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Greaves [1] proposed that skin cancer was a potent selective force for the evolution of dark pigmentation in early hominins. Blum [2,3] questioned the role of skin cancer in the evolution of skin pigmentation because it only rarely causes death to individuals of reproductive age. Since Blum's studies, much more data on skin cancer rates has been amassed, and a clearer picture of skin cancer aetiology has emerged. Individuals with lightly pigmented skin, especially those with a tendency to freckle who carry specific polymorphisms of the melanocortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R), are most susceptible to skin cancers of all types [4,5]. Other polymorphisms of pigmentation genes also have been associated with elevated risk of skin cancer in people of European descent [6]. Development of the most common skin cancers, namely, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), is associated with chronic sun peak exposure and generally develops in the seventh decade of life. Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is much rarer, is associated with sunburns, particularly in childhood, and can appear as early as the third or fourth decades of life because of the roughly 20 year lag between damaging exposures and the appearance of disease [4]. This still allows for reproduction and the persistence of familial predisposition to CMM [7].
Greaves' case for skin cancer as a potent agent for natural selection of dark skin pigmentation presupposes that ancestral hominins had skin that was pale or light, and that people in Africa who are entirely lacking eumelanin in their integument owing to OCA2 albinism are a suitable model for the ancestral state. OCA2 albinism predisposes individuals to extreme ultraviolet ratiation (UVR)-induced damage to DNA and is associated with severe and often fatal skin cancers (mostly SCC) in the middle of their potential reproductive careers in the third and fourth decades of life [8,9]. Excessively high rates of skin cancer develop in individuals with OCA2 albinism when compared with other very light-skinned people with MC1R variants, probably because of the protective non-pigmentary effects of MC1R, specifically the fewer number of p53 clones that develop after UVR exposure [10].
Early hominins never had naked pale skin comparable in function to that of individuals with OCA2 albinism. All living cattarhine primates have intact pigmentary systems and can develop facultative pigmentation through tanning or have permanently melanized skin [11,12]. Humans evolved from African apes which had the potential to develop protective eumelanin pigmentation through tanning on exposed skin in response to UVR exposure. The skin (and not just the hair follicles) of great apes bears active melanocytes which produce eumelanin upon exposure to strong sunlight [13]. Increased sun exposure on hairless areas results in gradual darkening of the skin, as melanocytes gain competence with increasing age. Based on comparative evolutionary physiology and the principle of parsimony, this must have been the ancestral condition of the last common ancestor of African apes and humans [11,14]. Skin cancers are not among the skin conditions known to afflict living apes [15].
The evolution of functional hairlessness in early hominins was a gradual process, not a sudden one, during which the MC1R locus was under increasing selective constraint [16]. Once permanent dark constitutive pigmentation evolved about 1.2 Ma [16], selection eliminated non-synonymous MC1R variation in order to maintain a high-eumelanin phenotype [17]. During this process, the skin of early hominins was never pale-skinned or incapable of tanning, and was never functionally similar to the condition seen in people with OCA2 albinism. The skin of individuals with albinism is an inappropriate model for the ancestral hominin condition because its pallor is the result of complete and irreversible loss of pigmentary function. Even if this condition were taken as the model for the skin of early hominins, skin cancer still could have been only a weak selective force. Reproduction in ancestral hominins started earlier in life than in modern humans [18], and most reproductive effort would have been completed before skin cancer could have affected reproductive success. It is thus unlikely that skin cancer could have affected maternal fertility significantly. Its effect on child mortality through a grandmaternal effect would have been slighter, given that the effect of grandmaternal survival on child mortality is approximately five times less than that of maternal survival [19].
Factors affecting individuals early in their reproductive career would have had much greater effects on fertility than skin cancer. Considering that skin pigmentation is most highly correlated to autumnal, and not peak, UVR levels, BCC and SCC were unlikely to have been significant selective forces. The most serious skin cancer, CMM, most often is caused by repeated sunburns, which are more common in regions with highly seasonal solar regimes and large changes in the ratio of UVA to UVB throughout the year. Such conditions prevail today in the subtropical and Mediterranean belts, particularly those of the Southern Hemisphere, which experience greater differences between summer and winter UVR levels owing to current orbital parameters [20,21]. CMM risk therefore may have promoted the evolution of tanning ability [22]. Serious sunburns would have been rare, however, before the era of long-distance travel and recreational sun exposure.
In the electronic supplementary material accompanying his article, Greaves criticizes other models for the evolution of dark pigmentation for lack of explanatory power. He focuses special attention on the deficiencies of the folate hypothesis, citing presumed differences in sun exposure between male and female hominins and a lack of experimental evidence for folate sensitivity to UVR. There is no evidence to suggest that female hominins and their offspring experienced any less UVR exposure than males. The evolution of hairlessness and permanent dark pigmentation occurred in the early history of the genus Homo, when hominins of both sexes were actively engaged in foraging and hunting in mostly open, sunny environments [23]. In our development of the folate hypothesis, we have gone to lengths to discuss its strengths and evidentiary shortcomings [11,22], and to indicate that effects on folate metabolism were not the only forces acting to promote the evolution of permanent protective eumelanin pigmentation. Evidence for the in vitro photolysis of folate and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) by UVR [24–26] that we cited in our early studies has been supplemented recently by demonstration of in vivo photolysis by UVR in humans [27]. Reduction in the bioavailability of folate and 5-MTHF by UVR would be a significant selective force because it would have almost immediate effects on folate-dependent processes of DNA synthesis and cell division (including early embryogenesis and spermatogenesis) as well as on DNA repair.
Skin cancer is a serious health problem for mobile and long-lived modern humans, and is especially so for individuals suffering from OCA2 albinism in Africa. What we question here is the validity of applying the model of OCA2 albinism to human evolution. Loss of skin pigmentation can occur via many genetic pathways, and has evolved many times [28,29]. The deletion mutation at the P locus in individuals with OCA2 albinism arose in sub-Saharan Africa 2000–3000 years ago, and represents one of the most dramatic examples of loss of pigmentation in the human lineage. Our point is that the absence of pigmentation seen in individuals suffering from OCA2 albinism is not comparable to the ancestral state seen in early hominins. The transition from an 'ape-like' polymorphic MC1R condition—in which individuals were capable of heavy tanning on exposed skin but were not permanently pigmented—to a modern human monomorphic MC1R condition with permanent dark pigmentation over a mostly hairless body more than 1 Ma was the key innovation that occurred in the evolution of human skin. Multiple selective pressures were involved, but the most powerful forces were those that affected reproductive success swiftly and with certainty.
The accompanying reply can be viewed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0940.
- Received March 3, 2014.
- Accepted April 2, 2014.
- © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.


