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Dita Von Teese, the mere name sounds exotic and captivating. She stands for glamour and eroticism. I've known Dita and modeled with her many years ago, and it was apparent she was a star in the making way back then. She has since become quite an icon.
Gracing the covers of many fashion magazines, she has captivated the attendion of the fashion world for her unique style that seems out of time. She epitomizes the elegance of an old movie star and wears clothing and lingerie with an essence of an other worldliness feeling of glamour.
It's no wonder she now has her own line of lingerie due to her popular burlesque shows around the world. She has her own fragrance and line of clothing so you too can feel a sense of Dita. So if you are looking for something unique and glamourous in your gift giving ideas, look no further and put a little Dita under your tree.
For more on Dita Von Teese visit her website
Early life
Von Teese was born in Rochester, Michigan, the middle of three daughters in a middle-class family.[5] Her father was a machinist and her mother a manicurist.[5][6] She is of English, Scottish, Armenian and German heritage.[7] Dita later clarified that one of her grandmothers was half-Armenian and adopted into an Anglo-Saxon American family.[8] Von Teese is known for her fascination with 1940s cinema and classic retro style. This began at a young age and was fostered by her mother, who would buy clothes for her daughter to dress up in. Her mother was a fan of old, Golden age-era Hollywood films, and it was from her that Von Teese developed a fascination with the actresses of that day, especially Betty Grable.
She was classically trained as a ballet dancer from an early age, and danced solo at age thirteen for a local ballet company. Though she originally wanted to be a ballerina, Von Teese states that "by 15, I was as good as I'd ever be."[6] She was later to incorporate this element into her burlesque shows, where she frequently goes en pointe. The family relocated from Michigan to Orange County, California, when her father's job moved.[5] Von Teese attended University High School in Irvine.[9]
As a teenager, Von Teese's mother took her to buy her first bra, made from plain white cotton, and gave her a plastic egg containing a pair of wrinkly, flesh-colored tights.[9] Von Teese says she was disappointed as she had been hoping to receive beautiful lacy garments and stockings, of the type she had glimpsed in her father's Playboy magazines. This fueled her passion for lingerie. She worked in a lingerie store as a salesgirl when she was fifteen, eventually as a buyer. Von Teese has been fond of wearing elaborate lingerie such as corsets and basques with fully fashioned stockings ever since. In college, Von Teese studied historic costuming and aspired to work as a stylist for films. She is a trained costume designer, often designing (and copyrighting) her photo shoots herself.[10]
Von Teese got her stage name by adopting the name Dita as a tribute to silent film actress Dita Parlo. For her breakthrough 2002 Playboy cover, she was required to have a surname, so she chose Von Treese from the phonebook. In the magazine, this was misspelled as Von Teese, which she decided to stick with.[11]
Fetish and glamour modeling
Von Teese achieved some level of recognition in the fetish world as a tightlacer. Through the wearing of a corset for many years, she had reduced her waistline to 22 inches (56 cm), and can be laced down as far as 16.5 inches (42 cm).[12]
Von Teese appeared on a number of fetish magazine covers, including Bizarre[13] and Marquis.[14] It was around this time when she appeared on the cover of Midori's book, The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage.[15] Von Teese was featured in Playboy in 1999, 2001 and 2002, with a cover-featured pictorial in 2002. The German metal band Atrocity chose her as the cover model for their 2008 album, Werk 80 II.[16]
Von Teese is best known for her burlesque routines and is frequently dubbed the "Queen of Burlesque" in the press.[17][18] Von Teese began performing burlesque in 1992, and, as a proponent of New Burlesque, has helped to popularize its revival.[19] In her own words, she "puts the tease back into striptease" with long, elaborate dance shows with props and characters, often inspired by 1930s and 1940s musicals and films. Some of her more famous dances have involved a carousel horse, a giant powder compact, a filigree heart and a clawfoot bathtub with a working shower head. Her signature show features a giant martini glass. Her feather fan dance, inspired by burlesque dancer Sally Rand, featured the world's largest feather fans, now on display in Hollywood's Museum of Sex.[20]
Her burlesque career has included some memorable performances. She once appeared at a benefit for the New York Academy of Art wearing nothing but $5 million worth of diamonds.[21] Additionally, Von Teese became the first guest star at Paris's Crazy Horse cabaret club with her appearance in October 2006.[22] Also in 2006, Von Teese appeared on an episode of America's Next Top Model (cycle 7) doing a workshop to teach the contestants about sexiness by means of burlesque dancing and posing. In 2007 Von Teese performed at the adult entertainment event Erotica 07 in London alongside Italian rock noir band Belladonna.
Von Teese's first book (in collaboration with Bronwyn Garrity), which consisted of her opinions on the history of burlesque and fetish, Burlesque and the Art of the Teese / Fetish and the Art of the Teese, was published in 2006 by HarperCollins (and in New York by Regan Books). Vanity Fair called her a "Burlesque Superheroine".
Von Teese participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia, as part of the stage performance for the German entry "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang". The act placed 20th out of 25 participants in the final round of the contest.[23] Later, she said her cleavage was censored during the show because it was too voluptuous.[24]
Von Teese is also an occasional actress. In her early years she appeared in fetish-related, soft-core pornographic movies, such as Romancing Sara, Matter of Trust, in which she is billed as Heather Sweet, and also in two Andrew Blake hard-core fetish films, Pin Ups 2[25] and Decadence.
In recent years she has appeared in more mainstream features, such as the 2005 short film, The Death of Salvador Dali, written by Delaney Bishop, which won best screenplay and best cinematography at recent festivals, including SXSW, Raindance Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival, and won Best Actress at Beverly Hills Film Festival. She starred in the feature film Saint Francis in 2007.
In addition, she has appeared in a number of music videos, including the video for the Green Day song "Redundant,"[26] the video for "Zip Gun Bop" by swing band Royal Crown Revue, Agent Provocateur's video for their cover of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control," and (performing her martini-glass burlesque routine) the video for "Mobscene" by Marilyn Manson.[27] She has been featured in a striptease/burlesque act in George Michael's live tour 2008, for the song "Feelin' Good."[28] In 2013 in the music video "Up in the Air" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
She has expressed that acting is not at the top of her agenda and she would only take roles that she feels are right for her, stating in 2007, "I don't understand why women feel the need to go into acting as soon as they become famous ... But I suppose if the part were aesthetically correct, then maybe I could consider it."[29]
In January 2011, Von Teese guest-starred in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which her friend Eric Szmanda stars, in season 11: episode 12 called "A Kiss Before Frying" where she played a femme fatale version of herself under the stage name Rita von Squeeze who seduces Szmanda's character Greg Sanders in a plot inspired by film noir.[30]
Fashion and modeling
Von Teese has appeared on a number of best-dressed lists[31] and frequents the front row of fashion shows, particularly Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs, labels she is often seen wearing. "Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood were the first designers that really made an impact on me. Jean Paul has a lot of the same obsessions that I do, like corsetry, ballet-peach satin and silks, black silk velvet, bullet bras and girdles. When I was a teenager, I would look for 1930s peach satin lingerie pieces to try to get his look for less, because there was no way I could afford his things back then. It was a dream come true to meet him and become friends with him. I met him the first time when I was doing my first fashion pictorial, which was for Flaunt magazine, and it was a huge story of me wearing the most important pieces from his haute couture archives, and that was a dream!" [32]
She has also done catwalk work. During Los Angeles Fashion Week for spring 2004, she modeled for former club kid Richie Rich's fashion label, Heatherette. In 2005 she appeared in the Autumn/Winter Ready-to-Wear show for Giambattista Valli, a former designer for Ungaro, in Paris. In the 2006 Milan Fashion Week, Von Teese was on the runway, opening for the Moschino diffusion label, Moschino Cheap & Chic, autumn/winter 2006/7 show. In 2007, she appeared twice in the Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture show during the Paris Fashion Week. She has starred in several ad campaigns. She appeared in Vivienne Westwood's spring/summer 2005 collection adverts and became the face of Australian clothing range "Wheels and Dollbaby" for their 2006/7 Spring/Summer advertising campaign. She was an ambassador/spokesmodel for HIV/AIDS awareness when she was selected (along with Eve, Deborah Harry, and Lisa Marie Presley) for MAC Cosmetics' Viva Glam VI campaign (a collection of lipsticks and lipgloss where 100% of the proceeds are for worldwide AIDS charities and to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS). Von Teese has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue, Elle,[33] and international issues of nearly every fashion magazine. She has campaigned on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and appeared in their ads.
In spite of this, Von Teese states that she never uses a stylist. "The one time I hired a stylist, they picked up a pair of my 1940s shoes and said, 'These would look really cute with jeans.' I immediately said, 'You're out of here.'" She does her own make-up, and dyes her naturally blonde hair black at home.[6] Von Teese's unique style is "inspired by eccentric women like Luisa Casati, Anna Piaggi, and Isabella Blow."[34]
She has designed a new lingerie range with Wonderbra.[35] In May 2012, Dita Von Teese launched her makeup collection "Classics" in partnership with the German cosmetic brand Art Deco. Compact powder, blushers, eye styler, eye shadows, mascara and lipstick were produced to recreate the burlesque performer's retro look.[34]
In 2012 Dita Von Teese launched her own clothing line[36] and underwear line called: Von Follies.[37][38] In 2013 Dita was both model and muse for the 'Dita' 3D printed gown designed by Michael Schmidt and Francis Bitonti and 3D printed by Shapeways exactly to fit her body.[39] Constructed of over 3,000 interlocked 3D printed components and over 12,000 Swarovski crystals it is one of the first fully articulated 3D printed garments to take the technology from haute couture to a sensual fabric-like form.[40]


