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Thursday, July 09, 2009
Top Pot Donuts
An argument on Twitter about the best donut in Seattle resulted in a gauntlet being thrown down: I had to review Top Pot Donuts. I posited that Top Pot sucks; many people vehemently disagreed with me. These people are fanatic kooks. Top Pot is the Scientology of the breakfast pastry world.
My original plan was to try one of every kind they make. I didn't realize, however, that Top Pot sells over 40 varieties of donut so I had to make do with a moderately gluttonous 16. I limited my choices to "regular" donuts. I didn't want any of the ones with sparkles and sprinkles all over them; I was in no mood to eat the gastric equivalent of a My Little Pony doll. Having successfully obtained what I hoped was a representative cross- section of Top Pot's wares, I returned home, plopped down on the floor, and began working my way through them.
The glazed raised ring was only okay. The glaze was a little too sticky and humid; I prefer a drier glaze that crackles a little when you bite into it. The pastry itself had a good, classic donut texture, though it could have been lighter. The raspberry glazed raised ring was better, if only because the raspberry coating, with its slight tartness and occasional actual raspberry seed, was better than the regular sugar glaze. The raspberry glazed cake, by contrast, wasn't as good: it was too heavy and greasy to be redeemed by the raspberry glaze. The raspberry old fashioned, on the other hand, was very tasty. The pastry was almost creamy, and the raspberry glaze seemed sweeter and thicker somehow than it tasted on the other donuts. Even better was the regular glazed old fashioned. Not overly sweet, the old fashioned was as creamy and cool as the raspberry version, with a tart hint of sour cream in the finish.
After the old fashioned I dragged my way through the cake donuts. These are like the fucking Battan Death March of breakfast. The plain cake was so fucking lame I couldn't understand it: dry, crumbly, not sweet, and too dense to deserve the donut name. Only marginally better was the glazed cake, since at least it was (kinda) sweet because it was glazed. The cinnamon sugar blueberry cake donut was sugary for sure, but that doesn't mean it was good. After all, Mountain Dew is sweet too, and I'd rather drink a pint of my own piss. The blueberry flavor easily overpowered the light dusting of cinnamon, and the pastry itself was stained an unappealing grayish- green by the berries. The cinnamon sugar cake donut (sans blueberries) was much better, lighter in texture, and sweeter, plus you could actually taste the cinnamon.
I tried to forget the misery of the cake donuts, but unfortunately the worst was not yet behind me: chocolate. The chocolate raised ring was pretty good: with a deep chocolate flavor and its heavy glaze, it tasted like somebody somehow enlarged a Cocoa Krispy. Better than the chocolate raised ring was the chocolate old fashioned; with its thick coating of glaze and a chocolate flavor so dark and rich it was like if you got in trouble with the mafia, and to punish you they threw you into a sinkhole on a deserted highway that they'd filled with chocolate syrup, and made you drink your way out. In other words it was okay.
What REALLY sucked were the chocolate glazed ring, the chocolate glazed old fashioned, and the double trouble. The chocolate glazed ring was a raised ring with a layer of chocolate glaze. The chocolate glazed old fashioned took the usually tasty old fashioned and draped it in the same chocolate glaze. The double trouble was a chocolate donut with chocolate glaze. In all three cases the chocolate glaze was waxy and tasted like they mixed Magic Shell with those weird clear crayons you get with Easter egg dying kits.
By this point eating these donuts had became a chore, baroque and fatiguing, a somnolent fugue in pastry, like a Philip Glass opera that someone had fried without using -trans fats. Still, I'm nothing if not dedicated (note: I'm not dedicated), so I soldiered on and ate the WORST of Top Pot's wares: the plain cruller. The plain cruller was a weird and completely atrocious misstep. It sucked. It tasted like shit. Maybe I should clarify: it didn't taste like shit per se, because it tasted more like a stale greasy piece of bread than actual shit (note: I don't know what shit tastes like), but it didn't taste very good. I've never referred to a piece of food as a "dumbass" before, but the plain cruller drove me to it.
The final stanza of this epic pastry poem concerned the filled donuts: a Bavarian crème- filled and a raspberry Bismarck. Honestly I have no idea what criteria distinguishes a Bismarck from a mere "jelly donut;" more puzzling is why you'd name a donut after a German leader, given the poor track record with German political figures in the popular imagination. I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that they wanted to call this donut "the Hitler," but unfortunately that name had already been appropriated for a method of styling pubic hair. The Bismarck was luckily quite lovely, with a light dusting of powder sugar and LOTS of raspberry jelly inside. The Bavarian crème, on the hand, was lame as fuck: while the cream itself was smooth and not excessively sweet, the pastry itself tasted stiff and the whole thing was lacquered with a slab of the same shitty chocolate veneer that disgraced the other chocolate glazed donuts. Needless to say (yet mysteriously, I'm going to say it anyway), the cream filled churros at the Salvadorean Bakery make Top Pot look like as foolish as people who eat at McDonald's in France (note: I ate at a McDonald's in France).
In the final analysis, was Top Pot as bad as I've always claimed? I'm going to swallow my pride the way your mom swallows cock and say it's not that bad. The old fashioned series, in particular, borders on masterful. Was it as rapturously delicious as Top Pot's brainwashed masses of supporters claim? Nope. The true benchmark of donut superiority is the regular glazed donut, and Top Pot's just isn't good enough. If you somehow applied the Moh's Scale of Relative Gemstone Hardness to snacks, the ideal donut would be ranked as only slightly more dense than cotton candy. A good donut should have a dry sweet glaze that crunches lightly when you bite it, but the pastry beneath should be just slightly more substantial than a shadow. Krispy Kreme's regular glazed is a good shorthand for this style of donut, but the true grand master of donut density is the Donut Plant in NYC. In the donut universe, the Donut Plant's crème brulee donut, with its crunchy burnt sugar glaze, gauzy pastry, and rich crème filled center, is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, a blue supergiant which shines in UV and burns brilliantly until it blows itself apart, like Jim Morrison, if you're the kind of douche who really thinks Jim Morrison was a tragic genius (and a donut). Top Pot, by contrast, is a brown dwarf: a sullen and unremarkable misfit which also happens to suck big time. Like your mom.
Rating: 5 glazed rings (AKA your mom's mouth) out of 10
PS This is probably the most boring review I have ever written, so fuck you, Top Pot fans, this is your comeuppance.
PPS Here's a rare photo of the donut aftermath, soon to be a new movie from Sony Pictures. Donut Aftermath: The Movie will star Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Professor of Donutology no one listened to until it was too late, Megan Fox as Princess Tam- Tam, and Ryan Gosling as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Megan Fox's Thumb will be reprising her role as Quato, the mysterious Martian rebel leader, and I'll be played by Jimmy Smits!
15 comments:
- TekkaDon Juan said...
that creme brulee donut sounds ridic tasty. and yes, any donut purveyor worth her pastry flour should shill a crusted glaze.
- Dana said...
You missed out on the only reason I go to top pot. The apple fritter thingy.
Top Pot makes cake doughnuts. What you're referring to when you say a doughnut should be slightly thicker than cotton candy are yeast doughnuts. I suggest you make your way to Krispy Kreme where you will find what you will obviously enjoy.
- Surly Gourmand said...
Hear hear my friend, re: crusty glazes. Whatever happened to the regular glazed donut? It's a forgotten art.
And if you're ever in New York, stop by the Donut Plant. It is so fucking killer you'll find yourself amorously eying each donut's hole with romantic intentions, because you'll love those donuts so much you'll want to fuck the donut, get it pregnant, and have kids with it (now legal in Canada).
Your Friend the Surly Motherfucking Gourmand
- Surly Gourmand said...
So glad to hear from you! And all this time I for some reason thought you were one of Top Pot's obsessed partisans, but it seems you're really only a fair- weather Top Potter.
Personally I thought a consummate baker such as yourself would eschew Top Pot altogether and formulate your own exotic donut flavors.
Your Friend the Surly Motherfucking Gourmand
- Surly Gourmand said...
I'm glad I've finally gotten to hear from a Top Pot partisan. You're mistaken if you think that I think that Krispy Kreme is the best donut ever. Kripsy Kreme isn't that great, but it's the best in Seattle, which is a goddamned shame. Yet sadly, that's the way it is.
Your Friend the Surly Motherfucking Gourmand
You are just plain wrong. The old fashioned donuts at top pot suck. They don't have enough buttermilk. Try any strip mall donut shop and you'll get a better old fashioned donut.
The maple bars are also ass. Scrape off some of the icky sweet frosting and put it on a hot dog bun, and you'll have a hard time telling the difference.
Top Pot donuts sans frosting taste like they've been over mixed, and under flavored (donuts can has flavor. its tru). It's a shame that they've tried to make it up by dipping them in horrible candy coating.
The starbucks distribution makes perfect sense. A poorly prepared base product *fixed* with copious amounts of sugar and overwhelming *flavor*. Match made in heaven.
- Surly Gourmand said...
Well it seems I've discovered someone who is even less enthusiastic about Top Pot than I am! I must disgaree with you re: the old fashioned donuts; I think they're pretty good.
However, I laughed my ass of at the comparison of the maple bars to hot dog buns. That's a very apt description, and I'm sure it's just a matter of time before someone actually uses a maple bar as the bun of a chili cheese dog, a la the infamous "Luther Burger."
As for teaming with Starbucks, you nailed it: two of Seattle's most overhyped exports, together at last. If they can figure out a way to shoehorn a copy of Windows in with each coffee purchase, the trifecta of overrated bullshit will be complete.
It's such a delight to have found a fellow Top Pot hater. Happy Bastille Day to you, sir.
Your Friend the Surly Motherfucking Gourmand
- theculinaryaddict said...
Surly, I'm glad you recognized your week review. Of all people I was expecting much more gratuitous 'surlyness'especially of the sexual variety given the nature of the topic such as: glazing, holes, chocolate holes, cream filling, jelly, yeasty, cakey etc.. I'm hoping you werent taking it easy due to moderate Twitter folks.
- Surly Gourmand said...
Culinary Addict,
I was overwhelmed by the possibilities, so unfortunately I wasn't able to fully capitalize on the donut's erotic qualities.
When I'm done hanging my head in shame I'll edit this post and insert more smuttiness.
Your Friend the Surly Motherfucking Gourmand
The only thing worse than a top pot donuts are the people that work there. Someone should remind these people that they are working in a donut shop.
- kathrine said...
You don't happen to live in Ravenna do you? Down the street from me I almost ran over an entire box of Top Pot donuts in the middle of the street! Now they are just a giant pink spot in the road.
- maryeats said...
I'm with you on the cruller. Fucking ill.
- Surly Gourmand said...
the cruller is indeed terrible. Even noted film critic/ foie gras fan Mark Caro agrees with me (name dropping rules).
Your Friend the Surly Motherfucking Gourmand
- Jenifer said...
No, no, no. The Donut Plant's "tres leches" is beyond, above, and brighter than sirius.


