text:
Misee Harris
Dr. Misee Harris is a practicing pediatric dentist. She currently holds state licenses in California, Arkansas & Arizona. Dr. Harris obtained a degree in Dental Medicine from the University Of Kentucky College Of Dentistry and received a certificate in pediatric dentistry from the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center.
Dr. Harris specializes in treating special needs children, oral conscious sedation, dental trauma, and sports dentistry. She is the creator and owner of the patent pending ProFit Athletic Mouthguards.
Facebook Comments


text:
How to Change the Blade on a Cub Cadet Walk-Behind Mower
Learn how to safely change the blade on your Cub Cadet walk-behind mower. Sharpening or changing your mower blade is a relatively simple repair that should be done at least once a year or whenever the blade is dull. However, if your mower blade is damaged or off-balance after hitting a rock or bump, you may need to send your Cub Cadet lawn mower to a local service dealer center to be professionally adjusted. For less involved maintenance, use this video to learn how to change your lawn mower blades step-by-step. As you prepare to make lawn mower repairs, check your operator's manual for instructions specific to your model, as they may change slightly.
- Step 1 - Disconnect the spark plug ignition wire
Turn the mower off, make sure the engine is cool, remove the key and disconnect the wire to avoid accidental starts during lawn mower repairs.
- Step 2 - Remove the gasoline from your lawn mower
You'll need to place your walk-behind lawn mower on its side to access the lawn mower blade. Before you do so, it's important to remove the gasoline and oil to avoid it spilling in your garage. You can either run the mower until it's empty or use a siphon pump to remove the gas and oil before you do repairs.
- Place the top port of the pump into the gas tank on the engine and the bottom port into an appropriate container to recycle the old gas.
- Pump the handle three to four times to prime it. Once the liquid begins to flow, it will flow without further pumping.
- Once the fuel tank is empty, remove the siphon pump.
Clean the pump and repeat these steps with the oil. If the fuel is fresh you can add it back to the tanks after you have replaced the mower blade.
- Step 3 - Turn the mower on its side
You will need to turn your walk-behind lawn mower on its side to access the lawn mower blade. When you do, make sure the air filter is facing up so that no residual oil or gas leaks in and contaminates it.
- Step 4 - Attach the blade removal tool
Make sure you wear gloves for protection and secure the lawn mower blade using a blade removal tool.
- Step 5 - Change the lawn mower blade
- Remove the blade retaining bolt and then remove the mower blade. Depending on the wear and tear, either sharpen the existing or replace it with a new lawn mower blade if it is warped or damaged. Secure the new or sharpened blade with the blade removal tool and tighten the blade retaining bolt to the torque indicated in your operator's manual.
- Step 6 - Right the mower and get ready to go
Tip the mower back onto its wheels, reattach the spark plug ignition wire, refuel and you're ready to mow.
By following this simple guide, and the video above, you should have no problem removing and changing the blade on your Cub Cadet walk-behind mower. When performing any Cub Cadet maintenance, always refer to the instructions in your operator's manual and only use manufacturer-approved replacement parts.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Psy created bigger storm on Google than Sandy
LOS ANGELES - The world's attention wavered between the tragic and the silly in 2012, and along the way, millions of people searched the Web to find out about a royal princess, the latest iPad and a record-breaking skydiver.Whitney Houston was the "top trending'' search of the year, according to Google's year-end "zeitgeist'' report. Google's 12th annual roundup is "an in-depth look at the spirit of the times as seen through the billions of searches on Google over the past year,'' the company said in a blog post Wednesday.
People around the globe searched en masse for news about Houston's accidental drowning in a bathtub just before she was to perform at a pre-Grammy Awards party in February.
Google defines topics as "trending'' when they garner a high amount of traffic over a sustained period of time.
Korean rapper Psy's "Gangnam Style'' music video trotted into second spot, a testament to his self-deprecating giddy-up dance move. The video is approaching a billion views on YouTube.
Superstorm Sandy, the damaging storm that knocked out power and flooded parts of the East Coast in the midst of a U.S. presidential campaign, was third.
The next biggest trending searches globally were a pair of threes: the iPad 3 tablet from Apple and Diablo 3, a popular video game.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
Kate Middleton, who made news with scandalous photos and a royal pregnancy;
The 2012 Olympics in London; Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen who was found dead of an apparent suicide in October after being bullied online;
Michael Clarke Duncan, the "Green Mile'' actor who died of a heart attack in September at age 54;
And "BBB12,'' the 12th edition of "Big Brother Brasil,'' a reality show featuring scantily clad men and women living together.
Some trending people, according to Google, were:
Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver who became the first to break the sound barrier without a vehicle with a 24-mile plummet from Earth's stratosphere;
Jeremy Lin, the undrafted NBA star who exploded off the New York Knicks bench and sparked a wave of "Linsanity'';
Morgan Freeman, the actor whose untimely death turned out not to be true.
The Internet also continued its rise as a popular tool for spreading addictive ideas and phrases known as "memes.'' Remember LOL? If you don't know what it means by now, someone may "Laugh Out Loud'' at you.
This year, Facebook said its top memes included "TBH (To Be Honest),'' "YOLO (You Only Live Once),'' and "SMH (Shake My Head).''
Thanks to an endlessly fascinating U.S. presidential campaign, "Big Bird'' made the list after Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he might consider cutting some funds for public broadcasting.
Yahoo said its own top-searched memes for the year included "Kony 2012,'' a reference to the short film and campaign against Ugandan militia leader Joseph Kony; "stingray photobomb'' for an unusual vacation snapshot that went viral; and "binders full of women,'' another nod to Romney for his awkward description of his search for women cabinet members as Massachusetts' governor.
Ask.com said the top trending news question was related the 2012 Olympics: "How many medals did the U.S. gymnastics team win?'' Other top queries on Ask.com included "When is the Facebook IPO?'' and "Why was Trayvon Martin shot?''
And people were happy to pass on popular Twitter posts by retweeting them.
According to Twitter, the year's most popular retweets were President Barack Obama's "Four more years'' and Justin Bieber's farewell to six-year-old fan Avalanna Routh, who died of a rare form of brain cancer: "RIP Avalanna. I love you."


