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Two days ago, the Department of Clandestine Operations, the DCO to you, received some valuable intelligence from one of our moles working with the Bolsheviks. It seems that one of their Tesla's Kids, Dr. Emil Pegasovich, has decided he isn't so keen on supporting the Prussian military with his inventions. He's cooked up all sorts of things for the twin-headed, Black Eagle. Steam injectors, some fish-looking submersible boat, and his latest is some sort of steam powered flying machine. Seems that the Ivans aren't interested in following grey goose migration patterns.
The mission is simple. Get in, get the Doc and his notes out, destroy the lab where he is working. Easier said than done. We can get you into the Soviet union, but once there, you and your men will have to reach the lab by your own devices, as well as getting back to the spot where we dropped you off. And gentlemen, the clock is ticking, once you are on the ground you'll have two days at most to get in, do the dirty deed, and get out.
Mission briefing, Colonel St. James, British Intel/DCO
The assembled group of PCs should likely resemble a good cross-section of steam punk archetypes, a gadgeteer, an aeronaut, a marksman, etc. They have all been gathered from various parts of Europe and the Americas to participate in a dangerous mission for the DCO. Why, if it is important, aren't DCO operatives being used? The answer is simple, the Soviets have an uncanny knack for sniffing out formally trained agents. The spy who can waltz through the Prussian capital of Vienna without a second glance is dog food on the tundra. The PCs have been selected for their acumen with their chosen profession, and for the fact that no one would expect a motley group of adventurers to be working a dangerous mission for the DCO.
The following dossiers are provided for the PCs:
Emil Vasiliy Pegasovich, a.k.a., "Dr. Pegasus", is perhaps the worlds preeminent scientific mind, a brilliant, if eccentric innovator. Son of a decorated soviet general and a Parisian cabaret dancer, Emil was born with withered, atrophied, and practically useless arms, a rare genetic defect, which shaped much of Emils early life. Cast aside by both his father, who returned to Russia after his brief extra-marital dalliance in France, refusing to even acknowledge Emil, and likewise his mother, who abandoned the future genius on a random doorstep and fled into the night, Emil survived, and eventually thrived, and never allowed his lifeless arms to betray his destiny.
Emil was adopted by an old childless couple, but ran away from home at thirteen, a bitter and confused boy, but one with a sun-brilliant mind, and for that matter incredibly strong legs, due in part as compensation for the abnormality of his arms. He lived by his wits for some time, but a few years later, Emil somehow successfully accomplished enrolling as a student at the University Sorbonne, despite never having gone to prep school, and despite still only being fifteen years of age. Like many young minds of the times, Emil was fascinated with the power of steam, choosing to study at the Mecanique et Mecanisme de Vapuer, one of the many colleges within the university. Emil sought only one thing. The complete mastery of his chosen medium. And master the medium he did, for Pegasovich turned out be that rare man, one of those that came around once or twice a century. Emil Vasiliy Pegasovich, or "Dr. Pegasus", as he now started calling himself, after that mythical, winged horse of Greek myth, perhaps for obvious reasons, had graduated the university by the age of nineteen, then taught for a time as Europes youngest professor, and finally became known as a virtuoso, a sort of living legend, perhaps, nay surely, the worlds greatest mind. As professor and inventor, he was now in high demand among Europes intelligentsia and ever-burgeoning powers.
The Great War had not yet begun, though the smoke was portending the fire, when Dr. Pegasus was finally seduced by the Soviets. Their offer was simple. Come to the Motherland, where your intellect will be worshiped, they said. The Soviets had offered Dr. Pegasus everything. A state-of-the-art facility, a palatial scientific compound to call his own, where every whim, every one of his needs would be met, and he would be asked to do only one thing. To create, to do as he had done before, to use his mind to satisfy every curiosity he saw fit, and to design, build, and invent for the improvement of all humanity. For several years, Dr. Pegasus was in a state of professional nirvana, but after a few years, it became apparent that the Soviets may as well have been Greeks bearing gifts, for they showed the good doctor their true intentions, he would work to design advanced weapons and machines for the Soviets, even as the worlds political scene began to drastically change.
Prussia, the two-headed black eagle of Europe had reached zenith as a power and began the Great War. Great Britain and France on one side, Prussia, and its Soviet allies on the other. Dr. Pegasus is now a prisoner. But he did not stop inventing. Few of the Doctors inventions saw combat, and the war eventually ended in favor of the British and her allies. Now a second war is looming. Pegasus has some new toys he has created, and we do not want to see in the hands of the Prussians.
Steam Propulsion Pack
The Steam Propulsion pack began as a tech device intended to accelerate the top speed of land vehicles. A pair of packs could be put on an armored car or small tank to launch it with sports car speed. The basic premise failed, as most of the packs blew themselves off of the vehicle. The stroke of genius came when a pack being carried by a conscript had a regulator failure. The man was carried aloft several hundred feet before plummeting to his death. Some work with a control harness and wire controlled thrust vectoring and the Pegasus Steampack was born. The Steampack weighs 35 kilos and holds compressed steam in a thermally insulated alloy tank. A small burner can be used to recharge the pack once it has expended it's steam supply. A pack can move at full nozzle open for about 8 minutes, reaching level flight speeds of close to 90 miles per hour. At more conservative thrust, the pack can stay airborne for approximately 30 minutes. Steampilots are encouraged to be cautious as the steam pressure tends to slack off suddenly, and a fall with 35 kilos of metal on your back is not a glorious way to die.
Portable Steam Canister
Some of the devices that the Doctor created tended to be too small for their own boilers, so he created a 'steam batter' to power these toys or miniatures of his larger creations.
Hydro-Pneumatic Ornithopter
The Ornithopter is one of Pegasus' less successful designs. With four wings, it generally resembles a large brass and canvas dragonfly. The craft is capable of flight, but the doctor hasnt found a way to reliably sheild the burner to keep the boiler running. While it runs for a while, refueling the boiler has to be done with the wings stopped, otherwise the chaotic airflows blow out the oil flame.
Automatic Entrenching Vehicle
This steam powered monstrosity is a nightmare of gears, mechanical arms, and sadistic looking metal attachments. Moving on caterpillar treads, the Entrenching Vehicle is much like a tank for locomotion. The front end has a pair of brass sheathed steel arms that have four points of articulation. These arms can be used to use a variety of tools. The Entrenching tool is a giant wheel studded with bucket teeth, and when rotated by the arms quickly digs ditches, trenches, or simply very large holes. As a loader, the arms can use compression pads to lift heavy objects and move them. While this is usually crates, there is no reason the arms cannot lift small to medium vehicles, pull down buildings, smash infantry flat, or anything else a pair of giant rubber faced iron pads can do.
Gyroscopic Steam Rocket
Using highly compressed steam, this rocket is capable of reaching hot air balloon altitude. The gyroscope keeps the rocket upright by adjusting the position of the vent nozzles. Steam rockets generally carry either anti-zeppelin grapeshot, condemned men with binoculars and a parachute, or 100 gallons of napalm and a burner.
The Dyna-Baric Submersable Piscoid
Resembling a large fish made of brass with giant glass eyes, the Submersable Piscoid is a marvel of design and complexity. The main screw drive is powered by a central boiler and piston assembly. A secondary system allows the camshaft to wind tension springs to power the screw drive while the Piscoid is underwater and air is more needed for crew than to feed the burner. There is a third failsafe, the piston assemblies can be unbolted from the central drive shaft, and handles attached to drive the main screw by sheer muscle power of the crew. The vessel hunts the wooden schooners and frigates of enemy fleets, ripping into their keels with a hardened steel ram that runs from the bow to midships of the Piscoid. A collision at moderate speed is enough to tear out the guts of most any merchantman or frigate. Larger ships generally have keels too thick for the Piscoid to damage significantly.
In Transit
The PCs will find the first leg of their trip into Soviet Russia to be easy, almost oppulent. Passage has been procured for them and their gear on the Ottoman zeppelin Astrakhan II. This airliner will carry them from Cairo, Egypt across Asia Minor and to the port of Odessa, in the Crimean Peninsula. THe zeppelin is lush with thick piled carpet in the gondola, roomy cabins, and room in a cargo bay to carry several large vehicles, but nothing even half as large as a land battleship. The ship is equiped with a smoking lounge, an observation deck, and a wine locker.
The port is another matter. Considered a backwater since the Crimean War, Odessa has seen better days. The streets are filled with litter and vagrants and the local government is nothing more than a front for the Russian Mob. Getting anything larger than a loaf of bread or more important than a stamp is going to go through them or their lackeys. The Mozgov rail line starts in Odessa, with supplies coming into the city through the port, or from the Bryansk rail line.
Supplies are going to be expensive, and anyone who asks the same question twice is likely to be watched by the mobsters and the rare political agent slumming in the city. The PCs might have an advantage in looking like lost arrogant tourists trying to enjoy the local sites. Tourists are strange like that.
Kulak Mozgov
Top secret laboratory, a former (and once again) weapons factory, and present base of operations for several high-ranking Soviet and Prussian officials. Kulak Mozgov, or "Minds Fist", is also where the world- renowned scientist, Dr. Pegasus, is currently being held against his will, forced to innovate and create the most advanced steam-powered devices, constructs and machina known to man. Kulak Mozgov sits like an eagles aerie, impregnable, amidst a small mountain chain along the south-eastern steppes, two hundred kilometers from the nearest village or town.
It is protected on two sides by curtain like mountains, the lower end of the valley is home to a large military base. The Soviets and the Prussians have sizable forces there, though most are new recruits and trainees. The command staff is seasoned and were blooded in the last Anglo-Prussian war. The upper end of the valley is the site of the Olvashenksy Dam. The lake behind the dam is frozen six foot thick through the winter.
I have a brief dossier on some of the personel who are in command at the Soviet lab. Not your typical Ivans, i must admit. No one said this would be easy
Col. St. James - DCO
The Peoples Ambassador, Major Larissa Zonogin is a virtuoso, a woman for whom everything came easily in life. Top marks in the classroom, top marks in the field, and most of all, an unerring loyalty to the cause.
Larissa Zonogins title is a relatively new one, created by the Soviet regime to denote an ideal. A paragon of the people. The youngest person to ever hold this prestigious rank, Larissa reports directly to the Soviet premier and his cronies. An expert in propaganda, combat and tactical command, she is perhaps the finest example of super-soldier in every sense of the term. If this was not enough, Larissa also happens to be an incomparable beauty, and is not averse to using her charisma to get what she wants if all else fails.
Currently visiting Kulak Mozgov, Major Zonogins responsibilities include keeping the eccentric Dr. Pegasus in check, keeping party loyalty at a fevered pitch, and secretly inspecting the radioactive-steam reactor project, and planning for its use and potential transport. She carries coded messages on her person at all times, and frequently contacts the High Command for orders and information.
She has nothing but contempt for Groskov, an overfed sloth and grunt, she thinks of him, while Groskov in turn despises the major, jealous of her position and talent, but fears her above all else, as does everyone at Kulak Mozgov.
To be clear, Groskov runs the base and commands his soldiers, but Zonogin is the true political force, and the ultimate authority during her time at the base.
She is Joseph Goebbels, if Goebbels also happened to be a super-soldier. Having Zonogin as an enemy is no ones wish. All obey the Peoples Ambassador without fail.
Lieutenant-Colonel Vadim Groskov
The Lt. Cmdr comes from peasant stock, one of the fabled proletariat of the Soviet Union. His father lead Bolshevik troops against the Tzarists, his son picked up the rifle and carried on the political fight. Three decades of keeping the party line have made the Badger of Bryansk into an overweight and sourtoothed bear. It doesnt help his disposition any that he has been liased with Zonogin.
Final Approach
Kulak Mozgov is not easy to reach. While taking sled dogs is likely the least direct route, it is probably the safest. The DCO mole is currently employed as a technician at the dam above the laboratory. As such, the mole will have the ability to leave a door open for the PCs to enter through as well as provide disguises stolen from the laundry department, passcodes, pilfered keys and intel on where the Doctor can be found as well as the lay-out of the installation.
Players being players might instead opt to take the train directly to Mozgov. This is certainly an option but it cannot be stressed enough that it is dangerous as the train is patroled by commisars and Soviet counter-intelligence personel. This is one of the main reasons that no DCO spies have been able to penetrate Mozgov other than their deep placed mole.
Hide and Seek
Unless the PCs have brought enough resources to face an infantry regiment, they are going to have to use stealth and subterfuge to find their way through the base. As the facility grew rapidly, many buildings are close together creating blind alleys, hidden nooks and creches, and no shortage of places to hide. This can also cover the PCs as they depart from Pegasus' lab with the doctor in their protection.
The Lab
Pegasus' lab is a large building on par with a professional gymnasium. The lower most portion consists of the building's furnace and the core of the Reactive Steam Engine. This is a large sprawling construct of pipes, valves, tubing, and assorted control panels with brass fittings, needle gauges and toggle switches. There are several tanks of water, both for the furnace, and for the engine. They have since found that if there isnt enough watre pumped through the engine when the throttle is open there is dangerous overheating. Dr. Pegasus suspects that if the engine overheated, it could be more devastating than a boiler burst.
The main floor houses his machine shop, metallurgic labs, and his archive where he keeps his notes, a drafting table, and a fully stocked kitchenette. There are all sorts of steam paraphenalia located on this floor. Most of it will be in varying stages of repair, construction, or being salvaged for parts.
The second floor houses the Doctor when he isnt in the lab. Literally under house arrest, he cannot leave the lab, since the second floor has a small library, a toilet, bedroom, and a few amenities to make the stay a bit more hospitable. The floors have animal fur rugs, and the walls are a mix of newspaper clippings, old Bolshevik propaganda, and Californian play bills.
There are two potential methods of destroying Kulak Mozgov. The first method is to sabotage the dam so that it crests over the top and erodes through the face. With an increasing torrent of freezing water and boulder sized chunks of ice, the dam will fail dramatically. everything in the valley will either be washed away, drowned, or pulverized by the ice chunks.
Dr. Pegasus can offer a second means to destroy the facility. The real project that the Prussians and Soviets have been pushing for is the Reactive Steam Engine. Using a special fuel, this reactor boils water without any form of combustion. It has been learned that is too much of this special fuel is misshandled and placed in a certain fashion there is some sort of violent reaction. The effect is rather catestrophic.
Breaking the dam will give the characters a timer measured in hours till the dam breaches. Creating a cascading reaction to reach critical mass within a Reactive Steam engine will only take a few minutes, so either a patsy has to stay behind and sacrifice themselves or the PCs need have a FAST mode of transport out. Hijacking the steam train and pushing the boiler till it starts popping rivets comes to mind.
If the PCs have been resourceful, smart, and lucky they have escaped Kulak Mosgov and saved the doctor. If they acheived all their goals, including destroying the lab, the Prussian-Soviet effort to create superior land battleships is so badly mauled that they end up canceling any further research into Reactive Steam. If the lab is not destroyed, the program is knocked back almost a year and a half by the loss of the Doctor.
If all goals are achieved, the Allies will be able to develop reactive steam engines and will bve able to retrofit many of their current Land Battleships. This will give them a tremendous advantage in the comming war with the Prussian superpower. If the Doctor is killed in the rescue, but his notes are retained, the Allies can develope a Reactive steam engine, but it will take several years and will not be ready in time to face the threat of the Black Eagle.
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Suggested Submissions
- Dr. Farthing's Fabulous Engine Items By: Siren no Orakio
- Emergency Steam Injector Items By: Pieh
- Land Battleship Items By: Scrasamax


