text:
Chinese dissident artist and architect Ai Weiwei is an outspoken critic of China's record on human rights. This year, Beijing prevented him from traveling to Venice for the first exhibition of a deeply autobiographical work. His most recent installation is an excruciatingly detailed depiction of the period he was held in solitary detention.
In a quiet corner close to a canal, Sant'Antonin is a typical 17th century Venetian church. But inside, the contrast between the paintings of old masters and the contemporary exhibit is stark.
Under a baroque fresco of heaven, the pews have been replaced by six steel boxes, 5 feet high, 6 feet wide and 12 feet long.
Viewers must step on a block and, peering through a small slit on top of the box, they see lifelike dioramas of Ai Weiwei as a political prisoner inside a padded prison cell, always under double guard.
"You can see inside, each detail, each little thing, each bottle, everything is exactly how was the prison where he was closed, and he remember everything so clearly," says Manuela Astore, who helped organize the exhibit.
Outraged by the devastating 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province that killed more than 5,000 children as schools buildings collapsed, Ai Weiwei spoke out and denounced shoddy construction practices and corruption as the cause of the deaths.
His activism angered Chinese authorities, and he was arrested for alleged tax evasion and held in solitary detention for 81 days.
Once released, he decided to expose the authorities' methods by recreating his traumatic experience in painstaking detail.
"I memorized every crack in the ceiling, every mark on the wall. I'm an artist and architect, so I have a good memory for these things," Ai told a reporter.
The completed work was installed in Venice by four technicians from the artist's studio. Inside the claustrophobic boxes, the fiberglass Ai Weiwei and his guards are shrunk to three-quarter size.
In one, the viewer sees Ai Weiwei sitting at a table and eating, two guards watching over him, practically touching him, observing his every movement. The daily humiliations of cell block routines include intimate scenes of the prisoner using the bathroom and taking a shower naked while two fully-dressed guards observe him from close proximity.
It's a stark dramatization of the imbalance of power. The guards themselves were ordered never to speak with the prisoner.
Manuela Astore says the surveillance was obsessive. "Even though he has never been tortured by the guards, only the fact that he was never left alone, it was torture by itself," she says.
One of the most powerful scenes illustrates the prisoner's physical vulnerability.
Looking down, the viewer sees Ai Weiwei covered by a blanket, lying flat on his back, with two guards standing just a few inches away from the cot and guarding him all night long as he sleeps.
Excellently crafted, the dioramas provide a sense of dislocation and self-doubt; Ai has said he felt that any moment could have been his last.
The church setting for the exhibit is also quite apt. The title of the installation is S.A.C.R.E.D.
The work, Astore says, suggests the Stations of the Cross. "This work, [S.A.C.R.E.D.], is like a Via Crucis; his passion [is] like Jesus Christ with his cross on his shoulder," she says.
Under the guards' constant watch, the artist developed a heightened sense of perception that enabled him to create a hyper-real installation.
And particularly poignant, at a time of increased global concern over governments' secret monitoring of citizens' lives. Ai has turned the situation around, allowing individual viewer to watch the guards.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
NPR's business news begins with the latest on the deadlock here in Washington.
GREENE: We've been following the story all this hour: House Republicans have been expected to announce their own plan to end the partial government shutdown and avert a default on the national debt. But House Speaker John Boehner came to the microphones a short while ago and kept things very vague.
GREENE: Let's bring our congressional correspondent Tamara Keith in. Tam, when we spoke earlier this hour, you had said that there might not be enough Republican support for a plan that Boehner was coming up with. Is that what might have happened here?
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: That's exactly what it looks like happened. He went in with a plan. He came out with: We've got a lot of ideas, here. And that was basically the vibe I got from California Republican Darrell Issa. When he was exiting the meeting, I asked him what the support level was among House Republicans, and whether it was unanimous.
REPRESENTATIVE DARRELL ISSA: Unanimous would be Democratic Party. We're the Republican Party, so we're nearly unanimous, at best.
KEITH: At best. And there have been just a - House Republicans are really struggling with how to move forward, here.
GREENE: House Speaker John Boehner in a position that is becoming all too familiar. But let's just step back, if we can, Tamara. We had a Senate plan. There was talk of a bipartisan deal to avert the default on the debt and the government shutdown, or this Republican plan, maybe not enough support for it. Are we any closer to a compromise on these two issues today?
KEITH: The Senate is still moving forward, and there's this idea that sometimes it's darkest before the light. Sometimes when there's total chaos here in the capital and you don't know which way is up, ultimately, that leads to something emerging that will actually work. And this could be part of Boehner telling his members that they just have to go with Democratic support or go with the Senate plan.
GREENE: All right. We'll be following that story all day long on NPR News. That's our congressional correspondent, Tamara Keith. Thanks, Tamara.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Should Lena Dunham Be Playing Ping Pong Naked?
The HBO series Girls has been stirring up some controversy with racy scenes that challenge sexual stereotypes. Some people say the main character is prompting people to rethink their ideas about women's bodies. Host Michel Martin chats with the 'Beauty Shop' ladies.
I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, Aristotle and Dante are the names of two important philosophers from history, but they're also the names of the principle characters in an award-winning new young adult novel about two Mexican-American boys and their journey of self-discovery. We'll hear from the author of "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe." That is just ahead.
But first, it's time for the Beauty Shop. That's where we get a fresh cut on the week's topics with our panel of women writers, journalists and commentators. Sitting in the chairs for a new 'do this week are Viviana Hurtado, blogger-in-chief of the website The Wise Latina Club. Bridget Johnson is the Washington, D.C. editor for P.J. Media. That's a conservative libertarian commentary and news website. And also with us, Danielle Belton. She's editor-at-large of Clutch magazine online.
Welcome back, ladies. Thanks for joining us once again.
VIVIANA HURTADO: Hi, Michel.
MARTIN: You know, it used to be that female entertainers and athletes had their images controlled by somebody else, usually a man. You know, let's face it. But today we're talking about women who are smashing glass ceilings in popular culture, and the question I think a lot of people have is, are they really?
I want to start with Lena Dunham. She's the creator and star of the HBO series "Girls," and she's gotten a lot of attention, some of it positive, some not, because she seems to find a lot of reasons to take her clothes off on that show, a lot. But the feedback got pretty ugly recently when her character, Hannah, had a fling with a handsome doctor played by Patrick Wilson. Here's a clip from that episode.
LENA DUNHAM: (as Hannah) You know, I was reaching for all this stuff, but all I really needed was to look at someone and be like, oh, that person wants to be there after I'm dead, you know? You think I'm a crazy girl?
PATRICK WILSON: (as character) No. I don't think you're crazy at all. I wasn't thinking that.
DUNHAM: (as Hannah) If anything, I think I'm just too smart and too sensitive and too, like, not crazy.
MARTIN: Now, here is what's interesting, and apologies to folks who don't have HBO. Some of the critics and viewers panned the episode because they said that Wilson was too good looking and completely out of Dunham's league because she is not a conventional TV beauty. Let's say she's not a size two.
So, Bridget, I'll start with you. What do you think of this whole, you know, kerfuffle?
BRIDGET JOHNSON: Well, first of all (unintelligible) completely realistic that a 42-year-old separated man would go for a 20-something for a fling, no matter what she looked like, and then when she started talking personal and started getting emotional, he's like, oh, what's the time? I need to get to work. You know, and so that was completely realistic because it then got real for the man and then the man is like, oh - and that goes both ways. You know, both men and women do that.
You know, I think it's - I don't regularly watch the show, but I went and I watched that one episode on demand to be prepared to talk about it and I just actually couldn't find it relatable, you know, and maybe it's because I'm from the - you know, from watching "Sex and the City" all those years, and then, you know, you had a Carrie in your life.
MARTIN: Wait, wait. "Sex and the City" is relatable?
JOHNSON: Well, it's...
MARTIN: Have you - those - buying those shoes on a freelance writer's salary?
JOHNSON: You've see my handbags.
MARTIN: Excuse me?
JOHNSON: It was...
MARTIN: I'm just asking.
JOHNSON: It was unrealistic that Carrie worked at some fourth tier paper as a sex columnist and could afford the Manhattan apartment and the Manolos and the Dior newspaper dress, which I loved.
But, you know, even when I was in my early 20s and you know, myself, all my friends were poor, we were at the seven dollar store like scrounging for whatever cute little fashionable looks that we could find, and so, you know, I was watching that show and watching these characters and it's just - I didn't really know what there was to relate to. You know, they didn't really seem to care about a lot of the things that we cared about when I was in my 20s.
MARTIN: Danielle, what about you?
DANIELLE BELTON: Well, you know, I'm not necessarily like the biggest fan of the show. I'm a fan of the concept and some of the things behind it, but I can understand the point about relatability because the show is basically about hipster slackers. I've known lots of people like this, you know, who kind of float through life. They're in their 20s. They're trying to figure out how to make things happen, but they don't know quite how to do it.
If you're like Bridget or myself or Viviana, or even you, Michel, like we're all very driven people. We're all very driven, so we're not going to relate to people who aren't driven. We're not going to relate to slackers. You're going to be like go to grad school. What's wrong with you? Get a job. Like, why are you working in a coffee shop when you have a degree?
HURTADO: Yeah. Sorry if you're not a vice president at 25.
BELTON: So it's one of those things where it's like if you're really, really driven and, you know, you want to see a show about people who are driven, this is not the show. It's about - this is the show for everybody else who's not driven, who's still trying to figure things out about life.
I thought the reaction to Lena taking her clothes off all the time, though, is really, really hilarious. To me it's schadenfreude, because I've had to endure so many Judd Apatow films, so many sitcoms where some horrendous looking dude and his wife is all super hot and I'm just like - I know this is fantasy that people want to feed to like schlubby men that all these hot women will, like, love them for their personalities, but it's just - no - people don't work that way. I mean, pretty women can be just as shallow as handsome men, so I'm like, yay. Get naked more. Good for you. You go, girl, so...
