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A story that appeared on Page 4A of The Durango Herald on Sunday contained a detailed account by Timothy Oliver of his time serving in Afghanistan. Since the story ran, numerous questions have been raised about accuracy of this account.
Specifically, knowledgeable readers found reason to doubt his service in the Armys elite Delta Force.
Oliver, when reached by phone, said he could not provide any documentation to support his account or show that he had served in the military.
You can run a retraction with my apologies if somebody was offended, he said.
He maintained that he had served, but said any evidence of it would be classified.
I was trying to help people out, but I cant prove this one, he said.
Jonn Lilyea, a retired infantry platoon sergeant, spends much of his time looking for people who provide inaccurate accounts of their military service and exposing them on his blog http://thisainthell.us/blog.
Lilyea was among more than a dozen people, many retired military, who emailed the Herald raising concerns about Olivers account.
Lilyea said he dedicated himself to ferreting out fakes because they are more common than many people would believe.
With the Stolen Valor Act struck down by the Supreme Court, that leaves private citizens to protect the honor of soldiers, he wrote in an email. I like to think of This Aint Hell as the stocks and dunking chairs of the veteran Internet community where we can expose the frauds and folks can come by and throw metaphorical rotten tomatoes at them.
The Stolen Valor Act, introduced by former Colorado congressman John Salazar, made it illegal to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor and other prestigious military recognitions.
Salazar sponsored the House version of the law. Although Congress passed the Senate version of the bill, it still counted among Salazars biggest achievements in office.
Salazar, who is now Colorados commissioner of agriculture, said he hoped Congress one day could find a way to protect legitimate veterans from impostors.
Im disappointed with the courts decision, but I respect it, Salazar said in an email Friday. This was a fight worth having. Im proud to have fought on behalf of our brave men and women who served this nation in uniform and who earned high honor for their service and valor.
The Supreme Court case, United States v. Alvarez, came out of California. It concerned Xavier Alvarez, a member of a water district board, who introduced himself as a former hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings, ex-husband of a Mexican starlet and the recipient of the Medal of Honor in 1987.
None of it was true, and federal prosecutors won a conviction under the Stolen Valor Act.
In a strongly worded opinion, Kennedy compared the act to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwells novel about totalitarianism, 1984. If the government can outlaw lying about military service, even in the privacy of someones home, it can outlaw any type of false speech, Kennedy wrote.
Justices voted 6-3 to overturn the Stolen Valor Act, but two of the justices in the majority invited Congress to pass a narrower law that would get Supreme Court approval.
Justice Steven Breyer, in a concurring opinion, noted that better use of databases could help expose fake veterans.
Oliver, profiled in Sundays paper, did not claim to be the recipient of a medal.
Lilyea said the media should do a better job of policing accounts of military service. This includes asking vets to show their bona fides, such as a DD Form 214, which details service history and is issued to every member upon discharge.
Oliver, when asked for a copy of his DD Form 214, said he did not have one.
Lilyea said there is nothing offensive about asking for proof.
I dont mind showing my discharge Im proud of my service and Im sure most real veterans dont mind. Only the phonies would object, he said.
When asked to provide a copy to the Herald, Lilyea quickly sent the one-page document by email.
It noted, among a list of commendations, that Lilyea was the recipient of a Bronze Star.
Herald Staff Writer Joe Hanel contributed to this report.


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Quote: Hmmm...well,I did say empty hand kata.
Quote: Are these kata all performed for cultural preservation? I see mix of Kobudo schools and philosophies represented in these kobudo kata. What is the rationale for this particular mix? There is an inordinate amount of overlap in some areas and some rather large holes in others. I may be incorrect regarding the holes, as you did state that you have more kata to learn. Perhaps these will fill in.Page
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Build your Own Halloween Costume
Build your Own Halloween Costume
Build a unique Halloween Costume look that is yours. Release your creativity by shopping our Build Your Own Section. Anyone can buy a witch costume, but you can also mix and match to build a 60's witch costume for your next Halloween Party. We have something for everyone. Let your imagination run wild building that unique Costume for Halloween.
How to Build Your Own Costumes
Imagine you are invited to a disco themed costume party, but so where all you friends. How do you make sure to stand out in a party where everyone will be shopping for the same disco style costumes. Well you build your own. By mixing and matching costume separates, you can build a unique looking costume that displays your impeccable taste.
The key to building your costume is to assemble your costume pieces boutique style. What we mean is to start from your head all the way to your feet.
Starting off on the head you can pick from a wide array of Wigs, Hats or Headbands. Remember just because its a 60's themed party, doesn't mean you have to always go Afro. You can be a 60's Hippie with one of our Hippie wigs, Or a 60's Rocker with a rocker wig.
Next is to go lower to optional jewelry. Now even though we say optional, why wouldn't you want to go all out with this costume ensemble. We have a wide selection of Costume Jewelry to pick from. From Big gold chains, to hippie medallions, you are free to accessorize as you wish, remember this is your unique creation.
Next we move to a top. With this we suggest you let your color imagination run wild. We have Costume shirts in several styles, sizes and colors. Remember this is for a 60's costume party, so the bolder the colors the better.
Now that you have the top half of you outfit ready now for the pants. You need disco pants, We have them. We stock a large selection of bell bottom pants perfect for men and women.
Finish up your unique diy costume with your favorite pair of disco shoes.


