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Hookahs are water pipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco that comes in different flavors, such as apple, mint, cherry, chocolate, coconut, licorice, cappuccino, and watermelon.1,2
Although many users think it is less harmful, hookah smoking has many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking.1,2
Hookah is also called narghile, argileh, shisha, hubble-bubble, and goza.1,2
Hookahs vary in size, shape, and style.2
A typical modern hookah has a head (with holes in the bottom), a metal body, a water bowl, and a flexible hose with a mouthpiece.3,4
Hookah smoking is typically done in groups, with the same mouthpiece passed from person to person.1,2,3,4
Tobacco users should quit all tobacco products to reduce health risks.
Hookah smoking is NOT a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.1
Hookah Use
- Hookah use began centuries ago in ancient Persia and India.1,2,3,4
- Today, hookah cafés are gaining in popularity around the world, including Britain, France, Russia, the Middle East, and the United States.1
- Hookah use by youth1,2,3 and college students is increasing.5
- In 2010, the Monitoring the Future survey found that among high school seniors in the United States, about 1 in 5 boys (17%) and 1 in 6 girls (15%) had used a hookah in the past year.5
- Other small studies of young adults have found high prevalence of hookah use among college students in the United States. These studies show past-year use ranging from 22% to 40%.5
- New forms of electronic hookah smoking, including steam stones and hookah pens, have been introduced.
- These products are battery powered and turn liquid containing nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals into a vapor, which is inhaled.6
- Very little information is currently available on the health risks of electronic tobacco products.6
Health Effects
Using a hookah to smoke tobacco poses serious health risks to smokers and others exposed to the smoke from the hookah.
Hookah Smoke and Cancer
- The charcoal used to heat the tobacco can raise health risks by producing high levels of carbon monoxide, metals, and cancer-causing chemicals.1,4
- Even after it has passed through water, the smoke from a hookah has high levels of these toxic agents.4
- Hookah tobacco and smoke contain several toxic agents known to cause lung, bladder, and oral cancers.1,4
- Tobacco juices from hookahs irritate the mouth and increase the risk of developing oral cancers.4,7
Other Health Effects of Hookah Smoke
- Hookah tobacco and smoke contain many toxic agents that can cause clogged arteries and heart disease.1,4
- Infections may be passed to other smokers by sharing a hookah.2
- Babies born to women who smoked water pipes every day while pregnant weigh less at birth (at least 3½ ounces less) than babies born to nonsmokers.5,8
- Babies born to hookah smokers are also at increased risk for respiratory diseases.8
Hookah Smoking Compared With Cigarette Smoking
- While many hookah smokers may think this practice is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, hookah smoking has many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking.1,2
- Water pipe smoking delivers nicotine—the same highly addictive drug found in other tobacco products.2
- The tobacco in hookahs is exposed to high heat from burning charcoal, and the smoke is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke.1,2
- Because of the way a hookah is used, smokers may absorb more of the toxic substances also found in cigarette smoke than cigarette smokers do.1,2
- An hour-long hookah smoking session involves 200 puffs, while smoking an average cigarette involves 20 puffs.1,2
- The amount of smoke inhaled during a typical hookah session is about 90,000 milliliters (ml), compared with 500–600 ml inhaled when smoking a cigarette.4
- Hookah smokers may be at risk for some of the same diseases as cigarette smokers. These include:3,4
- Oral cancer
- Lung cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Cancer of the esophagus
- Reduced lung function
- Decreased fertility
Hookahs and Secondhand Smoke
- Secondhand smoke from hookahs can be a health risk for nonsmokers. It contains smoke from the tobacco as well as smoke from the heat source (e.g., charcoal) used in the hookah.1,5,9
Nontobacco Hookah Products
- Some sweetened and flavored nontobacco products are sold for use in hookahs.10
- Labels and ads for these products often claim that users can enjoy the same taste without the harmful effects of tobacco.10
- Studies of tobacco-based shisha and "herbal" shisha show that smoke from both preparations contain carbon monoxide and other toxic agents known to increase the risks for smoking-related cancers, heart disease, and lung disease.10,11
- American Lung Association. An Emerging Deadly Trend: Waterpipe Tobacco UseCdc-pdfExternal. [PDF–222 KB] Washington: American Lung Association, 2007 [accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- American Lung Association. Hookah Smoking: A Growing Threat to Public Health Issue Brief.Cdc-pdfExternal. [PDF–1.34 MB] Smokefree Communities Project, 2011 [accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- The Effects of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking on Health Outcomes: A Systematic ReviewExternal. International Journal of Epidemiology 2010;39:834–57 [accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: An Emerging Health Crisis in the United StatesExternal. American Journal of Health Behavior 2010;34(3):275–85 [accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health, 2012 [accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Electronic Cigarettes (e-Cigarettes)External [last updated 2013 April 25; accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Keratoacanthoma of the Lower Lips Associated with "Goza" and "Shisha" Smoking. International Journal of Dermatology 1999;38:108–10 [cited 2015 Sep 14].
- Nuwayhid, I, Yamout, B., Ghassan, and Kambria, M. Narghile (Hubble-Bubble) Smoking, Low Birth Weight and Other Pregnancy OutcomesExternal . American Journal of Epidemiology 1998;148:375–83 [accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- Indoor Air Quality in Virginia Waterpipe Cafés. Tobacco Control 2012 Mar 24 doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050350 [cited 2015 Sep 14].
- Does Switching to a Tobacco-Free Waterpipe Product Reduce Toxicant Intake? A Crossover Study Comparing CO, NO, PAH, Volatile Aldehydes, Tar and Nicotine YieldsExternal. Food and Chemical Toxicology 2012;50(5):1494–8 [accessed 2015 Sep 14].
- Acute Effects of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Control Study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2011;116(1–3):102–9 [cited 2015 Sep 14].
For Further Information
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO
Media Inquiries: Contact CDC's Office on Smoking and Health press line at 770-488-5493.


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Category: Baraga County
Arvon Township School – Skanee, MI
Baraga Area High School – Baraga, MI
L'Anse High School – Lanse, MI
Pelkie Elementary School – Baraga, MI
Philip Latendresse School – Baraga, MI
Sullivan Elementary School – Lanse, MI
Parties, music, video games, dating, road trips, social groups, fraternities, sororities. It's actually a long list. College life for many students consists of scheduled classes and daytime or nighttime studying. The space in between might be filled with part-time work, but also quite possibly a myriad of distractions.
College life is exciting. There is no other time in life quite like it. College life most definitely does not mirror the rigid structure of the daily work world. Beginning college and staying on track in the first year requires personal discipline and an awareness of how college life's many distractions can interfere with academics.
Plugging into college fun is typically the easy part. Achieving a true balance between academics and everything else is often a skill that is acquired over several semesters. Study habits become very important for most all college students because those who build their college career on "cramming" the night before a test will run the risk of serious academic underperformance if not academic failure.
So, being committed to academic achievement needs to be a deliberate personal choice. How you go about honoring this goal is completely up to you. Having a plan for studying every day is a strategy that works for a majority of college students. This daily time allotment for studying will yield tremendous benefits to one's GPA and peace of mind.
I absolutely love this site. Match Fish Tank has a free lesson plan repository fully developed for elementary plus some middle and high. ou can view, share, and download the curriculum used every day at Match Charter School, the PreK-12 public school that was opened 15 years ago in Boston.
These materials have been developed and curated by teachers and curriculum experts over many years. In addition, they have a site for instructional coaches and teacher leaders for professional development. These experts think teachers should spend more time planning how to teach — with the unique learning needs of their students in mind—and less time worrying about the basics of what to teach. Good baseline curriculum and assessments free teachers to do just that.
Match Fishtank is an effort to share our curriculum with teachers everywhere to lessen their load …
Common Lit is one of my new all time favorite READING sites. First and foremost it is free to teachers. Materials are rigorous and relevant in a user friendly format. It is a unique resource available to promote critical thinking. It has an amazing collection of texts and even features paired texts which allows students to explore enduring themes. It aligns with Common Core standards and brings an immediate benefit to teachers and students. I am finding it a new "go to" resource and my students really love it!…
Word Hippo is an online dictionary/thesaurus which offers a wide range of other tools including opposites, rhyming words, translation, and lots more besides.
There are probably other sites which offer the same or similar features, but I liked the simplicity of Word Hippo. The example sentences function is particularly useful for students and teachers who want to see how words are used in context.…

subset: commoncrawl


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Please allow 3 - 5 business days to receive your new instruction manual in the mail (PDF downloads are available for purchase if you require immediate access to your instruction manual)
*Please note that as certain Singer Sewing Machine models are retired the instruction manuals may become obsolete or no longer in print. In such cases a reprinted instruction manual may be substituted. We will always provide you with the best quality reprint instruction manual available to suit your needs. In some cases, a Singer Instruction Manual may cover a specific series of machines (multiple models from the same group or "family") so a small portion of the manual may not pertain to your exact model. We always try to provide the manual with the closest match to the sewing machine model number provided)