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The following pages explore the important parts of my life. They are 1) my community, 2) my profession, 3) my music, 4) my favorite sport, and 5) our family vacations. Click on the images to explore my world.
|Helvetia, West Virginia,
my adopted home hamlet in the mountains
|Tygarts Valley High School,
where I taught Geometry, Algebra II, & Trig
|Instrumental Music,
Sousa Marches with good Baritone parts
|College & High School Football,
the WVU Mountaineers, TVHS Bulldogs, & Paden City Wildcats
|Family Vacations,
Cruises to the Caribbean, Hawaii and Europe
Woodman's Home Page
And I like Cats, too!

subset: commoncrawl


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Hoover Wilderness
IntroductionThe United States Congress designated the Hoover Wilderness (map) in 1964 and it now has a total of 128,221 acres. All of this wilderness is located in California and is managed by the Forest Service. The Hoover Wilderness is bordered by the Yosemite Wilderness to the west.
DescriptionFirst established as a Primitive area in 1931, then a Wild area in 1957, the Hoover Wilderness was one of the original members of the NWPS. Here is an extremely rugged and magnificently scenic area in California's Sierra Nevada Range with elevations from around 7,000 feet to more than 12,000 feet, a region of alpine lakes and lovely meadows but little timber. The scarcity of firewood has resulted in a ban on wood fires in the very popular 20 Lakes Basin, above 9,000 ft. elevation in Virginia and Green creeks, and near Barney and Peeler lakes. Rainbow, brook, and golden trout inhabit the lakes. If you travel with stock, you should pack in all your feed. You may see cattle and sheep grazing, as some permits were issued to ranchers prior to designation. The presence of black bears should encourage you to carry a bear canister (in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest portion of the wilderness) or hang your food at night (in the Inyo National Forest portion). Rain, snow, strong winds, and bitter cold can occur in all seasons. The Hoover Wilderness shares its western border with Yosemite National Park and permits are required to hike into the park as well as additional restrictions. The area, with its well-maintained trail system, receives heavy human use. You'll encounter the least human traffic in the northern portion, but, all things considered, this Wilderness would fare better with less visitation.
Planning to Visit the Hoover Wilderness?
- Print a fact sheet
- General things to consider when visiting any wilderness
- Regulations, Fees, Permits
- Contact the Forest Service
- Visit the National Forest wilderness website
Leave No TraceHow to follow the seven standard Leave No Trace principles differs in different parts of the country (desert vs. Rocky Mountains). Click on any of the principles listed below to learn more about how they apply in the Hoover Wilderness.
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors


