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Jul 27,2007
Biology proves a natural for robotic design
by Scott LaFee
The summer movie "Transformers" is loosely based on a popular toy line that features, among other things, robots taking animal form. It's a fantastical idea, but also a case of art imitating life.
Or more precisely, art imitating science imitating life.
NEW ROBOTS - OCTOR is a robot created at Clemson University to mimic the grasping abilities of an elephant's trunk, which can pick up anything from a peanut to a tree. CNS Photo courtesy of Clemson University. Over the years, robot design has generally lurched along two paths: Machines that look like their human creators and machines that look like, well, machines.
The first group, to be sure, remains mostly imaginary - the androids of Hollywood and science fiction.
The second group is more commonplace and workaday. Robotic assembly arms in auto factories don't need biceps like Arnold Schwarzenegger's to do their jobs. The Roomba vacuum cleaner looks like nothing so much as a peripatetic weight scale.
But there's a third path that designers and technologists are increasingly following: robots inspired by nature.
"We're not talking about simply copying nature," said Frank Fish, a professor of biology at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. "That's a trap people often fall into.
"Engineers say, 'Hey, let's just copy nature. It's already done the design work.' But nature isn't forward thinking. Its solutions are tailored to organisms in the moment, and all possible solutions aren't going to be expressed."
Biologically inspired robots, said John Long, a professor of biology at Vassar College in New York, are intended to exploit "fundamental physical principles." In other words, nature's best ideas.
"The Wright brothers learned how to control (a plane's) direction by watching hawks in flight," he said. "They figured out that turning a plane had to do with changing wing surfaces, though not the way hawks did it.
"That's an important distinction. The Wright brothers drew inspiration from biology, but they didn't exactly copy it."
Robotic designs based upon natural organisms are as diverse as the animal world itself. There are devices in the works that mimic caterpillars, spiders, dogs and octopuses. Their goals and purposes are equally varied, from new medical treatments to space labor to being a soldier's best friend.
In Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University researchers are working on a medical device that moves inside the body like an inchworm.
Inserted through a small incision below the ribs and placed with forceps atop the heart, the three-fourths-inch-long HeartLander latches onto the beating organ with suction cups at each end, moving via remote control commands to places that a surgeon ordinarily couldn't reach without either deflating a lung or fully opening the chest.
Equipped with various tools, HeartLander can take vital measurements, inject drugs or attach smaller devices. In experiments using live pigs, HeartLander has successfully fitted animals with pacemaker leads and injected dye into the heart. Human applications, though, are still several years away.
One of the biggest advocates of biologically inspired robots is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, a semi-secret arm of the Pentagon that over the years has promoted the development of numerous cutting-edge technologies, from the Internet to stealth planes.
Among its current interests is BigDog, a four-legged, semi-autonomous robot that military planners hope might one day lope alongside soldiers at the front, carrying supplies, weapons, communications and navigation gear, medicine and more.
In early field tests, BigDog already suggests it's a robotic breed apart, lugging up to 150 pounds on its spare metal frame at 7 mph over varied terrain.
There's talk of creating a larger version of BigDog: a robotic pack mule for the Army, which last used the real thing in 1957.
One of the harder challenges with existing robots is that, well, they're hard, often sporting mechanical gripping jaws that are impractical or worthless at picking up large, irregularly shaped or fragile objects.
An elephant has no such problem, notes Ian Walker, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Clemson University. Its trunk can pick up a peanut or a tree. Walker, with colleagues at Clemson and other universities, is trying to squeeze that elephantine talent into a robot.
Their project, funded by DARPA, is called OCTOR, for "sOft robotiC manipulaTORs." The key component of OCTOR robots is their "octarm," a multi-sectioned, flexible tube powered by compressed air and equipped with sensors and a camera at the tip.
By increasing or decreasing air pressure inside sections of the tube, researchers can move the octarm in any direction and shape it in a wide variety of ways, just like an elephant's trunk.
Functionality is still limited, concedes Walker. OCTOR can't pick up peanuts or tree trunks, but Walker thinks such robots will eventually imitate at least some abilities of elephants and octopuses.
Future versions, he and others say, could be used in manufacturing processes that require complex handling skills. They also could be employed to investigate tunnels, rubble and other narrow spaces - possibly even in backpacks, where they might lend an extra hand.
In January, a pair of small robots developed by European and Japanese scientists took their first steps in space - not steps, actually, since the robots lacked legs, but the feat was still a giant leap for robotkind.
During the brief suborbital flight Jan. 22, a rocket launched from Japan released a satellite that, in turn, deployed three daughter satellites. These three pulled out a 360-square-yard triangular net with the mother satellite at its center.
From the mother satellite, two palm-sized robots then crawled onto the net like spiders moving across a web. To avoid drifting off in zero-gravity, the spiderbots were equipped with a series of wheels that gripped both sides of the netting.
The experiment did not last very long. One spiderbot stalled after just five seconds of movement; the other after 30 seconds.
Engineers say the problem was likely knots in the net. But they contend the experiment was a conceptual success. They say the technology may ultimately revolutionize the satellite industry because large, costly antennas and solar panels could be launched from small, inexpensive rockets, then assembled in space by tiny robots.
Not all biologically inspired robots are built to address medical or technological challenges. Some are intended to answer basic questions about life - now or in the past.
That's what Madeleine is doing in a swimming pool at Vassar College in Long Island, N.Y. Her designers want to find out two things: Is it better to use two flippers or four? And how did early marine reptiles like the plesiosaur swim?
Madeleine is an autonomous underwater vehicle that looks remarkably like a small sea turtle, with four protruding polyurethane flippers that are precisely as stiff as the real animal's.
Electric motors on Madeleine's flippers allow them to move in ways dictated by an onboard, remotely controlled computer. Cameras, sonar, an altimeter and an accelerometer monitor the aquatic robot's movements and performance.
"Marine animals use their flippers in different ways," said Long. "Sea turtles, sea lions and penguins all rely on one pair of flippers to propel themselves, while the other pair is used to steer. It's thought, though, that plesiosaurs and giant sea turtles of the past used all four flippers for power."
In tests, Madeleine has shown that four flippers are in fact best for bursts of speed and for quick stops, while two flippers are more efficient for simply cruising at a constant speed.
"Using four flippers for cruising requires too much power because the wake caused by the front flippers interferes with the smooth operation of the back flippers," explained Long.
The results, he said, suggest that plesiosaurs likely hunted by ambush, using short bursts of four-flipper speed to gobble up their prey.
Nature, of course, remains the undisputed champion of design. It has solved countless engineering problems in ways human technologies have yet to match. But designers are trying:
- Tufts University researchers have used the tobacco hornworm as a model for a soft, crawling robot that might someday remove land mines or fix hard-to-reach machinery.
- RHex and RiSE are small, six-legged robots inspired by cockroaches and other arthropods. They are capable of running, leaping over obstacles, climbing stairs and, with modifications, walking up walls and trees.
- At the University of Southern California, researchers are developing a SuperBot, a system of modular, Lego-like units that, like cooperative ants, plug into each other to create robots that can stand, crawl, wiggle, roll, climb and fly (in a micro-gravity environment).
Many of these devices are still rudimentary.
"There's been a massive revolution in robotics in the last 30 years," said Peter Will, a robotics expert at USC's Information Sciences Institute, "but that doesn't mean you'll soon be seeing biologically inspired robots everywhere. A lot of things humans do require far more power and complexity than we can currently put into a machine."
But robotics designers are confident that will change, and the world will be - in a word - transformed.
View videos of nature-inspired robots in action
- BigDog, RHex, RiSE and other robots: www.bostondynamics.com/index.php.
- Madeleine, the aquatic robot: faculty.vassar.edu/jolong/RobotMadeleineVassarCollege.mov.
- OCTOR robot field experiments: www.ece.clemson.edu/crb/octor/multimedia.htm.


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So Blizzard has decided to forego Blizzcon this year, "to focus on the games that are in development". In my opinion that's a wise move. I don't know how many resources a conference steals from development but this year is very busy for them. They are planning to release no fewer than 3 games: the next StarCraft chapter, WoW's next expansion Pandaria and the most anticipated game of the decade, Diablo 3.
I would much rather they focus all their resources on releasing these games (especially Diablo 3) than to be distracted by Blizzcon.
If you think about it, there's nothing much they can show off this year. There are no surprises left, apart from the unannounced project Titan. We all know what games are coming out this year and all of them (except perhaps for Pandaria) are close to being done.
Project Titan is most likely a long way from completion and that's why Blizzard won't announce anything related to it this year.
Taking all the above into consideration, why would they host Blizzcon in 2012? Just to get some geeks together? They claim that they are losing money on the show anyway (despite the high price of the ticket), so why bother?
Nah, don't be too disappointed if you were planning to attend this year. Apart from meeting like-minded folks (which is always cool) there wouldn't be any new announcements to spice things up. I just wonder what they'll show at Blizzcon next year.
Patch 1.0.5 commentary
7 years ago

