text:
This NEW product you are browsing has been inspected by our certified technicians to ensure that it meets factory specifications. It is guaranteed to be in perfect working order but it is sold in "AS IS" condition (for example, the box may be torn, etc) and returns will not be accepted. Please contact us with any questions BEFORE placing an order.
We accept PayPal and all major credit cards. We do our best to describe each item we are selling to the best of our ability. Bear in mind that the Item is sold as-is with no warranty. Use the "contact us" page to request additional info or images on this product.
Easy on the environment and on your wallet.
For a great TV experience at an affordable price the 450 series is the perfect solution. With improved black levels for 2012, viewers have the added benefit of great picture quality at a reasonable price. The 600Hz subfield motion performance provides an increased refresh rate for clear, crisp motion and improved black levels, beautifully wrapped in a slim designed cabinet.
Real Black PanelAn advancement in software technology, which provides deeper and darkerblack levels to deliver bolder hues, higher contrast, and smoother, clearer picture quality.
Wide Color Enhancer PlusMore vibrant colors for better images. Using an advanced picture quality improvement algorithm, Samsung?s Wide Color Enhancer Plus drastically improves the quality of any image and uncovers hidden details. Now see colors as they were meant to be seen with Wide Color Enhancer Plus.
600 Subfield MotionUsing the latest in subfield motion technology, Samsung Plasma TV flashes a single image up to 600 times a second. The result is smoother images with unprecedented picture quality, no matter how fast the images are moving.
Clear Image PanelThe Samsung Plasma TV uses a new filter and panel structure to eliminate layered images and produce clear images from almost every angle. This also eliminates the production of dual images and blurring typically found with glass filters.
Dolby Digital Plus/Dolby PulseAn advanced surround sound audio processing feature designed to optimize the TV?s sound quality when viewing and listening to internet movies, internet music and other content played back from wired or wireless mobile phones, PCs and tablet devices.
SRS TheaterSound HDA high definition audio experience that delivers surround sound multichannel content, using built-in TV speakers to significantly enhance both the depth and dimension of audio right through the TV for a simulated surround sound experience.
HD Plasma Picture QualityEnjoy crisp clear detail with plasma HD picture quality.
ConnectShare MovieHave movies and pictures on a USB drive? Now easily view that content right on the TV. Just plug the drive in the USB port and you are ready for a big screen experience.
+ 1" DesignSamsung's +1 is designed for a larger viewing experience in the same space. By narrowing the bezel of the TV, a sleeker more contemporary look is achieved, as well as a larger screen. The additional inch of TV viewing space can fit into areas where others similar sized TVs cannot.
Eco Sensor Samsung's Plasma TV's Eco Sensor measures the intensity of the light in the room and automatically adjust the brightness of the image on the TV. By controlling the amount of light used to create images, the TV adjust its use of energy.
Receive Our Latest Deals
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This company is a nationwide service provider.
Model #: Healthdyne 970
Sleep apnea monitor rentals in Tampa, FL. Integrated Services offers Healthdyne 970 Smart apnea monitors that will monitor heart and respiration while sleeping. When heart rate or respiration are abnormal, an alarm will sound alerting irregular measurements.
Apnea-Monitor Specifications:
Healthdyne / Respironics Smart Apnea Monitor Features:
Other Sleep Apnea Monitors Offered:
Medical Equipment rental nationwide. Integrated Services is a trusted medical equipment resource for hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, doctor's offices, and other medical facilities. Focused on quality and your satisfaction, call Integrated Services to discuss your short or long-term rental needs. They deliver to anywhere in the USA.
Related Rental Listings

subset: commoncrawl


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Supported administration of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination -3 (ACE-3).
No training is needed or reference to a manual. ACEmobile guides the clinician through the measure, providing clear instructions and making decisions when to retest or skip through the measure.
The measure has been designed to focus on the usability in clinic - to be useful not just attractive!
Scoring of ACEmobile has been designed to be automatic and friendly to the clinician. No tallying of scores or reference to scoring guidelines is required. You will no longer need to worry about mental arithmetic.
Time saving and accurate!
A range of reporting outputs are developed to support immediate clinical decision making, paperwork printed for patient records and summary paragraphs helpful to paste into letters or reports.
ACEmobile is designed for one purpose - to provide a FREE means for clinicians to support the reliability, accuracy and efficiency of ACE-based assessments in dementia clinics.
Version 2 available for download / registration on iTunes
ACEmobile reduces user administration error by 93%
Version 2 build underway


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Himler's boat won three straight races and finished with three straight top-four finishes (photo courtesy DSPics.com).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-The Harvard coed and women's sailing teams both posted fourth-place finishes over the weekend, qualifying for the Atlantic Coast Championships in two weeks. The Crimson also placed ninth at the Nickerson Trophy, New England's freshman championship.
The Crimson coeds took fourth of 20 teams at the 68th Erwin Schell Trophy, hosted by MIT. The top seven teams qualified for ACCs, which Harvard will host Nov. 14-15 on the Charles River. Junior Tedd Himler skippered Harvard's top-finishing boat, which placed fourth in the B division. With help from crews Michelle Konstadt and Annie DeAngelo and with Brendan Kopp skippering two races, Harvard won three times in the division. The Crimson placed in the top five in 10 of 20 B races.
In the A division, Alan Palmer, Grace Charles and Winston Yan once and placed outside the top seven just eight times en route to a fifth-place division finish. The Crimson totaled 292 points to finish 29 points ahead of fifth-place Vermont and 16 back of Roger Williams and Boston College. Yale won the regatta, while Brown and Tufts claimed the final two qualifying spots.
On the women's side, the B-division duo of Emily Lambert and Alexandra Jumper was outstanding on its home course in the Victorian Coffee Urn regatta. They placed third in the division despite having boat problems that cost them major points in two races. In their six races that counted, the pair had a win and two runner-up finishes and never placed outside the top six of the 16-school field.
Liz Powers and Marie Appel finished seventh in the A division. Harvard's 99 overall points were eight better than Brown in fifth and 13 more than third-place Yale. Winner Boston College, Connecticut College, Brown , Tufts, Rhode Island, Dartmouth and College of Charleston also earned bids to the women's ACC regatta at Brown.