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A New York state assemblyman is vowing to fight charges that he accepted $20,000 in bribes.
Bronx Democrat Eric Stevenson tells the Daily News in an interview published Saturday that he "unequivocally'' denies that he took the money.
Federal prosecutors charged Stevenson on Thursday with taking cash from developers of adult day care centers. They say that in exchange for the money, the assemblyman pushed through legislation protecting the centers from competition.
Stevenson denies it. He told the newspaper he "never got into any situation of taking money from these people.''
He said he was reading the Bible when agents came to arrest him.
Investigators say they have video recordings of Stevenson accepting envelopes stuffed with cash.
Stevenson wouldn't discuss those details of the case with the newspaper.

subset: commoncrawl


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Books, Movies, Music
JCPL Catalog
Reading programs and Book Groups
Kids & Teens
Kids Zone
Teens Only
For Parents and Teachers
Student Portal
Main Content
Are you doing the wrong things with technology?
Maybe you have cool technology at school or at home, or maybe your only access to technology is an old lab in the basement corner behind the filing cabinets in a disused bathroom with a sign on the door that says "beware of the leopard." (Can you name that book reference?)
Whenever and however you are able to use technology, are you doing the wrong things with it?
Maybe in a class you'll be asked to make a prezi, or start a blog, or create a wordle, or make a video, or develop a flip chart.
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
Don't get me wrong. Learning how to use technology is important, and hard to teach, but it's not the point. The point is what you do with that amazing tool you have in your hands.
Maybe you'll decide to raise awareness about a cause you believe in. Have a family member suffering from cancer? How can you tell her story?
You might decide to start a conversation. What is life like where you live? What is life like somewhere else? What do you have in common with other people around the world?
The world is a big place, full of big questions. Where would you go to find the answers?
The average smart phone today has more power, more capability, than all the computers combined that NASA used to send people to the moon.
You are powerful!
You can change minds, take action, inspire.
You can make a difference.
Show the world what is important to you. Tell us your story.