subset: commoncrawl


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Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this vacation or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.Toll free 1-866-821-6866 Calling from outside the US? firstname.lastname@example.com
Check dates, prices & availability
OverlandingIf youre looking for adventure, an opportunity to travel with like-minded travelers and to get truly off the beaten track then this an overlanding trip is for you! We will sometimes be covering long distances over a period of a few days but will then most often be camped up for a few days with opportunities for adventure activities, visiting local communities, time in a town or city to chill out or wildlife viewing experiences. The roads are sometimes bumpy and you need to expect the unexpected! This type of travel is through regions where things can change and experiences are more important than luxury borders sometimes close and there may not always be hot water in the showers! You will often be camping out under the stars, sometimes out in the bush and on campsites. Often an element of your tour includes small locally-run hostels and guest houses. The trips are really participative so you will be involved shopping for food in local markets, cooking for your group (on a rota system), collecting water and setting up camp. If youre not confident about doing any of these things beforehand, dont worry our crew are there to help you and youll be good at it by the time you finish!
You will be traveling on one of our own purpose built overlanding vehicles with up to 24 travelers, many of whom will be traveling on their own. It is a great way for solo travelers to travel. Our vehicles are fully equipped with tents and cooking equipment, tanks with drinking water, charging facilities and designed for great all-round viewing, with comfortable, sociable seating. You will be accompanied on your trip by a Driver and Tour Leader and, depending on your trip, we often use local guides at sites of specific interest for more detailed information.
This type of travel will provide you with a plethora of memories and stories to tell, new-found traveling companions and friends and a well-exercised spirit of adventure!
Responsible tourism
Machu Picchu to Santiago overland tour
Carbon reduction
Your vacation will help support local people and conservation. We must also reduce CO2. Learn about the CO2 emissions of this vacation and how to reduce them.
We are dedicated to minimising the effects our trips have on the environment, and are committed to ensuring that we have a positive impact on the local communities we travel through.
On this epic trip through Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, we will be traveling overland, using a combination of overland expedition vehicle, 4x4s, buses, and trains, thus cutting out the need for air travel and reducing carbon-emissions. Going overland (by car and on foot for excursions) means you get to experience physically crossing the borders between countries as well as explore places which are off the beaten track.
All of our vehicles conform to UK emission controls when they leave the UK and are regularly serviced and maintained in established, locally-owned workshops ensuring that they run as efficiently as possible and our economic returns to a country reach beyond tourism. Waste products such as oils and tyres are often reused several times after we have finished with them, as we pass them on to local people.
All trucks carry a 350-litre water tank, providing drinking water for the group and minimising the need to purchase bottled water. Rather than using plastic bags when shopping for food, we also provide reusable longer lasting bags; we bury our bio-degradable waste or give it to local people to feed livestock; and for cooking we generally use gas instead of wood, a cleaner fuel which leaves natural resources for local people. Passengers and crew are encouraged to use rechargeable batteries for items such as cameras, which can be charged from mains supplies or on our trucks as we travel.
In the office and as a company: We are committed to trying to reduce, re-use and recycle as much as is possible: we reduce what we print by using email and online media for the majority of our communication; any necessary print is always 2-sided and all paper products (in addition to plastics, glass, cardboard, oils and metal) are recycled. We minimise our energy consumption in whatever way we can (e.g. using energy efficient light bulbs and minimising water usage with reduced water cisterns in the bathroom for example).
We are committed to promoting human rights within our sphere of influence this means trying to ensure that everybody involved with us are treated with fairness and respect, including our office staff, crew, local guides and suppliers, as well as all the other stakeholders.
We are also involved with a variety of community projects in key destinations as we visit. Our involvement with these projects is a long-term commitment, allowing us and our passengers to participate directly in delivering real practical benefits to the communities we travel through on the ground. The projects are not tourist initiatives, but a way of employing tourism to generate funding and support and facilitate community interaction.
We believe that local culture and communities must be an integral part of our trips. We recognise that we are guests of the local communities we travel through and strive to make these communities into our partners.
Wherever we are in the world, we prefer to use smaller locally-owned businesses, ensuring that local communities gain a direct economic benefit from our business, for example, we use small locally owned hotels, campsites and activity providers wherever possible.
We use local guides and operators throughout the trip; for example, on the Wild Andres and Classic Inca Trails, in the Sacred Valley, at the Inca temples at Ollantaytambo, at the hilltop ruins of Machu Picchu, and in La Paz and Santiago, we use responsible local operators that provide training and employment to many local people as guides, providing them with stable employment in the tourism industry.
We also feel it is important for our guests to immerse themselves in the culture of their host country and we ensure that we weave experiences that will facilitate this into our itineraries. For example, we visit local markets along the way, in Cuzco we can take part in a Peruvian cooking class learning how to make a variety of local dishes, and in Zurite we will stay in a colonial house where we will enjoy a traditional dinner and get a taste of the local village lifestyle. One of the highlights of the trip is a three-day stay at an Argentine Estancia, experiencing the traditional Gaucho way of life.
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UPDATE: Class Action Settlement: US Dairy Industry to Pay $52 Million in Price-Fixing Conspiracy that Killed Cows and Cheated Consumers.
National Milk Producers Federation and Other Dairy Industry Groups Accused of Antitrust Violations
Class-action complaint alleges an industry-wide scheme to raise the price of milk by killing over 500,000 young cows.
On Monday, Sept. 26, 2011 several dairy consumers, including members of Compassion Over Killing (COK), filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers alleging that various dairy companies and trade groups—including the National Milk Producers Federation, Dairy Farmers of America, and Land O'Lakes—combined to form Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) in order to engage in a price fixing scheme that inflated the price of milk.
According to the complaint, this scheme has so far resulted in over $9.5 billion of unfairly and illegally obtained profits.
COK's Legal Research: Case Background
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) is a national dairy industry trade group developed by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) to, according to its website, "strengthen and stabilize milk prices." CWT is funded by NMPF, Dairy Farmers of America, Land O'Lakes and others in the dairy industry, and its members collectively produce and sell more than 70% of the milk consumed in the U.S. The lawsuit claims that, through CWT, the defendants carried out a price-fixing plot that effectively raised the price of milk through tactics that will likely continue to affect the price of milk for years to come.
As the facts in the case set forth, between 2003 and 2010, more than 500,000 young cows were slaughtered under CWT's so-called "dairy herd retirement" program in a concerted effort to reduce the supply of milk and thus inflate the price. The complaint further alleges that the program, which primarily bought out smaller farmers and instructed them to kill their entire dairy cow herds, unfairly increased the profits of agribusiness giants.
CWT's own economic analysis not only boasts about the program's effects on the industry but confirms that milk prices did in fact increase as a result of its efforts — to the tune of $9.5 billion in additional revenue. See chart for details.
COK's research into CWT's "dairy herd retirement" program led to the discovery of a possibly illegal price-fixing scheme that is killing cows, cheating consumers, and lining the pockets of agribusiness giants. COK's legal department conducted the initial research and development of the case, and the plaintiffs are represented by leading class-action law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, LLP.
Hagens Berman is interested in speaking to consumers who purchased milk or milk products from 2004 to the present. Consumers can contact the firm by calling (206) 623-7292 or by emailing email@example.com. Visit HBSSLaw.com/CWT for more details.
Additionally, COK is releasing video footage and photos offering a glimpse inside California dairy factory farms. This video sheds light on the realities of today's dairy factory farms, including crowded dirt lots filled with long lines of cows, calves kept in filthy, barren, fly-infested conditions, and animals being treated as mere milk-producing machines. As this video demonstrates, conditions on today's dairy farms are a far cry from the happy cow imagery the industry would like us to believe.
One of the most effective steps we can take to protect farmed animals is simply to choose meat-, egg-, and dairy-free foods. Learn more about the painful realities kept hidden behind the closed doors of factory farms and discover delicious animal-friendly foods by visiting TryVeg.com.
Price-Fixing: Beyond the Dairy Industry
This lawsuit is not the first time animal agribusiness has been accused of antitrust violations. In 2010, Land O'Lakes agreed to pay $25 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed against the United Egg Producers and its members for allegedly engaging in a price fixing scheme. That case alleges egg producers were encouraged to reduce their flock size—to reduce egg supply and inflate prices—as part of a program that was disguised as an animal welfare initiative based on the use of a misleading label on egg cartons. Land O'Lakes is also a defendant in this class-action lawsuit.


