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As the third generation of his family to enter the traveling circus business, Zach Garden is well aware of the accusations people's make about the treatment of animals at the circus.
During his grandfather's time with the circus, Garden said performers would use whips and chains on animals during shows.
"That's why circuses get such a bad rep(utation)," said Garden, the Piccadilly Circus' general manager, who owns all of the animals except the elephants.
Garden contends that animal treatment has changed dramatically. He said his animals are never chained, get plenty of down time between shows and are trained with positive reinforcement.
Nonetheless, when the Piccadilly Circus arrived at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles Monday, residents were not giving it a very warm welcome.
On the Facebook pages of some of Suburban Life's newspapers, several residents in the western suburbs expressed concerns over circus' treatment of animals. For many, it is reason enough not to attend.
When asked why the circus has lost some of its prestige, Traci Sarpalius from Lemont said via Facebook, "...They are known for animal abuse which is taken a lot more seriously than when we were little."
Lori Reczek, of Darien, said the circus should be banned.
"Those animals belong in their natural habitat," she wrote.
Cuinn Griffin, promotional director with Piccadilly Circus, said the circus has received no citations for animal cruelty.
The only area of concern remaining seems to be circus elephant handlers.
Frank Murray, an elephant handler with Piccadilly Circus earlier this year, was arrested on a warrant for charges related to alleged animal cruelty. Matt Stanton, spokesman for the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA), confirmed NJSPCA arrested Murray in May on a warrant issued years ago for alleged animal cruelty. It is unknown which circus Murray was working for at the time the warrant was issued.
Griffin said that while Murray worked for Piccadilly Circus prior to the arrest, he is no longer employed by the circus because of the charges.
Owners of circus animals are required to have a license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). While the USDA enforces the Animal Welfare Act with unannounced inspections and citations, license holders, such as Murray, can also be charged for animal cruelty on the state-level by law enforcement agencies, according Dave Sacks, USDA spokesman. If charged, a license will still be valid until a state case is officially wrapped up, he said.
During a meeting at the circus big top Tuesday, Garden said the circus' current elephant trainer, Brian Franzen, took over the business after his father.
Franzen's record is not without controversy either. He was convicted of animal cruelty in 1998 when several emaciated ponies were confiscated from a filthy trailer, according to PETA.
At Piccadilly Circus, Garden said his animals get almost 24-hour care by a crew of seven animal caretakers.
While the elephants had yet to arrive Tuesday, several other types of animals including llamas, ponies, goats, sheep, an emu, and zebra in the circus' petting farm roamed in one large pen shaded by a tent just outside the big top.
"Everyone gets along," Garden explained.
Show camels also relaxed in a separate pen while other animals were held in the trailers they were transported in. Garden said every animal has a name.
"They are my best friends," he said.
In fact, some of the animals including a handful of goats, ponies, llama and zebra were rescued from previous owners who could no longer care for them.
Garden recalled two llamas, who were very skinny and had extremely matted hair when he rescued them.
Now, Garden said they are living the life.
"These guys do nothing but eat all day long," he said.
The animals also get plenty of human interaction, he added.
Jimi Legros, a sound and light engineer for Piccadilly circus, said he also helps take care of the animal.
"There wouldn't be a circus without the animals," he said.
Legros recalled his own love of the circus as a child. Before making judgments, he said people should come to the circus to see how animals are treated first hand.
"The animals get treated better than the employees," Legros joked.
For most animals, they perform about five minutes in each show that take place twice a day on weekdays and three times a day on weekend days.
To prepare for shows, Garden said the circus' trainer, his cousin, never uses negative reinforcement.
"When you use negative reinforcement, they'll turn on you," Garden said. "They don't trust you."
Garden said he recently retired a 15-year-old tiger who now lives at a compound facility at his home with about 60 acres.
One day, he hopes to pass the circus business on to his two children.
"I can't imagine doing anything else," he said. "I spent my whole life learning the business. I love it."


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We are making some changes around here, Abelia Photography is now Nichole Burdett Photography. We have a new website and a new blog and are very excited about it. The new website is www.nicholeburdett.com and click HERE for the new blog.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Posted by Nichole at 10:58 AM 1 comments
Friday, April 8, 2011
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 7:31 AM 1 comments
Monday, March 21, 2011
Cute little Amillya came back in for some 3 month pictures... I can't believe how fast they grow when you don't see them every day. I know it has only been 3 months but she is getting so big!
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 3:03 PM 0 comments
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 1:18 PM 0 comments
Friday, March 18, 2011
Website problems
So we are having website problems and since my email is attached I am not receiving any emails either:( Not fun! Anyway, until I get the problem fixed feel free to call me at 801-368-3135 or if you would rather email me, my personal email is: email@example.com
Sorry to anyone that has been trying to access my website, hopefully it will be up and running soon!
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 10:18 AM 1 comments
This cute little thing came in a few weeks ago...Big brother Gage wasn't too fond of me, thank goodness aunt Miranda was there to rescue me.
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 8:54 AM 0 comments
I am super behind on blogging but I will try to catch up! I can't get over how sweet this little guy is, isn't he adorable?
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 8:48 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 9:27 AM 0 comments
Monday, February 7, 2011
Benji and Wilson
I can't believe these two are already one! You can see their newborn pictures here.
They were so much fun! They always had big smiles on their faces and you could tell that they really are best friends...so cute!
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 6:04 PM 0 comments
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Posted by Nichole Burdett at 11:58 AM 1 comments

subset: commoncrawl


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The Guardian's Editor, Alan Rusbridger, came into BBH earlier this year and spoke to a group of us about what it takes to deliver open journalism. In particular he described how one of his most awarded journalists, Nick Davies, operates day-to-day. He shared three or four articles Davies had written recently, breaking down the anatomy of each story in meticulous detail. And it properly sank in that "open journalism" doesn't just mean simply laying the news bare, unfiltered, checked or analysed, nor does it mean opening up a new fire hose of information in the hope someone will make sense of it.
Perhaps the clue is in the phrase "Open Journalism". As they say at The Guardian, "Comment is free, but facts are sacred". The Guardian staff are information omnivores, analysts, fact checkers and storytellers. And, as Rusbridger put it to us, there are 3 characteristics that define 'craft' in journalism. Very few journalists master all three (Nick Davies is perhaps a rare example), but here they are:
1. A relish or hunger to find out new intelligence
2. The intellectual ability to see patterns in that data; see the big picture and understand the facts
3. An ability to write beautifully
It sounded strikingly similar to what makes a truly great Strategist in an agency. Three things a Strategist usefully might aim for, either way.
Good weekends, all.


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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told a radio interviewer today he doubts former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's claims about not having knowledge of weapons transfers when asked about the matter during sworn testimony in a Senate hearing on Benghazi.
During the hearing in March, in response to a question from Paul, Clinton stated she did not know whether the U.S. mission in Libya was procuring or transferring weapons to Turkey and other Arab countries.
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Those weapons transfers were allegedly intended to arm the rebels fighting in Syria.
Yet a New York Times report claimed that since early 2012, the CIA has been helping Arab governments and Turkey obtain and ship weapons to the Syrian rebels.
"I'm concerned about the veracity of how she responded," Paul told "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" on New York's WABC Radio.
The alleged arms transfer actually mirrors one the Times reported in February as being proposed by Clinton herself. The Times described Clinton as one of the driving forces advocating for arming the Syrian rebels via Turkish and Arab cutouts.
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The Times reported Clinton and then-CIA Director David Petraeus had concocted the plan, which called for vetting rebels and arming Syrian fighters with the assistance of Arab countries.
If Clinton knew about the arms transfers at the time of the hearing, she may have committed perjury during her Benghazi testimony.
Paul told Klein the Times article shows "Hillary Clinton was the big cheerleader for arming Syria when there [were] two factions within the Obama administration arguing this. Hillary Clinton was the one cheering them on to get weapons.
"She was the hardliner that wanted to get involved in the war in Syria, and yet in the hearing she says, oh, she never heard of this," Paul said. "I find that hard to believe."
Continued Paul: "And after Clapper's coming to Congress and lying because he said it was classified, my question to Hillary Clinton is, 'Did you lie to Congress simply because it was a classified program, or were you telling the truth?' And I really kind of doubt the secretary of State has no knowledge that the CIA is facilitating weapons to Syria."
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Listen to Paul's interview with Klein below:
In the hearings over the Obama administration's handling of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Paul asked Clinton: "Is the U.S. involved with any procuring of weapons, transfer of weapons, buying, selling, anyhow transferring weapons to Turkey out of Libya?"
"To Turkey?" Clinton asked. "I will have to take that question for the record. Nobody has ever raised that with me."
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Continued Paul: "It's been in news reports that ships have been leaving from Libya and that may have weapons, and what I'd like to know is the annex that was close by, were they involved with procuring, buying, selling, obtaining weapons, and were any of these weapons being transferred to other countries, any countries, Turkey included?"
Clinton replied: "Well, Senator, you'll have to direct that question to the agency that ran the annex. I will see what information is available."
"You're saying you don't know?" asked Paul.
"I do not know," Clinton said. "I don't have any information on that."