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Pembroke man, shot by police during car chase, indicted on felony chargesBy PAT GROSSMITH
New Hampshire Union Leader
August 20. 2013 2:30PM
MANCHESTER – A Pembroke man, shot twice in the leg by police after a car chase last June in back alleys and on downtown streets, was indicted on seven felony charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree assault for allegedly trying to run down police officers with his Jeep Commander.
Christopher Varagianis, 37, of 12 Alyssa Drive, but currently being held in the Valley Street jail, also was indicted by a grand jury sitting in Hillsborough County Superior Court, Northern District, on five counts of reckless conduct. The panel also issued misdemeanor charges of two counts each of disobeying a police officer and resisting arrest.
The incident happened on June 3 and began outside the 7 Days Market on Union Street, where Varagianis was reportedly found unconscious in his Jeep.
According to police, he regained consciousness, rejected medical treatment and then drove off with mountain bike patrol officers in pursuit because they believed he was impaired. Those officers radioed for assistance, and two unmarked police cars joined the pursuit.
Varagianis refused to pull over and drove at a high rate of speed in back alleys and city streets, eventually ramming his Jeep into the front of the unmarked Chevrolet Yukon being operated by Detective Michael Lavallee, according to a preliminary report of the officer-involved shooting issued by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office in June.
The vehicles were locked grill-to-grill, with each driver stepping on the accelerator, and officers outside yelling for Varagianis to stop.
Three officers fired their weapons that day, according to the attorney general's report: Detective Joseph Mucci, who fired two shots at the Jeep's tires, flattened one of them; Lavallee, who aimed low and fired at Varagianis as his Jeep broke free and was about to pass him and after he warned him that he was going to shoot; and an unidentified undercover officer who fired after he saw two other officers jump out of the way of the Jeep to avoid being hit.
The attorney general's report does not identify which officer or officers actually shot Varagianis.

subset: commoncrawl


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5 Free Bonuses! New cookbook! Easy to follow recipes to energize and nourish you!
beezecolhei | dodany 1629 dni 20 godzin 40 minut temu | (www.youtube.com) | obserwuj nie obserwuj
I am always on the lookout for recipes for my family. I want to prepare foods with natural ingredients to help energize and nourish them. I came across this cookbook that has some wonderfully easy to follow recipes. With over 350 of them you'll never run out of ideas and will always have something healthy and delicious at your fingertip. As If This Wasn't Good Enough Already...I was able to have access free of charge to five bonus ebooks that will take your lifestyle to the next level! Click here or on the link in the video to get instant access to your 5 free bonuses: http://newesttrendsontheweb.com/paleorecipebook.html
kategoria: Kultura i sztuka | tagi: new-cookbook family-meals healthy-and-energized natural-ingredients recipes


