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Beyonce Blasts Pregnancy Speculation
The Internet went into a tizzy when reports surfaced that Beyonce is expecting her second child. While the songbird's camp is refusing to confirm or deny the reports, Bey allegedly went on Instagram to shoot down the speculation.
According to various reports, Beyonce issued a rather unclear missive, apparently denying that she is pregnant. The photo (pictured, left) purportedly appeared on her Instagram feed before she deleted it.
The note reads:
"I can't stop the rumors from starting, and I really can't change people's minds who believe them. All I can do is sit back and laugh at these low life people who have nothing better to do than talk about me."
It's highly unusual for Beyonce to delete posts on her Instagram page so we're not sure if this is an accurate photo or designed by a mischievous person using photoshop. If anything, she would post a letter on her Tumblr page like she did with her handwritten note to her Belgian fans.
Hopefully, Beyonce's camp will make an announcement soon about the R&B diva's rumored pregnancy.
Meanwhile, former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland looked flabbergasted when TMZ asked her about Beyonce's second pregnancy. "What?!?" she exclaimed. She quickly jump into her vehicle and refused to answer any more questions.
Watch Kelly Rowland's Reaction to Beyonce's Rumored Baby News


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Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Media Contacts:
Oklahoma Office of State Finance
(405) 522-3963
Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General
(405) 521-3921
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma State Chief Information Officer Alex Pettit and Attorney General Scott Pruitt announced today that Oklahoma has accepted the Facebook agreement to modify its terms and conditions to allow state and local government agencies to use the social media website. The new terms, facilitated through the National Association of Attorneys General and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, resolve a series of legal issues that were caused by the site's standard terms of service agreement.
"Social computing technologies, like Facebook, are increasingly important to the way government interacts and conducts business with the public." Pettit said. "The state needs to continue to break down the barriers to public sector implementation, but in a way that meets the laws of Oklahoma and does not jeopardize the state's IT resources."
Facebook has modified portions of its terms of service agreement that all users must agree to in order to use the site. The multistate group, led by the Colorado and Washington Attorneys General offices, began working with Facebook nearly a year ago after discovering a series of issues public agencies encountered while trying to use the site. The new terms mirror a similar agreement the social media company reached with the federal government more than a year ago, which allowed 33 federal government agencies to connect with their constituents through Facebook.
"Facebook provides a tremendous venue for state agencies and their local counterparts to keep their constituents apprised of the great work they do," Pruitt said. "We, and our partner agencies, look forward to using the site to stay in contact with the public."
Facebook has specifically agreed to modify the provisions of its terms and conditions to:
The modifications will immediately apply to state and local government agencies already on Facebook.
Oklahoma was one of a number of states that participated in the NASCIO Social Media Workgroup and the NAAG task force, which began working with Facebook more than a year ago. Legal staff from the CIO's office and attorneys general agencies in the states of Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington participated in the lengthy discussions. Others state involved were Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah and Washington. NASCIO expects the Facebook agreement will be used as a model going forward, as the NAAG and NASCIO groups continue efforts to produce similar models for other social media providers
About the Office of State Finance OSF is the Oklahoma state government agency that manages the state's information technology resources, the state's integrated financial and management information system and the state's portal system along with other fiscal and budgetary responsibilities. OSF is headed by the Director of State Finance. The State of Oklahoma's Chief Information Officer oversees OSF's IT division.
About the Office of Attorney General The Office of Attorney General provides legal counsel and representation for state agencies and employees. The office also represents the interests of Oklahoma consumers, the state's natural resources and Oklahoma crime victims.
###For more information, visit http://www.ok.gov/cio/documents/FacebookTOSMediaRelease01112011.pdf

subset: commoncrawl


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"The Sound of Music" will be on movie screens across the nation on Sunday night, celebrating the 50th anniversary of that landmark musical.
In Hampton Roads, it will be screened at Hampton Towne Center 24, Paragon City Center 12 in Newport News, Movie Tavern Williamsburg, Cinemark theaters in Chesapeake Square and in Norfolk on Military Highway, Lynnhaven 18 in Virginia Beach, and MacArthur Center in Norfolk.
Here is a piece I wrote about "The Sound of Music" a few years ago for a collection of essays on the movies:
My dad hated all movie musicals. In his mind, "The Sound of Music" was the template...


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Mystery Writers Of America: Real Writers Don't Self-Publish
from the 300,000-sold-and-still-not-a-'real-writer' deptJ.A. Konrath -- whose success as a self-published e-book author has been featured on Techdirt before -- recently kicked out a post concerning the Mystery Writers of America's submission policy as proof that the more things change, the more the "old guard" increases its efforts to pretend that things are still the same.
Konrath doesn't speak too highly of the MWA, which seemed to be a rather lackluster writers' association, even back in its heyday:
The only time the MWA got in touch with me was when they needed something--I lost count of the times I was called upon to volunteer for some task or another--or when they wanted me to pay my dues. The dues notices (both email and in person) became so frequent, not only for me but for many of my peers, that it is now a long-running joke in the mystery community. (A friend of mine was even approached during his signing slot at Bouchercon to pay dues, in front of several fans.)After a few years of this, Konrath dropped his MWA membership and joined up with the International Thriller Writers group, which shockingly ("shockingly" added for the benefit of legacy artist representation groups) doesn't need membership dues to survive. Konrath states that the ITW runs such a smart organization they actually turn a profit.
The MWA, an organization that was supposed to exist to help writers, seemed to exist only to sustain itself.
Depsite his negative experience with MWA, he was intrigued enough by its recent press release announcing changes to its submission policy to take a look. Unfortunately, nothing had changed and the MWA is still running in full "legacy mode:"
Self-published books, whether they are published in print or as e-books, still do not qualify for MWA active membership.At this point, another leftover from a legacy industry looks the future straight in the eye and says, "Not interested." And as far as Konrath's concerned, the MWA couldn't be more wrong:
[A]ccording to these rules, someone like John Locke, who has sold close to 1 million ebooks, isn't eligible for MWA membership.If the publishing world, as it exists now, has no interest in the talents and insights of thousands of hard-working writers, it's their loss. This kind of elitist attitude is commonplace with the gatekeepers of industries whose reactions to the destruction wreaked by a digitally-leveled playing field has been a whole lot of "too little" and nearly universally "too late."
How many MWA members have sold 1 million books?
I've sold close to 300,000 self-pubbed ebooks. But apparently that doesn't equate with "professional standards" according to the MWA.
Professional standards apparently mean "You're only worthy if you're vetted by the industry."
This shouldn't bug me. I gave up on the MWA years ago... So if it shouldn't bug me, why does it?
Because I see this same casual dismissal of the future of our industry from the Big 6. They don't see the threat self-pubbing has become, and they're going to go extinct because of their denial.
Seeing a similar attitude coming from writers--folks who should know better because they've worked hard and struggled and gotten screwed over and over again--makes me shake my head in absolute amazement.
There are a lot of self-pubbed authors earning more money than a lot of MWA members. Certainly the MWA could use this new blood to teach longstanding members how to thrive in this brave, new world. And they NEED this information. MWA members have backlists and trunk novels and are getting repeatedly shafted by the Big 6.
How much could John Locke teach them about ebooks and marketing? How about 200 John Lockes, attending banquets, speaking at conventions?
The current MWA guidelines are elitist--they only accept those who are chosen by a few dozen gatekeepers in the establishment.It's not hard to find details of massively successful authors who also had trouble getting published initially. The self-proclaimed arbiters of what is or isn't "real writing" can't even agree on what's worth publishing and yet they still feel they can set the rules and choose which formats are "worthy" of support. That's sad and ugly and more than a little pompous.
The majority of writers I know got offers from a single house, rather than competing offers from multiple houses. Eliminate that one house, and they would still be unpublished. That's luck. If the publishing gatekeepers really knew quality, a truly worthy book would get bids from every major house. That never happens. In fact, many houses pass on books that go on to make millions and win awards.
The gatekeeping system has long been broken, and it's a very poor determiner of quality. The fact that I'm on track to sell more of my rejected novels than I have of my legacy pubbed novels is more proof they have no idea what people want.
But there is good news: the MWA is still reaching out in its own way to aspiring (i.e., "non-traditionally-published") writers:
MWA also mentions in its mission statement that they accept: "aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre." Which means newbies and fans. That's fine, but these people can only get an associate membership. Which means they pay, but aren't allowed to do many of the things that regular members do.So, there you have it: if you're self-published, MWA is more than happy to take your money, but is completely unwilling to treat you as a qualified writer. That is, unless you decide to take their chosen route to being a writer, the one that runs directly through one of several publishing houses that are already nearing irrelevance or hanging on the ropes. How pathetic.
Can you say taxation without representation?
Filed Under: books, mystery writers, publishing, self-publishing