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You searched for "Autism early diagnosis/identification"
1 result found
Associate Professor, Clinical Pediatrics
Director, Infant and Toddler Services, Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC)
Director, Rehabilitation, Evaluation and Learning for Autistic Infants and Toddlers at Einstein Program (RELATE), CERC
Attending Physician, Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore
Autism early diagnosis/identificationLearning disordersAutism management/interventionDevelopmental delays
Dr. Shulman is a developmental pediatrician with special expertise in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and learning disabilities. Her research interests include early identification of autism, healthcare disparity in autism diagnosis and management, and complementary and alternative medicine usage in autism. read more...
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 718.430.3101


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Physics I: Oscillations and Waves
Physics I: Oscillations and Waves. Instructor: Professor S. Bharadwaj, Department of Physics and Meteorology, IIT Kharagpur. This course covers lessons in simple harmonic oscillators, resonance, electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic spectrum, interference, coherence, diffraction, standing waves, polarization, wave-particle duality, Schrodinger wave equation, particle in a potential, potential well and quantum tunneling. (from nptel.ac.in)
|Lecture 30 - Standing Waves II
Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:


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Jameis Winston passed for a touchdown and ran for another, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held on to defeat the mistake-prone New Orleans Saints 26-19 on Sunday.
Winston, who was intercepted twice and sacked four times in a losing NFL debut at home a week earlier, remained largely composed in the hostile Superdome. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 207 yards and was not intercepted. He lost one fumble, but the Saints couldn't cash in, missing a 42-yard field goal.
His touchdown pass was a 15-yarder to Vincent Jackson.
The Saints turned the ball over twice on fumbles — one each by running back Mark Ingram and receiver Willie Snead — and once on Chris Conte's...


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l. The stable, odorless derivatives of the natural, sulfur-rich amino acid
known as cysteine, found in unbroken garlic cloves and bulbs. Alliin (pronounced
al-lean) is an example of this type of compound.
2. Compounds with a very brief existence called intermediates (the chemical
equivalents of shooting stars), formed when we cut, crush, or chop garlic
cloves thereby freeing an enzyme (allinase is the name of the garlic enzyme),
which acts on the cysteine compounds such as alliin. We know little about
the intermediates for they disappear in a fraction of a second after being
formed and can never be stored even at low temperatures.
3. The isolable but none-the-less unstable and reactive compounds having
a typical fresh garlic aroma and taste, formed by very rapid joining together
of intermediates and found both in garlic juice as well as in the air above
chopped garlic. Allicin, (pronounced "alice-in") is a well known
example of compounds of this type. Actually our recent research has shown
that as many as nine "chemical cousins" of allicin are also formed
when garlic is cut. These other compounds also have a typical garlic aroma
and taste. While allicin and its "cousins" can be prepared in
pure form and studied in the research laboratory, they are termed "unstable
compounds" meaning that at room temperature they have a very limited
shelf life (a few hours) and cannot be stored without using special low
temperature refrigerators.


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Dedicated Weather Watch Radars should be online at all times, with images updated approximately every 10 minutes, unless there are technical difficulties or scheduled maintenance.
Part-time Windfinding Radars have routine periods when weather watch coverage is not available See availability table.
Disclaimer: While every effort will be made to ensure that Bureau of Meteorology radar imagery is available on these web pages, there may be occasions when equipment or communications failure make this impossible. The Bureau's ability to restore the radar display following an outage may be limited by the priority to maintain forecasting and warning services. For some major cities the Bureau can ensure the quality of its forecasting services through access to secondary radars that may not always be accessible on this site.


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Our Return Policy
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Who are your kids spending time with?
Middle school Principal Missy Stubenhofer told the school board of a new phenomenon she has fought against: 19- and 20-year-old males going to middle school lunch to hit on seventh-grade girls. These visitors come under the guise of having lunch with a relative but end up be halfway across the lunchroom, chatting up 12- and 13-year-old girls.
At the board meeting, she asked what a 19- or 20-year-old sees in a seventh-grade girl. It was a rhetorical question. They see easy pickings.
An adult interested in seventh graders is not a mature adult. As Stubenhofer put it, these aren't the kind of people she would want dating a 19-year-old daughter, let alone a 12-year-old daughter. The word "creepy" was used. It's accurate but not strong enough.
Particularly disturbing is that parents don't know or don't care what is happening in their children's lives. Who children are spending time with ranks among the top things parents should know.
If a middle schooler is spending time with an older friend who acts as a mentor, especially in a program like Big Brothers Big Sisters, that's a good thing. The more positive role models an adolescent has, the better. But an adult who is flirting with middle schoolers is bad news.
With school out for the summer, Stubenhofer can't keep an eye as easily on her students, but their parents can and should.


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Sorry neglected blog. I have been focusing on the Farm Blog but I just updated that one and needed a place to post this picture for Ravelry. I would love if you would follow me over there ;)
Store Update!Posted by My8kidsmom
Sneak Peak…Posted by My8kidsmom
All the fiber club packages are packed and very nearly ready to send out! I am so excited!
Just in case you are interested there is a new soap in the Farm Store.
and a bit of Jacob in The Etsy Store….
not to mention the new Alpaca/Cormo/Silk blend :)
Store update!Posted by My8kidsmom
Is it over yet?Posted by My8kidsmom
I love doing Fiber Shows…yet…they really suck up a lot of time! I am looking forward to knitting just because I want to, not because I have to get a sample done for the booth.
I did manage to get two projects finished though:
The shawl was knitted using my Brown Trout colorway. I should completely out before the shawl was even finished :)
My lovely October Leaves Fingerless Mitts, knit out of my African Plains colorway.
Another lovely envelope came in the mail the other day. I have Minions!!!
I am almost forgot…Posted by My8kidsmom
In the case of a Zombie Apocalypse…Posted by My8kidsmom
I will at least have soap! This soap has my favorite scent so far. It is manly yet still soft enough for a woman. It will be listed in the Farm Store soon.
This is a rebatch of some soap that didn't hold it's scent after curing. I am all about the smellies :) I can't wait to see how it will look after it's unmolded. I decided to try layering colors for effect.
This beautiful disaster will have to be rebatched also I am afraid. Failure to plan = failed soap :( I didn't check to be sure I had enough lye and ended up two ounces short. I thought I would practice swirling and as is life it looks pretty great. Too bad I have to re-do.
I finished up some custom dye orders this weekend (fitting for labor day wouldn't you say?)
And now I am busy updating the farm store :)
Where in the World is My8kidsmom?Posted by My8kidsmom
Sorry I haven't been blogging regularly :( I have been crafting like crazy though!
I have been working on new colorways and trying out new yarn bases.
I spent a couple of days working on old and new soap recipes and even tried my hand at hand-milled soap.
I have fulled a bag that I knitted up, now I just need to add the embellishments.
Spun up some yarn…
and nearly finished a pair of fingerless mitts I had been working on.