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Monday, January 21, 2008
Betty Boop and the Production Code
The cartoon heroine with the giant head with its coy rolling eyes burst from the Fleischer studio in the early 1930s and made full use of what the new sound technology had to offer. Mae Questel, who voiced Betty, did a Helen Kane impersonation, and "boop-oop-a-doop" became a catch phrase.
An interesting evolution of Betty and the Fleischer manner of production is noted in "Serious Business" by Stefan Kanfer (Scribner, 1997), which notes that unlike the Disney studio which recorded the dialogue before creating the cartoon, a method which continues today, Fleischer did it the other way around. Max Fleischer had the cartoon created first, a kind of stream-of-consciousness storytelling on the part of the cartoonist (which led to some pretty weird dream-like scenarios for Betty and her crew), and then the sound came afterwards.
Mae Questel was reportedly very good at ad libbing, as this is what she was required to do in the recording session after the cartoon was filmed. The actors watched the cartoon and then invented lines to go with what was happening on the screen. (A technique which led to Popeye, another Fleischer production, noted for its humorous extemporaneous patter of dialogue.)
Some of Betty's earliest outings have been called by some critics, including Leonard Maltin, as a kind of "cartoon noir" because of the menacing shadows and looming backgrounds, and the inanimate objects that spring to life in threatening manner. Betty started as a guest in "Bimbo's Initiation" (1931). Bimbo and Ko-Ko, a clown, were the Fleischer stars through the 1920s. By the time Fleischer's "Snow White" was released in 1931 (not a bit like the Disney's version), Betty was established as the star of Fleischer Studios.
From "Stopping the Show", "Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle" both from 1932 we get Betty singing, stripping, and pouring her heart out. Naiveté was never so suggestive. The cartoons always had at least one song, and the scenarios were usually risqué.
Cab Calloway's dance steps were Rotoscoped on the body of Ko-Ko, and he wailed "St. James Infirmary." Betty imitated Fanny Brice and Maurice Chevalier. It was raucous, and riotous, and freewheeling.
Then the Code, and Betty had to clean up her act, or rather, the Fleischers did. Glimpses of her underwear were no longer allowed. Her dress was lowered to cover the garter, and the neckline was raised. Pals Bimbo and Ko-Ko were pushed aside for a cute puppy, a cute nephew, and Grampy, who never leered at Betty.
The run-down houses and apartments were Betty struggled to keep up like everybody else did the Depression became cozy cottages and swanky digs. Betty was doing well. But her saucy underdog persona suffered.
She became matronly, where she no longer appeared as a race car driver or circus performer, but sang songs about housecleaning. Finally, Betty no longer starred, but was the supporting player to the new cast. Though Betty had always been a black and white cartoon, now she was truly colorless.
A new cast member in a minor role, a guy named Popeye, broke free from the mundane polite menagerie and became a star on his own. "Boop-a-doop" may have been outlawed by the Code, but bashing somebody's skull in, as Popeye and Bluto repeatedly did to each other, was good clean all-American fun. Fortunately for Miss Questel, she took on the job of Olive Oyl's voice, and continued to ad lib while watching a cartoon, and doing a splendid job.
Decades later we see Betty again in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988) in the nightclub scene where she is a lowly and somewhat forlorn cigarette girl making small talk with Bob Hoskins. But nobody is pinching Betty, or even noticing her, despite that she is portrayed in black and white in a room packed with cartoon characters in full color. There is something poignant in her down and out manner of telling Mr. Hoskins that work for her has been, "kinda slow since cartoons went to color." But it wasn't color that got our Betty. It was the Code, as omnipotent a master as one of her old lecherous employers.
"I still got it," Betty pitifully jokes, boop-a-dooping once more. Mr. Hoskins gently agrees that she does, but his response is only an act of kindness to a worn out dame who's seen better days.
But she does still have it, or she must, or we wouldn't see her on mugs, T-shirts, novelty clocks and radios, depicted as a biker chick on the backs of leather jackets, still coy, still innocent, still suggestive, but less a victim of sexual harassment than an assertive modern woman. Yeah, I got your Code right here, buddy. Betty lives, in full color, in the world of merchandizing. Max Fleischer might well be amazed.
Perhaps Betty's plight is best assessed by the sexy Jessica, voiced by Kathleen Turner in "Roger Rabbit." Protesting her own innocence she remarks, "I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."
3 comments:
Boop Boop a Doop was already a craze even before betty boop booped, Helen kane Made the Word Boop Boop a Doop populer in the song - I wanna be loved by you 1928
Betty Boop was actually styled on helen kane in dizzy dishes 1930 she was meant to be a cariacature of Helen kane margie hines did the first voice for betty boop
there was several people who did betty boops voice before mae questel
margie hines, Bonnie Poe, Little ann little, Kate Wright and the most populer Mae Questel
(Kate wright,Little ann little and mae Questel had entered the Helen Kane contest which was stated on my betty boop Dvd, it only said A Contest and didnt actually say a Helen kane contest, also mae Questel Won the contest and got a autograph from Helen kane
Helen kane lost her trial becuse they had many things on her, such as little known african american singer baby esther Booped Before her and she had seen Baby esther preform in the cotton club
Not to mention Bonnie Poe did the First Olive oyl voice along with betty boops in the first feature cartoon (Popeye the Sailor 1933)
and bonnie poe continued to voice olive oyl then sometimes Mae Questel would voice olive oyl
and margie hines also voiced olive oyl
But Mae Questel Was Credited and the rest was not
although betty boop did go through alot of changes and she became slimmer but not to slim
When Helen kane sued fleischer studios who produced the betty boop cartoons they Claimed that betty boop was Styled on Clara bow which was very untrue
She might have been when she became human, but when Betty Boop was first created she was still styled on helen kane
also not to mention Grim natwick used Helen kanes photograph and he made the curls the same as she had in the picture
and the picture he used of helen kane is unknown it could have been any of her photos
Betty Boops hair is dark, it was made red in poor cinderella 1934 and i think that was to confuse the trial becuse everyone knows Clara bow was a red head, also cinderellas hair is never black
some people actually think betty boops hair is red well they are wrong it was only red for the only coloured feature produced by Fleischer studios
becuse the other colour versions was coloured in the late 70s
Betty Boops Last Appearance who in Who framed Roger rabbit and she was voiced by Mae Questel,
imagine if mae questel was unavailable
They could have always called Kate Wright,margie hines,or bonnie poe, not sure about little annabel little i think she was dead im unsure though if any of the other voices were available
Speaking of jessica rabbit she might have been the sex symbol in who framed roger rabbit but you dont see much of her on merchandise.
Betty Boop Later Made An apperance in the Romance of betty boop where her voice was by Desirée Goyette, This betty boop was more of a Grim natwick styled betty boop
Becuse i seen some of him 70s sketches of betty boop and the romance of betty boop in 1985 looks simuler, also he got a special thanks which said thanks to grim natwick who drew betty boop first, not to mention he created her first
and when betty boop appeared in earlier cartoons it seems grim natwick did becuse at the time he was obsessed with Singer Helen Kane
and betty boop seemed to imitate Helen kane alot, well helen kane was populer at the time from 1928-1930
singing alot of helen kanes songs
until helen kane saw stopping the show in 1932 becuse really in stopping the show when betty boop did her helen kane imitation there was posters of helen kane in the backround but they was cut out for the trial in 1934
betty boop did not talk to helen kane like she did with fanny brice or the french man she just starting singing thats my Weakness now
anyway betty boops last apperance was in Betty Boops Hollywood mysterys which was a terrible movie... it was kinda ok but awful
melissah fahn voiced betty boop which she did a ok job i guess.... but its just not betty boop well it kinda is and kinda isnt
- November 9, 2009 at 7:31 PM
Last but not least, betty boop was suppost to have appeared in 1993, and the link shows the story board with a little singing
but this movie was scrapped for reasons many reasons mainly becuse MGM and all sorts
So betty boop is still a major icon also she will be appearing in a Broadway in 2010-2011
So that should bring her back for a while, i just hope the person who does her voice sounds great becuse i go on the voice
lastly thanks for blogging about betty boop
Boop Boop a Doop Oop!
- November 9, 2009 at 7:31 PM
- Jacqueline T Lynch said...
Thank you so much, Starlighthoneymoon, for this astoundingly complete history of Betty Boop. I am deeply impressed with your knowledge on our old friend, Betty. And thanks for that heads up on Betty's future on Broadway. We'll have to keep an eye out for that.
- November 9, 2009 at 7:52 PM


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February 10, 2014
The Boys Who Cried Woof
Young activists push to crack down on Pennsylvania's puppy mills
by Kelly Huegel
When the DePasquale family decided to foster a puppy mill refugee, they had no idea the little bichon mix would take them all the way to the state capitol.
While volunteering with their parents through Castaway Critters in Harrisburg, Pa., Joey (age 13) and Anthony (age 12) encountered Franklin, a rescue from one of the state's many inhumane breeding facilities. The person who had agreed to foster Franklin never showed up, so the organization asked the DePasquales to give it a shot.
Back home, Franklin "would just hide in the corner," Anthony recalls. "It was really upsetting to see. When we held Franklin the first time, he was shaking like crazy." As time went by, the tenacious pup made slow but steady progress, following family members around the house, then attempting to play. "We kind of fell in love with him," says Anthony. "We couldn't give him up," Joey adds.
The DePasquales eventually opened their doors to more foster dogs, including a puppy mill rescue named Tilly.
"Tilly was really bad," remembers mom, Kate. "[She] had a broken jaw; [her] eyes went in two different directions. I mean, my vet actually cried when she saw her."
Using Tilly as their "poster dog," Joey and Anthony drafted an online petition calling for an end to Pennsylvania's puppy mills and emailed friends, family, and schoolmates for support. They attended meetings of rescue groups. Kate contacted local and national organizations, including The HSUS, which publicized the petition on its Facebook page. "Overnight we got like 1,500 signatures," says Kate.
In no time, the boys rocketed past their initial goal of 3,000 signatures. At last count, the total was more than 13,000, with signatures coming in from around the world. "It felt great just to see how many people were supporting us," Joey remembers.
On Dec. 3, the boys, joined by Franklin, presented the signatures and a photo book showcasing puppy mill dogs to Gov. Tom Corbett, and urged him to do more to enforce Pennsylvania's dog laws. "I want to do this for my whole life," says Anthony. "Help these dogs."
Hometown Heroes Joey and Anthony DePasquale
York County, Pa.
Home Schooling
Before they adopted a puppy mill rescue, Joey and Anthony already knew about Pennsylvania's status as a notorious puppy mill state. The boys' mother "started showing us what was going on, and we just immediately realized that it was wrong and we wanted to help," Joey recalls.
All in the Family
Kate DePasquale first learned about puppy mills through a Facebook post. After researching the issue, she asked her family if they wanted to help. Last March, the boys started accompanying their parents on rescue missions.
Kate recalls telling her sons, "'Listen, we have to get up at 4 a.m.' And the kids were like, 'We're there. Let's do it.'" That day, the family helped transport some of the 30-plus puppy mill dogs saved by Castaway Critters.
The boys started a school club called WOOF (Welfare of Our Friends) to spread the word about animal welfare issues. HSUS Pennsylvania state director Sarah Speed, who recently spoke to the group, praised the boys' efforts. "It's really awesome that they're not just doing it, they're getting everyone involved."
Meet more of our favorite activists against puppy mills in a special Facebook album »