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(20 min.) Created specifically to assist healthcare facilities of all types in complying with federal, state and municipal Hazard Communication regulations, these products also address the major education and training requirements in these "chemical hazard" laws.
SafetyInstruction's training products on "Hazard Communication in Healthcare Facilities" both introduce employees to the Hazard Communication regulations and provide training on the various types of chemicals found in healthcare environments. Topics covered in these products include:
• GHS Safety Data Sheets and container labels.
• Toxins, corrosives and irritants.
• Flammables, combustibles and gases.
• Carcinogens and radiation.
• Exposure situations.
• Personal protective equipment and chemical storage.
• Spills and cleanup.
• and more.
Program comes with a comprehensive leader's guide, reproducible scheduling/attendance form, employee quiz, training certificate/log, and employee booklet. DVD''s are indexed for easy navigation and include subtitling for the hearing impaired.
The kit includes one compliance manual, 5 topic related posters and 30 booklets.


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The New York Times has a piece on the latest in science successes. For only the 2nd time in history, the United Nations is calling a disease completely eradicated from the face of our planet. And like the first, smallpox, this one is a major killer. Unlike smallpox, though, you probably haven't heard of it. It's called rinderpest, which is German for "cattle plague," and is a cousin of the measles virus. The last case was seen ten years ago in a buffalo in Kenya. You can read more about the monumental undertaking of eradication and more about the thousand-year old rinderpest itself by reading the entire article.
Related articles
- Goodbye, Rinderpest, we're probably better off without you (emergentchaos.com)
- Bovine equivalent of measles is eradicated (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Filed under: Biology, Today's Science | Tagged: Animal Health, Animals, Biology, Eradication, Rinderpest, Smallpox, United Nations, Veternary Medicine, World Organisation for Animal Health | Leave a comment »


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JMU's University Park renamed Sentara Park
The James Madison University athletic facilities on the corner of Neff Avenue and Port Republic Road in Harrisonburg were renamed Sentara Park during a brief ceremony at the park on Aug. 31.
Signage bearing the new name and the Sentara logo are displayed prominently throughout the facility, which is home to JMU men's and women's soccer, lacrosse, track and field and intramural sports.
"We're excited to rename their athletic facilities Sentara Park because it illustrates Sentara Healthcare's commitment to supporting those communities served by Sentara hospitals," said Tom Weber, M.D., of Sentara RMH Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. Dr. Weber spoke at the renaming ceremony, along with JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne and Harrisonburg Mayor Chris Jones.


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FITCHBURG, Mass.—Freshman Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) and Gabriela Cogliano (Saugus, Mass.) each scored 18 points and UMass Boston survived Fitchburg State's 3-point barrage to help the Beacons earn a 70-67 victory over the Falcons Tuesday night at the Fitchburg State Recreation Center.
The Beacons overcame a second-half that included 11 lead changes to move to 3-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
Murphy finished with her second career double-double in the win with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds. Cogliano was just as good, finishing 8-of-13 from the field with eight rebounds.
Teresa Pina (Boston, Mass.) and Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) joined the freshman duo in double figures. Pina finished with 13 points and two of the Beacons three 3-pointers, while Morrison poured in 12 of her 13 points in the second half, including UMB's final four points of the game.
Sophomore Brittany Moore (Billerica, Mass.) added six points and six rebounds, while Andrea Suffredini (Milford, Mass.) recorded seven assists and five steals in the win.
Four Falcons finished in double-figures led by Megan Wodzinski. Wodzinski finished with 15 points, hitting 5-of-12 3-point attempts. As a team, the Falcons knocked down 13 3-pointers in the game, but just 22 field overall field goals.
UMass Boston jumped out to a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game but would go ice-cold for the next 13 minutes. Fitchburg State quickly took the lead back behind Amy Fahey, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half, to help the Falcons build a 22-10 lead.
The Beacons would cut into the deficit behind Lauren Perra (Taunton, Mass.), Murphy and Cogliano and found themselves trailing 29-24 at the break. Murphy led UMB with 7 points and 7 rebounds at halftime, while Cogliano added six, and Perra added five.
Second-half action was a completely different story, as the Beacons and Falcons went back-and-forth with 11 lead changes and three ties.
UMass Boston got off to a hot-start by hitting their first four field-goal attempts to grab a 34-32 lead at the 17:24 mark. From that point on, neither side would grab a lead larger than four points the rest of the way.
For Fitchburg State, Madeline Merchant knocked down three 3-pointers (13 points overall), to counter the Beacons high-powered attack.
After Morrison hit two free throws to give the Beacons a 59-58 lead, Wodzinski buried Fitchburg's State's 12th three of the night to give the Falcons a 61-59 lead.
Morrison would tie the game right away with two free throws, and Cogliano gave the Beacons the lead back (63-61) off of a Suffredini steal. After UMass Boston extended the lead to 64-61, Kelsey Johnston knocked down a trey to tie the game at 64. Johnston would add a free throw to give the Falcons a 65-64 lead with less than 90 seconds to play.
Cogliano would respond once again for the Beacons. The freshman guard hit a layup with 1:06 to play to give the Beacons a 66-65 lead. With under 30 seconds to play, Morrison grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a layup to give UMB a 68-65 edge with 27 seconds left.
Fitchburg State would make it 68-67 on Fahey's only points of the second half, but Morrison hit both free throws with seven seconds left to make it 70-69. On the final possession of the game, Johnston's three was just off the mark, pushing UMass Boston to 3-0.
The Beacons had a terrific day from the field, hitting 43 percent (27-of-63) of their shots. Fitchburg State went 22-of-70 for 31 percent, but did manage to knock down 13-of-38 (34 percent) threes. Courtney Mattingly's squad only attempted 12, hitting three.
UMass Boston also held an edge on the boards, as they pulled down 51 rebounds, compared to 41 for the Falcons. The Beacons converted their 22 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.
After a week-long break, the Beacons will be in action next Thursday night at 7pm when they take on Wheelock College.