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Healthy, Wealthy And Wise
This story appears in the May 1997 issue of . Subscribe »
Americans are increasingly concerned about staying well and looking good," says Deb Lundberg, owner of Health Solutions, a Mankato, Minnesota, fitness-consulting business. Service businesses that offer preventive or nontraditional health options or that pamper the customer offer entrepreneurs a variety of start-up opportunities. You can join a network marketing company like FreeLife or Jeunesse, or develop a unique service of your own.
Carlienne A. Frisch presented a look at in-store demonstration businesses in the February issue of Business Start-Ups.
On-Site Massage Therapist
Business managers who want to improve employee morale, reduce absenteeism, and prevent work-related injuries are providing on-site therapeutic massage as an employee perk, according to Elliot Greene, a Silver Spring, Maryland, massage therapist. "A therapeutic massage break--fully clothed, in a massage chair--fits into most employees' work schedules, reduces stress, and prevents repetitive motion injury," Greene says.
You can begin an on-site massage-therapy service from home without giving up a part-time job with a chiropractor or physician. To begin, explain the benefits and procedure of on-site therapeutic massage to the human-resources directors of the companies you're targeting.
Employees sign up for a 10- to 15-minute massage, for which the employer pays about $1 per minute. With the employee seated in a specially-designed 20-pound chair that folds to fit in most cars (and costs about $350), the therapist applies a combination of Swedish massage techniques and acupressure to the person's head, neck, arms and back.
Most message therapists have a degree from a certified massage-therapy school accredited by the Commission on Massage Training Accreditation Approval in Evanston, Illinois (see "Reader Resources" on pg. 78 for contact information). Some therapists take additional courses for seated massage. The District of Columbia and 24 states regulate massage therapy. Check with your state's professional licensing department or health department for specific information.
Mobile Childrens Gymnastics Program
Parents and day-care providers welcome a chance for kids to jump, roll, hang, climb and dance to music on someone else's turf. A mobile gymnastics bus brings that turf to the kids.
To promote a mobile gymnastics program, ask day-care providers and pre-school directors to distribute fliers to parents, then hold a bus "open house" and sign-up session. A typical fee is $24 per month per child for a weekly half-hour class of 12 children. Although certification is not required, you'll find experience in gymnastics, cheerleading, childhood development or physical education helpful. Ask the Department of Motor Vehicles if a commercial (bus) driver's license is required for a bus weighing less than 15,000 pounds, and check city and county ordinances if you plan to park the bus at your home.
Brenda and Larry Scharlow, of New Albany, Indiana, created just such a mobile gymnastics/fitness program. Refurbished school buses--each called a Tumblebus--"deliver" this activity to Montessori schools, pre-schools, day-care centers and weekend birthday parties. At no point do they drive with the children on the bus.
"More than 115 Tumblebuses are on the road nationwide, with a potential gross income of $75,000 to $125,000 the first year of full-time operation," Brenda Scharlow says. The Scharlows have not franchised the Tumblebus concept; instead, they offer fellow entrepreneurs a fully-outfitted Tumblebus for a one-time fee of $29,500, which includes equipment, advertising materials, themed lesson plans, and training in marketing and bus driving. If you already have a bus, you can get equipment, materials and training.
Medical-Information Service
When Janice Guthrie was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer, she looked beyond the usual radiation therapy and found other treatment options. Wanting to help others get the information they needed to make informed medical decisions, Guthrie launched The Health Resource Inc., a medical-information service in Conway, Arkansas. In 1984, she quit her administrative job at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, took $2,700 from the family savings account (for office equipment, letterhead and advertising), and placed classified ads in health magazines. She used direct mail to promote in-depth medical/legal research services to attorneys.
"When a new client calls, I take the person's medical history or ask for a fax of their medical records," Guthrie says. Each time a client requests information, Guthrie conducts new computer searches and draws on information stored in her extensive files.
"The client may have been diagnosed with breast cancer or with a rare blood disorder," says Guthrie. "We tailor each report to the client's education level. We provide reports--full texts of articles, not summaries--and send free updates throughout the year. I advise clients to take the information to a specialist and to set a time to decide about treatment."
The Health Resource Inc.'s gross revenues have increased from $700 in 1984 to $350,000 in 1996. Guthrie now employs four clerical staff members and seven researchers, some freelance. The researchers all have medical backgrounds and use medical school libraries, academic and public libraries, the Internet, and health and medical books purchased by Guthrie, who pays royalties for each use of copyrighted print or electronic information.
"You should enjoy digging into books and working on a computer," Guthrie says. "My science background helps me to understand medical terminology. Without a science education, I would need a partner with medical expertise, such as a nurse or medical transcriptionist."
Other potential clients for medical-information services can include hospitals, health-maintenance organizations, physicians, and industries concerned about health-care costs.
Image Consultant
The way others see us directly affects how successful we are. Image consulting is a growing field for people who project a professional, current image, enjoy public speaking, and are active in their community. An image consultant advises clients such as attorneys, sales representatives, television reporters--even retired people looking for a new direction--on clothing fashions, hair and makeup styles, mannerisms, and speaking.
This business can be started at home with basic office equipment and a steady supply of magazines and books on fashion, beauty and business topics. Study the local and regional corporate culture and get experience in public speaking, retail clothing sales, cosmetic sales, or modeling. Become active in community organizations and place ads in their newsletters. Offer free self-image sessions to students and free seminars to conventions, corporations and community organizations.
Fitness Vacations
"Vacations that fit a healthy lifestyle are popular among baby boomers," says Franklin Wolf, a guide with Bike Riders Tours, a Boston bicycle-tour company. "People 35 to 55 years old are the best customers for biking or hiking vacations. And a fitness-vacation service is ideal as a start-up homebased business, because its weekend and seasonal aspects permit starting up the company while keeping your day job."
To reach customers, place ads in national or regional travel magazines. Begin with a home office and a van (for transporting luggage and weary vacationers); for biking, add state-of-the-art bicycles. Get first-aid and CPR training from the Red Cross and an attorney's advice about liability.
The typical biking vacation covers 15 to 35 miles per day, depending on the terrain and the fitness level of tour participants, while hikers walk five to 15 miles daily. As a tour leader, you should be physically fit and detail-oriented. You should know the terrain, history and cultural background of the area, including restaurants, inns, campgrounds, and local points of interest.
Corporate Fitness Consultant
"For every dollar a company invests in a well-targeted preventive health program, the employer can expect an average return of $1.80," says Deb Lundberg, who founded Health Solutions in 1992 in her home in Mankato, Minnesota. Lundberg provides all-around health care as a fitness consultant for manufacturers, professionals and nonprofit organizations. As a fitness consultant, you should have an education in at least one of the following fields: health science, dietetics, physical education, coaching, sports medicine, or certified aerobics instruction. An advanced degree with an emphasis on corporate or community fitness and professional experience in a medical facility increase a consultant's credibility.
Lundberg recommends marketing to a company's human-resources director with a proposal for a program tailored to the company's needs. You can offer one-time seminars, annual contracts and self-teaching videos. Services may include a statistical assessment of the company's health risks, employee assessments, and education and training on diet, body composition, back fitness and stress. With a portable computer, you can offer individual stress inventories and nutritional analyses.
Most states do not have certification requirements. The American Council on Exercise has specifics on certification.
Nutritional And Weight-Loss Supplement Sales
While health-conscious people want to maintain vigor and vitality, more than half of all Americans are overweight, according to recent government statistics. "Nearly every person who crosses your path is a potential customer for nutritional or weight-loss supplements," says Thomas Carvell, a Louisville, Tennessee, marketing executive with FreeLife. Companies like FreeLife, Shaklee, Melaleuca and BodyWise offer network marketing opportunities, some with start-up costs as low as $70. Products vary from vitamin supplements to children's vitamins. Commissions on sales vary from 30 to 70 percent.
Customers and new distributors are recruited through ads in newspapers and free shopper publications, home-party plans, and personal referrals. Network marketing companies also pay distributors commissions on sales made by the new distributors they recruit. A distributor receives training about products and sales strategies through print materials, videos and local meetings. Typically, a distributor takes orders, collects payment, and receives the products for personal delivery to the customer. Established distributors usually carry an inventory of the most popular products for immediate delivery.
In-Store Water-Purification Systems
Americans soaked up an average of 11 gallons of bottled water apiece in 1995--up from 10.4 gallons in 1994, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp. (see "Reader Resources" on pg. 78 for contact information). Water-vending machines offer an environmentally friendly start-up opportunity that can be run from home.
You can purchase a vending machine for between $3,000 and $6,000, depending on the water vended, from any manufacturer listed with the National Automatic Merchandising Association in Chicago (see "Reader Resources" on pg. 78 for contact information). Service for the machine is based on the condition of the water in the area and the machine's usage. A machine should net between $100 and $400 per month, depending on its location.
Look for a supermarket with no water-vending machine and at least 15 feet of shelf space featuring bottled water, which shows the product sells well in this location. Explain the advantages of a vending system--no ordering, no stocking, a larger profit margin--to the store manager, and offer a six-month pilot program, making it clear you will own the machine. The store gets 20 to 40 percent of gross sales and provides electricity, a drain, and a source of water from the public water system.
Jerry Soost, owner of Clear Choice, a Mankato, Minnesota, water-dispensing machine business, says, "To develop a market, offer free water to a super-market's customers for several weeks. Some will develop a taste for water with no organic matter and virtually no natural salts or other minerals, and will be willing to pay about 35 cents to a dollar per gallon for water from your dispenser."
Personal Trainer
Americans are willing to pay $25 to $50 an hour, two to four times a week, for a personal trainer's guidance. As a trainer, you instruct a client on proper exercise technique and a regimen based on his or her goals, and analyze progress in body weight, muscle development and weight training. You may train clients in their home gyms, work with health-club members who pay additional fees for your service, or operate a small gym with a full range of equipment (with a start-up cost of $7,000 to $10,000), developing a clientele over several years by working with or for an established trainer.
Most personal trainers have a college degree in physical therapy, physical education, exercise physiology, sports medicine, health or related specialties. Many trainers add muscle to their credentials with nonmandatory certification by the American College of Sports Medicine (see "Reader Resources" on pg. 78 for contact information).
In-Home Facial Classes
In-home facials offer an opportunity to make people feel good while making up to a 50 percent profit on sales of skin-care products and cosmetics with network marketing companies like Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc. (800-MARY-KAY) and Jeunesse Cosmetics Inc. (800-SPARTY-0). Because many states permit only a licensed cosmetologist to handle a customer's skin, a skin-care consultant usually instructs customers how to do their own facials at in-home "classes," or "parties," held by hostesses who receive free products for inviting guests.
A consultant uses a questionnaire to determine each guest's skin type, and provides samples of the appropriate formulas of skin cleanser, exfoliant, toner, moisturizer and foundation. Some consultants also demonstrate cosmetics such as lip, eye and cheek colors. Most guests purchase products; some also sign up to host a session or become a consultant.
Reader Resources:
The Association of Image Consultants International
1000 Connecticut Ave. N.W., #9, Washington, DC 20036-5032, (301) 371-9021
The American Council on Exercise
5820 Oberlin Dr., #102, San Diego, CA 92121-3787, (800) 825-3636
American Massage Therapy Association
820 Davis St., #100, Evanston, IL 60201-444, (708) 864-0123
American College of Sports Medicine
P.O. Box 1440 , Indianapolis, IN 46206-1440, (317) 637-9200
Beverage Marketing Corp.
850 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022, (212) 688-7640
National Automatic Merchandising Association
20 N. Wacker Dr. #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, (312) 346-0370
Contact Sources
Bike Riders Tours, P.O. Box 254, Boston, MA 02113, (800) 473-7040.
Clear Choice, 712 S. Broad St., Mankato, MN 56001, (507) 345-7738.
Health Solutions, 414 S. Front St., Ste. B, Mankato, MN 56001, (507) 625-7462.
Tami Davis, RR 1, Box 139, Eagle Lake, MN 56024, (507) 388-4482.
The Health Resource Inc., 564 Locust St., Conway, AR 72032, (800) 949-0090.
Thomas Carvell, 3711-A Ambassador Ln., Louisville, TN 37777, (800) 525-7710.
Tumblebus, 601 W. Main St., New Albany, IN 47150, (812) 945-6866.
Uri Ben-Ari, 342 Madison Ave., #823, New York, NY 10173-0899, (212) 682-7282.


