether the gain on transfer or sale of Agricultural Land will be taxable or not will be very easy after understanding the below given explanations in tabular form.
|Rural agriculture land
|Urban agriculture land
|1. Definition
|According to section 2(14) Capital Asset does not include Agricultural Land in India not being that land which is situated:-
a) In any area which is comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipality and its population should be10000 or more.
b) If situated outside the limits of Municipality, etc. but , it is situated at a distance, measured aerially.
i) Being less than 2 km from local limits of M.C or Cantonment Board, which has a population of more than 10000 but not exceeding 100000
ii) Being less than 6 km from the local limits of any M.C or Cantonment Board, which has a population of more than 100000 but not exceeding 1000000
Iii) Being less than 8 km from the local limits of M.C or Cantonment Board which has a population of more than 1000000.
For understanding purpose we may call it Rural Agricultural Land and land other than this land on which agricultural activity is performed may be termed as Urban Agricultural Land.
|Any land other than the land discussed in previous column, if agricultural activity is performed on it then we may call it Urban Agricultural land.
|2. Taxability under head of capital Gain
|NoBecause Agriculture Land is not Capital Asset u/s 2(14) of I T actSo gain on Sale of Rural Agriculture Land is not taxable.
Taxable under head of capital gain
However in case of compulsory acquisition exemption u/s 10(37) is available.
In case of transfer of agriculture land by a mode other than compulsory acquisition by Government exemption u/s 54B is available on fulfilling certain terms and conditions.
|3. Agriculture Land head as stock-in-trade
|Taxable under "Profit and Gain from Business & Profession" head
|Taxable under ''Profit and Gains from Business and Profession" held
|4. Exemptions of Capital Gain on compensation received on Compulsory Acquisition by Government u/s 10(37)
|As not being a Capital Asset so no Capital Gain
|Any Capital Gain (whether short term or long term) arising to individual and HUF from transfer of Agriculture Land shall be exempted provided compensation or enhanced compensation ,is received on or after 1.4.2004
(whether acquisition has taken place before 1.4.2004 and compensation is received after 1.4.2004 than exemption will be available (if enhanced compensation is received after 1.4.2004 than it will also be exempt)
|5. Interest on Enhanced Compensation
|50% deduction is allowed on interest received on enhanced compensation in case of compulsory acquisition of land by Government.
|50% deduction is allowed on interest received on enhanced compensation in case of compulsory acquisition of land by Government.
|6. Availability of exemption u/s 54B on Capital Gain
|As Not being a Capital Asset so no Capital Gain
|1. Available only to individual and HUF
2. Agriculture Land being sold should be 3 years old i.e. the gain on its sale should be Long Term Capital Gain.
3. Deduction will be available for capital gain arisen in transfer of Urban Agriculture Land to the extent of, amount invested in purchase of another Agriculture Land within 2 years of date of transfer of Original Agriculture Land.
4. This land has been used by individual, HUF for agriculture purpose during 2 years immediately preceding the date of transfer
5. The amount of Capital Gain may be invested to purchase another Agriculture Land (whether Urban or Rural)
6. The amount of Capital Gain, which is not utilized by the Assessee for the purchase of another Agriculture Land before the date of furnishing of the return of income, should be deposited by him/her under the "Capital Gains Accounts Scheme", before than due date of furnishing the Return of Income and Assessee can claim the deduction of such amount deposited in the relevant Assessment Year.
7. In case Assessee does not utilize such amount deposited in scheme within 2 years of transfer of agriculture land for purchase of another Agriculture Land than unutilized amount of Capital Gain will be taxable under Capital Gain head for that previous year in which time period of 2 years expires.
8. If new purchased Agriculture Land is transferred within a period of 3 years of its purchase, than Capital Gain which was exempted earlier u/s 54B shall be reduced from the cost of new Agriculture Land, for the purpose of computation of Capital Gain in respect of new Agriculture Land. So if new land purchased is Urban Agricultural Land then it will attract Capital Gain Tax and if new land purchased was Rural Agricultural Land then no Capital Gain will be taxable now.
Deduction under section 54F is also available from Capital Gain from sale of Agriculture Land if the Capital Gain so generated is invested to purchase a residential house either 1 year before or 2 years after the date of sale of Agriculture Land or the Assessee constructs the house in 3 years from date of sale of Agriculture Land.
This deduction is also available to only individual and HUF and for Long Term Capital Gain only.
The Assessee should own only one house other than this house purchased for setting off the Capital Gain.
This newly purchased or constructed house should not be sold upto 3 years from the date of purchase or construction of new house, otherwise the deduction claimed will be taxable in the year of transfer of new house.
Deduction u/s 54EC is also available to save capital gain tax on sale of agriculture land. If the long term capital gain (Agriculture land sold was held by assessee for more than 3 years) arised on sale of agriculture land is invested in bonds of NHAI and RECL within a time span of 6 months from the date of transfer of said agriculture land.
Maximum amount available for deduction is Rs. 50.00 lakhs in the section.
Bonds so purchased should not be transferred upto 3 years from date of purchase and loan and advances also can not be taken against security of these bonds
If any of our reader has any queries then please feel free to write at email@example.com


text:
About Campaign Finance BlogWelcome to Campaign Finance Blog, a political law blog by William J. McGinley. This website is dedicated to a discussion of campaign finance, election, and political law topics of interest to corporations, trade associations, political party committees, candidates and other participants in the political process.
Follow Campaign Finance Blog
Internal Revenue Service
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Supreme Court
- Advisory Opinions
- Audits
- Campaign Finance
- Campaigns
- Congress
- Corporations
- Disclosure
- Elections
- Ethics
- Express Advocacy
- Internet
- Investigations
- Labor Unions
- Legislation
- Litigation
- Lobbying
- Obama Administration
- Outside Groups
- PACs
- Party Committees
- Politics
- Redistricting
- Rulemakings
- Trade Associations
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Website
TagsAdvisory Opinions Audits Campaign Finance Campaigns Congress Corporations Disclosure Elections Ethics Express Advocacy FEC Internet Investigations Labor Unions Legislation Litigation Lobbying Obama Administration Outside Groups PACs Party Committees Politics Redistricting Rulemakings Trade Associations U.S. Supreme Court Website
- April 2014
- June 2013
- May 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- October 2012
- September 2012
- April 2012
- October 2011
- August 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
Tag Archives: U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court May Review FEC Disclosure Requirements
BNA Money & Politics Reports ($) reports that the Supreme Court may have an opportunity to review whether the Federal Election Commission ("FEC") disclosure requirements applicable to certain political communications are constitutional. One of the cases, Real Truth About Obama, … Continue reading
Posted in FEC, Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court Tagged Express Advocacy, FEC, Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court Leave a comment
Some Senate Democrats Do Not Want An Ivy League SCOTUS Nominee
The Washington Post reports that some Senate Democrats are urging the President to nominate someone who did not attend an Ivy League law school. Their inclination is, in part, a reaction to the Supreme Court's recent decision in Citizens United v. Federal … Continue reading
Politico Profiles Bauer's SCOTUS Role
Politico profiles White House Counsel, Bob Bauer, and his role assisting the President choose a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
Dems Urge President To Ignore GOP For SCOTUS Nominee
Politico reports that Senate Democrats are urging the President to ignore Republican pleas to choose a moderate and mainstream nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and to focus on what's best for the Democratic caucus.