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Alby's Progress
Map Legend
___ Attempts
___ Proposed legs
___ Trip "by glider" to NY
Click, hold and move the mouse to move the map.
Point hand's finger, click on markers to read airport information.
Point hand's finger, click on path legs to read flight information.
Click on Sat (bottom left) to see aerial picture, enlarge to see airport.
Click on "View Larger Map" above to see full screen .
latest news
9/14/2015 - Alby arrives at First Flight, Kitty Hawk, NC!
Heartfelt congratulations to Alby pilot Eric Lambert, who found reliable lift on a blue day to get Alby safely to Kitty Hawk, for a well-deserved rest. Eric's notes on the flight are found in more detail below.
Briefly, he said, "I will return to First Flight in the morning and plan to meet with Karen Warlitner, the Executive Director of the First Flight Foundation, for a photo-op. We would like to have a photo of Alby next to the Wright Flyer. On Thursday and through the weekend, we hope to take advantage of this spell of good weather to fly Alby north."
8/31/2015 - Alby flew Sunday from Chesapeake, VA to Currituck , NC with Albypilot Eric Lambert in his motorized Grob 103.
Eric said that he found clouds to 5,000' and lift up to 4 knots. He got low (1,700') at the Academia facility (U.S. Training Center) but got back up to 4,000' and then to Currituck. He said it was not difficult – sure I believe it, when the conditions are good! The flight of 25 miles required only two thermals, but it was one of the very few days that there were clouds and workable lift and no adverse winds. Clouds and lift disappeared soon after the landing.
Eric wants to spend four days of the long Labor Day weekend trying to fly with Alby the 33 miles from Currituck to First Flight Airport, a place that is so historically important for all aviators. Not an easy thing to do since near the coast the weather is not favorable to soaring in general, and in this case in particular the glider has to fly for several miles directly above water.
Alby flight No. 4 - Luke Ashcraft, 11/15/2008
After heading to Rumsey Gap and turning within a mile of the turnpoint, I retreated towards Charter's airstrip. En route the wind in the lee of the hills was creating a considerable area of sink, and I arrived and my landing point with no altitude to spare. I landed and rolled to the south end of the dirt strip with large orchards on either side, not suitable for the dimensions of an open class glider.
After hopping out of the glider, I realized I forgot my cell phone. I walked to the nearby house, rang the bell and then politely asked the woman who opened her door if I could please use her phone. I told here I forgot my cell phone at the airport and just landed in her driveway. She let me in and it was very dark inside . It was a nice house but the TV was turned on and her elderly mother was resting on their couch. Please realize that outside it was a gorgeous fall day of 70 F and visibility of 150 miles and I thought, this is America - A family inside watching TV. But she was very nice and I used her phone, the bird and Alby safely returned to the gliderport.
View flight on OLC
Alby flight No. 3 - Peter Kelly, 11/4/2008
Although I recognized that the Alby Flight was quite important, other matters needed to be attended to before I would be allowed to fly with Alby on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008.
This was the historic day on which Barack Obama would be elected president of the United States, thus it was urgently required that I cast my ballot. Voting was the highest priority of the day, even before Alby. The second challenge was to garner permission from the gliderport management to allow a special flight operation on a day on which the airport is closed.
By 9:30 AM voting had been accomplished, permission to operate had been received from the gliderport. In fact, a tow was graciously offered to me. Now for the final review of the weather, commute from home to the gliderport, assemble the glider and prepare for the flight.
I located my camera, loaded the flight computer, and insured that I would have a current Sectional Chart aboard the glider. Unfortunately, I did not mount the camera or preset the time date stamp, did not review my route of flight on the computer and did not prefold the Sectional chart before Takeoff. It was well past 1 PM before Alby was placed aboard my glider, and we finally prepared to hook up the tow rope.
With Alby aboard, I towed to the northwest of the field, insuring the Alby would not have the benefit of a tow even for a small portion of his journey. It was important that all travel be conducted in free flight - on the wing - sans any propulsion systems.
Our progress was being published every ten minutes on the internet using the satellite messenger system - SPOT, and I was sure we had many Alby fans cheering us on. I took many photos during our journey, documenting nearly every cloud. The day looked very promising.
Alby and I were quite optimistic as we headed past Dunnigan, but we knew we should have launched much earlier. Conditions were there an hour earlier, but I wasn't ready to fly, and I couldn't take any chances with my precious cargo aboard.
I could not establish radio contact with the gliderport, but I transmitted in the blind at 5,000 near the I-505 intersection. That must have been garbled when being received at WSC.
My max height for the day was there at 5/505 and it was about 6,000 ft.
Expecting to pass directly over Travis AFB and probably at a low altitude, it was important that I requested flight following from the Air Traffic Control agencies. I tuned the radio to NorCal, who handed me off to Travis Approach - North Sector. Approaching Vacaville, we were handed off to the South Sector. As we glided over I-80 and then above the towers at Lagoon Valley, we were now down to 2,000 feet. Finding a nice thermal on the downwind side of the ring of hills we climbed up to 5,000 feet as we drifted into the class D airspace of Travis, with their full permission. Remaining well below the nice cloud street heading off towards the south of Stockton, we crossed overhead Travis and as we did so, I struggled with folding and refolding the Sectional Chart. As we approached Rio Vista at about 3,000 ft. I terminated the radar flight following in hopes I could salvage my glide to Byron, I was so close, but I had failed to establish a glide to the field.
At this point I considered going back to the northwest and do a climb to 5,000 for a glide through the blue air to Byron but Alby deserves better than just barely making the runway. I tried to continue to run the clouds and was planning on an approach to Byron from the east, but I never got the needed climb.
We drifted south, under cloud remnants, but all the while, sinking lower and lower. I was staying within glide of a duster strip about 6 miles to the East of Byron when I finally fired up the iron thermal. Alby had been encouraging me to not stretch the glide, so back to Williams we went. I made a video of our landing at Williams and placed it on YouTube. you can see there were still lingering cloud remnants - even at 20 minutes before sunset. see YouTube video at...
It was a good day. Alby is now resting comfortably at Williams, awaiting his next adventure.
View flight on OLC
The flight of the Albatross across our Country caught the attention and the fantasy of a newsmaker, Adam Breen, who published a well written and inspired article in Hollister's "The Pinnacle" newspaper: www.pinnaclenews.com/news/contentview.asp?c=255106
Alby's Story
Alby is a Laysan Albatross. He was born and raised in the Midway Islands, not far from the very same Laysan Island that gives names to all the individuals of his species. His parents fed him for six months. They alternated trips of one or two weeks, during which one of them was feeding and the other was protecting Alby and the nest. The long intervals were necessary because often the food was very far away, up to 400 or 600 miles away. They fed him until he became as big as them, and then suddenly deserted him. They did that because they instinctively knew that he was developed enough to take care of himself from then on. And they could not spend all their energies in raising a chick. Although they can live 40 to 60 years, they can only raise a chick every couple of years.
The young albatross did not know all the tricks of life at sea, and the first year he had difficulties at times. One half of the fledglings do not make it through the first season, but Alby did, and everything was much easier after that. He went out on the open ocean and did not come back for years, not touching land at all, living off the bounty of the ocean, sleeping on it, learning to travel using the wind forcing the air up against the moving ridges formed by the waves.
Alby came back to his native island when he was three years old, because his biological clock was giving him the urge to look for a mate. His tentative dances with prospective mates were as clumsy as those of the other young albatrosses around him. Naturally nothing happened, but he experienced and practiced the ways of the elders.
He is 4 years old now. He has wandered the ocean all this time. He has gone through the vast expanses of water finding food, freedom, and safety. He has gone to the north Pacific and flown around the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska and the fiords of British Columbia. Next year he will try again to go back to his birthplace to search for a mate, and probably will find one.
Albatrosses are at home in the open ocean, keeping at least 30 miles offshore. But Alby is different. He is curious about the land, just as curious as a young soul can be. In his voyages near the northern seashores he watched eagles fishing for salmons. That was not his preferred food, but he looked with interest at this different method of fishing. He communicated with the eagles, answering their whistles with his screeches.
He is fascinated by the land, but unable to penetrate it - he is used to mastering the wind over the waves, and the different way of flying inland is unfamiliar to him. He asked Eagle about the extent of the land, and Eagle said that there is land up to the summit of those far away mountains to the east, and more.
One day he met Pelican, and while they were floating and chatting over the gentle waves of a mild afternoon he learned that Pelican had actually been inland while flying with his flock. He had flown across the fertile valley of California, and over the magnificent mountains of the Sierra Nevada and farther more to the northeast. Alby learned that inside the land, beyond those far away mountains, there is a great lake, and peaks with snow, and forests and valleys, and towns and people.
Pelican described the beauty of the land, which is called America, according to what he heard when people talked about it. Being a sociable character, when he was inside the land Pelican also had contacted other big birds and knew a good deal about what lay farther inside that large country.
Pelican learned from the other birds that there are large deserts and arid mountains in the interior highlands. There are very few people in those deserts, few roads, few machines. Nature is mostly untouched by man there, with many animals running free. The air is not disturbed by artificial smells and mechanical noises. It takes many days of overflying this natural environment before reaching the majestic mountains of the Continental Divide. Here the land is green again with large forests. Snow may remain up to late summer, the rocks are harsh and austere.
From there one can overfly the vast farmlands that gradually decrease in elevation until they make room for the mighty rivers that cut the America land in two. Pelican had also contacted seagulls that told him about more land to cross going east, with plenty of houses and towns and people. There are cities sporting very high buildings that tower up toward the sky. There are rivers and lakes where an aquatic bird can feed. He heard tales from vultures and hawks that there is another long range of lower mountains and beyond that, couple of days away as the crow flies, there is ocean again.
Alby would like to go inland, see the beauty of the country, but he is not fit to go there. He does not know how to master the thermals the way eagles, pelicans and other birds with big wings travel there. He is made for the ocean.
Still he would like to go and try to cross this enormous island that he cannot cross, and get to the sea on the other side.
One day he flies along the shore, and sees some very big wings flying along the cliffs of the big town called San Francisco, as he understands people call this place.
Approaching those big wings, he realizes that there are people hanging on them. He discovers then that people cannot fly on their own, but have created artificial wings that support them. He knows what they are doing; he knows how to fly along the cliffs. He knows that, 'cause such was the very kind of flight he took when he left his nest for the first time.
Soon those cliffs become a favorite place for Alby. He flies there often and so close to the flying people that learns many of the words they speak. He listens and learns that there are even bigger and faster flying machines with long wings for the people that like to fly like birds, which are called gliders or sailplanes. And there are flying crafts with propelling engines, capable of transporting many people at high speed. He understands now what are those enormously high flying machines that cross the ocean, so high that he barely can hear their sound through the whistle of the wind.
The flying people are impressed by the unusual behavior of this albatross, which so often flies with them instead of flying far away in the ocean like others members of the same species. They imagine that Alby wants to travel ashore, but does not trust doing it by himself.
The soaring people offer to take Alby inland, and to show him the beauty of the countryside. They offer to take him aboard their flying machines and let him cross this big island in silent winged crafts, no noises, no vibrations, no offending gas smells.
Alby accepts the invitation. He wants to see the mountains, the valleys, the lakes, the deserts and the forests, and the towns and the towers, and the roads and the bridges and the rivers of this beautiful land called America. He realizes that it is not possible for him to travel here alone, without the help of the flying people.
So the soaring people take Alby in their silent aircrafts across that vast territory. They understand. Because they themselves share the curiosity, the need for adventure, the thirst for knowledge of that young spirit. They share the independence that flying gives, the endless autonomous decisions that need to be taken in this constantly moving environment. They know the far-reaching view that this privileged position allows. But most of all, they share the elation of infinite freedom by being immersed in the sky, floating, suspended in the brilliance of this transparent ocean. Those are the reasons why they aimed for the skies, and now they cannot live any more without the magic of flight.
They take Alby with them, in the togetherness that unites all aviators. Alby's great voyage has just begun.
This website is recording the flights of Alby, his whereabouts and his flight log. The webmaster of the site is the Albymaster. All news and inquiries about Alby will be handled by this site.
Alby wishes to soar across America. He wishes to see it all, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, and then resume his wandering life across the seas.
Alby flies only in aircraft that use the energy contained in the atmosphere as a means for traveling. Motorgliders can use their engine only for taking off.
A proposal to fly with Alby shall be sent to the Albymaster. A proposal shall include a pre-declaration of the proposed flight.
Preference will be given, in order, to the site that is closer to Alby's current location, to the first proponent in order of time, to soaring clubs or associations, to groups of pilots, or to an individual pilot. This means, for example, that an individual pilot has to wait for the soaring club to fail its attempt, before making its own attempt.
A club or pilot that has proposed to fly with Alby and has been accepted by the Albymaster, will be called the Albypilot. When a proposal is accepted, the flight should be made before the end of the next Friday.
If no other Albypilots have made the flight on their assigned week, the hosting club or pilot will have the right to make the flight before the end of the next Friday. If the host did not propose or is not able to make the flight, the next Albypilot shall make the flight before the end of the next Friday. And so on.
Gliders can be towed to an altitude not exceeding 3,000'above take-off. Motorgliders will shut off their engine before that altitude is reached. The release or engine shut-off point shall be west of the take off field.
Each landing point will be to the east of the take-off point. If difficulties arise, an occasional back leg may happen, when accepted by the Albymaster.
The flight should end in a soaring site, or a place from where a glider can be towed out. If the flight does not end in the pre-declared location, the Albypilot or a pilot of the same club still have to the end of the next Friday to try and complete the flight as declared. If the pre-declared location still is not reached, Alby must be taken back where it started (not necessarily by flying).
Both the current host of Alby and the new host shall communicate the outcome of the flight to the Albymaster.
If the flight cannot be made before the end of the next Friday by the first Albypilot, it is the responsibility of the first Albypilot to give notice of the inability to make the flight, with timely courtesy, to the Albymaster, to the host, and to the second proponent in line.
The Albypilot who flies with Alby is responsible for keeping good care of him. When the Albypilot represents a soaring club or association, the representative of the club or association will be responsible for the well being of Alby.
The above rules may be superseded by the Albymaster when atypical circumstances arise.
Order of Preferences:
1 - The club that is closer to Alby's current location
2 - The club that proposes first in order of time
3 - Clubs, soaring associations, soaring centers
4 - Group of pilots
5 - Individual pilots
When start altitude, release to the west, landing to the east are difficult because of special local conditions, an exception may be requested to the Albymaster.
When an Albypilot cannot make the flight in the week he/she has been assigned, another Albypilot can make the flight provided he/she has been accepted by the Albymaster.
LOGBOOK - Alby travels with a logbook. The Albypilot will fill out the log entry and sign it. The flight data will be e-mailed to the Albymaster and an entry will be placed in the website logbook. A description of the flight and pictures may also be sent along with the flight data, to be posted in the website. Enter all flights, successfull or not.
LAPEL PINS - The Alby case contains lapel pins. The pilot(s) successfully accomplishing a flight will get one pin each. The lapel pins are numbered. Check in the log book for the last pin number and take the subsequently numbered pin(s). If the flight is not successfull, place a bar in the last column (Pin No.). Please guard carefully the pins, we do not want them to misteriously disappear.
SPOT DEVICE - The SPOT device is to be placed in the glider in a place where there is sufficient visual contact with the outside (inside a shirt pocket is OK). It is to be used during the flight and placed in Alby's case when not flying. Instructions for use are in the case.
GPS TRACE - Pilots are encouraged to send their GPS log no matter how successfull the flight, as it will be posted in the map (flying with Alby is already a great success, to be recorded and displayed). Alternatively, it can be downloaded to OLC.
Pilots who participate in Alby's voyage acknowledge that it is a voluntary effort, and that the timing, route selection, weather decisions, and all other aspects of the flight are the sole responsibility of the pilot in command of the aircraft in which Alby is transported. The Organizers of Alby's voyage, retain all rights to the concept, images, logbook, Alby trophy, and eventual chronicle of the journey, but neither they nor volunteers involved in the project nor the Pacific Soaring Council (PASCO) nor the Soaring Society of America (SSA) are in any way responsible for the decisions of the pilots that carry Alby in their aircraft. When pilots propose to carry Alby on part of his journey, they warrant that they have sufficient experience and will exercise all due caution to ensure the safety of their flights. By allowing pilots to carry Alby, the Organizers of the Alby project are merely keeping track of and attempting to facilitate the continued progress of Alby's voyage.
Please accept me as a participant in the Alby voyage. In consideration of acceptance of this entry, for myself, my heirs, executors, administrators, personal representatives, successors or assigns I hereby release and discharge the Organizers, The Pacific Soaring Council (PASCO) THE SOARING SOCIETY OF AMERICA, INC., and their agents, representatives, employees, successors or assigns from any and all claims for damages or injuries suffered by me or by any member of my crew during the aforementioned soaring venture.
I further agree to assume full responsibility for and to indemnify, defend and hold the aforementioned entities and persons harmless from any and all legal obligations for damages to personal property owned by, or injuries suffered by, any spectator or contestant or personnel of the aforementioned entities, or by any other person or entity, which may be caused directly or indirectly by my participation in the venture. I further certify that I have read, understand, and agree to abide by the rules and regulations of the aforementioned endeavor.
I fully understand and agree that I am waiving any claim for damages that I may suffer by virtue of any act of negligence arising in the future by any act or omission of any of the aforementioned entities or persons or their agents, representatives or employees, and that the consideration for this waiver is the permission by the sponsoring or presenting bodies of the aforementioned venture allowing me to participate in the said venture and that such permission is being granted me in the reliance upon this waiver as set forth in this entry form.
Tracking the flights with SPOT
Where in the world is Alby?
Scroll below to follow Alby flying in real time. For more detailed information on the flight go to our Spot satellite tracking page.
Position updates are broadcast in real time every 10 minutes, although occasionally there may be delays. If Alby is not flying at this time, the trace shows Alby's most recent flight. Traces are left posted for the duration of one week only. However, the flight can be seen on OLC.


