text:
Friday, February 29, 2008
Beauty is in the eye of the baker
I knew it would happen. A daring baker challenge that would make me want to pull the covers over my head and hide! When I saw this month's challenge, I almost opted to sit this one out. Only four simple ingredients, how scary can that be, you ask? Well the instructions following those 4 ingredients filled 13 pages when I printed them out. Yes 13! The time from start to finish is anywhere from 6 1/2 hours to about 8 to 9 hours. Scared yet?... I thought so! I've made plenty of bread, rolls etc... but have always shied away from French bread, and this was Julia Child's French bread. The French have very specific standards when it come to making bread, right down to the length. My oven isn't big enough to make baguettes, which are 24 inches long, so I made the shorter 16 inch batards. Or at least they we're 16 inches long when I rolled them out, things changed in the oven.
So after much waffling between running and hiding and actually giving it a try, I mustered up my baking courage and jumped in. I started early around 7:30 in the morning and made my dough. No problems there, easy in fact. How hard can mixing together 4 ingredients be. Well one them is yeast and I'm always afraid I'll kill it somehow. By the way how many things do you cook that you worry about keeping "alive"?!? Anyway, I put my happy dough with very much alive yeast into a bowl and went about my day. About 4 hours later it was ready to be deflated and rise again. About an hour and a half later is when I really started to get nervous. I'd made the dough but now what would happen. Would I cause Julia to roll over in her grave in horror? I must admit I was a tad confused reading the instructions for forming the loaves. So I formed my loaves, trying to follow the instructions. I let them rise yet again. Then came another challenge, how to get the bread to the sheet pan without deflating it. My first attempt was a little difficult. The dough did not want to cooperate with me at all. The second loaf was a little easier to manage. The round loaf was not a problem because I could kind of pick it up in the towel. Oh yeah I used kitchen towels for the final rise because I didn't have canvas and wasn't sure where I could even buy it! Next came slashing the tops of my loaves with a razor. I guess this just takes practice (or a sharper razor!?). My razor kinda stuck to the bread. I got sort of slashes in my bread and I was ready for the oven. No matter what happened at this point, I knew that when I put it in the oven,as Julia said in her instructions,I'd get bread! I may not be beauty pageant winning bread but it would be bread. When it came out it was ugly duckling like, but when I tore the end off it was gorgeous on the inside! The bread a had great crust and was soft inside with a beautiful crumb. I was so happy I immediately slathered butter on a piece. I broke the rules and didn't wait 2 hours until cutting the bread. My patience was gone after waiting on this bread all day!
Oh and it tasted marvelous as well. So suck up your fear and make yourself some french bread!
I looked at Mary's(aka breadchick) pictures today and boy I could have used those before I made my loaves! Mary together with Sara were our illustrious hosts this month, check out their picture's to see great this bread can actually look. Thanks Mary and Sara for making me face my fears! I learned a lot on this challenge. The bread was wonderful and maybe with practice mine will even be pretty!
Go here for the recipe and many instructions! Be sure to check out how all the other daring baker's faired on this challenge
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Banana Pancakes
"Make you banana pancakes, pretend like it the week-end now..." Pancakes and week-end just seem to go together. They always make me think of lazy Saturday or Sunday mid-morning's with nothing to do but drink coffee and read the paper in your pj's. Since hubs has been deployed I haven't made pancakes at all. Maybe because making pancakes for yourself feels lonely or maybe it just because you can't make just one or two pancakes! I like my pancakes with fruit and/or nuts added in them. Banana pancakes with toasted walnuts are probably my favorite. Just drizzle them with some warm maple syrup and a bit of butter *drool*. Leftovers do freeze quite well by the way. Can't wait till hubs and I can enjoy a lazy week-end eating pancakes together...sigh.
Anyway when I saw the "Eat to the Beat" event hosted by Elly says Opa, I immediately though of the song Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson. Check it out here. And while your listening, make some banana pancakes because... "This song is meant to keep you, from doing what your supposed to."
Banana Walnut Pancakes
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Mix in another bowl:
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Mix the liquid ingredients quickly into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
Fold in:
3/4 cup of finely diced banana
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Allow mixture to rest, covered and refrigerated at least 20 minutes. Can be made the night before.
Spray griddle or large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over
medium heat until hot. For each pancake, pour scant 1/4 cup batter onto hot
griddle. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until puffed on edges and bubbles begin
to break on surface. Turn; cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
Banana Walnut Pancakes
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Mix in another bowl:
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Mix the liquid ingredients quickly into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
Fold in:
3/4 cup of finely diced banana
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Allow mixture to rest, covered and refrigerated at least 20 minutes. Can be made the night before.
Spray griddle or large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over
medium heat until hot. For each pancake, pour scant 1/4 cup batter onto hot
griddle. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until puffed on edges and bubbles begin
to break on surface. Turn; cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Comfort food?
I love the comfort foods of winter, mac and cheese, polenta, anything over mashed potatoes. They are warm and satisfying. These kinds of foods just seem to help me to deal with the cold dark winter days. By the end of February, as much as I love those carb packed foods, I find myself a in need of something fresh and green. I crave something in a color scheme other than shades of beige. A good salad, perhaps. So when I saw that the theme for "Waiter there's something in my..." was salad, I knew it was just what I needed. The event is hosted this month by Andrew over at Spittoon Extra. He suggested that if possible everyone should use local, seasonal, organic ingredients. Not possible for many I'm sure, but I'm lucky to have access to wonderful fresh organic lettuce nearly year round. My parents grow the most delicious, buttery organic butter head lettuce as well as other varieties in their hydroponic greenhouse at Waterberry Farm. We're spoiled I know.
I had some blood oranges that I had picked up at the market a few days ago and wanted to use.
So I made Blood Orange Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Vinaigrette.
I tore the salad leaves of one head of the butter lettuce by hand. The butter head lettuce is so tender that cutting it with a knife tends to bruise it. I segmented one blood orange and added thin slices of red onion and some kalamata olives.
I had some blood oranges that I had picked up at the market a few days ago and wanted to use.
So I made Blood Orange Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Vinaigrette.
I tore the salad leaves of one head of the butter lettuce by hand. The butter head lettuce is so tender that cutting it with a knife tends to bruise it. I segmented one blood orange and added thin slices of red onion and some kalamata olives.
For the Vinaigrette:
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup good quality olive oil
juice from one small blood orange
about 2 teaspoons honey
pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl starting with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Drizzle in more olive oil if needed to bring the dressing together.
Today was rainy and cold but this salad was like sunshine on a plate. Maybe not quite comfort food, but the colorful salad helped lift my spirits on this cold cloudy day!
Monday, February 18, 2008
milk and grown-up oatmeal cookies
Well they're perfectly fine for children I'm sure, but when I first saw a recipe for oatmeal cookies with fat raisins I had to make them. The raisins are simmered in rum and white wine. Boozed up raisins have got to be good! Oatmeal cookies are one of my favorite cookies so with drunken raisins...I really wanted to try these. Share them with the kids if you like, but after one bite you may want to tell your children these cookies are for "grown-ups".
The recipe is by Sherry Yard's newest cookbook Desserts by the Yard. I'm a fan of Sherry and love her latest cookbook. She made these cookies for a party at Spago for President Clinton. He declared them his favorite cookie. So in her cookbook she calls them President Clinton's Oatmeal Cookies. As if the drunken raisins weren't reason enough to try them, they've also got a Presidential endorsement! I have to say after making them, I agree with President Clinton. These are some good cookies.
The fat raisins are so tasty and add a wonderful depth of flavor to the cookie. And look how pretty the raisins are, like little jewels!
After making these tipsy raisins I want to put them in everything. They'd be great in muffins, over ice cream, or maybe in sticky buns...mmmm...all the possiblities. Luckly I doubled the raisin portion of the recipe and have leftovers to use. I'll let you know how I use them!
For the Fat Raisins
1 cup seedless golden raisins
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 tablespoons sugar
Make the Fat Raisins: Place the raisins, wine, orange juice, dark rum, and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat so that the raisins are at a bare simmer, and poach for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside, covered with plastic wrap. (The raisins will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.)
For The Cookies
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspon baking soda
7 ounces (1-3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups quick-cooking oats
Make the Cookies: Sift the flour and the baking soda together in a small bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter on high speed until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle. Add the sugars and spices. Continue creaming the mixture on high speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 2 more minuts. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Beat on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds, until the eggs are fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle.
On low speed, add the sifted flour mixture, beating until all of the flour is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Still on low, mix in the oats and raisins.
With a rubber spatula, scoop out half the dough and plop it down along the center of a sheet of parchment paper. Roll it up in the paper, creating a log about 2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Twist the ends of the parchment and fold them over, creating sausages. Refigerate the dough logs for a minimum of one hour. (Well wrapped, the dough can be refigerated up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
Place the racks in the middle and the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degreesF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unroll the dough. Using a chef's knife or a serrated knife, preferably offset, slice 1/2-inch-thick rounds off the log. Place the cookies on the baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from the top to bottom and from front to back, and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and carefully slide the parchment off the sheet and directly onto the work surface. Cool for at least 5 minutes before eating, or cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
Makes about 4 dozen smaller cookies or 2 dozen large
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day
I've been up to my elbows in flour and frosting baking cupcakes for Valentine's Day and just wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Strawberry Walnut Muffins
I've mentioned before that my parents have a farm. Waterberry Farm is a hydroponics farm and we grow all kinds of produce, but mainly strawberries. The strawberries are grown in a hydoponics stacker system using all organic methods. We've got about 6000 berry plants in this year, and we will be picking our first ripe berry any day now. I froze several bags of strawberries last season and I wanted to use them up before the fresh strawberries were ready. We eat A LOT of strawberries. Lucky, I know! With an abundance of strawberries around, I'm always looking for new recipes. I came across a recipe for a strawberry quick bread on Megans Cooking that looked interesting, and I could use my frozen strawberries. In Megan's post she also made a strawberry butter to go with the quick bread. It looked really tasty as well, but I opted to make just the bread. Although it's more like a coffee cake than a bread, in my opinion. Anyway, instead of baking the batter in two loaf pans, I made half the batter into muffins and just one loaf. It made good muffins with a nice texture, although if I make this again, I'll cut back on the cinnamon in the recipe. To me it overpowered the taste of the strawberries somewhat. I think I'd also puree the berries to give more strawberry flavor through out the bread.
3 cups All-purpose flour
2 cups Sugar
3 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 1/4 cup Vegetable oil
4 Eggs
1 1/4 pound Fresh strawberries; sliced -OR - Unsweetened frozen berries, thawed, drained and coarsely chopped1/2 cup Walnuts, coarsely chopped2 (8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch) loaf pans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the two loaf pans. Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, eggs, strawberries, and walnuts. Beat until the dry ingredients are just moist. Pour into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 1 hour. The breads are done when they start to come away from the sides of the pan and an inserted wooden pick comes out clean.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the two loaf pans. Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, eggs, strawberries, and walnuts. Beat until the dry ingredients are just moist. Pour into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 1 hour. The breads are done when they start to come away from the sides of the pan and an inserted wooden pick comes out clean.
For the muffins I cooked them 25-30 minutes.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Chocolate Mousse Tartlettes
I LOVE chocolate desserts. When I'm choosing dessert from a menu, I always look for the chocolate options first. I'm a sucker for any rich, decadent chocolate dessert. This recipe is for a pie that my mom used to make when I was growing up. It's an old recipe from Julia Childs. I like it because it's got rich chocolate flavor but yet isn't heavy like a cheesecake. It's a chocolate mousse in a crust. I've adapted her recipe slightly and instead of one pie I've made them into tartlettes and individual servings.
Vote for me in the Death by Chocolate contest
Chocolate Mousse Pie
1 1/2cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 ounce melted semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup melted butter
Mix together and press into a 9 inch pie or tart pan or into tartlette pans or small molds.
6 oz good quality semi-sweet or bitter sweet chocolate
3/4 cup of brown sugar divided
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs separated
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon Gran Marnier
Melt chocolate in double boiler over hot water. Cool slightly. Mix together in an upright mixer or with a hand mixer the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Add vanilla, salt, and the egg yolks. Mix only until well incorporated. Fold the melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture. Beat egg white until stiff but not dry. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar and beat until stiff and dry. Take a small amount of the egg white and mix into the chocolate cream cheese mixture to lighten it then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites. Place the cream in mixing bowl and whip until about double in volume add the Gran Marnier and whip until it holds soft peaks. Fold about half of the whipped cream in to the chocolate cream cheese mixture. Reserving the rest of the cream for the top of the pie. Pour into prepared crust and chill overnight. Use reserved whipped cream to decorate the top of the pie.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Kennett Township >> Police and rescue personnel were called Thursday night to a pond at Anson B. Nixon Park.
The call came over the police radio at about 8:25 p.m. As of 8:45 p.m., rescue workers were searching the pond for a 17-year-old male dressed in black who was believed to have been missing in the water for about 15 minutes before police were called.
Reports at the scene indicated those missing were younger, but those could not be confirmed.
A later report on the police radio indicated one body had been recovered.
Rescue workers were checking out early unconfirmed reports that a second person might be missing in or near the pond.
Divers and lighting were also being called to the scene.
UPDATE: Read the latest story here.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
News From the Field
New models sense human trust in smart machines
December 11, 2018
This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.New "classification models" sense how well humans trust intelligent machines they collaborate with, a step toward improving the quality of interactions and teamwork. Full Story
Purdue University
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2020, its budget is $8.3 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 50,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards.
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: https://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: https://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: https://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/