Citizens United Already An Issue In SCOTUS Confirmation Battle
The Hill reports that the Citizens United case has already emerged as an issue in the nomination battle to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Apparently, Republican and Democratic Senators exchanged arguments on the Senate floor today regarding … Continue reading
Report: Democrats Will Make Conservative Supreme Court Justices An Issue During Confirmation Battle
Politico reports that Senate Democrats and the White House will make the conservative Supreme Court Justices an issue during the confirmation battle to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. The Court's Citizens United decision will be a significant issue in … Continue reading
Ten Candidates May Be On President's Shortlist To Replace Justice Stevens
The Washington Post reports that the White House has expanded the shortlist of potential nominees to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. The article states that the White House is considering up to ten candidates to fill the … Continue reading
Campaign Finance May Play Significant Role In Supreme Court Confirmation Battle
Roll Call ($) reports that campaign finance issues may play a significant role in this summer's confirmation battle to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
Citizens United Cited As Possible Factor For Choosing Next Supreme Court Justice
Politico reports that White House Senior Adviser, David Axelrod, cited the Supreme Court's Citizen United decision as a possible factor for choosing the President's nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. The White House is vetting its short list … Continue reading
Posted in U.S. Supreme Court Tagged U.S. Supreme Court Leave a comment
Justice Stevens Replacement Expected To Be Confirmed By The August Recess
Roll Call ($) published an article this morning reporting that Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated that he expects Justice John Paul Stevens' replacement to be nominated and confirmed by the August recess. Justice Stevens announced his … Continue reading
Coverage Of Justice Stevens Retirement
Now that Justice John Paul Stevens notified President Obama of his intent to retire this summer, attention turns to potential candidates to replace him and whether we will see a confirmation battle this year. Washington Post – Pending midterm elections … Continue reading
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens To Retire This Summer
The Washington Post has the details. Justice Stevens sent a letter to President Obama this morning informing him of the decision. Justice Stevens stated that he will retire this summer and hopes that his replacement will be nominated by the President … Continue reading
Speculation Grows That Justice Stevens Will Soon Retire, Setting The Stage For A Confirmation Battle
Multiple articles published this morning discuss the possibility that U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will soon retire. Apparently, U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan and two federal appellate court judges are among the White House's top candidates to fill a … Continue reading
Posted in Congress, Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court Tagged Congress, Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court Leave a comment


text:
Ok, I'll admit I got the idea for Friday favorites from Lauren Conrad's blog. It's fun, and also…alliteration! Whats better than some fun with words?
Anyways, these are some sites that I enjoy going on and enriching my life.
So much yes. I listen to this while I do dishes. I listen to this while I eat food. I listen to this while I am running late to class. The sheer amount of listening I can do is actually overwhelming. There are music programs in All Songs Considered like the Tiny Desk Concerts.
Their newscasts are always on point, and they cover stories that range from breaking news to features. So many cool things! So. Many.
2) Storify
Ok, I know. I know I've already talked about Storify, so I don't have to tell you about it again. But it's awesome! What a cool aggregate of stories! I love it! I also enjoy creating stories, even though no one else seems to be viewing mine. But, that is the price of what I do. It's a thankless existence.
Right. I have a post coming up about what I feel about sports (I really do love them, so it's not about that).
For some reason I'm really into following whats going on in college football. It could be because my school's team isn't quite up to par, even though we moved up a division (yippie!). I don't really understand many of the stats, but I'm absolutely fascinated by the amount of analyzing that goes into the college-age players. Also, yes, I am aware that this level of analyzing goes into every sport, but I really enjoy reading about players and a sport I just can't wrap my mind around.
Until next time,


text:
The Australian Tax Office helps small business with simplified depreciation for small business (under $2 mill Sales Revenue) in several ways. From the current ATO site (May 2016) -
You can choose to use the simplified depreciation rules if you have a small business with an aggregated annual turnover (the total normal income of your business and that of any associated businesses) of less than $2 million.
Under these rules, you:
o Immediately write-off – deduct their full cost in the year you buy them – most depreciating assets that cost less than $20,000* each that were acquired and installed ready for use from 7.30pm (AEST) on 12 May 2015 until 30 June 2017
o Pool most other depreciating assets that cost $20,000 or more in a small business asset pool and claim
§ A 15% deduction in the first year (regardless of when you purchased or acquired them during the year)
§ A 30% deduction each year after the first year
o Write-off the balance of your small business pool at the end of an income year if the balance – before applying any other depreciation deduction – is less than $20,000.
* The current instant asset write-off threshold is $20,000. It has changed over the last few years (see Immediate write-off).
If you choose to use the simplified depreciation rules, you must:
o use them to work out deductions for all your depreciating assets except those specifically excluded, and
o apply the entire set of rules, not just individual elements (such as the instant asset write-off).
You can choose to stop using the simplified depreciation rules or become ineligible to use them, in which case you'll then use the general depreciation rules. However, any assets in your small business pool will continue to be depreciated in the pool, even if you stop using the simplified depreciation rules.
More info:
o Cost
o Trade-ins
o Business vs private use
o Asset sales and disposals
o Exclusions
o Example: simplified depreciation – small business pool
o Simplified depreciation rules
Need help? Not sure? Call for FREE 30min advice / strategy session today! Aus +61 407 361 596
and also get FREE "Avoid these GST mistakes" – There's 18 that the Tax Office see regularly – Get them right!
For more business tips, see www.accountkeepingplus.com.au
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


text:
|Rat Target Sites
|Mouse Target Sites
|TD50 (mg/kg/day)
|liv spl
|no positive
|no positive
|no positive
|no positive
Key to the Table Above
The Carcinogenic Potency Database (CPDB) is a unique and widely used international resource of the results of 6540 chronic, long-term animal cancer tests on 1547 chemicals. The CPDB provides easy access to the bioassay literature, with qualitative and quantitative analyses of both positive and negative experiments that have been published over the past 50 years in the general literature through 2001 and by the National Cancer Institute/National Toxicology Program through 2004. The CPDB standardizes the diverse literature of cancer bioassays that vary widely in protocol, histopathological examination and nomenclature, and in the published author's choices of what information to provide in their papers. Results are reported in the CPDB for tests in rats, mice, hamsters, dogs, and nonhuman primates.