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If a number N is expressed in binary by using only 'ones,' what can you say about its square (in binary)?
This article for the young and old talks about the origins of our number system and the important role zero has to play in it.
Using balancing scales what is the least number of weights needed to weigh all integer masses from 1 to 1000? Placing some of the weights in the same pan as the object how many are needed?
A composite number is one that is neither prime nor 1. Show that 10201 is composite in any base.
A collection of games on the NIM theme
Start with any number of counters in any number of piles. 2 players take it in turns to remove any number of counters from a single pile. The loser is the player who takes the last counter.
Explore a number pattern which has the same symmetries in different bases.
Find b where 3723(base 10) = 123(base b).
Explore the factors of the numbers which are written as 10101 in different number bases. Prove that the numbers 10201, 11011 and 10101 are composite in any base.
We are used to writing numbers in base ten, using 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Eg. 75 means 7 tens and five units. This article explains how numbers can be written in any number base.
You have worked out a secret code with a friend. Every letter in the alphabet can be represented by a binary value.
Can you create a Latin Square from multiples of a six digit number?
Find all 3 digit numbers such that by adding the first digit, the square of the second and the cube of the third you get the original number, for example 1 + 3^2 + 5^3 = 135.
An example of a simple Public Key code, called the Knapsack Code is described in this article, alongside some information on its origins. A knowledge of modular arithmetic is useful.
Ask a friend to choose a number between 1 and 63. By identifying which of the six cards contains the number they are thinking of it is easy to tell them what the number is.
How can Agent X transmit data on a faulty line and be sure that her message will get through?
In 'Secret Transmissions', Agent X could send four-digit codes error free. Can you devise an error-correcting system for codes with more than four digits?


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Don't miss engaging and educational California native plant lectures at the Monterey Bay Chapter of the Native Plant Society monthly general meetings. All are welcome at these free monthly meetings held on the second Thursday of each month at 7 pm in the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. Exceptions to this meeting schedule include February, April, June, August, October and December, when there is no meeting. See the monthly newsletter for the lecture topic. A wide selection of books is available for sale at each meeting. The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society is a member of a statewide non-profit organization of amateurs and professionals with a common interest in California's native plants. Our chapter covers Monterey and San Benito counties.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: September 8Lecture: Monterey Audubon Society
Later Event: September 11Lecture: Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society


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2014 NAIA Baseball Players of the Week ? No. 8
Gildea, a senior from Stockton, Calif., posted a .609 (14-of-23) batting average to help lead Westmont to a Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament championship and an automatic berth into the 2014 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. Three of his 14 hits were doubles, including two in a 13-5 win against then-No. 7 San Diego Christian (Calif.) in the tournament finale on May 3. He also recorded five RBIs and two runs scored, as the Warriors survived four elimination games after dropping the tournament opener. Gildea caught 43-of-45 innings in the three-day span.
On the season, Gildea owns a .393 batting average and leads the team with 83 hits.
Melendez, a native of Hollywood, Fla., tied a 32-year old program record with 18 strikeouts in Peru State's 3-1 win over Evangel (Mo.) at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship on May 2. The senior, who also plays second base when not pitching, allowed only three hits, one earned run and one walk to claim his first complete-game victory of the season. Melendez also went 1-for-3 at the plate in the contest.
On the year, Melendez owns a 4-2 record and 4.10 earned run average in nine appearances.
For a complete listing of national statistical leaders, click here.
Player Nominees: Nick Spagnola, William Woods (Mo.); Matthew Beauchemin, St. Andrews (N.C.); David Kuhne, St. Francis (Ill.); Jake Dickerson, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio); Michael Sexton, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho); Jon Needels, Midland (Neb.); Clayton Brandt, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.); Tyler Enns, British Columbia; Justin Byrd, Cumberland (Tenn.); Joe Mancuso, Bellevue (Neb.); Brandon Potts, Grand View (Iowa); Paul Sitkowski, Jamestown (N.D.); Matt Page, Oklahoma Baptist.
Pitcher Nominees: David Mullins, Missouri Baptist; Max Everingham, St. Andrews (N.C.); Adam Panayotovich, St. Francis (Ill.); Roberto Cediel, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio); Eddie Rivera, Vanguard (Calif.); Ryan Brasser, Northwestern (Iowa); Conor Lillis-White, British Columbia; Derek Moore, Shawnee State (Ohio); Steve Sarcone, Bellevue (Neb.); Hans Losada, Grand View (Iowa); Jason Shaw, Jamestown (N.D.); Julian Merryweather, Oklahoma Baptist.
2014 Baseball Weekly Honors (Player, Pitcher):
Week 1 (March 18): Dylan Mayes, Park (Mo.); Kyle Kinman, Bellevue (Neb.)
Week 2 (March 25): Kirk Rocha, Tabor (Kan.); Jacob Webb, Tabor (Kan.)
Week 3 (April 1): Brady Anderson, Valley City State (N.D.); Jacob Butler, St. Francis (Ill.)
Week 4 (April 8): Eric Kartman, Taylor (Ind.); Shell McCain, Tennessee Wesleyan
Week 5 (April 15): Kirk Pruitt, Park (Mo.); Emilio Ogando, St. Thomas (Fla.)
Week 6 (April 22): Ricky Rodriguez, Sterling (Kan.); Corey Lathram, William Penn (Iowa)
Week 7 (April 29): Mitch Peschon, Northwestern (Iowa); Chad Ellingson, Presentation (S.D.)
Week 8 (May 6): Brandon Gildea, Westmont (Calif.); Michael Melendez, Peru State (Neb.)


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SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 17, 2012) - Quidel Corporation (
C. difficile infection is frequently associated with antibiotic therapy and prolonged hospital stays. Typical symptoms include nausea, fever, watery diarrhea and abdominal pain due to inflammation of the colon.
Clostridium difficile bacterial infections can be life threatening, especially for the elderly, for the immunocompromised, and for patients on a prolonged antibiotic regimen. "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, C. difficile causes diarrhea linked to 14,000 deaths in the U.S. each year,"1 said Dr. Timothy Stenzel, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer for Quidel, who added "for this reason, accurate and fast diagnosis -- like that provided by AmpliVue -- is vital to the patient's proper treatment and recovery."
Traditional methods for diagnosing C. difficile infections, such as glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) or toxin antigen tests, can lack sensitivity and increase lab costs due to additional confirmation testing. In addition to significant technical expertise, cytotoxicity assays and toxigenic culture require 24-48 hours and 3-5 days, respectively, before reliable results can be obtained. The AmpliVue C. difficile Assay will now enable laboratories to offer a fast and sensitive result generated by molecular methods using actual kit components, without the need to purchase and maintain expensive capital equipment. The assay also requires no upfront nucleic acid extraction step.
"We are very pleased to receive 510(k) clearance for the first hand-held molecular device for C. difficile," said Douglas Bryant, president and chief executive officer of Quidel Corporation. "The AmpliVue C. difficile Assay will allow hospitals currently using traditional detection methods to employ a more sensitive, rapid molecular test, thereby providing laboratory technicians and the physicians they serve with accurate, timely, and reliable diagnosis of C. difficile infections."
The C. difficile assay is Quidel's first assay in the hand-held AmpliVue format, and is now available for sale in the U.S. and Europe.
1 http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/organisms/cdiff/Cdiff_infect.html
About Quidel Corporation
Quidel Corporation serves to enhance the health and well being of people around the globe through the development of diagnostic solutions that can lead to improved patient outcomes and provide economic benefits to the healthcare system. Marketed under the QuickVue®, D3® Direct Detection and Thyretain® leading brand names, as well as under the new Sofia® and AmpliVue® brands, Quidel's products aid in the detection and diagnosis of many critical diseases and conditions, including, among others, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, Strep A, herpes, pregnancy, thyroid disease and fecal occult blood. Quidel's research and development engine is also developing a continuum of diagnostic solutions from advanced lateral-flow and direct fluorescent antibody to molecular diagnostic tests to further improve the quality of healthcare in physicians' offices and hospital and reference laboratories. For more information about Quidel's comprehensive product portfolio, visit quidel.com and Diagnostic Hybrids at dhiusa.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve material risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many possible events or factors could affect our future financial results and performance, such that our actual results and performance may differ materially from those that may be described or implied in the forward-looking statements. As such, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Differences in actual results and performance may arise as a result of a number of factors including, without limitation, seasonality, the timing of onset, length and severity of cold and flu seasons, the level of success in executing on our strategic initiatives, our reliance on sales of our influenza diagnostic tests, uncertainty surrounding the detection of novel influenza viruses involving human specimens, our ability to develop new products and technology, adverse changes in the competitive and economic conditions in domestic and international markets, our reliance on and actions of our major distributors, technological changes and uncertainty with research and technology development, including any molecular-based technology, the medical reimbursement system currently in place and future changes to that system, manufacturing and production delays or difficulties, adverse actions or delays in product reviews by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA"), our ability to comply with FDA, environmental and other regulations, our ability to meet unexpected increases in demand for our products, our ability to execute our strategy, including the integration of new companies or technologies, disruptions in the global capital and credit markets, our ability to hire key personnel, intellectual property, product liability, environmental or other litigation, potential required patent license fee payments not currently reflected in our costs, adverse changes in our international markets, potential inadequacy of booked reserves and possible impairment of goodwill, and lower-than-anticipated acceptance, sales or market penetration of our new products. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "might," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. The risks described under "Risk Factors" in reports and registration statements that we file with the SEC from time to time should be carefully considered. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revision or update of the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Contact Information:
Quidel Contact:
Quidel Corporation
Randy Steward
Chief Financial Officer
(858) 552-7931
Media and Investors Contact:
Quidel Corporation
Ruben Argueta
(858) 646-8023