text:
El Jadida
Earth : Africa : North Africa : Morocco : El Jadida
El Jadida is a coastal town 100km south of Casablanca in Morocco.
The town is very much the holiday destination for Morocco's more wealthy city dwellers. With long beaches and a more relaxed atmosphere, it makes a welcome relief to the hustle-and-bustle of the larger cities inland. The town's other economy is its fishing industry.
The town is famous for the remains of Portuguese buildings and the Cistern. Although these are fairly limited attractions. Even the most dedicated historian may find their interest waning after an hour.
Get in
by Bus
There are many (3-5?) buses a day from Agadir to El Jadida. From the north, there are also buses (howmany??? 2?) a day all the way from Rabat, through Casablanca.
Many buses arrive at night. You are likely to find your hostel or campsite closed at 3:30am. If you have sleeping bags or a tent ground sheet, sleeping on the beach is possible. You may wake up damp from the salt spray though.
by Train
ONCF [1] trains depart every 2 hours from Casablanca Port and Casablanca Voyageurs train stations. The trip is around 1 hour.
Get around
El Jadida is quite spread out along the sea front. It probably takes an hour to walk from one end of the centre to the other.
A few more 'western-style' restaurants along sea front, north of town centre.
Mint tea is available at the massive cafe in the centre of town, down the main road from near the entrance to the Medina.


text:
... but which one?
One of the faces (and bodies) you may have wanted to see more of at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin: Stéphan Buckland. The Mauritian athlete was competing in the 200 meters, where he won the gold medal at the 2008 Worlds in Stuttgart (20.57) and silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne (20.06).
No such luck in Berlin. Stéphan pulled a muscle during the semi-final heats and didn't qualify. Not sure which muscle he pulled because obviously there are quite a few prominent bugles. But if there are any masseurs available... More photos and links to his Flickr, ON THE FLIP SIDE. Oh and Mauritius is carrying on for their uniforms, right?
Le site officiel de Stéphan Buckland
Stéphan Buckland on Flickr


text:
Kim Goh and the Crimson defense ranks third in goals against among Ivy League teams (photo Gil Talbot).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard field hockey team will go on its final trip of the season this weekend when it takes on Dartmouth and Vermont. The Crimson will be in search of its second Ivy League win Saturday, before rounding out its non-conference slate at Vermont Sunday.
About Harvard
The Crimson (3-10, 1-4 Ivy League) has dropped five in a row after winning back-to-back games against Bryant Sept. 24 and Brown Sept. 29. Harvard is tied with Brown and Yale for sixth place in the Ivy League standings, one game behind Penn for fifth. The Crimson defense has been its strong point this season, as Harvard ranks tied for third in goals allowed (36) among Ancient Eight teams.
Second-year Surge
A pair of sophomores lead the Crimson in scoring with Noel Painter (10 points) and Caitlin Rea (six points) sitting on top of the team rankings. Painter has found the back of the cage four times and added two assists, while Rea has one goal and the team-lead in helpers with four.
Last Time Out
The Crimson stumbled on the road to No. 2 Princeton, 7-0, Oct. 20. Harvard held off the Tigers for most of the first 25 minutes as Cynthia Tassopoulos made 10 saves to keep the Crimson within one. Princeton scored three times in the final eight minutes of the first stanza and followed with three second-half tallies to pull away.
D the Key
In each of Harvard's three wins this season the team's defense has been the driving reason for success. The Crimson has produced two shutouts, versus Holy Cross and Brown, while allowing 0.33 goals per game in wins. Harvard boasts a .955 save percentage during victories.
Tassopoulos in the Rankings
Cynthia Tassopoulos ranks with the nation's best in a pair of categories. Harvard's co-captain is eighth in saves per game (7.73) and 27th in save percentage (.739) among all qualifying goalies in the nation. Shannon McSweeney of Brown (10.79 saves per game) and Lena Wimmert of James Madison (.832 save percentage) lead the NCAA in saves per game and save percentage, respectively.
On the Harvard charts, Tassopoulos ranks third in the history of the program in saves. Last week she became just the third Harvard goalie to eclipse the 500-save mark.
About Dartmouth
Dartmouth (9-5, 4-1 Ivy League) has won three straight, including two wins over Ivy League opponents. The Big Green sits one game behind first-place Princeton in the race for the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Ali Savage, last week's Ivy Co-Player of the Week, is Dartmouth's best scoring threat, as the sophomore leads the team with 22 points on nine goals and four assists. Senior Lisa Masini is close behind with eight goals and five helpers. In the cage, senior Jenna Stearns and sophomore Ellen Meyer have split time throughout the season. Stearns owns a 6-3 record with a 2.36 goals against average and Meyer is 3-2 while allowing 3.18 goals per contest.
About Vermont
The Catamounts (1-15) have not won since Sept. 23 after picking up their lone victory of the year against Siena, 1-0. Vermont, which competes in the challenging America East conference, has been outshot 225-90 this season and outscored 60-22. A bright spot for the Catamounts has been the play of goalie Stephanie Zygmunt, who ranks third in the nation in saves per game with 10.13. Zygmunt, who sees 22.3 shots per game, has blocked .736 percent of opponent's attempts.
Free Stream
The game against Vermont will be streamed for free at http://nsnsports.net/uvm.
Up Next
After this weekend, the Crimson will have one remaining game on the schedule. Harvard hosts Columbia Nov. 3 and will honor the team's seniors with a pregame ceremony
Field Hockey Travels North to Face Dartmouth, Vermont
Kim Goh and the Crimson defense ranks third in goals against among Ivy League teams (photo Gil Talbot).