MARTIN: Well, I've got to ask - Viviana, I'll ask you about this because one of the things that struck me, though, is that Lena Dunham's character has a lot of nude scenes on this - on the show. And one of the things that always struck me about the concept of "Sex and the City," which Bridget Johnson brought up, is that Sarah Jessica Parker was the - was one of the producers of that show and she was the only one who was never completely nude, and it was reported - I don't know if this is true, but it was reported that she had a no-nudity clause in her contract, so that was always fascinating to me. It's like, once again, the powerful people are the ones who get to keep their clothes on. Right?
HURTADO: And she could afford - right, Michel - to get naked because she is so powerful and she is the star and she has millions of dollars in endorsements for Garnier and for so many other brands.
MARTIN: Or she could choose not to get naked because that's what she was using her power for, but in this instance, Lena Dunham is the force behind this show. She's the driving force behind the show and she's the one who tends to take her clothes off the most, and of the four women actresses on the program, she's the one who's the least conforming to the kind of the Hollywood sort of template.
So I'd have to ask you, kind of what's your reaction to that, or do you even care? Viviana's like I really so don't care, but...
HURTADO: Right. I'm still on the you're not 25 years old and you're not a vice president and you quit your job? But going back to the show, I think what's really interesting is someone like Sarah Jessica Parker, someone like Meryl Streep - when was the last time, you know, she got naked just because?
And I think about, for example, Latina actresses in Hollywood and African-American actresses too. For example, think of the fantastic character that is Kerry Washington in ABC's "Scandal," and she has a very racy storyline, having an affair with the president of the United States of America, but I - and, you know, some hot scenes, but I haven't seen her get naked. Granted, it's prime time on a network television.
Going back to what I'm thinking about, actresses of color, there just aren't enough roles for them, and so, for example, a Latina actress is constantly going to be typecast if she's even considered in a mainstream blockbuster movie as a hot tamale - arriba, arriba - or as a maid.
So I guess the day that I see so many roles and the reflection of that as it translates into power in Hollywood at an executive level among Latino actors and actresses, then yeah, take it all off. I mean, Javier Bardem. Anybody? Anybody? I want to see him naked.
JOHNSON: I vote for that. Yeah.
MARTIN: We're sorry that we laughed, sort of. If you're just joining us, we're taking a visit to the Beauty Shop. We're talking about women and their image in pop culture with some stories of the moment. Our guests are Viviana Hurtado - that's who was speaking just now - Danielle Belton and Bridget Johnson.
So let's talk about somebody who always seems - I'm sorry - isn't she like everybody's frenemy? Like don't you just have this love-hate thing with Beyonce? Because she is so fabulous and cute and sweet and seems very sweet and smart and yet she's incredibly successful, and this latest sort of takeover of our culture occurred this weekend when her documentary about herself, "Life is But a Dream," premiered also on HBO. She was interviewed by Oprah on the OWN Network and I just want to play a short clip of - you know, there's a lot to be said about the documentary, or not very much, depending on who you believe. But some people say it's just a long commercial. It's really just a long music video.
But this is a piece of the interview where she talks about her marriage to rapper Jay-Z. I just want to play that for you.
BEYONCE: I would not be the woman I am if I did not go home to that man.
MARTIN: Now, some people criticize Beyonce, saying that the comment made her sound weak. So Viviana, I'll ask you to go first on this. What do you think about that?
HURTADO: I wouldn't be the same woman that I am if I didn't go home to my golden retriever. I mean, look, I actually am a big fan of Beyonce. I really like her a lot until this documentary, and until the OWN interview with Oprah.
A couple of things. Firstly, let's just be clear. Beyonce is a brilliant businesswoman. She has a whole apparatus and a machine around her and this is, this was a ratings boon for OWN and also for HBO, ratings through the roof. And you know, this is a woman who sells out concerts in 60 seconds flat. So this feeds into that.
But I think the issue that I really had with this is that, at least in the Oprah hour, in addition to Oprah saying, like, when was that moment where, you know, music and God connected? And I'm like, really? (Foreign language spoken) the lights went out, and that has more to do with structural problems that New Orleans has than this moment where God and music connected, but...
MARTIN: So - I'm sorry - I'm confused. So what are you saying? Are you saying that it just made no sense or you think the whole thing made no sense?
HURTADO: I think it was over the top. But I want to hyper-focus on Beyonce. The whole point of this documentary, the whole point of Oprah's infomercial leading up to her own infomercial on HBO was how authentic she is and how she's letting people in and how she's peeling back the onion and she's - the layer of the onion. She's so insanely private and she's letting us in and yet all I could do was fixate on her bleached blonde hair. If you want to be authentic, then go back to being a beautiful, successful brunette and that goes for Shakira, as well.
MARTIN: OK. Danielle, what do you think?
BELTON: You know, I always have this mixed feeling towards Beyonce, as well, but that's because I recognize that she's a huge try-hard and I'm also a try-hard, so I tend to hate people who remind me of myself and I have a lot of sympathy for her, though, because I feel like, if my parents had been much more Joe Jackson-like and instead of, like, giving me books and saying, you're going to college and they're saying, like, wait. You can sing and write and dance. All right, you know, I'm slapping some tap shoes on you and you're going to make us some money. And I'd be in a similar situation.
So, in some instances, I'm really sympathetic towards her because there's just like a slight lack of self-awareness. Like, she is really, really in control of her image and she is very, very driven and she's a perfectionist, but then there's moments like these in the documentary where it's like they don't quite fit the image that she's trying to push, so you wonder why. What was the goal of this, overall?
So it's like she was being very honest when she said that she feels like she wouldn't be who she is without Jay-Z because that makes a lot of sense. She's known him since she was a teenager and, in the documentary, she basically admits they started dating when she was 20, so that means Jay-Z is both like her lover, her best friend. He's even like a quasi-father figure because there is some age difference between the two, so of course, he'd be like this big influential part of her life.
The problem is this lack of introspection causes her not to realize it doesn't 100 percent jive with her same language about female empowerment and - I had to leave my father as a manager because I wanted to be independent.
But, you know, it's like you're independent, but you're an independent woman who, you know - it's part of your - part of your team is your incredibly powerful husband and you credit him in many ways with making you the performer and the woman that you are today. So it's like...
BELTON: It's a story of both independence and inter-dependence at the same time.
MARTIN: OK. Bridget?
JOHNSON: I'm actually going to defend Beyonce on this comment. I don't think that she was saying that she would be nothing if it weren't for Jay-Z. You know, I kind of look at myself. I'm extremely independent. I don't want the white picket fence. I like a man who's gone every so often on deployments because, you know, I'm gone every so often, too.
But I know that every man I've loved in varying degrees has shaped who I am today, teaching me something that was within myself that I didn't know was there, etc. Even the bad relationships teach you something about yourself that makes you stronger, so I do think that, when you're in love - and, you know, I believe that those two are in love - that there is a shaping of both people that occurs.
MARTIN: Yeah. I guess the part that bothers me is that, it seems to me that when men - powerful men - and they all do this. I mean, all president - I can not remember a president in my lifetime who has not credited his wife with being an important force in his life. I mean, no - people as different as Dick Cheney and Joe Biden have both, you know, repeatedly said how they married up. And why is that OK for a man to say, but it's not OK for a woman to say, that this person is really crucial to my being who I am and where I am today? So, I mean, I don't know. That's the part about it that seemed a little unfair.
OK. Before we go, let's talk about another powerful woman who's in the driver's seat, literally. I'm sorry. I had to do it. It was so cheap, but I went there. This weekend, racecar driver Danica Patrick won the pole position for the NASCAR Daytona 500. That basically means she drove the fastest qualifying time and she'll start in first place for Sunday's Daytona 500 race. She's the first woman to achieve this, and this is what she had to say to ESPN after her victory.
DANICA PATRICK: When I'm done racing, I hope people remember me as a great driver and I think it starts there. You know, hopefully, other drivers remember me as a great driver, but, you know, I don't want them to be any more guarded because of me being around or any more protective. I want them to race me just like they'd race anybody else and the more equal we all are, the better off I am that that happens.
MARTIN: Quick comment from everybody about that. Viviana?
HURTADO: I just think it's fabulous. I am the auntie of three nieces and I think about another quote that's kind of gotten a lot of play from Danica, which is I, quote, "was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl," and I think that's really appropriate, given our intense conversation today about body image and options and success and choice.
MARTIN: Danielle, what do you think?
BELTON: I think it's great. I mean, when you're extremely good at something and you're driven as she is and you want to be the best, you want to be appreciated on your own merits and so I appreciate that about her and I think it's a great thing.
MARTIN: Bridget, what do you think?
JOHNSON: I'm really glad that her success is, you know, very objective. You know, there's nothing subjective about crossing the finish line first because, otherwise, I'd be concerned that those Go Daddy commercials that she does are basically catering to the same audience that puts those Women With Weapons calendars up on their walls, so...
MARTIN: We don't have anybody who's green here to say, OK. That's great, but couldn't they be more environmentally friendly? OK. Couldn't they be running on vegetable oil or something like that? I guess that's another sort of conversation.
So Bridget Johnson is Washington, D.C. editor for P.J. Media. That's a conservative libertarian commentary and news website. Viviana Hurtado is blogger-in-chief at the website, The Wise Latina Club. They were both with us in Washington, D.C. and Danielle Belton is editor-at-large of Clutch magazine online. She joined us from St. Louis.
Ladies, thank you so much for joining us.
HURTADO: Thanks, Michel.
JOHNSON: Thanks, Michel.
BELTON: Thank you.
MARTIN: Coming up, books for boys on the verge of adulthood are often about a perilous journey, but a new book tells the story about an equally courageous inner one.
BENJAMIN ALIRE SAENZ: I think, when you're 15, you kind of are a philosopher and you are a thinker. You're miserable and you live in your head.
MARTIN: The author of the award-winning book, "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe." That's ahead on TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin.
MARTIN: The violence in Chicago is in the news, but for the students and staff at the city's Harper High School, there's nothing new about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: There's a war zone around. Our opposition is right down the street. Literally, it's on the next block.
MARTIN: What you probably never heard about Chicago's gang and youth violence. That's next time on TELL ME MORE.
Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.