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I've slowly collected items for the new wall collage in the office (read more about the inspiration here) and while it's not finished, here's a quick update on the progress.
Here's the before where I took my favorite layout from this post and hung paper cut outs on the wall to get a better visual. Then up went the frames with their original artwork:
Some of the frames were cool garage sale finds, like this vintage guy that just needed a new photo. Actually the Chinese ship was very neat, but it didn't work here. The bummer was that this frame had a paper backing and was oh-so-old, but I carefully removed the paper with an X-ACTO knife (the company sent me several to play with and I keep them in my pen container on my desk I use it so much), replaced the aged matting and added an illustration of birds – another garage sale find.
The wall didn't look quite right – it needed more uniformity. I decided that while the frames matched in an un-matching sort of way, the mattes needed to be more in line. In terms of matting photos, I don't stray from white or linen (the textural, grasscloth sort – not just the color) and so I shopped my usual matte locales: eBay, Etsy, Aaron Brother's, Michael's and even a few local mom & pop shops. Ebay and Etsy didn't carry linen – and Aaron Brother's and my local mom & pop stores (which I love supporting) quoted between $25-50/matte. Craziness. Michael's came through with a low $10ish for a custom matte (which is awesome!) and I placed my order.
A few custom mattes with brighter, cheerier images has left me here:
The large watercolor was painted by Kevin's Grandma, the floral arrangement is a favorite artist of mine (more on that soon…), the lower left landscape was a souvenir from our travels, and the beautiful blue butterfly was a recent find in Charleston, SC. I've searched high and wide for ethically conserved butterflies (aka not killing them to frame them) and I found a great source – this artist collects butterflies that have already died on his butterfly farm.
I haven't yet found the perfect piece for that oval frame up top but I'm thinking of showcasing an object on matte board rather than a photo (sort of like the butterfly). The more and more I look at the collage the more I'm thinking that I might have to replace the large frame's matte for a white one – and that maybe the painting needs a new home and a 'brighter' family photo or illustration should take its place. The walls are so dark and the images play a huge role in brightening or darkening that corner.
There you have it! That's the latest update.
For more Office Makeover posts, check out: organizing the bookshelves, wall collage part 1, fabric bulletin board inspiration, (new) inspiration board, new lamps, wallpapering open shelves, finding the perfect credenza, new trim, dining table-to-desk, a new desk & bookshelves, installing remnant carpeting, grasscloth wallpaper, painting the office nook, finding carpet for the office, chocolate brown wall ideas, plastering progress, inspiration for a diy desk, back in action!, desking hunting for under $300, bookcases under $300,inspirational rooms, room layout options, demo part 1 & demo part 2.


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Pizza Post: a family affair in Greenwich for generations
With one pot, a recipe, the hard-working, devoted Criscuolo family builds an empire
It's not a flashy place. It's small and barely seats over 30. But come lunchtime, when the customers are streaming in, Pizza Post springs to life.
That was doubly so Thursday, when Luca Criscuolo, the 69-year-old founder, is back in the kitchen, spreading dough, sprinkling cheese and dolloping tomato sauce on top.
Matt Criscuolo, the 34-year-old owner, takes the opportunity to step into the dining room and greet his guests. His T-shirt reads "Pizza Post: Serving the Best Pizza in Greenwich Since 1972," and he firmly believes it.
Matt watches as his dad slips the Margherita pie into the kitchen oven. The recipe behind it, and the personality behind that, are two reasons why Matt believes he and his seemingly endless collection of family members are as successful as they are today.
"I'm lucky," he says. "I get to see what they all built from nothing. Me and my cousins are riding on the coattails of giants."
Italian roots
Luca Criscuolo makes for an unusual giant. He's barely tall enough to peer into Pizza Post's uppermost oven.
Matt recalls a time, though, when his dad seemed larger than life. He recalls riding in the passenger seat of his dad's car to Greenwich, the half-hour commute from their home in the Bronx. He would hang out with his cousins, the dozen or so of them who at one point or another worked here. Early on, he would sit down and put the pizza boxes together. As a teenager, he would answer calls and ring people up at the register. Eventually, he would come up on weekends, then after school.
Even then, life had exceeded Luca's childhood dreams. He was born in the Fertile Crescent of Pizza, in an Italian village called Agerola, just south of Naples. His dad was a shoemaker and times were tough. When his Aunt Emanuela came to visit from the Bronx, she bore witness to such a post-war depression that she vowed to sponsor her entire family for visas.
Luca's lucky day came in February 1958. He recalls sailing across the Atlantic, on a ship called the Cristoforo Colombo. For eight nights, the 14-year-old laid awake in the bowels of the ship, in third class, listening as the ocean waves slapped up against the hull. When they finally arrived at New York Harbor, the Hudson River was filled with ice. "The first thing I saw was the Statue of Liberty," Luca says.
His dad found a job at a frozen food factory called "Crispy Pizza." Luca's older brother Nick worked there, too. At 14, Luca found work parading children astride ponies around a track at the Bronx Zoo. He made 90 cents an hour, more than his dad had ever earned in Italy, he says. He would sometimes send money back to his old friends.
"For one dollar, they could see six movies and eat six sandwiches!" he says.
Back home again
Eleven years later, he would see them again. By then, the Vietnam War was raging, and Luca enlisted in the Navy in hopes of avoiding combat. Doing so required he leave his engineering studies at City College of New York and his drafting job at Otis Elevator. He couldn't believe his luck when he got assigned to NATO headquarters in Naples.
Recalling it now, seated in the boisterous Pizza Post dining room alongside his son, Luca grows especially animated. He calls it some of the best years of his life. He could speak the Neapolitan dialect perfectly, which made him valuable. He had FBI clearance and soon was driving a captain around.
Sometimes, he would drive 30 miles south to the coastal village he had once left, where on a return trip several years later he would meet his wife, Finizia. He liked visiting his old friends.
"Where did you get that American uniform?" they would ask.
"I'm a Navy guy," he would say.
They would roll their eyes. "Ahh, tell me another one..."
Getting started
Back in New York, Luca discovered he was no longer a university guy, though. Instead, he took a job at Nick's Pizza in Stamford, which his older brother had started while he was away. Before too long, someone clued him in about a small space in Greenwich that might make for a pizzeria, too. So in 1972, the 28-year-old borrowed $13,000 from his older brother and started Pizza Post, named after the Post Road.
The hard part was getting customers, he says. For months, the afternoons were so devoid of activity that he would lie on his back, passing the time. "Then, slowly, I need help on the weekend," he says.
His sister Carmela helped. So did a guy living nearby in the Bronx, named Pompeo Di Meglio. Pompeo was 19 when he had left the tiny Italian fishing island of Ponza. By then, he had spent years helping his dad with work late into the evening and had developed an industrious ethic.
"He's a mule," says Matt. "If you put something in front of him, and say to do half of it, oh no, he'll do the whole thing."
"He never says no," Luca adds. "When you have someone that interested in the job, they give 100 percent."
Masters in pizza
For Matt, the choice came after he graduated from Fordham University in 2001. He had a bachelors degree in communications, and visions of one day making it in the film industry. But the lure of the family business was strong.
He took over at Pizza Post in 2003. For the next decade, he ran the place with his older brother, Joe, who ultimately left a year ago to open his own place in Darien, called Meatball & Co. In doing so, Joe joined a long line of Criscuolos who had taken over their own place. It included a cousin who had assumed ownership of Rowayton Pizza, which had been started decades earlier by Luca's twin brother, Matt. Another cousin is running Wilton Pizza, Piccolo Pizza of Ridgefield and Toozy Patza Pizza in Wilton. Still another is running Pizza Post in Fairfield and another opened Heights Pizza in Darien. Finally, yet another is operating Nick's Pizza in Stamford, the granddaddy of them all.
Luca may have never finished college, but he says he built up something similar.
"This was P.U.," he says. "Pizza University."
In recent years, Matt has updated things. He overhauled the dining room, reorganized the kitchen. He brought in computers to streamline the ordering and transaction process. He rounded out the menu with new salads and sandwiches. Two years ago, he started a catering business in which he will bring a portable pizza oven to someone's home and cook up Pizza Post pies in a living room, kitchen or garage.
One thing, however, has been constant, he says. The recipe for the pizza.
`One pot'
Luca vividly recalls the day the notice came from the U.S. Consulate. "It was like winning the lotto," he says. "We saw so much in our future. I thought I was gonna be a cowboy or something."
Decades later, with photos of his village hanging on the Pizza Post wall, he stands up and heads into the kitchen, into the terrain he mastered instead. He points to where he used to open a big book that kept track of orders, where he used to stretch out his dough and prepare his toppings. He heads down into the basement, pointing out how the building once had been used as a Howard Johnson motel. He walks back to the storage area, to the place where Matt installed new tiles and a drainage system and a walk-in refrigerator and freezer.
Along the way, he passes Pompeo Di Meglio, who is elbows deep in dough, just as he has been for 35 years. At once, Luca is sent into a flurry of old tales.
"I once asked Pompeo, `What are we gonna do when we die and go to heaven?' " he recounts. "And he said, `We're gonna make pizza!' "
Pompeo laughs, and Luca laughs, and so does Matt. Then Luca gazes about the space, at the sleek additions his son has added.
"I didn't have all this," he says. "I had Pompeo."
"And one pot," Pompeo pipes in.
Luca smiles and shrugs his shoulders.
"I didn't have the money," he says. "Whad'ya want?"
email@example.com; twitter.com/timloh