text:
Your basket has been saved temporarily onto your device. To ensure you can retrieve your basket at any time and from any device, enter your email below.
We notice you've added quite a few items to your basket. So these items aren't lost, we've temporarily saved them to your device as a browser cookie.
To access your basket at any time from any device, please save this basket now.
Alternatively, you can save it later using the Save Basket button at the top of the basket page.
We hope this helps.
On submission of the form below the cart will be saved as a quote against your name, the customer will be support ticketed with the quote and an entry will be added automatically to the quote log.
Home » Kitchen doors » Clayton Dakar
Innova's Clayton Painted kitchen has a flawless smooth painted finish and shaker profile with groove detailing, making it a design classic. The Innova doors are made from 22mm thick MDF and have a smooth painted finish. This painted kitchen is available in 12 carefully selected colours & in any colour of your choosing with our bespoke painted service.
Please note: That newly painted Innova doors have a sheen that is 20% above their natural levels. This sheen reduces to it's natural matt finish over time.


text:
DICE releases list of Big Name attendees
DICE has released a list of the big names now convened in Las Vegas for DICE, and it'd be fair to say that anyone with half a brain and a dictaphone could do some serious damage. Maybe we'll go next year. Here's who's there: Gabe Newell – Valve, Founder John Riccitiello – Electronic Arts, CEO […]
Men headlines
One in five Canadians play games naked, says Microsoft
DigitalHome writes that Microsoft recently commissioned a poll exploring Canadians' gaming habits asking whether they gamed "in public; at work; in the bathroom; in the bedroom, or in the nude." The results reveal that 17 percent of men – that's roughly one in five, people – played computer games totally starkers whilst unfortunately only 9 […]
Videogames reward men more than women, says study
Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that the reason men get turned on by games more than women is that, for some reason, hey find the whole process more rewarding. The part of the brain that generates feeling of reward is more active in men men playing a game than it is in […]


text:
SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake signed FW Olmes Garcia to a five-year contract on Thursday. RSL signed Garcia after paying a transfer fee to his former club, Colombian First Division side Deportes Quindio.
Garcia, 20, turned pro in early 2011. He comes to Real Salt Lake after spending the last two years at Deportes Quindio. The Barranquilla, Colombia native made 47 appearances for Quindio, scoring seven goals in 36 starts. Garcia improved greatly from 2011 to 2012, notching 33 of his 47 appearances, scoring five of his seven goals and making 26 of his 36 starts last year.
"Garcia is a talented player who is a significant part of our long-term plan," Real Salt Lake General Manager Garth Lagerwey said. "He's fast, has good size and is skilled, but he'll need some time to get used to our system and to Utah. We'll be patient with him as we help him adjust to a new country, a new team, a new language, a new culture and new tactics."
A tall, rangy forward, Garcia began training with Real Salt Lake on Saturday, Feb. 16. He made his RSL preseason debut in the Claret-and-Cobalt's FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup win over New England on Wednesday night, playing 25 minutes off the bench in the Utah side's 3-2 victory.
Garcia will be available for selection in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup Final between RSL and Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday. The DDC Final will kickoff at 6 p.m. MT at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
RSL will return to Utah on Sunday. The Claret-and-Cobalt will begin preparations for its March 3 season opener at defending Supporters' Shield winners San Jose Earthquakes next week.
Player: Olmes Garcia
Position: Forward
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 175 lbs.
Date of Birth: Oct. 21, 1992
Place of Birth: Barranquilla, Colombia
Citizenship: Colombia
How Acquired: Signed by Real Salt Lake on Feb. 21, 2013


text:
CHLAUTH - the back-stop rule
Morag Hughson 110000EQPN Comments (16) Visits (33765)
WebSphere MQ V7.1 introduced a channel security feature, Channel Authentication Records, or CHLAUTH for short. This feature allows you to set up rules to detail how your inbound connections should be treated. Should they be allowed or blocked. Today we shall look at the best way to use CHLAUTH rules in MQ.
Allow or Block?
When thinking about the control of inbound connections into your queue manager, there are two perspectives. Either you can try to list all the connections that are not allowed, or you can start by saying all connections are not allowed and then try to list all the connections that are allowed. I favour the second perspective and here's why.
If you try to list all the connections that are not allowed and everything not listed is therefore allowed in, then the result of missing one off the list is that a connection who was not allowed in has been able to connect. This could result in bad things happening. If instead, you start by saying every connection is not allowed, and then list those that are, the result of missing one off this list is not a security breach, although it might be a phone-call from someone who is annoyed at not being allowed to connect, which you can then fix relatively quickly. This phone-call is preferable to the security breach situation.
So let's see how to do this with CHLAUTH rules.
Using CHLAUTH to allow connections in
The first thing to do is to create a (external link to wiktionary) back-stop rule. This is a rule that will catch any connections not otherwise matched by more specific rules. This rule has the effect of stopping any remote connections from being able to attach to your queue manager at all! See later on if this makes you nervous!
SET CHLAUTH('*') TYPE(ADDRESSMAP) ADDRESS('*') USERSRC(NOACCESS) DESCR('Back-stop rule')
Now that we have closed the door on all remote connections we can start to put more specific rules in place to allow certain connections in. Here are some examples:
SET CHLAUTH('*') TYPE(SSLPEERMAP) SSLPEER('CN="Morag Hughson"') ADDRESS('9.*') MCAUSER('hughson')
I can't risk making the back-stop rule!
You may have been reading this thinking "I can't put the back-stop rule in place, I'll get lots of irate phone calls until I work out what all the other rules should be". If you were, then here is an alternative for you. When you create the back-stop rule initially, create it in warning mode
SET CHLAUTH('*') TYPE(ADDRESSMAP) ADDRESS('*') USERSRC(NOACCESS) DESCR('Back-stop rule') WARN(YES)
Now you can continue on and make all your positive rules. When you believe you have created all the rules you need, turn on channel events.
and monitor the SYST
SET CHLAUTH('*') TYPE(ADDRESSMAP) ADDRESS('*') USERSRC(NOACCESS) DESCR('Back-stop rule') WARN(NO) ACTION(REPLACE)
Now you will get the phone-call if anyone fails to connect, but the aim here is that you have already got the rules in place for almost everyone.