text:
MRI (Video)
Article Translations: (Spanish)
An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan creates detailed pictures of the inside of the body. The test is painless. All you'll need to do is hold still for several minutes at a time so the pictures come out clear. Watch this video to get an idea of what happens.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-2024 KidsHealth ® All rights reserved. Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com


text:
Spencer Hawes and Jrue Holiday each added 14 points for the Sixers, who've won two straight and five of seven.
Alonzo Gee scored 17 and Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson had 14 apiece for Cleveland, which has lost six in a row. Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters combined for 14 points on 6-for-27 shooting. They came in averaging a combined 39.1 points, a league-best for a starting backcourt.
The Cavaliers had won eight of their last 10 games in Philadelphia, a stretch that began when LeBron James was the King of Cleveland.
For nearly three quarters, it seemed the Cavaliers would continue their successful run. But the Sixers started pulling away late in the third quarter.
Holiday hit a step-back jumper, Nick Young made a free throw and then his fastbreak slam gave the Sixers their biggest lead to that point, 61-55.
Jason Richardson's 3-pointer 3½ minutes into the fourth increased the lead to 69-59, but the Cavaliers went on a 14-6 run to pull to 77-75.
Turner answered with a jumper and after Varejao missed a putback, Hawes drilled a jumper to make it 79-73. Hawes' 3-pointer extended the lead to 82-75 with 2:15 left.
Turner's turnaround shot put the game away.
Before the game, injured Sixers center Andrew Bynum confirmed he hurt his other knee - the left one - while bowling on Nov. 10. His target date of Dec. 10 for basketball activities appears unlikely.
Young scored 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench. He left in the fourth quarter because of dizziness. Young wore fluorescent orange sneakers that clearly didn't match Philadelphia's white, red and blue colors. Considering his performance, he'll probably use those again.
The Sixers took a 43-42 lead after a back-and-forth first half.
Notes: The Sixers played their fourth straight home game and are in the middle of a stretch where they have eight of nine on their floor. ... They've won just three of their last 10 home games, dating to last season. ... The Sixers are 6-0 when leading entering the fourth quarter. ... Cavaliers F C.J. Miles, the team's top free-agent signing, played 14 minutes after sitting out three straight on a coach's decision. ... Cleveland hosts Philadelphia on Wednesday.


text:
According to multiple reports, including those from the Sacramento Bee and Yahoo! Sports, the Maloof family is close to a deal to sell the NBA Sacramento Kings to a group of Seattle-area investors headed by Chris Hansen of Valiant Capital for approximately $500 million. The Hansen group, which also includes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and two members of the Nordstrom family, want to relocate the franchise to Seattle as soon as the 2013-14 season.
Last October, the NBA pressured the Maloof family to sell the Kings to the Seattle group, which it declined to do. But the Maloofs are swimming in debt. The relocated franchise would replace the SuperSonics, who played in Seattle from 1968 until 2008, when they were relocated to Oklahoma City and renamed the Thunder.
Hansen's group worked extensively with the City of Seattle to build a new arena in the Sodo district. Yahoo reported that the plan is for the relocated franchise to play in KeyArena for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons while the new arena is under construction.
Wednesday's Yahoo! report comes after years of financial struggles for the Maloof family, which was forced to sell a vast majority of its stake in the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and its beer distributorship in New Mexico.
The family then attempted to relocate the team to Anaheim in 2011 and Virginia Beach this winter. In February of 2012, Stern, the Maloofs and the city of Sacramento, represented by Mayor Kevin Johnson, announced a tentative agreement to finance a new stadium downtown to replace the aging Arco Arena, now renamed Sleep Country Arena.
But that deal collapsed in April and Stern appeared to wash his hands of the affair during a press conference at the 2012 NBA Finals in June, saying he wouldn't speculate about the future of the Kings other than to announce that a move to Anaheim wouldn't be approved by the NBA's Board of Governors.
Forbes valued the Kings franchise at $300 million in January 2012. The Kings franchise moved to Sacramento from Kansas City in 1985. The Maloof family took majority control of the franchise in 1999.


text:
U.S. CEOs push plan to raise full retirement age to 70
WASHINGTON An influential group of business CEOs is pushing a plan to gradually increase the full retirement age to 70 for both Social Security and Medicare and to partially privatize the health insurance program for older Americans.
The Business Roundtable's plan would protect those 55 and older from cuts but younger workers would face significant changes. The plan unveiled Wednesday would result in smaller annual benefit increases for all Social Security recipients. Initial benefits for wealthy retirees would also be smaller.
- Reboot your retirement
- How to calculate your retirement number
- Fewer U.S. CEOs expect hiring dip in next 6 months
Medicare recipients would be able to enroll in the traditional program or in private plans that could adjust premiums based on age and health status.
"America can preserve the health and retirement safety net and rein in long-term spending growth by modernizing Medicare and Social Security in a way that addresses America's new fiscal and demographic realities," said Gary Loveman, chairman, president and chief executive of casino giant Caesars Entertainment (CZR).
Loveman, who chairs the Business Roundtable's health and retirement committee, said the business leaders will be meeting with members of Congress and the administration to press them to enact their plan.
The proposal comes as Republican leaders in Congress are calling for spending cuts as part of an agreement to increase the government's authority to borrow. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the U.S. will exhaust its borrowing authority as soon as mid-February, raising the possibility of a first-ever national default.
President Barack Obama has said he is willing to negotiate deficit reduction with GOP leaders but insists that those talks be separate from decisions to raise the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling. Obama has warned that if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the economy could crash and Social Security checks and veterans' benefits would be delayed.
The Business Roundtable is an association of CEOs of some of the largest U.S. companies. Member companies account for nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market, according to the group.
The group has been an ally of Obama in the past, endorsing his proposal to raise taxes on high earners during negotiations over the so-called "fiscal cliff" in December. Obama has embraced some parts of the business group's plan for Social Security and Medicare, but he opposes any plan to privatize Medicare, and has backed away from his earlier support for raising the eligibility age.
The proposal to offer private plans as part of Medicare is similar to a proposal by Republican Mitt Romney when he ran for president last year. Obama and Democrats in Congress campaigned against it, making it unlikely to pass any time soon.
"These ideas were soundly rejected in the last election only a few months ago," said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
The CEOs' plan puts them at odds with many groups that lobby on behalf of older Americans.
In a speech this week, A. Barry Rand, AARP's CEO, denounced proposals to increase the eligibility age for Medicare, saying it would shift costs to employers, state governments and individuals.
"This is pure folly and very dangerous," Rand said.
Retirees can now get reduced Social Security benefits starting at age 62. Retirees must wait until they are 66 to get full Social Security benefits, a threshold that is gradually rising to 67. The eligibility age for Medicare is 65. The business group's plan would make unspecified accommodations for people with physically demanding jobs.
Social Security and Medicare both face long-term financial problems as aging baby boomers reach retirement, leaving relatively fewer workers behind to fund the massive benefit programs.
The trustees who oversee Social Security say the trust funds that support the retirement and disability program will run out of money in 2033, unless Congress acts. At that point, payroll taxes would generate only enough money to pay about three-fourths of benefits.
Medicare is in worse shape. Its trust fund for inpatient care is projected to run dry in 2024, leaving the program unable to cover all its bills.
"The facts are clear: If we want future generations to have access to Social Security and Medicare, America can no longer afford to wait," said Randall L. Stephenson, Chairman and CEO of AT&T (T). "The time to act is now."
Among the CEOs' proposals—
- Adopt a new government inflation measure that would result in smaller annual increases in Social Security benefits.
- Make initial Social Security benefits more progressive by guaranteeing low-wage workers enough benefits to stay out of poverty, while lowering initial benefits for retirees with higher incomes.
- Require newly hired state and local workers to join Social Security. Some state and local agencies are not part of the system.
- Expand means testing for Medicare benefits so that wealthier recipients must pay more for services.
- Improve Medicare services for low-income people by better coordinating prevention and care for chronic conditions


text:
Showing results for tags 'Tester seeds'.
From the album: Randoms
© Potent
Purpose of Strain Hunters
Our planet is home to millions of species of animal and plants with their own habitat, and each plays a unique role in the perfect design of nature. Unfortunately many species of plants and animals are victim of uncontrolled human development. The sole intent of Strain Hunters is to identify, locate and retrieve cannabis landraces that have not yet been studied, in order to give scientists and doctors the possibility to further enhance knowledge of the cannabis plant in the medicinal field.
Preservation of Landraces
Cannabis, one of the most ancient plants known to man, used in every civilisation all over the world for medicinal and recreational purposes, is facing a very real threat of extinction. One day these plants could be helpful in developing better medications for the sick and the suffering. We feel it is our duty to preserve as many cannabis landraces in our genetic database, and by breeding them into other well-studied medicinal strains for the sole purpose of scientific research.
Usefull links
Cannabis should not be illegal
One of the goals of the United Nations, published years ago in official reports, was to wipe out the cannabis plant from the face of the earth by the year 2010. In reality this is far from being achieved, because man keeps using the cannabis plant for religious, medicinal and recreational purposes no matter what the law says. Most cultures cannot comprehend how a plant can be made illegal. In most people's perception, plants and animals stand above a status of legality or illegality, they just exist in a higher design of nature that goes beyond human laws and regulations.
Nevertheless most governments of cannabis- producing countries are implementing drastic measures to destroy crops. Dangerous chemicals are sprayed over fields and over the farmers themselves in most of the third world countries, and the poorest people of the planet are the ones paying the highest price for cultivating a plant that does not kill. But in the economy of scale, where demand dictates supply, the poorest people of the planet have no choice but to cultivate cannabis as a cash crop to feed their children and send them to school. Communities that are isolated in remote areas in the poorest regions of the planet are often the keepers of very special landraces.