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Byron mayor wants to legalise gay marriage
The mayor of Byron Bay in northern New South Wales says he wants to make gay marriage legal in the shire and has flagged the creation of a "love park".
Mayor Simon Richardson says the Federal Government is failing same-sex couples and he says it is time for local government to champion their cause.
He will put a motion to the council in the coming weeks to recognise the marriage of gay and lesbian couples, although the council does not have the powers to make it legal.
Councillor Richardson says he hopes other councils will take up the issue to put gay marriage on the agenda during the federal election.
He says he wants residents to feel validated by the gesture.
"Even though within Byron it might be a bit token, at least within Byron we will acknowledge your wedding, we acknowledge your marriage, we acknowledge your partnership," he said.
Councillor Richardson says he is even willing to officiate at gay wedding ceremonies and hand out marriage certificates from the council.
"We also might have other ideas like presenting a tree they can plant and we can perhaps create a park, a 'love' park where it can be filled with people's love and people's union - something that can grow like their relationship," he said.
"Obviously there is a symbolic nature of it all, but I think it's also highlighting a clear and important injustice.
"I think sometimes local government has that role in a sense where federal government fails to meet the expectations of the people, I think the government that's closer to the people has a role to express loud and clear to express what the community thinks."
His motion will be presented to the rest of the council in the coming weeks.
Topics: lgbt, local-government, byron-bay-2481
First posted


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Amazon is widely expected to introduce new Kindles at its event next week and it looks like we might be getting a sneak peek at the goods early. Here's an image that supposedly shows a new Kindle Touch with Paperwhite. Yep, it looks like the Kindle is finally getting a front-lit display a la the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight.
The Verge says the Kindle's screen says, "higher contrast, high resolution, integrated lighting, and eight weeks of battery life," even when using the light. It looks like a better looking Kindle—the home button is gone and the grey exterior looks much, much darker now—and if Paperwhite matches up to its name, it'll have an ever better e-ink screen. We'll find out more soon. [The Verge]


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The next time you drive through the Moab Valley, take a look around. You may notice that the entire valley is full of gray and dying tamarisk trees.
Tamarisk, also known as salt cedar, has invaded water courses throughout the western United States. Nowhere has the impact been greater than in southeast Utah.
A native of central Asia, tamarisk was introduced in the 1800s to control stream bed erosion. They thrived too well, crowding out the native species along stream beds. The result is stream beds throughout the West that are crowded with thick tamarisk and little else.
While early photographs show a nearly treeless plain in the San Juan River Valley near Bluff, tamarisk and the Navajo Dam above Farmington, NM changed the San Juan River.
The San Juan River corridor is now crowded with nearly impenetrable thickets of tamarisk. The presence of the dam means that the wild San Juan, which caused so much challenge for the early Anglo settlers of the area, is little more than a controlled ditch downstream.
The impact of tamarisk overgrowth was evident to the SWAT teams who were searching for fugitives in the San Juan River bottoms in 1998. The tamarisk thickets were so thick that the search was miserable and dangerous.
Concerned biologists wondered what controlled the tamarisk in their native lands. They investigated closely and found an obscure beetle in central Asia, the tamarisk leaf beetle, that loves to eat tamarisk and only tamarisk.
The beetle was introduced in Delta, Utah under a carefully controlled quarantine in 2004. The results were good and they were introduced to the Moab Valley in the past year.
The impact has been immediate and dramatic. Stands of tamarisk along the Colorado River and up every tributary large and small have been attacked in masse by hordes of the beetles. They strip the vegetation off the tamarisk early in the growing season. As a result, experts estimate that it will take several years before the tamarisk are killed.
No one knows what will happen then. The trees will be dead and dry along the streambeds. Their tangled root systems, which are so effective in stopping stream bed erosion, are likely to stay in the stream beds even longer.
Natural vegetation will eventually finds its place again along the stream beds.
It just may be a matter of time before the beetles make their way to the San Juan River corridor. The impact will be as great or greater along portions of the San Juan as it has been on the Colorado.


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Software Recommendations
Thomas University Technical Support recommends at a minimum a word processing package, a presentation package similar to MS PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF files, a web browser, and anti-virus/spam software with a subscription for routine updates. You will also need several browser plug-ins to sign-in to Collaborate sessions. In addition, there are a number of programs we advise for security and maintenance of your system. This page will discuss some of the most common options and alternatives. Links to download pages (when available) can be found in each section or in a table at the end of the section. Thomas University does not make any specific claims about any external products, does not endorse any products, and does not provide technical support or training for the products on this page. For product support, please contact the provider or manufacturer.
TU uses the Microsoft Office Suite, which includes Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, for productivity. Microsoft Office is available for both Windows and Mac computers, and students are entitled to an educational discount on the software package.
- For more information about Microsoft Office 2010 for Windows, please check the Microsoft Store.
- For information about Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac, please check the Microsoft Store or the Mac Store.
If you own a computer with an older version of Microsoft Office you will need to download the compatibility pack. The packs are free.
- Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats (Windows)
- Microsoft Office for Mac Updates (Mac)
If you do not own the Microsoft Office Suite, you may need to download a viewer in order to open and view Office Suite files.
- Office viewers for Windows computers
Productivity Alternatives
If you don't have or can't afford to purchase Microsoft Office, or if you use a Linux system for which Microsoft Office is not available, don't worry! There are some excellent low-cost alternatives.
Open Office
Open Office, by Oracle and Sun Microsystems, is the most well-known open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in 31 languages (and counting) and works on all common computers including Windows, Linux, and Mac. It uses an international open standard format to store documents (odt) but can also read, write, and convert files from other common office software packages such as doc, docx, ppt, pptx, and more. It's also fully compatible with Google Docs: you can open an odt file in Google Docs, or save any Google Doc file to odt format. The integrated components include Writer, a word-processor; Calc, a speadsheet; Impress, for presentations; Math, an equation editor; Draw for graphics; and Base, a database program. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.
Google Docs
Docs is a free product from Google, the well-known search engine. To get access to Google Docs you must have or register for a Gmail or Google account. Google allows users to store their files on the Google server. This means you can access your files from anywhere you can access the Internet. Files can be saved and stored to a hard drive or flash drive. Google Docs recognizes doc, docx, xls, csv, ods, odt, pdf, rtf, and html and will even open these files from an attachment in your Gmail account. Google Docs contains three components: Document, a word processor; Presentation, a slide-show creator; Spreadsheet, for creating speadsheets; and Form, for forms and surveys.


text: / Dictionary Meaning of Menotti Find definitions for: Me•not•ti Pronunciation: (mu-not'ēIt.me-nôt'tē), [key] born 1911, U.S. composer, born in Italy. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease. See also: menotti (Thesaurus) menostaxis men's Related ContentDaily Word Quiz: opprobriumAnalogy of the Day: Today's AnalogySpelling Bee: Today's Spelling BeeKids' Word Quiz: preparatoryCrossword: Crossword Puzzle GuideFrequently Misspelled WordsFrequently Mispronounced WordsEasily Confused WordsWriting & Language