text:
Terry Doyle is a righty in the Chicago White Sox organization.
Doyle presents an interesting starting pitching option for the White Sox. He is a control pitcher with a quick-paced, solid delivery and an ability to manage his game very well. Doyle pitched over two classifications in 2011. He started 11 games at Class A Winston-Salem, where he compiled a 2.84 ERA. Moving to the Double-A Birmingham club in the Southern League, Doyle threw 100 innings over 15 starts. He walked only 22 and struck out 73. His command and control will advance his career. He is the type of pitcher who can be trusted to take his starts at least three times through the lineup.
Doyle throws a low-90s fastball, but his bread and butter appears to be a full repertoire including a very solid slider, a low-80s curve and an effective changeup.
Doyle projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter who can work following a higher-velocity power pitcher. He has the type of delivery and mechanics that could cause the opposition frustration working quickly and changing speeds consistently.
November 11, 2011
MLB.com's Terry Doyle scouting report
2 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI


text:
View All Calendars is the default. Choose Select a Calendar to view a specific calendar. Subscribe to calendar notifications by clicking on the Notify Me® button, and you will automatically be alerted about the latest events in our community.
August 3, 2018, 5:00 PM - September 1, 2018, 9:00 PM @ Langley Park Community Center
The application process is open NOW through September 1, 2018! Don't "Mis" out on this great experience!
August 20, 2018, 8:30 AM - 9:15 AM @ Walker Mill Regional Park (Located near the pavilion)
Fitness in the Parks is a FREE! exercise program that brings a variety of fitness opportunities to parks and natural areas across Prince George's County! We invite you to find the class that best suits your fitness goals and come to discover the benefits of exercising in nature. No registration required.
August 20, 2018, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM @ Watkins Nature Center
Learn more about your local birdlife while visiting the Watkins Nature Center between August 1 and August 22 to experience the captivating winning bird photographs from this year's Audubon Photography Awards.
August 20, 2018, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM @ Sasscer Field (Located on the track)


text:
========================================================================== Ubuntu Security Notice USN-1642-1 November 29, 2012 lynx-cur vulnerabilities ========================================================================== A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives: - Ubuntu 12.10 - Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - Ubuntu 11.10 - Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Summary: Two security issues were fixed in Lynx. Software Description: - lynx-cur: Text-mode WWW Browser with NLS support Details: Dan Rosenberg discovered a heap-based buffer overflow in Lynx. If a user were tricked into opening a specially crafted page, a remote attacker could cause a denial of service via application crash, or possibly execute arbitrary code as the user invoking the program. This issue only affected Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. (CVE-2010-2810) It was discovered that Lynx did not properly verify that an HTTPS certificate was signed by a trusted certificate authority. This could allow an attacker to perform a "man in the middle" (MITM) attack which would make the user believe their connection is secure, but is actually being monitored. This update changes the behavior of Lynx such that self-signed certificates no longer validate. Users requiring the previous behavior can use the 'FORCE_SSL_PROMPT' option in lynx.cfg. (CVE-2012-5821) Update instructions: The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions: Ubuntu 12.10: lynx-cur 2.8.8dev.12-2ubuntu0.1 Ubuntu 12.04 LTS: lynx-cur 2.8.8dev.9-2ubuntu0.12.04.1 Ubuntu 11.10: lynx-cur 2.8.8dev.9-2ubuntu0.11.10.1 Ubuntu 10.04 LTS: lynx-cur 2.8.8dev.2-1ubuntu0.1 In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes. References: http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1642-1 CVE-2010-2810, CVE-2012-5821 Package Information: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/lynx-cur/2.8.8dev.12-2ubuntu0.1 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/lynx-cur/2.8.8dev.9-2ubuntu0.12.04.1 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/lynx-cur/2.8.8dev.9-2ubuntu0.11.10.1 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/lynx-cur/2.8.8dev.2-1ubuntu0.1
Ubuntu 1642-1: Lynx vulnerabilities
Two security issues were fixed in Lynx.


text:
Saudi authorities maintained a suffocating atmosphere of censorship as they further tightened the country's highly restrictive media law. In April, a royal decree amended five articles of the law, barring the publication of any material that contravened Sharia law, impinged on state interests, promoted foreign interests, harmed public order or national security, or enabled criminal activity. In January, the kingdom issued new regulations for online media that included several restrictive and vaguely worded provisions that grant the Ministry of Culture and Information sweeping powers to censor news outlets and sanction journalists. The government withdrew the accreditation of Riyadh-based Reuters correspondent Ulf Laessing in March, apparently angered by his coverage of a pro-reform protest. Reuters stood by the reporting. The same month, amid popular uprisings across the region, authorities banned three critical columnists working for the government-controlled daily Al-Watan. Authorities did not cite a reason, but all three had written about the region's political unrest. In late year, as demonstrations broke out in the kingdom's eastern province, authorities blocked local and international journalists from gaining access to the region. With a few exceptions, the demonstrations went uncovered.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The original text incorrectly said the royal decree amending the media law in May. It was issued on April 29, 2011. The hyperlink to the royal decree has also been corrected.
CPJ has ranked Saudi Arabia among the 10 Worst Countries to Be a Blogger, based on the country's restrictive laws and the government's practice of blocking hundreds of thousands of websites.
Article 5 of new online regulations issued in January required operators of all news websites to obtain a license. Licenses were subject to several restrictive conditions: Saudi citizenship, a minimum age of 20 years, a high school degree, and "good conduct." The new regulations subject online media to the kingdom's highly repressive press law, CPJ research shows.
In July, the Communication and Information Technology Commission said Saudi officials and individuals had requested the government block a total of 672,000 websites in 2010. The commission characterized most as focused on pornography, gambling, and drugs, but CPJ research shows that authorities also blocked numerous human rights and news websites.
Censorship milestones, 2011:
July 25: The kingdom blocked Amnesty International's website after the organization's criticism of an anti-terror bill that could stifle peaceful protest. The site was accessible again in late year.
August 4: Authorities blocked access to the Lebanese news website Al-Akbar for its reporting on Saudi intervention in the Bahrain uprising, according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
August 12: Radio Netherlands reported that its website was blocked after it released a report on migrant worker abuse in the kingdom.
Despite the heavy online censorship exercised by the government, Saudi Arabia has about 11.4 million Internet users, according to the International Telecommunication Union.
Internet penetration in the Gulf region:
UAE: 78 percent
Qatar: 69
Bahrain: 55
Saudi Arabia: 41
Kuwait: 38
With the May amendments to the media law, first-time violators could face fines of 500,000 Saudi riyals (US$135,000), while second-time offenders could draw a 1 million riyal (US$270,000) fine and a potential ban on working, according to CPJ research. Syria also adopted a media law in 2011 that was portrayed as reform but continued to impose punitive measures for critical reporting.


text:
The regeneration of Stourbridge Town Centre keeps a pace with size of the project there for all to see – a very large hole in our town centre. The weather is on the turn and we are all looking forward to a summer of sport and celebration and a reason to smile. The property market also shows a sense of relief too. Although the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) UK Commercial Market Survey for the first quarter of 2012 shows "there was little change in overall activity during the first quarter. As such, there was a small improvement in the rental outlook; rent expectations remain negative, but less so than in the previous quarter. Surveyors in many parts of the country are continuing to suggest that occupiers are remaining cautious with regards to new letting activity."
This is a view on the national stage but local conditions are somewhat different we are seeing good activity in office lettings and workshop / industrial demand is holding up, particularly from freehold purchasers. Retail is still cautious; although we are now receiving more offers on available stock both sales and lettings. Despite falls in commercial property rents and available Grade A space, this region has still managed to be 25 per cent ahead of a five year average in terms of take-up. Sale of smaller workshops and retail premises to end users/owner/occupiers continues to for all intents and purposes to sustain the West Midlands commercial property market.
Analyzing our own internet based traffic over the past few months has shown us a massive increase in activity in users looking for commercial properties and land – we are now working with our providers to establish applications for mobile devices and this is proving very successful with an average of 15,000 hits per property and far more time spent on individual properties. Let us hope this transmits into more lettings and sales – we have already seen a marked increase in both viewings and offers with Vendors showing a more realistic view on values.
Activity in the housing market continued to rise. This is due to a number of factors: a rise in the availability of mortgages at high loan-to-values; passage of time having allowed some would-be buyers to save up for a deposit; and the growing prevalence of financial assistance from family members. Buy-to-let demand also continued to strengthen, although the supply of rental property was now catching up with demand in some areas. Vendors were also thought to have become more realistic about selling prices – so maybe time to look at your property and look what is out there. Developers are sharpening their pencils and the encouraging increase in activity in the early part of the year continues with three and shortly to be four of our clients on site and building both houses and apartments – a far cry from this time last year.
Activity levels in the West Midlands construction sector edged upwards in the first three months of the year according to the latest RICS Construction Market Survey (10 May 2012).
This is a notable improvement of the negative reading seen towards the end of 2011. More significantly, predictions for future construction activity in the region saw a marked improvement in the first quarter of the year. 22 percent more respondents expect workloads to rise over the coming twelve months, the most positive reading since the third quarter of 2009.
So as suspected since last month's editorial and a surge in enquiries we have concluded a number of commercial sales in and around the Town Centre. So a time to celebrate and a time to smile - we are all very good at talking gloom and doom in the marketplace and although we are still in difficult times lets look at the positives and improve our outlook and make things happen – don't talk it down!