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As a result of some unpleasant interactions with Mediafire (copyright infringements that weren't really infringements), I've taken down a lot of things from that account. Consequently, you will see a lot of dead links here. If you need something, visit my website; I'm restricting it to the bare minimum and moving everything to a Dropbox account, which may take a while since I don't have a lot of time and this certainly isn't a priority. If you really need something, drop me a line on my Tumblr or at the e-mail address exploring[dot]the[dot]infinity[at]gmail[dot]com.
In its early days, this World used to be all about smart discussions and posts and stuff like that. But since I hardly write articles now because of the lack of time, this World is now a place dedicated to showcasing whatever I do that doesn't relate to blogging about my life (which is already covered in this World). So, in a nutshell, this place is for graphics and resources.
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Wabash Pianist, Adjunct to Participate in Van Cliburn Programby Howard W. Hewitt • April 27, 2005 Share:
Cheryl Everett's years of practice and study are paying off with a coveted spot in 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition May 20-June 5 at Fort Worth, Texas.
Everett, an adjunct professor at Wabash and accompanist, will be one of 12 teacher-participants in the prestigious event.
|Everett at the piano in Salter Hall.
"Every morning there is a two-hour master class," Everett explained. "Each teacher is allotted 30 minutes and you play your repertoire in front of the class – those 12 performers. You receive a lesson in front of the class. So basically you have to toughen up your skin a little bit and work with the teacher. The honor is at the end of the clinic the teachers are presented in a recital."
Everett has been working as a Wabash accompanist and Glee Club pianist for eight years. She has served as an adjunct for two years working privately with eight students this year on the piano.
She believes the Van Cliburn experience will strengthen her ability to teach.
"If you have students taking music for credit, they are required to play in a student recital and they must play a jury for the Department faculty. Those are basically solo performances.
"I feel strongly that there are certain things you can only convey to that student if you have done it yourself – whether it's about musicianship or performance. It's not only knowing the music, but performing under stress.
"I find that talking with other colleagues and what they're doing with their students across the country is very helpful. You can teach the C major scale 50 times, but you have to have a big bag of tricks to apply it to the individual."
Everett is sure to pick up some tricks spending time at one of the world's most prestigious competitions. The 12 teachers will watch the 35 young finalists in the afternoons go through their rigorous schedule and competition.
|Van Cliburn during 2003 Kennedy Center Honors
The Van Cliburn competition is in its 12th year. The competition will have 19 women and 16 men. It's the first time in the competition's history there have been more female competitors than men. Van Cliburn has been hailed as one of the greatest pianists in the history of music. The Louisiana native rose to fame with his historic 1958 victory in the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.
Van Cliburn has performed for royalty, and world leaders around the globe. He has performed for every U.S. president since Harry Truman.
Everett has performed around the world and studied with some of this country's great pianists. After short stints at DePauw and Indiana University, she spent 12 years working with Dorothy Munger, who was the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's pianist for 32 years. Munger was a student of Russian great Joseph Levine, who taught at the Julliard School of Music. Everett studies with Dr. Louis Nagel from the University of Michigan.
Everett, born and raised in Crawfordsville, was attracted to Munger and Nagel because of their unique sound. "One of my highlights in my lessons with both teachers was when they would sit down and play," she said. "Students are inspired by the sound of music. They're inspired by their teacher. We live in a society where everything competes for the student's time. Lessons have to be offered in such a way that the lesson is so exciting and the camaraderie with the teacher is great."
Hewitt is Wabash College Director of New Media and Web Editor.
In photos:
Above right: Everett at the piano in Salter Hall.
Lower left: Van Cliburn during 2003 Kennedy Center Honors.
Photos by Wabash sophomore Brock Johnson.


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eMuCo (Embedded Multi-Core Processing for Mobile Communications) is a project aimed at opening the door to the next generation of smart phones by bringing the power of multicore and virtualization to mobile phones. eMuCo started as a European initiative of universities and companies in the mobile embedded market to explore the principles, suitability, and commercialization feasibility of mobile multicore and virtualization as solution to provide higher computational performance and flexibility, while still keeping low-power consumption. The proposal was supported by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for research and technological development with 2.9-million euros, and successfully carried out by the consortium and coordinated by Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany.
Multicore has already alighted on the PC market, bringing more performance with less power through parallelization, and virtualization isolates the software from the underlying hardware so that there is no direct access and control from the software to the hardware. "Today's smartphone users want to download applications and individually customize their phones according to their needs and preferences," said Attila Bilgic, co-coordinator of the eMuCo project, "Protection of personal data and basic systems against viruses and malicious code can be prevented through virtualization."
As one of the outputs of the project, the eMuCo software platform enables efficient usage of multiple cores on mobile embedded computing devices by using virtualization techniques. It was released as open source on June 8, 2010. The platform is based on a small operating system kernel accompanied with various operating system components allowing manifold usage scenarios. "The system opens access to the latest embedded multicore architectures, offering efficient programming and processing of a broad range of different applications, ranging from special purpose applications such as protocol implementation to whole virtualized commodity operating systems," said Adam Lackorzynski operating system architect.
According to Maria Elizabeth Gonzalez co-coordinator of eMuCo project, "It is expected that the emerging multicore and virtualization technology [will] revolutionize how a mobile phone will be perceived, and opens new business models in the telecommunication market."


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Darkartiste has slain the beast. It only took 27 hours, but I've completed the four-act epic of Diablo 3 with my monk and am wiser for the experience. Already eight hours into the Nightmare level, I'm finding the difficulty level lives up to its name. How can you survive? Here are 10 tips to help you succeed alone.
1) Destroy every barrel, search every body and explore every inch of the map. I said there is no shortage of gold, but the more you explore, the more monsters you kill. Every dead body rifled and every barrel, vase or bookshelf toppled means more gold or items to sell. Utilize your town portal to get back to town quickly to empty your bags so you can get back to the action.
2) Stick and move when fighting the yellow or blue mobs. Elite monsters (named individuals ringed in yellow) or Champion monsters (groups of three or four ringed in blue) are tougher to take down and often have special abilities that can wall you off or freeze you in place. Especially as melee, standing in one place is usually a bad idea as flames, poison or ferocious blows can drop your health to zero in a few seconds. Constantly move, grab health globes, and pick your spots to use your special attacks. Certain mobs will drop health globes as they drop in health. Use only what you need and save others for later in longer fights.
3) Get extra experience by reading lore or fighting well. The journals found in satchels or bookcases will give you some good back story as well as limited XP. Also, having a big killing spree where you massacre a large number of monsters will yield extra XP. As an extra tip, listen to the lore (or read it later) when it is offered as it can give you tips on a new monster and how it attacks.
4) Use your shift key for certain battles. Movement in the game has your character following the mouse cursor. Targeting can be a bit troublesome on monsters that move quickly and you could literally find your character running in circles. Holding the shift key down will allows you to stand in place and let the mobs come to you. This strategy is not as good for the elite and champion mobs as mentioned above, but for large groups, or that last one or two mobs eluding you, it helps quite a bit. Also, holding a mouse button down automatically repeats an attack. You don't need to keep clicking for each attack.
5) Use your gold to max out your jeweler and blacksmith crafting skills. Once they are maxed out, you will only be able to increase them through gathering blacksmith pages (five pages plus 15,000 gold for each Grand Master skill up) or jeweler pages (10 pages and 10,000 gold for each skill up in Master). There is no shortage of gold in the game, and crafting rare items (and even some exceptional magic items) will make adventuring and killing easier.
6) Don't sell your magic items, just break them down. This goes hand-in-hand with number 1. The randomness of the crafting magic means that I created plenty of items with stats that were of little use to me. My monk didn't need strength or intelligence. So I had to craft several of the same item before I got one with stats that were useful. The more crafting materials you have, the better.
7) Make sure all of your followers are properly equipped. They have slots for two weapons (one if two handed), a necklace, two rings and a focus. Although the damage they do is considerably less what I did, the little pokes and stabs they do means less damage you have to do. Giving them gear that increases their damage or healing could be the difference in a kill or a long walk back. Your followers also never die, they just rest and won't fight for a time before rejoining your side.
8) Watch for visual cues in boss fights or when exploring. As in World of Warcraft, certain fights will offer visual cues before special attacks. Later in the game, environmental obstacles that can damage you will do the same thing. An area of the floor will glow or swirl, an item will drop on the ground that appear innocuous at first but will explode a second or two later. If you played WoW, you may recognize a few boss fights in Diablo 3. That is not a bad thing for survivability.
9) Utilize checkpoints as often as possible. There is no save in the game. The game is saved on Blizzard servers at checkpoints, when entering a new level or using a way point. An unexpected disconnect could lose your progress and force a regeneration of the random map or dungeon.
10) Don't assume Nightmare difficulty is just Normal mode with harder hitting mobs that have more hit points. My entry into Nightmare has shown Elite and Champion mobs with new attacks and AoE, forcing me to move more or run around a bit to wait for an ability on cool down. These fights can be tougher than the boss fights. Also, I find that I am utilizing the environment to put obstacles in between myself and certain types of mobs. Nightmare has its name for a reason, so be warned.
I am just beyond the Skeleton King and working toward the Act I conclusion. That last boss will be a true test of just how ramped up Nightmare level is. Hopefully, these tips will help you get there so we try some co-op together.