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Hulett Environmental Services recommend the following tips to keep these pests outdoors where they belong:
- Seal cracks and crevices on the outside of the home with caulk. Pay special attention to areas where utilities and pipes enter the home.
- Install door sweeps on exterior doors and repair damaged screens.
- Replace loose mortar and weather stripping around the basement foundation and windows.
- Screen vents and openings to chimneys.
- Store firewood at least 20 feet away from the house and keep shrubbery well trimmed.
- Consider partnering with a licensed pest professional to identify pest problems and recommend an appropriate course of treatment.
We also encourage homeowners to eliminate all moisture sites, as some pests such as termites and carpenter ants are specifically attracted to this element. Once inside, both of these pests can cause extensive damage to homes.
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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
1. Although Paul & Steve won the last two legs, how many teams GAINED time on them from Pit Stop to Pit Stop during Leg 6?B. Four or more2. Although the other six teams all beat James & Sarah in both of the last two legs, how many teams INCREASED their lead during Leg 6?A. Three or fewer3. The greeter is:A. Standing to Grant's left4. What's up with the Cuba shots in the promo?B. Seven made a(nother) mistake5. Who is second to arrive at the Detour?B. One of the four teams with female members6. Who is fifth to arrive at the Road Block?A. One of the three teams who have a member whose name starts with J7. Does anyone say the word "Castro"?A. Yes8. How many teams finish Leg 7 in the same position they started?A. Three or fewer9. Excluding James & Sarah, how many times did one half of an Intersected group arrive at the Pit Stop more than ten minutes ahead of their partner team?B. One or two10. Including Turkey but excluding connection airports, how many countries are seen next week?B. Three or more11. Aside from Le Cordon Bleu, are any major Paris landmarks (for example, the Arc De Triomphe) visited?A. Oui12. Do any teams take a connecting flight instead of a direct flight?A. Yes13. Does Grant make any puns when describing tasks?A. Yes14. The first player to (attempt to) speak French is:A. Female, or Joseph15. The first player to complain about any French people is:B. Another player16. Does anyone say the words "Cheese-Eating Surrender-Monkeys"?B. No, they're all too cowardly17. Do Shane & Andrew get lost yet again?A. Yes18. The preview shows teams in Paris taxis at night. When do they arrive?B. After 6:00pm19. Does any team use public transport (excluding taxis and planes) at any point during the leg?A. Yes20. We don't know what country the next leg ends in, but all three countries rumoured to be in the leg have red, white, and blue flags. Do at least two of these colours appear on the greeter's outfit?A. Yes
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Rollin' Rascals
Ages 3 to 4 years
Duration 1 hour
Cost $297.00 per session
Coach to athlete ratio is 1:5
Duration 1 hour
Cost $297.00 per session
Coach to athlete ratio is 1:5
Our Rollin' Rascals program is designed specifically for children ages 3-4. It is an hour-long class offered in a fun, safe and structured environment. Athletes will be introduced to a variety of activites and movement skills. The class is designed to help build your child's confidence and assist with their motor, social and cognitive development in an age appropriate setting.
Our Rollin' Rascals program is for children that are able to independently attend the hour-long class; for safety reasons children in this program must be able to follow direction from their coach and stay with their group during class.