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But hey, it's got a sweet castle on it, too.
(Thanks to Adrianne P. for being the first of dozens to send this in!)
Shallyse G. sent in what I'm going to call a fairy castle, just so I can include it here:
(From Dulce Decoracion's Flickr stream, where there are lots more amazing figurines and cakes.)
And Reginia B. found this funny little "crashed fairy" number:
Oh, hey, we need some more castles, don't we? Ok, check out this cutie out from Sang of Sang's Cakes:
She made it for her daughter's 4th birthday. I like that it's so colorful, and all the little details like the furled flags.
And Michele L. found one of the coolest compositions I've seen: a castle coming out of a fairy tale book:
It's by Let Them Eat Cake, and I'm sorry I don't have a larger photo to share. I bet the details are gorgeous.
Thanks again to all of you who submitted fantasy cakes! Tune in next week for some Lord of the Rings Sweets - and feel free to submit any LOTR cakes you think are Sweets-worthy.


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From what I saw there and read about in the original link, it looks like the Heroica series will build upon the principles of earlier LEGO-based boardgames to produce a dungeon-crawling game, complete with combat and resource management. I can say from personal experience that these LEGO boardgames are quite fun; my 8 year-old son in particular enjoys them. Indeed, when I told him about and showed him Heroica, he expressed great interest in it. I can't say that I'm surprised: he adores LEGO and the only aspect of my Dwimmermount campaign that's grabbed his attention is the use of miniatures and dungeon tiles. Heroica combines those two things together to produce a complete game -- plus it introduces the basic principles of classical dungeon crawling. What's not to love?
I expect I'll be picking these games up for the family once they're available.


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Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:
Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded and your abilities challenged. It is a place where your diversity — of culture, thinking, learning and leading — is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research


text:
It's Tuesdays with Dorie's 3rd Anniversary! Whoo hoo. Big, huge shout out to Laurie, founder of Tuesdays with Dorie. She wanted to go through the book, and more and more people joined her! Thank you Laurie and Julie for all you do in organizing this group.
For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Laurie of Slush and Jules of Someone's In the Kitchen chose Midnight Crackles on page 74 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.
I made a half-batch of these Midnight Crackle Cookies. It's an easy dough to make...however, be sure to allow for a one-hour chilling time. They really need a glass of milk...they are really chocolaty and are perfect for dipping. Or, if you want to go all out, they would be great in an ice cream sandwich! ;)
Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers and see their creations!
This week's recipe is on the Tuesdays with Dorie blog! Be sure to read the notes from Laurie, founder of Tuesdays with Dorie, or on page 74 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. I made half the batch and got 30 small cookies.


text:
By John Clayton, Pro Football Writers of America
New Orleans, LA
Winds from the aftermath of a Wednesday storm sent the San Francisco 49ers into the New Orleans Saints indoor practice facility for their first full practice in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII.
But the 49ers also breezed through the 95-minute session so efficiently that head coach Jim Harbaugh got through all of his team's work with approximately 15 minutes to spare. To say the least, the practice was spirited and focused.
"We were going to go outside and practice but the winds were a little too much," Harbaugh said. "We were worried about taking the lifts (for team photographers) too high. The winds were 20 to 25 miles an hour and we don't want to send our guys up there in those conditions."
The weird site was seeing the practice with a Sean Payton "Do Your Job" picture overlooking every 49er play. Harbaugh, in fact, stood near an endzone in which a Saints World Championship picture hung proudly above him, and Harbaugh had no problem with that.
"We're in their house," Harbaugh said. "We try to respect their hospitality.".
Despite the winds, the 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens got a break when the rainy weather cleared up before noon. Lines of storm cells went through Southern Louisiana with heavy rain and threats of bad winds Wednesday morning, causing the NFL to make arrangements for indoor facilities for both teams if needed.
The 49ers are training at the Saints headquarters in Metairie, La, but they had no worries because the Saints have an indoor practice facility. Because Tulane University doesn't have an indoor practice area, the Ravens would have been forced to practice at the Saints complex, which would have put both Harbaughs in the same practice facility on the same afternoon five days before Super Bowl.
Thanks to the improving weather, each Harbaugh had their separate practices on time. The 49ers would have had to move their practice up an hour to accommodate but that wasn't needed.
"The Ravens had access to it," Harbaugh said. "That would have been no trouble at all."
The 49ers had all 53 players on the field, but linebacker Ahmad Brooks (shoulder) and Aldon Smith (shoulder) were limited. Tight end Garrett Celek, who missed some time last week with a foot injury, practiced without limitation.
Responding to reports from the Wednesday interview session that Brooks has an AC Joint sprain, Harbaugh said, "I don't get into what those guys have. If they want to give that information, that's fine. I always feel uncomfortable saying what a player has."
The 49ers worked on all aspects of their game - offense, defense and special teams.
"I thought our guys were excited to get out here on the practice field," Harbaugh said. "'The team understands a lot more about the Super Bowl. But they were excited to get out there on the field and do what they do."
Harbaugh once again praised the focus on this team.
"That is something we don't coach them up on, not bringing cameras or video cameras, no doing it or not doing it." Harbaugh said. "We trust our team because that's who we are. This is the most focused group on unity and winning I've been around."
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text:
"But, john the hubby of Jen!" you say, "The fourth of July is tomorrow! We need cakes with American flags! And American things! And...you know...America!"
Well, tough. We've picked on Canada enough over the years, and they deserve at least one day of Sweets for putting up with us.
Plus we used up our best American cakes for Memorial Day.
But mostly that first thing.
Er, before we proceed, I think I should mention that Jen & I have logged many, many hours into determining the least offensive, least stereotypical way to write today's post.
Then we gave up and just wrote what we wanted anyway. Sorry. As Craig Ferguson would say, "I look forward to your letters."
Check out that shading! Such great perspective - and almost completely fondant-free.
Stereotypical? Yes.
Freakin' adorable? ALSO yes.
Now how's about a little Canadian landmarkage?
That is the CN Tower. It's 1,815.4 feet - or 553.33 meters - tall and weighs 118,000 tonnes.
So I'm not sure those people are to scale.
These cute crustaceans, either:
Hockey! Or as my French-Canadian dad calls it, 'ockey!
That's their Olympic jersey, too. Pretty sweet.
Speaking of sports, are you ready to have your mind blown?
Oh, and do you see that texture?
Here's something else uniquely Canadian:
Okay, so there are also some in Ohio, but that's almost Canada anyway, right?
Besides, we couldn't find any cakes of poutine, tuques, or adorable accents.
Then there's Canada's other beverage of choice:
Is it too much to hope the map layer is made of Mississippi mud cake?
Happy Belated Canada Day, Canada! Thanks for being the most polite, fun-loving, and best sense-of-humor-having readers we could ask for.
Have a Sweet to nominate? Then send it to Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.