text:
Are digital newspaper subscriptions worth it?
We subscribe to three daily newspapers, one English and two vernaculars: The Japan Times, the Asahi Shimbun and Tokyo Shimbun. JT and TS are delivered to our front door each morning, and like everyone, including non-subscribers, we can access JT's website, with content going back to about 2000, for free. Our Asahi subscription is digital only. Until last July we subscribed to the paper edition. So altogether we spend ¥10,830 a month for news: ¥4,480 for JT, ¥3,800 for Asahi and ¥2,550 for TS (morning edition only; with the evening edition added it would be ¥2,800).
Ideally, we would prefer receiving all our news digitally. Though at the moment physical newspapers are easier to read and browse on a day-to-day basis, they are more difficult to file and reference, especially for work purposes. Most digital newspapers have a function similar to Google Alerts, and with Asahi you can register up to five key words or phrases; every day articles that contain these phrases are compiled separately. We also like Asahi's scrapbook function. You can save articles you want to return to later in a separate folder, and as far as we can tell the number is unlimited. Nihon Keizai Shimbun also has a scrapbook function, but you can only save up to 100 articles.
The search function is less helpful, especially if you're trying to retrieve something from a past issue. Digital subscribers can search up to a year in the past for articles published in the newspaper and up to six months in the past for articles in the digital edition, but from our experience it helps to remember the headline, since using key words and phrases doesn't always work. Also, some features available in print aren't always available in digital form. Once we tried to access an article in the special "Be" section, which deals with financial and consumer issues and is published on Saturdays. When we called the newspaper they told us we couldn't access the section digitally until Sunday, and even then it was only portions.
And if you want to access archives that are older than a year you have to pay extra: ¥3,150 for private users, and that allows you to go back to 1984. However, it only lets you read the headlines. If you want to read the attached article, you have to pay an extra ¥84, which allows you to download it for seven days. Nihon Keizai Shimbun allows digital subscribers to access 25 articles a month up to five years old for free, and then you pay ¥175 for each article after the 25th. Institutional subscribers, such as libraries, can get access to Asahi's full archives back to 1879 for ¥26,000 a month.
In the United States, in most cases if you subscribe to a physical publication you can access the digital edition for free. We subscribe to both The New Yorker and Harper's and can access their full archives at no extra charge. The New York Times also allows newspaper subscribers the same unlimited access to its website that digital subscribers enjoy.
Not so in Japan. If you take daily delivery of the Asahi Shimbun, it costs ¥3,925 a month. If you want the digital edition, it's ¥1,000 extra. But if you want the digital edition alone, it's ¥3,800 a month, a savings of only ¥125. Nikkei's system is similar. A subscription to the newspaper is ¥4,383 a month and an added digital subscription ¥1,000. The digital subscription alone is ¥4,000.
Continue reading about Japanese newspapers' digital editions →


text:
Baby G BGD560-7D
Make 4 interest-free payments of $42.25 fortnightly and receive your order now.
Buy Baby G watches online for the toughest watch, built to survive. Baby G watches have been leading the way since 1983, full range from Baby G watches Australia at G Life Watches now. Buy Baby G watches online Afterpay, ZipPay, PayPal or card. All the Baby-G watches are here, the classics & the lat...Find Out More
|Baby G Watches


text:
Dear Editor and to the citizens,
Why are we so alarmed over what is happening in America? All we need to do is think of all the laws – man made. Man made laws; again I say. We must remember who is in control. God our Heavenly Father is. Some people are talking about gun control and what happened to those innocent little ones (children) and adults in Newport Connecticut. We have forgotten the choice man made a few years ago; he took prayer out of the schools.
Prayer is the key!
No Trackbacks
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)


text:
Be the first to review this product
Only registered users can write reviews. Please, log in or register
Use spaces to separate tags. Use single quotes (') for phrases.
© Earth's Edge USA - All Rights Reserved.
705 S. Beacon Blvd Grand Haven, MI 49417 [ MAP ]616-844-1724
© Earth's Edge USA. Website & Digital Marketing