For each experiment, information is included on species, strain, and sex of test animal; features of experimental protocol such as route of administration, duration of dosing, dose level(s) in mg/kg body weight/day, and duration of experiment; experimental results are provided on target organ, tumor type, and tumor incidence; carcinogenic potency (TD50) and its statistical significance; shape of the dose-response, author's opinion as to carcinogenicity, and literature citation.
Only tests with dosing for at least ¼ the standard lifespan of the species and experiment length at least ½ the lifespan are included in the CPDB. Only routes of administration with whole body exposure are included. Doses are standardized, average dose rates in mg/kg/day. A description of methods used in the CPDB to standardize the diverse literature of animal cancer tests is presented for: 1) Criteria for inclusion of experiments 2) Standardization of average daily dose levels and 3) TD50 estimation for a standard lifespan. See Methods for other details.
TD50 provides a standardized quantitative measure that can be used for comparisons and analyses of many issues in carcinogenesis. The range of TD50 values across chemicals that are rodent carcinogens is more than 100 million-fold. More than half the chemicals tested are positive in at least one experiment.
A plot of all results on each experiment in the CPDB for this chemical is presented below. These results are the source information for the Cancer Test Summary table above.
Chemical (Synonym) CAS # Species Sex Strain Route Xpo+Xpt PaperNum 0 Dose 1 Dose 2 Dose 3 Dose Literature Reference or NCI/NTP:Site Path Site Path Notes TD50 DR Pval AuOp LoConf UpConf Cntrl 1 Inc 2 Inc 3 Inc Brkly Code
D & C RED NO. 9 (brilliant red) 5160-02-1 5449 M f b6c eat 24m24 TR225 : 0 128.mg 255.mg TBA MXB 18.2gm * P<1. - 319.mg n.s.s. 26/50 25/50 27/50 liv MXB 9.24gm * P<.8 803.mg n.s.s. 5/50 3/50 6/50 liv:hpa,hpc,nnd. lun MXB 9.20gm * P<.7 1.13gm n.s.s. 2/50 1/50 3/50 lun:a/a,a/c. 5450 M m b6c eat 24m24 TR225 : 0 118.mg 235.mg TBA MXB 2.12gm * P<.8 - 258.mg n.s.s. 23/50 28/50 24/50 liv MXB 781.mg * P<.2 293.mg n.s.s. 8/50 13/50 15/50 liv:hpa,hpc,nnd. lun MXB 5.39gm * P<.7 703.mg n.s.s. 4/50 4/50 5/50 lun:a/a,a/c. 5451 R f f34 eat 24m24 TR225 : 0 49.5mg 149.mg liv nnd 1.14gm * P<.08 a 386.mg n.s.s. 1/50 1/50 5/50 TBA MXB no dre P=1. 149.mg n.s.s. 44/50 42/50 40/50 liv MXB 1.14gm * P<.08 386.mg n.s.s. 1/50 1/50 5/50 liv:hpa,hpc,nnd. 5452 R m f34 eat 24m24 TR225 : 0 39.6mg 119.mg MXB MXB 104.mg / P<.0005 66.0mg 190.mg 1/50 6/50 26/50 liv:hpc,nnd; spl:fbs,lei,ost,srn. C spl MXA 146.mg / P<.0005 c 88.7mg 265.mg 0/50 0/50 23/50 spl:fbs,lei,ost,srn. spl fbs 211.mg / P<.0005 c 119.mg 425.mg 0/50 0/50 17/50 liv nnd 265.mg * P<.004 c 140.mg 1.80gm 0/50 6/50 7/50 spl ost 728.mg * P<.005 c 276.mg 5.35gm 0/50 0/50 5/50 liv MXA 357.mg * P<.03 c 154.mg n.s.s. 1/50 6/50 7/50 liv:hpc,nnd. TBA MXB 331.mg / P<.5 69.0mg n.s.s. 43/50 34/50 44/50 liv MXB 357.mg * P<.03 154.mg n.s.s. 1/50 6/50 7/50 liv:hpa,hpc,nnd. 5453 R f osm eat 25m25 262a 0 5.00mg 25.0mg 125.mg 500.mg Davis;txap,4,200-205;1962 pit ade e no dre P=1. - 998.mg n.s.s. 4/25 1/25 9/25 6/25 4/25 5454 R m osm eat 25m25 262a 0 4.00mg 20.0mg 100.mg 400.mg tes ica e 28.6gm * P<.8 - 1.65gm n.s.s. 0/25 2/25 0/25 0/25 1/25 --- fbs e no dre P=1. - 1.68gm n.s.s. 0/25 1/25 1/25 2/25 0/25
See full CPDB Summary Table on 1547 chemicals. See Full CPDB for all results on 6540 experiments of 1547 chemicals.
A complete list of CPDB chemicals, which is searchable by name or by CAS number, is available here.
For a compendium of CPDB results organized by target organ, which lists all chemicals in each species that induced tumors in each of 35 organs, see Summary Table by Target Organ.
The CPDB is available in several formats that permit printing and downloading into spreadsheets and statistical databases.
A Supplementary Dataset gives details on dosing and survival for each experiment.
Relatively precise estimates of the lower confidence limit on the TD10 (LTD10) are readily calculated from the TD50 and its lower confidence limit, which are reported in the CPDB. For researchers and regulatory agencies interested in LTD10 values, we provide them in an Excel spreadsheet.
PDF versions of our publications of analyses using the CPDB are available, organized by year and by research topic.


text:
Scenes from a Diverse World, in which some of my work is represented, has just been published - it may be ordered from Amazon. It is a publication of the Int'l. Centre for Women Playwrights and is a 600-page compendium of scenes for teachers and student actors to use.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
A very well made 100% Assyrtiko – tank fermented from Santorini. The cuvee No. 15 is smooth and less acidity than most other assyrtiko I've tasted and it has excellent minerality. It doesn't touch oak, so it goes to shows you can create a dense assyrtiko without it.
(95+ Points)
Categories: Wines


text:
Report: The Cyber ShockWave event and its aftermath
When it comes to the protection of the nation's infrastructure, the government is lacking in several areas. While it has the ability to act offensively, if it knows who the enemy is, the trick is to collect enough information and retaliate without violating domestic and foreign policy and law.
The Tech Herald was in Washington D.C. on Tuesday to witness the mock Cyber ShockWave event. Here's what we walked away with:
What happened?
Cyber ShockWave started with a vulnerability in the operating systems used by various smartphones. Thanks to a malicious application, celebrating the NCAA's March Madness, Spyware was loaded onto smartphones that included a keylogger and data intercept component. The application was then used to funnel millions of dollars to banks overseas. From there, the data and money-snatching application morphs, and the malicious application turns the infected devices into bots and adds them to a telecommunications botnet.