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Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament comes to NM Tech
by Tiffany M. Chisum
SOCORRO – The latest installment of the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament will be held at the New Mexico Tech Swim Center parking lot on July 21 and 22. The tournament is expected to last all weekend-long on that Saturday and Sunday.
NOTE: Have fun! Be a volunteer! Volunteer scorekeepers are needed for half-day or full day, on Saturday or Sunday. To volunteer, please contact Melissa Begay at 835-5120.
Registration for the Gus Macker tournament will be held at the university's Student Activity Center, next to the Tech Swim Center, on Friday, July 20, from 3:00 to 9:00 pm, and on Saturday, July 21, from 7:00 am to noon.
The Gus Macker tournament is designed so that anyone can participate. In addition to the major 3-on-3 event, other smaller events also take place. For instance, there will also be a free throw competition and a three-point shoot out, both of which are open to everyone and offer awards. A slam dunk contest is also scheduled for those participating in the 3-on-3 event.
In addition to the fun provided, the Gus Macker organizing committee donates proceeds from the tournament to a local charity. The charity that will receive donations from this event is the Socorro Boys and Girls Club. Club director Ann Hale has been instrumental in getting everything ready for the upcoming Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.
In addition to the asphalt basketball courts being set up at New Mexico Tech, vendors will be set up on the west side of the gate on Campus Drive. The Tech Swim Center will retain its regular hours of operation during the tournament; and, some of the university's spare resident hall rooms will be available for lodging.
Hale, who also is serving as the local coordinator for Gus Macker, stated that New Mexico Tech has been "wonderful in assisting with everything for the Gus Macker Tournament." For more information about the Gus Macker tournament, call Hale at 838-2100.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In this page you will find all the answers today's puzzles for 7 Little Words.
Sometimes it is difficult to pick up with all the daily updates of Secen Little Words, so when you cannot find the answers to a certain day please make a search on the homepage.
Not quite recall 7 little words
Answer: Misremember
Now just arrage the group of letters to match the answer.
Other puzzles for February 5 2018 7 little words
- Not quite recall
- Small long-eared hounds
- Mark with spots
- Date-stamped
- Becoming more serious
- Blue whale descriptor
- Pre-checks as applicants
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If you liked Mystic Words, you will enjoy playing these other games:


text:
North Windows
From the Outside In: A Visitor's Guide to the Windows
Milk Drop Coronet, Harold Edgerton, 1936
This simple image captures a milk drop as it strikes a thin layer of milk. The photographer, Harold Edgerton, maintained that he was a scientist rather than an artist, but he and his colleagues nonetheless produced many stunning pictures, of which Milk Drop is but one. National Geographic called him "the man who made time stand still."
Harold Eugene Edgerton (1903–1990) graduated with an engineering degree from the University of Nebraska and continued his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For his doctoral thesis, he used strobe lights to study electric motors and the motion of everyday events. Among his early works are renowned photos of a balloon bursting and of bullets penetrating apples. In 1947 he founded his own company, EG&G, which, among other things, supplied special cameras for recording nuclear explosions. He also contributed to the development of side-scan sonar and worked with Jacques Cousteau to provide lighting for undersea filming. Over the course of his career, Edgerton received most of the honors possible for a technical wizard, including the National Medal of Science and the Royal Photographic Society's Bronze Medal.
He taught at MIT for many years, and in 1992 the Edgerton Center, devoted to hands-on engineering and technical education, was named in his honor.
The most eye-catching of Edgerton's contributions was his spectacular stop-motion photography. The human eye cannot time-resolve events shorter than a fraction of a second, which is why movies appear to be continuous, rather than the sequence of still images that they really are. Edgerton's discoveries and inventions enabled him to reduce photographic exposure times to less than a millionth of a second. He achieved this feat by opening a camera's shutter in a darkened space, generating a flash of light to expose the film, and then closing the shutter. With associated electronics, he could control both the brightness and duration of the flash, creating a very brief light that, by coincidence, had a color similar to daylight. The challenge was to trigger this flash at just the right moment. It is said that Edgerton tried many times to produce a symmetrical version of Milk Drop, but he was never completely successful.
The Ransom Center holds a collection of 35 of Edgerton's prints from throughout his career. His major archives are housed at MIT. The book Stopping Time: The Photographs of Harold Edgerton provides a comprehensive account of his work. —Alan Herbert


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I'm gonna take you on a surfin' safari January 27, 2010Posted by David Gillespie in business strategy, digital strategy.
Tags: Add new tag, Business model, Mass media
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While back home over Christmas, I caught up with your friend and mine Ben Rennie to discuss Digital Strangelove, media business models and a host of other things. This is the first of three videos, I'll be sure to link to the others when they're ready (those reading this in email or RSS readers can click here to see it).
Vodpod videos no longer available.
posted with vodpod
Ben is also continuing the good work he started last year with Innovation Forums with a couple events coming up soon. The next is in Melbourne on February 23rd, and there are still early-bird tickets available for a paltry $29!
Ben will be following the Melbourne event with one in Sydney shortly afterwards.