text: Real Estate Law refers to laws and regulations that regulate land and things permanently fixed to the land such as a building. Real estate is synonymous of real property and sometimes called realty. Real estate lawyers deal with issues as varied as real estate transactions, as in the sale and purchase of real estate, construction defects, landlord-tenant disputes, eminent domain, 1031 exchanges, foreclosures and mortgage law to name a few.


text:
Alexandria Police have arrested three people in connection with the January 18 murder of Yellow Cab driver Khalil Siddiqi, who was discovered slain in his cab at the intersection of Princess Street and Buchanan Street in Old Town.
The three suspects, Joshua Moore, 18, of Hyattsville, Md., Jamal Berry, 20, of Alexandria and a 16-year-old juvenile, also an Alexandria resident, have been charged with murder and robbery. Moore and Berry have both been charged with first-degree murder, according to court records.
Siddiqi, 50, a driver with Yellow Cab for more than five years, was found dead in his taxi just after midnight on January 18 after suffering a gunshot wound to his upper body.
Berry and the juvenile were arrested on January 31, while Moore was taken into custody on February 3. The investigation continued after the first two arrests and police brought in some people for questioning, leading to the third arrest, said police spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt.
The investigation is still ongoing, and the charges will not reach the court until next month. Police did not confirm that any witnesses had come forward yet in the case, but Alexandria Yellow Cab has offered a $10,000 reward for any information in the case that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Berry is set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 3. Moores preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 20.
Both of the suspects are being held without bond, with Berry at the Alexandria Detention Center, according to the Sheriffs office.
The murder, Alexandrias first of the year, has sent waves throughout the community, touching friends, coworkers and others who may have never known him by name. A fundraiser is planned for February 12 at the Fish Market on King Street, with proceeds going to Siddiqis widow and three children.
For Siddiqis colleagues, the arrests have brought some comfort in what has been an otherwise distressing and depressing two weeks.
I know it means a lot to the drivers and it means a lot to us that the police department was so vigilant in finding the killers, said Yellow Cab General Manager Kyle Summers. It really shows how committed they are to their jobs and were really thankful for that.
Police could not confirm if the suspects had been passengers in Siddiqis cab, and a request to speak with detectives handling the case had not been returned at press time.
Yellow Cab management and drivers do not know many details about the incident and have not been informed about the possibility of Siddiqi having been targeted in advance.
I really wish I knew, were very interested to find out about this, Summers said. We arent aware of any of those people, I dont know who they were, only that they were arrested.