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2016 Fall Mini Sessions: Raleigh + Asheville
Raleigh, NC Fall Mini Session Dates:
Saturday, November 5th: 2 – 5pm
Thursday, November 10th: 2-4pm
Sunday, November 13th: 12 – 4pm
Asheville, NC Mini Session Dates:
Sunday, November 27th: 11:00 – 4:30pm
(Includes: 20 minute session + 10 images w/print release: $195 (plus tax.)
Additional images, prints, and products may be purchased separately, though not required.
Want to book a mini session with us? Just send us an email at info@ashleydavidphotography with your preferred date.
The holidays are right around the corner!
We are almost completely booked from now until the end of the year, so these are a great chance to get a session in with us before it's too late!
Our annual holiday mini sessions are a great alternative for clients looking for that signature image to use for their holiday cards without the commitment of a full session. Digital files (w/print release) are included with all booked mini session. Clients may also order additional prints + products to add to their home decor or use as great holiday gifts for family and friends, if they'd like.
Q) WHO are good candidates for mini-sessions?
A) Mini sessions are perfect for families who would like updated portraits, but don't have time for a full session or maybe can't necessarily afford a full custom photography session. These mini sessions are usually booked with the holidays in mind, since prints and canvases are great gifts for family members.
Mini sessions are open to: families, children, maternity, seniors, and couples/engagements.
Q) WHAT is a mini session?
A) Our mini-sessions are 20 minute portrait sessions held only once each year (usually in the fall) in a specific location.
Q) WHERE are the mini sessions being held?
- Raleigh, NC: These mini sessions will be held in a nature setting within Raleigh and Cary on weekend dates. (The Thursday session will be held in the Warehouse District of downtown Raleigh.)
- Asheville, NC: Early afternoon sessions will be held at The North Carolina Arboretum. Late afternoon sessions will take place at Pack Square Park.
Q) WHEN should I book?
A) As soon as possible! We have limited availability, and these will go fast! Payment is due in full at time of booking to secure session slot.
Q) WHY should I use Ashley + David Photography for mini sessions this fall?
A) If you're anything like us, you have a very busy fall calendar and crossing "family photos" AND "holiday cards" off your list would bring a huge sigh of relief!
Plus, this might even take the stress out of those extended family gifts too. Not bad for a 20 minute session!
Think 25 minutes might not be enough time for you? Trust us, we're really awesome at getting beautiful images quickly! We've been doing this for a long time and have found that 25 minutes is really all we need to nail it.
(And even though we're super fun…most kids are over the whole modeling thing after 20 minutes anyway.)
*The Fine Print:
Fee must be collected at time of booking to secure time slot. Fee is non-refundable, but may be applied to future bookings upon cancellation. Sales tax not included in pricing.
In the event of rain, sessions will be rescheduled at photographer's convenience, but every effort will be made to have session on planned dates. Sessions are short – please be on time! Military discounts do not apply to mini sessions. Also, in order to keep the mini session fees low, all images will be delivered via online download only. (Though you may opt to purchase a USB for an additional fee.) Image turnaround time is 1-2 weeks from the date of session.
**Re-shoots are always available if you're not in love with your images. However, all images from the previous session will be deleted upon scheduling a new session. Re-scheduling determined upon photographer's availability.
No additional purchase is necessary, but you'll receive 10% off additional purchases.
REFERRAL BONUS: Refer 4 friends and your mini-session is free! (Sessions must be fully booked + they must mention your name prior to booking…so make sure they know to tell us who sent them!)
Email us at email@example.com to book your session!!


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Obama's day: Senate Democrats
A day after meeting with House Democrats, President Obama huddles Wednesday with party colleagues in the Senate.
In the early afternoon, Obama speaks at the Senate Democratic Issues Conference, with possible topics ranging from immigration to minimum wage to the November congressional elections.
After Tuesday's meeting at the White House with Democrats in the House, the White House said that Obama discussed plans to take more executive action, but also pledged to work with Congress on various issues.
"The president discussed the importance of increasing the minimum wage, strengthening education, passing commonsense immigration reform, fighting to make sure women get equal pay for equal work, extending unemployment benefits, as well as other measures that will create jobs and help middle class families," said a White House statement.
Wednesday's meeting with the Senate Democrats takes place at a unique venue: The restaurant at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium.
Also on Wednesday, Obama and Vice President Biden have meetings with key Cabinet members: Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry.


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Monk extends Swans deal
Swansea captain Garry Monk has signed a one-year contract extension, the Barclays Premier League club have confirmed.
The 33-year-old defender, who has captained the Swans in all four divisions during their remarkable rise, has struggled for playing time this season but has ended speculation about his future by signing a deal that commits him to the club until the summer of 2015.
News of Monk's contract comes less than 24 hours after Leon Britton - who has made over 400 appearances for Swansea - signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal.
Britton and Monk are two of only three players at the club - Alan Tate the other - to have played with the Swans in all four divisions.
Their contract signings come on the back of new deals for Michu, Wayne Routledge, Ashley Williams, Ben Davies and Michel Vorm.
"I'm delighted," Monk told the club's website. "This club has been my life for nearly 10 years and I love it here. My heart is here and I've never wanted to leave from the very first day I arrived.
"I've had a few offers to move elsewhere this season and I've had to do a lot of soul searching to establish what's best to prolong my career.
"The club didn't want me to go, so I felt that while I am still contributing to the team - on and off the pitch - this was the place I wanted to be.
"I'm grateful to the club for their show of faith in me, but I believe it is something I've worked hard for. I may not be the youngest member of the squad, but I've kept myself fit and competitive.
"I haven't played as much as I would have liked this season, but when I've played I think I've shown that I can compete at this level. I'm certainly not going to step aside for the younger players and make it easy for them - I'm still willing to fight for my place and do my best when called upon."
PA Media


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Thank you, David Liebovitz, for ruining my diet. And not in an "oh, I forgot to go to the gym today" way. Not in an "oh, I really shouldn't have eaten a cookie or two when my coworker brought them to work" way. In an, "oh, I really shouldn't have made a pint of the most deliciously decadent, amazing and heavenly ice cream that has ever existed on this planet… and then eaten the whole thing" way.
But, seriously, when David Liebovitz called this recipe the best caramel ice cream you can get, he had to know he was going to ruin a lot of diets.Â
I changed a few things about the recipe. The original recipe called for milk and cream — I had milk from the farmer's market that was a bottle of whole milk with some cream on the top, and fresher than you can imagine. So I used that, and eliminated the extra cream. It still came out incredibly rich and delicious. (Have I mentioned yet that this ice cream was out-of-this-world good? Oh, once or twice? Well, it's warranted.) Also, I used turbino sugar instead of regualar white sugar, because it has a richer flavor, and I think melts better (I did the praline with white sugar to compare, and very much preferred the turbino). Finally, I halved the recipe and changed the proportions a tiny bit depending on what was on hand.Â
And I will admit: I picked this recipe in particular because I am afraid to death of making caramel, and I wanted to get over that fear. Mostly, I was afraid of burning the caramel and ruining my lovely pans! But, as usual, my fear was totally unwarranted — although I did burn my first batch of caramel, nothing stuck to the pans. Phew! Want to see what burnt caramel looks like?
Big difference, huh? I got the hang of it on the second batch, and eventually chopped up the hardened carmel into praline chunks to be stirred into the caramel ice cream base. Although, I have to say, if I was going to make this recipe again, I'd probably eliminate the praline pieces. I wasn't totally in love with them, and I found that I spent a lot of time picking around the pieces to get to the caramel ice cream.Â
Don't they look cute though? I might get the best of both worlds by serving these in pieces alongside the ice cream, for people to use as a topping!
Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream
Adapted from David Liebovitz
For the caramel praline:
1/4 cup turbino sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For the ice cream:
1 1/2 cups farmer's market whole milk with cream (or a mix of 1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup cream)
1/2 cup turbino sugar
1 tablespoon salted butter
Pinch of sea salt
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. To make the caramel praline, spread the 1/4 cup of sugar in an even layer in a medium-sized saucepan. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and have it nearby.
2. Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt, and then stir until all the sugar is liquid.
3. The moment that all the sugar is liquid, and all clumps have disappeared, sprinkle in the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pour the caramel onto the silipat sheet, tilting it to encourage the caramel to form a thin layer. Set aside to harden and cool.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Cook over moderate heat, until sugar dissolves into liquid.
5. Once dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until the butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the milk, 1/2 cup at a time, and add vanilla, stirring as you go. Return to the heat on low, and stir until all the caramel has dissolved into the milk.
6. Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook the custard, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens.
7. Place a mesh strainer over your ice cream maker bowl. Strain the custard into the ice cream maker, discarding any solids.
8. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Churn for at least an hour, until ice cream is of soft-serve texture.
9. Crumble the hardened caramel praline into very little pieces, and set aside.
10. Once the caramel ice cream is churned, quickly stir in the crushed caramel, then chill in the freezer until firm.
Makes a little less than 1 pint.


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Sarah Stone (active 1701-37)
Sarah Stone was the daughter of a midwife and the mother of a midwife. She epitomises the traditional nature of a profession that was to change in the 1700s. She learned her trade through skills being handed down and practical experience gained within families and among women. Unlike many contemporaries she also studied anatomy and attended female autopsies to improve her practical knowledge.
From 1703 her practice was based in Taunton, in the west of England. Stone was more skilled than the existing local midwives, and often dealt with the most difficult deliveries. Her reputation meant that within a few years she was attending around 300 births annually. Stone later moved to Bristol, where she further championed female midwives in the face of the growing influence of man-midwives. The culmination of this was her book A Complete Practice of Midwifery in 1737. It detailed skills and techniques she had developed over decades dealing with the most challenging, and very often fatal, cases.
Stone was outspoken about man-midwives. She felt female midwives could manage difficult cases on their own with the right training. She feared female midwives lost credit for their hard work when 'the young men command all the praise' by stepping in at the climax of the birth. Her prediction that man-midwives would increasingly be the first port of call was, in time, proved correct. Stone effectively disappeared from the historical record following the publication of her book.
Related Themes and Topics
Related links
I Grundy, 'Sarah Stone: Enlightenment Midwife', in R Porter, (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), pp 128-44
P Lieske, (ed.), Eighteenth Century Midwifery, (parts I-III) (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2007)
A branch of medical science concerned with the structure of living organisms.