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SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) ? This sun-scorched city is accustomed to playing second fiddle to Havana at the other end of Cuba. Today, Santiago de Cuba gets a real day in the sun because Pope Benedict XVI is beginning his Cuba trip here.
SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) — This sun-scorched city is accustomed to playing second fiddle to Havana at the other end of Cuba. Today, Santiago de Cuba gets a real day in the sun because Pope Benedict XVI is beginning his Cuba trip here.
Authorities have built huge steel arches in the shape of a papal miter above a blue-and-white temporary altar where Benedict will celebrate Mass and urge residents of this communist-run country to seek salvation in faith.
Roman Catholic youth held a prayer vigil Sunday night to celebrate the pontiff's arrival, and workers buzzed about Revolution Square putting final touches on the stage. Some people hung welcome posters in their windows.
The pope's decision to make this city on the eastern end of Cuba his first stop on the island has ensured the world's spotlight will be fixed on this coastal city of a half million inhabitants.
"As a Santiagan, I am very proud to be able to receive him with joy," said 35-year-old Luzmilka Barza. Although she described herself as only "a little bit Catholic," she said that "it will be something that moves us all for a person such as him to visit."
Cuba's second city has been overshadowed by the more storied Havana ever since the Spaniards moved the colonial capital there, even though Santiago is considered the cradle of the revolution and was an intellectual and artistic center.
Fidel Castro proclaimed the triumph of his 1959 revolution from the balcony of Santiago's city hall on Jan. 1, 1959, but promptly set out for the capital to claim power. Havana now dominates Cuban industry and politics and occupies a singular space in the imaginations of people around the world, even those who have never strolled its famed seafront.
But this time around Santiago is first.
While some residents express disinterest in the pope, and Cuba is Latin America's least Roman Catholic country, the faithful in Santiago have eagerly awaited the arrival of the city's most prominent visitor since the last time a pontiff came calling 14 years ago.
"I hope that after this visit the Cuban people have more faith," said an emotional Mayra Corona, 63, who along with a dozen other people worked for weeks readying the ornaments, vestments and sacred utensils to be used by priests during the Mass.
Benedict will bring "peace, tranquility, forgiveness," she said.
A key reason the pope chose Santiago as his first stop is the nearby sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, dedicated to Cuba's patron saint. Benedict has cited the 400th anniversary of the icon's discovery as the main reason for his trip to the island.
Cuban authorities have given the sanctuary a $236,000 makeover of everything from its drainage system to the stained glass. Workers even built a humble but air-conditioned house where the pope will spend the night, made with reinforced concrete designed to withstand a magnitude-8 earthquake.
But most of the action ahead of the pope's visit has centered on Revolution Square, which Catholic Church officials say can hold up to 100,000 people.
The pope's backdrop there will be a a 50-foot (16-meter) statue of independence hero Antonio Maceo on horseback, arm outstretched as if beckoning his countrymen to follow him to battle. Twenty-three rusty-colored machetes spike into the air commemorating the 23rd of March, 1878, an important date in Cuba's struggle to break free from Spanish colonial rule.
Havana at the western end of Cuba has also been busy sprucing up to host Benedict after he leaves Santiago.
A huge altar on the capital's own Revolution Square is finished, and workers have been making eleventh-hour touchups to deteriorating streets. Prominent avenues were resurfaced, and potholes filled. Workers repainted faded curbs, and many streets got fresh striping over the weekend.
Authorities put on an attractive show of lights, music and slides projected onto the facade of the cathedral in colonial Old Havana on Sunday evening. They also took down the scaffolding that for months shrouded a Christ statue overlooking the bay.
Havana also is hoping to grab the world's gaze, with Benedict's every move transmitted in urgent dispatches and beamed by satellite around the globe. Officials said 797 journalists for 295 media outlets in 33 countries were granted visas to cover the visit.
"It is a great privilege to have the pope visit us," said Graciela Hernandez, a 59-year-old retiree in the capital. "For me, as a Catholic, it's something that moves me, and the most important thing is that the pope comes with a message of love, peace and brotherhood."
Associated Press writer Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana contributed to this report.
Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP


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Find exciting scuba and snorkeling for your vacation. Embark on an underwater adventure and enjoy Maldives scuba diving. Skim across the water and explore the world below the surface on our snorkeling tours. Our Maldives snorkeling trips will make any vacation a memorable experience. Dive deep and swim with the fish on one of our scuba diving trips. Browse our Maldives scuba and snorkeling and and plan your vacation today!