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Hancock County, Georgia Wills and Estates
Genealogists should research Hancock and Elbert Counties for families who settled together and inter-married. The scanned images of Wills and Estates not previously indexed (and thus ignored by most researchers) have been properly indicated and may be viewed by simply clicking on the link. If you did not previously have the time to search every page, it would be wise to use this site to find your lost generations of ancestors. Hancock was created in 1793 from Greene and Washington Counties, Hancock County. The county borders Baldwin, Glascock, Greene, Putnam (Oconee River), Taliaferro, Washington and Warren (Ogeechee River), It was named after John Hancock, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Sparta is the county seat. Early settlers were General H. Mitchell, Bolling Hall, Charles Abercrombie, General Adams, Henry Graybill, Joseph Bryan, William Rees, Jonathan Adams, John Montgomery, Jacob Dennis, Archibald Smith, T. Holt, Thomas Raines, James Bishop, Isham Rees, M. Martin, R. Clarke, R. Shipp, F. Tucker, L. Barnes, W. Wyley, William Saunders, James Thomas, Jesse Pope, Jonas Shivers, William Hardwick, L. Tatum, Robert Moreland and William Pentecost. Hancock County should always be researched with Greene.
The Hancock County Wills and Estates (inventories, annual returns, guardianships, vouchers, sales, etc.) were bound together in the same volumes for specific time periods. The records contain a great detal of probate information about the possessions of the deceased as well as how their estates were distributed to the heirs. Such details are of my interest to the genealogist assembling family puzzles. No index is included in any volume and I have never seen any published. Therefore, scanning these images helps the researcher find ancestors otherwise unknown and provide a great new resource to all genealogists.
Probate Records Available to Members of Georgia Pioneers
Hancock Wills 1804-1814 (abstracts)
Images of Wills, Inventories, Returns, Guardianships, Sales, etc. Book G 1811 to 1815Testators: Adams, Isaac, Andrews, Milly, Battle, Benjamin, Bonner, Richard, Bordon, Benjamin, Brown, Aaron, Bullock, William, Byrum, Henry, Cadenhead, Thomas, Chambers, John, Dunn, Drury, Echols, Frederick, Elliot, Isaac, Ellis, Isaac, Flournoy, Gipson, Frazer, John, Furguson, Henry, Hart, William, Harvey, Sarah, Harwell, Mason, Hedge, Jeremiah, Howard, Joseph, Hutchinson, William, Leneaves, Samuel, McLemore, James, Moore, Jonathan, Picket, Halbert, Robertson, Nathaniel, Rutland, Martha, Sasnett, Richard, Smith, Nehemiah, Tatum, Nathaniel, Tison, Job, Turk, TheodociusImages of Wills, Inventories, Returns, Guardianships, Sales, etc. Book H 1811 to 1815Testators: Alford, James, Allen, Freeman, Allen, Harris, Andrews, Gray, Barnes, William, Breedlove, William, Buckner, Joel, Camp, Cloudsley, Chambers, Robert, Chandler, William, Danielly, James, Davis, Owen, Dent, William, Doughty, E., Duggar, Sampson, Evans, Stephen, Furguson, Henry, Gilbert, Thomas, Grant, Charles, Griffis, William, Grigg, Jesse, Hall, Hugh, Hall, Samuel, Capt., Hamilton, William, Harton, William, Humphrey, Willie, Jernigan, Needham, Johnston, Jacob, Langford, Euclid, Lewis, Gale, Lucas, James, Martin, Archibald, McCulluh, John, Medlock, George, Mershon, Enos, Morgan, Ellington, Peek, John, Read, Benjamin, Ross, Francis, Sallard, William, Ship, Frances, Ship, Richard, Simmons, Benjamin Sr., Smith, Nehemiah, Smith, William, Tait, Robert, Thweatt, James, Vickers, Thomas, Wallace, William, Webb, Francis, Welch, JohnImages of Wills, Inventories, Returns, Guardianships, Sales, etc. Book I 1815 to 1818Testators: Alford, Kinchen, Barnes, William, Bonner, Alexander, Boswell, Charity, Bynum, Byre, Daniell, James, Dennis, Daniel, Duke, Buckner, Easter, James, Evans, Stephen, Ezell, Jesse, Fort, Arthur, Foster, Philemon, Harrison, James, Harwell, Isham, Holsey, James, Johnson, John, Lassiter, Willis, Lewis, Sterling, Nolley, Richmond, Parham, Robert, Peek, John C., Sr., Peterson, John, Pike, Joseph, Pritchet, Philip, Rabun, John, Roe, Sarah, Ross, Francis, Sanders, Mark, Saunders, William, Simms, Robert, Stonum, Bryan, Thorp, Joseph, Thweatt, James, Tyres, Joshua, Wallace, John Sr., Waller, JamesImages of Wills and Estates, includes Annual Returns, Inventories, Guardianships, Vouchers, Book J, 1818 to 1824Testators: Andrews, Warren , Bosworth, Roderick, Burch, John, Byrom, Henry, Chandler, William , Clayton, Easter , Duckworth, Jacob, Eubanks, Thomas , Fort, Matthew , Gindratt, Henry, Griggs, William Sr., Hamilton, John , Hamilton, William, Holsey, James , Johnson, Nehemiah D., Kelly, John , Lenoir, Lewis, Lewis, Sterling, Lundy, Henry , Mathis, Charles, McAllister, David, Medlock, George , Michael, John , Moon, Susannah, Murphy, William , Pritchett, Joseph , Rabun, Matthew , Rucker, Littleberry, Saunders, William , Skinner, Oliver , Tyus, John , Waller, Nathaniel, West, Ephraim , Wiley, Isaac H. , Williamson, Elizabeth, Wing, William E.Images of Hancock County Wills, Book L, 1820 to 1828Testators: Barnes, Elizabeth;Bledsoe, Gilmore;Brown, William F.;Cannon, Eunice;Colquitt, Henry;Harris, Nelson;Kilgore, John;Lovett, Richard;Maddox, Samuel;Morrism Nathan;Pope, Jesse;Smith, Ezekiel;Stinson, Zadock;Traywich, Robert;Womack, SherwoodImages of Hancock County Will Book M, 1823 to 1828Abercrombie, John;Alford, William Sr.;Appling, Otho;Askew, John; Berry, John;Brooking, Edward;Denson, John E.;Dent, Peter;Grammer Peter;Graybill, Henry;Griffis, Dempsey;Griggs, John;Harris, Absalom;Henderson, John;Huff, James;Lucas, Joshua;McClellan, William;Miller, Charles;Miller, William;Peek, Henry;Ray, William;Reese, James;Sanders, Nathan;Simmons, Sarah;Taylor, Hugh;Temple, Nancy;Wright, AbednegoIndexes to Probate Recods
Images and Transcripts of Miscellaneous Wills
- Wills 1862 to 1881
- Butler, Edmond LWT (1801)
- Danielly, Arthur, deed (digital image)
- Danielly, John, deed (digital image)
- Harris, Absalom, LWT (1818), transcription
- Holland, Benjamin, deed (digital image)
- Rudisell, Henry, LWT (1807), transcription
- Rudisell, John, LWT (1850), transcription
- Rudisell, John, LWT (1804), transcription
- Marriages from newspapers 1885-1886
- Origins of Early Settlers
Tons of Genealogy Records to Help you Find your Georgia Ancestors


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Life insurance was the largest segment in the overall U.S. insurance industry in terms of gross written premium from 2007 through 2011 but the industry's book of business shrank during that time, according to a new report from market research firm Timetric. The report, "Life Insurance in the U.S., Key Trends and Opportunities to 2016" reviews both historical data and examines the industry's prospects through 2016, according to a statement.
The total written premium value of the life insurance segment decreased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.7 percent during the review period. "Life Insurance in the U.S., Key Trends and Opportunities to 2016" examines written premiums, incurred losses, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, and also analyzes the various distribution channels for life insurance products, according to the publisher's statement.
A separate financial analysis prepared by SNL Financial reported that while industry revenue grew by 8 percent between 2010 and 2011, it has been nearly flat over the five-year period. Revenues totaled just over $815 billion in 2007, grew to $844.7 billion the following year, then slipped during the financial crisis before rebounding to $835 billion in 2011.
Net income declined 8.8 percent between 2010 and 2011, and at $14.4 billion in 2011 was slightly less than half of 2007's $31.6 billion, according to SNL Financial.
The decrease is attributed to high levels of unemployment, which depressed the demand for group life insurance products and the uncertain economic environment, which resulted in a decline in gross written premiums in the term life category, researchers found. In addition, the low investment returns due to low interest rates represented losses to the earnings of life insurers.
Other industry watchers have said life insurance companies face a broad array of headwinds, from the demographic to the financial. Accounting giant Ernst & Young's 2013 industry outlook noted, "Insurers are competing in a market where average household expenditures on life insurance have declined 50 percent over the past decade." Deloitte, another large accounting firm, issued its own pessimistic U.S. life insurance predictions for the year: "With millions still out of work or underemployed, and many more focused on repaying debts, a lot of consumers have shorter-term financial priorities to worry about other than life or annuity protection."
In September, bond rating firm Moody's slapped a negative ratings outlook on the life insurance sector, primarily due to continued low interest rates and their effect on corporate earnings.
Priced at $1,950, the Timetric report is available through Fast Market Research, an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information.
© Entire contents copyright 2013 by InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com. Please contact the editor at [email protected] with any questions or comments.