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January 17, 2018
Dear Capistrano Unified School District Community:
As announced last Friday, we have reached a tentative agreement with our teachers union. This three-year agreement will provide stability for our District and allow us to continue to operate efficiently, while remaining focused on the education of our young people.
This tentative agreement provides our young CUSD families with the option of Extended Day Kindergarten at up to 11 pilot schools this fall and at every elementary school throughout our District in the fall of 2019!
The tentative agreement provides teachers a 1 percent ongoing salary increase retroactive to 2016-17, a further 1 percent this year, and a 1 percent contingent increase for the 2018-19 school year, which relies on full implementation of the Governor's budget proposal as described on January 10, 2018.
In addition, teachers will see protection from rising healthcare costs provided through an increase to the HMO medical plans District contribution equal to 0.6 percent for 2017 and 0.9 percent for 2018. For 2019, the District will set aside an additional $2.2 million toward health and welfare benefits if the final adopted state budget is not reduced from the Governor's January 10, 2018 proposed state budget proposal.
Our agreement also allows us to take the initial steps to manage future impacts of rising healthcare costs with the formation of a Health and Welfare Benefits Committee. This committee will be made up of Capistrano Unified Education Association, California School Employees Association, Capistrano Unified Management Association, and Teamsters leadership along with the Superintendent and District staff to collaboratively explore opportunities to conserve dollars spent on health and welfare benefits.
Finally, the tentative agreement provides an early retirement incentive to our senior certificated staff that is contingent on participation and cost-neutral to the District.
This tentative agreement strikes the proper balance between the needs of our community, recognizing our teachers and staff for the extraordinary work they do with and for our children, and being cognizant of rising health and welfare costs and a very challenging school funding formula that was developed in Sacramento.
Ryan Burris
Chief Communications Officer


text: DigitalLauren Dolgen, Creator of MTV's Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant: 'Bring on the Criticism'By Guest|June 13, 2013 ShareBy Guest|June 13, 2013 Share Lauren Dolgen, EVP of MTV series development and creator of Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant, is no stranger to dealing with negative press. Critics have deemed these shows as "glamorizing" teen pregnancies, but Dolgen says the buzz surrounding the shows is a good thing for exposing the plight of teen mothers."I think if you watch the show you realize there's nothing glamorous about being a teen parent," she told Mediabistro for its latest So What Do You Do? interview. "And the truth is that when I do see the girls in the tabloids or [hear] people asking about the glamorization, I really do say, 'At least people are having the discussion now.' I mean, they were not talking about teen pregnancy at all when we first created the show. So, I say bring on the criticism, because we are actually dealing with it in a very real way, and at least it's being talked about and discussed now."Read the full interview in So What Do You Do, Lauren Dolgen, VP of MTV's Series Development?— Sherry Yuan Sharehttp://adweek.it/2kiublF copy Adweek Adweek


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Computer systems are more and more exposed to threats and attacks with potentially dramatic consequences. Faced with these dangers, it is essential to ensure the protection of these computer systems in order to guarantee their security.
The solutions we supply are concerned by these issues as they are often at the heart of security sensitive environments, in automated process control or in systems designed to ensure people safety and property security.
As such, we design our solutions by following processes and using technologies that contribute to the security of those systems.
However, despite our best efforts, our products may contain vulnerabilities susceptible to jeopardize the security of the systems in which they are integrated.
With the goal of minimizing the effects of these vulnerabilities, ARC Informatique works openly with its customers, the authorities and the general public.
In practice, and beyond the design phases or our products, we commit ourselves to:
1. Making our knowledge available to customers and partners so as to help them setting up secured solutions,
2. Actively watching and following-up vulnerability alerts related to our products,
3. Coordinating our actions with the CERT network – Computer Emergency Response Teams – and with computer security experts who support these commitments and the CERT recommendations,
4. Communicating with transparency about known vulnerabilities in our products by issuing security alerts – Whether the issue has been discovered internally or by a third-party,
5. Upon an alert, issuing as fast as possible security bulletins providing immediate risk mitigation information to customers,
6. Leveraging knowledgeable feedback to design more secure products.


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Melvik necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 152 diseños de 38 diseñadores freelance.
Small, friendly, customer-oriented Swedish company (Google Apps Authorized Reseller) selling the communication platform from Google. Google Apps is a "cloudservice" focusing on mail, calender, documents and cooperation. The service is scaling from one person to thousands if the need arises. We are situated in the north of sweden (Östersund/Åre) but reaching out to customers in the whole country.
Small to medium sized companies. People in deciding position. Geeks. Nerds. Companies who are looking for new innovative tools for communication and cooperation. People who are not afraid to try new ways of doing things.
Not looking like the Google logo, neither their colours. We want a clean looking logo. Simple but not cheap. Colorwise we prefer black, grey and blue, but we sure like other colours too so that is not a must :) We want the name of the company (Melvik or melvik or MELVIK) to be a part of the logo. We dont want the logo to be made of the swedish flags colour (blue and yellow in combination). The name Melvik comes from the names of the founder´s children Melker and Viktor if someone wonders about that. The designers sure should feel free to be creative. Thanks for your efforts! The logo will be replacing the ugly one on this website: http://www.melvik.se
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Explorers Club sues Johnnie Walker parent company
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's Explorers Club is suing the parent company of Johnnie Walker for using its name on a new whiskey brand.
Diageo's (dee-AH'-zhee-oh) line of Explorers Club whiskies was launched in duty-free shops in late 2012.
According to the New York Post (http://bit.ly/1d7rBsK ), the 120-year-old New York-based club says it owns the trademark on the name.
The club sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company last spring.
The Manhattan suit filed Friday says the font on the Explorers Club whiskey label is "confusingly similar" to the one used by the club.
The not-for-profit club, whose members include Buzz Aldrin, says it sued after talks with the company broke down. It wants Diageo to stop selling the brand or pay for licensing fees.
Diageo didn't immediately comment Friday.
Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.


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News & Events
For the Media
Princeton Review: Clarkson University One of Most Environmentally Responsible Colleges in U.S. and Canada
Clarkson University is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada, according to The Princeton Review.
The company selected Clarkson for inclusion in the just-released fourth annual edition of its free, downloadable book, "The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013 Edition."
Clarkson has a number of convention-defying environmental initiatives, including an innovative and integrated greenhouse to grow vegetables in cold climates, coupled with an anaerobic digester to convert food waste to energy; and two sustainability minors: sustainable energy systems engineering and sustainable solutions for the developing world.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, Clarkson has also adopted green building policies, such as a commitment to meeting at least LEED Silver criteria on all current and future construction.
In 2012, the new Student Center building achieved LEED Silver certification.
Clarkson's Institute for a Sustainable Environment sponsors workshops, seminars, and a small grants program, as well as undergraduate and graduate-level research experiences on a variety of projects around renewable energy, clean water, and air quality.
Associate Director of Sustainability Susan E. Powers, the Spence Professor in Sustainable Environmental Systems, ensures that sustainable practices are incorporated into every aspect of campus life.
"The last few years have shown a dramatic increase in the number and quality of sustainability events on campus," says Powers. "The most compelling argument for our continued increase in score from the Princeton Review is the extent that groups from across campus are participating and organizing sustainability events and initiatives.
"Some examples include Spectrum's TEDx event, Alumni Relations' Clarkson's Serves event this weekend, the ECO and Synergy clubs early Earth day Celebration, and major seminars from many areas of campus."
Created by the Princeton Review in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, the guide is the only free, comprehensive guidebook profiling institutions of higher education that demonstrate a notable commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The Princeton Review chose the schools for the guide based on a survey of administrators at hundreds of colleges that the company polled in 2012 about their school's sustainability initiatives.
Published on April 16, just a few days prior to the April 22 celebration of Earth Day, the guide has profiles of the colleges that provide application information plus facts, stats, and write-ups reporting on the schools' environmentally related policies, practices and academic offerings.
The free guide can be downloaded at http://www.princetonreview.com/green-guide .
"We are truly pleased to recommend Clarkson University along with all of the fine schools in this book to the many students seeking colleges that practice and promote environmentally-responsible choices and practices," says Robert Franek, senior VP/publisher, the Princeton Review.
Franek noted his company's recent survey findings indicating significant interest among college applicants in attending "green" colleges. "Among 9,955 college applicants who participated in our 2013 'College Hopes & Worries Survey,' 62 percent said having information about a school's commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school," he says.
The Princeton Review created its "Guide to 322 Green Colleges" in partnership with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), with generous support from United Technologies Corp., founding sponsor of the Center for Green Schools.
"Selecting a four-year college is a big choice. When we learned that the majority of prospective college students factor a school's commitment to sustainability into their selection criteria, we wanted to ensure we were providing the best information," says Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC. "We're thrilled to team up with the Princeton Review for the fourth year to offer a guide to help make our future college students' choices a little easier."
Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.
[A photograph for media use is available at http://www.clarkson.edu/news/photos/green-guide-2013.jpg .]