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Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The X and Y of Buy
I confess to being very fond of shopping. When I saw that Thomas Nelson had a new release on why and how men and women make decisions on purchases, I requested it right away through the Book Review Bloggers program, and settled down for what I hoped would be an entertaining as well as illuminating read.
According to Elizabeth Pace's The X and Y of Buy, women and men operate differently on a psychological level – caused by genetics, by brain structure and chemistry, by millions of years of evolution – and one expression of this is the way that they shop. The book is structured to provide help and advice for salespeople to deal with both kinds of customers.
A man's approach tends to be direct and finely-focused, while a woman's approach is more likely to be holistic, taking several factors into account. This is illustrated by a Cautionary Tale of a BMW salesman who tried to sell a car to the author, but dismissed her question about the cupholder, or lack thereof. To him, the important things were the car's design and performance – the driving experience, in other words. To her, all the other experiences she would have while driving were as important.
And of course, she didn't like her concern being trivialized.
The book also describes how successful advertising appeals in different ways to men and women. For instance, many ads aimed at men focus on conquering one's environment. Ads aimed at women, on the other hand, focus on successfully integrating the different parts of a woman's environment – job and family and self and community.
Finally, the book covers ways in which to communicate when selling to men and women (e.g. whether to nod in agreement or acknowledgment, allow the buyer private time to make a decision and so on). I would have liked a few more memorable examples like the BMW salesman, though. I'm not a businessperson, so I can't evaluate the book from that perspective, but from a layperson's point of view, it was an interesting enough read.
When I read books on business, I often try to relate the advice in them to writing (because to me that's the most entertaining business of all). And one suggestion leaped out at me: an easy way to make sure your product or presentation stays in the customer's mind is to make them feel strongly about it. Try to make your book or story have an emotional effect on the readers, in other words.
This is something writers of fiction do on a regular basis, but it also applies with non-fiction. Perhaps even more so, if the writers want to reach readers who may not share their interest in a topic or their position on a controversial issue.
4 comments:
I read one interesting theory (BBC science pages I think) that said men and women shop in a way that difffers very little from the stone age gender roles of Hunters & Gatherers. Men have a this is my plan I will go to x, get y, then go home mentality. Women tending more to go to A,B, and C, to check what's available then choose a based on what's suitable.
- July 7, 2009 at 8:13 PM
- Marian said...
Hey Lee,
The book said that as well; men see the acquisition in a more linear way, so they don't want to be given an errand to pick up milk as well if they're going to the hardware store. Even if the grocery store is on their way.
I'd to get some men in a group and question them on this.
- July 8, 2009 at 4:37 AM
- GunnerJ said...
I take a default position of extreme skepticism towards popular evolutionary-psychology explanations for supposed differences in behavior between men and women because they so often end up being nothing but "just so" stories which justify existing gender roles. They seem plausible enough but lack any corroborating evidence outside of the phenomenon they attempt to explain.
For example, why should I assume that the "men are direct and finely-focused, women are holistic" roles are caused by genetics or evolution? Why should we discount an alternate explanation, that these personality traits exist because of cultural socialization which teaches boys to be direct and finely-focused, and girls to be "holistic"? There is ample evidence of such cultural forces, including pop-evo-psych explanations like those found in this book!
So often these explanations go back to stories about "hunter-gatherers," which themselves seem to be more of a stereotype than a complex picture of the actual conditions of paleolithic hunter-gathering lifestyles. Even if we discount the possibility that the common reconstruction of these ancient ways of life in anthropology might have been biased by the researchers' assumptions about gender roles, or that the popular conception of such anthropological findings has been simplified and distorted by these biases, and take the "men hunt and women gather" trope at face value, isn't it a much simpler explanation that men are simply physically stronger than women on average and thus were more likely to handle physically dangerous or demanding jobs like hunting? Rather than positing some genetic/psychological connection built up by evolution without any corroborating evidence?
And anyway, who cares? How does it help you sell a car to believe that the first thing Grog the Caveman wanted to do in the morning was go directly to a mammoth and club it to death while Mrs. Grog went berry picking? If this behavioral breakdown of men as "direct" and women as "holistic" holds true, then it doesn't really matter why. Trying to tie it to evolution seems like a tacky way of trying to strengthen one's point with a thin veneer of scientific authority.
As a side note, I am a man and I try as hard as I can to chain trips together such that I am doing all my errands on the way to or returning from some other errand. It's simply more efficient, in terms of time and fuel. I don't have any personal experiences that would lead me to believe that men are on the whole more likely to not want to pick up milk on the way back from the hardware store; or at least, I'd suggest simple laziness or apathy about getting milk over some kind of gender essentialism as an explanation.
- July 8, 2009 at 12:37 PM
- Pink Ink said...
I love reading behavioral books like the one you mentioned. People are fascinating.
My hubby laughs though when I bring home relationship ones, because I guess it tells him my concerns about OUR relationship.
- July 9, 2009 at 12:01 PM


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Mount Mary Publications
Get the latest information about campus happenings, learn about academic programs and share your story with Mount Mary through the following campus publications.
Academic Bulletins
- The Undergraduate Bulletin (PDF) is the university's undergraduate course catalog, published annually, containing details on university policies and graduation requirements for bachelor's degree, pre-baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate certificate programs.
- The Graduate Bulletin (PDF) is the university's graduate course catalog, published annually, containing details on university policies and graduation requirements for master's, post-master's and doctoral degree programs.
Alumnae & Friends Publications
Mount Mary Magazine, the university's alumnae magazine, is published twice a year by the Office of University Communications. The magazine contains campus news, current events, a calendar, and student and alumnae stories. See most recent issue of Mount Mary Magazine.
Quarterly Alumnae E-newsletter is sent to all university alumnae quarterly and provides updates on networking and other events, as well as campus news. Contact the Alumnae Office to be added to the email list.
Report to Donors is a publication incorporated into one issue of the Mount Mary Magazine each year that discusses Mount Mary's successes made possible by the generosity of donors who believe in the university's mission.
Campus Organization & Department Publications
Archdiocesan Teacher Resource Center Newsletter is published several times a year to provide information on new materials and job opportunities for educators in southeastern Wisconsin. Contact the Archdiocesan Teacher Resource Center to be added to the mailing list.
Arches is the Mount Mary student newspaper. Hard copies of the publication are in various locations on campus, including at the switchboard. An online edition of the newspaper also is available.
Paper Clips is an annual compilation of the university's finest student writing. Submissions are selected from writing within English classes and faculty members choose outstanding papers to be published. Contact English faculty for more details.
Social Work News is a newsletter published twice per year that provides updates on social work student and alumnae achievements, graduates' employment and licensure, current employment opportunities and student activities.


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Several GetReligion readers (and former students) have written to let me know that there is a strange picture of me in their local newspapers. Actually, that's an Associated Press photo with a story by reporter Rose French that was taken about six months ago, when she was researching journalism programs in Christian colleges. It appears that the latest round of media-bias wars in the White House campaign has provided a news hook to get this story into print.
Here's the top of her report, which AP has given this pushy headline: "Evangelicals are in the news, but not in newsrooms."
Here is a foolproof way for politicians to score points with evangelical voters: Attack the media, an institution widely seen as lacking conservative Christian voices.
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain and his evangelical running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, have done just that at times during the campaign, with repeated jabs at the "liberal media."
One way to change this perception, some church leaders, social commentators and journalists say, is for mainstream news organizations to employ -- and keep -- more evangelicals in their newsrooms.
"Journalism has become more of a white-collar field that draws from elite colleges," said Terry Mattingly, director of the Washington Journalism Center for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a religion columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. "While there's been heavy gender and racial diversity ... there's a lack of cultural diversity in journalism," including religion.
Well now, that is kind of what I said. I was quoting a 2004 report from the Pew Research Center that focused on the lack of diversity in American newsrooms. I cited religion as one example of the cultural problems affecting many newsrooms, problems also linked to -- cough, cough -- social class. The people at the Project for Excellence in Journalism were worried that American journalism was becoming more and more detached from the lives of readers.
You can see that in the quote, right? The problem is that it sounds like I think the solution is hiring more evangelicals. That might help, but only if those evangelicals are real journalists. This is where I wish that French had included what I thought was The Big Idea of our interview, which is that journalism will be improved by people who love it, not people who hate it. More Christian colleges and universities need to create real journalism programs that are rooted in a respect for the crucial role that the press is supposed to play in American life and public discourse.
Oh, and what about the flip side of that? Does the press also need to respect the role that religious groups play? Does the press need to "get religion"? You need to ask that?
What French's report does nail down is a sad reality -- many young Christians are simply afraid of working in the mainstream press. I should stress that I know young liberals who, when push comes to shove, are just as afraid of secular newsrooms as their more conservative counterparts.
All of this brings us back to familiar territory:
It's unclear exactly how many evangelicals work in newsrooms, and federal laws against religious discrimination prevent news managers from asking about a job candidate's beliefs. But the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reported in 2007 that 8 percent of journalists surveyed at national media outlets said they attended church or synagogue weekly. The survey also found 29 percent never attend such services, with 39 percent reporting they go a few times a year.
Pew polling of the general public found 39 percent of Americans say they attend religious services weekly.
In seeking a greater voice in the media, most evangelical leaders say their goal isn't to evangelize inside newsrooms, which demand that journalists set aside their beliefs for the sake of objectivity.
"They have to be journalists first," Mattingly said. "You don't need more Christian journalists. You need more journalists who happen to be Christians if they're going to contribute to any real diversity in newsrooms."
Read the rest of the article and see what you think. But let me end with one other comment about the use of the O-word in this AP article -- that would be "objectivity."
Frankly, I don't think journalists are supposed to unplug their brains and their hearts. I'm not sure that we can, as individuals, achieve some strange state of perfect objectivity. I do think that newsroom managers who care about issues of balance and fairness can hire people -- seeking cultural and intellectual diversity -- who are committed to striving toward a kind of objectivity, methods that the classic The Elements of Journalism refers to as a "Journalism of Verification."
Of course, it helps if open-minded editors and publishers seek this kind of diversity. It also helps when a wide variety of schools produce journalists who ready and willing to do this work, journalists who truly love journalism. We are dealing with a blind spot that has two sides.
PHOTO: Associated Press photographer J. Scott Applewhite visits the Washington Journalism Center. Photo by student Harrison Keely of Lee University.