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"Pacific Rim" fans can pilot their own Jaegers and fight alien kaiju in an upcoming mobile game inspired by the film. The action fighting game is set in the universe of "Pacific Rim," the kaiju vs. robots film from director Guillermo del Toro, out Friday.
The game, developed by Reliance Games, allows players to train their Jaeger jockeys from rookie to ace in story mode, or to outlast as many monsters as possible in endless survival mode. Players will be able to build up combat skills and customize their Jaegers with different equipment and technology. Click through the gallery above for a look at some of the action.
The "Pacific Rim" game will be available before the film's debut on platforms running iOS. Plans for an Android release are also in the works. Hero Complex caught up with Manish Agarwal, chief executive of Reliance Entertainment – Digital, to talk about the game.
HC: How closely does the game correlate to the film? For example, does the story mode follow the film's plot?
MA: One of the things we did not want to do was to make a scripted-based movie game. It was important to us (and to both Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures) that we take the deep back story of "Pacific Rim" and explore other areas. Our timeline is just preceding the events of the film, so you are given the chance to pilot some of the earlier Jaegers up to those Mark V's that are in the movie. You can customize your Jaeger with a unique set of weapons, armor and other enhancements, and even customize the paint job. So in many respects you are given the chance to tell your own tale as the epic battles rages…. While there are scenes in the movie that touch on how the kaijus ravaged the cities in the Pacific Rim, most of the film's action takes places in and around Hong Kong. We've included Hong Kong of course (with a number of recognizable buildings and set pieces), but we also have San Francisco and Sydney.
PHOTOS: 50 images from 'Pacific Rim'
HC: Are the monsters and robots straight from the screen, or were they designed specifically for the game?
MA: We were quite fortunate to obtain many of the same CG assets that were used in the film…. We have the very same 3-D models for both the Jaegers and kaijus. Of course we had to make some accommodations for the mobile platform, but it's pretty cool knowing that what we have in the game is true and accurate to the film.
There was one instance where we had to create something new. To better fit with the game's progression we created an earlier variant of Crimson Typhoon. Since this was something new, we did have to bounce it off of Legendary Pictures and Guillermo himself, but everyone was quite accommodating regarding our need to include more than what the film offered.
HC: How closely did you collaborate with Del Toro on the game?
MA: Guillermo was quite instrumental in both the design and play testing of the game. Even though his schedule was quite hectic with the final cut of the film, he was kind enough to sit down with us on a number of occasions and share with us not only the story background and clips of the film, but also his thoughts on what the game should be. We were all encouraged that he came to the process as a gamer, and there was already a deep understanding of what we needed to do to turn his film into a game. In addition, he worked with us on the look of the Jaegers and kaijus as well as the animations and camera during combat. To him it was important to make the game entertaining in that we give the player a sense of fun through frenetic action.
– Noelene Clark | @NoeleneClark | Google+
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'Pac Rim': Del Toro on Japanese pop culture influence
'Pacific Rim' footage delivers '2,500 tons of awesome'
'Pacific Rim': Guillermo del Toro crafts 'gothic tech'


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Adm. Thomas H. Moorer (former CNO)
"The R.G. Smith WWII Aviation 2000 Calendar honors the famed artist and the veterans of WWII.. Both made enormous contributions to the nation and the world, one through depicting our military history and the other be achieving a hard fought and decisive victory over totalitarian aggressors."
Admiral E.R. Zumwalt, Jr. (former CNO)
In a letter dated 6 Sept. 1972, Adm Zumwalt relates to RG that there have been numerous requests from the Pentagon for lithographs of the painting ENTERPRISE ON YANKEE STATION including one from the Under Secretary of the Navy. He continues "Please accept my personal thanks for your many excellent contributions to the Navy Combat Art Collection and especially for this memorable and superbly done work."
Vadm. William D. Houser (former Dep. CNO Air Warfare)
In the forward The Man and His Art, R.G. Smith, Vadm. Houser writes: "Although his major contributions to aeronautical engineering are remarkable, it is his consummate skill as an artist which propelled him to the pinnacle of respect and admiration he now enjoys. His trained eye for aeronautics and his abiding respect for those who fly, especially in combat, enabled him to portray the spirit as well as the image of aircraft. His dramatic, realistic, and often soaring backgrounds of sky and clouds attract any aviator's eye, and make that flyer feel at home when viewing his paintings. Clearly, R.G.'s creations have been instrumental in the preservation of the proud heritage and rich history of Naval Aviation."
Brigadier General Jay Hubbard (USMC ret.)
"As an aircraft engineer he (RG) helped launch the historic evolution in military aircraft design and performance beginning in the 1930s - literally, from "jennys" to jets. A talent for flawless perspective and intricate detail in the line drawings and sketches led to a parallel career, which propelled him into becoming one of the top aviation artists of this or any other time." Gen. Hubbard goes on to say RG's creations are "priceless masterworks."
Tom Crouch (Senior Curator National Air & Space Museum Smithsonian)
While introducing "The ''Old Master' of the Sky," an aviation art exhibition (Mar. - Sept. 2000) featuring 25 paintings and drawings by R.G.Smith, Crouch offers: "Among the fraternity of artists who have recorded the history of flight on canvas, R.G. Smith is regarded by many as the American master." At the conclusion of the exhibit, in a 'thank you' letter to Smith's daughter, General Jack Dailey, NASM Museum Director, wrote: " I can assure you that millions of visitors enjoyed the paintings this spring and summer. It became apparent to us at an early date that the presence of the R.G. Smith exhibition served to draw visitors . . ."
Adm. James Holloway III (former CNO)
My admiration for the art of R.G. Smith is well known among my friends. When I retired from active duty, my staff at the Pentagon gave me a wonderful pen and ink sketch of the A4D-2 Skyhawk aircraft number 301 that I flew as CO of VA-83 in 1956-1958."
Radm Denny Wisely USN ret. (1st Vietnam veteran to shoot down two enemy aircraft and former Commanding Officer of the Blue Angels)
"The Blue Angels wish to express our deepest appreciation for your many extraordinary efforts in depicting us on canvas. Your recent work of the Delta formation over the Carrier with "Fat Albert|" and the Number 7 jet is being displayed in our squadron office. It is another example of your remarkable paintings with which you continue to amaze us. We wish you to know that we are honored by our association with you. "Perfection" is our goal - and your accomplishment." In the painting WISELY'S M|IG, RG depicted Denny in his F-4 Phantom shooting down a Russian MIG in NVN.


text: I will be going back to school in 6 months or so and am considering buying a 'droid. I will be taking my classes mostly online but am hoping to have a time to take some of the courses in residence. My first thought about buying a tablet is that if I am going to be taking it to class and reading from it I would want a 10" (or 9.x") version...but then I thought, the original Kindle was ony 7"... can anyone give me some input into this aspect of the decision? My first concern is ergonomics - I want something that is going to be as easy on the eyes as possible, while not controlling my desk.