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SPENCER — Experts at Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife spent a lot of time looking at the photograph: a blurry image of something cat-like in a driveway in Central Massachusetts.
A staff photographer used his skills to "play with" the photo, clearing it up some, but in the end it was one of the rare cases in which the animal could not be identified.
"My impression was that this animal is too small (to be a cougar)," said Thomas French, assistant director for Fisheries & Wildlife. "More likely it's something more common, because of probability."
Still, there are those who believe the animal in the photograph — which for a time showed up on the ctmountainlion.org website — may have been of an elusive mountain lion.
"We can't say if it's a bobcat or if it's a mountain lion, but if it's a mountain lion, we haven't heard the last of it. It may be one," said Raymond Weber of Springfield, who runs the website and grew up in Western Massachusetts with family members who did wildlife research.
Mr. Weber said he saw a cougar when he was a child and never forgot the look of the big cat, but, like Mr. French, he admits that without a good, clear picture, there's little proof to back up the stories of sightings.
Experts he works with went back to the site and photographed a traffic cone as a point of reference to try to determine the size of the animal and he believes the size is right for the creature to be as big as a mountain lion. But aside from that, there are few clues as to what it could be.
If the cougars are here, and there's been DNA testing of scat that proves they have been in the past, it won't be long before a conclusive photograph surfaces.
"There are so many trail cameras now that we're seeing lots of photographs," Mr. French said. "The cameras are so affordable and the pictures are good. I'm really glad we're getting more photos."
So good, in fact, that a New Braintree resident using one caught several crystal clear images of a bobcat. Local police posted the pictures on their Facebook page and more than 2,000 people viewed them. The police are now hoping to obtain such a camera to use in investigations, they wrote on the Facebook wall.
In Hardwick, police used a trail camera hoping to capture an image of a bear after an unusual recent attack in which a bear is believed to have killed a large sheep.
Cougars, if they are seen in Massachusetts, are most likely passing through, Mr. French said. There doesn't seem to be any evidence that any have been making the area home, though the abundant deer population would be one thing to draw them.
In 2011 a cougar was killed on a highway in Greenwich, Conn., and Mr. French said some research shows that cougar may have been in the area of the Quabbin Reservoir before it was killed. The cougar had traveled from South Dakota to Connecticut, researchers believe.
Researchers use scat, hair samples and tracks to determine if a cougar was in an area, but there is no substitute for a good picture, Mr. French said.
While most of the photographs turned in by folks claiming to have captured the image of a cougar are deemed to be instead of bobcats, others have shown foxes, coyotes and even house cats.
"What is it they say, the worst witness is an eyewitness?" Mr. French said. "People will see a 10-pound house cat and call us insisting it's a 100-pound mountain lion."
He said the state gets plenty of rattlesnake calls every summer, and investigations usually reveal the snakes are milk snakes, even though there are some species of rattlesnakes in Massachusetts.
Still, he understands the almost "romantic kind of wishful thinking" from those who want to see a cougar, and with their population moving as far as Minnesota, Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan, he believes it could happen. Folks here are anxious to be the first to report a sighting, with more calls about cougars than bobcats, which researchers know live and breed in our area.
For those who do see wildlife they want identified, Mr. French has advice. Without getting too close or endangering yourself, take a picture — in fact, take several and shoot video, too. It was a grainy video that helped scientists determine a bobcat was living in Falmouth on Cape Cod. It was the first confirmation of one in that area.
Wildlife photographers should also try to include objects in the photo that can later be used to help determine the animal's size — a car, a fence post or a stonewall that can be measured are helpful.
Mr. Weber said he and other researchers always like to see a clear shot of the animal's tail. The striking difference between a bobcat and a cougar is the cougar's long tail. He advised that trying to have a steady hand, especially when using a cellphone camera, is best.
Mr. French said he would be "delighted" to see a good photograph documenting a cougar in Massachusetts and he laughs when he hears conspiracy theorists credit the state with covering up the existence of the big cats here.
"We're not that good," he said with a laugh.
Contact Kim Ring at email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimmring.


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Free Beer & Hot Wings: Judge Orders Investigation Into Casey Kasem's Whereabouts [Video]
After his children complained about not being able to see their father, a Los Angeles judge has ordered an investigation into the whereabouts of radio legend Casey Kasem.
His children claim that Kasem's wife, Jean, has moved him out of Los Angeles without their knowledge and now refuses to tell them where their father is.
The 82-year-old Kasem suffers from advanced Parkinson's disease and can no longer speak. His daughter, Kerri, is seeking a temporary conservatorship of her father and on Monday was appointed her father's temporary care-giver, The Los Angeles Times reported.
ABC US News | ABC Entertainment News
Source: Free Beer & Hot Wings