text: Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. OK, there's the graffiti artist who will make millions because he opted for stock over cash for painting murals at Facebook's offices. Then there's the contractor in Oshkosh who took Facebook stock for work on the home of Marianne Oleson. She claims she'd acquired the stock because her daughter knew Facebook's founder. But the stock is fake. Oleson is accused of fraud, and the contractor, not in for millions, but out thousands. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
The 2-Tuck is a double-pleated and tapered trouser from Seuvas. Cut from a custom-made, 10oz natural cotton canvas.
FABRIC: 10oz, 100% natural cotton canvas
STYLE/FIT: Relaxed tapered
COLOUR: Natural
METHOD: One-washed
-10oz cotton canvas
-Double front pleats
-Tapered style
-Zip fly
-Front slash pockets
-Two rear pockets, one buttoned
-Belt loops w/removable pullstring
-One-washed, no further shrinkage expected
ORIGIN: Made in Japan
The Seuvas 2-Tuck Trouser is cut from a custom Takeyari canvas made at a 130-year-old textile factory in Japan's Kurashiki City. They come in a relaxed tapered fit with plenty of room in the leg. The double pleat design lends a more elevated touch should you wish to dress them up a little. The 2-Tuck Pant is also finished with belt loops and a detachable rope belt - giving them plenty of stylistic scope. Here in a natural, bone-white colourway enriched with pepperings of brown cotton husks throughout.
Connor wears size Small trousers. He is 188cm tall and weighs 70kg / 6ft 2" and 154 lbs.
Important: The best way to determine the size you need is to measure a similar item you already own and compare with the actual sizing as per the table below. Do not go by tagsize alone.
Waist | 29 | 32 | 34 | 36 |
Hip | 21.5 | 23.25 | 24.25 | 25.5 |
Front Rise | 12.25 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 13 |
Back Rise | 17.75 | 18 | 18.5 | 18.75 |
Upper Thigh | 13.75 | 14.5 | 14.75 | 15.25 |
Knee | 9.5 | 9.75 | 10 | 10.5 |
Leg Opening | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8.25 |
Inseam | 26.5 | 26.5 | 27.25 | 28 |
FREE UK delivery on orders over £50.
Shipping costs £8 to UK addresses for orders under £50.
For international orders, please see our full shipping and delivery details.
FREE European delivery on orders over €200.
Standard delivery is €30 for European orders under €200
For further information, please see our full shipping and delivery details.
FREE delivery worldwide on orders over $200.
Shipping costs $25 for orders under $200
Orders to USA, Canada, Mexico & Far East - 2 working days. (Next working day to NYC).
Australia and New Zealand - 3-4 working days.
For international orders, please see our full shipping and delivery details.
If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, you can return it to us within 21 days for an exchange or refund.
For more information, please see our Returns & Exchanges page.
Stage 1: The waist
- Button up the jean.
- Lay flat with the top waist band evenly flat on the back waist band.
- Measure from one side to the other keeping the jean flat & double the measurement.
Stage 2: The hip
- Measure 3 inches or 7.5cm from the crotch stitch.
- Measure from side to side flat across the jean at this point.
Stage 3: Front rise
- Lay flat and measure from crotch seam to top of jean with top button fastened
Stage 4: Back rise
- Measure from crotch seam to top of the back of the jean.
Stage 5: Thigh
- Lay flat and measure from crotch across to outside of leg.
Stage 6: Knee
- Lay flat and measure 13" or 33cm from crotch down inside seam of jeans
- From here measure from one side of the jean to the other.
Stage 7: hem width/leg opening
- With the jean flat measure from one side of the leg opening to the other.
- NB with very heavy denim 18oz and above measure the entire circumference of the exterior of the hem using a measuring tape and divide by 2 for a more exact figure.
Stage 8: Inseam/inside leg
- Lay the jean flat with the inseam at the centre.
- Following the inside seam measure from the crotch to the end of the leg.
Stage 1: Chest
- Measure from pit to pit and double the reading.
Stage 2: Shoulder
>Measure across the top from one shoulder seam to the other.
Stage 3: Waist
We measure the narrowest part of the garment outer seam to outer seam between the pit and the opening. If, however, the shirt has gussets, the waist will correspond to the the opening measurement.
Stage 4: Opening
Here we take a cross measurement from seam to seam at the bottom of the shirt.
Stage 5: Length
Measure from the top of the shoulder by the collar to the bottom of the garment.
Stage 6: Sleeve
Measure from the top of shoulder seam to the cuff's edge.


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I hate seeing people publicly humiliated for the sexual things they do in private. But the government is criminally prosecuting a woman, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, for what it says was a prostitution ring. These are federal charges, and the senator, David Vitter, has some responsibility for the laws that make this prosecution possible.
Vitter situates his misdeed in the realm of religion and private morality:
"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible"...Oh, well, if God has forgiven him...
"Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling... Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there -- with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way."
Palfrey can't say God has forgiven her and walk free. In fact, Vitter's statement hurts Palfrey because it strongly implies that Palfrey was doing what she's accused of. Vitter's confession -- intended to move us to mercy -- links him to criminal activity, but only she is facing criminal punishment.
Shouldn't the expiation of Vitter's sins wait until he has introduced a bill that would create a federal right to engage in the business of prostitution? It's not a matter to be resolved within the realm of church and family as long as Palfrey is being prosecuted.
UPDATE: James Taranto links here and asks:
How would advocating the legalization of prostitution expiate Vitter's sins? Prostitution is illegal because it is wrong, not the other way around. The reason we have laws at all is not so that "good" people can impose their will on "bad" people, but because everyone has the capacity to do bad things. Thus it's not surprising that moralists sometimes turn out to be hypocrites. They are moralists because they are closely acquainted with the temptation to do wrong.Taranto isn't reading me carefully. I'm not talking about what Vitter needs to do to expiate his sins. I'm talking about what Vitter needs to do to make it only an issue of sin. My point is -- quite clearly -- that as long as Palfrey is incapable of treating this as a matter between herself and God, it is not morally logical for Vitter to claim that capacity for himself. He must first take whatever action he can to put Palfrey in the same position he wants for himself. Vitter is a member of Congress, and Palfrey is being prosecuted under federal law. He cannot morally turn away from her plight while he holds power.
ANOTHER UPDATE: James Taranto responds to my response:
Althouse's original words were: "Shouldn't the expiation of Vitter's sins wait until he has introduced a bill that would create a federal right to engage in the business of prostitution?" It would take a careful reader indeed to conclude that Althouse is not referring to "what Vitter needs to do to expiate his sins."
Indeed, we expect careful reading here on Althouse. When you see a concise and puzzling sentence, remember to pause and think deeply -- especially if you want to write about it!
Anyway, the argument is illogical on several levels. For one, the crime Vitter is thought to have committed, patronizing a prostitute, is different from the crimes with which Palfrey is charged: racketeering and conspiracy. (Prostitution is under state and local jurisdiction.) Does Althouse think Vitter should introduce legislation to decriminalize racketeering and conspiracy?
No, I think he should -- as I wrote -- introduce a bill that would create a federal right to engage in the business of prostitution! Congress has the power to do that under the Commerce Clause, and it would preempt the state law that currently criminalizes prostitution. The conspiracy and racketeering laws would remain intact, but the state law they draw on would no longer include a crime of prostitution. See? Nothing permanently puts prostitution "under state and local jurisdiction." It can be federalized.
Further, the idea that Vitter is getting off easy seems to have it backward. The proper comparison here would be not to Palfrey but to others situated similarly to Vitter -- i.e., those who may be incriminated by Palfrey's phone records. Among this group, Vitter is being singled out for humiliating attention owing to his status as an elected official. However much Vitter might like to treat this as a matter "between himself and God," it is also a matter between the news media and Larry Flynt and the voters of Louisiana and political junkies and voyeurs all over the world.
I didn't say Vitter "is getting off easy." In fact, I feel sorry for him. I am simply objecting to his announcement that it's a private matter in the realm of family and religion. And I don't see why Taranto thinks he can simply announce what the "proper comparison" is. Palfrey faces prison. It is a very serious matter for the government to take away a person's freedom. Why should Vitter be able to say it's no concern of his? He was part of the same illegal behavior that she is being prosecuted for. He holds a position of legislative power. I'm saying that if he wants to say that the wrong he did is something to be dealt with exclusively as a private matter, he's morally obligated to use the power he has to make prostitution a private matter for her too.
I realize the media are slavering over this too. I'm not saying that's right. But it doesn't absolve him of his wrongs. As for the comparison to other clients who have less to lose from exposure -- it is always the case that getting accused of wrongdoing has an impact on your life that depends on the particularities of your life.