The bots start to download videos showing 'The Red Army'. The downloads and resulting spread of the video subsequently flood the data networks of major carriers, and slow them to a crawl before crippling them altogether. After that, the Malware on the smartphones starts to replicate, thanks to sync programs linking information from the phone to a computer. Once the computers are infected, the ISPs face the same issue the telecoms faced. In the end, both communications systems are crippled.
If this wasn't enough, weather patterns resulting in a heat wave and hurricanes stress the electrical system. This is where things go south, on a major scale. A hurricane wrecks the petroleum refining and natural gas processing centers, and a stressed electrical grid is hurt more by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and what is assumed to be a Malware attack on the Secure Trade power trading platform.
Both incidents are deemed critical, and the former top U.S. officials debated how to respond for most of the event. The problem is that by the end of the debates, during both sessions, there were no real answers.
Behold the confusion that is Cyber ShockWave
Can we nationalize the U.S. power system? Should the National Guard be called out? The FBI reports that it has traced the services used in the March Madness application to Russia -- is retaliation called for? Two IEDs were detonated in two different power facilities, is it terrorism? According to GNN (the news source for media information during the event), there was a cyber component to the electrical outage, later assumed to be related to patches on the Secure Trade software. Was this the work of an insider? These were the topics of note, and the confusion only led to more questions and few answers.
The downside to the ShockWave, as it were, is that there were just too many levels of attack at the same time. The Cyber ShockWave exercise was to create a possible attack scenario, but not one that is total chaos. However, by adding the botnet side to the telecom attack, and throwing in natural disasters as well as potential terrorism on and offline, they added too much to the 'Perfect Storm' they kept referring to it as.
The malicious application causing harm to telecom and ISP networks is one scenario that is highly likely, as more and more applications make it to market and more and more people switch to smartphones. The odds of this happening at the same time that the power grid is attacked, and a hurricane kills off oil and gas production, is simply too high to compute.
The point of it all
The main point to take away from Cyber ShockWave, at least how we see it, is that there needs to be a solid level of cooperation inside the government first, and then also between the government and the private sector. There is no 'I' in team and, when it comes to protecting the assets within the backbone of the Internet, both private and government entities have a lot to look after.
One interesting point came up when debating the Russian server -- the one the FBI said was linked to the telecom attacks. Why doesn't the government simply shut it down? The reason is that doing so could be considered an act of war. No one knows, because there is no policy or precedence regarding such an action.
The mirror side to this would be the question, what if the Russian server was a jumping point to a server in the U.S.? If so, can we then shut it down? What would be the reasoning? While killing a server in a foreign country could be perceived as an act of aggression, doing so on our own soil could be a violation of various laws, unless a state of emergency is ordered. Once that happens, according to the panel, the U.S. President has a good deal of leeway.
There are few limits to what the government can do in response to a threat to national security. Those limits that do exist are enforced by policy and U.S. law. What this means is that, while there were several ideas passed around, many of them were without precedence, so couldn't be acted on.
For example there was a patch for the smartphones, one that would fix the Malware issue. Yet, only 50 percent of consumers applied it. To prevent further attacks to the telecommunications system, you can ask the people to stop using phones, or simply force them to stop using them by turning them off remotely. If the issue was forced, and the government did something to turn the phones off, then there would be serious consequences to deal with later.
In the end, the Bipartisan Policy Center, which put Cyber ShockWave together, had hoped the gaps existing within the law and government policy relating to cybercrime and cyberattacks would be exposed. It got its wish, as gaps in both areas were exposed; but when it comes to balance between the private and government sectors and security, it takes more than policy to make it work.
It would have added a ton of weight to the exercise if there was some sort of consultation with energy companies or telecom representatives. They were absent during the mock attacks, and their absence was felt when you consider that by the time the President was 'briefed', there was no solid plan of action as to how to deal with and recover from the incidents.
There were some smart and skilled people on the panel. Yet, the scripting made the panel come over as clueless when considering the reach, intelligence, and overall capabilities of foreign attackers. The current cyber capacities of the various international terrorist groups were left completely off the table.
Overall, the Cyber ShockWave event was more media hype than actual intelligence and insight. We had hoped to see some of the political heavyweights on the panel act with their full capacity and experience, but they either couldn't or opted not to. If anything, the federal employees who attended learned that managing IT in the public world, and dealing with threats there, is nothing like attempting the same feat within the federal government.


text:
I think by now everyone, and their mother, has heard of Pinterest, so I won't go into detail about what it is. A few months ago I was cruising around on Pinterest and I came across "The Pintester". Since then, I have thoroughly been enjoying her blogs. She takes popular "pins" on Pinterest and tests them out. Most of the time it's a major fail, and we all get to have a good laugh, at her expense. Thank-you, Pintester, for bringing on the LOL's. Keep 'em coming!
The Pintester has welcomed anyone who wishes to join her in The Pintester Movement, where we all get to test out a pin from Pinterest, post it in a mega blog, so we can all laugh with each other at our many fails, and successes. This should be fun.
Sonya, thanks so much for letting us all in on the fun. Maybe this can become a regular thing?!
Here is the link to The Pintester Movement: http://pintester.com/2013/05/the-pintester-movement-craft-all-the-things
I actually tested a very popular pin on Pinterest a few of months ago. It was the one where you start a lemon plant from lemon seeds. If you haven't seen it on Pinterest, you are probably living under a rock.
Original post courtesy of://gardeningideasandmore.blogspot.ca/2013/01/from-lemon-seeds-lemon-leaves-smell-so.html?m=1 The blog has since been removed, so if you know of the person who blogged this please let me know so I can give credit.
Okay, so thanks to Pinterest I have tried many new things. Honestly, most of the things I've tried have been food items. I tend to be somewhat of an over-achiever when it comes it cooking, so I chose to do something I'm not as good at; gardening. Over the winter I found tons of pins about starting plants, from seeds, under grow lights. As I was on my quest to grow plants for my garden, I came across this lemon plant. It looks very easy to do, only there was no formal instructions, just pictures. I figured since I'm well past the age of 5, I should have success following the simple pictured instructions, after all I do have my fair share of Ikea items and am no stranger to following that type of instruction.
I gathered my things: a pot, dirt, and seeds. Upon further investigation, I found out that the roots of lemon plants like to grow deep, so a deep pot is favourable. Also, in the pictures it shows about 150 seeds, planted. I'm sorry, but I am not going to spend a small fortune on lemons just for a pin. I had 3 lemons in my fridge, so I cut them all open and used the seeds that didn't get sliced from said cutting. If memory serves me correctly I probably had about 10-15 seeds. I put some small stones in the bottom of the pot, for drainage, and I filled my pot with a general potting mix. The seeds have to stay moist until you plant them, so I just put them in a little dish of water. I planted the seeds, and covered them with dirt. I really liked how they put the cute little rocks on top, so I went to Michaels and bought a bag, a small bag, for like $8. That was a rip off, but at least I had a coupon for 40% off.