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2Base Option
Current Selections
Element Disc
The Element Disc™ by Humanscale® uses innovative Thin Film LED Technology™, offering seven levels of brightness – from nightlight level to bright reading light—with just a pinch of the light head. It also features a sensor that turns the lamp on or off when someone enters or leaves the area. The optional power base includes a grounded power outlet and a USB 2.0 port. When you're not using the Element Disc™, you can fold the lamp head onto the base to save space. Now that's smart lighting.See the full Element Disc collection
Details of Element Disc LED 18h Table Lamp
Product Details
- Dimensions: 20"w 8"d 18"h
- Shade Dimensions: 5" diameter
- Base Dimensions: 8" diameter
- Bulb: integrated LED board
- Lumens: 330
- Kelvin & CRI: 3000K (soft white light); 80 CRI (or above)
- Average Rated Hours: 50,000
- Features: pivoting arm; counterbalanced one-touch position; on/off occupancy sensor
- Cord Detail: 7'; clear plastic
- Dimmer: full-range; located on lamp head
- Switch Details: located on socket
- Dimmable: yes
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- UL/ETL Listed: yes;
- Type: task
- Considerations: LED board is not replaceable
- Product Origin: made in China
- Material Origin: imported
- Item Number: 763140
- See all photos
Material Details
- Material: plastic
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- Material: plastic
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- Colors may vary depending on your monitor and printer. For color accuracy, request a swatch.
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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
This week's announcement that scientists had finally confirmed the existence of gravitational waves rippling through the universe, thereby bolstering the Big Bang Theory, would presumably be a blow to those who believe in the Bible.
Not so, Professor Nathan Aviezer of Israel's Bar Ilan University told The Times of Israel.
"Without addressing who or what caused it, the mechanics of the creation process in the Big Bang match the Genesis story perfectly," Aviezer explained. "The universe had a definite starting point - a creation - as described in the Book of Genesis. To deny this now is to deny scientific fact."
In remarks to The Jerusalem Post, Prof. Aviezri S. Fraenkel of The Weizmann Institute noted that science is actually moving closer to, rather than further from, the biblical account. Whereas ancient philosophers were of the mind that the universe had existed forever, modern science now knows "there is a definite beginning."
Fraenkel continued: "In fact, the modern theories, which don't yet explain all the observed cosmological facts, bestow new meaning to the biblical verse in Psalms 92, 6: How great are your deeds, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep."
Leading international physicists, including Prof. Stephen Hawking and the late Paul Dirac, both avowed atheists, have long supported the notion that the universe had a starting point, though they admit modern science is incapable of determining why, how or by whom it was started.
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ESPN and ESPN2 will offer 16 live telecasts, highlighted by the ESPN telecast of the March 18 semifinal games and March 20 final game from San Diego's PETCO Park. ESPN Syndication will syndicate 14 games to a variety of English-language outlets. In addition to the aforementioned ESPN coverage, ESPN Deportes, ESPN's Spanish-language network in the U.S., will be the only domestic network to televise all 39 games of the inaugural tournament.
ESPN Radio will air the semifinals and final.
"ESPN has been a tremendous television partner and I am extremely pleased that we will be enhancing our relationship with their coverage of the inaugural World Baseball Classic," said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President of Business for Major League Baseball.
"The magnitude of ESPN's reach will provide the broad, in-depth coverage that this event deserves."
"We're delighted we could reach agreement with ESPN on what will prove to be, I'm confident, historic broadcasts of the sport. There is a style and intensity that ESPN brings to baseball that makes this agreement the perfect fit for the inaugural games," said Gene Orza, Chief Operating Officer of the Major League Baseball Players Association.
"This is yet another exciting new chapter in ESPN's growing relationship with MLB and the MLB Players Association," said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president, programming and acquisitions. "We will have coverage across multiple ESPN platforms. This will add to the madness of March. From the first games in Japan on March 3 to the tournament's semis and championship on ESPN and ESPN Deportes on March 18 and 20, we're introducing a great concept - the best Major Leaguers playing for their nations."
"This agreement is a grand slam for ESPN Deportes, as we solidify our leadership position in bringing Spanish-language baseball telecasts to Hispanic sports fans throughout the United States," said Traug Keller, ESPN senior vice president, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio. "The World Baseball Classic adds an exclamation point to our year-round coverage of baseball which includes the Dominican League, Mexican Pacific League and MLB."
ESPN International will provide coverage in Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East and Israel. ESPN will also have rights for all its new media platforms including Mobile ESPN (the company's new mobile phone), ESPN.com and ESPN360 (broadband).
The World Baseball Classic, a 16-team tournament sanctioned by the International BAseball Federation (IBAF), will feature many of the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories for the first time ever. The 16 teams invited to participate in the event have been divided into four pools of four teams for the first round of play. The four Round 1 pools will be played at venues in Japan (Tokyo Dome - Tokyo), Puerto Rico (Hiram Bithorn Stadium - San Juan) and the United States (Chase Field - Phoenix, Arizona; Scottsdale Stadium - Scottsdale, Arizona; The Ballpark at Disney's Wide World of Sports - Orlando, Florida). Round 2 will feature two pools of four teams each and is scheduled to be played in Puerto Rico and Anaheim. The semifinals and final game with be played at PETCO Park in San Diego.
The WBC will feature a bracket-style format with the 16 teams competing in four groups: Pool A - China, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Japan and Korea; Pool B - Canada, Mexico, South Africa and United States; Pool C - Cuba, Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico; Pool D - Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy and Venezuela.
Last September, ESPN and Major League Baseball reached an eight-year regular-season telecast agreement through 2013, highlighted by the continuation of ESPN's exclusive Sunday Night Baseball series, an enhanced Monday Night Baseball franchise, a weekly Wednesday baseball game and Baseball Tonight. Prior to that, ESPN Radio and MLB extended their agreement for exclusive national radio terrestrial rights through 2010, and ESPN.com and MLB Advanced Media agreed for the delivery of MLB product through 2012 across ESPN's extensive multi-media assets, including ESPN.com; ESPN Deportes.com; ESPN360, Mobile ESPN, and the company's wireless content licensing business.


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We are currently living in QLD but wil be moving to Tassie before the year is out .
We have two children 19mths and 4.5yrs both of which we are looking into school choices for.
I would looove to find a great little school who may be willing to do part time schooling.


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The mountain bike trail system at Horizons Park is for moderate to advanced skilled mountain bikers. The trail system is a single track with steep dropoffs, small and large gullies, and bridges at angles to trail. The Perimeter Trail (marked "P") is approximately one mile long and for moderate bikers. The trail (marked "T") is the longer and more difficult, for riders with advanced ability.
The Horizons Park mountain bike trail system was built by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Bicycle Advisory Committee and volunteers, and is now maintained by park staff and volunteers.
Mountain Bike Trail System Map


text: Anna Faris is mostly known for her roles in the "Scary Movie" series and other comedies, but her dramatic stints in "Lost in Translation" and "Brokeback Mountain" have also been notable. Fans of "Friends" will recognize her as the mother of the twins adopted by Monica and Chandler in the show's final season. In 2008, she was the executive producer and star of "The House Bunny." Faris was born in Baltimore, but moved to Seattle at age 5