text:
ANYTOWN USA -- Do you ever wake up in the morning thinking I should post a positive Chase review on the internet? Probably not if you're a moral person on the fast track to heaven living a life of good values and concern for your fellow man. Well my friends that's not me and indeed I'm writing a glowing Chase review. In Nov 2011 Chase said they'd pay me to get a Chase Freedom Visa card. An offer from Chase how can I lose. So I took the bait.
JUST THE FACTS: $150 cash back when you spend $500 in your first 3 months from account open, $15,000 initial credit limit, 0% APR on purchases and transfers for 15 months, 12.99% APR after 15 months, 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter, 1% cash back on all other purchases, No Annual Fee, Standard Signature Visa perks
RESULTS: Cash back received Nov 2011 Thur Jan 2013: $1023.65, Average monthly Float: $8,353.12, Finance Charges: 0
GRADES: Online Banking: B+, Customer Service: A+, Ease of Cash Back Redemption: A+, Overall Satisfaction: A+
SIGNIFICANT ATTABOYS: Jan 2012: Received $100 to open a Chase Checking Account, Mar 2012: Coordinated my Trip to Germany with Chase. They provided me documentation and worked with a rental car company which allowed me to avoid mandatory rental car insurance. A savings of about 300 bucks. The Chase Rep coordinated with Chase security so that my Chase Freedom card worked in Europe without a hiccup.
FINAL VERDICT. I could not be happier with my Chase experience which is surprising given that Chase is a soulless mega corporate bank hellbent on enslaving mankind to international bankers. I got to admit though Chase taught me a little bit about myself. Indeed I will dance with the devil if price is right and eh sadly that price really isn't that much. Moving on... I have to commend the Chase CSRs. Always pleasant, knowledgeable, helpful and they speak the English good.
My plan back in Nov 2011 was the same plan I always have for any come on offers from a credit card issuer. Exploit the heck out of the freebies and then dump the card after the introductory offers so that in a year or so I will be considered a bribe-worthy NEW customer again. Not this time. I'm keeping my Chase Freedom card. Yeah, I was that impressed. If you're looking for a good solid Visa card I say give Chase a chance. You'll be glad you did.
Chase Manhattan Bank. They say they want to be your neighborhood bank. You see the new branches popping up everywhere. The TV is saturated with Chase commercials about how they're there to 'help you'. They're your friendly neighborhood bank. Right? If you think that, read how they treat a customer in good standing for 20 years.
I've been a Chase Manhattan Bank customer for 20 years, carrying a Chase Visa in my wallet since 1990. About 7 years ago, a few small disasters (including treatment for a pet) hit us in a row and we racked up a $12,000 tab on the Chase Visa card. At the time the interest rate was under 10% so it wasn't the end of the world. A year or so into paying off this debt, the post office delivered one of my checks late (21 days from the time I mailed it till the time it was delivered, so says Chase). My interest rate went to 29.25% and has stayed that way for years now despite never having another late payment made EVER.
Last month (June 2010) I FINALLY paid off the card IN FULL. I didn't negotiate anything I just paid it. We now owe Chase $0. Zip. Nada. I never complained once, I signed that filthy 55 page agreement (I didn't have a microscope handy to read it) and I'm a man of my word no matter how much I object to being taken by a loan shark.
Now, a month after paying the bill in full, I contacted Chase to see if they would now reduce the interest rate back down to something reasonable. Not a chance in hell. Nothing I can do, no one else to talk to, company policy, that's the way it is. Boy, great way to do business eh? A customer of 20 years pays a 12k debt off without a single complaint, calls to ask for an interest rate reduction on any future purchases. How do they treat that customer? By pissing down his back.
So, I've paid my debt. I won't contact the Better Business Bureau or make any additional complaints to anyone. I don't have the time and I don't really care as I am done with Chase. No, what I want to do here is WARN ANYONE AND EVERYONE who is considering banking with Chase. DON'T DO IT! If they don't give a damn about a customer of 20 years in good standing who DID RIGHT BY THEM, you think they are going to care about you? If your answer was yes well then you deserve Chase. If however your answer is no, I have done my job here.
That's all, thanks for reading and Chase Manhattan Bank - BLOW IT OUT YOUR **. -EXTREMELY DISSATISFIED CHASE CUSTOMER.
I live in Ohio and purchased a radiator from Bob King, of Discount Radiator World, in California using my Chase Visa card just in case something happened for $3342.60. SOMETHING DID HAPPEN. I never received my radiator. I filed a dispute on the 58th day and Chase denied my dispute because they didn't get a letter from the merchant. I have talked to 5 supervisors at the dispute dept. All are illiterate, rude, like the previous stated, like robots. THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!
They first sent me a postcard congratulating me on my credit that should be posted to my account but never was. Then I received a denial because the representative told me they couldn't contact the guilty party, Bob King of Discount Radiator World, and get their money I wouldn't get mine. I received a letter that had very poor grammar. As I read the letter, it made sense, the people I was dealing with couldn't even write a proper letter. When I called the dispute dept. and explained what happened they told me it would be fixed within 24 hours.
I called after 2 days, not seeing a credit, and then they said they needed a letter explaining what happened. I then called again to confirm they got my fax and they said it now takes 7 to 10 days to process. I called after 10 days to find out yes I should see the credit, but never did. They promised they would take care of it. When I call the credit card customer service number and get prompted to the disputes, it states a credit was credited to my account on the 22nd of February but that never happened either.
Now today I call them and they say it was denied because they have tried everything possible within the laws and can't seem to find a why to rule in my favor and asked if I was satisfied. Of course, I'm not satisfied! I was screwed out of $3342.50 by Bob King of Discount Radiator World and not backed by Chase Visa after using their card. They were so rude to me it was unbelievable! I had 4 supervisors tell me they would credit my account and then their supervisors would deny it. I was being played as a pawn between these individuals. It was a game of power between employees at work at my expense!
DON'T EVER DEAL WITH CHASE! They will find a loophole not to pay out on anything! I was told by a supervisor, "I promise you will get your money! You called within your 60 days. I feel so sorry for you!" They said obviously we didn't have enough information at hand and now I see what happened, we will take care of it. It is all B. S. The one employee told me the supervisors play a power trip with them and the customers get caught up in their game. STAY AWAY!
Scrooged: Chase United Mileage Plus Visa Scrooged us on Christmas Eve. We spend a LOT of money with them every month. On Christmas Eve, as we are trying to complete Christmas shopping, our card is declined. It turns out that we had inadvertently missed a small payment on December 19 (5 days earlier). They sent us no notice. They just cut off our credit on Christmas Eve. And, even if you paid over the phone, right then, they would not turn your credit on for 2 days (which, in the circumstance, does not help).
When called on the phone, they would make no exceptions, and would do nothing to help, and when I threatened to close the account, the phone representative actually initiated the process of closing the account rather than do ANYTHING to help the situation. On Christmas Eve. Any company that will Scrooge you on Christmas Eve is NOT a company that you should do business with.
Chase clerks refused to approve a charge I was trying to make. My card expired November 30, 2010. I called in October to confirm that Chase would send a replacement in time for me to use. I needed to buy a product December 2 but Chase had not provided the new card. Although a clerk acknowledged that I had way more credit available than I had used, no one would approve the credit.
The clerk assured me that "5 minutes ago" someone at Chase had dropped my new card in the mail. I received it 7 days later. A recorded message also confirmed that my new card had been activated. I answered the trick questions for identification to talk to a clerk but received no help. And my line got "cut off" when I asked to speak to a manager. It's not like I had ever not paid a bill. It's not like I had not used the account since 2007. And it's not like I am going to be using this again. Customer service does not exist.
WASHINGTON -- Chase Card is brutally pathetic. Easy statement to make and here is the proof. In February 2006, I found out that my Visa card had been used and currently had a balance on it. I called Chase Card services on February 15th to find out what was going on. I found out that my ex-wife had gotten into my account. I asked how that was possible, because in July of 2001 I removed her from my account. Chase Rep responded that she was still on the account.
The Chase Rep also stated that since I was the primary on this Visa account that an authorized user could not make changes to the account or order credit cards without my consent. I again removed my ex-wife from my account. I closed the account and opened another one.
I got to deal with Chase Fraud, Investigative and Card Services from that point forward. Starting in June of 2006 I started receiving collection calls. One caller told me that the account was still being investigated for fraud and then asked me for payment. I asked this caller if the matter is being investigated why would they be asking for money? I would get called up to 5 times a day and on weekends.
I received an e-mail from my ex-wife in July asking me why I closed the account and reopened a new one. In her email she stated that Chase told her these details. So in review Chase gave out my personal credit information to someone not even on my account. Chase after their investigation concluded it was a civil matter between me and my ex-wife. I told them "No it is a matter of Chase violating my rights as a Visa Card holder and also a violation of consumer protection laws."
I have asked Chase in writing for copies of my account records, policies and procedures for authorization use and many other details regarding my account and they have responded that the information is privileged. Chase has reported my as a collection now. They have reported me as living in a City I have never lived in because that they sent credit cards to my ex-wife.
Chase lied to me directly. Chase is now withholding information simply because they know they violated laws and protections. Chase card services is incompetent. The one rep I dealt within their corporate office is unworthy of any title. In fact, I would not hire this person to operate a pooper scooper.
Here is the hardest fact to realize for me. Chase Card services knows that they screwed up and they know that they are not going to get paid. Since they are not going to get paid and they know it, why do they penalize an innocent party. It would make more sense to seek payment or assist in efforts that would lead to payment, but instead they are more focused on not receiving payment and creating emotional distress. I would not use Chase card services for all the reasons stated above, because this company is not interested in servicing the customer. They have a different agenda.
I have had a Chase Manhattan Visa card since 1992 and have always paid my bills on time. In the last three years, the bank's service has been atrocious. In 2004, the bank made so many mistakes that I literally lost $590. I spent TWO MONTHS complaining before I reached someone in the corporate office who rectified my financial complaint although NONE of the NUMEROUS people who screwed up and were rude were ever dealt with to my knowledge.
I got my $590 back and the phone number of the corporate office which kindly said I could phone them whenever I had a problem. In recent days, I have TRIED to phone them, but got DOZENS of busy signals. The impetus behind my latest phone calls was Chase charging me a late fee after it made numerous goofs over several days online and COINCIDENTALLY accepted my payment at 3:10 CST, 10 minutes late because of Chase's own incompetence. This would seem to be a no-brainer but an executive in Elgin, IL essentially said "tough s___" and kept the $39.
Here is my letter to the person who got me back my $590 two years ago, but whom I cannot reach: 'First of all, I want to thank you for resolving the problems that I wrote to you about in the spring of 2005 and that you resolved by issuing me a credit for $590.27. I certainly hope Chase has taken action to ensure that the problems which led to Chase making one mistake after another that cost me $590.27 have been alleviated. Unfortunately, I see little evidence of that from my own personal experience.
On June 24, 2005, you sent me a letter which ended "If you have additional questions pertaining to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at our toll-free number, 888-227-0608, extension **." I have tried to contact you at this number at least 30 times over the past few days. It is always busy.
I reached Chase's office at the same address by phoning 813-584-4160 three times, but the people there are incredibly rude and REFUSED to transfer me to your direct line. This is an ONGOING problem with Chase. Your employees are special.
In any case, I have three concerns that I would like to address. Failure to solve them all will jeopardize my relationship with your company. I am clearly in the right on all three matters, but have been incredibly patient in dealing with Chase's failure to resolve them. Continued failure by Chase will result in a complaint to the state Attorney General's office as well as notification to the public about your HORRID BUSINESS PRACTICES (if you google my name, you will learn that I am, among other things, a business writer for several publications).
Here are the three concerns. A. CHASEBUILDERS' PROGRAM REBATE: I have NOT received a refund check for the past THREE YEARS. When I inquired about this two months ago, I was informed that my account was cancelled Jan. 13, 2005, and was reopened a few days later. I NEVER cancelled my account. As I reported to you back in 2005, I was treated rudely by your representatives on the phone. One screamed at me "You're a deadbeat" and made all sorts of threats against me. A few days later, I received a letter saying Chase had cancelled my account. A few days after, I received a letter saying my account had been reopened.