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PSD Collaborations, Partnerships and Scientific Program InputPartnerships & Collaborations | Scientific Contributions | Collaborative Data Projects
Current Partnerships and Collaborations
|ACRE: Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth
|ACRE undertakes and facilitates the recovery of historical instrumental surface terrestrial and marine global weather observations to underpin 3D weather reconstructions (reanalyses) spanning the last 200-250 years for climate applications and impacts needs worldwide. ACRE was instrumental in supplying input pressure observations for the 20th Century Reanalysis.
|BLM: Bureau of Land Management
|It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
|ARRFEX: Atmospheric River Retrospective Forecasting Experiment
|This experiment is collaborative effort between NOAA Hydrometeorology Testbed researchers from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, and the Earth System Research Laboratory. ARRFEX will retrospectively analyze eight atmospheric river (AR) events that impacted the West Coast of the United States during the 2009-2012 cool seasons, and will focus on identifying techniques that can be used to improve forecasts of atmospheric river (AR) timing, duration, location and quantitative precipitation.
|BLM: Wyoming office: Bureau of Land Management
|PSD is collaborating with the BLM and the USGS Fort Collins Science Center on the Wyoming Basics Ecoregional Assessment. The Rapid Ecoregional Assessments (REAs)look across an ecoregion to more fully understand ecological conditions and trends; natural and human influences; and opportunities for resource conservation, restoration, and development.
|C-CCAWWG: Federal Climate Change and Water Working Group
|C-CCAWWG is a cross-organizational group that was formed to determine the needs of the water management community and foster collaborative efforts between federal and non-federal scientists.
|California Department of Water of Water Resources
|Collaborated on snow level radars, atmsopheric riverss, soil moisture monitoring, GPS-met Network for HMT-Legacy project.
|City of San Francisco Waste Water Enterprise
|Improving quantitative precipitation estimates (QPI).
|CLIVAR (US): Climate Variability and Predictability
|CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability) is an international, interdisciplinary research effort within the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) focusing on the variability and predictability of the slowly varying components of the climate system.
|CSU Colorado State University
|Assisted in developing gap filling radars.
|GCOS: Global Climate Observing System
|GCOS's goal is to provide comprehensive information on the total climate system, involving a multidisciplinary range of physical, chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, cryospheric and terrestrial processes. PSD is a member of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS): Working Group on Surface Pressure.
|HFIP: NOAA's Hydrometeorology Testbed
|HFIP provides the basis for NOAA and other agencies to coordinate hurricane research needed to significantly improve guidance for hurricane track, intensity, and storm surge forecasts. It also engages and aligns the inter-agency and larger scientific community efforts towards addressing the challenges posed to improve hurricane forecasts. The goals of the HFIP are to improve the accuracy and reliability of hurricane forecasts; to extend lead time for hurricane forecasts with increased certainty; and to increase confidence in hurricane forecasts. PSD. PSD staff have, each hurricane season, run a real-time demonstration of a global ensemble Kalman filter and ensemble forecast system which have demonstrated large improvements in hurricane track forecasts and spurred the rapid adoption of these technologies within the National Weather Service.
|HMT: NOAA's Hydrometeorology Testbed
|HMT conducts research on precipitation and weather conditions that can lead to flooding, and fosters transition of scientific advances and new tools into forecasting operations. HMT's outputs support efforts to balance water resource demands and flood control in a changing climate.
|ICOADS: International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set
|ICOADS--the world's most extensive collection of global marine surface observations and monthly summary statistics, presenting extending from the late 17th century to near-real-time--is developed and maintained as a cooperative project, in the US between NOAA (PSD and the National Climatic Data Center) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), together with extensive international contributions.
|NCAR: National Center for Atmospheric Research
|Helped develop dropsonde system for UAS and Four-mile canyon debris flow project.
|NASA: National aeronautics and Space Administration.
|Helped develop dropsonde system for UAS and Four-mile canyon debris flow project.
|NIDIS: National Integrated Drought Information System
|NIDIS was established to ensure collaboration between different government agencies on drought-related issues.
|NC-CSC: North Central Climate Science Center.
|A Department of the Interior "Science Center" that provide the best available climate science and tools to inform natural resource management within the North Central domain.
|NCPP: NOAA Climate Prediction and Projection Pilot Platform
|NCPP will provide Regional Climate Information (RCI) from monthly to centennial timescales. The NCPP will synthesize state-of-the-art approaches and applications of climate projection information at regional scales to support regional decision-making. PSD is working with them and the NC-CSC to connect climate science and understanding to ecosystem modeling.
|NOAAWest: NOAA Western Region Collaboration
|A Cross-NOAA interdisciplinary team connecting climate,weather,water and ecosystems to improve community, economic and environmental resiliency.
|NMFS: NOAA Marine Fishery Service
|NMFS is responsible for the stewardship of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat. PSD has been collaborating by supplying climate model output and guidance in using it in calculating the impact of climate change on the fish population.
|Reclamation: (Department of Interior)
|Reclamation is a contemporary water management agency with a Strategic Plan outlining numerous programs, initiatives and activities that will help the Western States, Native American Tribes and others meet new water needs and balance the multitude of competing uses of water in the West. Through an agreement with CU/CIRES and Reclamation, scientists in PSD are working on climate and water analysis and modeling to support decisions in water resource management.
|SCRIPPS Institution of Oceanography
|Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego and colleagues from NOAA and the California Department of Water Resources are installing the first of four long-term "atmospheric river observatories" in coastal California this month to better monitor and predict the impacts of landfalling atmospheric rivers.
|SCWA: Sonoma County Water Agency.
|Collaborated on effort to improve precipitation and frost prediction information for Sonoma County.
|SEARCH: A Study of Environmental Arctic Change
|The NOAA Atmospheric Observatory program is establishing long-term, intensive measurements of clouds, radiation, aerosols, surface energy fluxes and chemistry in Eureka/Alert Canada and Tiksi, Russia.
|THORPEX: The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment
|THORPEX is a 10-year international research and development programme to accelerate improvements in the accuracy of one-day to two-week high impact weather forecasts for the benefit of society, the economy and the environment. THORPEX establishes an organizational framework that addresses weather research and forecast problems whose solutions will be accelerated through international collaboration among academic institutions, operational forecast centres and users of forecast products.
|USGS: United States Geological Survey
|The USGS is a science organization that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and usable information.
|WGNE: Working Group on Numerical Experimentation
|The Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (WGNE), jointly established by the WCRP Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) and the WMO Commission for Atmospheric Sciences (A'S), which is responsible for WWRP and GAW, has the responsibility of fostering the development of atmospheric circulation models for use in weather, climate, water and environmental prediction on all time scales and diagnosing and resolving shortcomings. WGNE promotes co-ordinated numerical experimentation for validating model results, observed atmospheric properties, exploring the natural and forced variability and predictability of the atmosphere, (e.g. the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project, AMIP), as well as studies aimed at refining numerical techniques, and the formulation of atmospheric physics processes. PSD has been NOAA's WGNE representative and hosted the 2011 WGNE meeting.
|WWA: Western Water Association
|The Western Water Assessment (WWA) is a university-based applied research program that addresses societal vulnerabilities related to climate, particularly in the area of water resources. Its mission is to identify and characterize regional vulnerabilities to and impacts of climate variability and change, and to develop information, products, and processes to assist decision makers throughout the Intermountain West.
Scientific Contributions
- 2012: Western States Water Council Brochure - Contributed to brochure/policy statement in response to CA Dept. of Water Resources project.
- 2012: Atmospheric River Detection Tool: An automated technique has been developed to objectively identify and characterize atmospheric river events in satellite-derived and model-based fields of integrated water vapor (IWV) content.
- 2012: Howard Hansen Dam Rapid ResponseNOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and National Weather Service (NWS) worked together to respond rapidly to this crisis for the 2009/10 winter season, drawing from innovations developed in NWS offices and in NOAA's Hydrometeorology Test-bed (HMT).
- 2012: Assisted the Western Governors' Association (WGA) in the development of Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook report.
- 2011: Hosted NOAA Water Cycle Science Challenge Workshop. the goal was to "Improve understanding of the water cycle at global to local scales to improve our ability to forecast weather, climate, water resources and ecosystem health.". Final report.
- Water Vapor Flux tool.: WVFT
- 2010: At the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), developed a rapid-response assessment of climate observations and projections of change to support the FWS status review of the American Pika to determine if it is warranted for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
- 2007: Contributed to the IP-CC Fourth Assessment Report: Working Group I Report "The Physical Science Basis" and Working Group II Report "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability".
- Participation as a chair of the Pan-Regional Systhesis:Climate/Circulation group of US GLOBEC.
- 2003: Contributed to the NOAA Science Advisory Board Social Science Review Panel Report.
- Contributed to National Research Council 2001: Under the Weather: Climate, Ecosystems, and Infectious Disease. National Academy of Sciences Press.
- Contributed to the development of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) in, among other areas, providing climate diagnostics information and data in support of a health early warning system for the Americas.
- Contributed to the development of the interagency Climate Change Science Program strategic plan.
- Responding to requests for scientific information from state and federal government leaders.
- Responding to requests for scientific reports and briefings.