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Story highlights
- On New York's Upper West Side, trick-or-treaters search for candy
- Families in Long Island gather in school parking lot for a "trunk or treat"
- In parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, citizens are asked not to trick-or-treat
- Finding ways for kids to pass the time has been the biggest challenge for some parents
Halloween will come a little late for some this year, thanks to Superstorm Sandy, but in areas of New York that didn't take a major beating, revelers and trick-or-treaters were eager to celebrate after days of being cooped up inside.
The situation is still dire in many parts of the East Coast, including New Jersey, where neighborhoods are littered with debris from shattered homes, downed trees and power lines. Citing safety concerns, Gov. Chris Christie signed an executive order Wednesday postponing Halloween.
"I've taken this action to minimize additional risks to lives and the public safety as we begin the process of rebuilding and recovering from Hurricane Sandy," Christie said. "In too many communities in our state, the damage and losses from this storm are still being sorted out, and dangerous conditions abound even as our emergency management and response officials continue their work."
Elsewhere, residents in parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut were asked to hold off on trick-or-treating. Parades were postponed or canceled, including New York's annual Village Halloween Party, which the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management and the New York Police Department canceled for the first time in 39 years.
But that didn't stop celebrations altogether for residents of New York's outer boroughs who had planned on attending the Village Halloween Party.
"We were already planning on having a party. But now that nobody can get into Manhattan we are really having a party," said Brooklyn resident Adam Scher, who invited friends to enjoy electricity and running water in the office of his online marketing agency in Clinton Hill Wednesday night.
"People need something to do," he said. "Everyone has been cooped up inside for the past four days, and nobody has anywhere to go or anything to do, so why not provide them with some fun celebratory festivities!"
In Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, iReporter Luis C. Muniz took pictures of trick-or-treaters walking around storm detritus.
"Even though most of New York City is still paralyzed and without electricity, the spirit of Halloween is alive and well," he said.
On New York's Upper West Side, costumed children and parents also had to avoid downed trees and store awnings surrounded by yellow caution tape as they searched for Halloween treats, which were in short supply. In some high-rise buildings that had power, the tradition of apartment trick-or-treating continued if residents could find candy.
"On the one hand, the kids and parents were so happy to be outside and have some semblance of Halloween celebration," said iReporter Jodi Kaplan, who lives on the Upper West Side.
"What was striking was that the stores did not have any decorations, or had tape and boards over the front windows. Half of them are still closed down. And the half that were open were almost all out of candy."
An undercurrent of guilt pervaded the festive atmosphere, she said, because revelers knew that residents of lower Manhattan, much of which was still without power and littered with storm damage, could not participate.
With several cities along the East Coast experiencing power outages, information was hard to come by, leaving many to improvise or source information through social media.
Colleen Napoli of Wantagh, New York, posted updates on Facebook to alert friends who didn't have power in their homes but could check their smartphones. The town of Hempstead, where she lives, asked residents to postpone trick-or-treating until Saturday, and a parade in nearby Huntington was canceled.
Instead, the married mother of five brought her kids to East Meadow, where parents met in a school parking lot for a "trunk or treat," she said. They lined up their cars next to each other with trunks open to display big bowls of candy. The kids went from car to car scooping up treats before hitting the playground.
While the kids got to expel pent up energy from being housebound, parents were able to commiserate, she said. They shared stories of losing roofs and exchanged information about school openings, upcoming games and where to find gas or bread.
"It was endearing and heartwarming to see a town coming together in this moment. It brought lightness to what was a dark situation," she said.
Elsewhere, the change in routine brought neighbors together as they've been forced to improvise.
For Lia Mariscal and her family in Hoboken, New Jersey, that meant Halloween actually arrived a little early this year. Her 13-floor, 70-unit apartment building was still without power Tuesday and surrounded by a couple of feet of water.
"Our building is full of bored trapped kids," she said. To keep them busy, everyone gathered in the lobby and played board games on Tuesday. Later in the day, the children dressed up in their costumes and went trick-or-treating in the building, she said.
"Some of the families had not gotten a chance to get candy so they improvised," she said in a Facebook message.
Because she's been home for four days, Jee Won Park, who normally works full time, finally met her neighbors in Washington Heights after living in her building for a year and a half.
Thanks to one mother in the building -- "There's always one mom who organizes for all the other mommies," said Park -- families have been taking turns hosting events and gatherings so the load is spread out among several families. Since Monday, there have been group playdates, a pancake party, movie sessions and even (this being New York) a yoga class.
"Because of the nature of my job, I have not been around very much, so it's great to meet the other mommies," said Park.
"It's taken me a year and a half and a hurricane," she said. "They said, 'We never even knew you actually had a kid.' "
Did you celebrate Halloween in spite of Sandy or were you forced to postpone festivities? Share your experiences in the comments section below. Like CNN Living on Facebook.


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- Publish date:
- Updated on
- Year
- 1979
OPEC states raise oil prices
On December 16, 1979, the night before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' annual price-setting meeting in Caracas, two member states (Libya and Indonesia) announce plans to raise the price of their oil by $4 (Libya) and $2 (Indonesia) per barrel. (The resulting prices–$30 and $25.50 per barrel, respectively–were among the highest they had ever been.) These diplomatic maneuverings were intended to keep OPEC's "price hawks" from raising them even further; nevertheless, by the end of 1979 the cost of oil had more than doubled since the end of the previous year.
This price hike only exacerbated an energy crisis that had been going on since the beginning of 1979. An Iranian oil-field strike and the January revolution had disrupted oil supplies from that part of the Middle East, and an earlier OPEC fee increase had sent prices inching toward an all-time high. By the time the Iranian hostage crisis began in November, Americans were already dealing with the effects of this "oil shock": long lines and short tempers at gas pumps, panics over gasoline and heating oil shortages, and frustration with the inefficient, gas-guzzling vehicles manufactured by American automakers.
These inconveniences reminded many Americans of the oil crisis of 1973-1974, when an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) embargo sent gasoline prices through the roof: By the time that embargo ended, the average retail price of gas had climbed to 84 cents per gallon from 38 cents per gallon. As a result, the big, heavy cars that American automakers were famous for became incredibly expensive to operate–many got fewer than 10 miles to every gallon of gas!–and many people traded their gas-guzzling muscle cars and gigantic luxury sedans for more fuel-efficient compact cars. This episode had not ended well for American carmakers, who had rushed some smaller cars to market without thoroughly checking them for problems and quirks, which in turn contributed to their growing reputation for unreliability and poor craftsmanship. Once the immediate crisis had subsided, most of those domestic compacts were left to languish on dealers' lots.
However, during the 1979 energy crisis, Japanese carmakers gained a reputation for building inexpensive, reliable, efficient cars that were particularly well-suited to the new era of austerity. That year, Datsun, Subaru, Toyota and Honda–whose Accord sedan was one of the most successful cars of 1979–all gained a permanent foothold in the American marketplace.


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Florists & Flower Shops in BinegarFlorists, flowers & online flower shops in Binegar. All Florists UK directory has been created to provide easy access to local & national florists providing flower delivery in Binegar. The Binegar florists listed on this page cater for all floristry services & occasions, from wedding flowers & arrangements to corporate & event flowers, be it Valentines or Mothers Day, Christmas or Easter, just click any of the florists listed.
Acacia Flowers [Wells]
Acacia Flowers keep a wonderful selection of cut flowers and plants. We delivery locally within a 10 mile radious of Wells, and throughout the rest of the country and the world through Teleflorist.
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That is all we can tell you at the moment, as Alisanos has not yet been officially added to our Holy Database. We apologize for this terrible omission. There are many Gods in the Universe and only a limited number of Godcheckers checking them.
Please be assured that our team of Data Dwarves have been sent off to find more nuggets of information. Alisanos will be updated soon.