This was obviously a PLOY by your representative to STEAL money out of my pocket by removing me from the benefits of Chase's programs. Like I said, I NEVER cancelled my account. There is NO PROOF that I cancelled my account. The COMPELLING evidence is that I did NOT cancel my account since I received a letter stating I was once again a Chase customer before I could complain about not being one. The restoration letter was written BEFORE I learned I was, for two days, not a customer.
Chase owes me a LOT OF MONEY. Why should I have to suffer financially because of the insolence and incompetence of YOUR employees? If I had known about what Chase did, I would have phoned you the day I received your June 24, 2005, letter. Instead, Chase deliberately does NOT tell me that I have been removed from the Chasebuilder program. How much money do you gain from people who never inquire?
B. LATE FEE DUE TO CHASE'S INCOMPETENCE: I phoned you on Feb. 28 after I spent hours trying to pay my bill online. The system rejected my VALID password and kept on sending me new access codes. Eventually, the system approved my attempt to pay via the SAME, VALID PASSWORD it kept on rejecting. The approval came just after 4 pm EST. Coincidence? This is clearly DELIBERATE because the same exact thing occurred in November. It turns out, apparently, that I will NOT be assessed a late fee for February.
Here is what happened in November. I don't receive bills in the mail (for reasons that have never been explained) so I logged on on Nov. 22 thinking I was going to pay my bill THREE DAYS EARLY because previously payments were due on the 25th. I learned after accessing my account that the payment was due on the 22nd. It was NOON. Three hours later, my attempt to pay online finally worked. It was 3:10 p.m CST. Then, I noticed that the verification said the payment was being credited on the 23rd. Knowing Chase as I do, I phoned IMMEDIATELY and e-mailed Chase IMMEDIATELY.
With ethical companies, this would be a NO-BRAINER. But this is Chase. Yes, I received a late fee. So I wrote to your Executive Office in Elgin with PROOF. Would executives actually PENALIZE me for being 10 minutes late with a payment that was "late" because of Chase's own incompetence? Would Chase penalize me for being in the wrong time zone? Would Chase penalize me because it moved up the due date without informing me? What stupid questions. The answer is YES because Chase is the MOST UNETHICAL COMPANY THAT I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH!!
C. DOUBLE BILLING: In early, 2006, I tried and failed to log onto my Juno online services account on numerous occasions. I phoned Juno. The company informed me that I had to establish a new account in order to communicate with them my problems with the first account. I established the second account. After a few days of trying to fix the problems with the first account, I CANCELLED it. That was 13 MONTHS AGO. I have NEVER accessed that account since then, have repeatedly asked Juno to stop billing me for two accounts when I am only using one, and I informed Chase Visa about this situation last April.
What has Chase done? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. In its most recent letter, Chase said it did not know about my problem. Well, it does now!!! So guess what Chase did after giving me the excuse that it never received my earlier letters. In writing, Chase told me it has and will DO NOTHING. Does a professional company act this way? NOOOO!!! But Chase is the MOST UNETHICAL AND UNPROFESSIONAL COMPANY THAT I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH!!!! CONCLUSION: My patience is wearing thin. I would appreciate it if Chase would act professionally and rectify ITS MISTAKES. Thank you.
I've been a Chase customer for 22 years. It's been a long road, mostly downhill unfortunately.
I've closed my accounts with Chase twice when they went years without offering competitive products. The first time my branch manager was apologetic that they had nothing competitive to offer me. The second time I left, however, the branch manager spent his time explaining why I should be charged fees even though I'd already tried closing the accounts and the balances had been zero. 45 minutes later he gave in and reversed the fees, but I knew things really had changed for the worse.
In the meantime I'd gotten an offer for a no fee credit card with a 3.99% interest rate on balance transfers "for the life of the balance" and a 2% minimum payment. I transferred a home-improvement and grad school student loan over to this card and paid a balance transfer fee to do this. I've been happily paying this balance on time ever since.
Last week I received a threatening letter telling me Chase was going to increase my monthly payment to 250% of what it had been unless I agreed to let them charge me 7.99% interest instead of the 3.99%. I Googled and found out that Chase spokespeople were referring to me (as a type of customer) publicly as a "deadbeat". Apparently a customer who accepts their offer and pays what's due on time every month is a deadbeat!
This week I realized on the due date that although I'd just been notified, this increase applied to THIS month! I had already paid my "regular" amount due, but not the 250%, so I called Chase to pay the remaining 150%. I called at 4:30 New York time. They told me that after 4 pm the payment was late, even though it was still business hours in New York, where Chase is located, and branches were still open. They charged me a $39 late fee! Be careful.
The reason I'm a "deadbeat" is because the card I signed up for was a scam, but I didn't fall victim to it. "Deadbeat" to Chase means I'm not someone they were stealing from. Fraud is theft, and selling someone something one way when you know it really will work a different way is fraud. Since I read the fine print and I understood what I was agreeing to, I wasn't scammed, so I'm a deadbeat.
The scam is this: they call and offer a great balance transfer so you can move your debt to a great rate on a card that offers purchase rewards. What they don't tell you, but the fine print does, is that if you have any purchase balance you cannot pay it until you've paid off all lower-interest balances.
By getting you to move other debt over, your former instalment loans now need to be paid-in-full before you can touch the purchase balance, which is being charged 18% interest. They collect extortion-rate interest on the purchase balance while you scramble to find another loan to pay off the whole thing and get you out of the mess. Truth is, most cards do exactly the same thing with balance transfer offers.
The difference with Chase is they're trying to have their cake and eat it, too. The deal had to be done legally and had to offer something that seemed useful. So people who read the fine print understood that they couldn't make purchases, etc. without getting into immediate trouble. Most companies would take it on the chin -- you rob some people blind but to keep it all legal you give others what you said you would. But not Chase: having scammed most of the people, in desperation they now want to screw the rest of them.
Online some are saying "people running credit card debts aren't being financially responsible." Let me clarify: Chase told people to move student loans, car loans, small-business loans, and home-improvement loans over to these low-interest accounts. These are NOT "credit card balances" that customers are carrying. Most were never revolving credit purchases to begin with. Most people would not say that financing a car, a kitchen, or an education is irresponsible. Responsible people figure out what they can afford to pay monthly and live within that.
Chase, by threatening to increase this monthly payment to 250% of what it was, is not punishing people who have broken their agreement -- they've already been kicked off the plan. It's not punishing people who abuse credit cards -- they've already been caught by the hidden fraud in this deal. No, Chase is trying to cause pain to those people who have held up their end of the deal because the one aspect of the original deal that made it legal they do not want to be tied to any longer.
The laughable thing is that the spokespeople claim most customers paid off their balances within 2 years. Of course they did -- those are all the people that got scammed by Chase and had to frantically find some other loan to get them out of the 18% hell Chase put them into by promising a 4% rate.
This will be my third email correspondence regarding this matter. I have been refunded the finance charges that I have been incorrectly charged for the last two billing cycles but have yet again been incorrectly charged a finance charge at 26.99% for the period ending 6/23/05. I have already sent a seven page fax documenting Chase's offer of a 0.0% balance transfer for 12 billing cycles from the day that the transfer posts and it has only been since March of 2005 that this transfer has posted. What do I need to do to get this balance transfer posted correctly to my account?
I have spent much of my valuable time trying to fix this over the phone (with no resolution and much frustration I might add), email, and faxed documentation as demanded by your call center. I don't understand why I had to fax this documentation as proof when it is your company that sent this offer to me. Do you not keep such documentation on your side?
I shudder to think of the much dire situation I would have been in had I trusted Chase and not kept all the documentation attached with this obviously too-good-to-be-true balance transfer offer. If for whatever reason, I can't imagine why, you cannot correct the rate for my balance transfer, please advise me immediately and I will pay off the balance and close my account with Chase.
This is the second or third time that I have taken advantage of a similar balance transfer offer and have never had a problem. I have been a faithful Chase credit card holder for many years and am very disappointed by the service I have received from your customer service call center. I spoke to two representatives and two supervisors and each one of them gave me different accounts of why I was being charged 26.99% and they all were unable to resolve the problem. They also all gave me different numbers and addresses to send further complaints to.
I hope this will be the last time I will need to correspond with Chase regarding this matter. I can be contacted through email at xxxxxxxx.
Initial review/complaint..... I was sent a check issued in my name for over $15,000.00 by RDC Processing Center with no other information but my social security number written in reverse as my account number. There was a toll free number given for RDC stating if I had any questions regarding this check to call. I did so, inquiring why I was being sent this check. They said it was probably a balance transfer check issued by the bank that was also the issuing bank on the check, which was Chase Manhattan in Delaware.
I then called Chase since I didn't recall requesting a balance transfer. When I called Chase and explained the check, the representative at the call center stated that Chase does not send out checks in that manner. He claimed that they would only send blank checks with a letter stating the terms. I then emailed RDC again and was given a reply that it was in fact a balance transfer that was issued by Chase.
I emailed Chase to confirm but was never given a reply. I then received a separate letter dated November 15, 2004, stating the terms of a 0.0% balance transfer that would be effective from the day that the check posts and would continue for 12 billing cycles. There was no expiration date on the check or the letter.
I decided to use the check a 4 months later since I was able to finally determine who sent the check and for what reason. I recently checked by online statement and was shocked to see they are now charging me 26.99% interest on the $15,000.00. It posted as a "balance transfer" to my account in March but is now posted under "purchases" at 0.07395% under the "daily periodic rate."
I immediately called customer service and have been given the runaround. I spoke to 2 supervisors and 2 agents and they all tell me that by the time I used the check that the rate expired but they tell me different days that it expired. One said that it expired at the end of November 2004. Another said it expired 30 days after the issue date. Another said that it expired at the end of 2004, and one didn't specify a date but kept saying that balance transfers don't stay valid for "that long" since I had used it 4 months after I received it.
I still have the letter stating the terms and a copy of the actual check and check stub. None of which states an expiration date. I've faxed everything to their card member services and haven't heard anything yet.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- BE AWARE--you cannot stop a balance transfer after the account has been opened. Chase employees tell you that you can simply make a phone call to stop the transfer, but this is not true. Upon calling the number they provide one is notified that the "transfer has already occurred" and that there is nothing that Chase can do to stop it!
Below is part of my complaint letter to Chase Bank USA, N.A. which I sent copies to the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission:
1). Employees should not misguide new account holders by stating that balance transfers can be stopped once an account has been activated and the cardholder's request is made! This statement is NOT TRUE and the multiple requests I made to stop the balance transfer were incessantly denied. I was extremely frustrated by this process and the misinformation that was given not only once, but in the four phone calls I made to correct this problem and resolve my concern.
The distribution of such false information should be of concern to Chase Bank USA, N.A. because it contributes poorly to the reputation and integrity of the company, and because it reaffirms company contradictions between the product and services promised and its actual provided practices!
2) Second, employees should not mislead account holders by stating that the opening of a second account on the same day will cancel the request to open the first account and thus stop any balance transfer requests from occurring. This suggestion was not only RIDICULOUS and HIGHLY MISLEADING, but has resulted in my having opened not only one but two credit cards on the same day! This practice is manipulative and unethical, and while it certainly benefits Chase Bank USA, N.A., it distills confidence in the reputation and integrity of the company. Such company practices need to be corrected immediately!
I would appreciate a reply informing me of how Chase Bank USA, N.A., will better attend to the care of their customers and how the company will address the discrepancies between services promised and the lack of follow through in its practices. A huge integrity issue is at hand.