text:
When looking for an appetizer one of the key requirements is often that it can be prepared in advance. No one wants to be stuck in the kitchen throughout their party and no one wants their guests to be eating cold food that should be hot. This recipe meets both of these criteria. You can assemble these a few hours ahead of time and keep them refrigerated. You could even make the filling the night before. Because it only takes a few minutes to assemble, these come together really easy, so you can make them even if you only have a few minutes of prep time to spare.
And best of all, they are always a big hit. Experiment with the tortilla variations for variety or just use your favorite. For these, I used a mix of spinach, sun-dried tomato and cheddar jalapeno. If you are going to use plain flour tortillas, I would change the cheese to pepper jack just to add a little bit more spice. One note is that you want to make sure your tortillas are at room temperature before you roll them so they are nice and flexible.
Spicy Chicken Tortilla Roll-Ups
Adapted from Sing For Your Supper
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can Ro-tel diced tomatoes, drained
12 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt (I like Lawry's)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
6 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
6-8 large flour tortillas
Season the chicken breasts with salt, half of the cumin, and 1 tsp of the chili powder. Add chicken to a skillet and add about 1 cup of water. Cover and cook on med-high heat until cooked through. Add more water if necessary. Once the chicken is cooked, cool slightly and shred with 2 forks.
In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, drained tomatoes, cheese, remaining spices, garlic, cilantro and scallions. Mix together until well-incorporated. Add cooled chicken and stir together.
Lay out tortillas and divide mixture evenly in the center of each. Spread into a thin layer leaving the edges clean. Roll each tortilla tightly. Do not fold in the ends like you would with a burrito but leave them free. Use a sharp knife to cut into 1" thick slices and transfer to a serving platter. (The end pieces will likely unroll a little so just eat the extras). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.


text:
These are the Dhamma Wheel Terms of Service. Violations of the Terms of Service may lead to the removal of posting privileges, so please ensure you are familiar with them.
1. Intention
Dhamma Wheel is an environment for the discussion of Theravada Buddhism. Special forums have been created for special areas of interest so please respect these boundaries. Conversation not within the scope of this forum, may potentially be allowable at other DW sites, such as Dharma Wheel Mahayana or Dharma Paths.
Members are expected to self-moderate, being mindful of the adage that 'behaviour breeds behaviour'. Mutual respect and friendliness should be the basis of all interactions. If you find anything objectionable, let the administrators or moderators know using the Report Post function, but refrain from posting public responses because meta-discussion has the tendency to derail topics.
If you find yourself unable to access your account or wish to challenge an account suspension, please e-mail [email protected]
2. Speech
Any subject matter that may be off-topic or is intended to cause disruption or harm may be removed without notice. This includes, but is not restricted to:
a. Nasty speech
b. Badmouthing Buddhist discussion forums
c. Unnecessarily explicit language and imagery
d. Unsubstantiated allegations against individuals or traditions - including psychoanalyzing other members, and predictions or threats of kammic retribution
e. Disruptive meta-discussion (i.e. discussion about discussion, including in-topic complaints about the existence of discussions that don't suit your preferences)
f. Personal attacks, including:
--- the vilification of members based on personal attributes (e.g. gender, nationality, sexuality, race, age)
--- the vilification of members based on their approach to the Dhamma (e.g. their practices, level of experience, or chosen tradition)
--- mocking or berating members
g. Attacks against the Buddha, Dhamma, or Sangha, which violate the Intention of this forum (See Section 1. Intention for details)
h. Goodbye Cruel Forum posts
i. Posts that are not mindful of the current topic, as defined in the initial post
j. Pressuring members to engage, despite them having already explicitly declined such engagement in the current topic
k. All discussion of Politics, Current Affairs, and News is forbidden, except in the sub-forum of that name, and subject to the particular conditions for posting there. (Please note that this is an "opt-in" section, accessible by sending a PM (Private Message) to DNS or Sam Vara.)
This is an English language forum, therefore posts must be in English or Pāli (i.e. the language of the Tipitaka and the ancient commentaries). As the majority of members are not fluent in Pāli, please consider the value of providing English translations for Pāli text where practicable. The English language requirement does not apply to general greetings and salutations, nor to the Non-English Resources section.
3. Action
The following actions are not permitted at Dhamma Wheel:
a. Spamming
b. Commercial advertising
c. Solicitation of funds
d. Advocating illegal activity
e. Infringing upon the copyright of others (instead… cite sources, apply Fair Use, and don't link to material that violates copyright)
f. Expressing intentions of self-harm or suicide (if you require assistance, please visit befrienders)
g. The unauthorised collection and release of personal information
h. Claiming to be a Buddha, samma-sam-buddha, or Metteyya (Maitreya)
i. Proselytizing and evangelizing other paths or doctrines, whether spiritual or secular
j. Excessive posting against core Theravada principles, including kamma, rebirth, the awakening of the Buddha will not be allowed except in great rebirth thread and other topics where it may be on-topic, but not in other areas of the forum.
k. Wholesale revision and deletion of previous posts
l. The generation of multiple and/or fake accounts.
m. Blatant and wilful disregard of the Dhamma Wheel complaints procedure
n. Posting via a TOR anonymizer service (which will automatically be interpreted as an attempt to circumvent ToS 3l)
4. Mindfulness
At Dhamma Wheel, we respect your intellectual and spiritual autonomy. As such, the staff here will not enforce reverence to anyone or anything, nor censor speech gratuitously. In keeping with this respect for your autonomy, we expect you to be personally responsible for your own emotions and responses. If there are forum members you do not wish to engage with, please apply restraint and/or register them in the system as foes - do not publicly complain about them.
Speech and actions are moderated strictly and impartially according to the standards defined in the Terms of Service - not to the standard of Sutta, Vinaya, personal preference, nor any other code and/or standard of conduct. If you believe acts of moderation are not aligned with the Terms of Service, please engage the Dhamma Wheel complaints procedure.
Since you are not here alone, new topics should invite discussion via questions, suggestions, an introduction, or provide appropriate context.
5. Legal Statement
Dhamma Wheel and related sites of the site owner are owned and operated out of the U.S.A. As such it comes under the guidelines of 47 US Code Section 230(c)(1), including the Communications Decency Act, which provides owners, administrators, moderators, and members immunity from any content in here posted by someone else. Each is responsible for their own posting and the team has no liability even if administrators and/or moderators fail to remove an alleged offending post. Any poster who makes legal threats against anyone on this forum will be grounds for immediate banning.
For more info related to this law see: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
Use of this forum is at no membership fee and voluntary. We do not delete accounts nor delete posts as it disrupts the conversation. Each poster is responsible for carefully crafting their posts and one should avoid making statements that will be regretted. This is a voluntary forum with no membership fees. Except as provided in furtherance of moderation, DW will not alter information posted nor use the information for commercial purposes. DW shall have no responsibility to protect information posted on DW. Members may use anonymous usernames and need not use their real names. If they use their real name, that is by their choice and moderating staff reserves the right to refuse name changes (however they may allow in some instances). Posts cannot be edited or deleted after one hour from posting as it disrupts the conversation, especially when whole posts are deleted throughout several conversations. Posters have no ownership of any information they post here and do so at their own choice. Each poster is responsible for carefully crafting their posts due to this and again, this is a voluntary forum at no membership fee.
6. Like the Vinaya, the TOS may be added to over time
The Sangha didn't need many rules to start with. More were created over time as issues arose within the community. We reserve the right to add, amend or delete rules as deemed necessary.
With metta,
Dhamma Wheel Staff
Related topics...
Dhamma Wheel Complaints Procedure
A guide on how to get the most out of your new topics
[Last updated: March 15, 2023]


text:
ATLANTA (AP) — Adult obesity still isn't budging, the latest government survey shows.
The national telephone survey found 13 states with very high rates of obesity last year. Overall, the proportion of U.S. adults deemed obese has been about the same for years now.
"A plateau is better than rising numbers. But it's discouraging because we're plateauing at a very high number," said Kelly Brownell, a Duke University public policy expert who specializes in obesity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does the survey each year, and recently released 2012 results.
At least 30 percent of adults were obese in 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. In 2011, a dozen states reached that threshold.
Louisiana and Mississippi led the list. In both, nearly 35 percent of adults were obese. Colorado was lowest, with less than 21 percent obese.
It's not surprising states in the South and Midwest top the charts year after year, experts say. Many states in those regions have higher poverty rates.
"When you have a limited income, you have to buy foods that are cheap. And foods that are cheap tend to have a lot of sugar and salt and fat," said Dr. George Bray, an obesity expert at Louisiana State University.
The CDC defines someone as obese if their weight-to-height ratio — called a "body mass index" — hits 30 or higher. A 5-foot-9 person would be considered obese at 203 pounds or more.
The CDC's annual telephone survey asks adults their height and weight. Overall, nearly 28 percent of Americans were obese, the 2012 survey found. That's roughly the same as it's been since 2008.
Another CDC survey — which weighs and measures participants — is considered more accurate. Since the middle of the last decade, that survey has found that around 35 percent of U.S. adults are obese.
The story may be different with children. A CDC study released last week showed — for the first time — slight drops in obesity for low-income preschoolers in 18 states.
Experts called that report encouraging, but note it studied children fed through a federal program which provides food vouchers and other services. The decline in obesity was largely attributed to program changes — instituted in 2009 — that eliminated juice from infant food packages, provided less saturated fat, and made it easier to buy fruits and vegetables.