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Monday, July 03, 2006
One Week On....
I made lots of great contacts at the show, and was delighted to win an award!! *blush, shock, cripes* The British Jewellers Association Award for One Year On was awarded to me by Gordon Brown {the Chancellor of the Exchequer}...and I was very delighted with it too!!
Sharing the cabinet with me was my friend Marianne Anderson another Glasgow School of Art graduate who makes beautiful work.....so it was a lot of fun {despite the heat wave ;P}...
When in London I was lucky enough to meet the lovely Claire Kramer who is just the most amazing person {as you might imagine} and we had great fun together!! I really feel privileged to have met her, and become friends.....it just goes to show how cool this blogging malarky really is! - I love it! You gotta come up to my town next Claire....and try out some Glasgow banter ;)!
When I arrived home there was a lovely wee treat waiting for me...the new Innocent Smoothie Book! It is a visual treat, as it is very beautifully produced..with some amazing images {see below}...and I can't wait to try out some of the recipes. Shari I know you would love this book too!!
So....now to get some more snaps from the show uploaded to Flickr, to unpack, and get to bed. Back to work tomorrow!! It's so nice to be home....so nice to back to my blog! I missed it, missed you all and my favourite reads too...much catching up to do! I hope you are all well....and surviving the heat, there really is something to be said for cold countries you know...hehe...
hugs, xox
16 comments:
- Shari said...
hi abigail!
so glad you're home safe and posting again. we've missed you. a HUGE congrats and a hug for winning the british jeweller's association award. wow! i know you must be thrilled. bravo my dear!
thanks for posting about the innocent smoothie book! i know i'd love it so i'll be making a little trip to amazon uk after i return from my travels.
much love,
ps: adore the brown paper and the printed canvases for your display. glad you had a great time! xx
- 10:23 pm
- lisa s said...
welcome home! so glad to have you back!
so now we all have work by the award winning jeweler abigail percy?? there are many more awards in your future !!! congrats!!!! quite exciting!
love seeing your show!
- 10:41 pm
- natalie said...
congratulations on your award!!!
so well deserved...Loved looking at your photos
- 11:16 pm
- Marieke said...
Hi Abigail, congratulations on winning the award! That must be a great recognition for all the hard work...
- 8:02 am
- clk said...
just wanted everyone to know i paid Abigail to say those kind words about me :)!! Girl, the heat is even getting me and i so wish you were still down here to play.
you are so incredibly talented and more importantly, a person i am thrilled and grateful to have as a friend.
i'll be up visiting sooner than you know.
big hugs,
- 8:34 am
- valdemar said...
congratulations on the award!
- 11:09 am
- Julie said...
Sounds fantastic - great to have you back and congrats on the award!! Very well deserved!
- 11:49 am
- ma roulotte said...
congratulations! :)
- 12:55 pm
- mav said...
wow. it all sounds fantastic. and meeting claire??!?! i am so jealous. i bet you two had a lovely time. and OH the book ..... amazing photo styling indeed. welcome home. relax. take a few days off! :) xo, mav
- 6:11 pm
- shoobydoo said...
uqefzbI didn't realise you had won an award...big congrats!
- 6:50 pm
- shoobydoo said...
oops, sorry about the gobbledegook at the beginning of that :)
- 6:51 pm
- Karen said...
Hi Abigail!
Congratulations for winning an award! Your work is so lovely and has been one of my favourites since I first stumbled on your site...
- 3:14 pm
- mati rose said...
congrats! your trip sounded incredible--thanks for sharing.
- 5:11 pm
- simple me said...
Hi Abigail,
Welcome back. Very happy that everything went well in London despite the temperature. Gosh! it's hotter in London than in here. :)
Congratulations for the award...you absolutely deserve it for your dedication and beautiful work.
- 1:57 pm
- simple me said...
ps: thanks for introducing me to Claire Kramer. Her photos touched me...
- 2:12 pm
- gracia said...
Congratulations... and welcome home too!
take care, grache
- 1:23 am


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Wise Craft
Blair Stocker has worked as a textile and apparel designer, and she now crafts in many different mediums. She writes about her life and her work on her popular blog Wise Craft and sells some of her work on Etsy.
Can you tell us about some of the things on your board?
Swatches of fabric that feel pretty to me right now, a print from my friend Jen of Swallowfield which has beautiful color and simple lines, sweater woolens. There is a floral arrangement from the October Martha Stewart Living magazine that made me gasp (dark maroons mixed with greens and salmony pinks, inspired by Dutch paintings), and almost every page of the Fall 07
Boden catalog (beautiful). Woolen hot water bottle covers (because I'm officially in nesting mode).
Who or what is inspiring you right now?
Fall itself! Big, bulky, woolen plaids with bright shots of color in them, stag heads and tramp art. Amy Butler prints (her prints fell off my radar for a while, but I am officially in love with the new ones).
What do you do to "refill the well"?
Cleaning my studio always recharges me. If I simply can't get motivated to create and start sewing, I'll take an afternoon to go through my space, organize and throw out. Suddenly I can't wait to get in there and make something.
How do you come up with your next idea?
I carry a Moleskine journal with me everywhere. In it, I jot down ideas, no matter how small, the minute I get them because otherwise I will never remember them, which is sad but very true. It's fun to sit down with that journal later and go back over pages and pages of quick sketches and ideas. That's usually enough to spark an idea.
Which of your projects are you the most proud of, and why?
The quilts I've made for my family. Quilts really do feel like some sort of usable, functional artwork, as well as a legacy. Hopefully they will be around for my grandkids to use.
What activity inspires you?
Anything that gets me to try something new and gets out of my comfort zone. Like the other day when I went roller skating.
And how did that go?
I'm proud to say I didn't fall!
What craft blogs, websites, and/or books do you enjoy?
I'm kind of a craft book junkie, recently elevated to include decorating books too. My favorite ones right now are Amy Butler's Midwest Modern, Floral House, Jane Cumberbatch books.
What's your favorite color? Has it always been the same?
Green, has been since I was 8. Before that it was pink.
What other talents do you possess that we might not know about?
I can do uncanny voice imitations. Uncanny, really!
Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what kind?
Any and everything ... classical, 80's alternative music, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Or if I'm looking for something new I'll just see what my husband Peter is playing in his office, 'cause it's usually good.
What is your favorite inspirational quote?
"Teach us delight in simple things." -- Rudyard Kipling
Wise Craft blog
Blair's Etsy shop
E-mail Blair
7 comments:
- lisa s said...
blair is such a good egg. thanks for this lovely interview!
- October 24, 2007 at 12:07 AM
- Stephanie said...
Loving that you have a blog for this! I have SUCH a passion for looking at what inspires others. So fun!
Great boards so far!
- October 24, 2007 at 8:10 AM
- Lori Pickert said...
thank you both! i also love to see what inspires others and peek inside their work spaces .. and their brains. ;^)
- October 24, 2007 at 9:54 AM
- Yvonne said...
Oh I'd love to here those voice imitations!! Lovely interview and lovely Blair :o)
- October 24, 2007 at 10:03 AM
- Anonymous said...
I pulled that same flower arrangement photo out of Martha Stewart Living as well. The colors were just so intense and the bouquet a happy jumble.
Just added this site to my daily clicks list. Thanks for the inspiration!
- October 24, 2007 at 12:26 PM
- meg said...
yay. these are such fun to read.
- October 25, 2007 at 8:20 AM
- Lori Pickert said...
i am blogger stupid. does anyone know how to make it so when you click on a photo you can see a bigger version?
- October 25, 2007 at 9:11 AM