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Thursday, December 15, 2005
Ask the Polar Bears about Global Warming
Well, the temperature reads nine degrees outside right now, and yesterday it was ten degrees before sun-up, and the snow that fell a week ago Friday remains frozen in place on lawns and sidewalks across New England—just the kind of weather that brings out hokey newspaper cartoons and morning-radio weather-report blather contrasting fears of global warming with the unseasonably cold weather outside.
Those disk jockeys and cartoonists wouldn't be joking, however, if they bothered to read the article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about the fate of polar bears.
Scientists for the first time have documented multiple deaths of polar bears off Alaska, where they likely drowned after swimming long distances in the ocean amid the melting of the Arctic ice shelf. The bears spend most of their time hunting and raising their young on ice floes.
In a quarter-century of aerial surveys of the Alaskan coastline before 2004, researchers from the U.S. Minerals Management Service said they typically spotted a lone polar bear swimming in the ocean far from ice about once every two years. Polar-bear drownings were so rare that they have never been documented in the surveys.
But in September 2004, when the polar ice cap had retreated a record 160 miles north of the northern coast of Alaska, researchers counted 10 polar bears swimming as far as 60 miles offshore. Polar bears can swim long distances but have evolved to mainly swim between sheets of ice, scientists say.
Hmmm. The polar ice cap is, in fact—no matter what the thermometer reads in southern New England on an early December morning—retreating.
Does it matter? I guess that depends on your point of view.
You could take the shorter-term view, as expressed by Thomas Schelling, a Nobel Prize winning game-theory economist, who told the Wall Street Journal last month:
In the U.S., if you don't worry about ecological damage, species extinction and things of that sort; if you don't worry about what happens in Bangladesh or Indonesia or Brazil; if you figure air conditioning will always take care of your weather problems; then I would say with one or two exceptions, you probably don't have to get too scared.
In that case, you might look at the fact that polar bears are drowning and, therefore, the ice cap is retreating, as an opportunity to make money buying the oil drilling stocks that will eventually benefit from the opening of the Arctic oil deposits to exploitation as the ice cover recedes.
Or you could take the longer term view that Professor Schelling also provided—although I warn that it might make you spit out your morning coffee:
One exception is there is a body of ice in Antarctica called the West Antarctic ice sheet. It is anchored by some islands, but warming the water surrounding it might cause it to slide into the ocean. The estimate is that that would raise sea level by as much as 20 feet. That means to go from the White House to the Capitol, you go by boat.
In other words, the movement of one ice sheet could make the Berkshires beach-front property.
"In the long run," John Maynard Keynes famously quipped, "we're all dead." The industrialized nations of the world are making sure the human race doesn't go down alone.
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2005 Jeff Matthews
The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations.
29 comments:
- Its_strange said...
How much of that Wallstreet bonus money will go into fancy hardwoods from the Amazon ?
- Ryan said...
And to think in 1975 (Newsweek) when 'global cooling' was all the rage (and, 'global cooling' was 'scientific fact' and therefore not open to debate) some scientists were proposing to melt the ice caps.
But, I'm sure they've got it right this time.
It is silly to say, 'well, it's 10 degrees in Michigan so much for global warming'.
However, it is equally silly to point to a decade, or even decades of data (as was done in the 'global cooling' era) to prove a point when global, climatic conditions evolve over tens of thousands of years.
- cdub said...
Nobody truly understands climate change. The evidence for global warming is moderate at best - and even if taken as fact, there is no evidence that such warming is caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
- Jason said...
I'm confused. Is the polar ice cap melting so fast that the polar bears jump off the shelf and then find themselves 60 miles out to sea by accident? Animal populations cycle dramatically, especially preditors. What does the polar bear population look like now? What is the fish population? Are polar bears swimming farther out because their food source is scarce? It sure as heck isn't because the ice cap melted 60 miles away from them in an hour swim.
- Its_strange said...
carbon dioxide emissions will kill you. My high school education tells me the smart move is to limit them . But what do i know. I can't even find the social ladder .
- rkb said...
Just becuase we may not fully understand the causes of global climate change does not mean that we shouldn't pay attention. You can say, "Those scientists aren't even sure what they're talking about, so I'm not going to worry." Or you can say, "Maybe destroying 100,000 acres of rainforest a day does have a negative impact on the rest of the world." The point is that you can't always just look the other way and assume the best.
- SellToWhom said...
Climate change certainly happens. It has happened in the past and will happen again. It likely happens at varying rates all the time.
The idea, however, that humans are responsible for it reeks of misplaced arrogance and foolish pride. The "science" behind such explanations as greenhouse gases, ozone holes, etc., is dubious at best.
Greenland once could support farming, perhaps it will again. Real Estate in Labrador, Nunavut and Greenland. Now there's an investment.
While we all certainly feel bad for a polar bear far from home in the abstract, I, for one, realize that should I meet one face to face in a dark (and cold) alley, I'd prefer him quite dead.
- Its_strange said...
2 , 3 beers isn't going to hurt much . They make life enjoyable for many. Fine. You drink a case of the stuff and you can kill people. ........Once again, cardon dioxide will kill you . Yep, blame the science .
- IMHO said...
How is the existence of polar bears important to anyone other than KO's marketing department?
- Its_strange said...
A running car in a closed garage will produce enough carbon dioxide to kill in what , 30 minutes ? We have 1,000,000's of cars , we can figure on 1,000,000s more , we have been producing carbon dioxide for 100 years , we have been clearing land as well. Only the arrogant , gluttonous wouldn't wonder what damage we are causing. 7 billion people and how many bald eagles ?
- Ryan said...
I would suggest you stay out of a garage filling up with H2O as well.
- BDG123 said...
Da*n! I love polar bears. Why don't you spend some of that hard earned money and set up a "Save the bears" fund?
That would be great if we saw the ocean rise 20 feet. As only crisis causes anyone to think of anything other than the moment and instant gratification. That is what makes humans so adaptable. Compartmentalization. A big word for not caring about anyone or anything for longer than a few days unless it directly affects you.
No one knows that much about cycles of weather, climate change and the sorts. It's been going on since the beginning of time as everyone on here has stated. That said, I do believe we should take the possibility that humans are agitating Mother Earth seriously and act accordingly. Frankly, I'm not sure she really cares. She was here long before us and likely long after us. She'll cleanse herself then start anew.
- Its_strange said...
Some people from Princeton University think garages in South Jersey will be filling with water in 50 years. I will not be around to see if they are right.
- DreamsUnlimited said...
There is a saying that goes like "you can always wake up a person who is sleeping. But you can never wake up a person who is acting sleeping". Well, you can never wake up people who are acting sleeping on the fact of global warming.
BTW, Jeff, are you saying I should giveup my dividends so that my company invests in cleaner technology??? com'on...........
- RK said...
In response to the comment from its_strange: The running car in the garage causes a quick death from carbon MONOXIDE emissions. The CO binds to your hemoglobin and suffocates you. That has absolutely nothing to do with carbon DIOXIDE emissions and global warming. Carbon dioxide is harmless biologically, both to people and bald eagles. The threat from CO2 is related to its interactions with ozone in the atmosphere.
- Its_strange said...
Yep..the stuff is no good and i'm betting it adds to the many problems of the atmosphere
- sandgrey said...
With the advent of catalytic converters, most tailpipes only emit H20 and CO2...there is only a trace amount of CO......
- Anonymous said...
While I believe that CO2 emissions will eventually have a harmful effect on our planet and may create global warming, I hate hokey data.
"Polar-bear drownings were so rare that they have never been documented in the surveys."
But the story is about how the drownings are at "record numbers", correct?
Question: How can you have record numbers of something that has never been documented until this year?
- Captain Obvious said...
I don't understand why so many people want so desperately NOT to believe that damage to the environment is a problem that they are willing to defend absolutely assinine arguments (e.g. "strip mining doesn't hurt the environment", "greenhouse gasses don't cause climate change", "recycling is worse for the environment than land fills", etc.).
Give us, and yourself, a break. Being aware of the impact that business has on the environment and wanting to minimize the damage done by business and humans in general isn't just some hippy or greener notion that is at odds with the forces of capitalism and the free market. People only think that is the case because of the way the more extreme on each side of the discussion frame the debate. My view is that taking REAL steps to protect the environment from excessive degradation at our hands and particularly at the hands of major corporations is not only necessary, but critical.
Is it going to cost money? Sure it is, but I would rather bare some of that financial burden over a long time (while the issues are still fairly addressable) than a lot of the financial cost over a short period, and only once the problems are way out of hand.
As it is, our economic system (and most others around the world) provides a huge incentive to pollute and cause damage to the environment through the implicit subsidy of society (rather than the party doing the damage) bears the true cost of the externalities.
Seems like a bad idea in the long run, unless we want all of our children to live in places that look like Eastern Europe.
- Chug-A-Bug said...
So it's the fault of our "economic system."
In other words, this is just another reason to adopt socialism, which has been oh so wonderful for the environment.
It would appear that giving government the right to control industry for the alleged "common good" is exactly what would make us look like Eastern Europe, including the environmental disasters.
As for CO2, carbon has a cycle, too. It doesn't just sit there in the atmosphere forever. No one is talking about the tremendous reforestation in North America these days relative to the last century...
- Alex Khenkin said...
The drownings are at "record numbers" because now they are... recorded!
seriously, though, I'd rather see us focusing on how to adjust to the impending global warming and its effects than waste time and money on a ridiculous idea that we can "do something" to stop it. This does not mean that nothing should be done about other environmental problems, which are numerous. Let's concentrate our efforts where we really CAN make a difference.
Small Investor Chronicles
- Todd said...
everyone knows Aliens caused global warming!
- Captain Obvious said...
Chug A Bug:
Trust me, I am a bigger free market proponent than just about anybody. But here is the thing, I believe industries that actually destroy public goods, like clean air or water, or result in other negative externalities born by the rest of us should have to pay for remediating the damage they cause. That is as true to the free market as one can be.
- whydibuy said...
what happened to my post? Here I'll give you a honest cause to delete a post. Hey jeff... FUUCK U !!
- Nathanael James said...
I'm sure I speak for most of Jeff's regular readers that we don't appreciate seeing crude comments such as yours.
Stop being so juvenile. This forum exists to discuss and debate real life issues, not to vent personal frustrations in an inappropriate matter.
If you have a problem with Jeff, send him a private message. Avoid the cursing on public comments.
- AllenCap said...
Yeah i can't see this one ending in a good way. I'm not sure it's going to be a cataclysmic apocolypse of sorts, but it's not going to be pretty.
Everything i've seen historically seems to point to some less-than-desirable results. Just think of human behavior typical of the tragedy of the commons, brazilian rain forest clearing, and commodity boom and bust cycles? It's smaller entities trying to act out in what they perceive to be their own best self-interest. But the impact of the group on the bigger picture, whether it be steel prices or over grazed pasture, usually turns out to be disastrous. It's almost like the invisible hand in reverse.
There has to be a way to mitigate this by making it in everyone's interest. Although no panacea i believe programs like pollution credits are a start.
As one last item. The earth does cycle in global climate over time spans longer than this species tenure. That much is relatively certain. But to deny the last few hundred years of our impact on the earth is pure folly.
And maybe some find it cute to joke about a few dead polar bears who got stranded. But 5 years ago i doubt anyone was worried about what a badly placed hurricane in the gulf
might do. I find it ironic that this year we had such a high hurricane count that we had to use such creative storm naming conventions as "alpha" and "beta" and that they crippled the same infrastructure that produce and refine the same hyrdocarbons that impact the globe.
- Its_strange said...
allencap is right. Hurricane season comes once a year .
- BernsteinIsRight said...
Despite the extensive coverage, there is much on global warming that is left unreported.
Take for instance the cooling trend in the lower five miles of the atmosphere, detected by weather balloons, and independently confirmed by NASA's orbiting satellites. This data, gathered from all over the globe, through precise microwave and radio measurements, shows an average drop of 0.19ºF in air temperature since 1979. The National Academy of Sciences finds this cooling trend, which conflicts with the global warming hypothesis, "so pronounced as to be difficult to explain."
Most media reports ignore the evidence for cooling and focus instead on records from land stations, which indicate a 1°F increase in surface temperatures during the 20th century. What they fail to report is that this increase was measured mostly in and around urban centers, and therefore indicates urban--not global--warming.
Also left unreported is the fact that 90 percent of this 1°F urban warming occurred before 1940. If carbon dioxide emitted by industries and cars was causing this warming, should not most of the increase in temperature have occurred after 1940, when industries and cars became more plentiful and, consequently, carbon emissions increased significantly?
Even more interesting, but also left unreported, is the fact that from 1946 until 1975, while industrialization expanded and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere increased, urban surface temperatures actually cooled. At the time, many in the media feared a new ice age.
Such facts throw into question the belief that global warming exists and that industrialization is affecting the earth's temperature. Nevertheless, the New York Times recently stated: "Human activity is the dominant force behind . . . global warming."
If man is not the cause of climate change, what is?
Dr. Fred Singer, professor of environmental sciences and former director of the National Weather Satellite Service, explains that climate change is a natural phenomenon, which has been going on for hundreds of millions of years. Ice core samples from the Arctic, for example, show an 18ºF temperature variation during the last 160,000 years. Dr. Singer further notes that solar activity greatly affects the temperatures and the climate on earth.
But most reports in the media ignore the existence of dissenting views such as Dr. Singer's. According to Scientific American, "few scientists doubt the atmosphere is warming." Time magazine bluntly claims: "Scientists no longer doubt that global warming is happening."
Any reporter actively in search for the facts on global warming would easily discover that during the last three years more than 17,000 American scientists, including geophysicists, climatologists, meteorologists, and oceanographers, have signed the Oregon Petition declaring that "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of . . . greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate." [http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p357.htm]
Such omissions on the part of reporters are unjustifiable, and so are their irresponsible attempts to scare people. CNN warns of "disastrous weather changes" resulting in "more floods, droughts, storms, and hurricanes." Scientific American forecasts "death by drowning or starvation" and the "emergence, resurgence and spread of infectious disease."
But many scientists, among them Dr. Frederick Seitz, former president of the National Academy of Sciences, think that the catastrophic scenarios are mistaken, and that a warming of the earth would actually be beneficial to mankind and to life in general: "Warmer weather extends growing seasons and generally improves the habitability of colder regions." Furthermore, increases in carbon dioxide would boost the growth of crops and forests, which feed on this gas.
Given all this contrary evidence and scientific dissent, why is the bulk of reporting biased towards the belief in a disastrous, man-made global warming?
The answer is that the media have largely accepted the environmentalist premise that civilized man--by exploiting nature to fulfill his needs--is not the creator but the destroyer of human values. This non-objective premise is held with blind, religious fervor. Holding the premise dogmatically, the media have no eyes or ears for evidence against it. Their view of man as inherently destructive automatically leads them to distrust all that man creates. That is why most reporters unquestioningly report that factories, power plants, and cars are causing a catastrophic global warming. And that is why thirty years ago they unquestioningly reported that factories, power plants, and cars were causing a catastrophic global cooling.
- BernsteinIsRight said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.