text:
Obamacare attack high risk, low yield
Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, October 2, 2013
This has been the worst time, politically, for President Barack Obama since he took office. Recent polls reveal that public confidence in both his domestic and foreign policies has been falling, amid revelations about their defects and dangers. Even people who once supported and defended him have now turned against him.
There have even been rumblings against Barack Obama in the Congressional Black Caucus and among labor unions that were a major factor in helping him get elected and re-elected.
Two of President Obama's own former Secretaries of Defense have publicly criticized his gross mishandling of the Syria crisis, which has emboldened America's enemies and undermined our allies around the world.
As ObamaCare continues to go into effect, step by step, its high costs and dire consequences for jobs have become ever more visible — as have the lies that Obama blithely told about its costs and consequences when it was rushed into law too fast for anyone to see that it would become a "train wreck," as one of its initial Democratic supporters in the Senate has since called it. As more and more revelations have come to light about the cynical and dangerous misuse of the Internal Revenue Service to harass and sabotage conservative political groups, the lies that the Obama administration initially told about this, as part of the coverup, have also been exposed. So have the lies told about what happened in Benghazi when four Americans were killed last year. Their killers remain at large, though they are known and are even giving media interviews in Libya. With Congressional investigations still going on, and turning up more and more revelations about multiple Obama administration scandals, the political problems of this administration seem to loom ahead as far out as the eye can see.
What could possibly rescue Barack Obama from all these political problems and create a distraction that takes all his scandals off the front page? Only one thing: the Republicans.
By making a futile and foredoomed attempt to defund ObamaCare, Congressional Republicans have created the distraction that Obama so much needs. Already media attention has shifted to the possibility of a government shutdown.
Politically, it doesn't matter that the Republicans are not really trying to shut down the government. What matters is that this distraction solves Barack Obama's political problems that he could not possibly have solved by himself.
Should ObamaCare be defunded? Absolutely. It is an economic disaster and will be a medical disaster, as well as destroying the Constitution's protections of American citizens from the unbridled power of the federal government. For that matter, President Obama deserves to be impeached for arbitrarily waiving laws he doesn't like, in defiance of his oath of office and the Constitution's separation of powers. Chief Justice John Roberts also deserves to be impeached for his decision upholding ObamaCare, by allowing the government's taxing power to override all the Constitution's other provisions protecting American citizens from the arbitrary powers of government. But, for the same reason that it makes no sense to impeach either President Obama or Chief Justice Roberts, it makes no sense to attempt to defund ObamaCare. That reason is that it cannot be done. The world is full of things that ought to be done but cannot in fact be done.
The time, effort and credibility that Republicans are investing in trying to defund ObamaCare is a high risk, low yield investment. Even if, by some miracle, the Republicans managed to get the Senate to go along with defunding ObamaCare, President Obama can simply veto the bill.
There is a United States of America today only because George Washington understood that his army was not able to fight the British troops everywhere, but had to choose carefully when and where to fight. Futile symbolic confrontations were a luxury that could not be afforded then and cannot be afforded now.
(Thomas Sowell's www.tsowell.com)


text:
Connectors and Syringe Tubing
Our supply tubing line includes all of the tubing that Freelin-Wade makes. We are the largest tubing manufacturer in North America and we can meet all of your needs. We offer ¼" and 1/8" standard sizes, although size variations, including metric, are no problem.
Our syringe tubing is available both in two-hole and three-hole configurations, in both standard and asepsis. We can coil your tubing, cut it to length and package it to your specifications. Syringe tubing comes in five standard colors or we would be happy to make your tubing in any color that you can imagine.