text:
Larry Booker, who worked as Moondog Spot, died Saturday night at the
Mid South Coliseum in Memphis during his tag team match.
The Moondogs were in a four-way concession stand brawl that included
the Rock'n'Roll Express when Booker collapsed. He was rushed to the
Methodist Central Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. He was in
his 50s.
April Pennington has been the Moondogs manager for the last few
months in Memphis Wrestling, and was at ringside Saturday night. "Things
were going fine in the ring," she told SLAM! Wrestling. "He asked me for
the belt [to use as a weapon]. The next thing I knew he was down."
In worked sport like wrestling, it can be difficult determining what
is and isn't real. "We all though he was just working part of the
match," she said.
When Booker's partner, Moondog Puppy Love realized what happened, the
match immediately went to a finish. The ring announcer told the crowd
that it was not part of the match. CPR was performed on Booker until the
ambulance arrived. His wife and son were in attendance at the show. The
East Coast Bad Boy tag team took Booker's son to a private room to
comfort him as the attendants worked on his father.
Booker was best known as Moondog Spot during his long career, but
that gimmick came about through the misfortune of another. On March 17,
1981, the Moondogs (Rex was Randy Colley, King was Sailor Ed White),
managed by Captain Lou Albano, beat Rick Martel and Tony Garea for the WWF tag
team titles in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Newfoundland native White was
prevented from entering the United States two months later, and on May
1st Booker was brought in to be Moondog Spot. (The storyline in the
magazines was that Moondog King had been hit by a car that he was
After dropping the WWF titles back to Martel and Garea on July 21,
the Moondogs hit the road. Their most famous matches were out of
Memphis, where under the management of Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart, they battled the Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) and
Jerry Lawler.
"With scraggly hair and beards, Spot and Rex wore tattered blue jeans
and simple black boots to the ring, always carrying their trademark
oversized, dinosaur-looking bones. Jimmy Hart, at the peak of his
Memphis run, supposedly had brought the Dogs into the area to sic them
on the Fabulous Ones, Steve Keirn and Stan Lane," wrote Scott Bowden in
a recent Kentucky Fried Wrestling column on Moviepoopshoot.com.
"It was one of those gimmicks that fans really bought into,"
explained Lawler in his book, It's Good To Be The King ...
Sometimes. "They acted real crazy. They had these huge cow bones
they gnawed on as they came into the ring and they used them as weapons.
... They were fun. Every match with them was a hardcore match."
Back in the WWF, Booker (as Moondog Spot) made the second round of
the Wrestling Classic PPV, losing to the Junkyard Dog after beating
Terry Funk by countout in the first round.
After debuting around 1976, the 6-foot-2, 298-pound Booker's first
big break in his career came under the name Larry Latham, teaming with
Wayne Ferris (later the Honkytonk Man) as the Blonde Bombers in Memphis.
They had a run with the AWA Southern tag team belts in 1979. (Latham
would win the same titles in October 1980 with partner Bill Irwin.)
The Bombers had a very famous match against Jerry Lawler and Bill
Dundee in Tupelo, Mississippi that went into the concession stand. "We
threw gallon jars of mustard at each other and they splattered over the
wall; we knocked down the tables. Of course, I jammed someone's head
into the popcorn machine and broke the glass, which got us in trouble,"
wrote Lawler in his autobiography.
Over the last number of years, Booker continued to wrestle as Moondog
Spot around the southeastern United States, and he ran a wrestling
school. His last major appearance was on March 19, 2003 when he showed
up on a TNA PPV, coming through the crowd to team with Hacksaw Duggan to
beat Glen Gilberti and Mike Sanders.
For Pennington, who has been in the business a little over a year,
Booker was the head of the team. "Larry was kind of our leader, the guy
in control, always guiding us through things." He was particularly
excited about having a female manager for the Moondogs, Pennington said.
Funeral arrangements are not known for Booker at this time.
Greg Oliver founded SLAM! Wrestling with John Powell way back in
1996, and has been writing about pro wrestling since 1985. He is the
author of the recently published book The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame:
The Canadians from ECW Press. Order it from the SLAM!
Wrestling Store. He can be emailed at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Some Minnesota Somalis fear indictments could hamper legitimate donations
Every month, officials at the Dawah Mosque in St. Paul have to make a $10,000 payment on the mosque's no-interest mortgage. That money usually comes in donations from hundreds of mosque members.
The Dawah's leader, Imam Hassan Mohamud, said that on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week women walking door to door collected $500 each day from Somali households. On Thursday, the women collected just $150.
That was the day the government charged two Rochester Somali women with raising money for the terrorist group al-Shabaab. Ten Minneapolis Somali men were indicted for fighting for the organization.
"People supposed to pay the donations are scared right now," said Mohamud. "Many people told them not to come back, which is part of the scary part, the implication that mosques will suffer during the month of Ramadan."
Mohamud said people are afraid their donations will look suspicious to the government.
There aren't many aid organizations on the ground in Somalia, so Somalis in the U.S. often depend on informal networks to get charitable contributions to that country. The Rochester women allegedly raised some money for al-Shabaab by going door to door, asking for donations to the poor and needy in Somalia.
Mohamud said that may make fewer people donate to charitable causes. He says it'll also affect mosques, because many depend almost entirely on donations from members, with a big boost coming at this time of the year. The Koran says it's especially important to contribute during Ramadan, Islam's holy month, which begins next week.
Mohamud says the indictments made some Somalis worry they couldn't trust people asking for donations. He's taking the unusal step of visiting families and businesses to reassure them the donations are going to the mosque.
" I was forced to do [this] because of what's going on right now," he said.
The indictment against the Rochester women threw another Somali community institution into question. It says the women sent money to al-Shabaab through a wire transfer service called a hawala.
Mukhtar Osman, a Somali native who works as a civil engineer in the Twin Cities, said most people use hawalas to send money directly to family or friends in Somalia who have been displaced by the civil war. He said Somalis here can't stop sending money, even if they're afraid the U.S. government will question them.
"They don't have anything else. They don't have anybody who is supporting [them] except you," Osman said.
It's unclear if concern about government surveillance is justified.
FBI spokesman Steve Warfield did not offer details about whether the investigation was likely to uncover a more extensive money-raising system or if the Rochester indictments represented isolated cases.
"I can't really get into that. This has been going on for a couple of years and we're going to stay on top of it," Warfield said.
B. Todd Jones, U.S. Attorney for the district of Minnesota, is also vague about the extent of the threat.
"I hope that it isn't the tip of the iceberg," Jones said. "We're making progress on a number of fronts, from an investigative front on a community awareness front, on an outreach front with the Somali community in Minnesota and I hope everyone just pulls together."
Mukhtar Osman and Imam Hassan Mohamud say they no know of no one who would support al-Shabaab. Mohamud says communication between the government and Somali community could be better. He says he and other imams met with the government three or four times last year.
"Whatever government is doing we need assurance that won't effect the legitimate activities that we send money back, and legitimate activities that we collect from the donors to help the activities of the mosques," Mohamud said.
Mohamud said he will pray during Ramadan for law enforcement to have a better understanding of the Somali community.