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These are all the News & Announcements posted in July, 2010.
Monday, 26
Staff Reading Pick
Here is another reading pick from the Logan Library Staff.
Book: Breakup by Dana Stabenow
Recommended by: Barbara, Library Technical Assistant
Breakup is about what happens when Kate Shugak, a 5 foot 120 pound Aleut and former DA investigator from Anchorage, moves to her father's homestead in the Alaskan Bush. This book has mystery, humor, and lots of excitement. From a jet engine that falls off of a 727, to a bear attack, to a Hatfield type feud, there is never a dull moment. The author is from Alaska and her stories bring the Alaska Bush to life. A great read!
Want more reading suggestions? View previous staff picks.
Posted By Logan Library at 1:23 PM / Category:Staff Picks
Monday, 19
Library Closed for Pioneer Day
The Library will be closed on Friday, July 23 and Saturday July 24 in recognition of Pioneer Day. We will resume normal business hours on Monday July 26. Enjoy your holiday.
Posted By Logan Library at 6:36 PM / Category:Library Closed
Tuesday, 13
Online Auto Repair Manuals
Are you trying to save money by repairing and maintaining your own car? If so, you should take a look at the Logan Library's Auto Repair Reference Center. This resource provides online access to over 28,000 auto repair manuals. The online manuals are available for import and domestic models and contain:
Go to our Auto Repair Reference Center subscription to obtain a manual or read the FAQ for more information. A Logan Library card is required for access to Auto Repair Reference Center outside of the Library.
Posted By Logan Library at 1:30 PM / Category:Online Research
The Latest News!
Oct 16, 2018
» Community Book Discussion Oct 10, 2018
» The Dead Awaken Oct 5, 2018
» Library Closed Columbus Day


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- Parent Category: News
Aldermanic, Trustee races popular in April 9th Election
Contested aldermanic or trustee races appear on next Tuesday's ballots in eight cities/villages in Iroquois County.
The Consolidated Election is April 9th. Early Voting is underway. Contact your County Clerk's Office for any needed information.
In the Village of Woodland, no less than seven candidates are on the ballot for three available trustee seats.
Five candidates are after three trustee seats in the Village of Clifton.
In Buckley, four announced-candidates seek three seats for a 4-year term. There's also three Buckley hopefuls after two available seats for a 2-year term.
Ashkum and Loda has three trustee seats available with four names on the ballots on each town.
Aldermanic races are contested in Gilman and Watseka. Wards 1, 2 and 3 have challengers chasing the incumbents IN Gilman. Watseka's Ward 1 finds a 2-person race.


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OUR MISSION: Provide comprehensive after-school programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and in life.
This entry was posted on Monday, November 12th, 2018 at 2:55 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.Both comments and pings are currently closed.


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We are expecting another banner year in the residential real estate market in the Fargo area. This is due in large part to the attractive interest rates for home buyers. Low rates and special financing programs for first-time buyers have allowed first-time home buyers the ability to get on the home-buying ladder. These low rates also make it possible for move-up buyers to buy their dream home. We are also expecting a strong market in home building this spring and summer. All in all, the residential real estate market is extremely healthy in our community.
Kris Sheridan, President
Park Co./GMAC Real Estate—Fargo, N.D.
Well I believe that the residential building market is going to stay strong, especially in Rochester. We just always have a good economy down here. We're lucky because of the Mayo Clinic. Everybody still keeps getting sick. And of course interest rates don't hurt; they help that a lot. So with the low interest rates and with our economy down here, I think we're going to have a really strong market. That's what we're foreseeing. We've seen people already starting to come in our office, especially now that [the weather is] starting to get nice.
Joan DeWitz, Part Owner
DeWitz Construction—Rochester, Minn.
With the low interest rates, we have seen quite a bit of activity in our market here in west-central Wisconsin, a lot of home buying going on. We're seeing that most of the properties that are up for sale are getting full-price offers or very close to it, with minimal seller concessions. ... My anticipation is that the 30-year rate will stay probably no greater than 6, maybe 6 1/8 at the most, throughout the year; I think rates are going to be fairly steady.
Linda Reidt, Office Manager
Central States Mortgage—Eau Claire, Wis.
For my residential business, home construction looks very positive for the spring. I'm looking at probably 12 new homes to start for the vicinity; that's up for us. People are taking the low interest rates vs. the high cost of building supplies right now. The plywood market is very high, but they're saying the lower rate is a definite offset to that, and they're going ahead and building. I would say 50 percent to 60 percent of my contractors are booked through August already. The homes that are going up are mostly local residents building. Because we have so much resort area around us, I get a lot of second homes going up, on lakes, cottages and stuff like that. That isn't as promising, but the new home construction for the local family is what's going up right now.
Dave Pawlak, Manager
Forslund Building Supply—Ironwood, Mich.
The outlook is very good. Through February of this year we already have 114 residential units that have been approved for construction. Our single-family is leading the way, which has been pretty much the case the last three or four years. And last year we did the most single-family housing units in [the history of] Sioux Falls, and we're running ahead of that record this year. So I think with those still-low interest rates as well as just the economic climate in Sioux Falls for jobs, it looks very bright.
Jeff Schmitt, Assistant Director of Planning
City of Sioux Falls—Sioux Falls, S.D.
Increased home sales and booming new construction in our area have affected our office. ... More people are able to purchase homes due to low interest rates and the innovative financing that is available. As renters move into their own homes, the vacancies in the rental market have increased. Rents have also decreased due to increased vacancies. And plumbers, electricians, repairmen and contractors are harder to book as they are busy with the new construction in the area.
Linda Lane, Manager
Alan Lees Realty & Metro Property
Management—Billings, Mont.
Editor's note: Interviews were conducted in March.


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Media Systems Workshop at UC Santa Cruz
Media Systems Workshop at UC Santa Cruz
A workshop co-sponsored by NSF, NEH, NEA, and Microsoft. How cool is that? (Well, as a funder, I find it really cool.)
Next week, I'll be attending the Media Systems workshop along with ODH's own Jason Rhody. The workshop was organized by Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Michael Mateas, Chaim Gingold and other folks at the Center for Games and Playable Media in collaboration with the Institute for Humanities Research at UCSC.
First, in brief, the workshop "seeks to catalyze major progress in how we create and understand the computational systems that drive interactive media. We will begin by convening a set of field leaders who have been working across the boundaries of media-focused computer science, the digital humanities, and the digital arts." To learn more about topics to be discussed at the workshop, definitely check out the press release for the event as well as Noah's March 2012 editorial from Inside Higher Ed, "The Prison-House of Data." You can also see the terrific group of participants on the workshop's website.
So, you may be wondering, how did this come to pass? How did the ODH come to co-sponsor this event? It started over a year ago, in July 2011, when Noah gave me a call and he pitched the idea of the Media Systems workshop. He noted the fact that NSF and NEA had co-sponsored a workshop in 2010 called RE/Search that sought to "advance exploration at the intersection of art and science. Areas of particular interest include evolving forms of digital and electronic media, human‐centered computing, videogame design and technology, digitally‐mediated performing and visual arts and research that can lead to a better understanding of these fields." Noah made the point that there was one obvious constituent group missing from that conversation and that was the digital humanities. I immediately agreed with him and was happy to hear that he was organizing a follow-up workshop -- Media Systems -- that was designed to bring the digital humanities community into this wider conversation.
This was of particular interest to ODH for several reasons: First off, as someone always touting interdisciplinary collaboration, this area -- studying digital media systems and culture -- was clearly one that bridged humanities, arts, and science. So I felt it genuinely could kick off some interesting new research and collaborative work. Second, we had never worked with the NEA before, so we thought this might be a great opportunity for us to build some kind of relationship. (People are surprised to hear that, as the public often gets NEH and NEA confused. But in truth, our missions and constituents are quite distinct. In practice, we work much more with the NSF than the NEA.) Third, we had been kicking around ideas, internally, on how to attract more grant applications from scholars studying digital culture (see previous blog post on our new Start-Up Grant guidelines). Fourth, I liked the fact that Noah had pitched the workshop both at the scholarly community (to include humanists, digital artists, designers, computer scientists, etc.) as well as at the grantmaking community. One of the tough parts about doing any kind of interdisciplinary research is trying to get grants for it, as such work often falls in the gaps between funders. So it struck me as very useful for the NEH, NSF, NEA, and Microsoft to be able to participate and talk to each other to see how our own efforts and grant program portfolios could best help the field.
Eventually, Noah received a grant from the NSF to fund the bulk of the conference, including travel for a number of computer scientists. ODH ended up making a grant to cover additional travel funds to send humanities scholars to the event. In the meantime, I cold called folks in the NEA and Jason and I met with them and chatted about the idea of us doing something together and suggested that Media Systems might be a great first project. We met some terrific people there and, ultimately, NEA came in too and is funding travel for a number of digital artists to attend. Noah got in touch with Microsoft's Don Brinkman and Kent Foster and they are providing support as well. So I'm pleased to say that everything came together rather nicely. In the meantime, Noah wrote an article in the IHE back in March 2012 announcing the event and I'm happy to say he and his team put together a terrific agenda and group of participants.
I'm very much looking forward to a productive event next week in Santa Cruz and glad all the pieces came together to make this happen. Please follow on Twitter: #MediaSystems


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City of Hoboken prevails in aspect of litigation related to rent control
HOBOKEN —A Superior Court Judge ruled Thursday morning that the city of Hoboken has prevailed in part of a class action lawsuit regarding rent control, according to a press release from Hoboken City Hall.
The suit was filed against the city by a property owner, on behalf of property owners in town. The suit says the city enforced rent control laws inconsistently for almost 25 years, but then, in 2006, the city changed the laws and began enforcing them in a way that property owners could not comply with. The landlords hoped to recoup damages that they say were caused by the inconsistent enforcement, and also asked for the court to rule that the city has broken state law.
While the suit is not totally resolved, as a result of Thursday's ruling the city will not have to pay all of the legal fees in the suit, which could have totaled more than $1 million.
The release did not specify what the next step is for the suit in general.
The city was represented by Victor A. Afanador and Marissa L. Quigley of Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer said, "It is unfortunate that so many lawsuits are filed against the City regardless of their lack of merit, but the positive results in these litigations are an important demonstration of the necessity of ensuring that the city receives the best possible legal representation."
Source: HudsonReporter.com