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FIVE POINTS, Calif. - Amid the vast almond orchards and grape fields that surround Five Points in California's Central Valley, a once-dominant crop that has nearly disappeared from the state's farms is making a comeback: sugar beets.
But these beets won't be processed into sugar. A dozen farmers, supported by university experts and a $5 million state grant, are set to start construction of a Fresno County demonstration plant that will convert the beets into ethanol.
If the demo project in Five Points succeeds, the farmers will build the nation's first commercial-scale bio-refinery in nearby Mendota to turn beets into biofuel. Europe already has more than a dozen such plants, but most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn.
California energy officials say the beet plant is an example of expanding state investment in biofuel production and an innovative way to achieve the state's goal of increasing alternative fuel use over the next decade.
"We're trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to shift our transportation fuels to a lower carbon content," said Robert Weisenmiller, chair of the California Energy Commission, which awarded the grant. "The beets have the potential to provide that."
The farmers say so-called energy beets can deliver ethanol yields more than twice those of corn per acre. That's because beets have a higher sugar content per ton than corn. And, the farmers say, the bio-refinery would bring jobs and investment to an area that's dealing with water pumping restrictions and overly salty soils.
"This project is about rural development. It's about bringing a better tax base to this area and bringing jobs for the people," said John Diener, a grower who farms about 5,000 acres of diverse crops in Five Points and whose ranch will house the demonstration plant.
Driven by a federal mandate to reduce dependence on foreign oil, America's ethanol industry has boomed over the past decade. Plants in 28 states now produce more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol each year, according to Geoff Cooper, vice-president for research and analysis for the Renewable Fuels Association. Today, nearly all the gasoline sold in the U.S. contains the biofuel, generally at the 10 per cent level.
About 95 per cent of U.S. ethanol is made from corn, Cooper said. But that percentage could soon change because the Renewable Fuel Standard, established by Congress in 2005 and later expanded, caps the amount of ethanol produced from corn at 15 billion gallons.
Dozens of non-corn ethanol plants are now being developed and constructed throughout the country, experts say. Other California projects involve producing biofuels from food processing wastes, remains from field crops and manure from the dairy and poultry industries. Across the U.S., plants are looking at converting wheat straw, municipal waste and wood pulp into biofuel.
In central California, the bio-refinery would resurrect a crop that has nearly vanished. The birthplace of the sugar beet industry, California once grew over 330,000 acres of the gnarly root vegetable, with 11 sugar mills processing the beets. But as sugar prices collapsed, the mills shut down. Only one remains in the Imperial Valley.
When the last local mill in Mendota closed in 2008, farmers formed a co-operative and tried — unsuccessfully — to buy it back.
"We were left with a choice: Are we going to build our own sugar mill, which is expensive, or come up with something else?" said William Pucheu, a farmer from Tranquility who is part of the co-operative.
The farmers flew twice to Europe to tour beet-based biofuel facilities. This month, Mendota Bioenergy LLC — the company formed by the co-operative — received a grant to build the demo plant, which will turn about 250 acres of beets into 285,000 gallons of ethanol per year.
If it's successful, a commercial bio-refinery would be built in Mendota, capable of producing 40 million gallons of ethanol annually. The bio-refinery, to debut in 2016, would put a total of about 80 beet growers and 35,000 acres back into production.
Both the demo plant and the commercial plant would run year-round and use beets grown by local farmers. The plants will also burn almond prunings and other wood waste to generate electricity for internal use and will convert some of those prunings into ethanol. They will process waste pulp from the beets to produce biomethane for compressed natural gas, and will produce fertilizer and recycle water for irrigation.
To area farmers, the beets are an ideal crop: they grow in poor and salty soils, and can use lesser-quality water, said Frank DelTesta, a third generation farmer who used to grow 150 acres of beets in Tranquility and is now growing some for the demo plant.
"Everybody liked growing beets, because they grew well here," DelTesta said. "My family has been growing beets for generations and not having that crop in our rotation has affected the yields for other crops like cotton."
And it's not just farmers who would benefit, said project manager Jim Tischer. The group's projections show the bio-refinery would create about 100 long-term jobs, as well as 150 seasonal agricultural jobs. It would lead to millions of dollars of local economic activity and generate taxes — a boon to Mendota, Tischer said, a town of 11,000 with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.
The beet project comes at a time when the Midwest drought has reduced corn's availability, leading nearly three dozen corn ethanol plants to halt production. At the same time, there are plenty of stockpiles of ethanol, experts say, because Americans are driving less and buying more fuel-efficient cars.
But the beet farmers say they aren't worried, because ethanol is cheaper than regular gasoline.
"As times goes by, customers will start buying more of it," Diener said, "because at the end of the day, it's a cost saving deal and others are motivated by the ethics of the green energy business."


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By Jim Hietala
Our Security Forum chairman, Mike Jerbic, introduced a concept to The Open Group several months ago that is worth thinking a little about. Oversimplifying his ideas a bit, the first point is that much of what's done in architecture is about designing for intention — that is, thinking about the intended function and goals of information systems, and architecting with these in mind. His second related point has been that in information security management, much of what we do tends to be reactive, and tends to be about dealing with the unintended consequences (variance) of poor architectures and poor software development practices. Consider a few examples:
Signature-based antivirus, which relies upon malware being seen in the wild, captured, and having signatures being distributed to A/V software around the world to pattern match and stop the specific attack. Highly reactive. The same is true for signature-based IDS/IPS, or anomaly-based systems.
Data Loss (or Leak) Prevention, which for the most part tries to spot sensitive corporate information being exfiltrated from a corporate network. Also very reactive.
Vulnerability management, which is almost entirely reactive. The cycle of "Scan my systems, find vulnerabilities, patch or remediate, and repeat" exists entirely to find the weak spots in our environments. This cycle almost ensures that more variance will be headed our way in the future, as each new patch potentially brings with it uncertainty and variance in the form of new bugs and vulnerabilities.
The fact that each of these security technology categories even exist has everything to do with poor architectural decisions made in years gone by, or inadequate ongoing software development and Q/A practices.
Intention versus variance. Architects tend to be good at the former; security professionals have (of necessity) had to be good at managing the consequences of the latter.
Can the disciplines of architecture and information security do a better job of co-existence? What would that look like? Can we get to the point where security is truly "built in" versus "bolted on"?
What do you think?
P.S. The Open Group has numerous initiatives in the area of security architecture. Look for an updated Enterprise Security Architecture publication from us in the next 30 days; plus we have ongoing projects to align TOGAF™ and SABSA, and to develop a Cloud Security Reference Architecture. If there are other areas where you'd like to see guidance developed in the area of security architecture, please contact us.
An IT security industry veteran, Jim Hietala is Vice President of Security at The Open Group, where he is responsible for security programs and standards activities. He holds the CISSP and GSEC certifications. Jim is based in the U.S.