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Doosan heavy excavators are designed for tough and heavy work environments. We offers an excellent return on investment.
Doosan wheel excavator was developed with the concept of providing optimum value to the end user.
Doosan mini excavators ensures best performance with a powerful excavating force and a hydraulic system for better operating efficiency.
Doosan wheel loaders is a machine that delivers a powerful, highly effective force, offering superior penetration of the hardest materials.
With the new generation of DOOSAN articulated dump trucks, the product features have been innovated to meet the tough demands of the future.
All Genuine Parts of Doosan are specifically designed and manufactured as Doosan equipments.
Doosan's services are ready to assist you night and day. Doosan is proud of its efforts to maintain the best possible condition for their customers' machine.
We always to maximize the customer satisfaction, through its useful educational programs provided to customers and dealers.
We add value through listening closely to our partners and building relationships. We ensure that our partners can depend on us, whether it's our equipment, service or peoples.
Doosan Infracore's Construction Equipment is a global leader in all fields, ranging from compact to heavy excavators, loaders and various attachments.
Based on the Doosan's unique management philosophy, we aim to join the ranks of top 3 global companies in the machinery industry by 2020.
Since its founding in 1977, Doosan Construction Equipment has achieved the high rates of growth through its commitment to the better development of its investment in building a global business model.
Doosan CI refers to a guideline for each and every element of its logo and visual system. The CI clearly manifests Doosan's image as a global firm that has contributed to enriching the lives of people across the globe.
Doosan has focused on quality enhancement to ensure customer satisfaction by opening dialogue channels with clients.
Easy maintenance, less downtime! Minimizing downtime gives you the edge when it comes to productivity. We've made it easy for you to reach all the essential equipment parts.


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Start an Internet Business Service Making Money Fast
Start an internet business service making money fast. This specific work from home business will make you among the greatest entrepreneurs around. Existence should never be dull again and you may cash your hefty paychecks without notice.
In this business, you run businesses belonging to other people. Most business owners would gladly turn over the day to day job of running their business to you and they would pay you well for it. Well, now you can give them the chance they want – to be free to expand their own small business.
Here are a few reasons why this home based business service is for you:
1) You work at home, or on the beach, and set your own hours.
2) You can care for small children while you work from home.
3) You can be any age, be disabled, and be free.
4) You can outsource most of the work.
5) You can take on several clients and really make money.
6) Working with businesses is easier than working with individuals.
There are certain services that business owners want to have done for them. They include the following:
Bookkeeping, and accounting jobs
Payroll, and taxes
Customer service, and payment processing
Website building, and Webmaster services
Marketing, advertising and publicity campaigns
Telephone answering, and incoming and outgoing mail service
Article writing, and press release service
Working with product suppliers and distributors
Research, and data collection
Managing an appointment schedule
Booking a boardroom for company meetings
Here is how you can make money fast with your home based business service:
1) Draw up a list of selling points to present to prospective clients. These points should tell business owners why it is in their interests to hire you rather than someone else. Some of them might include the following:
* You are trustworthy. You have at least three references to show them. You belong to one or two small business trade associations. (Clients tend to trust more readily if you can show you belong to a big association.) You belong to the local Chamber of Commerce or the Better Business Bureau. You have a business checking account at your local bank.
*You are skilled in office work and experienced with computer software.
* You are bonded and insured and thoroughly discrete in handling sensitive information.
2) Charge a flat rate. This rate will cover certain basic services such as bookkeeping, telephone answering, mail services, article writing, and press release writing and submission. Charge extra for each additional service.
3) Have your client, the business owner, sign your contract. The contract should list the exact services the client is to receive. Also, state that all services will be completed in a timely fashion. Avoid working under deadlines.
4) Set a minimum service contract of at least three months. Offer a discount to clients who sign on for six months, and for one year. It is wise to request payment for three months in advance. Therefore, your payment would be quarterly.
5) It may become impossible for you to do all the work yourself. In this case, outsource as much of the non-sensitive work as possible.
How much can you earn in your home based business service? In the beginning with one client, you should earn a net amount of about $3000 per month. The client would pay more for each extra service as well as for any extraordinary expenses.
If you are able to engage five clients or more, your monthly income will soar.
Working with businesses is much easier than working with private individuals. For one thing, you need to work with only a few businesses to make a 6-figure income. Also, businesses tend to know what they want and they are willing to pay for it. Therefore, you do not have to do a lot of selling to get their attention.
If you are a good organizer, there is no reason why you cannot excel in this great home-based business. There are many small business owners who need someone to run their business while they seek out new opportunities. Perhaps, it is time for you to start a home based business service and make money fast.
Read Also: With Business Services Online Make Good Income
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- It's $10 per name change.
- You can't change your name again for 90 days and your old name will be unavailable for 90 days as well.
- It has to be available on your server. Captain Obvious says, "Duh!".
- It will take a few hours while they approve your name change, since it must follow the Naming Policy.
- While the name change process takes place, your character will be unavailable.
- The name change is permanent unless you pay to change it again 90+ days later.
- This function is being rolled out in phases, a few servers at a time.
- Characters on your ignore list who have had their names changed will remain there with the new name. (Update: edited for clarity)
I actually like my character names, but I reserve the right to change my mind at any time and I'm glad I now have the option.
The official forum announcement with the list of the first phase of servers is after the jump.


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In what is said to be a coincidental move, U.S. troops specialized in nuclear, biological and chemical attacks arrived Thursday in South Korea, officials said.
The arrival of the 23rd Chemical Battalion came only hours after North Korea announced its military had been green-lighted to use nuclear weapons on U.S. targets, Stars and Stripes reported.
The U.S. Army announced in October the 250-member unit would relocate from a base in McCord, Wash., where it had been stationed for eight years.
North Korea is believed to have an extensive stockpile of biochemical weapons.
South Korea's defense chief said Thursday North Korea had moved a missile with "considerable" range to its east coast, The New York Times reported.
The missile was not considered capable of hitting the United States, but Pyongyang said Thursday its military had been authorized to "take powerful practical military counteractions" against U.S. military aircraft that recently overflew the peninsula during joint military exercises with South Korea.
The actions were the latest in a political chess game between the communist country and the South Korean-U.S. alliance.
The Pentagon said Wednesday the U.S. Army is speeding a mobile missile defense system to Guam to protect U.S. forces in the Pacific from a possible North Korean attack.
Deploying the sophisticated Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system to the U.S. territory two years ahead of schedule is "a precautionary move to strengthen our regional defense posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat," the Pentagon said.
The land-based missile system, designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, is expected to be fully deployed in Guam in the next few weeks, the Pentagon said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Pyongyang's threats had escalated to "a real and clear danger" to the United States and to its regional allies.
Hagel specifically cited "the threats that the North Koreans have leveled directly at the United States regarding our base in Guam, threatened Hawaii, threatened the West Coast of the United States."
"We have to take those threats seriously," he said.
Despite the concern, Pyongyang has not established its missiles can hit Guam or Hawaii, much less the U.S. mainland, the Los Angeles Times said. It is also not clear if North Korea has a nuclear warhead small enough to be carried on its missiles, the Times said.
North Korea's state news agency quoted an unnamed military spokesman Wednesday as saying the North's military had been cleared to attack using "smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear" weapons and Pyongyang had "ratified" plans for a "merciless" nuclear operation against the United States.
The "moment of explosion is approaching fast" and war could break out "today or tomorrow," the official Korean Central News Agency quoted the spokesman as saying.
The North announced Tuesday it would resume operations to produce weapons-grade plutonium at a formerly shuttered nuclear reactor at its Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center.
Photographs published Wednesday on the website 38 North, which follows North Korean developments, show new construction at the aging reactor, dating back several weeks.


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A young mother and her year-old son are the recipients of the 100th home to be built in St. Johns County by Habitat for Humanity.
Kemyatta Charles and her son, Marvis, will move into their new home after May 19 dedication ceremonies. Charles, a lifelong resident of St. Johns County, has worked for the St. Johns County School District for 13 years.
"I'm overjoyed to finally have a safe home of my own where I can raise my son," said Charles. "Thank you Habitat and Citi for making this dream come true!"
Citi is the sponsor of the home, on which construction was begun in early January. Citi and the Citi Foundation have built five homes in St. Johns County and given Habitat for Humanity International more than $22 million since 2000. Both have also donated additional funds to support Habitat affiliates in communities around the world. In addition, through the "Citi Builds Communities" program launched in the United States in 2000, more than 22,000 Citi employees have volunteered 230,000 hours to help build more than 230 homes in 40 locations across the country.
Carrabba's will donate food for the May 19 celebration.
The St. Johns County Habitat affiliate began in 1993. Initially, the organization was all-volunteer run, building one house a year for the first seven years. In 2002, they hired their first paid staff person and have now grown to having eight paid staff members and building 10 homes a year. Additionally, the organization recently implemented an exterior home renovation program in order to assist another 5 to 10 families in need each year. Thousands of volunteers help the organization annually building new homes, renovating existing homes, assisting in the administrative office, and serving on the Board of Directors, the Family Selection and Support Committees, and the Mortgage and Development Committees.
Habitat for Humanity International also marked a major achievement on Oct. 3, 2011, World Habitat Day, when it dedicated its 500,000th house in Maai Mahiu, Kenya. To celebrate this milestone, hundreds of volunteers and homeowners joined Habitat for Humanity Kenya in its effort to complete this project.
"It is a testament to the power of what God can do when people come together to build homes, communities and hope," said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. "I am so grateful to all of the volunteers, donors and advocates who share our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live."
These milestone homes represent the steady increase in Habitat for Humanity's scale and scope to help more families in need of decent, affordable housing.
In 2005, Habitat celebrated its 200,000th house globally. Six years later, the organization celebrated serving more than 500,000 families around the world through new, rehabilitated, repaired and improved homes, 100 of which are right here in St. Johns County. Habitat for Humanity of St. Johns County is a nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God's love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope.