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Atlantic flyway duck hunters got what they wanted this holiday season: cold weather. On Christmas Eve temperatures started falling in the northeast, and they have stayed low through New Year. That, plus 4 to 24 inches of new snow in much of New England has ducks pushing south to mid-Atlantic and coastal regions in numbers like we haven't seen yet this season.
Up north on the Ontario breeding grounds, all the birds are gone, said Sarah Fleming, the Ducks Unlimited regional biologist for New York State, and in New England shallow water has locked up in most places and ag fields are white with snow, covering up food.
Still, there are huntable numbers of birds north of New York City, especially on the big-water lakes and reservoirs. New York's Western Zone season opened last week and there are many reports of diver and dabbler concentrations on the Finger Lakes. Geese are also in abundance, including some snows with the snow. Fleming spotted 150,000 snow geese in the southern Finger Lakes region over the holiday week. "They're probably on the move south, too," she said.
All this New England snow and cold weather is really helping out the Mid-Atlantic States. "We didn't have any ducks at all until New York froze up and got that snow," said Avery Pro Staffer Kevin Addy, who hunts Pennsylvania and Maryland. "We finally got a good push." The usual suspects--mallards, blacks and mergansers--are chocking up available inland waters in PA; bluebills, gadwalls, mallards, blacks and few canvasbacks are on Maryland waters, he said. Goose hunting, especially on Maryland's eastern shore, has been A+.
"When it was warm ducks were walking out of loafing areas and eating grass around the pond. Now that its finally cold, they're looking for high protein, cut corn, some wheat, but pretty much corn since the weathers so cold. That makes birds patternable, you can get out and scout them and hunt them," Addy said. "This is the time of year for the duck hunter."
Laurence Mauck, an Avery Pro Staffer in central Virginia, said the same things: birds are now in their standard winter pattern of roosting, feeding, and loafing, which makes them huntable. "There's been no consistency this season, but the last week of cold weather has ducks starting to work that winter pattern."
Further south, conditions are changing, but there hasn't been a big push yet.
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but no big changes in the last couple of weeks," said Greg Balkcom, state waterfowl biologist, Georgia Department Natural Resources. There has been rain, though, in an otherwise dry winter, and impoundments have started to fill and hold water since Christmas. "Just now we have some good water on the ground," Balkcom said. "Now we need more coolness and weather in the mid-Atlantic."
With daytime temperatures expected to go up next week, it might be the end of the month before that happens.


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Artist description:
it s not a girl or a boy , just a monster
Canvas Draw Created Mar 11, 2013 640 x 460px Unless noted Copyright 2013 vis_in_vis.
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simply amazing ( love your gallery ,it's very unique ) ♥
wonderful art! very original
Gorgeous ! you have a unique and absolutely beautiful gallery
amazing , this drawing keeps attracting me over and over ! You have a great imagination
You have amazing talent Vis , and a unique view , love the Colors ...so powerful and vibrant
Gorgeous imagination !
Visez la imaginatia ta...!
i love the duality between the roughness of the character and its beauty , wonderful work of art!
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this is just amazing , i love it


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Simon Field, August 2017
One of the unexpected benefits of participating in a Savantes tasting is the occasional opportunity to experience something beyond evaluating olive oil. Such an opportunity arose when attendees at the Seville programme were invited to visit the Juan Ramón Guillén Foundation museum on the outskirts of the city. Our host was Juan González of Hacienda Guzmán, who participated in the Seville programme.
The Foundation was founded in 2011 with the purpose of bringing the rural sector closer to the public with special emphasis on the olive sector. The centrepiece is the Hacienda Guzmán from which the brand of quality extra virgin olive oils takes its name. Six centuries ago, Hernando, the son of Christopher Columbus, produced olive oil on the estate and exported it to America.
Hacienda Guzmán
The stately house is the home to the olive oil museum with a massive beam olive oil press and many of
The first Spanish National Extra Virgin Olive Oil Team Tasting Championship was a resounding success. Held in Priego de Cordoba in Southern Spain the championship attracted 13 teams of 3 from all over Spain. Staged by the PDO for the region Priego de Córdoba (ASCCAL) and International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes the event used the Savantes Tasting Skills Test and additional exercises to assess the tasting ability of the teams.
Included in the tests were extra virgin olive oils contributed by producers from France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal with the varietals including ocale, picual, arbequina, hojblanca, coratina, cobrancosa, galega, koroneiki, changlot real, manzanilla, cornicabra, l'aglandau, olivastra seggianese, tonda iblei and picuda. An important activity of Savantes is to encourage recognition and appreciation of extra virgin olive oils from all varietals and regions around the world.
The skills exhibited by the tasting teams were outstanding with Fermin Rodriguez Jimenez becoming the first to achieve Savante status since the introduction of the skills test fifteen years ago. Twenty participants achieved Associate Savante status which requires a score of 60% or more in the test, full Savantes status requires 80% or more.
Read more: Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting Teams Show The Way
In 1997 Olive Business planted an olive grove, with the aim of producing extra virgin olive oil of the highest quality. We explore this legacy of olive oil production and how it has led to an international olive oil appreciation movement.
For 16 years Olive Business through its subsidiary Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes, has brought together the world's best extra virgin olive oils for tasting, initially in Australia and now all over the world – UK, USA, Italy, Spain, South Africa and New Zealand. In addition to evaluating flavours, the three-day programme covers the olive oil market, quality regulations, culinary uses, health benefits and competitions.
Originally published in Spanish in Olimerca 2016
Flavour is the culinary difference between extra virgin olive oil and competing vegetable oils. Tasting is the primary method in describing the flavour and determining culinary use and whether the olive oil is defective. While chemical testing is progressing as a tool to determine flavour and defects – the skilled taster reigns.
Tasting is immediate, it describes the extra virgin olive oil as it is presented to the taster, whether for quality assessment or for a consumer who is selecting for use in cooking.
Every individual describes taste differently depending on their experience, their taste vocabulary and their ability to differentiate between the different elements of aroma and taste which make up the flavour. To even out the variations in taste descriptions between tasters, panels are trained. Panels that determine the classification of olive oils are accredited and have a pivotal role in determining the return to the producer and the authenticity to the consumer.
Panels are expensive to convene and take time to make determinations, time which often is not available to the buyer or blender who needs to make an immediate decision. Decisions on the quality and suitability of extra virgin olive oil are made daily all along the supply chain in the effort to deliver an authentic and attractive product to the consumer. This gives the individual taster the ultimate power in ensuring the integrity and value of extra virgin olive oil.
Cooking and Using Olive Oil
Cooking and Health Attributes of Olive Oil Compared with Other Vegetable Oils
Often when asking consumers about the use of other vegetable oils in preference to olive oil they justify their choice by repeating advertising claims of well promoted oils such as rice bran oil.
Analysis of comparative smoke points and health benefits shows that some of these claims are questionable, if not downright wrong.
Health Attributes of Olive Oil
The Savantes programme, while concentrating on the taste and flavour of olive oil, has important sessions discussing the health attributes. Many of the taste and flavour characteristics are good indicators of the level of the 'health chemistry' of extra virgin olive oils.
'You are what you eat' goes the saying. Perhaps this is better stated as 'You are what you ingest'.
The human body is a complex organism which is kept alive by what we ingest. Some of this is voluntary through eating and drinking, some of it involuntary like the intake of air and the absorption of the sun's rays and other compounds through the skin.
Pretty well everything we ingest has an impact on our health.
Those of us who are involved with olive oil need to know the basics of health benefits of olive oil and how to encourage consumers to gain the benefits by using olive oil. We need this information in a form we can pass on to consumers who in general have less scientific knowledge than we do.
Health attributes of olive oil
There are thousands of technical papers on the influence that olive oil has on the human body. Almost every day there are more as scientists unravel the genetic control of our physiological activities.
The chemistry of extra virgin olive oil is complex, however its components can be divided into the saponifiable fraction and the insaponifiable fraction. Basically this means that the saponifiable fraction turns into soap if treated with sodium hydroxide, and the rest (insaponifiable) doesn't.
The saponifiable fraction comprises 97-99% of olive oil, and is made up of triglycerides and a small amount of other compounds such as free fatty acids (FFA). The latter we measure to give us an indication of the acidity of the oil.
The insaponifiable fraction, 1-3% of olive oil, is made up of many important compounds which determine the flavour, quality and stability of the oil. In this fraction many vegetal phenols have been identified. During refining 88% of the phenolic compounds are lost.
Both the saponifiable and insaponifiable fraction have dietary and health benefits.
Tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil
An important element of the Savantes programme is about describing taste and flavour of extra virgin olive oils from all over the world. To do this we need to understand the biological basis and process of tasting.