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The Smart Comb is just that… a NEW multi-tasking, yet lightest weight comb on the market. Two versions available. Smart, light weight and economical.
€39.00 – €44.00
Sullivan's Smart Fluffer Comb
Length | 6in, 9in |
The Smart Comb is just that… a NEW multi-tasking, yet lightest weight comb on the market. Two versions available. Smart, light weight and economical.
When you "submit" your order online, you will receive an Email Confirmation to acknowledge that the order has been received. We will endeavour to dispatch any orders received before 12 pm on the day the order is received (Mon-Friday) Excluding Bank Holidays, subject to payment and items being in stock. A standard shipping rate of €7.00 applies to all orders. Once the order is collected by the courier, shipping is normally 1-3 working days to Ireland. We have a large supply of stock in store but if there are any issues of stock we will contact you immediately. If for any reason you are not totally satisfied with your purchase, please contact Customer Service immediately. Some orders may take longer to process than others.
FORCE MAJEURE We shall have no liability whatsoever under, or in any way related to the sale and purchase of the Goods or otherwise for any failure to fulfil any obligation hereunder if and to the extent that such fulfilment is prevented by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
We want you to be 100% satisfied with any purchase order placed with us. In the event that you experience difficulty with any of our products, we will be happy to help. Faulty goods will be replaced or credited in full within 28 days of purchase. It's imperative that you contact us within 28 days as full refunds cannot be considered after this period. Please keep the original invoice and packaging. If you receive a product that has been damaged in transit or is faulty please contact us immediately so we can resolve the issue. Items must be unused and still have their original packaging and labelling attached.
Damaged or faulty goods will be credited in full including post and packaging. Damages and shortages must be notified within 7 days. Replacement and/or refunds are not available if the product is damaged or becomes faulty as a result of misuse, mishandling or the actions of any party other than Farm Direct or our employees.
If for any reason you are not satisfied with a product or service please contact us within seven days after receiving the delivery and we will deal with your query as quickly as possible.
Animal Health Remedies Licence to sell via the internet. Licence no. : INT/CE/053


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World Time Zone Map Australia map Melbourne tourist map - street and area map
Travelling to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia? Find out more with this detailed interactive online map of Melbourne downtown, surrounding areas and Melbourne neighborhoods.
If you are planning on traveling to Melbourne, use this interactive map to help you locate everything from food to hotels to tourist destinations. The street map of Melbourne is the most basic version which provides you with a comprehensive outline of the city's essentials. The satellite view will help you to navigate your way through foreign places with more precise image of the location.
Most popular maps today: map of Jerusalem, Kabul map, Charlotte map, Mexico City map, Algiers map
As you browse around the map, you can select different parts of the map by pulling across it interactively as well as zoom in and out it to find:
You can also expand it to fill the entire screen rather than just working with the map on one part of the screen.
Navigate your way through foreign places with the help of more personalized maps. Use the satellite view, narrow down your search interactively, save to PDF to get a free printable Melbourne plan.
Click this icon on the map to see the satellite view, which will dive in deeper into the inner workings of Melbourne.
Feel free to download the PDF version of the Melbourne map so that you can easily access it while you travel without any means to the Internet.
If you are looking for directions to Melbourne rather than an online map of all of the places that you are interested in visiting, you also have the option of finding and saving the directions for future use.
You are also able to narrow down your search by selecting only restaurants, for example, that way you can have a list of exactly what it is that you are searching for. You can also use our search box in order to locate any other places that you are interested in finding.
Copyright © 2005 - 2024 24TimeZones.com. All rights reserved.


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Why Americans Spend Too Much
The 2008 financial crisis made it clear: Americans save too little, spend too much and borrow excessively, says Princeton professor Sheldon Garon. In Western Europe and East Asia, governments aggressively encourage people to save through special savings institutions and savings campaigns.
Garon has just released a new book, Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves. He discussed his findings with NPR:
Do Americans spend more than people in Western Europe and Asia?
"They definitely do. You can look at consumption levels and control for purchasing power over the last several decades, and America is simply in a league of its own. The only people who come close are people in Britain, but they are about 85 percent of the level of American consumption. Germans, French and others are in the 70 percent range, Japanese even a little lower. So Americans spend like no one else."
Were we savers before? The Benjamin Franklin admonition was to save money. Did we do that up until a certain point?
"Benjamin Franklin had more of an effect on Europe and Japan in the 19th century than he did on us. [Still,] we were good savers [in earlier times] where we had good savings institutions, like savings banks, in New England and the mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest.
"But many people in America, particularly in the South and West, didn't even have an accessible bank as late as 1910 in which they could save. We became very good savers during World War II and in the few decades after World War II."
What happened in the more recent decades from the '80s on out, where we seem to have greatly stepped up our use of credit cards and other kinds of debt?
"You've identified the 1980s as the right point — that's when you have almost a perfect storm in terms of deregulating financial institutions that results in a tremendous outpouring of credit in various ways. The credit card industry is deregulated after about 1980. They can charge whatever they want on interest rates; they tend to then see their credit-card operations as cash cows; they tend to target riskier and riskier customers.
U.S. Household Saving Rate
Percent of disposable personal income
"There's also the creation of the home equity loan, which more or less did not exist before the mid-1980s. But the 1986 tax law reforms made home equity loans — the interest on them — tax deductible just like home mortgages. No other form of credit was tax deductible.
"So you had an explosion of home equity, and that resulted in lots of middle- to upper-income homeowners actually draining the equity out of their homes as they expanded their lines of credit. And we got to a point where, in so many different ways, Americans came to the conclusion: Why would you save when it was so easy to get credit?"
These habits we've developed — shop till you drop — it seems like it's so much a part of our culture to overconsume that it's got to be hard to reverse that direction. What has to happen to make us better savers?
"One thing is the unfortunate: Many households — millions of households — don't have the means to get more credit and to spend more now, so that automatically is going to make people more cautious. But I think institutionally, we need to do several things. We need to improve the access of lower-income households to savings institutions.
"We just witnessed Bank of America and other banks trying to charge an extra fee on people with debit cards, particularly with low minimum balances. That tends to discourage people. [Among lower-income households] 25 percent of them are unbanked: They don't have bank accounts.
"So we need to incentivize banks to create ... small savers accounts [such as those in Europe]. They have a low or minimum balance, that have no fees, [and they] actually pay an interest rate that people can see. These can be subsidized by government working with banks — we can do that.
"We need to clearly do more to curb predatory lending, and I think we need to revise our tax laws, which right now incentivize really affluent taxpayers to contribute to their retirement accounts and to buy more and more housing, while not incentivizing lower- and middle-income households to put more of their money away in savings. In many countries, small savings accounts are tax exempt. Here we have the opposite — tax exempt advantages incentivize borrowing, not saving.
How optimistic are you that things could change?
"It's a long shot, and as you have implied, there's a lot of resistance out there. On the other hand, if we can't even talk about the problem, if we can't even talk about the benefits of some saving and we think that only consumer spending is good for the economy, then we're not even getting to first base on this. We have to begin talking about the benefits of saving, and how we might restore a balance between saving and spending."