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To analyze your cancer data in SEER*Stat, follow these steps:
- Download and install SEER*Prep.
- Using your own data management software and resources, create text or compressed text files containing your data according to the specifications outlined in Input File Formats.
- Use the Verify Data function in SEER*Prep to identify inconsistencies, formatting errors, or invalid values in your data files. Note: This verification process will not identify all problems in the data and is not intended to replace quality control measures taken in step 2 when creating your data files.
- Use the Create File function in SEER*Prep to create the SEER*Stat database.
- Closely examine the report generated by SEER*Prep. Correct any problems and repeat steps 3 and 4, if necessary.
- Start SEER*Stat. Your new database will be available in the list of databases on the Data Tab (for the appropriate sessions).
Example: Create a SEER*Stat Database containing Incidence and Population Data
Many users are interested in using SEER*Stat to calculate age-adjusted incidence or mortality rates. SEER*Stat requires case and population data to calculate rates. Therefore, you must supply two types of files: incidence or mortality data files and population data files. These files must meet the requirements discussed in Input File Formats.
Let us assume that you have incidence records for malignant cervical cancer cases diagnosed in 1995-1997 in the state of Maryland. In addition, you have population data for 19 age groups (< 1, 0-4, 5-9,..., 85+) and for races White, Black, and Other.
Step 1: Get Detailed Descriptions of the Case and Population Input Files
- Start SEER*Prep.
- Open the Database Description file. Starting with SEER*Prep 2.4.6, only NAACCR 12.1 format is distributed with the software. Select Open from the File menu to select the NAACCR 12.1 Database Description file. The name of this file is "naaccr3339.ver12_1.d05242012.dd" or something similar (if an update is released, the date embedded in the filename will differ).
- Once you select the Database Description file, SEER*Prep will load information for each variable into the box on the right side of the window. Initially, the list will be sorted by the variable location in the incidence data file (note the Case Start Col column). Click the Pop Start Col column header. The list should now be sorted by the variable location in the population data file (case-only variables will have a blank entry in this column).
- Set the variables used to link the case data with the population data. Since this example assumes your data are for 19 age groups, the age variable should be "Age recode with < 1 year olds." Since this example assumes your data are for 3 races (White, Black, and Other), the race variable should be changed to "Race recode A."
- Select a specific variable and open the Edit Variable window by double-clicking or using the Edit button. The Edit Window contains a complete description of the variable including its valid values. Edit the "Race" variable to view an example.
- Select Generate Input File Description from the File menu to create a text file containing detailed format information for the case and population files.
Step 2: Prepare your Incidence Data Files
- Using software other than SEER*Prep, create an incidence data file according to the NAACCR version 12.1 rules specified in the documentation created in Step 1. The name of the file, the record length, and the variable formats must adhere to the rules described in Input File Formats. Note: you may store the data in more than one file. SEER*Prep will process the data files sequentially and combine the data into one SEER*Stat database.
Step 3: Prepare your Population Data Files
- Create population data file(s) that meet the criteria documented in the report created in Step 1. The filename(s), record length, and variable formats must also adhere to the rules described in Input File Formats.
- When making this file be sure to include only the appropriate populations. For this example, the population data file should only contain records with populations for females, in the state of Maryland, for years 1995-1997. If male populations or populations for additional years are included, extra care will be required when using SEER*Stat with this database to prevent the generation of misleading statistics.
Step 4: Create a Database Description File for Your Database
The Database Description files supplied with the software are meant to be used as templates. Follow these steps to create one containing the exact specifications for your database:
- Start SEER*Prep.
- Reopen the Database Description file used in Step 1.
- Add your incidence file or files to the Input Case Files control.
- Add your population file or files to the Input Population Files control.
- Provide a name for the SEER*Stat database to be created. Edit the text in the Database Name control. The name entered here will be shown in the list of databases on SEER*Stat's Data Tab.
- Press the Edit button next to the label "Study Cutoff Date for Survival". Enter the month and year when the study ended. This date is used to create several variables that SEER*Stat needs to perform survival analysis. If your incidence data does not contain follow-up information or if you are not interested in survival analysis with SEER*Stat, enter December of the latest year of diagnosis in your input incidence file (for this example, December 1997).
- Use the Save As function on the File menu to save the Database Description with a new name. If you accidentally overwrite the file supplied with the system, you may download a new copy from Input File Formats.
Step 5: Verify your Data Files
- Using the checkmark on the toolbar or Verify Data from the Execute menu, create a Verify Report. SEER*Prep will generate a one way frequency of every variable in your incidence and population file.
- Review the Verify Report and resolve any issues identified in the report.
Step 6: Create Database
- Click the lightning bolt on the toolbar or select Create Database from the Execute menu.
- Use the default for record exclusions (see SEER*Prep help system for more information).
- Enter a name for the Create Report. SEER*Prep will now create a SEER*Stat database. This database will contain your data converted to a binary format, indices, and dictionaries (format libraries) for SEER*Stat.
- Review the Create Report, paying particular attention to any Notes/Warnings. These identify potential mismatches between your incidence and population files. For example, if your population file contained information for males, you would get a warning, since your incidence data is only for females.
Step 7: Use Your New Database in SEER*Stat
- Exit SEER*Prep and start SEER*Stat. Your new database will be available in the list of databases on the Data Tab (for the appropriate sessions).
For more information, review the answers to the SEER*Prep Frequently Asked Questions and other materials provided in Getting Help.


text:
To the Editor:
I just read your article about the cuts to the school district ("Major cuts in store for high schools," Feb. 14-20) and am furious. So, Superintendent Bill Heidenreich wants to immediately cut transportation for 90 non-public school children, and is callously quoted as saying, "Do we want to have middle school sports or do we want to provide yellow bus transportation to non-public school students? I choose middle school sports."
As a parent of one of the 90 who would be forced onto the public buses, I am outraged. I imagine that Heidenreich believes that our children's safety is not as important as the after-school entertainment of middle schoolers.
Those who travel by yellow bus to private school are driven by drivers who have passed screening and safety tests. So Heidenreich's idea is to give my daughter, as well as the other 89 kids, a MetroCard, a pat on the head and say good luck? Hopefully the bus driver is OK and the folks on the bus treat you decently? How dare he!
How convenient it is also to single out Chaminade High School and Sacred Heart Academy, as well as the Crescent School, which are faith-based schools. Have we as residents not paid our school taxes in full? Do we not deserve the same treatment as the middle school sports teams?
I would also like to add that when a search is done on the MTA website from my address in Valley Stream, there is no bus route that would get my daughter to within one mile of Sacred Heart Academy in the morning. Did no one research this? Mr. Heidenreich, please don't think that this cut is passing through quietly. I would ask that all other families who would be affected by this cut stand up and fight for our children's and our rights as taxpayers in this town.
Stephen Miller
Valley Stream


text:
General News
: Local News
Democrat Burke says Walker painted rosy picture
Submitted: 01/22/2014
- Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke says Gov. Scott Walker is painting an overly rosy picture of the state's economy. Burke reacted Wednesday to Walker's State of the State speech in which he called for cutting property and income taxes $504 million in light of state revenues that are $912 million higher than originally anticipated. Burke says she would use the surplus to pay down the state's debt, target property tax relief to the middle class, and put more money into worker training. Some Republican senators have criticized Walker's tax cuts for increasing the state's projected budget shortfall, but say a strong economy will erase that deficit. Walker is calling for increasing worker training spending by $35 million in addition to cutting taxes.
Written By: Associated Press
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text:
Richa's Vibrant Patterns Bedroom
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- Name:
- Richa
- Location:
- Redwood City, CA
- Division:
- United States
- What do you love about your bedroom?:
- I love the furniture I curated for this room, the print of the goat (by a Minnesota artist) and my textiles that I layer the bed with. The bed was repurposed from old temple pillars (by an L.A. store called Tara Home) and the two mismatched Tibetan nightstands imbue this place with a lot of personality. I also love the huge windows that face the bed. When the bushes outside are flowering, humming birds come in droves. Bees too.
- What are your tips for creating a beautiful, healthy and organized bedroom?:
- The nightstand on my husband's side of the bed (with its 9 drawers) helps keep his stuff organized. Mine has two shelves too and I keep my reading material in there.
- In modern homes, bedrooms have become more than just a place to sleep; they can be a retreat, a home office, a library, a relaxation zone. What are some ways you make the most of your bedroom?:
- I have my treadmill on one side of the bedroom (it is a long, long room). When my girl was younger, her toys were often in there too.