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Creative Studio Getting Started Drawing & Sketching Set
This complete set has everything the student, artist or hobbyist needs to get started drawing and sketching.
The set comes with four graphite pencils, two charcoal pencils, one blending torchon, pencil sharpener, dust-free eraser, and acid-free watercolor pad. It also comes with a 24 page tips and techniques guide for drawing and sketching
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This is a wonderful set for the beginner. The quality is great and the tips and techniques are clear. Faber-Castell is quality.
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Kid's Craft- Watercolor Doilies for Valentines' Day
7 comments
- AnonymousJanuary 29, 2013 at 4:05 PM
Cute project! Loving how the kids can have fun making something for the home. Thanks for sharing!ReplyDelete
I love this!!! Kids creations are always the best!! I love what their little hands can create. Hope to be doing this with my future children! Great Job!ReplyDelete
Very Cute....simple and cheap, I like it! Just posted on Craft Gossip, happy Valentines' Day!!ReplyDelete
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Kerry: Syria urgently needs solution
Unless the bloodshed in Syria stops, the region could descend into a chaotic sectarian conflict, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday, as he called for an urgent political resolution to the war that has dragged on for two years and claimed 93,000 lives.
The top U.S. diplomat and his counterparts from 10 Arab and European nations agreed at a daylong meeting in Qatar to step up military and other assistance to the Syrian rebels. But Kerry would not disclose details of the aid, saying only that it would re-balance the fight between the rebels and President Bashar Assad's better-equipped forces that are increasingly backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters.
Story Continued Below
"The continued bloodshed at the hands of the Assad regime and the increasing involvement of Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, threaten the very prospects of a political settlement and of peace," Kerry said, adding that the U.S. and other nations are not backing the rebels to seek a military victory in Syria.
( PHOTOS: John McCain visits Syria)
"We do so to … find a political settlement," he said. "Reliable civilian governance and a stronger and more effective armed opposition will better enable the opposition to be able to provide the counterweight to the initiative of Assad to reach out across borders … to bring Iranians and to bring Hezbollah – again, a terrorist organization – to the table."
Rebels say they have already received new weapons from allied countries – but not the U.S. – that they claim will help them to shift the balance of power on the ground where regime forces have scored recent military victories. Experts and activists said the new weapons include anti-tank missiles and small quantities of anti-aircraft missiles.
"Our information from Doha says that five countries have decided to start arming us immediately, and four other countries will give us logistical and technical support and, at a later stage, arm the Free Syrian Army," a spokesman for the opposition fighters, Loay AlMikdad, said in an interview with Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV. He said the nations were both Arab and non-Arab, but he would not elaborate.
It was Kerry's first meeting with his counterparts about aid to the Syrian rebels since President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would send lethal aid to the opposition despite concern that the weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists in Syria. That decision was partly based on a U.S. intelligence assessment that Assad had used chemical weapons, but Kerry expressed deeper concern about how Iran and Hezbollah fighters had joined the fight.
"That is a very, very dangerous development," Kerry said. "Hezbollah is a proxy for Iran. … Hezbollah in addition to that is a terrorist organization."


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Hill holds Obama's legacy
It's now or never for the White House.
President Barack Obama's second-term agenda is in doubt as Congress returns to Washington this week for a spring and summer stretch that could go a long way to define the scope of Obama's legacy.
Story Continued Below
Obama will unveil what his team is calling a "compromise" budget on Wednesday, but Republicans and Democrats alike are already criticizing elements of the plan.
The president's effort on gun control might do no better than a watered-down bill destined to fail in the House, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may bring to the floor as early as this week. Gun control advocates who had hoped for an assault weapons ban or other big reforms are bound to be disappointed by a strategy expected to allow for votes on those issues but don't secure victories.
( Also on POLITICO: Obama's make-or-break week on guns)
And Obama's push to overhaul the nation's immigration laws — the best chance he has to enact a sweeping social policy change in his second term — still faces significant hurdles, even in the Senate, where chief negotiators have fallen behind schedule.
The window for action on these issues will start to close as the 2014 midterm election cycle whips into full swing at the end of the year. After that, the next Congress figures to be colored by partisan posturing for the 2016 presidential election.
The president and his aides say Republicans will determine whether gun control, immigration reform and a major deficit-reduction deal become law or fade away.
( Also on POLITICO: 5 things to watch in immigration debate)
"You have a president who's willing to compromise, you have public opinion that's been marshaled," one senior White House official said. "The question is, 'Can Congress function?' And we'll have to see."
House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell aren't biting on the budget, which is expected to reiterate the president's most recent offer to Republicans of a plan that raises revenue and cuts spending.
Even within the president's own party, some liberals are apoplectic about the entitlement cuts. The AFL-CIO has drafted a petition for folks who oppose Obama's plan to tie Social Security benefit payments to a formula known as "chained CPI," which would save money on the balance sheet by reducing the amount of money beneficiaries receive.
"I see what they're doing here, what they're trying to sell … but their big problem right now is within their own ranks," Don Stewart, a spokesman for McConnell, wrote in an email. "Nice try."
( Also on POLITICO: GOP ready to bash Obama budget)
Obama's own reelection and public polling have convinced him and his aides that the public is on his side on gun control, immigration and an approach to deficit reduction that includes raising taxes. The question, White House officials say, is whether Republicans will join hands with him.
To that end, Obama has invested heavily in a charm offensive with lawmakers, a courtship that will continue on the day of his budget release with a dinner for Republican senators led by Georgia's Johnny Isakson.


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SYDNEY (Reuters) - The global economic boom has accelerated greenhouse gas emissions to a dangerous threshold not expected for a decade and could potentially cause irreversible climate change, said one of
Tim Flannery, a world recognized climate change scientist and Australian of the Year in 2007, said a U.N. international climate change report due in November will show that greenhouse gases have already reached a dangerous level.
Flannery said the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report will show that greenhouse gas in the atmosphere in mid-2005 had reached about 455 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent -- a level not expected for another 10 years.
"We thought we'd be at that threshold within about a decade," Flannery told Australian television late on Monday.
"We thought we had that much time. But the new data indicates that in about mid-2005 we crossed that threshold," he said.
"What the report establishes is that the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is already above the threshold that could potentially cause dangerous climate change."


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Excellent video quality. Solid image stabilization. Sharp LCD.
Occasionally inaccurate white balance. No Wi-Fi.
Bottom Line
The Panasonic HC-V700M lacks some of the useful Wi-Fi features found on competing consumer camcorders, but excellent video quality in a variety of lighting scenarios more than makes up for it.
The Panasonic HC-V700M ($599.99 list) is one of the few consumer camcorders that can record full 1080p60 video, and it adds solid image stabilization and a versatile 21x optical zoom. It lacks Wi-Fi and some of the other the bells and whistles found in competing models, but it delivers excellent video quality even in low light, which earns the HC-V700M our Editors' Choice.
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Design and Features
There isn't much deviance in consumer camcorder design these days, with the familiar barrel-like shape, handgrip, and swing out LCD, which are all found on the HC-V700M. At 2.2 by 2.7 by 4.7 inches (HWD) and 9.6 ounces, the Panasonic HC-V700M looks like most other camcorders in its class. Button placement is also fairly standard, with the zoom rocker and still image shutter on top, with the Record button on the back, where your thumb naturally sits. To the left of the zoom rocker is an Auto/Manual button and Image Stabilization button. To the right is a slider to change between Video, Photo, and Playback modes. Inside the LCD recess are mini USB, mini HDMI, and AV out ports, as well as a 3.5mm microphone input, Power button, and 1080i60/p60 toggle button.
At 3 inches with a 460k-dot resolution, the LCD is sharp and bright enough for outdoor use. It's a big improvement over the 260k-dot LCD found on the Canon Vixia HF R300 and the Canon Vixia HF M50 , but lags behind the 921k-dot resolution of the JVC Everio GZ-GX1 . The LCD is touch-enabled, and menu navigation is responsive. Full auto mode is fast and accurate, so you probably won't need to dig into the menu for finer adjustments. Manual mode puts focus, white balance, shutter speed, and iris adjustments within easy reach, but changing video quality and some other features requires digging deeper into standard list menus.
The HC-V700M uses a 1/2.33-inch MOS sensor with a 21x optical zoom lens that covers a 28-717.4mm (35mm equivalent) focal range. The wide angle lens is good for capturing larger scenes in tight quarters and the zoom is longer than the 10x reach found on competitors like the Vixia HF M50, but not quite as long as the 25x zoom found on the Sony HDR-PJ200. The lens opens up to f/1.8 aperture at the wide end and f/3.5 at its telephoto reach. It lets in half the amount of light as the Everio GZ-GX1, with its f/1.2 aperture, but the HC-V700M surpasses the that camera in low light scenarios.
Both indoors and out, the HC-V700M delivers exceedingly crisp video. In low light tests, the HC-V700M was able to maintain fine details, even in some darker shadows. There was virtually no image noise and colors were generally true to life. I did notice some instances of inaccurate or slow white balance, which would give video a yellow tint. Outdoor footage was equally sharp, with vibrant colors and accurate exposure. Shooting in 1080p60 produced smooth and fluid action, with very little blurring or loss of detail. I noticed mild color fringing outdoors, with purple edges on objects with bright backgrounds, but it was less pronounced and less frequent than the fringing that popped up with the GZ-GX1. The overall video quality was consistently sharper and smoother than the Vixia HF M50, which also excelled in low light, but tops out at 1080i60.
Image stabilization is very good, even at the telephoto extreme. Zooming in and panning across scenes is smooth, with very mild and unobtrusive shakes. There was occasional lag before quick pan shots, but it wasn't too egregious and definitely preferable to a shaky shot. Audio quality was also good in my tests; the V700M was able to pick up voices loud and clear, but outdoors the camcorder picked up a lot of environmental noise like cars driving by or rustling of trees. Still image quality, like most other camcorders, leaves something to be desired. Image noise is generally kept low, but a persistent graininess muddles some finer details, even in good light.
The V700M records in AVCHD only, while the Canon Vixia models offer the option to record in both AVCHD and MP4 format. Keep in mind that some editing programs, like iMovie, do not support AVCHD at 1080p60, so you'll need to convert your videos accordingly. The camera includes 16GB of built-in memory and has a single card slot that accepts SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards. The mini HDMI port allows for playback on HDTVs and the mini USB port facilitates file transfers between camcorder and computer. The V700M lacks any Wi-Fi connectivity, which is included on both the Canon HF M50 and JVC GZ-GX1. An included AC adapter charges the removable battery.
In terms of pure video performance, it's hard to find fault with the Panasonic HC-V700M. It delivered some of the sharpest and most detail-rich video we've seen in a midrange consumer camcorder, but it also lacks some of the extra features of its competitors. The JVC Everio GZ-GX1 is also capable of 1080p60 video and includes a suite of genuinely useful Wi-Fi features, but it can't compete with the crisp and clear video of the HC-V700M, especially indoors or in low light. The Canon Vixia HF M50 comes close in terms of video quality and it has some Wi-Fi features, but tops out at 1080i60 and costs $50 more. If your budget is limited, the Canon Vixia HF R300, our entry-level Editors' Choice, offers solid overall video performance for its $350 price.
More Digital Camcorder reviews:
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K
GoPro Hero8 Black
DJI Osmo Pocket
DJI Osmo Action
GoPro Hero7 Black