text:
Royals - 220 300 002 - 9 15 2 Red Sox - 203 160 10x - 13 16 1
Dustin Pedroia: 4-for-5, 2B, 3B, BB, 3 RS, RBI David Ortiz: 4-for-5, 3 2B, 5 RBI Adrian Gonzalez: 2-for-3, 3 RS, 2 RBI, BB, HBP Marco Scutaro: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RS Jacoby Ellsbury: 2-for-3, 2B, RSPedroia's hitting streak is now at 23 games, and he has reached base by hit or walk in 35 straight games. Pedroia has a hit in 42 of his last 44 games.
In the fourth and fifth innings, the Red Sox had 12 of 13 batters reach base.
After Miller floundered (3.2-9-7-2-1, 80), Aceves was excellent in relief (3-1.3-0-0-3, 52). Matt Albers pitched a scoreless eighth inning. He has not allowed a run in July (12.1 innings) and has allowed only one run in his last 21.1 innings, dating back to June 4.4th (Royals lead 7-5): McDonald - K Scutaro - 6-3 Gonzalez - Single Pedroia - Single Ortiz - BB Crawford - BB (6-7) Varitek - F8 5th: Reddick - Single Ellsbury (ph) - Single Sutton (ph) - SAC/E4 (8-7) Scutaro - BB Gonzalez - Single (9-7) Pedroia - Single Ortiz - Single (11-7) Crawford - Single Varitek - K Reddick - F8 SAC (12-7) Ellsbury - F8
The Yankees beat the Mariners 4-1. Seattle managed only one hit and lost its 17th straight game. CC Sabathia struck out a career-high 14 batters in seven innings. New York remains 2 GB Boston.
Danny Duffy / Andrew Miller
Last night was only the second game since 1964 in which the Red Sox had at least 13 hits but scored only one run. It has happened to Boston six times since 1919. (The most hits the Red Sox have had while being shutout is 12.)
Michael Vega, Globe:
The Red Sox outhit the Royals, 13-12, marking the ninth game in a row the team has reached double-digit hits.It's been only five games in a row.
Kevin Youkilis tweaked his right hamstring last night, and will likely be given tonight off.
MFY: Mariners/Yankees at 7 PM.


text:
Monday, July 6, 2009
Make a Vintage-Inspired Half Slip: No Pattern Required!
You'll need:
-a yard of fabric. I'm using a silk jacquard, but you can use any fabric that you'd normally use for lingerie (nylon, rayon, cotton, etc.)
-a yard of picot edge lingerie elastic (You can order this online at Sew Sassy Fabrics.)
-a yard of lace trim
-a bit of velvet ribbon trim for a bow (optional)
-a gridded cardboard mat or cutting mat (not completely necessary, but will be very helpful)
-tracing paper (I'm using Swedish tracing paper)
-clear plastic ruler
-measuring tape
Your pattern will be a simple rectangle. You just need to get 2 easy measurements: the width and height of the slip.
Measure the widest part of your lower body, keeping the tape measure relaxed. Your widest part might be your hip measurement, but for some women, your derriere will be the largest measurement. Add 3 inches of ease to this number. So, if your measurement is 41, you'll get 44. Divide this number in half. Your first measurement is 22".
Figure out how long you want your slip to be. Make sure it's about three inches shorter than the skirt you plan to wear it with. My desired length is 22 inches. Now, add one inch to this number to account for the waistband and the lace application at the bottom. Your second measurement is therefore 23".
So, to make your pattern, draw a 22 x 23 inch rectangle.
I use tracing paper on top of my gridded cardboard cutting mat to make the rectangle. Add a 5/8" seam allowance to the sides only. This is your pattern!
Lay out your fabric and cut two of the pattern. (You might be able to do this with the fabric folded, but because of my measurement and the width of my fabric, I needed to do a single-layer layout.)
Pin the two pieces along the side edges with right sides together, forming a tube. Stitch with a 5/8" seam allowance. Press the seams open, and finish the raw edges in your preferred method (serging, zigzagging, overcasting, pinking, binding, etc.)
Now you'll need to cut your elastic to the right length. To do this, wrap the elastic snugly around your natural waist, or the smallest part of your torso. (You'll want it to stretch a bit. Your cut length of elastic should end up being an inch or two smaller than your waist measurement.) Mark this length. Add 1/2", and then cut the elastic.
With right sides of the elastic together, stitch the ends together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Stitch back and forth a few times to make sure it's secure.
Trim very close to the stitching.
Divide the elastic into quarters and mark with pins. The seam will be the first quarter spot to mark.
With right sides together and the picot edge of the elastic pointing down, pin the quarter marks of the elastic to one raw end of the fabric tube. Start by pinning the elastic seam to the center back of the slip. Then pin the other quarter marks of the elastic to the side seams and the center front seam.
Your elastic will be pinned to your slip in four places, and you'll have a lot of loose fabric.
Now you're going to zig zag the elastic to the slip.
Starting at the back seam of the elastic, use a zig zag stitch to stitch the elastic to the slip. Stitch close to the picot edge of the elastic. You need to stretch out the elastic to fit the slip as you go. Pull with both hands, from the front and back of the fabric.
Trim the excess fabric from the top of the elastic to neaten.
Next, turn the elastic to the inside of the slip. Now use a zig zag stitch again to stitch the elastic onto the slip, having the your needle first catch the slip, and then the edge of the elastic.
Here's how it will look as it's coming out of the sewing machine:
And from the right side:
When you're done stitching, you'll see that the elastic has stretched out. You need to steam it to shrink it back to its original size. (This is my favorite part!) Hold your iron an inch over the elastic and steam the heck out of it. It will shrink up right before your eyes. Amazing!
Now stitch the lace to the bottom of the slip using a very narrow zig zag stitch. Use a thread to coordinate with the lace, not your fabric. The scalloped edge of the lace will meet the raw edge of the fabric.
From the back side, trim away the excess hem fabric, close to the zig zag.
If you'd like to add a bow, stitch it by hand to the center front.
Voila! Your slip is done. Wasn't that easy?
Let me know in the comments if you have questions!
27 comments:
- AnonymousJuly 7, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Great tutorial, very clear and easy to understand. Thanks! Eithne
ReplyDelete - AnonymousJuly 9, 2009 at 8:53 PM
Hello Gertie, Hurrah! I found you! If you'd like an "old-fashioned" way of neatening elastic joins, try this: Cut a length of (1/2" to 1" wide) satin ribbon 2-1/2 times the width* of the elastic; set it aside. Join the elastic and trim excess. Center the ribbon on the underside of the elastic on the join; baste in place; then wrap the ribbon all the way around the elastic to the starting place. Fold under 1/8" and sew in place. This method of reinforcing elastic joins on panties and slips was used by RWT for years. Cordially, Nehmah *Say the elastic is 3/8" wide; you need enough ribbon to cover the top, the underside and 1/8" to fold under. N
ReplyDelete - AnonymousJuly 21, 2009 at 11:57 PM
Thanks ever so much for the tutorial. I needed to make a half slip without a pattern and there you were!
ReplyDelete Thanks for the slip tutorial! It turned out so cute! However, I did have one problem....when I steamed the elastic, it didn't shrink up very much. I tried doing it several times, and it still is too stretched! Will it correct itself once I wash it, or is there something else I can try?
KellyWow, thanks a bunch for this, I figured sewing a half-slip would be pretty simple. Now to go do this so I can wear my wonderful retro inspired skirt that I sewed as a class project. We (my class) didn't have time to sew a lining into the skirt if we needed one so our instructor said it waa alright, as long as you were willing to wear the skirt with a slip.
ReplyDeleteIt's been years since you've posted this but I just made mine tonight after buying 2 very sheer summer dresses. Cut yesterday and sewn up this evening while my husband was at the grocery! He did not believe I made it, with lace edging, picot elastic, and a little contrast bound slit and matching bow. How cute and lovely. Thank you!
ReplyDelete- AnonymousApril 29, 2012 at 3:00 AM
Thanks for these instructions! I just made a slip to go under a great vintage wool skirt I have, which is sadly very itchy.
I was going fine until the turning-over of the elastic. I think my elastic differs to yours, it was far too narrow. But I had heaps of it, so I straight stitched another layer to the outside, and it looks adorable, especially with the bow! Very good and interesting site with very good look and perfect information I like it chat sohbet chat sohbet
ReplyDelete- AnonymousJune 17, 2013 at 2:16 AM
Thank you for this tutorial. I tried to find a pattern in JoAnn's but no one makes one anymore. Now I can make my own.
ReplyDelete - AnonymousAugust 22, 2013 at 10:10 PM
Thanks for the tutorial, Gertie! (I'm sorry that I'm more than four years late to the party.)
I've already measured and cut my fabric. The two pieces are now pinned together and awaiting being sewn together tomorrow:)
Is there a pattern for a full slip that's readily available? - AnonymousOctober 5, 2013 at 9:31 PM
I'm a late-comer too - but glad that I found your site. Why is the encased elastic waistband not popular? Is it really a lot bulkier than directly sewing on the elastic? Can any elastic be used to sew straight onto the waist? Thanks Gertie. Meels
ReplyDelete Thanks for the tip about steaming the elastic. I just made a cotton batiste slip, and I thought I had stretched the elastic too much, because it stayed sort of stretched out. I can still wear the slip, but was thinking of re-doing the waistband with a more heavy-duty elastic. I'm going to try steaming it first, as I do like the delicate look of the 3/8" picot elastic.