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Hackers have managed to cut Sony off at the knees in several of the most competitive aspects of this generation of video games.
For the past five days, the PlayStation Network has been offline—making it impossible for PlayStation 3 owners to play multiplayer games, download updates to titles or use their PS3 to stream movies and music. This represents the most serious outage the service has faced since its start in 2006.
The company has acknowledged, via its official blog, that the disruption was initially caused by an "external intrusion." To ensure future security and figure out exactly what happened, Sony says it turned off both the PlayStation Network and the Qriocity music service on the evening of April 20.
The company says it is not yet certain if credit card or other personal information of users was taken during the intrusion.
Sony says the attack has led it to begin rebuilding the system and it has not given an estimate when it will be back online.
"Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure," said Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications, on the blog. "Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security. … I know [players] are waiting for additional information on when PlayStation Network and Qriocity services will be online. Unfortunately, I don't have an update or timeframe to share at this point in time."
So far, no hacker group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The rogue group known as Anonymous, which has famously launched attacks on both Gene Simmons and Hustler Magazine, was initially suspected, after it vowed in early April to target Sony after the company's legal action against a hacker who dismantled the PS3's security.
The group managed to disrupt the service with a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack earlier this month. (Anonymous attackers, using software known as "Low Orbit Ion Cannons," repeatedly pinged the company's servers. When done simultaneously by enough users, this can bring the site down—usually quickly and without warning.)
However, Anonymous denies responsibility for this incident, saying on its site, "While it could be the case that other Anons have acted by themselves, AnonOps was not related to this incident and does not take responsibility for whatever has happened."
The outage of the PlayStation Network hits Sony at a particularly bad time from a game sales perspective. The company released last week "SOCOM 4," a multiplayer-focused action game that is traditionally one of its biggest franchises.
Additionally, the eagerly anticipated "Portal 2," which comes with a co-operative mode, also hit store shelves last week—with an integration of Valve's Steam online service into the PlayStation Network being touted as one of the chief reasons to opt for the PS3 version of the game, rather than the Xbox 360 version.
Richard Lawler, a senior editor at Engadget, summed up gamer's frustration via Twitter, writing "PS3 version of Portal 2 came with a PC version and cross-plat[form] play! Xbox 360 version comes with a working online service."
The outage gives Microsoft an advantage in the online gaming space, as its Xbox Live service has not been compromised. Unlike Microsoft, which requires a $60 annual subscription fee for access to most features of its Xbox Live service, Sony does not charge most users for access to the PlayStation Network. (A PlayStation Plus program is available, giving early access to demos, priority invitations to game beta tests and discounts on products in its online store.)
That will prevent it from having to issue substantial refunds, but that might be small consolation to users who pay subscription fees to companies like Hulu Plus and Netflix , using the PS3 to view streaming content.


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NAIA Division II Women?s Basketball Player of the Week ? No. 6
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kendra De Jong of Northwestern (Iowa) has been named the NAIA National Division II Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. De Jong was selected based on her performances from Feb. 4 - Feb. 10 and was chosen out of a pool of conference/independent/unaffiliated group winners.
De Jong, a 6-foot forward, averaged 23.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game to lead the Red Raiders to a perfect 2-0 week. On Feb. 6 against Mount Marty (S.D.), De Jong recored her seventh double-double of the season, tallying a game-high 24 points and collecting 11 boards In Northwestern's 80-54 victory. She recorded six assists and shot 11-of-16 from the floor. The senior from Hopers, Iowa followed that performance with her eighth double-double of the season in a 70-65 victory against Doane (Neb.). De Jong scored a team-high 22 points and 13 boards. She was 12-of-12 from the free throw line and recorded three steals.
Nationally, De Jong ranks seventh in total rebounds per game (9.9), tenth in total rebounds (248), 19th in field goal percentage (0.521) and 22nd in points per game (17.08).
For a complete listing of all the national statistical leaders, click here.
The next Player of the Week announcement will be on Feb. 19.
Nominees: Inekka Stevenson, Friends (Kan.); Orielle Thomas, William Penn (Iowa); Gaby Ayon, Ashford (Iowa); Chelsea Carradine, Indiana Tech; Emily Walker, College of the Ozarks (Mo.); Bridget Schuneman, Jamestown (N.D.); Trenia Barbee, Asbury (Ky.); Yesenia Lora, Webber International (Fla.); Johneshia Good, Milligan (Tenn.); Juaneice Jackson, Grace (Ind.); Katie Gonnering, St. Francis (Ill.); Emily Tsugawa, Corban (Ore.); Ashley Rose, William Jessup (Calif.).
2012-13 Composite Award Winners
Week 1 (Jan. 8): Laura Johnson, Bethel (Ind.)
Week 2 (Jan. 15): Morgan Stuut, Saint Xavier (Ill.)
Week 3 (Jan. 22): Karyn Bixler, Saint Mary (Neb.)
Week 4 (Jan. 29): Hannah Sabol, Concordia (Mich.)
Week 5 (Feb. 5): Chelsea Davis, Michigan-Dearborn
Week 6 (Feb. 12): Kendra De Jong, Northwestern (Iowa)


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I find it interesting that the population of New Zealand is less than that of the State of Arizona, the 16th state by population in the U.S. Like Arizona, the population is concentrated in a few large cities such as Auckland with more than 25% of the population of the whole country. (In Arizona, half of the state's population lives in Maricopa County, the location of the Phoenix metropolitan area).
To get an overview of the genealogy resources available for New Zealand, I suggest New Zealand History Online. I also suggest the New Zealand Archives with over 4 million records. See also Genealogylinks.net for New Zealand, and GenealogyPro, Researching New Zealand Records. You might also want to check the resources of the FamilySearch Research Wiki for New Zealand. In addition there is a useful list on Web Sites for Genealogists, New Zealand.
One interesting site I have run across is on FamilySearch's Community Trees with the Maori pedigree charts. The information entered into the pedigree charts based on oral genealogies ranges from 13 B.C. to A.D. 1790.
New Zealand has an active genealogical community. Here are some useful websites from the genealogical community:
- New Zealand Society of Genealogists
- Federation of Family History Societies (of the United Kingdom)
There are some New Zealand bloggers out there also, here are a few:


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WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Several states with Republican-dominated legislatures may alter the way they allocate electoral votes to try to shift power toward the GOP, officials say.
Rather than the winner-take-all process used in most states, the proposed changes would apportion electoral votes by congressional district, as Nebraska and Maine currently do.
Republicans in Virginia, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania came up with the proposals after voters in their states voted for Democrat Barack Obama in the last two presidential elections.
The Virginia state Senate may vote next week on a proposal by Republican state Sen. Charles Carrico to adopt the system currently in place in Nebraska and Maine, where the overall winner gets two extra electoral votes, one for each of the state's U.S. Senate seats.
Virginia state Sen. Donald M. McEachin, a Democrat, called the proposals "sore-loser bills."
The Atlantic reported Friday a spokesman for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, said McDonnell "believes Virginia's existing system works just fine as it is."
Virginia state Sen. Ralph Smith, a Republican, said Friday the legislation is a "bad idea" and he will oppose it, The Roanoke Times reported.
"What if all states got to skewering it to their advantage?" Smith said.
Smith is a member of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, which is set to hold hearings on the bill next week. If he opposes the bill, it would be difficult for the measure to reach the full Senate, the Times said.
Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford told The Miami Herald he opposes changing the state's Electoral College rules.
"I don't think we need to change the rules of the game," Weatherford said. "I think we need to get better."
Pennsylvania state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi plans to introduce a bill in February to allocate the state's electoral votes based on the percentage of the popular vote, The Washington Post reported. Obama won Pennsylvania 52 percent to 47 percent in November, taking all 20 of the state's electoral votes. Under Pileggi's proposal, Obama would only have won 12 electoral votes and Republican nominee Mitt Romney would have taken eight.
Mike Tate, chairman of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, called the bills "an audacious attempt to rig the system."
Republicans "can't appeal to a majority of voters, whether it's here in Wisconsin or Michigan or the rest of the Midwest, so they are undermining a majority of voters," he said.
The Atlantic reported Friday that Jordan Gehrke, a Republican strategist, is working with former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell to promote similar reforms nationwide.
Gehrke said he and Blackwell have contacted major donors and will send out an email next week asking for financial support from grassroots conservatives to fund an electoral vote reform campaign.