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WAVERLY TWP. - Democrat Kathleen Granahan Kane stood on a hotel ballroom stage Tuesday night in downtown Scranton and celebrated her history-making election as state attorney general, but only absorbed what happened when her husband, Chris, greeted her in the morning.
"We woke up around 7:30 this morning and my husband said to me, 'Good morning, general,'" Kane said Wednesday during an interview at the Waverly Deli. "Then it sunk in. ⦠It's an awesome thing. I don't know how to describe it. It almost brings tears to my eyes."
In 20 months, Kane, 46, of Waverly Township, who grew up in West Scranton, rose from hardly known former Lackawanna County assistant district attorney to the top law enforcement official in Pennsylvania. Along the way, she whipped the political establishment of the two major political parties to become the first Democrat and, more importantly, the first woman elected to the job.
She won the $152,443-a-year post when few thought she could at the outset.
In the April primary election, she defeated former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy of Bucks County, who had the backing of most of the state's Democratic political establishment.
He didn't have the backing of President Bill Clinton, who openly supported Kane in a public fundraiser and in a television commercial, returning a favor for her backing of his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, for president in 2008.
On Tuesday, Kane walloped Republican Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed, the hand-picked candidate of Gov. Tom Corbett and son-in-law of former Attorney General LeRoy Zimmerman, who in 1980 became the first elected attorney general.
She won by a lopsided though still unofficial 14.5 percentage points. She piled up more than three million votes, a rarity in state elections. She also earned substantially more votes than the two far better known names leading the ticket, President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.
She won 27 of the state's 67 counties, 10 more than Casey and 15 more than Obama. She won Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, Philadelphia, all the suburban counties adjacent to Philadelphia and several in the west where Obama won only two.
G. Terry Madonna, Ph.D., the state's premier political analyst, said Kane benefitted from the importance of women voters in this election, her campaign against Harrisburg's corrupt old-boys' network and her sharp criticism of the prosecution of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case.
Neither the Sandusky case nor another issue that raised her profile, her stance against invasive pre-abortion ultrasound testing proposed by the state General Assembly, were part of the political landscape when she entered the race in March 2010.
She did not dispute Madonna's assessment of why she won, but credited her responses to the Sandusky case and the ultrasounds partly for her success.
"That (the Sandusky case) was something that happened and that I responded to almost intuitively because that was my background, because I'm the mother of young boys," she said.
She saw the ultrasounds as a violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against illegal search and seizure.
"You know if I sat back like the other candidates did and didn't say a word, then that wouldn't have come into play in this election, but I didn't because I felt very strongly about it," she said. "And I also believe the attorney general has the duty to stand up and do that. If you do it as a candidate, you'll do it as attorney general. You don't do it as a candidate, you won't do it as attorney general."
Encouraged to run by attorney Patrick Brier, a brother-in-law of Casey, and backed by President Clinton, Kane also benefited from her and her husband's ability to inject $2 million of their own money into the race.
She did not set out to be the first woman elected to the job, she said, but came to realize the significance of her candidacy as she campaigned.
"It was never about party for me. Being the first Democrat, yes, that's nice. But being the first woman (elected attorney general), in the beginning I was like, 'Oh OK, that's very nice,'" she said. "But after I started talking to people along the way who would come up to me with their daughters and their granddaughters and say, 'My granddaughter loves you and she's following you and she talks to me about you,' I realized the importance of what I was doing for these women and these girls and the granddaughters. It became then a tremendous responsibility for me to do a good job, to do it with dignity because we want to be able to run a race and keep our dignity and keep our integrity and our morals. I think I showed that by running the race that I did."
She told her campaign media consultants early on she would not air attack ads against Freed, though she had no problem criticizing his positions during debates. When an outside group, the Democratic Attorney Generals Association, aired what she felt was a misleading television commercial against Freed, she asked the group to stop airing it. Freed and an outside Republican group attacked her in commercials.
With the race over, Kane said she hopes to talk about the transition soon with Attorney General Linda Kelly, who was appointed to replace Corbett when he became governor.
She plans a small, informal transition team to advise her on hiring and her agenda.
"I want people with good ideas and that we can trust to move forward with our agenda," she said.
"I'm wide open to ideas. And I'm certainly not excluding people who are already there. I want them to have the same vision that I have, I want them to have the same passion for the job that I have. I want them to know that we need to move forward, we need to do it together as a team."
She promised to start working the first day on a top priority - finding out why it took almost three years after the attorney general began investigating to arrest Sandusky.
"There's no point in wasting any time. Just like I said all along, I'll start from day one in the investigation and find out who did what, when, why and who's responsibility was it. All we're looking for is the truth based upon the facts. That's it," she said.
A deputy attorney general and investigators will be assigned to look into the handling of the case.
"I will also be very involved in it. We'll go back and we'll look at the case notes, we'll look at the emails, we'll look at the phone logs, we'll look at the grand jury testimony, all of it. We'll read all the police reports, we'll talk to the police officers, we'll talk to the deputies, we'll talk to the agents just like any other investigation," she said. "It's got to be thorough, it's got to be thoughtful."
She did not rule out using an investigating grand jury.
"It's an option," she said. "I'd have to wait and see."
She also plans to target inner-city violence by pursuing passage of a law that requires gun owners to report lost or stolen handguns.
"It's out of control," Kane said. "There are children being shot on playgrounds in Philadelphia. They lost four or five police officers in one year. ⦠It (the law) does not affect your Second Amendment right to own a handgun at all."
Kane has promised stepped-up consumer protection and said she plans to follow through.
"There is massive fraud in Pennsylvania. There's massive fraud in every state in this country," she said.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars. Mortgage fraud, student loan fraud, veterans fraud ⦠There's a ton of work that needs to be done here. There's securities fraud."
She does not expect increased scrutiny because she is a woman, she said.
"Even working in the DA's office, I never thought the police officers were tougher on me because I was a woman or that other prosecutors were tough on me because I was a woman. I think that once they see that you can do your job and do it well, they don't care who you are or what gender you are. I'm pretty positive that that's the way it's going to be. I could be wrong, but I don't think so," she said. "My mother brought us up to be same as everybody else."
She is more than ready to do the job, she said.
"That whole campaigning was so foreign to me. It's against the grain of people who aren't in politics. There's no rules. There's very little civility," Kane said. "You know, I'm a trial lawyer. We have rules, we have ethics we have to follow. We have accountability and there's none of that in politics and that was very hard for me to do deal with. (Doing the job), I'm ready for this. This is not foreign to me."
email@example.com. attorney general-elect