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I purchase a licence, but now my tag open with this announcement:
"Thank you for trying Tag" (More Information/Purchase/Quit)
and I can´t enter my license number.
Discuss Tag, a metadata editor for audio files.
Post Reply
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Re: Problem
This is a bug that I thought I fixed. Please send me a PM or email to stephen AT feisty-dog.com and I will help you straighten this out.
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» Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2012, 2015)
2016 Outlook
Paul Thurston has worked as a reserve center for the Huskers the past two seasons, but is ready to step into a more prominent role in 2016. The 6-5, 300-pound Thurston is a leading contender to take over the starting center role on an offensive line that graduated four of its top six players. As a fifth-year senior, the Colorado native could also be counted on for leadership in a line that will likely feature several underclassmen in 2016.
Thurston closed his junior year with a strong performance in the Foster Farms Bowl, when he was called into action at center after an injury to starter Ryne Reeves.
2015 (Junior)
Thurston played in all 13 games, seeing action on special teams and as the Huskers' No. 2 center. Thurston saw his largest workload at center in the Foster Farms Bowl after Ryne Reeves left with a leg injury. Thurston's play helped Nebraska roll up 326 rushing yards in a 37-29 win. Thurston played in every game on special teams, serving on the Huskers' kicking unit and punt team.
2014 (Sophomore)
Thurston played in 10 games, mostly in a reserve role, but played extensively at Iowa with the top two centers injured. Thurston's play helped NU rally from a 24-7 deficit to win, matching the largest road comeback in school history. He also saw snaps at center in the Holiday Bowl. In addition to his work at center, Thurston served as a shield blocker on NU's punt unit, helping the Huskers rank among the Big Ten's best in net punting.
2013 (Redshirt Freshman)
Thurston added depth on the line in 2013, but did not play in a game.
2012 (Redshirt)
Thurston redshirted in 2012.
Before Nebraska (Arvada West HS)
Thurston was a dominant blocker for Arvada West High School each of his final three seasons. As a senior, Thurston was a Class 5A (largest class) first-team all-state selection by the Denver Post. As a junior for Coach Casey Coons, Thurston helped Arvada West to a 6-5 record and a trip to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. Thurston was a first-team all-conference selection as a junior, when he also played defensive line. As a sophomore, Thurston helped Arvada West to an 11-2 record and a berth in the Class 5A state semifinals.
Thurston was regarded as one of the top five players in Colorado by both Rivals.com and 247 Sports, and also listed among the top 150 overall prospects in the country by both Rivals and Scout.com. Thurston only visited Nebraska, but had numerous offers including Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford, Colorado, Northwestern, Kansas State and UCLA to name a few.
The son of Greg and Janet Thurston, Paul was born on June 25, 1993. He is a broadcasting major, and is a two-time member of theNebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. Thurston has volunteered his time with Uplifting Athletes, Husker Hotline and team hospital and community rec center visits.
Thurston's Career Statistics
» Games Played –23 (10 in 2014, 13 in 2015)


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Shopping at QVC in England is like admitting that you buy your knickers from Netto. People laugh at you openly if you admit you buy stuff from any home shopping network, unless you are –
a. Called Ethel or Beryl
b. Have always been one of those "queer types"
c. Are a known hermit
Luckily I am all three. So I had was like a kitten in a room full of mice when Laura Geller's show came on last Sunday.
Damn QVC and their special value offers. Damn them and their 'Oh, oh…I hear it is fast approaching limited stock' tactics.
I have five lots coming from Laura –
Smoke Signals from "Laura's Lessons"
This set includes Stormwatch split baked eyeshadow (1.8g), Dazzle powder eyeliner pencil (1g), Creamy Black mascara (9g) and Nice 'n' Nude lipstick (3.4g). Price £18.77, £3.45 shipping.
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Includes Lip Strip (a scrub) and Lip Love (gloss and balm).
And the today's special value –
There's Balance 'n' Brighten (9g), a colour correcting powder with a new formula; Blush 'n' Brighten (9g) in the new sunswept shade (golden peach / brown); Baked Marble Eyeshadow (1.8g) in pink icing (soft pink) and devil's food (golden brown); Baked Cake Eyeliner (1.8g) in plum pudding (deep plum) and black forest (soft black) – a creamy formula launching in the UK today; black mascara (9g) and two brushes. Price – £29.94.
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Moisture Compound SPF 30, a daily moisturiser formulated with nurturing shea butter, the Spackle trio, containing Spackle under make-up primer (25ml), lip spackle (2.5g) giving a smooth, even base for lipstick and eye spackle (2.5g) and Beauty Dews Luminizer trio in icy, rosy and sunny (8.5g).
Get Glowing Set –
Includes Liquid candlelight (9.5g), ethereal rose baked powder (9g) and a kabuki brush. £21.77 (hmph, whats with the stupid pricing?!)
What is good about QVC is they have more of an American approach to returns (although postage is not free – and postage is EXPENSIVE when ordering, £4 per package on average, even though they could stuff it all into one box. Hmph.)
Anyway back to the mission at hand. The first of the bunch arrived yesterday – Smoked Signals. This was my 'crazeee' purchase, where the thought of the items going into 'limited' stocks forced my fingers into ordering.
Here's the kit –
The instructional card –
The kit –
Nude Lippie –
Baked 2 sided eyeshadow –
So I followed the instructions – kind of. We all have our own way of applying smokey eyes, right?
The mascara is fine. The brush is great and it is very good at separating, but as I have awkward lashes, it is no good at holding curl so for me, its not something I would use day to day.
Eyeliner – a black eyeliner is just a black eyeliner, right? Well I wasn't especially expecting to like this but I do. I can see how there is a powder element to it; it smudges nicely and applies quite easily. Like it!
Eyeshadow – These are soft and easy to apply. I wasn't sure if just two colours was enough for me to get a sophisticated smokey look – I like shades, graduation, you know? You can apply the dark shade with a heavy eye or apply lightly for a soft grey effect.
Lipstick – Laura said this shade was always sold out at her shop in New York..that maybe a lie, I don't know but it made me pick up the phone so it worked. At first I didn't like it – I have a ton of nudes and this one is very light, very flesh toned and seems to bring out the redness around my lips. It also has a slightly metallic sheen to it which I wasn't sure about. But as I've had the colour on for longer, it has warmed to my skin and I like it a whole lot more. The metallic makes it look more modern. I don't like the old school waxy smell of the lipstick though.
My interpretation –
Yes, I had just trimmed my fringe in the bathroom with some shears, I was having a britney moment. There's probably little hairs on my eyeball.
I thought about sending it back because on first glance, there isn't much va-va-voom to this kit but as I've worn it for a few hours, I've realised the set is good quality, and at £18.77 is a great price for four items, and it creates a sexy smokey eye without too much procrastination.
So overall, I do like it and shall keep it for when I want to keep it simple.
Recommended! I wonder how the other items will turn out….


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PCMCIA pitches USB 3.0-friendly ExpressCard update
Doubling the bandwidth
The ExpressCard add-in standard for notebooks is to be updated to bring on board compatibility with USB 3.0, the PCMCIA organisation announced at CeBIT this week.
ExpressCard 2.0 will double the data transfer rate between card and host to 5Gb/s - just above USB 3.0's target data speed, 4.7Gb/s. ExpressCard 2.0 will support USB 3.0 - aka SuperSpeed USB - allowing card makers to utilise the bus technology in, for instance, memory card readers so that inserted sticks appear as Mass Storage devices.
Register Hardware has all the details on USB 3.0 and its new interconnects here.
The new ExpressCard version will also bring the standard, currently at release 1.2, into line with the PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 specification now appearing on motherboards and add-ins like graphics cards.
Compatibility with older ExpressCard 1 products will be maintained, the PCMCIA promised.
The organisation said ExpressCard slots can now be found on around 95 per cent of all new laptops. True, but many of them will go unused. Time was when the old PCMCIA slot - later renamed PC Card - was the way laptops got modem, Ethernet and, later, wireless links to the outside world. These days, all that comes built in, making ExpressCard a for more niche technology than its predecessor.
It's not clear when the PCMCIA expects to have the ExpressCard 2.0 spec done and dusted. Presumably, it's waiting on completion of USB 3.0. SuperSpeed is expected to be completed by the end of June 2008.
Related Reviews
• Creative X-Fi ExpressCard soundcard
• Sonnet Tempo SATA Express 34 ExpressCard eSATA adaptor
• Griffin ExpressCard 5:1 Card Reader