I left that pot under the grow lights for what seemed like months. Truthfully, it was probably around 3 weeks. Nothing sprouted, and I had convinced myself that it was either because I was a complete idiot who couldn't even follow picture instructions, or that it was because I didn't buy organic lemons. So I moved the pot off to the side and chalked it up to a fail. Then, much to my delight, at around the 8 week mark, just as I was about to throw it in the garbage, I saw a tiny sprout. And then they just started popping up, one after and another.
So, what I thought was a major fail, turned into a major win.
Here is what it looks like now…
Not too bad at all.


text:
Event Styling for Weddings and Parties
Stylish Events MK is based in Milton Keynes and provide Chair Covers and Balloons for weddings and all celebrations, across the Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire & Bedfordshire area.
You can rest in the knowledge that once you have contacted Stylish Events MK, that our professional, fully trained staff will make your dreams come true, leaving you to concentrate on other important matters!
At Stylish Events, we are passionate about transforming the most drab venue's into the most stunning venue's with our beautiful chair covers, balloons and table center pieces. We are passionate & love that we work with our clients to fulfill there wishes to the highest standard, but within their budget every time, making your event an outstanding and memorable success.
We don't just do balloons & chair covers we do table centrepieces too! These are all kinds we can transform your venue with balloons, chair covers & our table center pieces so no need to go anywhere else, we have everything covered.
We are an approved, reliable & insured member of 'Ice the Cake', the wedding directory for "professional, credible and incredible" suppliers. We're proud to be listed as one of their "credible and incredible" suppliers, badges are only given to proven suppliers.
Please browse our website for more information on our services and products, and get in touch for a friendly, no obligation consultation.
To stay up to date with our latest offers, like us on Facebook. We provide unbeatable offers on this page, so go on.. Like us now!


text:
How to embarrass yourself overseas
There's this girl, right. She's definitely, 100 per cent, not my girlfriend. We'll call her "Gracie". (Hi Gracie!)
So Gracie and I are travelling through Russia together, and there's one quintessentially Russian experience that I want to try, and she's agreed to come along for the ride: a visit to a bathhouse.
In St Petersburg, down a dreary little street and behind a virtually unmarked door, we've been told we can find a genuine local bathhouse, one that will be full of everyday Russians going about their everyday steaming, scrubbing, rubbing and bathing.
At the door, we have to split: girls on one level, guys on another. Neither of us has a clue what is going to happen, how these things work. We just plan to watch what everyone else in there is doing, and copy.
Gracie walks up to the women's floor, nervously pays her money, and sits in the change room, checking to see whether her fellow Russian ladies were wearing bathing suits when they wander into the bathing area, or are nuding up. They're nuding up.
So she strips off her clothes, and pushes through the doors into the bathing area. There, she freezes with horror.
From behind the sauna door, she can hear a strange knocking sound. What seems like voices crying out for help. See, Gracie, having watched a few too many horror movies, has a bizarre fear of being trapped in a sauna and being steamed to death, so she leaps into action.
She tries to wrench the sauna door open, but it won't budge. The knocking sound gets louder as she pulls on the door, desperately trying to prize it open and save the steaming Russian women inside.
Eventually, panicking, she has an idea. "Wait!" she yells at women who probably can't understand her anyway. "I'll be back in a second!" Then, she runs back out to the front counter, gabbling incoherently at the woman who doesn't speak a word of English.
Met with a blank look, Gracie grabs the woman's arm and drags her into the bathhouse, pointing at the sauna and yelling at her about the now very wrinkly women trapped and dying inside. The bathhouse woman gives her a strange look, then shows Gracie the key she'd given her when she arrived.
Picking up the key, the woman presses it into the lock set into the sauna door, and swings it open, revealing four naked Russian women calming chatting away, completely oblivious to the panicked foreigner trying to save them from a gruesome, steamy death.
The front counter woman hands Gracie the key, shrugs, and wanders back out to the counter. Gracie is mortified. And she never did find out what that knocking noise was.
Gracie's not alone, of course. Overseas travel almost guarantees that you'll embarrass yourself time and time again. The smallest "lost in translation" moments have a habit of making you feel like a right plonker when you're a stranger in a strange land.
And the more things you experience, the stranger the things you try, the more likely you are to make an arse out of yourself somewhere along the line.
I'm certainly not immune. In fact, while Gracie was running around playing sauna lifeguard in that St Petersburg bathhouse, I was making a tit of myself over in the men's room.
For starters, I'd bought one of the birch branches you're supposed to hit yourself with in the sauna, but had failed to soak it in boiling water first, making the whole process far more painful than it should have been when I did give myself a good whipping across the shoulders.
Plus, I'd sat in the sauna quite comfortably for a good 10 minutes, thinking to myself how tough I was, before a Russian guy came in, raised an eyebrow at me, and then ladled some water onto the hot coals.
The heat, once the sauna was actually working, was incredible. I had to get out.
And that's not the only time. I've mangled a word in Mandarin, attempting to order some sort of food, and wound up ordering a "penis", to the amusement of the locals.
I've sat down at a table in Vietnam and tried to drink what I later found out was supposed to be the dipping sauce.
After a couple of days in India, I eventually sat someone down and asked what the hell it is they actually do with that jug of water in the toilet, embarrassing not just me but him as well.
These moments are inevitable - you can't possibly know everything there is to know about a country and its cultural quirks before you get there. And besides, it's these moments that make travel fun, that make you realise you're not in Kansas any more, Toto.
You just have to be prepared to have a laugh at yourself, and get back in the sauna.
Have you ever embarrassed yourself overseas? Was it a "lost in translation" moment?
Hope you're enjoying the Backpacker blog. There'll be a new one up on Fairfax Media websites every Wednesday. If you have any topic suggestions, or just want to send me some personal abuse/spam, you can drop in on my website here, or email me at email@example.com. Happy travels!
Follow the Travel section on Twitter.
- Posted by Ben Groundwater in The Backpacker at 9:38 AM
- Comments (99)
Where to get your travel cred
South-East Asia? As if. It's, like, totally ruined. If you ask me, Tony Wheeler stuffed it the minute he printed his first book. I just don't know why you'd go there. There's like, tourists everywhere now. They wouldn't know a real traveller if they got pushed out of their AirAsia jet by one.