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Gold bracelets are considered as a classic jewelry for women. There are wide ranges of materials, styles, and prices to choose from and these can also be a perfect present to someone even special occasions. It's really hard to decide when it comes to choosing the right type of gold bracelets for women especially if there are lots of great and captivating designs to choose from. Gold can be considered as a rare element that makes it so valuable and very precious too. Gold is very common in making jewelry and fashion accessories such as bracelets, necklaces, and rings. When you find gold women's jewelry on sale you can grab the opportunity because it is so rare that you find a shop that puts the gold jewelry into a sale at a lower cost.
The facts
14k gold bracelets are preferred by most women because they are easier to … Read the rest


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Last month, in Linde v. Arab Bank, the Arab Bank was found liable in a civil proceeding in U.S. Federal Court for providing banking services to terrorists. It faces a jury award potentially in the hundreds of billions of dollars in triple damages.
Read: Bitcoin: Virtual Currency, Legal Realities
The case is precedent-setting because it's the first one where a bank was found liable for supporting terrorism by acting as a bank: namely, providing banking services. But, more importantly, this is the first case where a bank was held liable for wiring funds to persons who were undesignated terrorist organizations or persons.
Because of this liability, the jury found that it can substantially contribute to foreseeable injuries caused by the terrorist acts of those individuals. The verdict may seem reasonable, but actually it's not—because no financial institution can foresee the unforeseeable, that an undesignated customer is a hidden terrorist or may devolve into one. And yet, liability may attach for not knowing.
Even the U.S. government, with its massive intelligence resources, doesn't know the customer is a terrorist. If it did, that person or entity would be designated. So then, how can bank executives possibly expect that banking this customer will lead to a terrorist act? They can't. But banks may be liable in the billions of dollars for not having a crystal ball.
Read: What Are the Insurance Consequences of a Fine for Money Laundering?
As a result of the decision, banks may no longer be able to rely solely on lists provided by government agencies for counter-terrorism efforts. Theoretically, they must now treat every customer as a potential terrorist and make a judgment call on whether they may pose a risk. If the judgment call is wrong, and the bank provides services to a customer who later commits a terrorist act that causes harm, the bank may be liable for substantially contributing to those injuries by banking the customer.
There will be cases where a bank wrongly brands a customer a terrorist organization or person, and in those situations, bank executives may be exposed to due process, discrimination and defamation claims. They may be "doomed if they do and doomed if they don't" in cases of unlisted terrorist organizations that they bank or refuse to bank.
Read: Surprise! Proceeds of Crime Law to Affect Insurers
Consider the ISIS situation. Many thousands of men who are undesignated—and whose identities are not known to banks—have defected to Syria from places like Germany, the U.K., France, Australia and Canada to fight for an extreme fundamentalist Islamic state. While they're in Syria or before they arrive, they may receive funds from friends and family in their home countries through banks, electronic payment systems, money services businesses or other remittance services. If those men commit terrorist acts that cause the death or injury of Canadians or Americans, any foreign banks that provided banking services, such as wiring funds to them, may be liable.
There are more than 100 more cases similar to the Arab Bank case pending in the States, in which plaintiffs are seeking compensation for injuries arising from terrorist acts that were committed against American citizens. There may be hundreds more if the ISIS situation deepens and terrorism against Canadians and other Westerners increases around the world.
There is insufficient money in the bank, quite literally, to pay out all those claims. Our anti-terrorism laws were intended to bankrupt terrorists, not the banking industry.
Christine Duhaime is a lawyer and financial crime regulatory compliance specialist with the law firm of Duhaime Law.
Copyright 2014 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the November 2014 edition of Corporate Risk Canada magazine


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Credit to my sister, Sara, for introducing me to this easy, versatile salad that is packed with flavor. The key part of this recipe is the dressing, so simple but give it a try! I pretty much always have these ingredients on hand so it's an easy throw together dinner when I don't feel like being creative and it is filling! Remember, keeping it simple will make it easier to stick to the plan.
Mexican Salad with Creamy Salsa Dressing
Makes 1 serving
- Lettuce (I like Spring Mix or Romaine with Spinach) 1 or 2 green
- Black beans – 1 yellow
- Chopped veggies (red peppers, tomatoes, onions) 1 green
- MEAT VERSION: Add 1 red container of ground beef made with fix approved taco seasoning
- OPTIONAL: 1/4 avocado, diced (add 1 blue container)
- 1 serving Creamy Salsa Dressing
- I tossed the dressing with the lettuce so that the dressing was in every bite. The dressing is flavorful and just the right amount of spice.
- Add your beans, chopped veggies, meat & avocado if you're using it and mix together.
NOTE: You can add corn but that will affect your yellow container. Try a mixture of beans and corn to fill that yellow container.