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THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was acquitted at the Hague war crimes court on Tuesday, after prosecutors failed to prove he ordered atrocities in eastern Congo a decade ago.
Delivering only its second verdict in 10 years of existence, the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Ngudjolo not guilty of ordering killings during a war in Ituri district in 2003. In its first ever verdict, delivered in July, the court had jailed an opposing commander, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, for 14 years.
Ngudjolo was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including overseeing killings, rape and pillage. His prosecutors will appeal the verdict and, though the court said Ngudjolo should be freed in the meantime, it was not immediately clear that he could leave the ICC detention facility for now.
The judges said they had no doubt the people of Ituri suffered the massacres described at Ngudjolo's trial and critics of the ICC called for better prosecutions in future in order that victims and their surviving relatives should have justice.
"The people trusted the International Criminal Court more than our national courts," said Emmanuel Folo of Ituri human rights group Equitas. "After this decision, for those who were victims of this, there is a feeling of disappointment. The victims feel forgotten, abandoned by international justice."
The violence in Ituri was a localized ethnic clash over land and resources among myriad conflicts that spun out of the wider war in Democratic Republic of Congo from 1998 to 2003.
Some rebels involved in the current M23 insurgency in neighboring North Kivu province were involved in fighting in Ituri - among them M23 leader Bosco Ntaganda, who is himself on the ICC wanted list for war crimes alleged in Ituri in 2003.
Prosecutors accused Ngudjolo of ordering fighters to block roads around the village of Bogoro in February 2003 in order to kill civilians attempting to flee and said civilians, including women and children, were burned alive in blazing houses. Some 200 people were killed when ethnic Lendu and Ngiti fighters destroyed the homes of the village's mainly Hema inhabitants.
"The prosecution failed to investigate the chain of command adequately as far as the attack in Bogoro is concerned," international criminal lawyer Nick Kaufmann said.
The ICC judges said prosecution witnesses who testified to Ngudjolo's involvement were not credible. But president judge Bruno Cotte also said: "This does not in any way throw into question what befell the people of that area on that day."
Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner of Human Rights Watch said: "The acquittal of Ngudjolo leaves the victims of Bogoro and other massacres by his forces without justice for their suffering.
"The ICC prosecutor needs to strengthen its investigations of those responsible for grave crimes in Ituri, including high-ranking officials in Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda who supported the armed groups fighting there."
Legal experts said it was unlikely the acquittal would be overturned because new evidence cannot be introduced at appeal. Appeals panels rarely reassess the credibility of witnesses.
Until then, it is not clear where Ngudjolo might go, if anywhere. He remains under a United Nations travel ban dating from his indictment. The Netherlands, where he has been detained since 2008, is not obliged to take him in. A Congo government spokesman said he saw no reason for Congo not to take Ngudjolo back, but he suggested it may wait until after the appeal.
Ngudjolo was arrested by U.N. peacekeepers in 2003 but later recruited to the Congolese army as part of efforts to integrate former rebels. Made a colonel in 2006, he was arrested in the Congolese capital Kinshasa in 2008 and handed over to the ICC.
The fate of Ngudjolo's co-accused Germain Katanga is yet to be decided after judges split the two cases last month in a controversial move some analysts said may increase the probability of a conviction against the more prominent Katanga.
The court's first verdict found Lubanga guilty of recruiting child soldiers to another militia in the same conflict in Ituri. Some observers said the different outcomes of the trials for militia leaders from different tribes could cause new friction.
"Lubanga was a Hema leader, and the acquittal of a Ngudjolo, a Lendu, just after the conviction of a Hema could exacerbate tension between the two ethnicities in Ituri," said Jennifer Easterday of the Open Society Justice Initiative.
Additional reporting by Joe Bavier in Abidjan and Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Michael Roddy and Alastair Macdonald


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WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, will seek appointment to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye's seat, an aide to the congresswoman said Wednesday.
A Hanabusa aide confirmed she would submit an application to the state Democratic Party, which will select a slate of three potential candidates to succeed Inouye, who died Monday, Roll Call reported.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, would likely pick Hanabusa if she is among the three, as expected, the Washington publication said. Inouye sent a message to Abercrombie not long before his death saying he preferred her to succeed him.
Inouye's body will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda Thursday, the senator's office said. His funeral will be Friday at the National Cathedral, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday.
Inouye's body will lie in state at the state Capitol in Honolulu Saturday, the Star-Advertiser said.
A final memorial service is scheduled Sunday in Hawaii at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, an extinct volcanic crater.
Inouye, 88, a Medal of Honor recipient for heroism during World War II, died at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he had been transferred from George Washington University Hospital.
The Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, third in line for the presidency as Senate president pro tempore, had been hospitalized with respiratory problems since Dec. 6.
The U.S. Senate observed a moment of silence for Inouye at the start of Tuesday's session.
Inouye's desk was draped in black cloth and had a vase of white roses on it, a tradition when a Senate member dies.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said a lei being sent from Hawaii will replace the roses.


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Is nature really a struggle in which natural selection is the key factor?
British physicist David Tyler comments:
In a perceptive essay, Daniel Todes focuses attention on the reactions of Russian biologists to Darwin's writings. Many of these naturalists "were evolutionists before 1859", so they did not dissent from common ancestry. However, their experiences of the living world were quite different from Darwin and Wallace, who drew their inspiration from densely populated tropical forests and related habitats. They witnessed a struggle for existence that matched the description Thomas Malthus had given of human communities. Using the same logic, Darwin and Wallace were stimulated to think about winners and losers in populations of animals and plants. The Russian scientists lived in a different world.That's always what bothered me. I see competition in nature, to be sure, but also lots of cooperation. Otherwise, life could not survive against non-life. There is much more non-life than life. That much should be obvious. For more, go here.
[They] "investigated a vast under-populated continental plain. For them, nature was not an "entangled bank" - the image Darwin took from the Brazilian jungle. It was a largely empty Siberian expanse in which overpopulation was rare and only the struggle of organisms against a harsh environment was dramatic."
The Russian response to living in a harsh environment was to develop "the language of communalism - stressing not individual initiative and struggle, but the importance of cooperation within social groups and the virtues of social harmony." The analysis of Malthus did not match the biological communities in their part of the world, so Darwin's metaphor of the "struggle for existence" was not, in their view, well grounded.
Tyler also points out that the modern synthesis that is supposed to save Darwinism is gone.
Earlier this year, Eugene Koonin published a masterly analysis of the impact of genomics on evolutionary thinking. This proved to be too meaty a study for a concise blog, and my initial draft was abandoned. Happily, a shorter overview has now been published, and this abstracts salient points from the research paper. Koonin notes that the 1959 Origin centennial was "marked by the consolidation of the modern synthesis" but subsequent years have witnessed great changes which have undermined its credibility. "The edifice of the modern synthesis has crumbled, apparently, beyond repair."Go here for more.
Koonin uses the metaphor of "the landscape of evolutionary biology". There are three distinct revolutions have occurred over the past half-century: the molecular, the microbiological and the genomic revolutions.
"[T]his year is the perfect time to ask some crucial questions: how has evolutionary biology changed in the 50 years since the hardening of the modern synthesis? Is it still a viable conceptual framework for evolutionary thinking and research?"
The molecular revolution culminated, says Koonin, in the neutral theory, which means that purifying selection is more common than positive selection. The microbiological revolution brought the world of prokaryotes into the domain of evolutionary biology, but it then became apparent that the concepts of Darwinism and the modern synthesis "applied only to multicellular organisms". The genomic revolution revealed that the living world was "a far cry from the orderly, rather simple picture envisioned by Darwin and the creators of the modern synthesis". In particular, it is now interpreted as an "extremely dynamic world where horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is not a rarity but the regular way of existence, and mobile genetic elements that are vehicles of HGT are ubiquitous". "The discovery of pervasive HGT and the overall dynamics of the genetic universe destroys not only the tree of life as we knew it but also another central tenet of the modern synthesis inherited from Darwin, namely gradualism. In a world dominated by HGT, gene duplication, gene loss and such momentous events as endosymbiosis, the idea of evolution being driven primarily by infinitesimal heritable changes in the Darwinian tradition has become untenable."
Koonin is serious in saying that all the concepts of the modern synthesis are in need of a fundamental overhaul. "Moreover, with pan-adaptationism gone forever, so is the notion of evolutionary progress that is undoubtedly central to traditional evolutionary thinking, even if this is not always made explicit. The summary of the state of affairs on the 150th anniversary of the Origin is somewhat shocking. In the postgenomic era, all major tenets of the modern synthesis have been, if not outright overturned, replaced by a new and incomparably more complex vision of the key aspects of evolution. So, not to mince words, the modern synthesis is gone."
Koonin tentatively identifies two candidates to fill the vacuum left by the discarded modern synthesis. The first of these appears to emphasis the role of chance; the second appears to emphasise law. "The first is the population-genetic theory of the evolution of genomic architecture, according to which evolving complexity is a side product of non-adaptive evolutionary processes occurring in small populations where the constraints of purifying selection are weak. The second area with a potential for major unification could be the study of universal patterns of evolution such as the distribution of evolutionary rates of orthologous genes, which is nearly the same in organisms from bacteria to mammals or the equally universal anticorrelation between the rate of evolution and the expression level of a gene. The existence of these universals suggests that simple theory of the kind used in statistical physics might explain some crucial aspects of evolution."
It is not difficult to predict that Koonin's analysis will not be received quietly by the very vocal leaders of evolutionary biology. They are still entrenched in neoDarwinism and show no signs of conceding any ground to anyone.
Actually, Koonin is just as likely to be ignored as not quietly received. The fantasy creation story of fashionable atheism is in many places, government policy. Its proponents often have tenure and get their pay every month. The only solution is eventual retirement parties, followed by a big revaluation - = what do we really know?
Find out the real reason why there is an intelligent design controversy:
Labels: natural selection