text: Find this wine Find this wine Barefoot Deliciously Sweet Moscato Wine My favourite moscato Pin It Tweet 6 years ago by Sarah J. More posts Barefoot Pink Moscato Sweet. Light Delicious. Blush wine. 5 years ago by Shyfroggy15 Barefoot Red Moscato Deliciously Sweet Wine Robby's favourite moscato 6 years ago by Sarah J. Barefoot Red Moscato Deliciously Sweet Red Wine Similar to the Sweet Red. Subtle. 4 corks. 6 years ago by Ms C. Barefoot Moscato California Wine Deliciously sweet. $9.99. Thumbs down. Kept me up all night. Suspect rash inducing after two glasses. 6 years ago by Hudson78 Barefoot Moscato Deliciously Sweet Wine Barefoot 6 years ago by Kvmanthe


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Friend List: (thanks japtor)
(Spreadsheet locked to prevent screwing up other entries, message japtor to fix something if you mess up your own entry)
Form to add yourself
If you haven't set up your friend list yet, you have to do that first. Hit the home button then Friend List (or Friends), and you'll set it up there.
Then (at least at this time) to send a friend request you do it through Miiverse > Profile (tap your Mii in the upper left) > Search Users.
(If you do it through the Friend List it acts like the old mutual add method where both parties needed to add each other)
- Wii U + Wii Pad
- 32GB internal storage
- Wii U stand, WiiPad dock and stand, HDMI cable, AC adapter, sensor bar
- Packed in games (depends on bundle)
- $299 / £250 / 299€ / 30000? yen (may be more expensive for special bundle)
* Price for Japan and North America excludes sales tax.
* Price for EU includes VAT. Price may varies across retailers.
Hardware Spec
- 32GB flash memory, supports SDHC card and USB storage.
- WIFI b/g/n, 4 USB port
- Some games supports old Wii controllers (Wiimote/Motion Plus/Classic/Nun-chuk)
- Supports GC controller via official adapter
- System is region locked
- Provide a program guide for Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix and cable TV.
- Social feature (comment, recommendation) on TV shows.
- Gamepad acts as a TV remote.
- US and Canada only for now.
Nintendo Network / MiiVerse
- Downloads are still tied to the console. Tech support can reinstate your old downloads if you sell/lose a WiiU but there is no guarantee.
- Nintendo Network ID replaces friend code, supports 12 accounts per console.
- MiiVerse is the online social network for Nintendo.
- Each game has its own community where users can share written and drawn messages, videos and screenshots.
- MiiVerse will be accessible with web site and smartphone apps in the future.
- Action figures with a built in NFC chip.
- Not every Amiibo supported game supports every Amiibo!
- Can do various thing on a supported game:
-- Mario Kart (custom outfit on your Mii character)
-- Super Smash Bros (AI controlled characters that can be level up)
Backward Compatibility
Method 1: Wii Mode
- Wii Mode supports Wii disc and eShop games, but not GC games
- GamePad can be used as a display for off TV mode
- Does not support the Pro or Pad controller
Method 2: WiiU Re-release
- Some VC Games on Wii has a WiiU re-release
- Starting 2015 some Wii game will be available on the WiiU eShop. You access the game on the WiiU menu directly.
Method 3: Nintendont
- Nintendont is a homebrew that uses an exploit on the WiiMode. Nintendont allows the WiiU to play GameCube disc and supports a wide range of controllers.
Key Exclusives
Bayonetta (separate purchase on eShop, included on Bayonetta 2 disc)
Bayonetta 2 (disc version includes Bayonetta)
Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker (supports Amiibo)
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
Game & Wario
Hyrule Warriors (supports Amiibo)
Lego City Undercover
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
Mario Kart 8 (supports Amiibo)
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
NES Remix 1&2 (separate purchase on eShop)
New Super Luigi Bros U
New Super Mario Bros U
Nintendo Land
Pikmin 3
Sonic Lost World
Super Mario 3D World
Super Smash Bros. (supports Amiibo)
The Wonderful 101
Wii Fit U
Wii Sports Club
Announced Games
Devil's Third
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (2015) (supports Amiibo)
Mario Maker (2015)
Mario Party 10 (March 2015) (supports Amiibo)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong U (2015)
Project Guard
Project Giant Robot
Project Treasure (Free to play title from Konami)
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
Splatoon (2015 April)
Star Fox (2015?) (supports Amiibo)
Xenoblade X (2015)
Yoshi's Wooly World (2015) (supports Amiibo)
Zelda (2015)
Great Wii Games
Sin and Punishment 2
The Last Story
Trauma Team


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Tuesday December 10, 2019; 01:10 pm EST
Bad Dates is a good night out
In theater terms, when an actor talks directly to the audience, it's known as breaking the fourth wall. When Janet Luby does it in Bay Theatre Company's latest, she's not so much breaking a wall as she is opening a door. Through that door we join her as she shares her life, her attempts at love and a lot of laughs.
Bad Dates is a one-woman show written by playwright, screenwriter and novelist Theresa Rebeck about Haley Walker, a 40-something single mom and restaurant manager in New York who is jumping back into the dating pool. Her first love, besides her unseen 13-year-old daughter Vera, seems to be shoes, as the four closets filled with them in the nicely rendered set attest. Keeping up a constant chatter as she models several pairs and several outfits, Luby engages us stream-of-consciousness about Haley's failed marriage, her job, her daughter, her shoes and her frustrating, funny and sometimes heartbreaking dates.
Luby has a knack for this type of theater, having been so effective a couple of years ago in Becky's New Car as the bored and tempted wife who seeks understanding from the audience. Her charm, timing and physicality keep things moving through the 90-minute performance (plus a 15-minute intermission), even rising above the script's brief but uncharacteristic dip into the maudlin after a particularly promising beau proves a no-show. Luby is such a strong actress that we also get evocative and quite funny caricatures of the other people who inhabit her life, from the gay law professor to the bug guy to the Romanian Mafioso who owns her restaurant. A one-woman show, yes, with so many personalities.
As director Richard Pilcher puts it in his program notes, Bad Dates is not a chick play. It's funny, it rings true and it certainly comes from a woman's point of view. But in Luby's capable hands, it's a story that both sexes will enjoy. If my car is any indication, it will also generate quite the drive-home conversation.