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38 Year Old Starts Karate
A Demonstration
Not A Mid Life Crises?
If you had read read my previous hub on Karate Karate-For-Self-Defence you will see that my eldest was now keen on a sport, but this was now denied him due to a bad business or logistical decision.
As there was several Dojos that allowed for the various factors that were covered in the non continuing of the venture.
We had one which was in walking distance from our house, which covered most of those inhibiting factors.
The style was Gojo Rui, one of the firmest in discipline and hardest styles or forms of all of the Karate styles. The local Sensie outside of the Orient ( he was 6th or 7th Dan,) and at that stage, was the only Gajun Sensie (Foreign Master) who was allowed to grade students from Yellow through to 2nd Dan.
This style was excluded from local champion ships in South African Karate Championships.
This was mainly that they would always win the Kumite sections of the competions, which allowed allowed actual light contact. Gojo Rui was a light contact style, in both training and competitions, so the basicaly foughr an inter regional championship, there where a few other Karate styles avalable then.
Remember this was 22 years ago, and Strteet Fighting was not recognised as a sport, but one of those backyard type of activities. Much like Bare knuckle Boxing wititjout Queensbury Rules iin Byrons's time.
So We Sign Up
Well, I go and have a look see and feel that it is something that the eldest could benifit from, so I discuss this with him, and say he can do it so long as he works at improving his maths marks.
He decides that blackmail works both ways and then opens up the negotiations. "Well if you want me to work harder at my maths. As when you had, all those days off while working those funny shifts, you took my brother around to take photographs."
"Whats that got to do with the discussion?" A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I knew what was coming.
"You will come with me, or no deal!"
I had to capitulate.
The next day, we joined and that night, in freshly washed new karate Gi, we entered the Dojo.
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Bath have announced the signing of Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau.
The Aviva Premiership club confirmed that 24-year-old Faletau will join them next season.
Faletau, who also played in the British and Irish Lions' victorious Test series against Australia two years ago, will move to the Recreation Ground from Newport Gwent Dragons.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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Travel insurance cover for cutting your holiday short can take the financial pain out of having to return home sooner than planned.
Also called trip interruption, curtailment offers similar benefits to cancellation.
Acceptable reasons for making a claim are:
- Accident
- Illness
- Bereavement
- Home/business emergency (break-in, flood, fire)
Accident, illness or bereavement includes you, close family relative, travel companion, business partner or holiday host.
You should be covered if the Foreign Office advises British nationals to return home after your arrival and the reason wasn't foreseeable when you booked.
How much cover?
Limits can vary from £500 to £8,000, depending on the insurer. If you're very unlucky, you could have to come home on day one, so make sure it covers all holiday costs (hotel, flights, pre-booked excursions, car rental fees).
What it covers
- Reimbursement of unused travel and accommodation expenses
- Travel costs to get you back home
What's not covered
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Not liking your hotel or resort
- Tour operator or airline failure
- Natural disaster (flooding, earthquake, volcanic ash)
- Holiday accommodation becoming uninhabitable
- Invalid passport/visa
Insurers can refuse to pay out if illness is the result of an undisclosed pre-existing medical condition.
If you feel you need to go home because of illness, contact their 24-hour emergency assistance service for advice.
Insurers can reject a claim on the grounds it's not 'medically necessary,' so you'll need a medical certificate and doctor's letter for back up.
Check the small print for timeshare holidays and trips booked using Air Miles as sometimes these aren't covered.
You can buy add-ons to cover the unexpected, also known as Acts of God (eg catastrophe cover for earthquake).
Terrorism/civil war may not be covered, except for medical emergency expenses. Check policy details.


text: Roland J. Down Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning Announces Best Sale of the Year Published on December 31, 2016 New Year's is over and the frigid temperatures are here. Now is not the time to get stuck without warm air! Now through March 17th, you can save big money on a new heating and cooling system or a Heating Precision Tune-Up and make sure your family stays safe and warm all winter long with the Roland J. Down Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning "Best for First" Sales Event. "The Best for First Sales Event will be our largest sale of 2017 on new heating and cooling systems. All Service Experts locations are providing free or majorly discounted heating or cooling equipment when you buy a qualifying item, such as a free furnace when you purchase a qualifying air conditioning unit," said Rob Haines, Marketing Manager for Service Experts Heating and Air Conditioning. "Furnace tune-ups are also seriously discounted just in time for the most cold months of the year." So whether your HVAC system is in need of a little TLC or it's time for your furnace to retire, call Roland J. Down Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning at 518-417-2938 to schedule your Precision heating tune-up or set up an appointment for a complimentary new heating and cooling system estimate. Back To BlogContact Us


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Questions? 800.462.2263
View your full shopping cart for taxes and shipping.
These heads are great for live playing ! If you're looking for a load and responsive head these are it !
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If you are looking for a head that is pretty much wide-open, this type of head can do the trick. There is tons of resonance with these. However, if you want some control built into the batter head, it might be good to look elsewhere. The muffling on this head is very subtle. I found these work pretty good on the resonant side.


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The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball saw its five-match winning streak snapped on Friday with a pair of losses at the 2012 Cornell Classic to St. Olaf in five (20-25, 21-25, 25-9, 25-19, 15-13) and Augsburg in four (16-25, 25-22, 14-25, 23-25) in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
The Pioneers (7-3) out hit St. Olaf by a .201 to .145 margin as senior Danielle Cushley had a season-high 27 kills to pace the attack. Freshman Katie O'Malley had 55 assists and junior Stephanie Kirchner had her third double double of the season with 12 kills and 13 digs in the loss.
In the fifth and final set, UW-Platteville found itself behind an early 7-2 margin to the Oles. The Pioneers gradually cut into the lead and eventually tied it at 13 when Cushley hammered down her 27th kill of the match. However, St. Olaf scored the final two points of the set to clinch the match on a kill by Maggie Prunty and an attack error by the Pioneers.
In the second match of the day, Augsburg outhit the Pioneers by a .278 to .132 margin. Cushley for the second-straight match led the Pioneers with 14 kills to pace the attack. Augsburg was led by the play of Colleen Ourada, who had 18 kills and six blocks in the win.
Augsburg led from start to finish in the first set; however, in the second set the Pioneers rallied from an early 6-2 deficit to take an 8-7 lead. After gaining the lead, UW-Platteville failed to trail for the remainder of the set to even the match at a set apiece.
In the third set, Augsburg raced out to an early 7-1 lead and never looked back en route to the 25-14 victory. Ourada had nine of her 18 kills in the set to lead the Auggies.
In the final set, the two teams went back and forth including a tie at 18. After the tie, Augsburg went on a 6-0 run before the Pioneers withstood three set and match points to cut the deficit 24-21. Then, Ourada closed out the match with a kill to clinch the victory.
The Pioneers will close out the weekend with two more matches at the 2012 Cornell Classic with an 11 a.m. tilt against Bethel and a 3 p.m. contest against host Cornell.


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Raw from the experience of the previous day and a tad unwilling, on Tuesday we donned the colors of summer. I stepped into a flowy, light dress and F replaced his somber tie with a bright one. We didn't even turn on the radio on the drive up to the wedding, our hearts were so heavy. Then, as we neared the mountains and crossed the border into another country, our mood got lighter and we started feeling almost elated.
The sky was blue, the lake sparkled in the sun and the beauty of the landscape enchanted us. Once more we silently thanked someone/something for the breathtaking world we live in.
I felt guilty on my way to the wedding, like I was not mourning my friend appropriately. But now I know I did what he loved most: I celebrated the awesomeness that is life, in good and bad. I celebrated friendship, I drank champagne, I danced barefoot in the sand. And by doing this I celebrated his life too.
This one is for you, my friend.
I used to be really intimidated by the enormous list of ingredients most Indian recipes require, but the truth is that once you invest in the basic, pantry-friendly range of spices called for, many favorites are just at an arm's reach.
Recipe from Indiaphile
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp + 1 tsp paprika
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
3 tsp garam masala
ginger garlic paste (made using 2 tsp each grated ginger and garlic)
600gr/1 1/4lbs chicken breast cut into cubes
2 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)
1 large onion, minced
1 400gr can diced tomatoes (or pelati, you will be blending them)
2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
a bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp butter
Chicken marinade (at least 3 hours before meal)
In a large bowl, mix together 2 tbsp yogurt, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp garam masala and half of the ginger garlic paste. Add chicken pieces, coat well and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
Grease and heat a pan. Cook chicken on all sides until browned and set aside.
Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan. Cook onion until translucent, add the rest of the ginger garlic paste and cook until browned. Add remaining paprika and coriander and then the tomato sauce/puree, tomato paste and salt. Cook until the oil separates from the sauce. Remove from heat and blend to obtain a paste. Add water if needed.
Pour the puree back into the pan, heat and mix in the remaining yogurt until well blended. Add the chicken and reduce heat. Cover pan and let simmer until cooked through, up to 10 minutes.
Right before taking off heat, mix in the remaining garam masala, the coriander leaves (mine look funny because I used coriander I had previously chopped and frozen) and butter. Add salt if needed.
I served the chicken tikka masala with plain white basmati rice and a yogurt, mint and cucumber salad.