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March 23, 2012 -- Updated 0204 GMT (1004 HKT)
Sanford, Florida (CNN) -- Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee announced Thursday he is stepping down "temporarily" as head of the department, which has been criticized for its handling of the fatal shooting last month of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
- "We want to see Zimmerman in court with handcuffs," Sharpton says
- Trayvon Martin's parents meet with Justice officials
- They demanded justice for their son at the Million Hoodie March
- The black teenager was not armed when he was killed last month
"I am aware that my role as a leader of this agency has become a distraction from the investigation," he told reporters. "It is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process. Therefore, I have come to the decision that I must temporarily remove myself from the position."
He added, "I do this in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm to the city, which has been in turmoil for several weeks."
The gesture did not mollify Martin's parents. "I feel that we need an arrest," his mother, Sybrina Fulton, told supporters at a rally in Sanford, referring to George Zimmerman, the watch leader who has told police he shot Martin in self defense.
Sanford Police Department Chief Bill Lee announces he will temporarily step down.
Did police fully investigate Zimmerman?
Zimmerman's friend: He's not racist
Teen's dad: Trayvon saw his death coming
"The temporary step-down of Bill Lee is nothing," Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, told the rally. "We want an arrest, we want a conviction, and we want a sentence for the murder of our son."
The Rev. Al Sharpton was more strident: "We did not come here for a temporary leave of absence," he said. "We came for permanent justice -- arrest Zimmerman now!"
The president of the NAACP, Benjamin Jealous, said Lee failed to do his job. "The reality is that this chief had probable cause to lock up a man who shot a boy in cold blood -- because he shot a boy in cold blood -- and he failed to do that," Jealous said.
Lee's decision came a day after the city commission voted 3-2 in favor of a nonbinding measure of no confidence.
City Manager Norton Bonaparte said Thursday that he would like an independent review of police action in the wake of the shooting.
Also Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott announced that he was appointing Angela B. Corey of the 4th Judicial Circuit as state attorney in the investigation, replacing Norman Wolfinger, state attorney for Florida's 18th District, which includes Sanford. Wolfinger requested someone else be assigned, saying in a letter to Scott: "This request is being made in light of the public good with the intent of toning down the rhetoric and preserving the integrity of this investigation."
Corey told CNN affiliate WJXT: "I accepted his request immediately ... We will begin tomorrow to look into the facts and circumstances into the shooting death of Trayvan Martin."
Lee's decision came as Justice Department officials met Thursday with the parents of Martin, who was unarmed when he was shot and killed in an Orlando suburb.
"During the course of this meeting, we listened carefully to the concerns of the family and their representatives," the Justice Department said in a statement. "Earlier this week, the Department of Justice announced the opening of a parallel investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin. That matter remains open at this time."
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez told reporters in a conference call that the investigation is being carried out in coordination with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida.
"We're in the fact-gathering stage and we're working collaboratively with the state's attorney's office and the local authorities to figure out what happened," he said. "We don't know what the facts are yet. We're gathering the facts and as we gather the facts we will then determine whether or not the facts support a prosecution under the civil rights laws that we enforce."
The meeting was attended by the special agent in charge for the FBI Tampa Division, Steven E. Ibison; U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill; and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice - Civil Rights Division, Roy Austin, Jr.
The case has riveted the nation. Martin's family asserts that race was a factor in the black teenager's death.
Martin was shot February 26 while walking to the house of his father's fiancee after a trip to a convenience store.
Zimmerman has not been arrested. A police report describes him as white; his family says he is Hispanic and that he has wrongly been described as a racist.
The uproar over Martin's death has reverberated nationwide with demands for Zimmerman's arrest and scrutiny of police actions.
More than 1.3 million people have signed a petition on Change.org urging prosecution for Zimmerman. Thursday morning, the petition was getting 1,000 signatures per minute, said Noland Chambliss, communications manager for Change.org.
CNN has made numerous attempts to contact Zimmerman but has been unsuccessful.
A Seminole County grand jury will convene April 10 on the matter, State Attorney Norm Wolfinger said.
Sharpton was planned to lead a rally Thursday night at a church in Sanford, a racially mixed city of about 50,000 people just north of Orlando.
On Thursday night, Sharpton called for action by authorities. "We want to see Zimmerman in court with handcuffs behind his back charged with the death of this young man Trayvan Martin," he told thousands of demonstrators who had gathered in Sanford's Fort Mellon Park.
"We are here tonight to fight for all our children," said NAACP's Jealous. "This isn't an issue about black and white, this is an issue about right and wrong."
Zimmerman, who was patrolling the neighborhood, saw Martin walking in his gated community. He called 911 and reported what he described as a suspicious person. Moments later, several neighbors called the emergency number to report a commotion outside.
The 911 tapes of neighbors' calls to emergency dispatchers picked up cries for help followed by the sound of a gunshot.
Neighbor: Shooting wasn't self defense
Why Trayvon's cell records matter
Friend defends George Zimmerman
NAACP President: No faith in this chief
"The time that we heard the whining and then the gunshot, we did not hear any wrestling, no punching, no fighting, nothing to make it sound like there was a fight," said Mary Cutcher, one of the callers.
Another caller, Selma Mora Lamilla, said she did not hear any altercation, but the teen cried and "whimpered" before the shooting.
Martin's girlfriend was on the phone with him during the incident and can help prove he was killed "in cold blood," said Benjamin Crump, the Martin family's attorney.
The girl connects the dots and "completely blows Zimmerman's absurd self-defense claim out of the water," Crump said.
Shortly before he was shot, the teen told his girlfriend that someone was following him and he was trying to get away, according to the lawyer. The girl, who did not want to be identified, said that during the call, she heard Martin ask why the person was following him.
She got the impression there was an altercation in which his cell phone earpiece fell out after he was pushed, and the connection went dead, Crump said. She did not hear gunfire, he said.
Zimmerman attended a four-month law-enforcement program in 2008 at the sheriff's office, said Kim Cannaday, spokeswoman for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
In his application for the course, Zimmerman wrote: "I hold law enforcement officers in the highest regard and I hope to one day become one."
Zimmerman's father, Robert, told a Florida newspaper that the 28-year-old had moved from the area after receiving death threats.
He was a student at Seminole State College, but the college said Thursday that it had "taken the unusual but necessary step this week to withdraw" Zimmerman from enrollment. It cited the high-profile nature of the controversy and said the decision was based on concern for the safety of Zimmerman and the students on campus.
Zimmerman's family has denied that race played a role, saying he has many minority relatives and friends.
"The portrayal of George Zimmerman in the media, as well as the series of events that led to the tragic shooting, are false and extremely misleading," his father wrote in a letter published in the Orlando Sentinel. "Unfortunately, some individuals and organizations have used this tragedy to further their own causes and agendas."
"George is a Spanish-speaking minority with many black family members and friends," Robert Zimmerman wrote. "He would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever."
Heated debate has erupted over whether Zimmerman used a racial slur during the 911 call, a recording of which was released this week.
"We didn't hear it. However, I am not sure what was said," Sgt. David Morgenstern of the Sanford Police Department said.
"I have listened to the tapes, and I have not heard them use a racial slur," concurred City Manager Bonaparte.
A top CNN audio engineer enhanced the sound of the 911 call, and several members of CNN's editorial staff repeatedly reviewed the tape but could reach no consensus on whether Zimmerman used a racial slur.
Whether Zimmerman used such language before shooting Martin is key, according to CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
"It's extremely, extremely significant because the federal government is not allowed to prosecute just your ordinary, everyday murder," he said. "Two people fighting on the street is not a federal crime. However, if one person shoots another based on racial hostility, racial animus, that does become a federal crime."
Toobin said that if "very shortly before" the shooting, "Zimmerman used this racial epithet to refer to the person he openly shot, that very much puts it within the FBI's and the Justice Department's ambit of a case that they could prosecute."
Police say they have not charged Zimmerman because they have no evidence to contradict his story that he shot in self-defense.
Florida's deadly force law, also called "stand your ground," allows people to meet "force with force" if they believe there is danger of serious harm to themselves or someone else.
The shooting has renewed a debate over a controversial state law and sparked calls for a review. Gov. Scott announced Thursday he will do just that.
"After listening to many concerned citizens in recent days, I will call for a Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection to investigate how to make sure a tragedy such as this does not occur in the future, while at the same time, protecting the fundamental rights of all of our citizens -- especially the right to feel protected and safe in our state," Scott said in a statement.
The task force will be led by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll. The Rev. R. B. Holmes, Jr., pastor of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, will serve as vice-chair.
CNN's Ross Levitt, Julian Cummings, Susan Candiotti, Vivian Kuo, David Mattingly, John Zarrella, Kimberly Segal, Brian Vitagliano, Melanie Whitley, Dave Alsup and Moni Basu contributed to this report.