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Risk of childhood obesity can be predicted at birth
A simple formula can predict at birth a baby's likelihood of becoming obese in childhood, according to a study published today in the open access journal PLOS ONE.
The formula, which is available as an online calculator, estimates the child's obesity risk based on its birth weight, the body mass index of the parents, the number of people in the household, the mother's professional status and whether she smoked during pregnancy.
The researchers behind the study hope their prediction method will be used to identify infants at high risk and help families take steps to prevent their children from putting on too much weight.
Childhood obesity is a leading cause of early type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory disease, and is becoming more common in developed countries. According to NHS figures, 17 per cent of boys and 15 per cent of girls aged two to 15 in England are classified as obese.
The researchers developed the formula using data from a study set up in 1986 following 4000 children born in Finland. They initially investigated whether obesity risk could be assessed using genetic profiles, but the test they developed based on common genetic variations failed to make accurate predictions. Instead, they discovered that non-genetic information readily available at the time of birth was enough to predict which children would become obese. The formula proved accurate not just in the Finnish cohort, but in further tests using data from studies in Italy and the US.
"This test takes very little time, it doesn't require any lab tests and it doesn't cost anything," said Professor Philippe Froguel, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, who led the study.
"All the data we use are well-known risk factors for childhood obesity, but this is the first time they have been used together to predict from the time of birth the likelihood of a child becoming obese."
The 20 per cent of children predicted to have the highest risk at birth make up 80 per cent of obese children. The researchers suggest that services such as dieticians and psychologists could be offered to families with high-risk infants to help them prevent excessive weight gain.
"Once a young child becomes obese, it's difficult for them to lose weight, so prevention is the best strategy, and it has to begin as early as possible," said Professor Froguel. "Unfortunately, public prevention campaigns have been rather ineffective at preventing obesity in school-age children. Teaching parents about the dangers of over-feeding and bad nutritional habits at a young age would be much more effective."
Although common genetic variants did not prove to be helpful for predicting childhood obesity, the researchers say about one in 10 cases of obesity are caused by rare mutations that seriously affect appetite regulation. Tests for these mutations could become available to doctors in the next few years as the cost of DNA sequencing technology falls.
The obesity risk calculator is available online at files-good.ibl.fr/childhood-obesity/


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Original Trinity Hymnal, #182
'Tis midnight; and on Olive's brow
The star is dimmed that lately shone:
'Tis midnight; in the garden now
The suffering Saviour prays alone.
'Tis midnight; and, from all removed,
Emmanuel wrestles lone with fears:
E'en the disciple that he loved
Heeds not his master's grief and tears.
'Tis midnight; and, for others' guilt,
The Man of Sorrows weeps in blood:
Yet he that hath in anguish knelt
Is not forsaken by his God.
'Tis midnight; from the heavenly plains
Is borne the song that angels know:
Unheard by mortals are the strains
That sweetly soothe the Saviour's woe.
Page number: Blue 182, Right-Click Here to Download MIDI File
|© 2019 The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Chaplains and Military Personnel


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Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan Wedding – Top 50 Unseen Photos with Marriage Video, Wedding Dresses & Interviews – www.facebook.com
(Click to view larger image)
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has ended a hectic week which saw his company valued at £106bn after a stock market flotation by getting married.
He wed his long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan, 27, in a ceremony at his home in Palo Alto, California.
Chan also had a busy week, graduating from medical school on Monday, as Zuckerberg marked his 28th birthday.
The guests believed they were going to celebrate Chan's graduation – but found they were at a wedding instead.
The wedding ring, a "very simple ruby", was designed by Zuckerberg.
Nine years ago the pair met at Harvard, where Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004.
They later moved to California, where Facebook has its headquarters, and Chen studied at the medical school of the University of California, San Francisco.
Facebook's valuation after its flotation on Friday means the social network site is worth about the same as internet shopping giant Amazon, and more than the value of stalwarts such as Disney.
Even after the flotation, Zuckerberg continues to control just under 56% of the voting power of the company.
The 28-year-old billionaire's wedding took place a day after Facebook's initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday. More than 280,000 people "liked" Zuckerberg's status change, which was accompanied by a photo of the smiling couple in wedding attire in a small, verdant outdoor setting with a string of lights behind them.
In the photo, the famously casual Zuckerberg is wearing a dark blue suit and tie, a departure from his trademark "hoodie," while Chan has on a sleeveless white dress with lace overlay.
The pair wed in an intimate backyard ceremony in Palo Alto, California, according to People magazine. The couple had planned the exchange of vows for four months, but surprised their guests, who thought they were to celebrate Chan's recent graduation from medical school, the magazine reported.
Zuckerberg's sister, Arielle Zuckerberg, posted, "Balls. Now I'm the only unmarried Zuckerberg…" on her Facebook page. She is listed by Chan as a family member on the site.
Zuckerberg designed a simple ruby wedding ring for Chan himself, People reported. Guests dined on food from the couple's favorite restaurants, and nibbled on mouse-shaped chocolates that the pair ate on their first date nine years ago.
Tim Carvell, lead writer for "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart, reacted to the news on Twitter, writing: "Congratulations, Mark Zuckerberg! As a gift, I got you the names of all my friends, a list of my favorite movies, and some photos of me!"
Zuckerberg, whose shares are worth nearly $20 billion and who retains voting control of Facebook, marked the debut of his company's stock at Facebook's Silicon Valley campus on Friday, symbolically ringing the opening bell for stock trading.
The IPO did not go as well as the social networking company had hoped, with shares closing just above the offering price of $38 a share after trading glitches and a last-minute, 25 percent increase in the number of shares being sold.
More than 576 million shares changed hands, setting a trading volume record for U.S. market debuts. Facebook posted $3.7 billion in revenue in 2011 and $1 billion in profit. The site boasts 900 million global users.
Facebook's emergence as a cultural phenomenon was depicted in the fictionalized 2010 film "The Social Network."
Zuckerberg, Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2010, started Facebook in his Harvard University dorm room eight years ago, before dropping out of the Ivy League school. Chan just graduated from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. The couple met while at Harvard.
Neither Zuckerberg nor Chan commented further about their marriage on their Facebook pages, and Facebook representatives did not immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment on the wedding.
Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg remains Facebook's single largest shareholder, with 503.6 million shares. And he controls the company with 56 percent of its voting stock.
The site, which was born in a dorm room eight years ago, has grown into a worldwide network of almost a billion people.
Zuckerberg founded Facebook at Harvard in 2004.
He was selected as Time's Person of the Year in 2010, at age 26.
Zuckerberg grew up in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
The couple adopted a Hungarian sheepdog named Beast a year ago, and live together in Palo Alto.
The ceremony was so small, so private, and so surprising, that the 100-or-so guests in attendance initially thought they were coming out for a graduation ceremony for Chan, who just graduated from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, this past Monday – Zuckerberg's 28th birthday.
Zuckerberg and Chan had been dating for approximately nine years. They both met at Harvard at a fraternity party during Zuckerberg's sophomore year in 2003. In February of 2004, Zuckerberg launched Facebook as a Harvard-only web application before branching the service out to a small list of other schools, including Stanford, Yale, and Columbia.
According to reports, Zuckerberg designed Chan's ruby wedding ring himself. The ceremony was catered by a few of the couple's favorite area restaurants, with desserts coming from L.A. Burdick Chocolate – which the couple is reported to have enjoyed on their very first date together.
Chan wore a traditional, sleeveless white wedding dress – no designer has been disclosed – and Zuckerberg wore a dark blue suit (instead of an all-black hoodie).
Facebook officially went public this past Friday, hitting a trading volume of approximately 580 million shares and a final valuation of just around $104 billion. Zuckerberg's stake in the company is worth approximately $16.9 billion.


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Is it possible for a tax bill to go up when property values are heading downward?
Just wait until your property assessment statement arrives. You might see it happen.
Marty Marshall, director of Lenawee County Equilization Department, reminds property owners that taxes are based on the taxable value, a figure that related to the consumer price index (CPI)—the annual rate of inflation.
The CPI is calculated in Lansing based on a fiscal year that ends in September. In the next year, Marshall said, the inflation rate is expected to hit a record low, but that won't help for current values.
The CPI takes into effect the high gasoline prices of the past year and the inflation rate came in at 4.4 percent.
Proposal A, approved by voters in 1994, caps the rate of the taxable value increase to no more than five percent each year. This was done to provide a more predictable and stable increase to tax bills.
The taxable value will increase each year by the CPI until it reaches the State Equalized Value (SEV), which is 50 percent of the true cash value of a property.
Any property that had a taxable value less than the SEV in 2008 will be increased by 4.4 percent until it reaches the SEV.
That's no comfort to the owners of property with a decreasing value, although property that's declining in value should show a change in the SEV portion of assessment notices.
Morenci is one area of the county where the SEV now exceeds 50 percent which will result in in lowering the value. The multiplier listed for Morenci lowers SEV by -5.6 percent. In Seneca, the multiplier is -6.5 percent and in Medina Township it's -3.7 percent (see chart below).
Notices should arrive in the mail soon to show changes in the SEV and the taxable assessments. Property owners will have the opportunity to challenge assessments at the annual board of review.
Morenci's board will meet at city hall March 12. The tax roll will be open for public inspection March 3, 4 and 5 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and again on March 12.