I guess Myanmar's alright - although I still call it Burma. People will still be totally impressed if you go there, especially if there's just been, like, a riot or some kind of natural disaster before you get there (don't worry, there usually is, you should see the state of the place). Make sure you pump that bit up when you write your blog entry on it, too.
I s'pose you can go to Laos if you want to, but it was way better back when I first started going there in the '90s, before it got "discovered". The people were just so happy to see travellers there. We were, like, superstars or something. It was so crazy. Landmines, militia... No proper hostels or anything.
Whatever you do, don't go to Vang Vieng or Luang Prabang - you might as well be in Phuket. You just pick a town no one's ever heard of, and head there. The look on people's faces when you turn up is totally priceless. You can sleep in a village, make friends with the locals, really get to know the country. People there are just so much more real. And you'll have some stories for the "tourists" when you get back to Vientiane, I can tell you.
But seriously, if you really want cred, you're going to have to get out of that safe little comfort zone of yours. Somewhere that's recently been at war will do it. Or is even still at war. How many people do you know who've been to Afghanistan? Exactly.
If you have to travel in some sort of convoy... OK, now you're on the right track. About the closest thing to a convoy most tourists get is going on a pub crawl in Munich. But a real convoy, with, like, guns and stuff? Can you imagine people's faces when you post about that one on Thorn Tree? Green, I can tell you.
Think about it: bandits, guns, danger - that's real travelling. And you're in a convoy, so you probably won't really get hurt. Somewhere in Central Africa would be good. Something like a DRC or further west, like Sierra Leone. Seen that movie Blood Diamond? See, people know Sierra, but they'd never go there after that.
Southern Africa's been sooo overdone. Truck tours? You might as well be on Contiki, and don't get me started on that. Kids might as well just stay at home. Anyone who tells you they've been "travelling" after doing a Contiki tour is kidding themselves. You'd get more experience sitting at home and watching Getaway.
Western Europe? Kidding yourself. Anywhere that's on the EasyJet or Ryanair map is ruined. Shoulda seen Dubrovnik back when I used to go there, so awesome. Like, not a single tourist. That was back when you had to put some thought into travel, to really commit to it, do it properly.
South America's okay, I guess. But like, you can't really say you've been to a country until you've been there at least six months. And if you don't speak Spanish, man, forget it. I mean, I always learn the language of the place I'm going to anyway, but if you don't speak Spanish in South America... God, just go to a tapas bar at home and save yourself the trouble.
It's all about immersing yourself. Avoid other travellers - especially Australians - like the plague. No one's going to be impressed if the only friends you made in Guatemala are Davo and Barry from Albury.
You have to be like a local. Have a look at the clothes they wear, and get some of your own. Take on all their customs. Man, they'll be so grateful that you're on the same level as them. Poor people are so much more interesting than rich people.
And at least you know you've always got your ticket home when you get sick of it.
Do you think there's a hierarchy amongst travellers? Do some destinations give you more "cred" than others? Is it all a form of travel snobbery?
Hope you're enjoying the Backpacker blog. There'll be a new one up on Fairfax Media websites every Wednesday. If you have any topic suggestions, or just want to send me some personal abuse/spam, you can drop in on my website here, or email me at email@example.com. Happy travels!
Follow the Travel section on Twitter.
Photo: Luang Prabang, Laos. Palani Mohan.
- Posted by Ben Groundwater in The Backpacker at 10:41 AM
- Comments (167)
Most livable cities? I doubt it
I always have a laugh at those "world's most livable cities" lists. I mean, I know they take into account "important" things like political stability, social welfare structures, transport, education and the rest - but would you really want to live in most of them?
Australian cities usually do well (you can see a few of the latest lists here), and that's fair enough. On a global scale, this is still a pretty good place to live. But what's with some of the others?
Scandinavian cities always seem to do unreasonably well. I don't know about you, but if I was to imagine my perfect city, it wouldn't be one in which I had to spend the bulk of my time huddled in my lounge room burning bits of furniture to ward off the cold.
Swiss and Austrian cities always get a gong in the top 10s too, and I'm sure they're fine if your priorities are clean, reliable public transport and sausages. But if you're after decent bars and restaurants ... well, Germany's not far away, is it?
The problem, I think, is that none of these lists takes into account the things that I enjoy about living in a city - the food, the nightlife, the sport, and the people with which you share the place every day. Unfortunately, there's no quantitative measure for "character".
When you travel, there are cities you love, but probably wouldn't want to live in. Then there are cities you visit and think, yeah, I could picture myself living here.
Some aren't that much fun to visit as a tourist, but would still make a great place to live (hi, Brisbane), while others just have everything, whether you're staying for a week, or a lifetime.
Here are the top 10 cities (outside of Australia) that I'd actually want to live in.
Tomorrow. I would move there tomorrow. In fact, I'd move almost anywhere in Spain tomorrow. But Barca has it all - a great food culture, a good music scene, a champion football team, beautiful architecture, beautiful people, a laidback beachy vibe ... What's not to like?
I've spent every minute of every trip to the Dutch capital dreaming about what it would be like to live there, to cycle its narrow streets on my way to work, to play in its bars by night, or just to sit out in a cobbled square or lie in the Vondelpark whenever the sun is shining. And I reckon: awesome.
Buenos Aires
Safe? Not really. But Argentineans know how to live, and I want a piece of it. I want medialunas and café chicos to be my standard breakfast. I want Boca Juniors to be my local football team. I want the shops of Palermo to be my weekend hangout. I want to eat steak every night. Here, it's all possible.
Much as I hate to admit it, New York does kind of feel like the centre of the universe when you're in it. But don't discount friendly Chicago if you're moving to the States. I'd move there purely for the chance to spend every weekend at Wrigley Field, cheering on the Cubs before hitting the bars of Wrigleyville.
A bit like Brisbane really. About as exciting as airline food for short-term visitors, but I get the feeling the Chilean capital has a lot more to offer once you get to know it. And you'll struggle to find friendlier people.
I was surprised. I'd been told Warsaw was a bit of a hellhole. It's anything but. There's a rapidly developing food scene, great little cafes in the city and across the river in Praga, plus an amazing history that you can feel as you walk the streets. There's also the not insignificant factor of Poland having the best-looking girls on the entire planet.
Another one that's maybe not the most exciting place to visit as a tourist, but as any expat there would tell you, it's a great place to live. It's easy to get around, the food's fantastic, and although everything's completely different to home, there are still a few slices of Western life if you need it.
Most expats wind up in Shanghai, but I reckon living in the capital would be a real experience. You can't help but be swept up by the thriving life of Beijing even on a short visit - but I'd like to really become part of it. Mahjong can't be that hard to learn, can it?
Cape Town
Exhibit A. That is all.