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Germans from Russia Housing Construction
The following electronic message was received from Arthur E.
Park, California, sent to Sharon Leigh at the University of Indiana.
15 September 2005
Sharon Leigh:
Since lumber was apparently more plentiful along the Volga River, I am not aware that they used sod as a building material which was common along the Black Sea Area.
I clearly recall my mother describing their method of preparing mud mixed with straw to give it stability and letting it dry for a given period of time until it became very firm. It was then cut into approximately 6x10 blocks and stacked for drying. It when it had become nearly as hard as rocks, it was ready for use as building material. This process was called the making of "batzen" which is a German word for clumps of mud. After the structure was completed in house form, it would be white washed, giving it a very satisfactory appearance. Incidentally, the floors were also of very hardened clay soil which could be swept and was very commonly sprinkled with fine river sand on Saturdays.
It would require research to determine if this process originally came from Germany, or if it was learned from the idigenous Russians. It may have been the latter. However, there is also some evidence that sod was the material used for the indigent peasants' huts in Germany.
This same practise took place on the western praries of the USA where lumber was also very scarce and people were existing on very limited funds. Later, when they had established incomes and savings accounts, they quite naturally began to construct houses of wood.
Trust this may provide further insight on your question.
Arthur E. Flegel


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Insurify is an online car insurance shopping platform, which instantly verifies a drivers data to provide real-time quotes. By analyzing millions of records, identifying patterns and building models to match a drivers profile, they are able to provide personalized recommendations which save users time and money. Insurify is a content partner of Townsquare Media, this website's parent company. Its content is produced independently of this website.
Promoted by Insurify
States With the Highest Rates of Identity Theft
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Most Dangerous States for Drinking and Driving
Over the last decades, the United States has greatly reduced the frequency of drunk driving and and the all-too-predictable accidents that result.
The 10 Most Stolen Cars in America
With the national car theft rate at a near-fifty-year low, car owners may not always take theft statistics into account when choosing a new or pre-owned vehicle.
Car Theft Capitals of the U.S.
No matter how it's done, motor vehicle theft is a serious crime, and its victims can often face great financial and emotional distress.
Sick of Long Commutes? These Cities Have the Worst Traffic
No matter how you do it—by car, rail, or foot—commuting can be a hassle.
Drunk Driving Capitals of the U.S.
Across the nation, some cities and towns see a markedly higher prevalence of DUIs—posing a threat to those communities' drivers.
These 10 States Are in Dire Need of Road Repair
America's infrastructure is crumbling, and many states across the nation are paying the price.
Top 20 Cities With the Worst Drivers
Now that summer is in full swing, expect both traffic incidents and road fatalities to spike across the nation.
10 Occupations with the Worst Drivers
Your line of work doesn't wholly define you. But it might give insurance companies an idea of how well you drive.


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Lower Manhattan
November 7th, 2016
Lower Manhattan
November 7th, 2016
A picture tells a thousand stories!
My photographic adventures on the other side of the world
Stories and photos from Scotland
Inspiring the world's next generation of travelers.
An Eclectic Mix Of Revelation By Baldy. A Blog About Cumbria, Home Of The UNESCO Lake District National Park. Photographs, Paintings, Sketches & More. Mountains Are My Bones; Rivers My Veins; Forests My Thoughts.
By Martina Korkmaz
For the Glory of God
Candid street images from Cairns, Australia
Here, Now and Somewhere else
Photographer | Chicago | @ke_vin_joseph
The blog of an Art Foundation student, interested in both Science and Art.
Everything You Want To Read
"The future is unwritten"
(...and some I have)
"Shootin' from the Hip Photography Tips"
Revealing the True Origins of Silence
Personal Development, Beauty, Style and general well-being


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Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
Dec 28th, 2018
How to Stick to the USDA's Healthy Eating Guidelines
Eat up to 10 ounces (28 g) per day from this group—at least half of your total grains should be whole grains.
Helpful hints...
- Instead of regular pasta, choose 100% whole wheat pasta
- Choose whole wheat or whole-grain breads for your sandwiches
- Skip white rice and go for brown
Eat at least 1 to 4 cups (182 to 728 g) of dark-green and orange vegetables.
Helpful hints...
- Add more veggies—lettuce, tomato, and more—when ordering a sandwich
- If you don't have time for a lot of prep at night, chop enough vegetables for several salads and keep for up to three days in an airtight container in the fridge(keep avocado and tomatoes separate as these break down a little faster); when really pressed for time, take advantage of your grocers' salad bars by buying a few favorite ingredients and simply adding the greens at home
- Experiment with steaming vegetables such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, beets, and other savory options; dress up side dishes with toasted almonds or sesame seeds so they take a more central role
Eat up to 2 1/2 cups (455 g) of fruits per day.
Helpful hints...
- When you have a choice, for added fiber and less sugar, choose fresh fruit over juice
- Always have fresh fruit on hand—go for seasonal selections for a cost-effective and tasty option
- Try adding a single fruit such as grapefruit, avocado, mango, apple, or pear to your regular crunchy green salad
Milk & dairy
Drink up to 3 cups (546 g) of fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk per day, or eat an equivalent amount of dairy foods or other calcium-rich foods.
Helpful hints...
- Snack on low-fat yogurt or substitute plain yogurt for sour cream
- Although made from milk, eat only small amounts of butter, cream cheese, and cream since they contain little or no calcium and are high in fat
- Reminder: When aiming for optimal calcium intake don't forget other calcium-rich foods, such as calcium-fortified soy products and calcium-fortified orange juice
Meat & beans
Eat up to 7 ounces (198 g) per day of lean protein from sources like meat, poultry, and legumes.
Helpful hints...
- Keep portion size in mind when you prepare fattier protein sources, such as meat and poultry
- Add variety to your diet by choosing fish, nuts, or beans as alternatives to meat and poultry
- For some heart-healthy, low-fat options, try some of the many available tofu and tempeh meat-substitutes, such as healthy morning sausage and hot dog substitutes
Limit oils to 11 teaspoons (54 ml) of fats per day.
Helpful hints...
- Choose healthy fats from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils—great options are avocados, nut butters, or olives
- Avoid foods high in saturated and trans fats, such as mayonnaise, certain salad dressings, and butter
- Note: Though high in saturated fat, coconut oil is stable enough to resist the heat-induced damage that can make otherwise healthful vegetable oils form unhealthy free radicals; peanut and olive oils are also good for cooking
Adding extra calories—and taking them off
The My Pyramid allows for extra calories to satisfy your daily food group requirements as you choose.
Helpful hints...
- Choose foods and beverages with little added sweeteners or salt
- Drink alcohol in moderation
- Remember that it is important to balance calorie intake with calories expended, so shoot for some daily exercise: take the stairs, park the car farther away, or take a walk after lunch
Healthy eating can be easy—even fun. Use tips like these to help you remember how to make small changes that can have a big impact on health. Also look for in-store programs, such as the Take a Peak program that has been launched in several states, designed to support healthy eating choices.
This article references the United States Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid Food Guidance System. Visit www.mypyramid.gov for more information.
Copyright © 2019 Healthnotes, Inc. All rights reserved. www.healthnotes.com


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People all over the world will be celebrating World Fair Trade Day on Saturday May 14th, and the team at Autonomie Project will proudly be among them. To kick off the celebrations, we are hosting a World Fair Trade DayT-Shirt Design Contest in partnership with the Fair Trade Resource Network!
We are looking for a fresh new design to print on a new adult tee promoting Fair Trade. We will be accepting submissions starting today, April 1st, through May 1st.
All designs will be posted on our facebook page and our flickr account and YOU will have a chance to vote for your favorites! The winning artwork, which best displays the values of fair trade and that the voting public chooses, will be announced on Saturday May 14th, World Fair Trade Day!
The lucky designer will see their shirt go into production and be launched as part of Autonomie's summer collection. They will of course receive a free tee for themselves, as well as a free gift card for more of AP's hip Eco-friendly and fair trade products.
And, to take it one step further, 20% of the proceeds from the sale of the tee you designed will be donated to the Fair Trade Resource Network, an informational fair trade hub who focus on education and awareness.
Submissions and any questions should be directed to firstname.lastname@example.com. Start brainstorming now; your design could be our next top seller!