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Ransom, Stanley is the author of 'Library of Favorite Recipes from New York State' with ISBN 9780931658167 and ISBN 0931658160.[read more]
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Help transform lives everywhere when you partner with us to help share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to inspire the sinner, ignite the saint, and impact society.
A great pastor must possess both vision and a heart for God and His people. The St. John Church has found both and more in Pastor Denny D. Davis, Sr. He is a pastor with conviction, integrity, and a big heart, who has been shepherding the St. John Church for 19 years.
Pastor Davis, was born to Almeda and Andrew Davis and was reared as an only child in the rural city of Champaign, Illinois. At 12 years old, Pastor Davis gave his life to Christ, by the tender age of 14, he knew he was called to the ministry and began handwriting sermons in his bedroom. It was at his home church, The Mount Olive Baptist Church pastored by Rev. Lundy Savage, that Pastor Davis announced his call to preach in 1976. Rev. Savage continued to encourage and nurture Pastor Davis' gift and allowed him to preach his first sermon February 17, 1977.
Pastor Davis knew he needed to cultivate his gift further through formal education and with the support and encouragement of his mother, after high school, he moved to Dallas, Texas to pursue a Bachelors degree in Religion with a minor in Business Administration from Bishop College. During his college years, Pastor Davis was the President of the Minister's Lyceum and was heavily involved with many churches in the Dallas community.
His gift and calling was continually nurtured and developed under the watch of many of Dallas' veteran pastors and preachers, including the late Rev. S.M. Wright of The People's Baptist Church. It was with the support of these pastors, that Rev. Davis learned what it truly meant to shepherd and lead a people.
In 1983, Pastor Davis married his high school love, Wanda Bolton-Davis, the two made there home in Dallas. In August 1984, Pastor Davis accepted his first pastoral position at the Mount Rose Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas and just one year later, the Davis' had their first child.
Pastor Davis continued his educational pursuit and received his Masters in Theology from Brite School of Divinity at Texas Christian University. The Davis' then gave birth to their second child and three years later, in 1991, Pastor Davis was called to pastor the St. John Church in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Since assuming the pastorate position, St. John has grown exponentially both spiritually and physically. The Lord has blessed and added more than 12,000 new members, and more than 80 ministries within the church.
In 1995, one year before the Davis' third child was born, the St. John Church was able to retire a half million-dollar mortgage note, within 26 months. This allowed the ministry to work towards Vision 2000, a 3.5 million dollar, much-needed expansion project, which was completed debt free in 2000.
Shortly after the completion of Vision 2000, Pastor Davis, felt the Lord sending him into uncharted territory, Southlake, Texas. Recognizing the need to develop a church in a growing community where few churches existed, Pastor Davis started the St. John North Family Fellowship Church (now named, St. John Southlake Campus). The church began as a small group of Christians meeting in various home-based settings. The meeting locations soon began meeting in a single office suite and later expanded to multiple office suites.
In 2004, St. John Church broke ground on the capital plan to build a full church facility to better serve the Southlake community. In December 2007, the St. John Southlake Campus, an 80,000 square foot facility that supports 2400 worshippers, was completed.
Under Pastor Davis' guidance, St. John Church has become one church in multiple locations offering four Sunday worship services and three mid-week Bible studies every week.
Pastor Davis is married to Wanda Levette Bolton-Davis and has three children: Kandis Levette, Denny Dwight II, and Destiny DeYonne.
Other Accomplishments: • Reverend Davis has served as First Vice President of the Fellowship District Congress of Christian Workers and currently serves as the Corresponding Secretary of the State Congress of Christian Workers, Missionary Baptist General Convention of Texas. • He has served as the Second Vice Moderator of the Fellowship District, and on the Advisory Committee of the National Baptist Publishing Board. • Currently he serves as the Director General of the fellowship District Association. • He is also a member of the Bishop 5 Plus 1 Revival Team.


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Blog Archives
4 Things Independent Artists Should Consider when Pursuing a Career
Posted by Tee Morris
It doesn't matter what the profession — public speaker, audio engineer, musician, writer, artist — there is a trend that if you want to be a professional creative, you're better working independently. You are truly a working artist when you are free of agencies, publishers, or labels.
That is all well and good, but there is something to be said about being an artist and being a successful working artist. Sure, the battle cries of "Take control of your artistic career! Do it yourself!" and "Stick it to the Gatekeepers!" sound seductively empowering, but you might be destined for disaster if you don't know what you are doing. Across a decade of writing, editing, and book layout, and reflecting on another lifetime where I was a professional actor, I've collected a few considerations for any artist — new or seasoned, corporately or independently creative — to keep in mind when it comes to managing a career.
1. Accept the fact that no matter how good you think you are, you need an objective critic. There are some authors I've met who have a real resentment when it comes to editors, and I can even think of one or two editors who have voiced their disdain for successful writers. I have always been a writer who respects the editor as well as the editorial process. Why? Because I know when I get to writing, I get attached to a story so objectivity is chucked out of the window. When you're a creative you are human, making it difficult to take a harder, critical look at what your creativity hath wrought. Objectivity is not a curse or an unnecessary delay on your work. With the right critical point-of-view, your work becomes a diamond cut from a creative rough.
2. Giving Your Creative Work Away for Free (or Even for 99¢) Should Have a Plan behind It. So how often have you been asked to give a presentation in exchange for great exposure? How about creating a blog or website in exchange for compensation of equal value? And how about giving away your writing online for free in order to build an audience? Back in 2005, I was one of the strongest supporters of free fiction. Now, over eight years later, I'm still a big advocate for giving ficiton away for free, provided there is a plan behind it.
Giving away free works has proven successful for writers like Scott Sigler and Cory Doctorow, but for whom else has this tactic worked? Even as author Chuck Wendig points out in his "Making Sense of 99 Cents" blogpost, it's not the best strategy to price everything the same. Free can work as part of a larger plan, but remember when you are building a brand be it for a production or for yourself, you are placing a value on your creativity. Don't short change yourself.
3. Some People Will Never Want to Pay for Your Work. In a recent episode of The Shared Desk, around 28:38, I made a really dumb remark: "A little bit of book piracy is okay." I said this before receiving the Google Alert notifying me that The Case of The Singing Sword: A Billibub Baddings Mystery was being torrented. Not the podcast, mind you. A PDF of the print book.
So, to be clear here — a novel I am already giving away for free in audio was being pirated.
I also made that less-than-thought-out statement before I wrote this article on why I did not want people to pirate my book
The business model you set for yourself needs to include boundaries for your work and how you deal with Internet Entitlement.
4. Consider a Double Life for Your Career. My wife, author Philippa Ballantine, is insisting I use here her "Many streams make a river…" quote when talking about an artist's income. In between developing creative works for a corporate setting, why not create your own brand as an independent artist?
Is it possible? With patience, time, and a strategy, yes.
Breaking into the mainstream can open doors that still remain closed to smaller to the independent; but being independent does offer a maverick freedom as well as valuable lessons in building a brand. I have been published in both mainstream (Wiley, Que, HarperCollins) and independent (Dragon Moon, and my own Imagine That! Studios) channels; and while it is extra time invested in the independent label, I've been able to leverage the independent work in order to promote the mainstream work.
The creative independent is not only possible, it is a reality; but there is a method to the madness. At the center of this methodology is patience and time. Financial success does not happen overnight. You invest time in researching your art, time to create, and time to produce. Be prepared to also spend time in finding out if your investment is indeed working. There's no magic formula for success, but you will know when your investment is coming to fruition.
Posted in Best Practices, Social Media, Tips & Strategies
Tags: 99 cents, Chuck Wendig, corporate, creatives, critics, entitlement, gatekeepers, independent, investment, patience, piracy, plan, The Shared Desk, time, tips


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Mayor's Office
The public is now able to access information on the City's new arena and the entire West Haymarket Redevelopment Project at a new website — HaymarketNow.com. Mayor Chris Beutler said the website is a bold approach to keeping the public informed on the project, and he said it will help the project team accomplish several major goals, including maximum transparency.
"The public will be able to access all documents, reports, studies, RFPs and Joint Public Agency information," Mayor Beutler said. "They'll see news updates, photos, videos and information on the many project partners. The website will allow the public to become engaged in the project through polls as well as e-mail and social media feedback features. This dialogue will provide invaluable information for us as we move forward with the project."
The Mayor said the website also will serve as an "ambassador" to potential investors as well as future visitors. "The website will energize future patrons who will be able to share their ideas on the kinds of entertainment and amenities that will draw them to the Capital City," he said.
The West Haymarket Joint Public Agency (JPA) contracted with Thought District, a local brand and sales strategy company, to create the site. Thought District CEO and Partner Eric Dinger said the website will continue to be a work in progress.
"We will use feedback from visitors to HaymarketNow.com to help us make changes and additions to the site," Dinger said. "The site will grow as the project grows, with new photos, video and information being added on a daily basis."
JPA information has been posted on the City website at lincoln.ne.gov. That information is now available on both websites. The City website also has a link to HaymarketNow.com.


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'Intellectual Hub' is a concept of online collaboration with novel premise of mind pooling
Click here to check your emails. For Username and password, get in touch with D.A.V. Centre for Academic Excellence
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Frequently Asked Questions - Frequently asked questions for dynamic website