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A woman in Nebraska on Wednesday was found guilty of trespassing and public nudity for taking raunchy photos in front of a Catholic high school.
Valerie Dodds, 19, staged a photo shoot at St. Pius X High School in Lincoln in May. The photographs were posted on her adult website, along with a note explaining that she had been mistreated by former classmates and faculty.
"Everyone at my high school had something rude to say to me when I started my website and so this is my tribute to all of you lol," Dodds explained, adding that she had used a crucifix in an inappropriate manner.
Lancaster County Judge Thomas Fox set sentencing for Dec. 20.
On her Facebook page, Dodds said the charges were "complete bull sh*t." But she thanked the city and the school for giving her publicity and helping her get on the cover of the Hustler magazine.
A Catholic official said the situation was disappointing.
"Very honestly this is a sad story, this is a young woman who has gone down a dangerous path," J.D. Flynn, the Communications Director for the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln told the Associated Press.
He added that the adult entertainment industry wasn't "harmless for the user or those involved in it."


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1 independent reviews for Puglia small group tour, Italy
Reviews for Puglia small group tour, Italy
Alan McLean review 24 Oct 2016
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?The varuety of the programme. Towns like Ostuni, Otranto, Matera were fascinatingly different. Also the local experiences of food and wine tasting.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?There's a lot more walking than is indicated in the brochure. Not really suitatble for anyone with walking problems.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?Hard to tell, but probably.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?Very good. Excellent guide. Nice mixed group. Great taster for an underrated part of Italy.
Holiday Reviews
You can trust Responsible Travel reviews because, unlike many other schemes, reviews can ONLY be written by people who we have verified have been on the holidays. In addition, we don't run these holidays ourselves - our only interest is giving you the best independent advice.


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Even though many manufacturing jobs have been shifted overseas this is likely only a temporary condition of our economic history. In fact, many forms of manufacturing are still done in the developed Western countries such as chemical processing and materials manufacture. Only high labor manufacturing, such as intricate part assembly or textile manufacturing is shipped overseas. In the future, even this work will likely be further automated and these manufacturing positions should return to the West.
Yes, I do believe that manufacturing will eventually return to the West. Manufacturing in foreign countries eventually brings up their standard of living and in turn forces prices for manufacturing higher. When the cost of doing business in foreign countries increases, it will make the West more competitive by comparison. We're already seeing the effects of this: more steel is being produced in this country and companies like Apple are beginning to manufacture higher end products here.
I think for the near future, manufacturing like we have been used to in the past is lost. I know high tech manufacturing are doing pretty well, but manufacturing that does not require a lot of technical skills, are lost. Which is kind of a shame because these type of manufacturing jobs create so many jobs. The problem is right now companies overseas can do these jobs a lot cheaper, due to the cost of living being so low in many of these countries. Where as in the west people are used to a much higher standard of living. That's not to say things can't change though. China is said, to be trying to find ways to raise its peoples standard of living. So maybe Corporations won't be able to ship our jobs overseas for so cheap. Hopefully it will be cheaper just to keep these jobs in the west. With the way things are right now, the west will never be able to compete with this cheap labor. Hopefully it will balance out soon.
I think that one of the great things about the worldwide economy is that nations will evolve and everyone will find a different role in a number of things. Manufacturing in the west no longer makes much sense. We are much better at doing a number of other things I say.
The current attitude of the United States is not conducive to any industry returning. With many restrictions, high taxes and unions that drive up wages, companies cannot compete in the US or other countries in the West. If the United States wants to have a chance at competing in the global manufacturing market, massive shifts in thought and policy must occur.


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Harvey Guillen Jets Off To Vancouver To Join 'Status Update' with Ross Lynch
Harvey Guillen is the latest star to join Status Update as Lonnie.
The former Eye Candy actor shared the exciting news on his Instagram page with a pic of most of the cast's headshots.
"Meet some of the cast of @statusupdatemovie …. Fitting , then stunt training ( that's right I do my own stunts ????????) then dinner with the cast !.. @scott_speer I'll see u soon!" Harvey captioned.
Scott Speer will direct the flick about a teenager (Ross Lynch) who, after being uprooted by his parents' separation and forced to move, stumbles upon a magical app that causes his social media updates to come true.
After becoming the hero of his new high school, his newfound power starts to cause all sorts of problem, sending him crashing back down to earth.
Olivia Holt, Courtney Eaton, Gregg Sulkin and Maki Moore will also star.
Posted to: Casting, Harvey Guillen


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Freelance Business ManagementI am starting a company next year in which we will be able to help facilitate the needs of the freelance professional in both the music and technology sectors. We are pleased to announce Hyper Super Mega!
The idea is to give free tools to those who freelance occasionally and premium services to those who use it more often. We want to provide project management, invoicing, and tools like CRM and Insourcing™ to network members.
We're more than just Web 2.0 - we're project managers for hire that will make your freelance jobs go smoother and faster; so you get paid sooner!