Ah, to live in Berlin. To be surrounded by more public art than most major galleries can boast. To soak up life in one of the centres of modern history. To wander its streets. To drink at its bars, to (attempt to) dance at its clubs. Now that's living.
Come on, you didn't think I'd leave it out did you? Every Australian wants to move to London! Cold and wet it may very often be - and home to the world's most annoying cricket team - but you just can't deny the attraction of the British capital.
Which cities would you like to live in?
Hope you're enjoying the Backpacker blog. There'll be a new one up on Fairfax Media websites every Wednesday. If you have any topic suggestions, or just want to send me some personal abuse/spam, you can drop in on my website here, or email me at firstname.lastname@example.com. Happy travels!
Follow the Travel section on Twitter.
Photo credit: Tango in Buenos Aires. iStock
- Posted by Ben Groundwater in The Backpacker at 9:32 AM
- Comments (271)
So... where to next?
It doesn't matter if you've been to 50 countries, or five countries - it happens to every traveller.
There comes a point where you find yourself sitting around at home thinking: Okay... where to next?
It's a good feeling, knowing you've got the whole world out there to explore, and it's up to you to decide which part of it you're going to check out next. But it's not always easy to figure it out.
Some people start off their travelling lives with certain goals, countries they've always had in their mind that they want to visit. But when all those have been checked off the list, you don't want to give up travelling altogether.
Other people catch the travel bug by accident, having been dragged along on someone else's holiday, and all of a sudden realise they want to travel more - but to where?
Others, like me, have a completely different problem: you want to go everywhere. There's not a single country you wouldn't be happy to wind up in. But time and budget restraints mean that'll have to be whittled down somewhat.
The easiest way to solve this is with a large map, a dart, and a forgiving landlord. Close your eyes, throw the dart, hope you don't hit an immediate family member or piece of expensive furniture, and there's your destination.
Except that never works. You'll keep pulling the dart out and rethrowing until, hey, what do you know, I hit Tuscany...
When you find yourself stuck for a destination, it's tempting to just go back to somewhere you've already been and enjoyed. It takes the risk out of spending a whole lot of money on going somewhere you won't like - but it takes some of the fun away as well.
I try not to revisit places I've been to before, mainly because it's not usually the destination you're trying to recreate, but the experiences you had last time. And that's impossible. Why not go somewhere new and have completely new experiences?
If you're really set on a certain country though, just get a bit more adventurous. If you had a blast in Paris last time, try Toulouse or Lyon. Or if you had a ball in New York, give Chicago or Boston a go.
For those determined to try somewhere new, there are a few things to consider.
If you're like me, and you're happy to go anywhere, the most important thing is your budget, and how you want to spend what you've got. If you're determined to live in luxury, you're not going to be able to go as far afield, and for as long, as those prepared to rough it.
Weighing up how much cash you've got to play with will go a long way to deciding where you're going to be able to go.
Then even those with no ideas need to come up with a destination. If you've got a bit of travel experience, you might want to go somewhere like World 66, and do the "destinations visited" map. That way, you'll get a nice visual idea of whether there are any large chucks of the world you're yet to check out.
If that doesn't work, try thinking about destinations you really liked, and go for somewhere similar, but a bit further off the beaten track. So if you like Thailand, maybe think about Laos or Cambodia. If you like India, try Nepal or Sri Lanka. And if you like Spain or Italy, give Argentina or Uruguay a go.
You also have to think about the things you like doing on holidays. If you like hiking through mountains, you're not going to go to the Netherlands. If you like looking at animals, you're not going to go to Egypt. If you like eating, you're not going to England (thanks, I'm here all night).
Travel books are good for inspiration, too. Each year Lonely Planet releases its "Best In Travel", which might be a bit populist, but I challenge you to flick through it and not think to yourself, "hey, that looks cool" at least once.
Or you could get some inspiration from readers below.
Regardless, this decision-making isn't something you should spend too much time agonising over. Wherever you go you'll meet new people, eat new food, see new things and have new experiences.
And it'll sure beat being at work.
How do you decide where you're going next? Which country would you recommend readers go to next?
Hope you're enjoying the Backpacker blog. There'll be a new one up on Fairfax Media websites every Wednesday. If you have any topic suggestions, or just want to send me some personal abuse/spam, you can drop in on my website here, or email me at email@example.com. Happy travels!
Follow the Travel section on Twitter.
Photo credit: Dominic Bonuccell/Lonely Planet
- Posted by Ben Groundwater in The Backpacker at 9:01 AM
- Comments (66)


text:
The Hangover
2 March 2017, early evening
On the flight to Paris I watch The Hangover. A group of guys get black out drunk at a bachelor party and lose the groom. They spend the next few days trying to find him. (Having your bachelor party days before your wedding seems like a bad idea: who does that anymore?) The film's quite funny. The characters slowly piece together their weird night. It's a silly fun film. Ken Jeong has a small part in the movie and is particularly great. (And Heather Graham shows up as well, who is lovely and i'm going to marry her.)
Reviews of the Hangover on Rotten Tomatoes.


text:
NEW YORK (AP) ? It is King Felix's turn to try to put a stop to the Mariners' record-setting losing streak.
NEW YORK (AP) — It is King Felix's turn to try to put a stop to the Mariners' record-setting losing streak.
Felix Hernandez takes the mound today, and the Mariners need the AL Cy Young Award winner to give a performance similar to one CC Sabathia had Tuesday night in handing Seattle its 17th loss in a row, a 4-1 victory for the New York Yankees.
"It's unfortunate that we're not having the ball roll our way but we're still coming in expecting to win," pitcher Doug Fister said.
Hernandez went 3-0 with a 0.35 ERA last year in New York. But he is 0-3 in his last five starts, two losses coming during the swoon.
Sabathia didn't allow a baserunner until Brendan Ryan singled with one out in the seventh inning in beating Seattle for the seventh consecutive start. He struck out a career-high 14 of the 25 batters he faced, seven in a row before a 30-minute rain delay.
"He was absolutely filthy," Ryan said.
The Yankees struck out 18 overall, and Seattle managed just one hit. The Mariners are hitting .218 (128 for 587) during the skid.
that is the worst in team history.
and four shy of matching the Baltimore Orioles' American League-record, 21-game losing streak at the start of the 1988 season. The 1961 Phillies dropped 23 straight for the modern major league mark.
Seattle's previous worst slide was a 14-game losing streak in 1992. This is the longest in the majors since Kansas City dropped 19 straight in 2005.
"You don't want a team coming in here with a losing streak, trying to get a few wins to turn it around," Sabathia said.
Curtis Granderson homered off Fister (3-12) to put New York ahead 1-0 in the fourth, and Mark Teixeira connected for his 100th homer with the Yankees in the eighth.
Sabathia (15-5) said he lost his release point after a second rain delay (14 minutes) in the seventh. He walked the first three batters in the eighth before being lifted for David Robertson.