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When your work-out equipment is all the way in the basement, or even just in another room, it's easy to dodge exercising. But when your fitness gear is right under your ass while you're lounging in the living room, you don't have much of an excuse any more.
And that was the thinking behind this transforming Panorama living room set created by a trio of design students from France. Sure, it saves some valuable floor real estate by merging everything together. But more importantly, it makes it damn near impossible to come up with excuses not to work out. The height of the footrests and seats can all be adjusted to facilitate a daily regimen of situps, pushups, and other routines.
It's almost like it gives fitness an unfair advantage over sloth and lethargy. But if we want to avoid a future as predicted in WALL-E, this kind of thinking could very well be our best bet.


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Skip Hire Torfaen from YourLocalSkipHire.co.uk
If you're looking to hire a skip in Torfaen, you've come to the right place. YourLocalSkipHire.co.uk is one of the UK's leading providers of skips for hire, offering a reliable and professional service to business and residential clients.
Our sizing guide is available so you can choose the right skip for your requirements. YourLocalSkipHire can supply a range of skips in a selection of sizes, so you can be certain that our suppliers will provide you with the right container for your project.
Once you've found the right sized skip, simply place your postcode into the box above, and we'll supply you with an obligation-free skip hire quote. No hassle, no fuss – just a great price for hiring the skip you need. Or, if you need an instant quote, ring us now on 0330 1130 700.


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Search For Properties In Estate Section
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The Estate Section of Vero Beach provides the ultimate privacy and seclusion for its residents. Stately mansions on expansive lots make this an extremely desirable oceanfront paradise for the prestigious buyer.
Real Estate: Luxury real estate in the Estate Section includes some of the most impressive spellbinding mansions in the area. Estate section residences feature resort-style swimming pools and spas, marble flooring, state-of-the-art appliances, large verandas and entertainment spaces, and breathtaking Intracoastal and ocean views. Several luxury estates in the Estate Section reside on long and spacious oceanfront lots, surrounded by lush landscaping and foliage that provides privacy for its residents and their guests. You will discover a wide range of estate styles in this community, while each maintain a high level of prestige and grandeur.
Lifestyle: Residents of the Estate Section enjoy the privacy of this secluded area, where they may relax and entertain in their gorgeous mansions. The community enjoys convenient proximity to several nearby parks, marinas, and some of the finest beaches in South Florida. They may drive to nearby Vero Beach for fine dining, boutique shopping, and entertainment. This is the ideal area for yachters, socialites, and beachgoers who appreciate private and extravagant living.
Education: The Estate Section is located near several wonderful public schools, including Beachland Elementary School, Gifford Middle School, and Vero Beach High School. Nearby private schools include Saint Edward's School and Tabernacle Christian School.
Water Access: Beach and Intracoastal access is extremely convenient for the Estate Section residents, most of which live directly along the ocean. Intracoastal residents may park their vessels at nearby marinas, or at their own private dock.


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Off to Florida
I'm heading down to Florida tomorrow afternoon for the Winter Meetings. I'll be giving daily updates from the Meetings on bluejays.com and I'll try to blog as much as I can down there, too. That's really all for right now. I have to help my wife decorate our Christmas Tree tonight before packing and watching the second half of Superman Returns. Talk to you all from Orlando.
2 Comments
have a great time in Orlando. DO you think we will find out if Vernon Wells will be re-signing with the Jays for a long term contract? And is this something that will be able to be determine at the winter meetings?
Coventry, RI U.S.A
Yes Jordan, bring us some good news. Would like to see Lilly resigned and possibly get Meche as well. Let us know how the talks go please. You are our eyes and ears down there, let us see the good stuff.


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Elba Esther Gordillo's upscale Coronado getaway was hardly a secret. The location of the Mexican labor leader's southern California residence for years was known to friends and foes alike.
But now the six-bedroom house in Coronado Cays sits unoccupied, key evidence in a Mexican government investigation centered on the 68-year-old Gordillo, longtime head of the 1.4 million-member National Union of Education Workers. Since Gordillo's Feb. 26th arrest by Mexican federal agents, she has remained behind bars in Mexico City, charged with embezzling close to $160 million in union funds to underwrite a lavish lifestyle.
Nearly a month after her detention, questions linger on both sides of the border: How could Gordillo and a small circle of alleged collaborators have gotten away with it for so long? With an annual reported income in recent years of less than $23,000, how did Gordillo and her multi-million dollar expenditures manage for years to evade government scrutiny in Mexico? And how would she have been able to transfer funds to pay cash for costly homes in San Diego without calling the attention of U.S. banks and government agencies?
Mexican authorities are connecting Gordillo to two properties on Coronado Cays, both paid for with cash. A search of San Diego County property records by U-T San Diego found documents that link two Chula Vista houses to Gordillo's grandsons, both involved in politics in Mexico, one of them currently serving as a federal legislator. Documents connect one of the addresses directly to Gordillo's Coronado residence.
In announcing Gordillo's arrest late last month, Mexico's attorney general said that investigators from Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit found union funds were used to pay for $3 million of Neiman Marcus charges on Gordillo's account and more than $17,000 for bills to plastic surgery clinics and hospitals in California. Another $2 million was deposited to an account in the name of Comercializadora TTS de Mexico, a Mexican company listed on county property records as the owner of Gordillo's residence and another property across the street.
"It's a huge win for people who are following the money trail," said Celina Realuyo, an assistant professor of national security affairs at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. "It is going to be really interesting to see who else is implicated."
John Owens, formerly head of the criminal division at the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego who is now an attorney in private practice, said one question certain to arise north of the border is "did anyone in the United States help to facilitate these crimes? These types of crimes are not usually committed alone."
Though Gordillo kept a low profile in San Diego, many knew she had a house here. Even teachers union members from Tijuana carrying protest signs had no problem locating the house. A YouTube video uploaded in 2010 shows a small group outside Gordillo's Coronado Cays residence, and speaking with her through an intercom. "We know that you bought this house with our funds," one protester is heard saying.
Tough to uncover
Investigators say proving suspicious real estate transactions that involve ill-gotten gains isn't easy.
The U.S. and Mexican governments in recent years have committed to a number of measures to curb money laundering, the practice of disguising the source of illicit income — from limiting dollar deposits in Mexican banks to allowing the IRS to collect data on non-resident deposits in U.S. banks.
Yet critics say there are far too many ways to escape scrutiny. In the United States, property owners are easily able to hide behind anonymous shell companies that don't carry their name, and banks themselves may not know the true identity of account holders.
"We think this is the first tool of choice for somebody to hide money in the United States," said E.J. Fagan, spokesman for Global Financial Integrity, a Washington, D.C.-based group that seeks to curb the flow of illegal money across borders.
"There are lots of different loopholes in the system," said Stefanie Ostfeld, a senior policy advisor with Global Witness, a group that investigates money laundering and natural resource exploitation.
As more of Gordillo's case is expected to emerge in coming months, groups and government agencies fighting to curb money laundering say they will keep pushing for regulations and legislation to close the loopholes that allow illicit funds to move across international borders.
Among the changes promoted by Ostfeld's group and others would require real estate and escrow agents to check the source of funds being used to purchase properties, closer scrutiny of foreign leaders with U.S. bank accounts and that banks know the owners of the accounts.
"If you're paying $4 million for a property, the real estate agent should have to report that," she said.
Global Witness was able to link the 2006 purchase of a Malibu mansion to a high-ranking government official from Equatorial Guinea for $30 million. U.S. prosecutors have moved to seize the residence, accusing its owner, Tedodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of the country's dictator and a high-ranking official, of plundering his country's natural wealth to finance his lifestyle.
In San Diego, "there's a lot of drug money that gets invested into property," said John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor and now a criminal defense attorney in San Diego. The practice not only allows traffickers to hide their income, Kirby said, but also gives them safe haven — across the border from enemies in the drug trade.
One case in 2010 involved a customs broker, Antonio González, who under a plea agreement in a drug conviction forfeited houses he owned in south San Diego and Chula Vista — along with high-end automobiles and a plane — because they were purchased through illegal means.
U.S. banks and other financial institutions reported more than $41 billion of "suspicious" money was filtered through title and escrow companies from 2003 to 2011, according to a study by Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department that investigates questionable money transfers.
While banks — and more recently mortgage lenders and loan originators — are required to establish anti-money laundering programs and report suspicious financial activity, that requirement does not apply to escrow and title companies.
Escrow agents act as neutral third parties who collect and disburse money during the last stages of real estate deals. Title companies identify possible hurdles such as unpaid liens before properties are transferred to their new owners.
They're essential to the closing process of any residential real estate. But unlike other financial entities, such as banks or mortgage lenders, they're not subject to the same scrutiny when it comes to suspected activities like money laundering.
Andrea Schmitt, a San Diego escrow agent who's in favor of reforms, said cash deals are considered easier and more desirable because they involve fewer steps during the closing process compared to sales with mortgages.
The process of securing financing requires extensive checks on income and employment.
"It's not something that has to be regulated at all," Schmitt said. "I just need to make sure I get the money."
Following the trail
All this makes it difficult for law enforcement to track.
"We do recognize there is a risk," said Steve Hudak, a spokesman for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, referring to ill-gotten gains that could be funneled through title and escrow companies.
According to Mexico's attorney general, Jesús Murillo Karam, the trail that led to Gordillo's arrest began with a report last December to Mexico's federal Financial Intelligence Unit of an unusual bank transaction. The transaction, for 2.6 million pesos or about $210,000, was traced to Nora Guadalupe Ugarte Ramírez, an employee of the Mexican teachers union.
Investigators who subsequently unraveled a series of money trails from union accounts discovered that one led to banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland and payments to Comercializadora TTS de Mexico, owner of the two multimillion dollar properties in Coronado Cays.
Gordillo's name is largely missing from public records for the properties. A review of public documents for the Coronado properties found the sole trace of her name — and signature — was on an undated letter authorizing a second-floor addition to the residence at 23 Green Turtle Road. Purchased in 1991 for $1.15 million in cash, its current assessed value is $4.7 million. Cash was also used to buy a second property at 1 Green Turtle Road, a $4 million transaction recorded in Aug. 2010.
The records identify the firm's majority shareholder with 99 percent of the company as Zoila Esther Morales Ochoa Fernández, or Zoila Armendariz, Gordillo's mother who died in 2009. The other one percent is owned by Alvaro Q. Díaz, identified in Mexican news reports as a Miami attorney.
Public records link Gordillo's residence to a third $300,000 house in the Otay Ranch area of Chula Vista that is owned by her grandson, Othon Sánchez Arriola, a former state legislator for Morelos state in central Mexico.
The property was purchased in 2011 with cash, records show. The house is the address of Ha Property Management & Processing Services, Inc. and its registered agent Héctor Avila Rivera. The company last year wrote checks for property taxes on both of Gordillo's Coronado residences. The telephone number listed for the company has been disconnected, and a woman who answered the door of the house earlier this month said she was not authorized to speak.
At about the same time, another Gordillo grandson, René Fujiwara Montelongo, a Mexican federal legislator purchased a house in the same cul-de-sac for $310,000 in cash, according to a records search by U-T San Diego. No one was answering the door of the residence one afternoon several days ago.
Neither of the Gordillo grandsons' properties have been mentioned by Mexico's attorney general, and it is not clear whether they are part of the investigation of Gordillo.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to say whether or not they are investigating Gordillo. U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, whose agents were seen searching the house earlier this month, also declined any comment.