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AVALANCHERS Reviews Board
Saul Williams @ Stereo Glasgow 21/5/2008
Melvins Fiend
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:58 am
I was off yesterday and as i had to travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow for this gig i thought it'd be best to have an early dinner of scampi at 4:30 so i could enjoy my ritual of red wine, steinlager and playing loud records while Mrs Toots got ready........so some Nick Cave, Selecter, Goth Trad, Godflesh's Us And Them and Ministry's ICYDFLSU records later we jumped on a train........which was a fuckin rip off at £10.80 one way??!!! (We got the bus back)
Got to Glasgow and the Fiend gang met up with another pal (Daniel) before Mrs Fiend got sticky date pudding, her friend indulged in scampi and i began my booze binge which Scotland is infamous for while my pal Daniel tried to recover from a large pizza he'd nailed for dinner.
8pm comes so we head down to Stereo where Saul is playing.....when we get there there's already a rather large line of Hip Hop heads, Metal heads, Techno heads and older poshy poetry looking types with "Chomski All-Stars" hoodies on??!!
We hand our tickets in and make our way downstairs where i come across the merch stand i'd been much looking forward to! There were two different types of shirts (both came in blue or green), the cd of classical music with Saul reading excerpts of "Said The Shotgun To The Head" over and a cd which was the new release of Saul's keyboard player. The U.S tour seemed to have a bit more merch but from what i've read but they didn't have the shirt which featured 3 hyenas and a two headed horse on it......although i maybe wrong? Anyway i picked up the shirt with Saul holding the kitten with the eye patch, stuffed it in Mrs Fiends handbag and made way for the bar.......
Stereo is a great venue.......it's not very big and is absolutely filthy.......it's the kind of place Boba Fett would go to breakdance to intergalactic Hip Hop as it's all beaten up and manky. The side part has lots of bean bags which i though was pretty cool. The bar was very busy (gig sold out) but although they only had 3 or 4 staff they managed to serve extremely quickly compared to 99% of other clubs i visit.
The opener was just a dude spinning records who had the tackiest shirt i'd ever seen a DJ wear.....i was very impressed......it was one of those dodgey one's with a picture of a wolf with forest and moon etc in the backround. Usually old panzy bikers and westy grandma's wear them. Anyway he was playing good stuff ranging from really old school sounding Industrial instrumentals to Bass Heavy Technoy stuff to minimal Hip Hop etc etc.........
Eventually Saul and band came on. Saul had the fluffy caveman boots on along with a singlet that had a picture of bullet belts running up and down it. He was also sporting the colourful feathers in his hair which seems to be very much part of the Niggy Tardust character. CX Kid Tronik was like a cyber punk biker in black leather. The keyboard player had a badass Dracula cape on with big black sunglasses and the guitarist looked normal with his plain shirt and jeans?!
The crowd was hyped and excited and were more than ready to jump up and down like looney toons. I can't remember the whole setlist, in fact i can't even remember what the first song was as i have a bad habit of getting as battered as possible before the gig so i can jump with the toons and not have to waste time going to bars during the set.
What i do remember though is the set begining with the intro to "Break" before going into something different? "Grippo" was about the 2nd or 3rd song and if the crowd wasn't jumping before then they were now. I had my merry band of moshers (or jumpers) to give me license to act like a lunatic and although they were shirtless tatted looking clowns they won my respect due to knowing all the lyrics and knowing when to shut up and let Saul do his thing.
There was plenty of stage diving/crowd surfing by Saul, his keyboardist and some of the toons which was very arena rockish and fun. At one stage the keyboardist came close to us and motioned for us we could have his badass alien sun glasses (i think him guessing we couldn't reach?)...anyway i was more than up for it and the Fiend launched himself and grabbed them off his head! Stunned and with a sheepish smile he pleaded with me for them back........of cause the gentleman i am i handed them straight back and was awarded with a "yoyoyo ma honky" handshake.
This was a very different show from last time i saw Saul in Edinburgh 2005. The last one Saul did alot more spoken word and obviously more stuff from the first two albums. The crowd was excited and danced in Edinburgh, but tonight Saul was like a fully fledged rock star (Amethyst?) who had the crowd dancing, moshing and generally jumping up and down like my mum when the police brought me home after i was caught stealing Star Wars toys when i was about 7yrs old.
The songs that really caused mayhem tonight were "Grippo", "Convict Colony", "List Of Demands", "Control Freak" and of course the encore U2 anthem cover "Sunday Bloody Sunday" which everyone was singing along to.
The gig finished and i was soaked. On the way out my pal Daniel bought the Hyena Tardust shirt for me as i'd run out of money due to my stupid pre Saul binge....what a fucking cool guy!
On the way to the bus station Daniel was a bit dejected as someone had told him Chelsea beat Man U in the Euro Cup Final......he got a pleasant surprise when he got home to find the guy on the street was bullshitting.....a Chelsea fan no doubt.
Here's a few photo's..........
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Melvins Fiend
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:27 am
The t-shirts............
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:03 am
Joined: 24 Oct 2007
Posts: 921
Location: Poland
I wanna see Saul live
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DaveFurano needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 95 designs submitted by 22 freelance designers.
NEW BRAND: Wise Wine or Wisdom Wine
We are an artisan winery in Sonoma under the name B Wise Vineyards.
We are creating a "2nd" label and brand that is somewhat more easy-going, casual and fun in comparison to our primary classic label wines.
Wine drinkers. Those who don't want to drink plonky, overpriced swill. We are targeting those who appreciate tasty wine that is better than the run-of-the mill wine, yet not pretentious or stuffy. Those who appreciate art, life, family, a sense of humor and fun times.
We are creating a new wine brand and looking for a label and logo design called "Wisdom Wine" or "Wise Wine". We are looking specifically for artwork that is classy, clever and fun; perhaps unconventional.
This Label template will include a "Wisdom Wine" or "Wise Wine" logo and design.
A requirement of the label will be to include sayings, quotes, witty aphorisms and other "wisdoms" on the label. The sayings may or may not pertain to wine.
These sayings could feature love, happiness, special occasions, advice, ceremonies, transforming life events, astrological signs, haiku, notable quotes, proverbs, traditional and non-traditional sayings and the like as topics.
The winning design will be a template label and logo that will accommodate interchangeable sayings, quotes, advice, sentiments and the like - appealing to wine drinkers, loved ones, family, etc, intended as gifts for all occasions including, but not limited to, family gatherings, dinners, celebrations.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
November 27
- At 7:04 p.m., Christina Fulton of Sterling reported trespassing at 203 N. Seventh Ave., which occurred between 7:30 p.m. Nov. 25 and about the time of the call.
November 26
- At 10:57 a.m. Claira Heerman of Sterling reported damage of property at 805 Glenora St., which occurred between noon Nov. 1 and 4 p.m. Nov. 22. A 16×48-inch glass pane valued at $100 was vandalized.
November 21
- At 7:47 p.m., 22-year-old Moises Lee Renteria of Sterling was charged with driving under restraint, displaying fictitious plates, operating an uninsured vehicle and having only one number plate at 800 W. Main St.
- At noon, 24-year-old Demi Raye Hymas was arrested at the Logan County Jail on a summons for theft by receiving (between $500 and $15,000), providing false information to a pawn broker and attempting to influence a public servant.


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|Dog Grooming Stockport - Dapper Dogs Professional Dog Groomers
|Customer Comments
Lhasa Apso Owner - Macclesfield
I have struck gold with another fantastic groomer today, the lovely Julie at Dapper Dogs in Woodford, Cheshire She has done the most wonderful job of clipping / scissoring him and I am delighted with the results. She has just very kindly uploaded these pics on to my facebook page. Also, I think Teddy was a little bit in love with her as he was giving her lots of kisses when I went to pick him up, obviously most at ease. I think the feeling was mutual and I am told I am very lucky to have got him back, lol Doesn't he look fab?!!!
November 2011
Jackie Lloyd - Alderley Edge
Hi Julie, Was looking for a testimonials page on here and couldnt find one. Given the excellent service we had I think you'll need one soon. Just wanted to thank you for fitting Tilly in so quickly, 3 hours notice a week before Christmas for a brand new customer definitely deserves a gold star! And I was prompted to write this just looking at how CUTE and tidy she now is...oh how looks can deceive...little monster that she can be! Anyhow, many thanks. After trying several groomers in the area I am happy to have found one I now consider our own and am busy recommending!
December 2011
Cocker Poodle Owner - Poynton
Tedward is a lovely dog but only a puppy and has never been groomed before. Julie was very patient with him even when he tried to bite her several times! By the end of the session he was Julie's best friend and she looked after him like he was her own dog. I have already been back and have also booked in for the next time. Would recommend Dapper Dog Grooming Woodford to anyone!
January 2012
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Quadron – Slippin
An audition turns into tongue in cheek comedy, then musical crescendo, then surreal tragedy, fast paced action and finally speculative metaphysics.
Quadron is a Danish pop group comprised of Robin Hannibal and Coco. Slippin is on the eponymous debut album released for Plug Research.
The music video has been directed by Walter Robot (Bill Barminski and Christopher Louie). Cinematographer: Patrick Meade Jones.Also tagged auditions, Bill Barminski, Chris Louie, clone, confetti, flower, inversion of roles, Walk of Fame stars, Walter Robot


text:
Discover a selection of top forums workfromhome on the internet. Come to share your passion on forums workfromhome and meet other fans of workfromhome. Then, why don't you create your own forum of workfromhome ?
Downline Promotion Site/Forum, Sign up to the sites that are proven to pay! just look in the payment proof section, for peace of mind, Create your Downline from one page + get great tips on how to com. . . .
paypal, amazon, gptsites, instant, serve, cash, check, #workfromhome, home, money, forum, 2013, easy, poker, dollar, dollars, survey, surveys, referr