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2 Abbey Hill North Bend OH
Remodeled by current owners with attention to detail and quality. Must see to appreciate features and upgrades. Flexible floor plan offers a combination of open spaces and charming cozy spaces. The large corner lot offers privacy and multiple outdoor living spaces. You'll feel like you are on vacation at home. Easy commute to downtown and CVG.
Directions to 2 Abbey Hill North Bend OH 45052: Shady Ln to Aston Oaks to Straford, left on Muirfield, Right on Saint Andrews, Right on Abbey Hill
More info about this property
Send me information
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Keller Williams Advisors
Maryann D Ries
Maryann D Ries
Office: 513-766-9200
Phone: 513-470-0564
Phone: 513-470-0564
The data relating to the real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Broker Reciprocity program of the MLS of Greater Cincinnati, Inc. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Comey & Shepherd Realtors are marked with the Broker Reciprocity logo or Broker Reciprocity house icon. The properties displayed may not be all the properties available through Broker Reciprocity.


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California Department of Transportation
Date: October 19, 2011
District: 4 - Oakland
Contact: Bob Haus
Phone: (510) 286-5576
OAKLAND – Caltrans today awarded $66 million to cities, counties, and regional agencies for 139 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects to improve safety for students in grades K-8 who walk and bicycle to and from school.
"By improving safety, more children are encouraged to walk and bicycle to school, ultimately resulting in healthier children and less traffic congestion," said Acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.
The funding was provided by the federal SRTS program. Since its inception in 2005, Caltrans has awarded $156 million for 356 SRTS projects.
Some of the notable projects in Orange County that received funding include:
City of Emeryville – State Route 123 between 43rd Street and 47th Street.
San Francisco Muni – Turk Street between Van Ness and Polk Street.
City of San Rafael – Lindaro Street between Woodland Avenue and Anderson Drive; Anderson Drive east of Lindaro Street and Mahon Creek Trail.
City of East Palo Alto – Fordham Street between Notre Dame Avenue and Purdue Avenue; Bay Road between Newbridge Street and University Avenue; Pulgas Avenue/Runnymeade Street; Pulgas Avenue between O'Connor Street and Myrtle Street.
Caltrans works closely with a diverse group of state, local, and regional stakeholders representing transportation, health, education, law enforcement, and bicycle/pedestrian advocates.
Click here to view the entire list of SRTS projects that received funding.
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"Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done." It's an adage that's taken on a new meaning in Atlantic Canada when it comes to the composition of provincial Supreme Courts.
In an open letter to Canada's justice minister Oct. 25, a group representing Atlantic trial lawyers called on Ottawa to follow its new diversity and merit-based process to ensure transparency and fairness with judicial appointments.
Since new criteria were announced last year, three of the five judicial appointments made in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island came from the same area of private practice — insurance defence — and from the same regional law firm, Stewart McKelvey.
As of the time the letter was written, four of the six federally appointed Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges on P.E.I. are former members of this same firm. Two more P.E.I. justices were added Oct. 27 and one was from the same firm. The vacant position of chief justice was filled by a sitting judge with nine months' experience on the bench — also from Stewart McKelvey.
Lawyers are calling foul.
Brian Hebert, president of the Halifax-based Atlantic Trial Lawyers Association, argues that since judges play a fundamental role in ensuring public confidence in our legal system, diversity of gender and race on the bench is important, as is legal experience and perspective.
One senior Charlottetown lawyer said last week's appointments are the talk of the P.E.I. legal community. No one is critical of the individuals, but many are concerned that the two P.E.I. chief justices and five of eight judges are from the same law firm — a firm that gets much of the legal work from both levels of government, and which has in its employ past presidents of the provincial Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties.
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey and former MP Shawn Murphy were from that firm, as well.
And criticism isn't just coming from the legal community.
Last month, a letter writer suggested the P.E.I. bench is so biased from political patronage appointments that Ottawa should fill any vacancies with candidates from outside the province to improve the impartiality of the court.
The lack of diversity on court benches also resulted in a public plea from an Atlantic Mi'kmaq chief who said a more balanced judiciary is critical in order to reflect the diversity of perspectives of the population it serves, including that of the Indigenous Mi'kmaq.
Many people in the Atlantic legal community question the fairness involved in the selection of judges, a process that's shrouded in mystery. The federal government should follow its new rules and criteria more diligently.
Ottawa might score points with its appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada, but it's getting a failing grade with its choices for Atlantic Canadian Supreme Court benches.


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Posted 09 February 2007 - 11:19 PM
Underwater Photography:
If it is so easy every one would be doing it!
Nikon D 500, Subal Housing, Inon Z 240 strobes.
Posted 10 February 2007 - 05:51 AM
So that would suggest to me that a Blue Ring Octopus would be able to change colours and hide its blue rings ... similarly to other octopus changing colour.
even though there is only one blue ring .. I would think that it is a Blue Ring Octopus .. if there are different types .. i wouldn't be able to do any latin stuff.
Posted 10 February 2007 - 06:09 AM
I also have a pair of shots from Lembeh of one, found by KBR's Ben (divemaster) at site TK2. Very cool :-)
Posted 10 February 2007 - 12:04 PM
Giles is right about the blue ring octopus only showing the rings under stress or harassment. Lots of people complain about never seeing one but they probably have. Normal coloration is plain brown so these small octopuses are easily overlooked.
Posted 10 February 2007 - 03:00 PM
Here are two photos of the same B.R.O. - one while he's trying to blend in with the sand, and the other when he decided I needed a more obvious "warning". Note that in each case the intensity of ALL his spots is the same.
Edited by bmyates, 10 February 2007 - 03:41 PM.
Bruce Yates
Lumix GX8 in Nauticam, Canon 5DMkII in Aquatica, 1DsMkII in Seacam, G15 in RecSea...Inon Z240's...too many lenses
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damned fool about it." WC Fields
Posted 11 February 2007 - 12:51 AM
I love octopus .. they are cool .. and these guys are awesome to me .. even more so than the mimic .. i love funky colours and poisonous creatures .. i'm interested to know more about the Poison Ocellate ... pacific creatures rock .. but then i am happy that most things in the Caribbean are almost always harmless (he says after having been hit in the summer by a box jelly)
Posted 11 February 2007 - 06:25 PM
I think the octopus in Okuma's shot is the same as what we see in the footage (and the same as what I saw... sorry, I haven't scanned my slides yet or I'd post it). The one I saw was quite relaxed and did not display the distinctive striped pattern shown in some of the videos. The following says the armspan reaches 50cm, which is about the size I remembered seeing, and some individuals have two ocelli on each side (the one in my image(s) has two, just checked):
I'd be willing to bet a drink or two that it is Octopus mototi or a very close facsimile. Mind you, I'd probably be happier losing the bet than winning :-)
Posted 14 February 2007 - 10:55 AM
My shots can be found at http://www.vibrantse...s4_anilao21.htm and http://www.vibrantse...s9_anilao21.htm.
Posted 14 February 2007 - 07:37 PM
I'm going with "Octopus siamensis or mototi" until we hopefully find something that describes the difference between the two.
Well they are are beautiful and very unique animals and I feel privileged to have seen one regardless of what we call it.
Posted 15 February 2007 - 09:34 AM
I'd go with O. siamensis. As the top expert on cephalopods for that part of the world Mark Norman knows more about the species & their distributions than anyone. Don't forget it's not uncommon for more than one species to have the same color pattern even when they occur in different parts of the world.
Posted 15 February 2007 - 09:47 AM
Posted 09 May 2008 - 06:32 PM
It was said that PNG could not have Hippocampus Colmani, since a book said it was outside their range. I have clearly seen it in PNG, however.
I saw this photo (not mine) and it appears to be mototi. It was taken in Sulawesi.
Check out this link and let me know what you think.
Edited by AllisonFinch, 09 May 2008 - 06:48 PM.
Posted 11 May 2008 - 10:49 AM
The problem as I see it is the difficulty of making a reliable id from photographs. Lots of things are undescribed or they're described but no one knows what they look like in life, or many different species look similar (like all these 2-spot octopuses with stripes). Another problem is that many web images are mis-identified so if you compare a photo to one on the web you could be misled.
I tend to be conservative & if I have something written by an expert I'll follow that. As it is I use waffle-ly statements like "seems to be", "looks like", "similar to this photo called X" instead of saying "it is speciesX". Not being really knowledgeable about anything but worms also keeps me cautious about ids.
It could certainly be mototi but honestly, as variable as octopus species are, I can't see an external species level difference based on the images. (Of course that could be the result of my own octo-ignorance.) The difference between mototi & siamensis may be internal or something on the underside like the arrangement of suckers. Jeff's photo was given a name by Mark Norman so I trust that id more than another. And did you notice that Jeff's critter also represented a range extension from what's reported in books?
It would be great if Kuiter would confirm the presence of Hippocampus pontohi in PNG. In his description of H pontohi Kuiter did say there was a similar undescribed species in PNG but he didnt' mention how they differed or even if they can be distinguished on external characters. So I'm cautious.
Cheers, Leslie
Posted 11 May 2008 - 11:06 AM
Posted 11 May 2008 - 08:30 PM
Posted 13 May 2008 - 07:29 PM
Here is his baby picture?????, KBR - May 2006
The Mototi octopus in the OP has been seen in Lembeh Straits when I was there in June-July 2007. Got some great shots of it too!. The Guides were going bonkers when they found it. It is a beautiful little octopus. This is the one I saw in Lembeh in June 2007.
Outfitted courtesy of H2O Photo Pros - Newport Beach, CA
Visit My Website
Visit my educational not-for-profit foundation "saveourseas.tv"
A is A
Posted 23 May 2008 - 09:42 PM
Edited by Graham Abbott, 23 May 2008 - 10:31 PM.