text:
U.S. unemployment rate plummets
May 2, 2014
By Christopher S. Rugaber The Associated Press
U.S. employers added a robust 288,000 jobs in April, the most in two years. This is the strongest evidence to date that the economy is picking up after a brutal winter slowed growth.
The Labor Department also said Friday that the unemployment rate sank to 6.3 per cent, its lowest level since September 2008, from 6.7 per cent in March. But the drop occurred because the number of people working or seeking work fell sharply. People aren't counted as unemployed if they're not looking for a job.
In addition to the burst of hiring in April, employers added more jobs in February and March than previously estimated. The job totals for those two months were up by a combined 36,000.
Employers have now added an average of 238,000 jobs the past three months, up from 167,000 in the previous three.
"Not only is job growth continuing, but it is accelerating," said Patrick O'Keefe, director of economic research at the accounting and consulting firm CohnReznick.
Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the surge in hiring "signals that American companies are optimistic the economy will snap back smartly after the largely weather-related slump in the first quarter."
Hiring last month was broad-based and included higher-paying jobs: manufacturing gained 12,000 and construction gained 32,000. Professional and technical services, which include accounting and engineering positions, added 25,100 jobs. The number of government jobs grew 15,000, mostly at the local level.
One sour note: Average hourly pay was unchanged at $24.31. Average wages have risen just 1.9 per cent in the past 12 months, just above the annual inflation rate of 1.5 per cent.
The fall in the unemployment rate was due mainly to the exodus of people who stopped looking for work. O'Keefe said he was surprised by the 806,000 drop in the number of Americans either with a job or seeking one. But he noted that that figure is volatile from month to month and that during the first three months of 2014, nearly 1.3 million people had poured into the labour force.
The jump in hiring comes after a spate of other data showed that the economy is improving. Consumers are ramping up spending, businesses are ordering more goods and manufacturers are expanding. The strengthening numbers show that harsh snowstorms and frigid cold in January and February were largely to blame for the economy's scant growth at the start of the year.
The economy barely expanded from January through March, eking out an annual growth rate of just 0.1 per cent, down from a 2.6 per cent rate in the final three months of 2013. Americans spent more last quarter on utilities and health care, but their spending on goods barely rose. Businesses also reduced spending, and exports fell.
Still, other data indicate that the economy was already rebounding in March and probably improved further in April. Consumers bought more cars and spent more at shopping malls. Overall consumer spending soared in March by the most in 4.5 years.
Spending is up partly because Americans earned a bit more, and confidence has improved from the bleak winter months. Incomes rose 0.5 per cent in March, the government said, the most since August.
And a private survey showed that manufacturing activity accelerated in April for a third straight month.
Businesses are also investing more in machinery and equipment after cutting back in those areas in January and December. Business orders for manufactured goods jumped in March, the government said last week.
All told, the positive news has led most economists to forecast a strong rebound in economic growth – to a 3.5 per cent annual rate in the current April-June quarter. And growth should reach nearly three per cent for the full year, up from 1.9 per cent in 2013, they expect.


text:
InvestingTip: Fund Flows. In January 2017, investors added $10 billion to mutual funds, a significant shift from the $56 billion they had taken out of mutual funds the month before.
Source: Investment Company Institute, 2017
According to Yale University's Crash Confidence Index, only about 27% of investors are confident the stock market will not crash sometime during the next six months.1
But if fear leads investors to avoid the entire investment class, they may limit their potential returns. For example, during the 20-year period ended December 31, 2017, stocks had an average annual return of 8.5%. By comparison, bonds returned 6.1% and cash 2.0% during the same time frame. During that 20-year stretch, stocks outperformed bonds and cash in 14 years out of 20.2
But the stock market is volatile. Between October 9, 2007, and March 9, 2009, the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index shed well over half its value. But then the S&P 500 started clawing its way back and ended 2010 within 20% of the October 9, 2007, close.3
If the impulse to be safe keeps investors out of the stock market, it may also keep them from taking advantage of the potential returns the stock market has to offer.
Fast Fact: Fund Owner. Nearly half of U.S. households — 44% — own shares of mutual funds. That's an estimated 54.9 million households.
Source: Investment Company Institute, 2017
Cash alternatives — the most conservative of the three investment classes — outperformed stocks and bonds only once during the 20-year period.2
A sound investing strategy considers short-term volatility without losing sight of long-term objectives.
A sound strategy can involve diversifying capital between different classes of investments. That way, under-performance in one type of asset may be offset by the performance of another.
Bear in mind, though, that diversification and asset allocation are approaches to help manage investment risk. They do not eliminate the risk of loss if a security price declines. The asset class that performs best one year may not do so the next. Diversifying your holdings among several different investment types and understanding that asset classes can move in and out of favor may help you manage the risk in your investment portfolio.
Changing Lead
The asset class that performs best one year doesn't necessarily do so the next.2
- Yale University, 2018
- Thomson Reuters, 2018, for the period December 31, 1997 through December 31, 2017. Stocks are represented by the S&P 500 Composite index (total return), an unmanaged index that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Bonds are represented by the Citigroup Corporate Bond Composite Index, an unmanaged index that is generally considered representative of the U.S. bond market. Cash is represented by the Citigroup 3-Month Treasury-Bill index, an unmanaged index that is generally considered representative of short-term cash alternatives. U.S. Treasury bills are guaranteed by the federal government as to the timely payment of principal and interest. However, if you sell a Treasury bill prior to maturity, it could be worth more or less that the original price paid. Index performance is not indicative of the past performance of a particular investment. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index.
- Standard & Poor's Corp, 2017. The high of 1565.15 was recorded on October 9, 2007 and the low of 676.53 was recorded on March 9, 2009. The S&P 500 Composite index (total return) is an unmanaged index that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Index performance is not indicative of the past performance of a particular investment. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index.
The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright 2019 FMG Suite.


text:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. And it's time now for sports.
SIMON: OK, maybe that should be the (hums Olympic theme) because in just a few days, all the pomp and patriotism, the grit and athleticism, the sweat and pomposity of the 2010 Olympic Summer Games begins. Here with a preview NPR's Tom Goldman joins us. Tom, thanks so much for being with us.
TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Did I just hear doves released in the studio there, Scott?
SIMON: Yeah. Hear the flapping of their little wings? First week of the Olympics, Tom. Swimming in the marquis sport.
GOLDMAN: Oh, is it ever.
SIMON: And Michael Phelps will obviously get a lot of attention but so will his chief rival, Ryan Lochte.
GOLDMAN: Oh, yeah. You know, with all due respect to all those scores of other fantastic swimmers, it's going to be all about Phelps and Lochte. The two races they go head to head in should be two of the most exciting at the games - the men's 200 and 400 individual medleys. In fact, the 400 IM is the first swimming final of the games the day after the opening ceremony.
And so what a way to kick things off. Those guys swam those races at the U.S. Olympic trials really close, one of them winning one race, the other guy winning the other. So it should be fantastic. Now, Michael Phelps needs three medals to become the Olympian to win the most medals ever. Right now, that mark is held by the gymnast Larisa Latynina of the former Soviet Union.
She had 18. Phelps now has 16. He needs three to get to 19. He's entered in seven events, four individual and three relays, and he should be able to get those medals and then some, and should go out with a big splash in his final Olympic Games.
SIMON: Let's look ahead to track and field because a couple of great Jamaicans - and I know there are many great Jamaicans - but Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, and the man who's become his chief rival, Yohan Blake. Is it possible there will be a new world's fastest man by the end of these Olympics?
GOLDMAN: Yeah. I mean, I think most agree that Usain Bolt is still the world's fastest man, although Yohan Blake gave the world pause, certainly, at the recent Jamaican track and field trials. He beat his training partner and good buddy, Usain Bolt, in both the 100 and 200 meters. Of course, Usain is the defending champions at the Olympics and the world record holder in both those events.
You know, Scott, the greatest athletes need motivation and this obviously is great motivation for Usain Bolt. I predict there will be no antics like in the 100 meters in Beijing when, you know, he had so blown away the field that he spread his arms and looked at the crowd before he finished. He'll be all business.
And who knows how low Usain Bolt can go when he's all business. Now, as long as he does better on his starts, though. He's notoriously slow out of the blocks.
SIMON: Usain Bolt's notoriously slow out of the blocks, huh?
GOLDMAN: Relatively speaking.
SIMON: All right. What other sports or athletes you're going to keep an eye on?
GOLDMAN: So, so many. In track and field it's going to be fascinating to see Oscar Pistorius run from South Africa.
SIMON: Yes.
GOLDMAN: The first amputee to compete in a track event in the Olympics, as opposed to the Paralympics. He's called the Blade Runner for his curved prosthesis blades called Cheetahs. He's running in the 400 and a relay race. Other track and field - the decathlon with American Ashton Eaton coming off a world record performance at the Olympic trials. In swimming, Missy Franklin, a teenager from the U.S. She's in seven events. She could become a star at these games.
Women's soccer. Can the USA avenge its disappointment at the World Cup? And basketball, of course, Scott, mens and womens. The USA owns that. The women are so dominant they've won the last four gold medals. They should win a fifth straight. The men should win but could be pushed by Argentina, certainly Spain with the Gasol brothers.
So that'll be a great tournament.
SIMON: NPR's Tom Goldman. Thanks so much.
GOLDMAN: You're so welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Incredibly Simple Secret to Lump-Free Sauce
Repeat after me, "Hot roux, cold milk, no lumps." That's it. As you'll see in the video, no matter how sloppy your sauce making techniques are, as long as your liquid is cold, and your roux is hot, lumps are almost impossible to create. Below the video, I've given the ingredients for the simple white sauce I used to illustrate my point. I turned mine into a beautiful macaroni and cheese, but this has so many other applications that mastery of its silky-smoothness is mandatory for any wannabe cook. Enjoy!
3 cups whole milk
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
29 comments:
- Livia said...
My grandma taught me this trick when I was a teenager. I still remember it, and use it always!
Thanks for sharing with everyone who didn't have such a thoughtful grandma :-) - April 27, 2010 at 9:55 PM
Hi Chef. What is the name of your theme song? I love that tune.
- April 27, 2010 at 11:49 PM
- Chef John said...
called "Buddy" in iMovie software
Livia, I was lucky to have a thoughtful grandma too! - April 27, 2010 at 11:57 PM
There seems to be a school of people who think that hot milk into hot roux will prevent lumps (e.g. the Food Network chefs who tell us to 'heat up the milk in another saucepan' all the time). Any validity there?
- April 28, 2010 at 12:56 AM
last time i made the white sauce, it tasted like raw flower. thanks for the tip.
- April 28, 2010 at 1:29 AM
- Chef John said...
i believe everything i hear on the Food Network ;-)
- April 28, 2010 at 1:38 AM
- Marco Barisione said...
Really? I was always told the milk has to be room temperature or warmer. In that case you can just throw the milk in and you won't get any lump, while if you use cold milk you have to be very careful.
Being an engineer now I will have to try both ways side by side and verify the opposite claims... - April 28, 2010 at 5:03 AM
- Chef John said...
don't bother, cold is the way to go, AND it saves a step. You saw the video right? Works like a charm even if you try to screw it up.
- April 28, 2010 at 11:09 AM
- Chris K. said...
Adding hot liquid to hot roux causes the resulting sauce to thicken very quickly. Basically you get a sticky mess that's difficult to work with. Sure, you could whisk the crap out of it, but that's a lot of extra work. And if the starch granules from the flour aren't adequately separated into the roux, you will get lumpy sauce anyway.
Using cold liquids allows you to slow the rate at which those starch granules in the roux gelatinize (fancy word for "thicken") - which in turn minimizes the chance of lumps forming in the sauce.
Of course, there are circumstances where you may want to use hot liquid (such as infusions). In those cases you can let the roux cool down a bit off the flame, and then add the hot liquid.
But whatever. The point is to incorporate two ingredients at differing temperatures in order to slow the thickening process. It's essentially the same principle as tempering eggs.
Some cooks prefer to use hot liquids precisely because it's faster. But most home cooks don't need that urgency. They just want the sauce to turn out right. Right? - April 28, 2010 at 1:57 PM
- Luatica said...
Funny enough, I have seen profesional chefs do it with warm milk claiming it works for them.
Also have family members that warm the milk and turn fine.
Personally I use it cold because that's how it comes from the fridge.
For me, I think i somewhat managed to get lumps both ways and what only seems to work for me is not add too much at at time and mix, mix, mix. At least on the first step that it is when it is most critical.
My thoughts here are that depending on how much you add at the time and how hot your pan is, the milk might warm really quick and then maybe not longer making a difference the initial temperature.
Then again I might just be too clumsy for these tricks. - April 28, 2010 at 4:23 PM
- tonkaslim said...
What causes a sauce to separate, Chef? Any way to save once that happens? I made an alfredo sauce recently and it started fine but ended up an ugly grainy mess.
- April 28, 2010 at 4:46 PM
- Chef John said...
That's a bit complicated since all types of sauces "break" for different reasons. Cheese sauces usually separate when the cheese "cooks" and the fat leaks out. No real way to unbreak a cheese sauce.
- April 28, 2010 at 4:49 PM
- Jesse from Detroit said...
Check out that macro-moneyshot! Nice shootin, tex. ;)
- April 28, 2010 at 6:00 PM
- Razors Edge said...
Thanks for the tips on sauce making. I've only done it a few times but most recently it turned out a bit 'granular'... if that makes any sense. Not sure pouring the flour in right as it started to sing would cause that..
- April 29, 2010 at 4:46 AM
Chef John! My food wish is for you to make a Caprese Salad! I don't know if you know what that is... but it's so delicious and easy, and it tasted really good with roasted red peppers. Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella slices with Basil or Pesto and fresh cracked red pepper... with sometimes balsamic glaze.
- April 29, 2010 at 5:29 AM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef John, my question is "When do you add the seasonings to the cream sauce"? Is it while your cooking the roux or after it's thru cooking?
- April 29, 2010 at 12:36 PM
- Chef John said...
I may, but ONLY late this summer when the tomatoes are sweet and ripe. Chefs that make that salad using supermarket tomatoes are hacks!
- April 29, 2010 at 1:06 PM
- Chef John said...
the spices for this can be added at the end after the milk
- April 29, 2010 at 1:08 PM
- momgateway said...
thanks for the great tip-
- April 29, 2010 at 9:35 PM
- Unknown said...
LOL! Keep the 'stache! That's great!
Most of the chefs at my culinary school are clean shaven. Chef Tom Hickey, the head of our school and grand commander of the Golden Toque has a legendary mustache. I think that is reason enough for a chef to grow/keep a 'stache going, even the ladies. - May 2, 2010 at 9:21 PM
- Amanda said...
I make my mac and cheese the same way! Glad I found your blog, having fun digging through your old posts :)
- May 18, 2010 at 9:53 PM
- Chef John said...
mots people add when the milk is added, but doesn't really matter too much.
- July 20, 2010 at 1:27 PM
- Yard Sales Kingdom said...
If i want to make this into a pasta sauce, would I want to use heavy cream instead of milk? I saw that most of your pasta recipes use heavy cream instead of milk.
- September 24, 2010 at 12:39 AM
- Chef John said...
no, use as is. cream is usually not thickened as much
- September 24, 2010 at 1:43 AM
how to make lump free polenta?
- November 10, 2011 at 12:47 PM
- Radhika said...
Use a beater and whip/beat the sauce constantly for 2-3 minutes. No lumps :)
In case there are too many, just run the blender and you'll get an even consistency. It'll be a little thick though. So, make sure to save extra milk to mix later! - May 1, 2013 at 12:14 PM
- Unknown said...
Chef John after many many attempts, I can't seem to get rouxs right. If I set the heat on medium-low the butter will take ages to melt and the flour doesn't seem to cook at all. If I turn up the heat, it just starts smelling like pie crust a couple of seconds after I add the flour, burning. The only way I have managed to get a good roux is to set the heat at medium and after adding the flour I need to remove the pan from the heat, let it cool, back to the heat, and so forth. Why does it have to be that way?
- May 18, 2013 at 4:59 PM
- Chef John said...
Sorry,but I have no idea! Should look and behave like the video. Ages to melt? I don't understand. Wait until it melts, add flour and cook.
- May 19, 2013 at 2:14 PM
- Nick B. (PockASqueeno) said...
So I made moussaka last night and had to make a beschamel sauce for the first time. It turned out lumpy, but surprisingly it didn't *taste* bad. But the thick, floury part poured out at the very end. I did use cold milk because I remembered what you always say! Anyway, I Googled it and found an article called "5 common mistakes in making beschamel" or something to that effect. Turns out I'd basically made ALL FIVE of those mistakes, including dumping in all the milk at once, not cooking it long enough, and oddly enough, using cold milk. Yep, the article said to heat up the milk. But I trust Chef John more than some random article on Google.
Anyway, next time I'll be sure to avoid the other four mistakes, but I'll still use cold milk because that's what Chef John told me. �� - November 1, 2019 at 3:40 PM


text:
Empire State Development (ESD) is the economic development arm for New York State, focused on strengthening New York State's economy. For additional information on technical and financial assistance to help big and small businesses meet their goals, click here.
The Division of Minority and Women's Business Development (DMWBD) focuses on promoting equality of economic opportunities for MWBEs and eliminating barriers to their participation in state contracts. DMWBD supplements New York State's economic leadership with information and resources that increase access to information and opportunities MWBEs throughout the state. For additional information and assistance, click here.