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At the Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, (R-Va.), would only commit "to have a serious conversation" about the U.S. immigration system.
In contrast, two separate bipartisan groups in the U.S. Senate are working on broader immigration issues, including tech-specific reforms. One of their proposals would increase the H-1B visa cap to as high as 300,000 a year. Goodlatte said it was "instructive to note" that only about 12% of legal immigrants to the U.S. are picked on the basis of education and skills, while some other countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, "select over 60% of their immigrants on this basis." The hearing was well attended by lawmakers.
There were strong, contentious statements about whether to allow some 11 million undocumented workers to legally stay in the country. But there appeared to be genuine interest doing something to increase the number of skilled immigrants staying in the U.S..
To that point, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) asked the panelists whether "there are less contentious [immigration reform] issues with our highly skilled workers?"
The panelists broadly agreed with Bachus, though witness Michael Teitelbaum, who chaired the U.S. Commission Immigration Reform in mid-1990s, offered a caveat. "You must be careful not to deter American kids from going into those fields," said Teitelbaum. "So you just have to do it right."
Some observers have argued that unrestricted immigration in certain science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields could impact decisions by U.S. students whether to major in those areas. "You might end with fewer people net if you discourage the inflow of people from the largest source of those occupations, who are American citizens," said Teitelbaum.
Teitelbaum was joined by witnesses Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, Dr. Puneet Arora, vice president of the high skills advocacy group Immigration Voice, and San Antonio, Texas, Mayor Julian Castro.
Bachus and other lawmakers floated the idea of giving greater priority to skilled immigrants.
He focused his remarks on the high-skill aspect of immigration while pointing to a political reality when it comes to getting a bill approved. "It's going to be much easier to solve the problem with highly skilled workers," he said.
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the previous judiciary committee chair, said that the high-skilled worker immigration has to be done in a way that doesn't hurt U.S. workers. "We don't want to jeopardize their jobs or depress their wages," he said.
Smith last year pitched a bill to make up to 55,000 STEM visas available for advanced degree graduates of U.S. universities. But it lacked White House support because it didn't meet its goal of comprehensive immigration reform.
Wadhwa, who has long advocated for more liberal green card and temporary visa policies, argued that immigrants are playing a critical role in creating new companies and infusing the U.S. with the talent critical to maintaining its lead in technology development.
"We can solve the world's grand challenges, and immigration is one of the keys to making it happen," said Wadhwa, who said increased immigration can help grow the U.S. economy.
Arora, a medical doctor, told of his long history of immigration limbo.
He said it took him 15 years to get the green card he received in 2011.
The immigration process is so backlogged that the U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Service is now working on green card applications made in 2004, said Arora. The current immigration process, he contended, takes a toll "on professionals and their families."
Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov, or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is email@example.com.


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Opinion: Who Defines Marriage?
University of California, Berkeley law professor John Yoo on the Supreme Court case concerning California's Prop. 8.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... it ... gets back down to a very simple notion ... of fundamental ... rights fundamental concepts of justice fundamental concepts of Liberty and I look I can see ... we have fifty thousand children in California right now one and thing ... why can't my parents be married to ... me ... welcome back to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel that was California Attorney General ... Kemal in Paris on gay marriage Supreme Court is hearing two very important cases this week ... we're looking at Berkeley law professor John Yoo here to talk about them ... I which I was start first with ... Hollingsworth versus Kerry ... the crop a case where ... a California law struck down gay marriage by ... Democratic majority now the courts hearing ... on that California's estate declined to defend ... this long ... to stay in ... this case Supreme Court I mean I think there is ... no some conservatives ... who are afraid of the outcome are now hoping the court might take the case now ... but the whole point of the initiative process ... is because the voters of California and didn't trust their elected officials to ... carry out their policies and so these initial process to go around the established government ... so Khona makes sense that you would have the defenders of the initiative we going courts sometimes the people or not the governor or the attorney general which is the case here ... um that's a matter also as a federal solution that's another state law that's for Californians to decide ... who under our Constitution is the best person for the best party to defend a lot ... and usually I would think the Supreme Court should accept that otherwise ... there been other cases of no snow will involve the Arizona immigration law with a court has accepted ... a private parties and accept effectively to defend along rather than elected officials stated that the Supreme Court finds standing in the goes ahead with the prop eight case ... what's the main issue here equal protection under the law ... well there's three different things a quirky due to take the case and I'm standing the second thing is to do which is never done before ... that has passed on the last two chances to do is to say ... these are inputs of protected classes you mention under ... the protection clause of the Constitution so any laws that harm then have to be ... given strict scrutiny or even intermediate scrutiny by the courts ... now the court may not have a majority for that even justice Kennedy who is thought to be the swing fifth justice here ... has been the previous two cases on gay rights ... not gone that way ... then they would be left with much of the trial judge's super Cisco's Judge Vaughn Walker said which was found which was ... the law then ... is unconstitutional or not depending on what the fuel is just the product of of what the locals and switch new Call bigotry or just a trade ... of cases a group and so I think that's a hard thing to do even though the poll showed majority Americans are moving towards favor ... for gay marriage ... it's I think it's a hard thing to say all the people who support are popping all the people who are majorities in the forty two other states that don't have the mantra called the gets ... the move on to the second case U S and the Windsor ... II which the court is hearing Wednesday as some of the funds bonds of marriage act ... Achleitner on aam piece of legislation ... um what is the relationship of this case to the proxy case ... ten years I think some people overlook this that is the court finds ... in the property case ... that the marriage is in the States cannot for having gay marriage ... then the second case about them and comes very easy because you would actually fall if the federal government can also discriminate against gays American said oh mom would have to be struck ... but if the court ... a word to say in the popping case no this is ... an issue up to the states which is mined him personally ... actually I'd been pro gay marriage I think he's had the same rate as the rest of us to be miserable for the rest ... but ... as a pulse members a cost to show that I don't think this through the courts to do to force on all the states ... but if the court went that way then and don't let it becomes a question of Federalists and does the federal government have the right ... to decide for itself what marriage means ... and there doesn't ... I think they do I think just the way we receive estates to sew the federal government does just for federal all federal coming can impose ... its definition of marriage on the states ... should Qeelin define marriage for purposes of our tax code benefits program to someone for sample ... if the state had polygamy ... we once in a federal government to accept polygamy into federal law that Obama's still goes to decide ... its own definitions for its own loss so what does this mean for the Roberts court Roberts court legacy ... is raising the Roberts court I think got off to a bad start for conservatives with disabilities decision last year ... and just wrote chief Justice Roberts said after the decision has been a goal off the mountain fortress of solitude of any property that might tell that to Malta for the summer ... well I think is able to find out whether the man of steel is Rick returned or whether we've got ... someone who's got a little more ... a Jelly bone backbone in response to the political forces around and ... if he's shown he can be browbeat art hacked into ... finding what the popular culture of the reviews wonder whether think is can it ... restores to more modest view the Constitution and the Supreme court's role in our society ... ok Berkeley law school Professor John you think you so much ... for being with us


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The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, are exactly one year away. The Sochi Games will take place Feb. 6-23, 2014, when new stars will compete, new olympic sports will debut, and a city will be rebuilt -- at a record price -- for the occasion.
Let's get our bearings and see what's new at the Sochi -- pronounced 'so-chee' -- games:
New Faces
Every Olympiad presents a new cast of heroes, but guessing who they'll be is a fool's errand. But that won't stop us. Here's an early list of who to watch for in February 2014:
U.S. & World
A 20-year-old figure skater from Arizona, Max Aaron played hockey until he was 9. He's won the United States Figure Skating Championships and the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic this season, and could be America's best medal hope in men's figure skating in Sochi.
Ashley Wagner was an Army brat born in Germany, but raised all over America. Earlier this year she became the first woman since Michelle Kwan to defend her United States Figure Skating Championships crown, and she won two other titles this season. And Men's Health named her one of the US's 20 Hottest Winter Athletes.
Born in 1995, skier Mikaela Shiffrin isn't old enough to vote. Nonetheless, the Vail native is on the fast track to Sochi, leading the World Cup slalom standings with three wins and a pair of third-place finishes.
Snowboarder Arielle Gold, 16, makes Shiffrin seem aged by comparison. Already this year, Gold's taken gold in the halfpipe at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships and bronze in the SuperPipe at the Winter X Games.
Born in Singapore to an English-Thai father and Chinese mother, Vanessa-Mae was a violin prodigy who's gone on to achieve wealth and fame as a musician. But she also skis, and she now wants to become the second person to represent Thailand at the Winter Games. She's been training for three years in Zermatt, Switzerland, with an eye toward competing at Sochi in the giant slalom and possibly the slalom.
You likely remember hurdler Lolo Jones from her disappointing effort at the London Summer Games, but you've not seen the last of her. In October she was named to the U.S. bobsled team, and in January she won gold in the mixed team event at the World Championships in St. Moritz.
New City
The 2014 Winter Olympics present Russia with both a shot at redemption and a chance to shine. Coming off the 2010 Games in Vancouver, where Russia won its fewest gold medals ever, the former Soviet republic is hosting its first Winter games, in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi (So-chee).
Just north of the Russia-Georgia border, Sochi opened its first resort in 1909, and was for a time a favored vacation spot for Stalin. But over the next five years, Sochi will transform into an international sports mecca, hosting three major events: the Winter Olympics, the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix, and games for the 2018 World Cup.
The Sochi Games will be the most compact in Olympic history, with a Coastal Cluster and a Mountain Cluster of venues connected by a 30-minute railway ride. On the banks of the Black Sea, all six ice rinks are within walking distance of each, as are the five skiing and sledding venues up in the mountains--one of which is named "RusSki." Each cluster will have its own Olympic Village, with competitors being able to walk to any venue within their cluster in 15 minutes or less.
But rebuilding the city for an event like the Olympics isn't cheap -- Russian officials expect it to cost about $50 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. That will make Sochi the most expensive Olympics ever -- five times Russia's original estimate for the games and $10 billion more than what China spent on the Beijing summer games in 2008.
The price tag will include building 15 new sports venues, hotels to house more than 10,000 guests, and revamped communication and transportation infrastructure. About 85% of the infrastructure had to be built from scratch, IOC officials told the Moscow Times.
New Time Zone?
The time difference between the U.S. and London made things difficult for American sports fans during the London Olympics last summer. This issue will be heightened significantly in 2014, as Sochi is another three hours ahead, meaning a 9 a.m. race on the Black Sea will take place at 1 a.m. on the East Coast.
There's been enough concern about this that there's been some speculation about changing Sochi's time zone for the Olympics: Moving the time zone back one hour could aid broadcast times. The IOC discussed a time zone change with Russia's government, but denied it made a formal request, and no change appears imminent.
New Sports
The IOC has added a dozen new medal events for next year's games: men's and women's slopestyle skiing and slopestyle snowboard (for the uninitiated, "slopestyle" involves lots of X Games-style tricks off of jumps and rails), men's and women's parallel special slalom snowboard, men's and women's halfpipe skiing, women's ski jumping, mixed relay biathlon, team figure skating and luge relay.
The luge relay, though, is not as perilous as you might expect -- the "hand off" is done by hitting a button at the bottom of the hill that lets your teammate at the top know they can head down.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