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Monaco Coach Corp., which terminated 2,000 employees and filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, has received a letter from a large company interested in buying the Coburg, Ore.-based RV maker for $50 million.
The proposed purchase plan by the unnamed company is outlined in parts of a 60-page document filed Wednesday (March 25) by Monaco in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, according to the Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore. The overall document is a routine motion, asking the court for permission to use money from sales of RVs to pay the bills and keep operating at a scaled-back level.
But portions of the filing refer to the letter of intent received Monday from "a major public company" that would pay cash or stock for "substantially all assets of (Monaco) related to (the company's) core RV manufacturing business."
The proposed sale would enable Monaco's secured lenders – Bank of America and Ableco – to be repaid "all or a material part" of what the RV maker owes them, according to the court papers.
In addition, the document says, "jobs would be preserved for the local communities so heavily affected by the … current circumstances and certain creditors would be benefited by the continuation of (Monaco's) business lines."
Monaco spokesman Craig Wanichek declined to discuss the proposed sale on Wednesday, but hinted that a deal may be close.
"We're not going to make an announcement (on Wednesday)," Wanichek said. "We intend that the announcement will be forthcoming (Thursday) or Friday."
He would not address questions regarding the number of employees that might be rehired if a sale is completed or to what extent the purchasing company might resume operations. He also would not discuss the unnamed company that is mentioned in the court documents.
"That will be in our announcement," Wanichek said. "Obviously, there's a lot of different parties involved (in bankruptcy negotiations)."
Monaco currently owes Ableco $37.4 million on a $39.3 million, fixed-term loan that was obtained last November. The company owes Bank of America and other lenders another $36.3 million on an $80 million revolving loan fund that was also negotiated in November.
In its bankruptcy filing, Monaco estimated that it has 25,000 to 50,000 creditors.
Its factory in Coburg and its service center in Harrisburg have both been idle since December. A holiday furlough was extended three times before the company terminated 2,000 of its 2,145 employees on March 2. Three days later, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware – the state where it filed incorporation papers.
In the documents filed Wednesday, Monaco laid out alternate budgets that account for operations with or without the sale of its assets. The company could file a motion in Bankruptcy Court by April 15 to allow a sale to go forward. A sale could be completed by June 19, according to the papers.
The documents mention dates this spring for bidding and an auction related to the "major asset sale." Wanichek would not say whether those actions will be necessary if the proposed sale of Monaco is accepted by the bankruptcy court.
Monaco was founded in 1968 in Junction City as Caribou Manufacturing Co., and builds motorhomes and trailers under the brand names Monaco, Beaver, Safari, Holiday Rambler, McKenzie and R-Vision. It also operates motorhome resorts in California, Florida, Nevada and Michigan.
But it closed three Indiana factories last summer, idling 1,400 workers, then suspended its dividend and cut production in half. The company began cutting jobs last April, laying off 600 workers in Indiana and Oregon after the first in a series of quarterly losses.
Early this year, Monaco hired the investment banking firm Imperial Capital to help it find a buyer.
Its stock was trading for $10 per share a year ago on the New York Stock Exchange, but it was delisted when its share price fell to 6 cents after this month's layoffs. It now trades under the ticker symbol MCOA on the Pink Sheets, where its stock rose by a penny per share on Wednesday to 9.5 cents.
Also on Wednesday, Monaco filed notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has been unable to complete its year-end 10-K financial report due to the bankruptcy filing and related issues. Also, the company said, key people in its accounting department have resigned, including employees who handle SEC filings. The company indicated that it would file a completed report by or after April 3.


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Experience green Amsterdam
There are over thirty parks in Amsterdam, ranging from Wertheimpark which covers one hectare, to the fabulous Vondelpark which covers 48 hectares and attracts some nine million people every year.
The city also accommodates a broad selection of gardens with lush plantings, green lawns and beautiful flowerbeds.
In these parks and gardens you will experience Amsterdam as a peaceful oasis even on a busy day.
Artemis Parks Top 5 Of the numerous parks and gardens you can visit during your stay in Amsterdam, we have a selected a top 5:
1. Vondelpark
The largest city park in Amsterdam, and the most famous park in the Netherlands. Vondelpark welcomes about 9 million visitors every year, and is a very popular destination for locals for jogging, dog-walking, or just for the view. Free concerts are given at the open-air theatre, situated along a large pond or in the summer at the park's bandstand. The Vondelpark is often packed with visitors relaxing, roller-skating or listening to music.
2. Hortus Botanicus
The Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam is one of the oldest botanic gardens in the world. Today, there are more than 4,000 plant species growing in the garden and greenhouses. The Hortus is located in the Plantage district on the edge of the hectic center of Amsterdam. Behind the 300-year-old gates, however, the bustle of the city seems to disappear. www.hortus-botanicus.nl
3. Westerpark / Culturepark Westergasfabriek
Located in Amsterdam West, the Westerpark is a wonderful place to walk, skate or to sit back, relax and watch people. The park has been recently renewed, and is part of the Culture Park Westergasfabriek. The Westergasfabriek provides space for creative and cultural businesses. The industrial monuments and the surrounding park form a multifunctional space and a modern city park of international standing. There are trees, meadows and streams, dozens of offices, spaces for large and small events, bars, restaurants, a cinema, a theatre and much more. www.westerpark.nl www.westergasfabriek.nl
4. 'Amsterdamse Bos'
The Amsterdamse Bos spans almost 1000 hectars (about 2 by 5 kilometers). It is owned by the city of Amsterdam and situated within the local authorities of Amsterdam, Amstelveen and Aalsmeer. Yearly 5,5 million visitors, mostly from Amsterdamand surrounding areas visit the forest. It is still the very same city woodland the designers of the original Boschplan had in mind in the 1920's. Under the motto 'Five years work for a thousand men', planting of the woods of the Amsterdamse Bos began in 1934, a task which provided work for 20.000 unemployed people during the years of crisis. The last tree of this forestation project wasn't planted until 1967. With its 137 km of footpaths, 51 km of cycle paths and 50 bridges, the Bos is one of the largest city parks of Europe. It contains 150 indigenous species of trees and over 200 species of birds. A stretch of water called the Bosbaan flows through the park, and is the venue for rowing competitions in the season. At the west end of water is the Bosmuseum which exhibits on natural and social history of the park and also hosts temporary exhibitions. Other recreational possibilities include shallow swimming pools, a pancake house, a goat farm.


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After many weeks of examining the budget crisis facing California, Governor Jerry Brown announced his plan to help balance the budget by explaining that where the money goes is where the money has to be cut.
The budget plan will be cutting, extending the taxes and restructuring.
"We're going to have to live in a more conservative fashion," Governor Brown said.
He called for $12.5 billion in spending cuts, including reductions in welfare, social services, health care for the poor and a combined $1 billion cut to the University of California and California State University systems.
Brown also wants the Legislature to call a special election in June to give voters an opportunity to continue hikes in the income, sales and vehicle taxes for five years. His proposal relies on new revenues of $12 billion.
The governor's office said the only area of state spending he would protect is K-12 education.
Brown said his recommendations would close an 18-month budget gap estimated at $25.4 billion and require sacrifice from all Californians.
"It's going to be objected to but there will be even more people saying 'Thank God, we're finally facing the music,'" he said.
The governor's proposal to extend taxes is a politically risky move after Californians rejected an extension of the taxes just two years ago as part of a package of ballot measures.
Brown's proposal also assumes the state Legislature would pass a spending plan by March -- a date unheard of in recent legislative budget debates that have dragged on into the fall.
Brown also wants a $1 billion rainy day fund.
Brown is proposing an $84.6 billion general fund budget, slightly less than the $86.5 billion adopted under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's last budget.