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Drake And Rihanna Show Fans Their Love With Onstage Kiss
We've always thought something was going on between Drake and Rihanna but it's never been more real until now.
First there was that awkward peck at the MTV VMAs where Drake confessed he's been in love with Rihanna since he was 22 years of age (he's now 29!). Then, only very recently, Rihanna showed off some new ink symbolizing her affection toward Drake.
But now we have some concrete footage that shows their adoration for each other, in a true PDA! Actions speak louder than any words can and on Wednesday night the pair showed the Miami crowd on Drakes Summer Sixteen tour exactly what we've all been waiting for.
Watch the vision above as Rihanna and Drake shared a smooch and a loving hug after she joined him on stage, so adorbs!!


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I am no stranger to eggs in purgatory, but my interest in this dish has been revived thanks to Nigellissima. To cite Ms. Lawson in episode 1 of this fantastic Italian-inspired series on BBC, "egg in a purgatory is absolute heaven when you're feeling like hell" and I couldn't agree more. It's comforting yet bold and super easy to make, perfect for those moments when you need something tasty and familiar pronto!
And who can really resist the glory of a poached egg's runny yolk or gooey strands of melted cheese? (Ok, maybe vegans)
So here's my one of favorite breakfast-for-dinner (or dinner-for-breakfast) meal for one . . .
Egg in a Purgatory
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
half a can (approx. a cup) of diced tomatoes with juices - I prefer the no salt added variety
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon chopped basil
1 egg
1 ounce of shredded cheese - I prefer Asiago
1 slice of bread or English muffin
OPTIONAL: handful of cooked meat (chopped bite-sized) and/or leafy greens (rinsed, patted dry & coarsely chopped)
1. Turn stove on high and heat up the oil in a small skillet or wok (ideally one with a lid)
2. Add garlic, chili flakes and about half the scallions and stir until it becomes aromatic; if you have meat, add now.
3. Bring stove down to medium and add diced tomato, ketchup and basil; bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. Crack egg into the center. If you have greens, sprinkle around the egg.
5. Cover with lid (or large plate) and allow it to continue simmering for 3-5 minutes, or until egg white turn opaque
6. Take lid/plate off, sprinkle with shredded cheese and let it heat for another 30 seconds
7. Turn stove off, top with remaining scallions and serve with bread, using it to sop up the runny yolk, cheese and stew (or if you're lazy like me and dining alone, eat it straight out of the wok/skillet.)


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Get excited about reading again with fun and interesting tips from our experts, including The M.D., our dietitians, and our fitness expert. In our health library, you will find all of the information you need to achieve your goals of making a healthy lifestyle change. So, start reading and start losing!
Healthy Eating
Here you will find tons of information about healthy eating and incorporating the principles of healthy nutrition into your daily life. Built around Dr. Cederquist's nutritional foundation for healthy weight loss, these articles place a wealth of information right at your fingertips.
You're hungry. It's sometime between meals and you need a little something salty. You go to the pantry. You see popcorn and pretzels. Which should you choose? This is the battle of America's favorite snacks.
Both of these snacks are a much better choice than potato chips and quite a few other treats that can be found in most pantries. However, one salty snacks triumphs the other when it comes to nutritional content. In this battle, popcorn wins.
Pretzels vs. Popcorn
A snack-sized bag of pretzels and a single-serving bag of 94 % fat-free microwave popcorn have about the same amount of protein and fat. But a single serving of popcorn is six whole cups. That's a lot of popcorn! In those six cups you'll get three servings of whole-grain and five grams of fiber.
If that wasn't enough to sway you to grab the bag and heat, a serving of popcorn has half the amount of sodium of a serving of pretzels.
Of course, that doesn't mean you can go to the theater and start squirting on the butter and enjoying an endless tub. But there are plenty of brands of popcorn found at the grocery store that have a fat free or almost fat free option. So stick it in the micro, pop in your favorite movie, and enjoy!
If you're ready to start making healthy choices, it's time to consider a diet meal delivery program from BistroMD. It's doctor-designed and chef-prepared so you know you're eating great and losing weight. And for all you sugar lovers out there, we've got Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Swiss Rolls, and Gourmet Hot Chocolate. It's a diet that sure doesn't taste like one.
Simply answer a few questions so we can figure out your weight loss goals and provide solutions for a lighter, healthier you. Our weight loss meal plans are designed to help real people achieve real and lasting success.
Get free support to help you lose weight and be healthy with our Weekly Dish on Health.
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No cookbook can teach you how to cook better European food than traveling to Europe itself and learning from the locals. Whether you are an aspiring chef or just simply love to cook a cooking vacation is the best way to learn the art of cooking truly authentic cuisine. Most of the instructors are expert cooks and chefs who have been cooking for decades using family recipes and traditions that have been passed down for generations. You will learn classic culinary techniques and get hands-on cooking experience making regional cuisine and become familiar with the history and background of each dish you create.
Cooking vacations are great for chefs at all skill levels. Beginner and intermediate cooks will learn an abundance of new knowledge while more experienced chefs will be introduced to new techniques that will enhance their current methods. Cooking vacations also make great gifts for loved ones and it truly is a gift that keeps on giving. If you spoil your parent or spouse with a cooking vacation in Europe you are setting yourself up to have delicious home cooked meals for the rest of your life.
Who knew cooking could be so much fun when you do it on a European vacation. You will learn skills that will last a lifetime while meeting other people from all over the world who share your interest and passion for cooking. When you are not cooking up a storm you can venture outside the kitchen and take a cultural tour around the city, go on a shopping excursion or just kick back and relax by the pool. Many cooking vacations offer all inclusive packages so the only thing you have to worry about is getting there.
If you really want to impress your friends and family this year go on a cooking vacation in Europe and blow them away at your next dinner party or holiday celebration. With a spoon as a wand and new recipes to cast you will be making magic in the kitchen that your guests will be talking about for years to come. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and maybe a cooking vacation can add a little spice back into your love life. Whether you want to win over your honey or give your mother-in-law a run for her money (or recipes in this case) an authentic, European cooking class may be just what you need.
There are many destinations to consider when planning a cooking vacation in Europe. You can travel to France and learn how to bake fresh baguette or crème brulée. Perfect your homemade pasta sauce and meatballs at a gourmet cooking class in Italy. Say goodbye to Uncle Ben and learn how to make a savory Spanish rice from scratch. Visit Poland and learn cooking techniques for making delicious pirogues that will have your grandmother asking you for recipes. No matter what European country you travel to a cooking vacation is a great getaway for any cooking enthusiast.