Robertson struck out pinch-hitter Adam Kennedy for his 10th straight strikeout with the bases loaded this season before Chone Figgins hit a run-scoring fielder's choice to third base to make it 3-1. Ichiro Suzuki struck out to end the inning.
Mariano Rivera struck out two more in a perfect ninth for his 26th save, preserving Sabathia's major league-leading 15th win.
"They get a lead late in the game — the eighth and ninth inning — it's tough to come back," Ryan said.
Wedge told his team after a 10-3 loss Monday night to stay away from the ballpark early. He moved back the bus until 4 p.m., for a start 3 hours later, and canceled batting practice. Wedge also shaved his mustache after Saturday's loss, hoping a change would help.
"We're just trying to do everything we can to help them snap this thing," he said before the game.
What he couldn't do was keep Sabathia off the mound. The big lefty came in with a 0.82 ERA in his last six against Seattle — and he was even better this time.
"That was by far the best I've ever seen him pitch," said Ryan, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
After Suzuki led off the game with a liner to center field, the Mariners didn't get a ball out of the infield until the single by Ryan, who took the extra time in the afternoon to eat at the Burger Joint, a foodie favorite in a midtown hotel.
With storm clouds sweeping in over Yankee Stadium and lightning cracks eliciting gasps from crowd, Sabathia struck out six in a row in the fourth and the fifth innings — as fans abandoned their seats for covered areas.
Rain began to fall in the sixth and became heavy as Mike Carp struck out, prompting home plate umpire Bob Davidson to pull the Yankees off the field.
After a 30-minute delay, Greg Halman popped out to first to break the strikeout streak.
Sabathia struck out the side in the seventh around Ryan's single.
Granderson's homer was a drive to the opposite field that just cleared the wall in left. In the fifth, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada and Eric Chavez — just activated from the 60-day disabled list — hit consecutive singles for a run. Derek Jeter made it 3-0 with a groundout.
Teixeira homered off Jamey Wright.
Fister gave up seven hits and three runs, striking out five in seven innings. He hasn't won in a span of 10 starts, dating to June 4. The Mariners have scored just 13 runs over that stretch.
"He had a fever about him," Wedge said. "He kept us right in the ballgame."
NOTES: The Mariners matched the 1926 Boston Red Sox, 1962 Mets, and 1977 Atlanta Braves with 17 losses in a row. ... New York's 18 strikeouts tied the club record for a nine-inning game, set by Ron Guidry on June 17, 1978. ... Figgins returned after missing a game for a family emergency.


text:
Private Internet Access Review - 2019
Private Internet Access has secured its spot as one of the most widespread and well-known Virtual Private Networks on the market. Now in its 7th year, this American-based company has thousands of servers worldwide and continues to be one of the most trusted names in the VPN space.
Many VPN users first started with Private Internet Access. It's a big brand name, has all of the most used VPN features, and very attractive pricing. After using so many newer and flashier VPNs, I was curious to see just how Private Internet Access (PIA) would stack up.
Pricing and Plans
I had heard through the grapevine that Private Internet Access was one of the most affordable VPNs, and one look at their subscription options confirmed it. Their one-year plan comes out to just $3.33/month, which is half the cost of many VPN competitors. Even their one-month and six-month options are wallet-friendly - $6.95 for a one-month subscription and $5.99/month for 6 months.
Private Internet Access's pricing is as simple as you can get. Each plan comes with unlimited bandwidth, and access to every PIA feature, such as 5 simultaneous connections and a built-in firewall.
Also, PIA has some unique payment options. In addition to the usual suspects like credit cards and PayPal, they also accept payments using a variety of retail gift cards, from Nordstrom to Starbuck's.
The first notable thing about PIA is the company's staggering number of servers, which is over 3,000 and still growing. This both tells you how popular the service is, and how reliably you can expect to connect to a local server with minimal problems. The drawback is that that they only have servers in 24 countries - so make sure you check that they have servers local to you, otherwise you're probably gong to be pretty disappointed.
PIA has virtually all of most the common VPN features, including 3 different VPN tunneling protocols (PPTP, OpenVPN, and L2TP/IPSec), multiple VPN gateways, 5 simultaneous connections, and ad- and malware-blockers. While you might not use all of these features, PIA's low-cost means that you'll never feel like you are overpaying for options you will never use. And just in case you enjoy messing around with VPN configurations (a hobby I would never have guessed I'd pick up), then at least those options are there.
PIA also includes a SOCK5 Proxy option. While this is not technically a VPN (it's a little complicated), it is a faster connection that still provides some level of anonymity, but no data encryption and your activity can easily be monitored. Not many VPN providers give users this option, so it's definitely a feature that makes PIA stand out from the crowd.
Since latency and download speed can – and often do – vary widely from one VPN to the next, one of the first things I do when trying a new VPN is going over to www.speedtest.net. These were my results before and after turning on Private Internet Access.
These results were a little disappointing. While every VPN will lower performance, these PIA results were at the point where even regular web browsing was considerably slower, not to mention the impact on torrenting or streaming.
As far as security goes, our testing revealed no issues. A test on www.dnsleaktest.com showed our IP was masked correctly. And on www.ipv6leak.com, everything worked as intended.
And as far as privacy goes, PIA doesn't keep any logs. So, traffic logs, data transfer amounts, and session times aren't recorded. This is a big plus since many other VPNs do keep a limited amount of logs.
All of Private Internet Access's VPN tunneling methods use AES-256 encryption, which is as good as it gets. Most of today's VPNs do as well, so it isn't a major selling point, but it's still worth mentioning. You can also switch things up with options such as RSA 4096 or SHA1 encryption, which is a level of flexibility that you probably will never need to use - but hey, at least it's there.
PIA also has some useful security add-ons that go beyond the standard suite. These include a Kill Switch, DNS Leak Protection, and a shared IP System. These are all quite relevant if you are looking to maximize your security at all times.
Final Thoughts
Private Internet Access is one of the most well-known and trusted names in the VPN industry for a reason. The company has one of the best privacy policies, great security features, and a high degree of customization - and it's all offered at a price that few can compete with. That being said, PIA is probably not the best option if you have high-performance needs, like a large amount of torrenting or streaming. The UI isn't all that user-friendly either. If you don't plan on using all of the features, and just want something simple, you may want to try it out before buying. Despite some of these shortcomings, I still highly recommend PIA as a complete and reliable VPN.
- Very affordable plans (as low as $3.33 per month)
- A plethora of security options, and features including Kill Switch and leak protection
- Privacy policy is great - keeps no logs
- Huge number of servers means very consistent and reliable connection
- Speed and performance are well below average
- Interface is not as polished as newer VPNs - it's less user-friendly