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Last post Oct 22, 2012 10:22 AM by snskrishna
Oct 20, 2012 12:34 PM|asmgx|LINK
Here are some tools that you can use in your website easily, it will save you the effort of development.
* you can add a poll to your website without development, this poll can be in many languages, and in many forms, as it allows you to choose single vote poll or multi
votes, beside changing colours and other customization options.
here we go explaining how to do that.
1- go to www.pollsdb.com
2- click on "New Poll"
3- create your own poll, put your question, options, max selection, colour, and language ( the default language is english )
4- if you dont want anyone to access this poll except from your own website then choose "Protected" in the access field then type your "Access Key" so no one access
this poll except from your website.
5- once finished click on creat button in the bottom of the page, so you will see your poll created and has a number
6- click on "Add poll to website"
7- you will see a green feild for your poll ID, so just type your ID in there and the "Access Key" ( if exists ) then click in "Get Code" button
8- you will get code in the text box in the bottom, just copy and paste this code where ever you want the poll to be displayed in your website.
* now to add rating for your website or website content there is a rating tool that allows you to add a star rating or like/dislike rating
here is the explaination of how to do that.
1- go to www.pollsdb.com
2- click on "Add rate to website"
3- choose type of rating you want either Starts or Likes/Dislikes
4- customize the look of the rating by colour, shape, aligning, etc.
5- click on "Get Code" button and copy and paste this code where ever you want the rate to be displayed in your website.
Link Rating to your Database
* the rating can be linked to your database so rating can come with your subjects/contents automatically
to do this use Rating same the Rating point above, with one change in the ID part, so this part can take your ID from database, and that will be coded the way your
website was coded (ASP.net, PHP, Perl, etc.)
you will see more descrebtion in the site itself.
14 Points
Oct 22, 2012 10:22 AM|snskrishna|LINK
Thank you, very much


text:
SCK•CEN is able to execute a variety of measurement and analysis services on behalf of its clients. We focus mainly on the detection and measurement of radioactive substances in the human body and the environment. These are useful tools for application in various industrial, scientific and medical sectors.
Analyses and measurements
© 2020, SCK•CEN | Website design by Pixeo


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These are all the News & Announcements posted on Monday, 29 December, 2008.
Staff Reading Picks
Here are some books beloved by Logan Library staff members. We hope you enjoy them too.
Book: A Brother's Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse by Richard B. Pelzer
Recommended by: Jason, Adult Acquisitions
The book, like those by his brother David, is a startling look at childhood in a home of severe abuse. It left me angry that such a situation could ever have happened and happy that we are hopefully much more aware of child abuse today. No child should ever be subjected to the debilitating and life crippling effects of abuse, but the book is also a wonderful story of strength and healing in its aftermath.
Book: Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba
Recommended by: Becky, Children's Librarian
This is a chilling story of a brilliant - and bored - teenage boy who finds a notebook dropped by a shinigami (Japanese Death God). He quickly discovers that anyone whose name is written in the notebook dies, and decides to use it to rid the world of evil people. Over the course of this 12-volume graphic novel series, the boy, ironically named Light, manages to terrorize the entire world, all in the name of justice and 'making the world a better place.' It is a fascinating account of how one person, given power, can use that power for good or evil, and raises questions of what good and evil actually are.
Book: Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
Recommended by: Melanie, Reference Librarian
Shakespearian scholar follows the clues to find a lost play by Shakespeare. Search takes her from London to Utah, Arizona, Washington D.C. and back to London. Fast paced literary thriller with lots of exciting twists.
Posted By Logan Library at 3:25 PM in Category:Staff Picks
Link directly to this article.
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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Most businesses wait three to four years for a fancy website redesign. Although this keeps me busy I encourage you to see your website as an animal in constant evolution. There is tons of valuable data in a website that has been running for 3-5 years, so why throw it away? An evolutionary strategy builds upon the good, attempts to fix the bad and most importantly focuses on results.
Measure twice, cut once
Modern tracking tools act as your business report card. They allow you to see what your audience is doing almost immediately and turn your goals into measurable figures that can be compared. As a result it becomes more cost effective to execute frequent small changes focused on specific goals and measure the results often. Repeating this process over time will let you know what works and what doesn't.
Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving. – David Ogilvy
Conversion rates and traffic often suffer after a mayor redesign. To make things worse, you are left in the dark because there's no way to know what caused the drop since almost everything has changed.
Next time you think about redesigning your website take a step back and take a look at your report card first, then establish clear goals that can be measured. Yes I know this requires constant work but I can guarantee you will have more control and see results if you are consistent.
For more on this topic see the following posts:


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Hi all,
There's so much talk about this frequency or that, mostly from the UK and the USA, but I can't find any reliable info about Ireland.
The ComReg site seems to list 27MHz and 35MHz, with a comment that 2.4GHz is 'also used'.
Various European sites listing frequencies in each country say much the same, but don't even mention 459MHz in the UK.
433MHz is talked about quite a lot, and I understood (I thought) that it was legal in the 'states and Europe, with the UK opting to be different with 459MHz.
I can find no reliable/official site listing 433MHz.
Is 433 or 459 legal in Ireland?
Anyone know?


text:
Apple's New Phone Drives a Wedge Between Korea and Taiwan
Apple's hotly anticipated iPhone6 could be helping to break up one of Asia's most dependable economic relationships.
Factory output from South Korea and Taiwan long has moved almost in lockstep as both helped meet global technology demand. But Apple is trying to reduce its reliance for parts on smartphone rival Samsung Electronics, and the iPhone6 could pull Taiwan more firmly into a production orbit independent of Korea's.
Taiwan's industrial production index rose 5.2% on-year in May, beating economists' forecasts, after rising 5.29% in April and 3.2% in March. Korea won't report May industrial production until Friday, but its April production slowed to 2.4% on-year, from 2.6% in March.


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Flowery Encouragement
Here in New York City, spring has been slow to appear. Bryant Park finally has pansies and daffodils, but it's still been cold and blustery most of the month. We thought some embroidered spring flowers would help coax the real … Continue reading
Posted in fashion, museums Tagged crafting, crafts, embroidery, flowers, Garden of Eden, gardening, garments, handmade, historic fashion, horticulture, Metropolitan Museum of Art, museums, needlework, Renaissance clothing, Renaissance embroidery, spring, textiles, Victoria & Albert Museum 10 Comments


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OCOB Partners
The San Francisco Public Library is excited to announce that A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster by San Francisco author Rebecca Solnit is our California Reads/One City One Book for 2012!
This year, as part of the 8th annual One City One Book, San Francisco Public Library is participating in California Reads, a statewide reading and discussion program created by Cal Humanities (formerly the California Council for the Humanities) in partnership with the California Center for the Book and supported by the California State Library. Check out the program guide in the right column for more information about California Reads and find SFPL's upcoming events below.


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We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner for a slew of our out-of-town relatives. Is it OK to ask some to stay at a hotel?
Preparing a Thanksgiving feast is a major enough undertaking without adding a gaggle of overnight guests. If you wish, and your situation permits, you can invite relatives from farther away to stay with you. But it's also fine to request that they sleep at a nearby hotel or bed-and-breakfast. Just get the word out early — ideally, when you are first inviting people to attend.