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Are Kim Kardashian + Kanye West Already Married?
Rumors began swirling over the weekend that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have already obtained a marriage license and tied the knot in a secret ceremony in Los Angeles. So, have the stars officially become Mr. and Mrs. Kimye?
Despite reports (TMZ claimed that the two were obtaining a "confidential" marriage license, while Life & Style later confirmed that the two had received the license), the two are still yet to wed, a source tells PEOPLE, claiming that the reports are false.
From Kardashian's camp, her rep has spoken out on the claims only to say that she will not comment on wedding rumors.
"There is no statement and no comment on wedding conjecture," the rep stated (quote via the New York Daily News.) That sounds like a "not married yet" to us!
Additionally, PEOPLE reports the two are still set to marry at the end of the month in France. Citing May 24 as the wedding date, the proud parents of baby North West are allegedly going to make it official during a lavish ceremony at Chateau Louis XIV.
And we don't know about you, but we're still holding out hope that James Franco and Seth Rogen will show up to do a live version of their 'Bound 2' parody. After all, Kanye West did officially call them up to ask. Can you imagine a better wedding gift than that?


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Number: 111- 25
Date: December 8, 2009
The House Passes H.R. 4218,
The "No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act of 2009"
On December 8, 2009, the House passed H.R. 4218, the "No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act of 2009", by voice vote.
• The bill would prohibit the payment of any retroactive Title II and Title XVI benefits to individuals while they are in prison, are in violation of conditions of their parole or probation, or are fleeing to avoid prosecution for a felony or a crime punishable by sentence of more than one year.
• Under the bill, SSA would not pay these retroactive benefits until the beneficiary is no longer a prisoner, probation or parole violator, or fugitive felon. (The prohibition would apply to fugitive felons who meet the criteria for benefit suspense in the Martinez settlement.)
• The provision would be effective with respect to payments that would otherwise be made on or after the date of enactment.


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Fallout Co-creator Developing RPG for inXile
Anderson had previously been working at Interplay on Project V13, rumored to be the company's Fallout-themed MMO.
"It was a very hard decision to leave Project V13," said Anderson to Gamasutra. "I loved the project, and we spent so much time on it, and it was not an easy decision to make. But in talking with Brian, it made it a lot easier. We really clicked, and saw eye to eye on what we wanted to see happen to RPGs."
The unannounced RPG project is in the early stages, according to Anderson, who is serving as creative director of the development team.
"I want to get back to RPGs that are very story-driven and character-driven," added Anderson. "Personally, I've never gotten out of [single-player] RPGs. There was the short stint working on the MMO for the past year, but that was pretty much it. I've always been about RPGs and RPG design. Even before Interplay I was a big RPG player."
inXile was created by Interplay founder Brian Fargo in 2002. The company released The Bard's Tale (PC, PS2, Xbox) in 2004, and is planning to ship Heist (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) this summer.


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Ian Cummings
Heat like this can take your breath away.Literally. An unusual number of people this summer are making appointments with doctors for runny noses, irritated eyes and sore throats. Some think allergies are to blame -- but it's actually the summer heat and high ozone levels. "Most allergists take vacation in August," said Jay Portnoy, chief of the allergy, asthma and immunology section at Children's Mercy Hospital. "But we're still seeing people with symptoms." Allergy season has been over for weeks, and pollen counts are very low now, Portnoy said. But a combination of heat, dryness and air pollutants such as ozone in Kansas City's air has picked up some of the slack. Besides allergy symptoms, heat and ozone can cause serious complications of asthma and other chronic diseases. So far this summer, the metro area is on track to record more elevated ozone levels than Kansas City has seen since the early part of the last decade. The area has seen 13 days of ozone levels above 75 parts per billion, compared to six days at this time last year, which itself had higher ozone than usual. In all, 2011 ended with 14 ozone alert days. On some days, ozone levels have reached close to 96 parts per billion over an eight-hour period, which require a more serious red alert, warning that conditions are unhealthy for anyone. The Mid-America Regional Council issues ozone alerts when air conditions are unhealthy for active children and adults, especially those with respiratory diseases such as asthma, to exert themselves outdoors. Symptoms such as irritated eyes, nose and throat can mimic allergies. "A lot of people don't think of air quality as being a trigger for that sort of thing," said Amanda Graor, air quality program manager for MARC. "Allergies might be the first thing they think of. But that's why the health standards exist." In the long view, Graor said, Kansas City's air has gotten better. Between 2002 and 2005, it was not uncommon for ozone in Kansas City to exceed today's limits more than 30 days each year. The likely causes of our elevated ozone this year are heat and drought. Without a rainstorm to clear the air, ozone remains concentrated over the metro area for longer. That ozone can reach as far as Tonganoxie, Kan., where Sarah Ryun, 68, has had to give up going outside during the day as her breathing problems worsened. "It's been bad," she said. "I was doing good, until this summer." Ryun has lived with a chronic lung disease for more than six years, but still managed to care for a garden of roses, lilies and petunias. Now the heat has made her give that up. "It makes me deathly sick and dizzy," she said. "It absolutely takes my strength."
She only dares to go outside around 4:30 a.m. When the sun comes up, she must go inside. No more does she sit out on the porch and go walking with friends.Her doctor, Heath Latham, a pulmonary disease physician at the University of Kansas Hospital, has advised her to remain inside, in the air conditioning. This summer, Latham has had more patients calling in with breathing difficulties and allergy-like symptoms. Some know the heat is behind it, he said, and others don't. Some patients experience only mild symptoms, he said, and only need to avoid the heat or use their inhalers more often. But others have had to be hospitalized in intensive-care units. It's been worse than in summers past, he said. He said he also saw more exacerbated symptoms in the spring. Portnoy, at Children's Mercy, saw more patients in allergy season, too. But then it really was allergies. Pollen levels in Kansas City hit an all-time high of 8,000 particles per cubic meter. A massive explosion of pollen, Portnoy said, fell over the metro area after the unseasonably warm winter threw trees' pollination schedules out of whack. Several varieties of trees pollinated at the same time. Since then, the summer heat has stopped all that pollination, aside from the surviving grass. Portnoy said he expects the summer heat and drought could also delay ragweed allergy season, which usually falls in mid-August. But when it comes, it might be all at once -- another massive explosion. "It might be a record year for ragweed," he said. For those who aren't suffering from allergies, but rather the heat and smoggy air, doctors recommend staying indoors when possible, and avoiding the hottest parts of the day. Graor said everyone can help cut down on ozone levels by driving less as well as avoiding fueling cars and running lawnmowers on ozone alert days. To reach Ian Cummings, call 816-234-4449 or send email to email@example.com. (c)2012 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com


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Herbal Solutions necesitaba un nuevo diseño de impreso o envases y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 25 diseños de 8 diseñadores freelance.
Up to You
We are launching a new line of edibles containing THC, the active constituents of marijuana. These edibles are made by a professional baker and we are looking for a label to match this quality product.
The following edibles will be available:
-Triple lemon bundt cake
-Double fudge bundt cake
-Blueberry Muffins
-Belgium Chocolate Brownies
-Banana Bars
All edibles will be packaged in clear plastic containers, just as you would find the cakes in the bakery section of a supermarket.
We are looking for a label to put on these containers.
We will be distributing these products through our own medicinal marijuana collectives and are considering wholesale to other collectives. For this purpose we would like a brand name which will identify these edibles to be part of our product line.
The product should appeal to patients who use medicinal marijuana.
We would like a brand name and label that displays professional but fun.
Giant hemp leaves and words like pot, stoner, etcetera are not the look we are going for. Some word play on cannabis would be allowed. Cannabites is a brand name we like, but is already taken. The following key words could be considered: Delicious, delectable, fresh, baker, herbal, quality, cannabis, THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabinoids.
We are counting on your creativity and would not want to limit this to much.
The label should contain:
-Brand Name (your pick)
-List of ingredients
-Space for a picture of the main ingredient (banana, blueberry, chocolate shavings, ...)
-Text: "Contains approximately 120 mg THC."
-Text: "4 portions"
-Text: "Compliant with CA H&S code 11362, et. seq."
-Text: "Not for resale or transfer"
-Text: "May cause drowsiness"
-Text: "Do not operate heavy machinery while medicated"