text:
Richard at Cyclelicio.us blogged this yesterday. It's an online survey from a group called Ecology Action in the US about bicycle commuting. Right off the bat I agreed with Richard about the fact that the first four reasons are silly and out of touch with basic anthropology. The most important reason of all was left out. Richard, however, claimed that the most important reason was that it was 'fun'. I got off the bus at that point. I don't ride a bicycle all over the map because it's fun. I don't think I've ever considered it fun. Enjoyable, perhaps, but even that isn't at the top of the list. Frisbees are fun. That's why hundreds of millions of them have been sold since Walter Frederick Morrison concieved his flying disk. But there are very, very few people who think that it's so much fun that they want to join a league and do it full time. When the City of Copenhagen asks its cycling citizens what their main reason for cycling is - and they ask every two years - the majority reply that it is because a bicycle is the quickest and easiest way to get around town. 56% of them say that. In second place, 19% reply that their main reason is 'good exercise'. They get their 30 minutes a day like the Ministry of Health suggests by riding to and from work and on to the supermarket. Only 6% ride because it's inexpensive and only 1% ride for environmental reasons.
I agree with Richard when he writes, "No wonder we fail so miserably at cycling promotion. Do car advertisements speak blandly to the raw number crunching, analytical bottom line? Or do they appeal to your desire for visceral, go fast, fantastic feeling of freedom and sexual prowess?"
Cycling advocacy is hopelessly out of touch with basic human anthropology. It doesn't trigger anything universal in it's marketing. If we want large numbers of citizens to choose the bicycle, the main way to do that is what I call A2Bism. It's goal number one in my Four Goals for Promoting Urban Cycling lecture that I travel around with.
People on bicycles are no different than people on foot, on trains, planes and automobiles. They want to get there quick. Homo sapiens are like rivers - we'll always take the quickest route. People in established bicycle cultures ride because it's quick. Easy. Convenient. If you make that possible in emerging bicycle cultures, you have half the battle won. Sure, it requires safe, separated infrastructure to gain access to the goldmine of societal benefits associated with high levels of urban cycling. On the Ecology Action - Bike2Work site that hosted that poll I found this:Why Bike Commute?
- Its good for your health. (I don't give a shit... I want to get there quick)
- Saves you money on gasoline, vehicle maintenance, parking fees and parking tickets. (I don't give a shit... I want to get there quick)
- Reduces air, water and noise pollution associated with driving. (I don't give a shit... I want to get there quick)
- Reduces automobile traffic. (I don't give a shit... I want to get there quick... although fewer cars might be nice...)
- Its good for the community by making our streets safer, quieter, and cleaner. (Yeah, yeah, sounds nice... but I still just want to get there quick.
"Once you discover the freedom, convenience, and fitness benefits of biking to work, you'll wonder why you didn't start riding sooner. Bicycling can be a convenient, dependable, and virtually free mode of transportation. And bicycling burns about 500 calories an hour, so you can commute and stay fit at the same time."
From a marketing perspective this is really dreadful copy. This isn't selling anything, let alone cycling. And yet this is the standard fare on so many 'advocacy' websites all over the world. After the above paragraph on the website was this... Before You Ride - HelmetsAlways wear a helmet - it may save your life.
All that harping on about the 'benefits' followed by the 'it could kill you' bullshit and the standard propaganda spiel about 'helmets saving lives'. You'd think people would have learned by now, from all the data and experience, that promoting helmets kills off cycling.Whatever. This isn't about this one little website. It's much more general than that. If you want to continue marginalizing urban cycling, then by all means keep banging on your drum chanting those most failed rallying cries; "It's green!", "It's healthy", "It's cheap!", "It's carbon neutral!" Blah Blah Blah. All you'll be doing is continuing the long, sad tradition of the Greatest Marketing Fiasco in History: Environmentalism.
Think about it. Forty years of noisy awarness and activism. Millions (billions?) of dollars donated to thousands of organisations and spent on 'projects' and what do we have to show for it? The vast majority of our citizens are not 'converts'. They don't wear organic sweaters knitted from the wool of their free-range sheep while gardening biodynamic beetroot in the light of the full moon. They can't even be bothered to turn off their computer at night. Or buy water-saving toilets. Or take the bus one day a week.Bicycle advocacy, as it is now in so many regions, is the bastard child of the pathetically ineffective environmental marketing of past four decades. There are so few people who have the Know Why - not to be confused with Know How.
Why did the bicycle explode onto the urban landscape all over the world 130 years ago? Merely because it was 'fun'? No. Sure, there was a niche group of rich white boys who first embraced the velocipede and the penny farthing as playthings. They had 'fun' with their expensive machines. When the Safety bicycle was invented, however, the bicycle went mainstream. Every corner of society embraced it. It was all about mobility and effective transport. It was A2Bism. Sure, it liberated the working classes and women and no other transport form has transformed society so quickly and so effectively as the bicycle. But the workers could merely extend their mobility radius in their search for work. Women could get from A to B without being dependent on their husbands. And so on. And so on. The bicycle went mainstream because it was quick and easy. Bicycle advocacy needs to start applying basic marketing principles to this amazing product if we want it to go mainstream again. In the big picture, all we're doing now is getting small numbers to go for 'bike rides' on the weekends - families if we're lucky - and a few more adrenaline-driven men to take to the roads. We're selling frisbees. Whee. Oooh, but remember your plastic safety hat!100 years ago 20% of all trips in Los Angeles were by bicycle. Now, according to this CNN article, About 27 percent of adults in the United States bike at least once a summer, according to a survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This isn't just about one country. It's a global thing. We're doing so little right in the battle for behavourial transport change and urban mobility - and in an age where the population is ripe for it. It's now. And yet we're missing the point. If we did stuff purely because it was 'fun' we'd all be living in condos in Spain or Florida playing beach volleyball and drinking daquiris until we died. I use a bicycle because it's quick. I enjoy it quite often. I know it's healthy. But those are just tag-a-long benefits, not primary reasons. Make the bicycle the quickest way to get around a city or town. THAT'S what people want. THAT'S what will make them choose the bicycle. THAT'S how we will mainstream urban cycling and work effectively towards liveable cities, healthier populations and The Common Good. Addendum: That was actually that but then I saw this on the website...
They photoshopped a helmet onto EINSTEIN! That's just sick. The man was a SCIENTIST. Show some respect for SCIENCE. Interestingly, the European Cyclist's Federation's new Scientists for Cycling group use the same photo of Albert. Without a helmet, not surprisingly.


text:
President Obama has his first "clear edge" over Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney in polling done for The Washington Post and ABC News:
"In a general-election test, Obama leads Romney 52 to 43 percent among all Americans; more narrowly, 51 to 45 percent, among registered voters. Among all adults, it's Obama's first time topping 50 percent in a head-to-head matchup with Romney since July; it's his first time ever above that point among registered voters."
The margin of error on the full poll of 1,000 adults (conducted Feb. 1-4) is +/- four percentage points. Among those, 879 were registered voters. The margin of error on the responses of registered voters would be slightly higher.
Real Clear Politics has a chart of other Romney vs. Obama polls. It gives the president an average lead of 3.7 percentage points.
As always with polling, it's important to remember that such surveys ask about which candidate people would vote for "if the presidential election were held today." Obviously, the election isn't until Nov. 6 and a lot can happen between now and then.
Obama, by the way, made his case for why he deserves a second term during an interview with NBC-TV's Matt Lauer that was broadcast before Sunday's Super Bowl and during this morning's Today Show.
Meanwhile, if you're just catching up on the weekend's political news, Romney easily won the Nevada Republican presidential caucuses. Now, it's on to Colorado and Minnesota, which hold their caucuses on Tuesday.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
A couple of Americans have remarked to me about BrE speakers' use of grit as a verb in snowy contexts like these (from a single article in the local newspaper):
Hospitals across Sussex were inundated with patients over the weekend who had broken limbs after falling on ungritted pavements. [Ed. note: the weekend broke limbs?]
Dozens of people contacted The Argus to condemn the lack of gritting which has left many elderly people trapped in their homes. [Ed. note: did they also condemn the lack of a comma on a non-restrictive relative clause?]
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said all the authority's refuse and recycling staff were being diverted to gritting roads and pavements today.Now, I don't believe that this use of grit is solely BrE, but in the snowy Northeastern US, one talks about salting the roads--which may include some sand--or less frequently of sanding the roads--which usually includes some salt or other de-icing agent. In addition to sand, ash and cinders are (or at least have been) commonly used. The "sand" that's used may be more coarse material, like the grit used in the UK. And while gritters are used in the UK to spread grit, salters and sanders are used in northern north America for the same thing.
I come from a place where we get to talk about lake-effect snow and (orig. AmE) blizzards a lot.
And when we use the term blizzard back home, we don't mean a piddly 6 cm (2.4 inches) of snow like my local UK paper does. It turns out that the word may be common to AmE and BrE now, but the meaning is not. From Wikipedia:
In the United States, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as sustained winds or frequent gusts reaching or exceeding 35 mph (56 km/h) which lead to blowing snow and cause visibilities of ¼ mile (or 400 m) or less, lasting for at least 3 hours. Temperature is not taken into consideration when issuing a blizzard warning, but the nature of these storms is such that cold air is often present when the other criteria are met.[1] Temperatures are generally below 0 °C (32 °F).
According to Environment Canada, a winter storm must have winds of 40 km/h (25 mph) or more, have snow or blowing snow, visibility less than 500 feet (150 m), a wind chill of less than −25 °C (−15 °F), and all of these conditions must last for 3 hours or more before the storm can be properly called a blizzard.
Many European countries, such as the UK, have a lower threshold: the Met Office defines a blizzard as "moderate or heavy snow" combined with a mean wind speed of 30 mph (48 km/h) and visibility below 650 feet (200 m).
Of course, even a little snow in a place like southern England (or the southern US, for that matter) grinds the place to a halt. I've had three 'snow days' from work so far this year, and we've never had accumulation of more than a few inches. But not only are snow (AmE) plows/(BrE) ploughs rarer than hen's teeth here, but no one has a (possibly AmE) snow shovel, few have appropriate footwear (attention: (BrE) wellies [AmE: rubber boots] are not snow boots!) and almost no one knows how to drive on icy roads. So, we can't really blame the victims of these snows for their inability to deal with them--though that didn't stop me from less-than-sympathetically exclaiming in response to the laceration on my friend's face and talk of the bruise on another's (BrE) bum: "You people don't know how to walk on snow!" I have since spent every outdoor moment convinced that this comment is going to come and almost literally bite me on the (AmE) ass/(BrE) arse, landing me with a broken coccyx or worse.
Final reflection: I can't believe that I just had to invent a 'weather' tag for the blog in response to this post. I'm in England! I'm supposed to be talking about the weather at least 74% of the time. I hope they don't find out and revoke my citizenship.


text:
Searching millions of patches.. Please wait. Approxinate wait time is ~2min.
(You can also access your files after the search at : http://fermi.utmb.edu/tmp/CrossReact170.html )
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator at email@example.com to inform them of the time this error occurred, and the actions you performed just before this error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Thanks for using SDAP Database