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de Buyer Prima Matera Copper Braiser
Easy, hassle-free returns online and in-store for eligible items.Learn More
Earn 5% Back in rewards4 plus free standard shipping3every day when you shop with your Williams Sonoma credit card at Williams Sonoma.Apply Now Learn More
- Summary
The only copper cookware that performs flawlessly on all cooktops, including induction, Prima Matera combines the beauty and conductivity of copper with an easy-care stainless-steel interior. The broad base and raised sides of this braiser make it ideal for both browning and simmering.
- 11" diam., 4" high.
- 90% copper, 10% stainless-steel construction.
- 2mm-thick copper body heats and cools rapidly and evenly.
- Stainless-steel interior and lid offer durability and easy cleaning.
- Seamlessly integrated magnetic bottom ensures induction compatibility.
- Elegant oven-to-table design.
- Made in France by de Buyer, established in 1810.
- Dimensions & More Info
- Tight-fitting stainless-steel lid circulates heat and moisture.
- Riveted handles of cast stainless steel stay cool to the touch.
- 11" diam., 4" high.
- 6 lb. 8 oz.
- Made in France.
- Use & Care
- Ideal for use on any type of cooktop, including induction.
- Oven and broiler safe.
- Allow pan to cool before washing.
- Hand wash; dry immediately with a soft cloth.
- Avoid using steel wool, steel scouring pads or harsh detergents.
- Copper will naturally develop a rich patina over time. Please note that this will not affect the pan's cooking performance. To keep the exterior looking like new, use a copper polish or a combination of lemon and salt.
- Shipping
Shipping Information
This item will be shipped directly from the manufacturer and is not eligible for rush shipping. Please allow one to two weeks for delivery.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
Return Policy
At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
If within 30 days, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request).
For all cutlery returns (knife sets, single knives, cutting boards, knife sharpeners, and knife storage) please contact us at 888.922.4108 to initiate the return.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, custom upholstery, food, items shipped direct from the vendor, or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. Final sale items ending in .97 or .99 cannot be returned.
For returns of items purchased from your Williams Sonoma Gift Registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Returns Policy.
- More about de Buyer
The de Buyer family has been making cookware in the French town of Val-d'Ajol since 1830. The family-owned company originally crafted pots and cauldrons for cooking over a live fire using iron ore extracted from the region. Pairing modern technology with a timeless attention to quality, De Buyer still creates cookware in the classic French shapes and materials traditionally used in professional kitchens. In addition to copper and iron collections, the company also offers stainless-steel and nonstick lines to meet the needs of today's home cooks.
- Price Match Guarantee
Williams Sonoma Price Match Guarantee
At Williams Sonoma, we're committed to bringing you the best quality at the best prices.
If you find a lower price on any of our products, we'll match it—guaranteed. Click here for details.


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Schwartz registered four points against No. 12/10 Duke Saturday at Harvard Stadium (Gil Talbot).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard's last second attempt came up short as the men's lacrosse team lost a nail bitter to No. 12/10 Duke Saturday night at Harvard Stadium, 12-11.
Harvard held the ball with 8 seconds remaining after a flag was thrown against Duke, but Devin Dwyer's pass from behind the net was picked off by goalkeeper Kyle Turri to secure the Blue Devils' sixth win in a row. Harvard had led 10-8 midway through the fourth quarter before a late run put Duke over the top.
A crowd of 4,110 was on hand as the Crimson and Blue Devils traded the lead five times and battled through 10 tied scores.
Murphy Vandervelde recorded his second straight hat trick on five shots to pace the Harvard (4-5, 1-1 Ivy League) attack. He was aided by a four-point night from Peter Schwartz (2g, 2a) and a three-point effort from Dwyer (1g, 2a). Eight different Crimson registered a goal in the game, including freshmen Ian Ardrey who tallied his first career goal while making his first career start.
Harry Krieger finished the night with nine saves in goal, including three in fourth quarter. Rick Molé collected a team-high five ground balls while Jason Gonos added four ground balls and one caused turnover. Duke (8-4, 1-1 ACC) controlled the X, winning 18-of-26 faceoffs, but a 3-of-4 performance on man-up opportunities helped the Crimson stay in the game.
Jordan Wolf notched three goals for the Blue Devils' attack as Turri stopped 10 shots to earn the victory. Both teams were strong on their clears, with Harvard converting 17-of-19 and Duke going 19-of-22. The Crimson outshot the Blue Devils by a 38-33 margin despite a 31-25 advantage for Duke in ground balls.
The Blue Devils and Crimson traded goals to open the game with Ardrey's goal tying things up at 1-1 with 7:25 to play in the first. Schwartz evened the score again at 2-2, where it would stand heading into the second.
The teams continued the trend after the quarter break with Harvard pulling even with Duke twice. Carl Zimmerman scored the first equalizer with 11:04 remaining before Jack Walker's tally put the game at 4-4 with 9:07 on the clock. Alex White moved the Crimson on top for the first time with his score in transition, 5-4, but the Blue Devils answered back just over a minute later. The teams went into the intermission tied, 5-5.
Duke took a lead to begin the third quarter that was short lived thanks to a strike by Gabriel Mendola following a Joe Petrucci caused turnover. The teams traded goals once again, with Vandervelde's score with 2:25 to play putting the score at 7-7 heading into the final period.
Harvard drew a penalty before time expired in the third and a man-up goal from Vandervelde regained the edge for the Crimson, 8-7. After Duke tied it up yet again, back-to-back goals by Vandervelde and Schwartz gave Harvard the biggest lead of the night, 10-8, with 7:38 to play. The Blue Devils scored three goals in a span of 1:03, however, to go back on top, 11-10 with 5:20 remaining. Duke pushed its advantage to 12-10, but Dwyer found the back of the net to pull Harvard within one with only 1:14 on the clock.
The Crimson returns to Ivy League play next weekend as it hosts No. 3/3 Cornell at Harvard Stadium Saturday, April 6 at 1 p.m. Harvard will offer a free live video stream to all fans that can be accessed through GoCrimson.com.


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Award-winning writer Bob Greene is riding CNN's Election Express across the country in the final weeks before the election to tell stories about how the issues affect Americans.
The turmoil on Wall Street can be felt in the businesses around the town square in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
ABOARD THE CNN ELECTION EXPRESS (CNN) -- As the sun comes up over the town square in this rural borough of 18,000 people, you could be excused for thinking, at least for a moment, that the American economy is at its robust peak.
The traffic running through downtown Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, jogs to the right as it passes the five-tiered Memorial Fountain, while the fountain's streams of water glisten like ropes of diamonds in the new light.
And that morning traffic is an endless succession of trucks and work vehicles bearing the names of companies and industrial concerns: Ganoe Paving. Edge Rubber. APR Plumbing and Heating Supply. Fisher Auto Parts. Cemco Construction.
The parade never stops. It looks like a promotional film for a nation boldly building -- a nation self-assuredly going to work.
Yet if you walk the streets of the square during these schizophrenic national days -- days when the economy has seemingly gone berserk, when nothing appears to make sense -- and if you enter the front doors of the businesses, you begin to understand how the glowing, nonsensical numbers dancing on Wall Street computer screens have landed with a thud in Chambersburg, and have brought with them icicles of fear, the kind that men and women who run small businesses can feel in their stomachs.
"Everyone I talk to feels it," says Tracy J. Helman, the manager of Printaway Inc., a local photocopying and commercial printing company. "People are just leery about spending their money. Businesses that might be reordering letterhead stationery are waiting until they run completely out instead. We're getting hit pretty hard."
At KFB Jewelers, the co-owner, Reed Runk, says, "When the economy gets bad, people come in to get their jewelry repaired instead of buying. We do it for them, but of course that doesn't bring in the revenue that selling new jewelry does. And with the price of gold going up. ..."
No one seems to have confidence that either of the presidential candidates has the definitive answer. The evident current madness of the economy seems too big, a force that can't be contained.
Thus, at Twice Read Books and Comics, the co-owner, Bill Earley, speaks of faraway Lehman Brothers. "People here may not have thought much about Lehman Brothers before," he says, "but the way it all reaches us is that people decide they need food and gas, not this stuff we sell. They decide that maybe they don't need to come in and buy a book."
Even at the Money Saver Variety Store, the owner, M.I. Malik, says that his "rock bottom prices" are not enough to draw the crowds his store did as recently as a year ago.
"We've never seen it as slow," he says. "We're doing 45 percent less business than we did last year."
This is a town with a palpable sense of optimism and pride; no one wants to seem like he or she is complaining.
"We're going to make it in this downtown," says Andrew Grochowski, the owner of Lighten Up Chambersburg Inc., an electrical fixture company. "But people are just generally scared."
One business on the town square is doing as well as ever: the Four States Christian Mission Thrift Store. Here, you can buy a used lamp for $3; used drinking glasses for 10 cents apiece; a used men's dress shirt for a dollar; a used pair of baby's pajamas for $1.25. It's a shop of last resort.
"You can't get much more economical than here," says Bill Leach, a laborer working in a back room.
The news from Wall Street seems so distant, and at the same time so close. In front of a soon-to-be-opening Italian restaurant on the town square, I stand with the owner, Bob Orsa, and watch the morning traffic.
"We've been getting the restaurant ready for six months" he says. "Some time to open a new business, right?"
We look across the street at the old county courthouse, with its white clock tower.
"But I feel good," Orsa says. "It'll all come back. History shows us that, doesn't it? It always comes back."
All About National Economy • Lehman Brothers Inc.