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April 2013
Pharmacogenetics is the study of the role that inheritance plays in individual variation to drug response. Understanding the influence of heritability on an individual's drug metabolism offers the potential to identify which drug, and at what dose, is likely to be safest and most effective for a particular individual, which helps medical practitioners improve patient outcomes as well as reduce adverse drug events (ADEs).
Currently, the majority of medicines are taken in dosages determined by patient age (pediatric versus adult), weight, and other clinical factors. In many instances, these criteria are proving to be inadequate to ensure that a medicine will be safe and effective for a particular individual. Pharmacogenetics promises to take the guesswork out of prescribing safe and effective drugs. However, the use of pharmacogenetics in both clinical research and medical practice poses various ethical concerns. While these concerns are common to the fields of both genetics and genomics, they are nonetheless also relevant to pharmacogenetics. Some of the major issues are discussed here.
In the 1950s scientists first identified drug metabolizing enzymes and discovered that DNA sequence variation within genes is associated with individual variation in the activity of these enzymes. These variations in enzymes were thought to explain adverse reactions to drugs, thus demonstrating that inheritance plays a role in an individual's drug response. The first evidence for this came from research that showed that 10% of African American men serving in the Korean War became anemic after ingesting an anti-malarial drug. The same drug rarely, if ever, caused these problems for Caucasian soldiers. The anemic reaction was found to be caused by a variation of the G6PD gene - a variation common among people of African descent but not among Caucasians. Subsequent research found that the normal form of the gene makes an enzyme that helps protect red blood cells against certain chemicals. Lacking that protective effect, those with the variant form are vulnerable to deleterious effects, such as anemia.
The concept of pharmacogenetics originated from the clinical observation that some patients had very high, and others very low, plasma or urinary drug concentrations following drug administration.1 While individual differences in drug response can result from non-genetic factors, such as age, sex, weight, disease, drug-drug interactions, drug-food/nutrient interactions, etc., genetic variations are now known to play a clinically significant role in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
Figure 1. Genetic tests may determine a patient's response to new medication. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Currently, the use of pharmacogenetics in clinical medicine is growing, particularly in oncology where variations in multiple genes (e.g., DPD, UGT1A1, TMPT, CDA, and CYP2D6) influence the effectiveness and toxicity levels of certain chemotherapeutic agents in individual patients. Identifying patients' genetic variants enables physicians to properly prescribe drugs for individuals who have a variant associated with an impaired ability to either obtain a therapeutic benefit or safely detoxify drug metabolites. To date, the most clinically successful use of pharmacogenetics is the genotyping of HLA-B*5701 for hypersensitivity to antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV, in particular, abacavir.2
Ethical Issues
What are the ethically appropriate conditions for using pharmacogenetics in clinical practice? This is a question that is important to consider, particularly as science and technology continue to advance very rapidly. Whole genome sequencing, for example, is poised to eliminate the need for individual genetic tests, thus raising ethical concerns about the creation of genetic information which individuals may or may not want to know and which may or may not remain privately secured. The following section will present and analyze some of the major ethical considerations; while not comprehensive in scope, together they represent an overview of the predominant issues.3
Is Pharmacogenetics a "Good" or "Bad" Allocation of Scarce Resources?
One could argue that the cost of developing pharmacogenetics is a misallocation of increasingly scare societal funds, particularly given other pressing global needs such as providing clean air and drinking water or preventing global famine and infectious diseases. Others contend that pharmacogenetics offers enormous potential for improving the treatment, prevention, and eventual eradication of disease. In the U.S. alone, over 770,000 people are injured or die each year in hospitals from ADEs that cost, on average, up to $5.6 million each year per hospital. This estimate of ADEs does not include the costs associated with serious but non-fatal drug reactions, including hospital admissions, malpractice and litigation costs, or the costs of injuries to patients. The cost of treating patients requiring hospitalization due to ADEs is estimated at between $1.56 billion and $5.6 billion annually.4 It is believed that many of these reactions are due to genetic variants and that hospitalization, even death, can be avoided by testing people for ADEs prior to prescribing certain drugs.
What Constitutes Convincing Evidence of Clinical Utility and Who Should Decide?
Determining whether a pharmacogenetic test is clinically beneficial (i.e. has proven clinical utility) is controversial, in part because most tests are less-strictly regulated than in vitro diagnostics the FDA regulates as medical devices.5 The debate about what constitutes "enough evidence" to deem a test appropriate for clinical use is central to the adoption of pharmacogenetics. Many pharmacogenetic tests are widely available but clinical adoption lags because some experts and professional societies believe significant knowledge gaps exist about clinical utility and, therefore, testing should not be standard of care at this time.6
In many cases, the evidentiary base underlying a test's clinical utility is unproven or controversial; as a result, such tests are not widely used. Many believe the functional measure of clinical utility is reimbursement: if payors deem a test experimental (i.e., not yet proven clinically beneficial), it's not reimbursed by insurance providers.7 Reimbursement, however, can be viewed as a barrier to patient access, even if a test is proven clinically valuable.8,9
A prime example of this dilemma is the FDA's labeling and recommended use of the drug Warfarin (commonly known as Coumadin). While originally formulated to prevent the formation of blood clots, Warfarin has recently been used to prevent thrombosis and embolism. However, Warfarin has also been implicated as the second leading cause of ADEs requiring emergency room visits.10 Roughly one third of patients receiving Warfarin carry variants in two genes—CYP2C9 and VKORC1—that put them at high risk of bleeding if given the standard dose. On August 16, 2007, the FDA cleared a genetic test for Warfarin sensitivity and updated Warfarin's original labeling to say that variations in CYP2C9 and VKCOR1 can affect optimal dosing. On February 4, 2010, the FDA updated the labeling again, this time indicating that testing of CYP2C9 and VKCOR1 can assist in the selection of optimum dose. Notably, the FDA did not require or recommend testing prior to dosing at either time. However, neither the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nor most private insurers pay for testing of these genes because evidence indicates that many factors other than gene variants may affect Warfarin metabolism and influence optimal dosing. Further, because different labs offer tests for different variants in CYP2C9 and VKCOR1, this leaves providers uncertain as to which test is the best.11,12,13
That said, new evidence continually updates clinical knowledge. Medical recommendations not only change over time, but advice given at one time can be contradicted at a later time. For example, medical advice to avoid butter and eat margarine was based on solid evidence indicating the cardiac dangers associated with butter consumption. In recent years, however, evidence has indicated that margarine is unsafe because the oils are made from crops treated with pesticides and that production requires the use of hydrogenation (which creates trans-fats, now known to be unhealthy) and various chemicals to improve color and smell.
Figure 2. DNA profiling can help researchers and medical practitioners identify how individual patients respond differently to the same medication. Image courtesy National Cancer Institute.
Genomics is showing us that what is safe for one person may not be for another, raising questions about whether statistically significant results are applicable across the board. Additionally, what constitutes adequate evidence has been, and will likely continue to be, controversial. In light of their Hippocratic Oath, physicians are obligated to do no harm, but can this obligation be fulfilled when the information available to physicians about how particular medicines will affect their patients is so meager? At present, physicians generally have no way of knowing whether the drug they prescribe will cause an adverse effect in their patients.
Will all individuals—regardless of their socio-economic status—have equal access to pharmacogenetics and its benefits?
Questions remain about access to costly tests and expensive therapeutics, particularly given the structure of the U.S. health care system. Access to expensive treatments can be possible for the terminally ill who qualify for clinical trials. However, aside from the hope that an experimental treatment will reverse a disease process, financial incentive remains a significant motivation for many individuals to participate in studies. As a result, those in greater need of money are more likely to participate, which introduces a source of bias in the study design. At the political level, what constitutes a fair health care system continues to be a contentious issue. Unless—or until—a societal commitment to genomic benefit sharing (including the use of pharmacogenetics/pharmacogenomics) is actualized, market forces will continue to drive access.
Right to Know and Right not to Know One's Genetic Information
One of the basic bioethical principles is the moral right to self-determination, or the right to voluntarily, deliberately, and intentionally choose for one's self, also referred to as the principle of autonomy. Autonomy is generally considered to imply the right to know. For example, patients have the right to know what is being done to them and the right to act freely on that knowledge (e.g., consent or refusal). Implied in this line of reasoning is that our genes are a core component of who we are and, as such, contain deeply personal information about heritable disease risks and one's ability to metabolize drugs and nutrients. Because an individual's genotype is an integral part of who that person is, some argue that each of us has an absolute right to know our own genetic information.
Because of its ability to predict diseases and correctly diagnose a variety of health concerns, medical genetics is an area of medicine that highlights individuals' rights to obtain—or not to obtain—their own genetic information. Proponents of individuals' rights feel that it should be each individual patient's choice—and not that of a physician, a clinical researcher, or government regulatory agency—whether to learn his or her genotype, in part or whole. Some argue this right doesn't pertain to pharmacogenetic testing because the psychological stakes are relatively low (i.e., testing participants will not be learning information about their lifespan, potential long-term health issues, heritable diseases, etc.). On the other side of the debate, some bioethicists argue that individuals ought to have a right to know their genetic information even in the context of studies, such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) research, that require participants to sign away their right to know.14
The principle of autonomy also supports the right to not know, which is not as easily protected. James Watson, one of three scientists who discovered the structure of DNA, decided to have his genome sequenced and the results released to public databases, with the exception of his ApoE (apolipoprotein E) status. The ApoE gene has three variants, one of which is the largest known indicator of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Watson, knowing both that late-onset Alzheimer's disease is incurable and that it caused the death of his grandmother at age 84, chose not to make this information public.
However, researchers discovered that—by using advanced computational tools—they could analyze linkage disequilibriums and predict Watson's ApoE status, thereby demonstrating that omission of genetic information doesn't necessarily prevent inference of risk factors for disease.15 Several subsequent research studies have documented how anonymized genetic data can be re-identified using computer analysis and access to publicly accessible data bases.16 In 2008, the NIH shut down its open access database of genetic information in response to research demonstrating the ability to identify a single individual's genetic profile out of a pool of DNA.17 One's right to not know is at risk unless, or until, solutions are developed to strengthen protection of this right.
On the other hand, regulations forbidding the return of results to research participants are challenging the principle of beneficence. Genetic studies are increasingly finding information that can benefit study participants (if they choose to know), but consent rules prevent researchers from sharing so-called "incidental" findings. Ethical debate exists as to whether researchers have a moral obligation to inform study participants about their findings, particularly if they are actionable and risks can be mitigated.18,19 Recently, the American College of Medical Genetics recommended that incidental findings obtained in a clinical (not research) setting should be disclosed to the patient.20
Similar questions arise over weighing the respective rights to know of society versus the individual. How far ought the right to know to extend? What genetic information is so vitally important that it might be appropriate to break doctor-patient confidentiality to protect a patient's relative? In Pate v Threlkel, the Supreme Court of Florida found that a physician has a duty to warn patients of the genetically transferable nature of the condition for which they are being treated. Though this duty extends to informing the patient's children, the court held that—in this case—the duty is satisfied by warning the patient of the familial implications of genetic testing. The decision, therefore, did not specifically require the information to be transmitted to the patient's children.21
The Drive for Open Consent: Is it Ethical?
Informed consent is functionally a contract between individuals (research participants, both patients and healthy people) and the entities conducting research, providing health care, or performing genetic testing on biological specimens (clinical research settings, clinics, or genetic testing facilities). This contract specifies what will be done to the individual and the potential harms and benefits associated with certain procedures. It also makes legal the individual's voluntary agreement to the specified conditions.
However, because a plethora of data are needed to validate the clinical utility of new findings, pharmacogenetic research increasingly involves add-on studies to increase understanding about genetic contributions to disease risks. Given the sizeable amount of information required to launch adoption of clinical pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine, researchers have created large-scale databases at both national and international levels. As a result, participants have no way of knowing what additional research may be conducted on their donated specimens, and researchers lack the administrative capacity to re-contact individuals for consent to each additional study. This creates a significant problem for studies that use traditional consent (opt in or opt out): once data are made anonymous, consent is no longer restricted to the original study, yet it can't feasibly cover all possible future studies or secondary data use. At the time of the original study and consent, researchers can't explain all the ways a participant's data might be used in the future, in part because they don't yet know what the data mean and how they might be useful to advancing medical knowledge. This raises ethical concerns about how these add-on studies can, or ought to be, consented. This reality also highlights the issue of how much autonomy individuals have over what their specimens are used for.
The notion of open, or broad, consent has been proposed to meet these challenges. Unlike traditional consent, open consent extends beyond the original date to future research and thus provides blanket consent that enables research to advance efficiently. The rationale is that researchers have neither the time, nor money to pay administrative staff, to re-consent every participant for each future study, particularly if subjects have died, moved, become incompetent or reached the age of consent in which case they, not their guardians, are obligated to consent. Researchers clearly favor this approach because it gives them freedom to operate, expediting their ability to continue their work.
Advocates of open consent argue that research participants agree to provide specimens from which data are to be generated and used for the greater good of society. Because the need for specimens is great, some researchers even argue that each individual's genome should belong to society. Dr. Lee Hood, a biotech pioneer credited with creating the technological foundation for genomics by inventing DNA sequencers, has publicly declared that individuals owe society their genomes—that is, their genetic information—so that researchers have access to a sufficient amount of data to enable the advancement of genomics (and its subfields, including pharmacogenetics) to benefit humankind. Implied in this statement is that research participants should allow their data to be widely used, including for purposes that arise in the context of ongoing research which could not have been specified at the time of the original consent. Some bioethicists argue that open consent is actually more ethical than traditional consent because of its candor with respect to the fact that privacy cannot be guaranteed. Most open consent forms state that, while every effort will be made to maintain the privacy and security of one's personal data, privacy cannot be guaranteed.
On the other side are those who want to develop strategies to enable greater patient control over their data, such that individuals should be able to decide exactly what additional studies—if any—they want their specimens involved in. The issue of control is complicated by numerous factors, including the fact that hospital pathology laboratories store and can utilize research specimens at their discretion. Even still, while the labs technically own the specimens, research clinics control the genetic information in electronic medical records. It's personal information, but when placed in an electronic medical record the care institution can share the contents, particularly if de-identified, with other researchers, insurance groups, etc. Given this web of sharing and access, research participants may not be fully aware of the subtleties to which they are agreeing when consenting, thus creating additional obstacles for those wanting to preserve patient control.
Genomic research is moving more and more toward open data sharing. Most stored genetic data is de-identified and made anonymous (essentially assigned a bar code identifier) so that personal information is not known to researchers. Increasingly, however, anonymization has been proven unable to protect individual privacy. Using a computer, an internet connection, and publicly available online resources, scientists at the Whitehead Institute were able to correctly identify 50 individuals who had submitted personal genetic material as participants in genomic studies.22,23
The Future
In spite of our best efforts to anticipate and resolve ethical quandaries arising from the application of new genetic technologies, it is likely that unexpected conflicts will continue to arise. Those discussed in this article are not an exhaustive list.
Pharmacogenetics allows researchers to conduct gene profiling to answer questions about patient responses to medicines, which results in the design of safer and more effective medicines. The science and its applications are real today and will be increasingly utilized in coming years. While it is extremely unlikely that individuals will be excluded from health insurance because of their response (or lack thereof) to a particular drug, or that they will be subject to employment exclusions (in hiring, promoting or job responsibilities), ethical issues are central to policy debate about the appropriate use of pharmacogenetic testing and its related benefits.