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Sunday, November 01, 2009
PPP Adjusted Wage Gap
The men made bank while the women are still employed as hair salonists or waitresses or some other such profession.
Naturally the men buy, but as I waited for my baby boomer friend to show up, it got me thinking;
"Would the wage hap between men and women be closed if we adjusted for all the income transfers?"
Forget buying a lady a beer, just last night you could not have had a better example. $500 costume contest, and who does it go to?
The guy dressed as a sailor?
The guy dressed like Yoda?
Or the girl in a french maid outfit?
Of course this is peanuts to things like the money men fork over for dating, let alone in divorce settlements where I think the plurality of income/wealth transfers occur, but if we adjusted for that would there be an income gap at all?
Probably impossible to measure and we'll probably never know, but it would be interesting to see what the figures are.
7 comments:
That's a great point.
The man almost always ends up paying for dates. Never in my life has a woman ever paid for our date. At best, we went Dutch.
The man almost always enters a marriage with more assets, the benefits from which the women will enjoy.
In a divorce, the man almost always ends up with the smaller split.
Men work more dangerous jobs and their jobs are less stable too.
So that 22% pay gap is merely an offset for higher expenses.
The #1 reason why the wage gap between men and women is so large is that women are (on average) out of the workforce for 11 years to raise children; and they often have different priorities when they return to the work force, which leads to them being promoted slower and not switching jobs (for higher wages) as often.
To make matters worse, while women are generally "better educated" (meaning they have university degrees) often the education they receive is of little value in the private sector. Degree fields like Computer Science, Engineering, and most trade schools produce very well paid graduates but tend to be dominated by men (and the percentage of women in these fields has steadily declined since the 1970s); and about the only career oriented fields which are dominated by women are nursing and education, and the income from these fields is very varied depending on where you work. When you have degree fields like English Lit, Psychology/Sociology, Political Science, Drama and (generally speaking) any Liberal Arts degree dominated by women even though they won't find a job related to their degree their effort in school is wasted (and it just acts as another 4 years out of the workforce).
An interesting statistic I would like to see (but no one would ever produce) is the earning spread between women. I could be wrong but I suspect that there is a massive spread because women (like my mother) who received worthwhile degrees (pharmacy) and took little time off to raise their children (about 6 weeks for each of her 4 children, with a modified work schedule for essentially a year) end up earning far more than most men, while women who got worthless degrees (women's studies) and took a long time off to raise children end up making far less than the average man.
- Milton Hayek said...
I think you're on the verge of a Nobel here.
You and your maid outfits...
Hey, Maid outfits are great, leave the Cap'n alone.
The world would be a better place if women would dress up in maid outfits more often and I'm sure the Cap'n would agree.
Bringing up the "pay gap" is the socialist's last resort in recruiting women to their side. It's just like their Norway tactics that always fall short of actually making a point. Ja, I've "probably" earned less, but I also know the reasons behind that fact and am okay with them as well. What bugs me the most is women socialists that regard Native American or African tribes as being "better", but somehow they fail to see the gender inequality at the root of those same tribes!
To qoute Nathaniel Branden:
"It is unfortunate today that many advocate's of women's rights mistakenly regard capitalism as their enemy. The historical truth is that it was capitalism that made it possible for a woman to earn an independent living. It was capitalism, with its underlying philosophy of individualism, that made the emergence of contemporary feminism historically inevitable."
- Feckless said...
While it is true that men are the biggest earners, it is also true that women are the biggest spenders.
-> Women spend $4 trillion annually and account for 83% of U.S. consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the nation's gross national product, according to WomenCertified, a women's consumer advocacy and retail training organization headquartered in Hollywood, Fla., which also worked on the study ["Men buy, women shop" - Published: November 28, 2007] - http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1848
Also and this is something many people do not really know, women actually control more wealth than men (a tiny bit more)
-> a new survey of Federal Reserve Board data reveals that women actually control 51.3% of personal wealth in the United States. - http://www.pbs.org/ttc/headlines_economics_philanthropy.html