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SmartBeaconing (tm) was developed by Tony Arnerich KD7TA and Steve Bragg KA9MVA on the HamHUD. It was originally used with the HamHUD but is now used by many devices such as the TinyTrak3, OpenTracker and APRS clients such Xastir.
At the inception of APRS, the equipment available had no provisions for deciding when to transmit other than through simple timing parameters. Tony and Steve came up with the idea of using the incoming GPS data to determine when it would be appropriate to send out a position update. Rather than simply beacon at a fixed rate, they created an algorithm that would beacon at a slow rate when the unit was sitting still, and beacon at a faster rate when the unit was moving. At this time they also came up with another concept to enhance the track laid down by a moving APRS unit. CornerPegging (tm) involves watching for a change in direction of travel. Again, when a change in direction of travel is detected, the unit is instructed to beacon. CornerPegging also looks at the velocity of the unit, and uses that to adjust the amount of deviation in the direction of travel required to cause a beacon.
Through the use of SmartBeaconing and CornerPegging one is able to leave behind a very detailed track of the route travelled, using a small number of packets. This technique is more channel efficient than simple time based beaconing, as it dynamically reduces the number of packets being sent as the unit velocity decreases.
SmartBeaconing allows the user to set the maximum beacon rate desired, associated with a maximum velocity, as well as a minimum beacon rate desired, associated with a minimum velocity. In comparison, timed beacons occur at the same rate whether the unit is moving or not. With SmartBeaconing, one can set the unit to beacon once every 3 minutes at a velocity of 60 mph or higher, but to only beacon once every 30 minutes at a velocity of 3 mph or less. This is more channel efficient than having the same unit beacon at a set rate of once every 3 minutes regardless of the velocity.
CornerPegging is the portion of the algorithm that increases the accuracy of the track laid down by the unit. While driving in a straight line, there is no need to keep reporting information that can be determined by DeadReckoning. However, it is important to report deviations from that straight line track. Using time based beaconing, it is quite common to see tracks that appear to show the tracked unit driving straight through buildings, or across open fields, or bodies of water. With CornerPegging the unit watches for changes in direction of travel and determines when it is appropriate to send a beacon. Minimum change of direction settings control how much of a turn will trigger a beacon. CornerPegging also makes use of velocity information to tailor the amount of change of direction required to trigger a beacon. This allows the unit to send a beacon for a shallow turn at high velocity, while ignoring low speed changes of direction, such as lane changes.
Recommended SmartBeaconing settings for a vehicle, for normal driving:
|Fast Speed
|3 miles per posit
|Fast Rate
|3 miles per posit
|Slow Speed
|go to low rate at/below 5mph
|Slow Rate
|Min Turn Time
|15 secs dead-time for corner posits
|Min Turn Angle
|~30 deg per posit at higher speeds
|Turn Slope
|requires a turn of more degrees at slower speeds
Turn Slope: Someone wrote recently on the TinyTrak list that 255 is an error that has been carried forward many places, and default should be 25. Stay tuned for any updates!
255 is not an error. It is a perfectly valid value for turn slope. Continue to the CornerPegging page for more detailed information.
Here's the original SmartBeaconing page written by Steve Bragg, one of the SmartBeaconing inventors. The algorithm is owned by HamHUD Nichetronix, LLC.


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Officials hope another summer without Penfield Pavilion will be the last
This will be the second summer -- and last, hopes the building committee charged with repairing storm-damaged Penfield Pavilion -- without the prime structure anchoring the local shoreline.
The pavilion, which had recently been rebuilt before storms Irene and Sandy battered the town, took a devastating hit from Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 and has remained closed to the public since. Penfield Beach itself is open, with both temporary bathrooms and concession stand.
While the future of the pavilion has yet to be decided, residents at various forums on the issue have suggested a range of scenarios, from repairing the building to tearing it down and building only a small bathroom facility, and even moving it to Jennings Beach.
"This is an impressive asset that has to be brought back into service," Penfield Building Committee Chairman Jim Bradley told the Board of Selectmen last week.
The committee wants to have the pavilion open to the public once again by the summer of next year.
First Selectman Michael Tetreau said there has been an offer made by the insurance company for the town's claim on damages to the structure. "We're clarifying the terms, such as what's included in the coverage and what if the cost estimate from the insurance company doesn't pan out," he said. "The insurance reimbursement is based on what was there" at the time of Superstorm Sandy.
But, Tetreau said, the town can't rebuild what was there before Sandy because of a variety of factors, including changes in the foundation and the surrounding sand, as well as Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements.
Bradley said the committee has been able to provide better information to the group negotiating with the insurance company because of its fact finding, which has included presentations on the project history, soil and foundation construction details, elevations, storm damage, bulkhead design and construction, damage assessment, protection options, coastal issues, flooding issues and FEMA criteria.
The firm of DeStefano and Chamberlain has been selected as the project engineer, and Shawmut Design and Construction will be the construction manager.
According to Bradley, the various options for the pavilion's future have been boiled down to either repair and protect in place, or raise, repair and protect the structure to FEMA requirements.
The committee has, he said, "learned that the building can be repaired from both a physical and economic standpoint."
Selectman Kevin Kiley asked if the fact that the building has been sitting empty for two seasons has caused it to further deteriorate, and Bradley said, at this point, committee members do not think so.
"It's not wrecked or warped to point it's beyond repair," Bradley said.


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Billy Swanson started in three of the 19 games he competed in ... in his 26 at-bats, the outfielder finished with three hits, one of which was his first triple as a Matador, driving in two runs ... went 3-for-5 with an RBI and hit his first career triple vs. Southern (2/20) ... scored once at LMU (3/12) ... scored a run at Seattle (3/19 and 3/21) ... threw 0.1 innings, his second career appearance on the mound, vs. UC Irvine (4/1) ... entered the game as a pinch-hitter at UC Santa Barbara (5/8) ... entered the game as an outfielder and had one at-bat at UC Riverside (5/14) and vs. San Diego (5/24) ... entered the game as a pinch-hitter at Cal State Fullerton (5/30).
Earned Academic All-Big West Spring Sports Team honors ... entered the game as a pinch-runner at Pepperdine (2/20) ... entered the game as a designated hitter at Pepperdine (2/22) ... was a pinch-runner vs. Loyola Marymount (2/24) ... drove in two RBI's vs. Evansville (3/4) ... drove in two runs vs. Evansville (3/4) ... batted 1-for-2 at UNLV (4/28) ... entered the game as a pinch-hitter at UC Irvine (5/1) ... entered the game as an outfielder at UC Irvine (5/2) ... entered the game as a pinch-hitter and finished 1-for-1 vs. Pacific (5/16) ... collected his fifth hit of the season in his first game started this season at UC Davis (5/24).
Swanson was one of two Matadors who made the 2008 Big West Academic All-Conference Spring Sports Team ... started in 26 of the 41 games he played in last season ... hit .288 with 32 total hits and three doubles ... drove in 12 runs for the Matadors ... possessed the second-highest total of sacrifice bunts with six ... swiped the third-highest total of stolen bases going 4-for-5 on the basepaths ... only hit into one double play in 111 at-bats ... appeared in one game and pitched one inning in relief ... struckout two batters in his only appearance last season ... collected three hits, three RBI's and a double vs. Loyola Marymount (3/22) ... added another three hits to his total at UC Santa Barbara (3/28) ... went 2-for-5 and drove in three Matadors vs. UC Santa Barbara (4/22).
Swanson appeared in 17 games as a freshman, making five starts as an outfielder ... smacked his first hit of the year on Apr. 21 at UCLA ... collected hits in consecutive games on May 12 and 19 vs. UC Riverside and at UC Irvine, respectively ... tallied three runs scored on the year ... did not commit an error ... went 1-for-3 with a run scored against Pacific on May 26.
A three-sport athlete for the Patriots, Swanson also competed for the soccer and cross country teams ... won baseball all-league honors in each of his four seasons ... also garnered All-CIF honors as a junior and senior and a league MVP award as a junior ... helped lead the Patriots to four consecutive league titles.
Born January 27, 1988 in Cypress, Calif. ... parents are Ed and Phanitha Swanson ... roots for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter ... favorites include actor Denzel Washington, actress Kate Beckinsale, chicken noodle soup, and the band Jimmy Eat World ... lists greatest sports moment as tossing a no-hitter as a sophomore ... says the best thing about being an athlete is staying fit, the toughest thing is the discipline ... likes to swim or watch TV when he has time to relax ... if he could have dinner with any two people, they would be chefs Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Legasse ... advice to young people is "don't do drugs" ... major is Biology.