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Lindenwood University will offer a variety of online admissions services, including the ability to apply online, through ConnectEdu, the nation's leading provider of innovative college planning, admissions and financial aid solutions.
The partnership makes Lindenwood one of the first colleges in Missouri to offer the online services through the company, whose Connect! product provides a national network that includes colleges, universities and high school students, parents and guidance counselors with information critical to the college placement process.
Through the service, students will also be able to apply for admission online, including submission of transcripts and letters of recommendation directly to Lindenwood's student information system.
The service is slated to go online on July 25. Students who wish to use the system may do so either through Lindenwood's website or via their guidance counselors at participating schools.
"Lindenwood University is pleased to become one of the first universities in the state to partner with ConnectEdu," said Dr. James Evans, President. "After evaluating all the options available to us, we chose Connect!, not only because it is one of the most efficient and cost-effective solutions, but because ConnectEdu shares our mission to help students. Like ConnectEdu, we encourage all young people to pursue higher education, and by providing Connect! to all high schools in Missouri, we hope to facilitate opportunities for a new generation of college-bound students."
The Connect! service will also provide Lindenwood admissions counselors with search tools that will allow them to identify and contact student members of the Connect! network throughout the nation, based on academic performance, extracurricular interests and other criteria that match Lindenwood's programs, campus, athletics and student activities.
The Connect! platform is available to high school students and guidance counselors at no charge.
Other colleges and universities that use the Connect! program include the University of Connecticut, Rutgers University, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Missouri State University, Old Dominion University and Truman State University.
"ConnectEdu is focused on students." said Craig Powell, President of ConnectEdu. "We created Connect! to empower students as they consider their college options. In one on-line location, we provide the most comprehensive planning tools as well as information on financing an education. Our goal is to make sure everyone supporting the student has access to the most reliable information; can easily communicate with each other; and will ultimately guide the student in making one of the most important decisions in their life. Our partnership with Lindenwood University represents a major step towards changing the way families in Missouri approach college admissions."
For more information on Connect! visit www.connectedu.net or call 617-532-3000.


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No more plain colors, no more plain walls, the wallpaper trend is here that offers more designs, color schemes and innovative patterns. Wallpaper is much more than just a decoration. It is a design element with which rooms can be altered and style can be created. Patterns are the nature of wallpaper and this is what changes rooms and powers the expressions they possess. They produce a desired atmosphere in a room.
Colors influence our feelings and establish our mood. They tend to make a room more interesting adding style and serenity to the ambience. Wallpaper comes in a multitude of colors and designs catering to the likes of different people. Fake it with wallpaper, hide plain walls and conjure an illusion of an innovative space with decorative panels. Wallpapers are of different types, with different types of finishing. The popular one is the grass cloth wallpaper which is very rich in texture. Floral, contemporary designs, spirals, muted colors and pastels are few types available in the market. There are washable wallpapers which can be easily cleaned. [Read more…]


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Wanted: Geeks to fight cyberwar
The Pentagon is looking for more geeks to wage cyberwar. Problem is, they don't exist — at least not enough of them.
While the Pentagon plans to add 4,000 troops and civilians to the U.S. Cyber Command, cybersecurity experts say the total need is much greater. Many people consider themselves cybersecurity professionals, but as for the truly advanced operators — sometimes called "hunters" and "tool builders" — there's a real shortage, said Alan Paller, founder of the SANS Institute, a cybersecurity training school in Bethesda, Md.
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These are the people who can identify cyberattacks and then quickly build the tools needed to rewrite a network's defenses, sometimes several times a day, said Paller, who last summer co-chaired the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Task Force on CyberSkills.
There aren't that many of them in the country and everyone wants to hire them, he said. "Every other critical part of the economy also needs the same people: the banks, the power and telecom companies, defense contractors, civilian and state government, hospitals — the hunger is real."
The bar is even higher for the Defense Department and other agencies doing clandestine work, since they need U.S. citizens who can get security clearances, which shrinks the pool even more, said Ernest McDuffie, head of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education.
Paller estimates the Pentagon has about 2,000 of these people in place but that it needs a total of about 10,000.
In other areas — whether it's managers, policy analysts, auditors, counterintelligence or compliance specialists — DOD may be overstaffed by as many as 20,000 people, Paller said. But only about 15 percent of this group has the foundational skills to make the shift to become a hunter or tool builder, he said.
Workers reaching that level of sophistication need at least about 5,000 hours of hands-on training, he said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Cyber Command plans to grow from today's 900 personnel to 4,900 troops and civilians, The Washington Post reported Sunday. The military's effort to increase its cyber workforce is constrained by budget pressures, but it's mostly limited by the available pool of people with the right training and experience to do the more sophisticated jobs.
The problem has not gone unnoticed on Capitol Hill.
In a statement that accompanied the 2013 defense authorization bill, lawmakers wrote that they were concerned about the military's cyber personnel shortfalls, especially in the more advanced areas of offensive and defensive operations.
"The conferees believe the number of highly skilled cyberoperators that could be required and the difficulty in recruiting, training and retaining them, is daunting," the report said.