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The Details On How To Elect Futurama's Bender To Whatever Election Is Using Online Voting
from the bite-my-shiny-metal-ass deptBack in October of 2010, we wrote about how some "hackers" had broken into a test of the Washington DC e-voting system, and had managed to have the system play the University of Michigan "fight song" every time people voted -- University of Michigan being where the researchers (led by e-voting security expert J. Alex Halderman) were from. A day later, we discussed some more details of the hack, noting how just a tiny vulnerability could take down the integrity of the entire system.
It's been a bit of time since then, but Halderman has released the academic paper they wrote about the experience, which is now getting some new attention, including the fact that, beyond playing the UMich fight song, they also installed their own slate of "fictional" candidates, including Bender from Futurama, who is presumably running on a Kill All Humans platform.
The full paper has some other interesting tidbits, as well, including the fact that they didn't just hack into the e-voting machines... but also accessed the security cameras watching the e-voting servers, which were left open to public access. I'm not kidding.
These webcams may have been intended to increase security by allowing remote surveillance of the server room, but in practice, since they were unsecured, they had the potential to leak information that would be extremely useful to attackers. Malicious intruders viewing the cameras could learn which server architectures were deployed, identify individuals with access to the facility in order to mount social engineering attacks, and learn the pattern of security patrols in the server room. We used them to gauge whether the network administrators had discovered our attacks—when they did, their body language became noticeably more agitated.Either way, the entire thing suggests just how insecure e-voting can be, and the paper suggests these are fundamental, systematic problems with any e-voting approach these days, rather than just a poor implementation.
Filed Under: alex halderman, bender, dc, e-voting, hacking, security, university of michigan


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Welcome to ClydeMaritime - a one-stop resource for all Clyde-based shipping news.
On our site you will find shipping movements – arrivals and departures – for vessels on the Clyde, along with listings for Cruise Ships visiting Greenock.
We have links to operators of Clyde ferries and cruises, as well as a section for historical reference material - which includes sections on all known Puffers and Vics, and information on the 'X' Lighters which was previously available on the Riversea International website. Newly added is a section of Shipbreaking records from the West of Scotland Shipbreaking Yard at Troon.
The Reference section is small at present, but includes a link to the new Clyde Built Ships database run by the Caledonian Maritime Research Trust - www.clydeships.co.uk.
The ClydeMaritime forum contains the latest news and photos not just from the Clyde, but from around the world. Please click the forum link at the top or bottom of this page, or type forums.clydemaritime.co.uk into your browser's address bar.
Access to Clyde Maritime is FREE of charge. In order to access all features of our Forum though you need to register some details with us and create a username (but still free of charge).
It has come to our attention recently that there are numerous fake emails circulating allegedly from ClydeMaritime regarding employment and VISA requests from India for work. These emails are a HOAX and should be ignored. ClydeMaritime is run by one person on a voluntary basis and does not employ any staff within the shipping and maritime sectors.
ClydeMaritime is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.
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Industrial users got a break over three years, Luna finds
San Diego has collected almost $10 million less than required in wastewater fees for industrial customers over the past three years due to a flawed billing system, according to a new report from the city's independent auditor.
Officials also collected $1 million less than required from other government agencies that rely on San Diego's treatment plant to process their industrial wastewater, the report found.
Wastewater audit
"Fees charged for permitting and monitoring conducted by the Industrial Wastewater Control Program are not routinely reviewed and updated, and in some cases may be based on a flawed methodology that does not capture all costs," the audit states.
The city's outdated fee structure violates existing council policies and administrative regulations, the audit said. Some of the fees have not been updated since 1984.
In his letter Monday to the mayor and council members, independent City Auditor Eduardo Luna said the regularly scheduled review also uncovered some unspecified legal issues that required the immediate attention of the administration and the city attorney.
"Due to the confidential nature of our communication with the Office of the City Attorney concerning this matter and to comply with Government Auditing Standards, we excluded this information from our final report," the letter states.
Public Utilities Department officials agreed with the recommendations submitted by the Auditor's Office.
Director Roger Bailey said he already hired a consultant to develop an updated fee schedule and survey other agencies to examine their cost-recovery programs.
"This study will provide the department the foundation upon which Public Utilities management will develop policy recommendations for the Mayor's and Council's consideration," Bailey responded. "Further, we will develop and memorialize a standard of practice for the review of fees and charges consistent with Council Policy."
San Diego's industrial wastewater treatment plant services most of the surrounding cities and public agencies, including National City, Imperial Beach, Coronado, Del Mar, Chula Vista and El Cajon.
Due to weak internal controls and an unnecessarily complicated billing process, the city failed to properly assess costs to those cities in each of the past five fiscal years, the report says.
The report estimates the city missed out on $850,000 in revenue from the contracted agencies between 2008 and 2012. Bailey apparently has begun the process of attempting to recover some of the lost revenue.
"Prior to the completion of this audit, PUD sent invoices for unbilled charges accrued during FY 2008 and FY 2009," a report footnote states.
The auditor submitted eight recommendations aimed at correcting city billing practices and bringing them into compliance with existing council policies.
In addition to completing a fee study, the Public Utilities Department should strengthen internal controls by making sure the person who reviews and reconciles transactions is not the person who calculates the fees.
The report also suggests that department officials work with city lawyers to review and revise the existing agreements between San Diego and the agencies that utilize the treatment plant.


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Fuelled by an increasing demand for bandwidth combined with a continued drive towards cost and size reduction, larger scale photonics integrated circuits are now clearly breaking through. For example, fiber optics networks are rapidly embracing 40Gbps and 100Gbps data rates, where the transmitters and receivers often include photonic integrated circuits. And the cost and size reduction in 10Gbps transceivers has driven several companies to successfully leverage photonic chips. The growing FTTH (fiber to the home) market is driving demand for integrated photonic splitters as well as monolithically integrated BiDi transceivers. And there are exciting applications in fiber sensing and bioscience that are now benefiting from optical chips as well.
At the same time, many photonics players have recognized that it is unaffordable to run their own fab and thus rely on foundries to manufacture these photonic integrated circuits. However the maturing field of integrated photonics needs better tools to streamline the design, packaging and fabrication of photonic chips. One approach is to borrow these tools from the integrated electronics industry that has successfully used foundries for a long time. By using design automation tools, photonic chip designs can become first-time-right. This, in turn, can lead to large cost savings through increased yields, by reducing the number of wafer iterations and by participating in Multi Project Wafer (MPW) runs.
Photonics Design Automation
In the electronics industry, the use of "Electronics Design Automation" (EDA) is widespread. A foundry offers an extensive set of building blocks (BBs), which a designer can use to create a complex device. These building blocks and their combination are guaranteed to work as expected if the given design rules are respected. Software supports each step in the design process, from physical analysis to layout and design rule checks before the final design is sent to the foundry. Advanced simulation tools can be directly linked to this EDA environment and greatly assist the designer in his work.
Within the context of several European programs, such as Paradigm, Helios and Memphis, a large number of European companies and institutions have worked together to set up a Photonics Design Automation (PDA) tool-set with this capability. Just like in EDA, photonic foundries define a number of building blocks in software tools ranging from physical and circuit simulators to mask layout.
Since the building blocks of one foundry are often very similar to those of other foundries, many designs can be easily ported from one foundry to another. Such a transfer can be done with hardly any changes to the chip performance, but with significant changes to the mask layout in order to accommodate different processes at the other foundry.
Integrated Product Creation Process
Underpinning the generic manufacturing concept is the fact that product design, process design, and high-yield manufacturing are intimately linked and cannot be separated. For this reason, the key information flow between the different stages of product and process development needs to be made available to all stakeholders through the use of software. When system engineers, design engineers, and process engineers work seamlessly together to design both the product as well as the required fabrication processes, this is known as the integrated Product Creation Process (iPCP) as shown in Figure 2.
This iPCP has been implemented in several European projects by developing foundry specific design kits. These kits allow users to benefit from mature technologies, while avoiding recurring costs by streamlining the discussions between the designers and the engineers at the foundry.