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40/80GB HS HVD DLT8000 for ESL Option Part# 161267-B21
Overview:Compaq StorageWorks ESL9326DX is the enhancement to the existing ESL9326D Enterprise DLT Library providing the same component level redundancy for continuous availability. Featuring up to 16 Compaq 40/80 GB DLT drives it provides backup and restore capabilities of up to 13.04 TB of native backup and restore capacity and 345.6 GB/hr of backup performance in a 1.06 sq. m of footprint.


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The EMMA – H Project intends to achieve the following goals:
The technical and organizational solution found by the EMMA / Meteoalarm system will also be used by Hydrological services and Met Services which provide flood warnings to publish these warnings. This is particularily welcomed by users from the Civil Protection, the ERCC (DG ECHO) and the public.
"EMMA-H runs technically as an add-on to the EMMA / Meteoalarm system and relies on its infrastructure."
The tasks
EMMA-H runs technically as an add-on to the EMMA / Meteoalarm system and relies on its infrastructure. The Online collection and publication of flood warnings for the next 48 hours, technical quality control of the incoming messages and display of this information on maps with European, national and regional levels. The static part of this information is displayed in 31 languages, the dynamic warning texts in the languages provided by the NM(H)S, which is usually the local language and English.
Harmonization of the flod warnings as much as national procedures allow.
The requirements
ZAMG operates all parts of its business according to ISO 9001 Quality Control. The quality measures are essential part of the process and would be in the case of the EMMA Project the near 100% availability of the website, a fast response to the internal users (NM(H)S´s) and good and efficient relations to outside users (re-users of the information, media, Civil Protection).
It is planned to provide users technically in a more advanced form CAP files with information concerning warned areas, alert levels and text for those NM(H)S who provide text within their warnings) in an adequate way according to the Terms and conditions published on the present website and approved by EUMETNET Council.
The organisation
ZAMG works with dedicated experts in the staff for harmonization, IT solutions and contact to possible external funding sources. Parts of the IT operations are subcontracted. KNMI supports the EMMA-H work with PR activities.


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Short review: These girls are going to have a very difficult time sitting down for quite some time! Their asses are flawless, so perfectly rounded and so ready to gobble up all that's offered, which comes in the form of dildos, enema tubing, hard cocks, fingers, tongues and more. The quality will be a pleasure from all material offered, and they are keeping up with freshness, all around well done site for sure.
Content Amount: This site is approximately 14 months old, and with 94 sets, that will show they're sticking with a regular schedule of updating, which happens to be weekly in this case, and they've not waivered much in the regime. This fetish site is growing nicely.


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Tag Archives: leica summicron
Ultimate still lenses choices for DSLR FILM-MAKERS
Sorry for not writing any sooner, been busy, lots happening in my life! I will update you folks with some major news pretty soon, hopefully. In any case I am always experimenting, testing, story boarding, creating, learning and sharing experiences. Cinematography is a never-ending story, a master art and you will never master it all. So intriguing.
I believe that lenses are important in any production, but definitely lighting has the edge. It sets a mood, it creates your cinematography, better still it's the eternal fight between the shadows and the light that rules the world out…. as the Chinese would say, by drawing a Tao logo. So lenses are no more than boys' toys? No, they are not. They are meaningful, but do not get too crazy about them, try to focus more on directing or DP-ing… lenses are just tools.


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The sample questions shown below are representative of the type of questions found in the portion of the CCIE Security written exam that covers specialty service topics.
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circumspice wrote:In other words: Linear A has not been deciphered. It is still a work in progress.
Well, spice, Brown's breakthrough is still at the point where
you can pretend that Linear A has not been broken if you want to.
There is really no need to shout at me about this.
But I do wonder why you care so passionately about it,
when you have not even read Brown's article, as near as I know.
I do not know how many PIE or Lycian specialists there are in the world,
but I doubt that any of them would bother to take the time to discuss this with you personally.
I myself do not want to waste my time trying to discuss the differences between Palu-ili and Luw-illi with you;
furthermore, as this is a task which I am incapable of since my stroke,
it would be futile for me to try to do so.
It would be similar to trying to discuss Middle Bronze Age chronology or biblical sources with min.
I do not want to sound like an arrogant bastard here, but that is how I view it.
All that I can suggest to you is that you read Brown's Minos paper,
and then make up your own mind about it.
Sadly, as you can see from my typos and dropped words, my computer coding days are over as well,
otherwise I'd be "playing" with some "toys".
It appears that Brown just wants to be left alone to work.


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When he delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama will be abiding by Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution, which says:
"He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; and he shall also give a shout-out to guests in the audience who can serve as human props for his political priorities or provide a politically valuable connection between the president and admired Americans."
OK, I made up the last part, but given the popularity of State of the Union shout-outs, they might as well be part of the Constitution.
PHOTOS: How the Democrats can win back the House and keep the Senate -- in 6 steps
Last year, Obama showed some televised presidential love for Nate and Cleo Pendleton, the parents of a 15-year-old girl who was shot and killed in Chicago. The Pendletons were in the audience along with "more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence," the president said. Gun control was a major theme of Obama's speech.
Obama was perpetuating a bipartisan tradition. Probably the most famous State of the Union shout-out was Ronald Reagan's recognition in 1982 of Lenny Skutnik, a government employee who rescued a woman from the Potomac River after a plane crash.
If Obama wants to keep the tradition going, there are several candidates for shout-outs. The White House has invited what NPR calls "a potpourri of exceptional students, inspiring members of the military, everyday heroes and regular folks who exemplify the merit of programs favored by the president." They include two survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing, a fire chief who helped rescue victims of a tornado in Oklahoma and Jason Collins, an openly gay pro basketball player.
So what's wrong with a president singling out these American heroes at a nationally televised event? For one thing, shout-outs turn admirable people into political props. Political theater, however edifying, isn't part of the Constitution's description of the State of the Union address. And by now the trope of the SOTU shout-out has become a cliche and the object of satire.
Obama would be doing the country and his guests a favor by not calling attention to them and basking in their reflected heroism. But I'm not betting on it.
Stop the foot-dragging on climate change
Orcas at the Winter Olympics: A combo that's hard to watch
Twitter: @MichaelMcGough3


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The NFL's owners aren't expected to make a decision about the timing and location of the 2015 draft when they convene on Tuesday in Atlanta. When a decision eventually is made, the end result could be that the draft will happen in a place other than New York.
Peter King of TheMMQB.com, citing a "solid source" (not to be confused with our usual flimsy ones), reports that it's "likely" the draft will be held in a new city next year. King guesses that Chicago will be the destination.
The good news is that the league doesn't want to hold the draft on Mother's Day weekend again. King believes it will unfold on April 30 through May 2.
The league, as King explains it, isn't happy with Radio City Music Hall, which forced the draft to move two weeks later in 2014 due to a scheduling conflict that went away due to poor ticket sales. Still, it seems that other considerations have taken over the process. The league finally has decided to act on the reality that the draft is a commodity that can be marketed to the highest bidder, in the same way the Super Bowl is. More competition means more money.
More money also may come from changes (eventually) to the way the draft is televised. At some point, the league surely will move the first round from ESPN to a broadcast network, making the audience even larger and inevitably creating even more money.
Bigger. Better. More profitable. That's been the story for the NFL since the merger, and the NFL seems to be intent to apply that mindset fully and completely to the draft.