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How to Use
the Readings
Inquiry Question
Reading 1: Working "In the Silk"
Silk is a natural fiber taken from the cocoons of the silk worm. The silk fibers are so fine that a single pound might measure 1,000 to 1,500 miles or even more. All raw silk used in Paterson was imported, principally from China, Japan, and Italy. The process of producing silk fabrics was divided into four stages: throwing (twisting the silk fibers into threads strong enough to be used in the looms), dyeing, weaving, and finishing. In 1913, Paterson dominated the weaving of high quality broad silk and ribbon.¹
Paterson's share in the silk dyeing industry was expanding. In the dye houses, workers dipped skeins (length of thread wound in a loose long coil) of silk thread and pieces of fabric into large vats of hot chemicals. Almost all of the workers were men. Master dyers, many from traditional silk centers like Lyons, France, or Como, Italy, were highly skilled craftsmen. Dyers' helpers were generally unskilled and low paid. Italian dye house workers had a reputation for being political radicals.
In Paterson's ribbon and broad silk weaving factories, the delicacy and high cost of the fiber and the value of the end product defined the work, the working conditions, and the relations between the workers and the owners. Weavers were skilled workers. Most were immigrants, often from traditional silk textile areas in England, Germany, and Italy. Nearly half were women, but men dominated the best paying jobs. Children began work at about age 14 and might spend the rest of their working lives "in the silk." They could expect to move up to skilled jobs like weaver or loom fixer or even, in rare cases, independent manufacturer. Workers who wanted to set up in business for themselves did not need much money to rent space in the old mills along the S.U.M. raceways. Plenty of skilled labor was available, and the new owners themselves could provide the necessary experience and expertise.
The working day was 10 hours long by 1913, with a half day on Saturday. Wages were well below the average for industry as a whole. Many workers preferred working in the silk mills to other employment, however. Because the products were so valuable, the mills were generally clean. The silk threads had to be watched carefully to detect and correct problems, so good lighting was critical. New mills, located all over Paterson by the early 20th century, were carefully designed to provide the necessary natural light. Their machinery was well protected and spaced to allow the workers to move around in safety.
In spite of the owners' efforts to reduce silk weaving to a series of simple tasks that could be performed by unskilled workers, many operations involved a high proportion of hand work that depended on the skill of the individual worker. In testimony submitted to a Congressional committee, a silk manufacturer from Connecticut reported:
The hands of the silk worker are one of his most important assets. . . . Machinery does not do away with the use of hands in silk manufacture. The hands still remain, and will always remain, in my opinion, a very important factor in the operation. A man with clumsy, awkward hands handling silk warp is a very different factor from the man whose grandfather before him handled the silk fabric.²
Conflict between labor and management was common in Paterson's silk industry. Between 1881 and 1900 there were nearly 140 strikes. Many silk workers came from countries with long traditions of commitment to the working class and willingness to confront management to improve working conditions. Although they did not form permanent unions, they organized effectively at the factory level to defend themselves against changes in traditional work practices, to resist wage reductions in hard times, and to demand raises when sales were up. In most early strikes the workers enjoyed support throughout the community. It was the workers who elected the city officials and who were friends or relatives of the police, customers of the merchants, and members of the churches. By the first decade of the 20th century, practically every broad-silk and ribbon-silk mill had one or more labor organizations. A 1911 government survey of the silk industry credited organized labor in Paterson with achieving the 55-hour week and delaying the introduction of the four-loom system that was already common in new mills elsewhere in the country.
Beginning in the 1880s, Paterson's owners began moving some of their operations to Pennsylvania, in part to avoid labor disputes. Reacting to increased competition, they tried to change work rules that had been accepted for a generation. They used differences of gender, ethnicity, skill, and ideology to keep workers divided. An enlarged and strengthened police force began to see labor protest as a threat to established society. Violence, discrimination against Italians and other recent immigrants, and repression of radicals increased. By 1913, the old ways of settling disputes between the workers and the owners were no longer working.
Questions for Reading 1
1. What were the major steps in silk production? Why would the mill owners want to break the process down into so many separate steps? How might that have affected the workers?
2. How would you describe working conditions in the silk industry? In what ways was working in a silk mill better than working in other industries?
3. What did the workers hope to gain from their frequent strikes?
Reading 1 was adapted from John A. Herbst and Catherine Keene, Life and Times in Silk City (Haledon, NJ: The American Labor Museum, 1984); Philip Scranton, ed., Silk City, Studies on the Paterson Silk Industry, 1860-1940 (Newark: New Jersey Historical Society, 1985); U.S. Senate, Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage-Earners in the United States, Vol. IV: The Silk Industry (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1911); National Industrial Conference Board, Hours of Work as Related to Output and Health of Workers: Silk Manufacturing, Research Report No. 16 (Boston, Mass.: 1919); and James Sheire, "Pietro Botto House" (Passaic County, NJ) National Historic Landmark Documentation, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1982.
¹ Fabrics 12" or more in width were classified as broad silk, used primarily for clothing and home decoration. Fabrics under 12" wide were classed as ribbon goods and were used for trim in hats, clothing, and decorating.
¹ Fabrics 12" or more in width were classified as broad silk, used primarily for clothing and home decoration. Fabrics under 12" wide were classed as ribbon goods and were used for trim in hats, clothing, and decorating.


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gbco needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 37 designs submitted by 17 freelance designers.
The company markets its brands to pharmacy and department store outlets. The products are in toiletry, cosmetic and fragrance categories.. high end of the market.Over half our customers' contacts are female.
Desired Color Scheme:
as in main description
Desired Style:
take cues from the existing old logo but not to hark back to the old logo. It needs total updating we feel. equally, a total change would be considered. don't be totally influenced by the old logo.
Accepted File Formats:
as in main description
The exisiting logo of the company is well known but needs updating to the 21st century. The logo is in existance since the 1980's. Even a total redesign would be considered.
New modern colours to suit the business we are in, would freshen the company's image. We would also incorporate the logo in our web site eventually.
We would like the logo to be available in high resolution for printing purposes( Business card,letterhead etc) and also in the most common formats for printing and web and e-mail use.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Bunch of chicken, bone in (can cut up a fryer, or just use parts - I liked the legs/thighs that our hfs had) - about 2 lbs.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 onion, cut into big chunks
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
dash of salt
dash of pepper
dash of lemon juice
1/4 cup water or broth (enough to cover the chicken)
Add all this (uncooked) to crock pot and cook on high for 3 hrs.
3 cut up carrots
1 can white beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (fire roasted were yummy!)
I also added 1/2 bag of fresh spinach which was delish!
Cook on high 1-2 more hrs.
Serve over rice, or with noodles.


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Those Dollar Menu items sure do add up to a lot of cash for McDonald's.
First Ronald McDonald and company decided to hire 50,000 new employees and now the clown and his big red shoes wants to the Golden Arches to look a little more chrome.
McDonald's says it will invest $1 billion to makeover most of its 14,000 stores across the country by 2015.
The stores will get a more refined, grown up feel to them.
And all of it is modeled after the sleek look and feel of Apple and Starbucks stores.
"We're not trying to be Apple," Max Carmona, senior director of U.S. restaurant design for McDonald's, said. "But we can be inspired by them. When you're inside an Apple Store, you almost feel like you're inside an iPad – and you want to stay there. We want people to walk into McDonald's and have the same feeling."
The new identity will feature restaurants without the bright red roofs, new more muted colors, new flat screen televisions, the fiberglass tables will be replaced by wooden chairs and tables.
Many of the McDonald's across the country will also be adding a second drive in. The makeover will be the most dramatic in the franchise's 56-year history.
McDonald's Wants To Be More Like Apple
Those Dollar Menu items sure do add up to a lot of cash for McDonald's.


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Storing drugs improperly can limit their effectiveness or even pose serious safety risks. With a little effort, you can avoid both problems. By learning how to safely dispose your medications, you can protect the community as well as the environment.
Storage Basics
- Store medications in their original containers or prescription bottles with labels and expiration dates.
- Make sure containers are out of the reach of children.
- Store away from places with heat, light, and moisture–all of which can cause deterioration. Some bathroom cabinets may be too moist.
- Protect your medication from sources of contamination.
- Separate medications from food if stored in the refrigerator.
- Store each medication according to the manufacturer's or pharmacist's instructions.
- Dispose of expired drugs.
Safe Disposal Tips
- Check with your pharmacy to see if it offers a take-back program for your non-controlled (non-narcotic) drugs
- Never Flush Your Medication – Flushing medication down the toilet is the worst disposal option. Wastewater treatment facilities can't remove all traces of pharmaceutical chemicals, so they will contaminate local waters and harm aquatic life.
If you can't take your medications to a disposal location, you may put them in the trash. Be sure to:
- Take medications out of their containers.
- Put them in a sealable container (such as a plastic bag or coffee can).
- Mix in a little water and an undesirable substance (coffee grounds or kitty litter, for example).
- Seal the container and be sure to put it in the trash, not the recycling.
- Cross out personal information from prescription labels before putting empty containers in the recycling bin or trash.
Medication Disposal Locations in the East Bay
If your pharmacy does not participate in a medical disposal program, you can dispose your medications at the following sites in the East Bay. Before you do so, first seal bottled liquids in a plastic bag and don't include syringes or needles with medications.
Antioch, Delta HHW Collection Facility (East County)
2550 Pittsburg-Antioch Highway
Clayton, Police Department, City Hall
6000 Heritage Trail
Concord, Police Department
1350 Galindo Street
Danville, Police Department
510 La Gonda Way
Martinez, Contra Costa Sheriff's Field Operations Building
1980 Muir Road
Martinez, County Regional Medical Center
2500 Alhambra Avenue
Martinez, Police Department, City Hall
525 Henrietta Street
Moraga, Police Department
329 Rheem Boulevard
Orinda, Police Department, City Hall
22 Orinda Way
Pleasant Hill, Police Department
330 Civic Drive
Richmond, Contra Costa County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
West County Resource Recovery
101 Pittsburg Avenue
San Ramon, Dougherty Police Department Substation
17011 Bollinger Canyon Road
Walnut Creek, Police Department, City Hall
1666 North Main Street