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Seaside Vacation Rentals has been a family run business since 1983.
Seaside currently offers hundreds of properties and all kinds of services. Besides the Regans, the Seaside family now includes many new staff members that have been "adopted" into the Regan family. We care about what we do and the people we work with.
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Jesus Christ filed a lawsuit today in the New York Supreme Court against the Republican National Committee for what he is calling "egregious misrepresentation of his statements and image."
One of the attorneys representing Christ had this to say:
"For years Republicans have proclaimed their love for and loyalty to Jesus, yet their actions are highly contradictory to what Mr. Christ preached. Instead of helping the poor and the sick GOP instead punishes the poor and the sickly.
Our client isn't telling the GOP what their agenda should be, he simply wants them to stop using his name when their actions contradict everything he stood for.
If the GOP would like to continue using his name they have to start making a significant effort to help the poor and the sick, instead of the rich, and start promoting a more peaceful agenda."
When asked about the lawsuit, House Speaker John Boehner made the following remarks:
"Mr. Christ is entitled to his opinion, however the GOP believes that the underlying message in the Bible is that giving tax cuts to the wealthy is the true path to happiness.
I don't know where Mr. Christ thinks the Bible says to help the poor and the sick, but that sounds awfully socialistic to me, and we are not a socialist country."
The lawsuit goes even further than just spoken word references to Jesus. According to the suit "images that inaccurately depict Jesus Christ, who was born in Middle Eastern country, as a Caucasian man with light skin, can no longer be displayed by political officials who claim they understand the Bible."
Sarah Palin was at an event in Iowa today, and on camera, when a member of the crowd asked how she feels about Mr. Christ's lawsuit. The crowd member simply asked her "have you heard that Jesus Christ is suing the GOP?", to which former Governor Palin replied:
"Well, ya know, I don't think Mr. Christ has a real understanding of what the GOP is trying to do to save America from the socialist death-spiral Obama has put us into.
In the Bible it states "work hard, and pull yourself up without any Government aide. If you need help from Caesar you are probably doing something wrong", which clearly shows that Jesus wants Americans to hunker down and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
In the Bible it also states "go to the market and purchase good wares. Reward merchants with money, and God will smile upon you" which, I believe, shows that Jesus really wanted us to live in a free-market society.
Don't forget the story of Noah's Ark where God commanded Noah to build an Ark and take everyone except the poor and sickly away from people who were trying to steal their hard earned Gold.
Also, I've read the Bible plenty of times and I've never heard him say we should give welfare and food stamps to lazy people who don't deserve it, which is what this Obama Administration is trying to do. They're trying to make this country lazy and since Jesus was a man who did quite a bit of walking I would hope he would oppose such things.
Times have changed and I, for one, believe Christ is just confused and should probably re-read that most holy of books, the book that so many good, real Americans swear by, and just see, just really see, if he can get in there, ya know, and figure out if possibly he might have missed something. That's what I would suggest Mr. Christ do."
The media was quick to point out the many factual inaccuracies in former Governor Palin's statement, but she fired back on Fox News today saying it was a "gotcha question" from the "liberal elite media".
Mr. Christ's lawsuit is set to move forward later this month. When asked if he would also be interested in filing a lawsuit for slanderous remarks made in the past, Allah declined comment.


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Cowboys player calls 911 on money seeking siblings
You'd think that signing a four-year deal worth $12.5 million would change most families lives for the better. In the case of 21-year-old Dallas Cowboys second-year left tackle Tyron Smith, it appears to be tearing his apart.
According to a report in the Dallas Morning News, Smith, who was the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft out of USC, called 911 Tuesday afternoon, claiming several siblings "showed up to 'harass and torment' him 'in the pursuit of collecting financial gain.'"
MORE:Cowboys corner says 'Bring on Falcons'
The story says that Smith had to file a restraining order over the summer against his mother and stepfather, which included contact from them through his three sisters and two brothers. It also notes a Cowboys source saying that one of Smith's family members had to be removed from the team facility during training camp.
"Lesser means were tried and they weren't successful," Smith's attorney John Schorsch told the paper. "You can use your own imagination as to what it took for a guy that big and that imposing to be that worried."
The 6'5", 308-pound Smith attended Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley, Calif., about an hour east of Los Angeles, where he was named the top offensive tackle prospect in the nation by Scout.com in 2006. He's the second young Cowboys player to publicly deal with family related drama in recent months, as wide receiver Dez Bryant was charged with misdemeanor family violence charges following a July 14 incident in which he allegedly slapped his mother.
The youngest player in the NFL as a rookie last season, Smith seems to be struggling with some very grown-up circumstances when it comes to dealing with his relatives. While there are plenty of tales about extravagant spending, bad investments and the need to support friends from childhood being the root causes for athlete money troubles later in their careers, the family pressures on young athletes often are not as publicized.
MORE:ESPN documentary looks at athletes going 'Broke'
Last month the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "Broke" touched upon the subject, as former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar talked about how his father poorly invested millions of Kosar's earnings and several other athletes came clean about how they were stuck doing things like paying mortgages for numerous family members when they couldn't afford to.
It's a shame if Smith is getting extorted by the people who are supposed to be the ones he is supposed to be able to rely on the most for support. That's a heavy weight for anyone to carry, no matter how physically powerful they are.


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Company: REM
Location: Owatonna, MN
Career Level: Entry Level
Industries: Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Biotech
Caregiver Mental Health
Primary Location: United States-MN-MNOwatonna
Function: Direct Support Professional (Caregivers)
We are providers assisting people to reach their full potential. If you have a passion for providing supports to those diagnosed with a mental health disorder, we are looking for you in the Owatonna, Minnesota area!
Apply today as a Caregiver/Direct Support Professional with REM Woodvale!Schedule Options:
- Full-time and Part-time
- Days, afternoons, evenings, weekends and overnights
This position provides services to people with a broad array of disabilities, whether that be behavioral, physical, or mental health through assistance with activities of daily living, similar to Caregivers, Direct Care Providers and Certified Nursing Assistants, such as:
- Errands to shopping or activities
- Transport to medical appointments
- Enjoy recreational activities together
- Assist with personal cares
- Preparation of meals
- Assist with medication administration
- Teach strategies to live as independently as possible
- Paid Training
- Flexible Consistent Schedules
- Family-orientated environment, casual dress and employee events
- Benefits (Medical, Dental and Vision) along with PTO and Holiday Pay for Full-time employees
- A dynamic work environment where no day is ever the same as the next
- Career development and advancement opportunities throughout the nation-wide Network
- Access to employee discounts with various vendors
- A rewarding work environment with some of the best co-workers you could ask for
- A chance to make a difference in people's lives on a daily basis
Apply on company website


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I tell you, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. And so here is a tale that involves not only delicious cupcakes, but my big burly dad, a tricycle, and maybe a little sweet gosel. Yep: here is the tale of how my big burly dad found himself fixing the cupcake trike at Church of Cupcakes in Denver.
I was in Denver, among other reasons, to visit the Craftsy HQ. I have written a number of scintillating articles on important subjects such as How to Make Nanaimo Bars and How to Make Crumb Cake and How to Make Butter at Home for these people, and I wanted to meet them. It was a great experience! Here I am with the editorial staff I usually work with. Cute, right?
My dad was with me in Denver, and since we were a little early for my appointment with Craftsy, we decided to get our cupcake on. Naturally, we headed over to Church of Cupcakes. Don't you already love them based on the name?
We knew we'd found the place when we saw this outside.
Well, technically I've already been here, but it had a different name the last time I went: Lovely Confections. That name was sweet, this one is cheeky. I love them regardless of the name.
As we got there, we saw proprietress Porsche fiddling with the cupcake tricycle, their mobile cupcake delivery system.
Immediately, my manly-man dad stepped in to see what he could do.
My dad is a tinkerer. When we were little, he was a garbageman--wait, I think you're supposed to use the word sanitation worker now?--and he loved to collect...well, junk. But he'd turn the junk he collected into treasures, such as the coolest bikes ever, which he pieced together from a wheel found here, handlebars found there. Seriously, they were the coolest bikes on the block, as well as the next block over.
While he tinkered, Porche met Porkchop the pug for the first time (she's long admired him on facebook), and I ogled the cupcakes.
Oh, what cupcakes. We picked up a box of four: vanilla-vanilla, pumpkin ("Oh my Gourd!"), chocolate-salted caramel, and honey. Not long after, me and daddio busted into the box. He had the salty caramel frosted chocolate; I had the lavender-infused cake with honey-lemon frosting.
I should also pause to tell you how funny and cute everything is in Church of Cupcakes. Cute tees, glitter everywhere, funny puns. I am in love!
Listen. I'll be straight up with you, and I would say the same to my dad: he's not what one might call a "mindful" taster. This puppy was gone in 2 bites.
But from his expression, and the fact that he said "that was very good" or something to that tone, it must have been great. The taste I was gifted was awesome: dark chocolate. Light, buttery sweetness. And yummy salt. Perfection.
And listen. The lavender-honey-lemon variety. Believe it or not, I had without thinking about it chosen the exact thing I had chosen last time. And it was still so, so good.
It had a soupcon of lavender, but it wasn't perfumey by any means. It was delicate. But gawd, was it buttery. The honey-lemon made it taste slightly fancy, but it still had the simple appeal of vanilla. It was a cupcake that made me smile.
The other two varieties were devoured by my sweetest guy (not Porkchop). He ate both in about 2 bites (so like my dad!) but proclaimed them beautifully done.
Here I am with the owner.
I think that if you are in Denver, you need to visit. It's sweet and cute there! Perfect.
Church of Cupcakes, 1489 Steele Street, Denver; online here.