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GARDENA, CA – June 26 2012. Digital Manga Inc., one of the manga industry's most unique and creative publishers, is proud to announce a partnership with EISYS's DLsite.com (www.dlsite.com). DLsite.com is one of the largest on-demand download sites in Japan, specializing in the digital distribution of Japanese doujinshi and indie games. The service first opened in 1996 as Japan's first service offering doujinshi products as downloadable content. Since then, the service has grown exponentially, and today serves over 430,000 customers across the globe through its Japanese and English websites. Until now, readers abroad have been unable to enjoy most of these books in English. By teaming up with DLsite.com, Digital Manga, Inc. has found a broader way to harness the creative power of the thousands of artists that DLsite.com manages and distribute their works to an English-speaking audience.
Doujinshi, self-published manga, is a thriving sub-culture in Japan. Frequently associated with derivative fan comics, the world of doujinshi actually encompasses not only fan comics, but a wide-array of original manga, art books, and even music and video games. The artists who produce these products are likewise numerous and unique, ranging from amateur artists to established mangaka working under a pen name. Every year Japanese fans attend dozens of conventions and purchase innumerable products that are home-brewed by talented artists.
Books from DLsite.com will be localized by the Digital Manga Guild and made available through eManga.com and other e-book platforms for digital, on-demand purchase.


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Learning from the Biosphere
This is the seventeenth of a series of blogs based on excerpts adapted from the 2nd edition of Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth. I wrote Agenda to spur a national conversation on economic policy issues and options that are otherwise largely ignored. This blog series is intended to contribute to that conversation. —DK
My favorite definition of life comes from evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulies: "Life is matter with the capacity to choose."
The intricate self-organizing structure of Earth's biosphere is the product of life's extraordinary 3.5 billion year evolutionary quest to explore and expand the possibilities of its capacity to choose. The result is a complex and highly sophisticated fractal structure of nested, self-reliant, progressively smaller-scale ecosystems, each exquisitely adapted to its particular place on Earth to optimize the capture of energy to sustain matter in a living choice-making state.
To this end, trillions upon trillions of cells, organisms, and communities of organisms engage in an exquisite continuing dance of cooperative exchange. Each participant in this dance maintains its own identity and vitality while contributing to the needs of its neighbors and to the balance, stability, and resilience of the whole.
We humans, with our extraordinary capacity for choice, are a product of this wondrous process. In our species' immaturity, however, our dominant cultures have forgotten that our individual and collective well-being depends on the well-being of the whole. We must now step to a new level of species maturity, redesign the culture and institutions of our economic system to mimic the structure and dynamics of the biosphere, and learn to live by life's rules. It is an epic test of our human capacity for learning, creative innovation, self-organization, and individual and collective choice.
The following are three defining characteristics of the living systems our human economies must emulate.
- Cooperative Self-Organization: Ecosystems have no central control structure. Their health and vitality depend on processes of cooperative self-organization in which each species learns to meet its own needs in ways that simultaneously serve the needs of others. The more diverse and cooperative the bio-community, the greater its capacity to innovate and the greater its resilience in the face of crisis.
- Self-Reliant Local Adaptation: The biosphere's cooperatively self-organizing fractal structure supports a constant process of adaptation to the intricate features of Earth's distinctive local microenvironments to optimize the capture, sharing, use, and storage of available energy. Local self-reliance is a key to the system's ability to absorb and contain most system disturbance locally with minimum overall system disruption. So long as each local subsystem balances its consumption and reproduction with local resource availability, the biosphere remains healthy and dynamic.
- Managed Boundaries: Because of the way life manages energy, each living entity must maintain an active flow of energy within itself and in continuous exchange with its neighbors. Life requires permeable managed membranes at every level of organization—the cell, the organ, the multi-celled organism, and the multi-species ecosystem—to manage these flows and as a defense against parasitic predators.
If the membrane of the cell or organism is breached, the continuously flowing embodied energy that sustains its living internal structures dissipates into the surrounding environment, and it dies. It also dies, however, if the membrane becomes impermeable, thus isolating the entity and cutting off its needed energy exchange with its neighbors. Managed boundaries are not only essential to life's good health; they are essential to its very existence.
A New Deal for Local Economies
More local, durable economies are already taking root. How can we can help them along?
These are foundational design principles for the cooperative, self-organizing, self-reliant adaptive living economies on which our human future depends. The institutional structures of living economies facilitate joyful non-monetized exchanges of life energy based on relationships of trust and caring—the social capital of vital cohesive living communities.
Reorganizing our human economies to function as locally self-reliant subsystems of our local ecosystems will require segmenting the borderless global economy into a planetary system of interlinked self-reliant regional economies. This does not mean shutting out the world. Vital living economies exchange their surplus goods for the surplus goods of their neighbors and freely share ideas, technology, and culture in a spirit of mutual respect for the needs and values of all players.
In a living economy, the rights and interests of living communities of living, breathing people engaged in a living exchange with the natural systems of their bioregion properly take priority over the presumed rights of artificial corporate entities that value life only as a marketable commodity and operate by the moral code of a malignant cancer. Protecting the boundaries of the community from intrusion by predatory corporations is an essential function of any responsible government.
We humans are the most advanced expression of life's capacity to choose. We must now demonstrate our ability to use that capacity wisely.
[Next: Design for Life]
David Korten () is the author of Agenda for a New Economy, TheGreat Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, and the international best seller When Corporations Rule the World. He is board chair of YES! Magazine and co-chair of the . This Agenda for a New Economy blog series is co-sponsored by and based on excerpts from Agenda for a New Economy, 2nd edition.
The ideas presented here are developed in greater detail in Agenda for a New Economy available from theYES! Magazine web store — where there are 3 WAYS TO GET THE BOOK and a 22% discount!
- Agenda for a New Economy available from the YES! Magazine web store.
More by David Korten:
Our world is made up of diverse populations—but really we all want the same things out of life. It's time we put our common dreams into action.
People often justify greed as simply human nature. Why our economic policies need to reward our caring, cooperative sides instead.
Wall Street's days are numbered. Ours need not be.


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Photo Essay: Crude Reflections from the Amazon
Click to play - Photos by Lou Dematteis
I first traveled to Ecuador's northern Amazon region in 1993 to investigate reports of extensive environmental contamination and damage from years of oil development, and to photograph its consequences.
I had been working as a photojournalist in Latin America for over a decade, spending much of that time covering the wars that raged throughout Central America. What I found in Ecuador was not a shooting war, but a war nonetheless—a war on the environment.
I visited old Texaco (now Chevron) oil well sites and saw toxic wastewater being dumped into open-air pits filled with crude oil. It looked like infected sores on the floor of the rainforest. This was one of the results of Texaco's decision to dump oil waste into the environment instead of re-injecting it back deep into the earth.
Even though Texaco left Ecuador in 1992, the dumping continued at its old wells and facilities. To make matters worse, many pits were set on fire in order to burn away the waste crude, a practice started by Texaco. The scene looked like something out of Dante's Inferno.
During my trip, I spoke with a doctor at Ecuador's Ministry of Health. He believed the region was sitting on a time bomb as a result of the toxic waste contamination. He said it would take ten years or so for cancers and other health problems to fully manifest themselves, but once they did, the result would be an epidemic of serious and fatal health conditions.
When I returned to the northern Amazon in 2003 to cover the opening of the trial against Chevron, I found that the time bomb had exploded. Everywhere I turned, I encountered people who were living with the impacts of this ecological tragedy. Returning again in 2004 for the start of judicial inspections of old Texaco wells and waste sites, I stayed on after my initial assignment to photograph some of those affected by the contamination.
A Big Surprise for Chevron:
Hours before the oil giant released its new ad campaign, the Yes Men released their own version.
One of the first people I photographed was Angel Toala, who had been an activist with Amazon Defense front, a grassroots organization dedicated to environmental justice in the area where Texaco operated. Angel was dying from stomach cancer and was so weak he couldn't speak. His wife spoke for him (her testimony is in my book). I found out later that Angel died the day after I took his photo.
Since Angel's death, I have continued to visit the Amazon, to tell the stories not only of people like him who have suffered greatly, but of the brave men and women who are fighting for environmental justice, and also of the movements to protect and preserve the Ecuadorian rainforest.
- More of Lou's work at
- Share the story with your friends: .


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text: › Child Development Center » About Us » Eligibility Requirements Home About Us Philosophy Staff Eligibility Requirements Contact Us Links News and Events Upcoming Events Tuition Where We Are Calendar Plan a Visit ›Apply Now ›Give to Furman › Main Content Column 1 The Child Development Center serves children ages three to six. Children must be three by September 1 in order to be enrolled for that school year. Older children are eligible to stay through kindergarten and can enter first grade directly from the CDC. All children must be successfully potty-trained before entering the school. This means that children should be able to express to the staff their need to go to the bathroom. Having to periodically place children on the potty without notice or relying on pull-ups is not considered potty-trained.