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The Army's 1st Armored Division needed to locate and secure the release of a kidnapped contractor in Afghanistan. The 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team wanted to find and dispose of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) around an Afghan village. And C Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry, sought to connect IED planters killed in action with high-level Taliban members.
5 open-source technologies powering the Army's battlefield cloud
The tactical intelligence network in Afghanistan has essentially unlimited capacity. Read more.
In each of these cases, soldiers turned to the Army's cornerstone tactical intelligence network known as the Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) for valuable intelligence data and tools. Using DCGS-A, they were able to, respectively, negotiate the kidnapped contractor's release, take out dozens of IEDs and remove high-level Taliban members who posed a threat to U.S. forces in Afghanistan's combat environment.
Although the initial elements of DCGS-A were deployed in Afghanistan in 2006, it was five years later that the Army made the system dramatically more robust by adding a cloud computing capability. That capability, known as DCGS-A Standard Cloud, or DSC, ramped up the network's processing power, allowing storage of every written intelligence report filed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001.
Traditional tactical intelligence systems might have given a soldier data for only the past 12 months, or only for the region in which he or she was deployed, said Col. Charles Wells, DCGS-A's project manager. But the cloud takes away those limitations, Wells said. "You might have been missing a piece of the puzzle before. Maybe there was a piece of intelligence that was out of your sector in Afghanistan or that happened three years ago and you just didn't go back that far," he said. "Cloud eliminates those traditional boundaries, and you are just able to look at everything with a very powerful tool."
In the first years of Operation Enduring Freedom, before DCGS-A was deployed, soldiers had to jockey back and forth among 13 stand-alone, program-of-record systems to get intelligence that units could act on, according to Army officials.
And today, the rapid evolution of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in Afghanistan produces a staggering amount of data. Even after DCGS-A program was fielded, it was not unusual for the system to take a few minutes to produce the data soldiers were after.
The Army deployed DSC in Afghanistan in spring 2011. The hardware and software, housed at Bagram Air Base in northeastern Afghanistan, had to be able to meet three metrics: consume 10 gigabytes of raw data per hour, possess a total storage capacity of 10 terabytes and process queries in an average of 1.3 seconds.
In its present state, DSC indexes and stores text and visual information on upwards of 75 million intelligence records from as many as 600 hundred source feeds, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, satellite imagery and ground sensors, Army officials said. The information is routinely used to plan route-clearing operations, track and engage prominent al-Qaida and Taliban operatives and conduct information warfare operations.
By creating an intelligence cloud, the Army has been able to establish "a whole new generation of analytics" that it could not have created with the stand-alone systems of the past, said Gregory Wenzel, senior vice president for Booz Allen's Strategic Innovations Group. Booz Allen is the prime contractor to the Army's Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD), which serves as Army's in-house systems integrator for the government-owned, open architecture program.
DSC is the first tactical cloud deployment the Defense Department has made in a war zone, Wells said. "This is the first time where [the military] took a cloud capability and sent it downrange into an environment like that where it ended up operational," he said.
Since it was first shipped for the operational test and pilot program in 2011, DSC has evolved to the point that it fits into one cargo container that can be transported on a C-141 Starlifter, Wells said.
"Our first pilot pod deployment was a little larger than we would have liked, and it had a separate chiller package, but now we've basically consolidated that all into a single container that we can put onto a military aircraft and deploy anywhere," Wells said.
The consolidation of the hardware components is significant both for transport and for deployment at Bagram. "When you get to a forward operating base, literally every square inch of space is going to be spoken for," Wells said. "We also are minimizing the power that DSC requires because every watt of power down range is spoken for," he said.
DSC functions through integrated cloud computing technology, a specialized data ingestion system and an open computing framework for hosting widgets known as the Ozone Widget Framework Synapse.
The data ingestion system is capable of loading and indexing multiple data formats to the cloud at a rate that keeps pace with the flood of incoming data from the hundreds of source feeds.
DCGS-A drew heavily on the experience of the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies to design, build and deploy cloud technology in its standard cloud build out, Wells said. "We were able to take some of these initiatives from the three-letter agencies and actually deploy them to a tactical environment — and they worked well in that environment," he said.
DCGS-A also leveraged the experience and resources of the open-source community for the Ozone Widget Framework Synapse. "In order to be really effective in an open-source community you need to participate," Wells said. "We found that participation in the Forge.mil development community was really important to determine where cloud [technology] was headed and how we could use it effectively."
Because of the highly sensitive data stored in DCS, extremely high standards for physical and virtual security were met, Wells said. The DCS node at Bagram is housed in a secure area on the compound separated from the rest of the base by a fence, and access is gained only with the proper I.D. badge.
Since DCS runs on the Defense Department's Secret IP Router Network (SIPRNet) and on the CENTRIXS International Security Assistance Force (CX-I), it had to pass not only penetration testing but also rigorous accreditation before going live, meeting security requirements established by the DOD, Army Network Command and the combat theater, Wells said.
"We had to meet all three of those security gates before we could plug into the feeder network," Wells said, adding that patches are diligently applied by an IT staff on duty around the clock.
The Army's goals were to make querying through DCGS-A similar to searching on the Internet and also, in building the system's standard cloud enhancement, to give soldiers an intuitive, iPad-like interface.
"You can do some remarkable things with your iPad, and you don't have to go to a three-week course to learn to use it," Wells said. "It's the same analogy with cloud technology and what we did with the DSC. We have an interface with widgets and icons where you can click on a widget, and it gives you a powerful tool that is an important piece of doing your job."
Recognizing that DSC is an evolving system, the DCGS-A project manager continues to solicit feedback and monitor soldiers' needs through an online users group, which has 500 active members, Wells said. Soldiers "can make comments on the interface, and we can take those comments and incorporate them in the next update to the interface," Wells said. It's important to have the "communication between the project manager and the soldier to make sure that as we evolve this capability we're in line with where the soldier needs it to go."
Wells is adamant that the strength of DSC lies not in the technology, even though he acknowledges it is the best technology available on the market today.
"What's really key to DCGS-A is the data. It doesn't matter how great the tool is; if we don't have the data behind it, then it's really meaningless," Wells said. "A lot of the power of the cloud is the data behind the answer."
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Avoid Black Friday Fights: 10 Online Food Deals
From steak and cheesecake to caviar and Dylan's Candy Bar, WSJ Off Duty shares some top Cyber Monday food deals you can order and consume from the safety of your couch. With MarketWatch reporter Charles Passy and Wall Street Journal host, Wendy Bounds.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... all I can I try to bite them Wal-Mart and other retailers on and skip the lines that your computer to walk you through his chance Cyber Monday the deals as Charles Passy of MarketWatch identity or one hundred I'm so hungry and happy I'm doing this and in particular was spread half of this this the this weekend is Dylan's candy bar I don't know what it is not to be happy perceive you know what I'd I'd love to convert or in ... the ... near future ... by the use of nationally ... and on my favorite things was just this tablet from Parker was he some how were we pretzels chocolate covered pretzels ... we cut rate pricing on that we should be sweet as well carrying payments putting Moose munch popcorn ... if Channel ... ten is much like anything ... it is always the package right they have to admit it is not complete ... the deal agreed to the ... baby is moves much ... the stock is ... taking ... a twenty nine I bought what deals can ... we get we get fifteen percent off on this ... to this effect upon the most part you ever see ... this particular ride the lightning quick witted she has a lot she's up under five dollars tells about what deals I was humbled on is a very famous ... chief on the bottom of the United States vs Gucci's makers ... normally this we'll sell four hundred and five dollars on cyber Monday to give it eighty five dollars I can't even admit that the is a deal to let you can sing and are getting ready to enter the caviar can talk about this cat Devtek and there is no deal on the sort of ... beyond that that's the rule that out of this is from Eric repaired but the reason for the fun to feature is this is an extravagant gift ... and it is the first time they're preparing to come out with a branded caviar I can sometimes how much five hundred and twenty five while I better about the future ... it's it's it's it's a it's a tremendous caviar ... from one of the world's most famous chefs first always come out with his own granted that the essence of the first time you can get it what it said the deal is that you can finally get an ... unfortunate statement on this wire at first I felt a little bit of caviar to move on to stake in beer right ... um Robinson's Private Reserve ... they did put up some great steaks great needs to come up with I think the ultimate beer and beef packing yet and it's a it's a it's an anti due to the max ... he spent a hundred fifty dollars ... get fifteen percent off so bad so ... write out what to these packages but well worth a look at the heart of the fortune cookies Christmas and Hanukkah if our right to have carried very funny sayings and ... obviously the color theme for their kind of ... become ... this thing called the smart cookies and here I am very funny witty things to come to capture the spirit of the holiday Inn on top of one dollars off each popping prices I don't normally they are doing deals you can afford ... to take an assessment ... of our day of the antenna has had a pizza now up for pizza pack that ... but yet it's not magic it's not a visa to a ... nominal ... deep dish pizza is that people ... want them to what we think of Chicago pizza ... for a run to think that the three dollars and four dollars The offering some good deals and clever mom to get ten dollar virtual gift card winner purchase if you wanna celebrate the holidays are a little tough especially when you're free cheesecakes even cheese on top and cheesesteak and cheesecake baking a cheesecake Junior's cheesecake ... Club for buyouts in Europe were at this one normally would cost of thirty seven dollars and thirty dollars on cyber Monday that detail I don't end up the shop was a pecan within each of us become five ... it ... is is this is a joy to capture it the truth that knocked a few whatever ... you want a hundred dollars or ... five percent off one better sources for truth seventy five level five as part of the bonus tickets for margarita ValMark ... but they they don't get Jimmy Buffett's own sort of house brand ... off as the liquor short haul ... business you know you can't wait to get your top all all right this extracts and put it through something makes it nice and chewy ... nothing much change in the top of that that they might end up with a killer I'm so ... happy fall to the Arkansas based upon the four hundred and thirty pack ... please you got the best fortune in the boxes topic and acting ... we know ... beyond a doubt it ... Oaks ...


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Ron Paul's offensive moral equivalence
Over the years I've sometimes been asked by supporters of Ron Paul why I don't take him more seriously despite my own libertarian leanings on many issues. One of the reasons was on display in Monday's GOP debate in Florida, namely Paul's penchant for blaming the U.S. for the murderous hostility of Islamic jihadists.
It's one thing to have opposed U.S. intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq, or to call for a significantly smaller military budget. Fine. But it's despicable to assert, as Paul did Monday night, that "we're under great threat because we occupy so many countries" (my emphasis), as if that were a useful explanation for 9/11. "We're in 130 countries," he added. "… if we think that we can do that and not have retaliation, we're kidding ourselves."
Paul went on to recite Osama bin Laden's stated reasons for terror attacks (before retreating somewhat under a barrage of boos), and compared the U.S. with China. "We have to be honest with ourselves," he said. "What would we do if another country, say, China, did to us what we do to all those countries over there?"
In Paul's view, apparently, every foreign intervention is equally vile, no matter who the intervening country might support or what that country's motives might be. His moral equivalence is ugly.


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