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Defending the nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic, is a tough business. That's why the U.S. government has Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, where the nation's secrets can be freely discussed by military officers, intelligence operatives and diplomats.
If you're going to keep the bad guys out, you've got to think like a bad guy. That's what makes these technical specifications about building and operating SCIFs so interesting (the Navy has helpfully posted the entire thing…and more skiff, as the term is pronounced, background here).
Highlights from the 161-page document, produced by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, include:
— Hinge pins that are accessible from outside of the SCIF door shall be modified to prevent removal of the door, e.g., welded, set screws, etc.
— Every effort should be made to minimize or eliminate windows in the SCIF, especially on the ground floor.
— Windows shall be non-opening.
— The SCIF perimeter shall provide five minutes of forced-entry protection.
— Initial response time shall be five minutes.
— General construction of SCIFs shall be performed using U.S. citizens and U.S. firms.
— SCIF finish work (work that includes closing up wall structures; installing, floating, taping and sealing wallboards; installing trim, chair rail, molding, and floorboards; painting; etc.) in Category III countries [as ranked by the U.S. government's classified Security Environment Threat List] shall be accomplished by SECRET-cleared, U.S. personnel.
— SCIF finish work (work that includes closing up wall structures; installing, floating, taping and sealing wallboards; installing trim, chair rail, molding, and floorboards; painting; etc.) in Category I and II countries shall be accomplished by TOP SECRET-cleared, U.S. personnel.
— Guards are required for SCIF construction outside the U.S.
— For building construction projects in Category III countries, cleared U.S. citizens may randomly select up to 35% of building materials from non-specific general construction materials for SCIF construction. Random selection may exceed 35% only if materials can be individually inspected.
— For building construction projects in Category I and II countries, cleared U.S. citizens may randomly select up to 25% of building materials from non-specific general construction materials for SCIF construction. Random selection may exceed 25% only if materials can be individually inspected.
— Perimeter shall meet acoustic protection standards unless designated as a nondiscussion area.
— When expanding existing SCIF space into areas not controlled at the SECRET level, maximum demolition of the new SCIF area is required.
— Following an unscheduled landing [in a flying SCIF], in U.S.-controlled or non-hostile territory, the senior SCI-indoctrinated person shall retain control of the SCI [sensitive compartmented information] material until approved storage arrangements can be effected through a local Special Security Officer or SCI indoctrinated official.
— Prior to an unscheduled landing in unfriendly or hostile territory, every reasonable effort shall be made to destroy unencrypted SCI material and communications security equipment in accordance with the emergency destruction plan.
— The ability of a SCIF structure to retain sound within the perimeter is rated using a descriptive value, the Sound Transmission Class (STC). To satisfy the normal security standards of SCIFs, the following transmission attenuation groups have been established:
…Sound Group 3 – STC 45 or better. Loud speech from within the SCIF can be faintly heard but not understood outside of the SCIF. Normal speech is unintelligible with the unaided human ear.
…Sound Group 4 – STC 50 or better. Very loud sounds within the SCIF, such as loud singing, brass music, or a radio at full volume, can be heard with the human ear faintly or not at all outside of the SCIF.
— Sound masking devices, in conjunction with an amplifier and speakers or transducers, can be used to generate and distribute vibrations or noise; noise sources may be noise generators, tapes, discs, or digital audio players.
— Speakers/transducers must produce sound at a higher level than the voice conversations within the SCIF.
— Any sound-source generator within the SCIF that is equipped with a capability to record ambient sound shall have that capability disabled.
— Office equipment that is no longer serviceable, such as copiers and classified fax machines, shall be sanitized by having volatile memory erased and non-volatile memory and disk storage removed for terminal destruction.
— Combinations to locks installed on security containers/safes, perimeter doors, windows, and any other opening should be changed in the following circumstances:
a) When a combination lock is first installed or used.
b) When a combination has been subjected, or believed to have been subjected, to compromise.
c) Whenever a person knowing the combination no longer requires access to it unless other sufficient controls exist to prevent access to the lock.
d) At other times when considered necessary by the SO [security officer].
2. When the lock is taken out of service, it will be reset to 50-25-50.
Chair rails?