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Beards Can Grow Yeast, And Now There Is Beard Beer
"Moist" is no longer in the running for the grossest word in the English language. The grossest thing in the English language is actually a phrase, and that phrase is "beard yeast."
Apparently yeast can grow in beards, which makes one's next hipster snuggle session seem slightly less appealing today. And if you've got a dude with a beard full of yeast, what else are you going to do but make beer out of it?
Rogue Ales brewmaster John Maier of Portland discovered the yeast by accident. The company was sending out samples from the brewery's home-grown hops to see if they could produce a brewing yeast from their own fields. None of them worked, so as a joke Maier mailed the lab some hair from his beard, which he'd been growing since 1978.
And, well, the lab guys found yeast in there. We'll pause while you shudder.
So the company took Maier's wild beard yeast and set to work making a beer out of it. It took about a year but they've finally got one, and it's available now.
"No need to freak out," Rogue Ales says, "brewers have used wild yeasts in beer making for centuries. John has had the same Old Growth Beard since 1983 and for over 15,000 brews, so it is no great surprise that a natural yeast ideal for brewing was discovered in his beard."
Aside from a slight squick factor about drinking something grown from an organism found in a dude's beard, there's actually nothing wrong with the beer. The Daily Meal's Jessica Chou says Beard Beer is a "sweet, distinct ale." It's $6.75 a bottle online, and there won't be any floating hairs in it or anything.
Via The Daily Meal


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Instructors are encouraged to consider assessment as a desireable and constant part of the learning cycle rather than a summary evaluation of learning that occurs all at once, or at the end of the course. Both non-graded (formative) and graded (summative) assessments should occur regularly and be designed to be tightly integrated into the curriculum, and indeed be considered a non-separate component of student learning. Our website on assessment practices includes other principles and examples of assessment that can be integrated into your online experience.
Though the most common association with assessments may be "tests," don't forget about quizzes, surveys, and self tests. Each may have a role in meeting the needs of your students' varied learning styles.
Another common use of the assessments tool is for practice exams, both those that prepare students for tests and exams that do count, and those that exist primarily for the faculty member's knowledge about student progress, such as the use of pre-tests and post-tests for the entire semester.
To the extent it is possible and scalable, given your class size, consider making your assessments as "authentic" as possible. This would mean avoiding self-grading types of questions in favor of open-ended assessments which more realistically capture what problems in this industry might look like. Some variations of "fill in the blank" assessments might meet the authentic assessment criteria but still be self-grading.
Your course design should, by its very nature, consider objectives and assessments together, as they are concepts intimately bound up with each other. When designing, you will want to know that course objectives will be met by the end of the class, so you need to choose assessments which provide an accurate and complete picture of student learning (often, the answer involves more than just chapter tests). You will want to verify that you've provided enough assessments to adequately decide that course objectives are met, and alternately, you'll want to be sure that each assessment is offered in the service of at least one course objective (if it's not related to the course objectives, you may not need that assessment).
How often should you give assessments to students? The answer should be informed by your objectives and course design decisions. It's important to think beyond the coverage of material and consider also the learning patterns of the students. If you plan to cover six chapters in a textbook during the semester, it might seem simple to just assign six chapter texts.
A final exam might look unnecessary at first blush, but learning theories suggest that there should be some manner of summary or synthesis activity in a course - otherwise students may never make needed connections in the material to truly cement the learning.
Quizzes serve an important function in informing students of their ongoing progress. They also provide necessary waypoints to the learning for the student, and serve as extrinsic motivators for students to address the material in a timely fashion, rather than all at once just before the larger chapter tests.
How many questions should you ask on an assessment is related to how long you want the assessment to last. Is it meant to be a one-hour test? A third variable to consider is how long it should take for students to answer each question. For questions that ask students knowledge and comprehension questions (often just facts), it's possible to allot merely 30 seconds to each question, especially if they are multiple choice questions. For questions that call for application, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation, you may need to build in additional time, regardless of question format. Time how long it takes to read the question and all possible answers, and then calculate how long you want students to work on solving the problem. Many questions take one minute (this is the closest answer to "common practice"), but if your question calls for complex calculations, it may be wise to allow for much more. Once you know how long each individual question should take, simply add them up for the total allowable time on the test (see the section about quiz settings).
Related to the notion of time allotment is the question of open-book or closed-book exams. If your intent is to gauge student knowledge of facts and easily-researched information, you will want to restrict the time allotted per question, so they could not look everything up in time (and you may also want to adjust the settings in how the questions are displayed, discussed below). One strategy may be to recognize that some students will have the book open and nearby, whether instructed to do so or not, and thus to ask different kinds of questions, such as application or evaluation questions that cannot be simply "looked up." These types of questions may take longer to answer, since you will want to leave time not only for reading the question, but pondering the possibilities.
Your options when creating an assessment include:
All of the above settings can be used individually, or in concert with each other, to create varied and variable assessments. Because fully-online classes occur without direct instructor supervision of the students, many instructors choose to restrict availability and to introduce as many random elements as possible, the better to minimize cheating.
While multiple-choice questions offer the convenience of grading themselves, other types of questions may better serve your course objectives or the learning styles of the students (and many of them can be self-grading as well). The addition of variety will also be welcome by your students. Consider such question types as:
For all of these question types, as well as T/F and multiple choice, you may want to use the "question feedback" option to display a message to students as they view the results of the graded assessment. Crafted the right way, this kind of feedback can minimize or prevent many of the emails you might otherwise receive from students.
It is possible to place more questions into Webcourses than you plan to use on the exam, and it is further possible to have each exam dynamically draw a randomized set of questions from your test bank. Thus, each of your fifty students may have slightly different tests from each other. Sometimes textbook publishers will provide you with question sets that can be used for tests.
Creating questions within the Webcourses interface is always an option, but if you would like to upload them, a standalone piece of software called Respondus makes this easy. You need to first download Respondus here: http://cdl.ucf.edu/teach-online/develop/assessments/using-respondus/. Then email email@example.com to request the username and password for Respondus, and you can upload a test bank. In fact, many publishers make the test banks available directly through respondus.com, and available by search.
Uploading via Respondus is largely intuitive, but be certain that you have first converted your question format to the Respondus style. Simply paste your questions to Notepad and save the file as a .txt. Make sure to identify the correct answer with an asterisk. The result looks simply like this:
1. Judging by the song "Part of Your World," what motivates Ariel the most?
a. Desire for boys
b. Love of Eric specifically
*c. Emancipation from her parents
d. Desire for more knickknacks
2. Ariel's marriage to Eric functions like a political union
*a. True
b. False
Continue to the next section: Other Technology Tools
Tison Pugh
College of Arts and Sciences The one common feature of all medieval literature, despite differences in authors, cultures, and genres, is that it is very, very old. When beginning my courses, I often face resistant students who have predetermined that, because of its age, the literature under examination is useless, if not altogether d...
Jennifer Kent-Walsh
College of Health and Public Affairs Goals & Foundational Principles Beyond striving to ensure that students learn the fundamental content of the courses I teach, my objectives as a university teacher are as follows: (a) to foster critical thinking skills; (b) to facilitate the acquisition of lifelong learning skills; (c) to help ...
Kenneth Teter
College of College of Medicine Engagement is the key to education. In the classroom, I engage my students by establishing a dialogue with them. Instead of simply reciting information, I ask questions. Why is the CDC in Atlanta? Students are surprised to learn that the original goal of the CDC was to eliminate malaria from the southern U...


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No. 16 - Sept. 3, 2009: Phoebus 63, Gloucester 0
Phoebus players take the field to start the 2009 season. The Phantoms opened their season with a 63-0 victory over Gloucester in the debut of Stan Sexton as their coach. Read the story of the game at this link.
Diane Cebula, Daily Press
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