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When I used to work at the Westside Bakery Cafe in Berkeley, CA, one of my favorite lunch items was a warm spinach salad with lentils and feta.
You'll need: 1 cup of lentils, an onion or two, a carrot, a can of tomatoes, some garlic, a bunch of spinach, feta cheese, bay leaf, thyme, a nice vinegar and olive oil.
Chop a half a carrot and a half an onion and briefly saute in olive oil. Add a bay leaf and the seasonings of your choice. I actually used Herb de Provence this time. Zatar would be another cool choice. To this add 1 cup of lentils and two cups of chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the lentils are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from the heat.
Chop an onion and as much garlic as you like. Briefly saute in olive oil, add oregano, thyme, or other herbs of your choice. I'm the sort of person who can't make a tomato sauce without adding crushed red chiles. You may not be. Then add the tomatoes from a can of Roma tomatoes. Cook until sauce-like, and adjust seasonings.
We really like this mildly flavored and buttery olive oil from Bariani.
Pick a tasty wine. This was an Italian wine we got when we belonged to the Bonny Doon "Dewn" wine club. Its exact name escapes me at the moment.
Wash the spinach, dry, and place in a big bowl. Crumble the feta cheese into the bowl over the spinach. If you have leftover grilled or roasted chicken, like us, this is another nice addition.
Check the seasonings of your tomato sauce and stir in a bit of decent vinegar. I used the Balsamic style vinegar from Bariani. Add the warm lentils to the tomatoes and stir together. Pour the tomato and lentil mixture over your spinach and feta, and toss.
Warm bread or Pita bread is a good accompaniment. This is the sourdough whole wheat bread from the Arizmendi Bakery. I really like it. They use a great sourdough starter they got from their sister bakery, the Cheese Board in Berkeley. The bread has a wonderful smell like new mown hay.
OK, it's not the prettiest meal in the world, but it is very tasty and quick to prepare.


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Denver Broncos head coach John Fox will have heart surgery on Tuesday and miss roughly four to six weeks to recovery, as first reported by Jay Glazer.
The coach had actually planned to have the procedure on his aortic valve during the offseason, but delayed it. After Fox went to the hospital Saturday due to feeling light-headed, the surgery became much more urgent.
From Glazer:
Fox was slated to have this procedure in the offseason but held off. Ironically, he flew to North Carolina during this weeks bye to meet w surgeon about a February procedure
Foxie said its something he knew he'd one day need but it deteriorated faster than they feared. Although he'll be away from team he'll still be involved
Fox told me,"it's something I've known I needed to take care of for a while. It's ironic this happened when I came to meet with the surgeon. I was hoping to wait but it's better to be smart about this."
An interim coach has not been named yet, but the most probable replacement would be defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
Photo: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images


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Paradigm has been making highly regarded loudspeakers in their state of the art factory in Ontario, Canada for the past 25 years. Their longevity is likely due to making quality products across multiple markets at reasonable prices. They make excellent speakers for budget audiophiles, home theater fiends, and for uncompromising two channel high end aficionados like myself.
I have heard various Paradigm set-ups in friend's houses and have always been impressed. Personally, I've used the amazing little Paradigm Atom mini monitor in various small spaces in my own house. After buying a 55 inch High Definition Vizio television, I knew it was time to upgrade the sound system as well. In my household, we typically watch about one or two movies a week, either on digital cable or DVD. We also watch tons of musical performances, which are often mixed in multi channel sound, so a 5.1 channel system is almost mandatory for listening.
For me, home theater is a secondary priority after my two channel, music only system. I have not invested an extreme amount of money, but I have a nice, respectable setup. A Cambridge Audio 540R home theater receiver is the center piece along with an Oppo DVD player, a Panasonic DVD recorder and player, and the aforementioned Vizio HD TV. Speakers include a PSB sub, a pair of Paradigm Atom monitors for the rear channel, a Paradigm Monitor series center channel speaker, and now, the very attractive Monitor 9 floor standers, V.6, finished in a Rosewood veneer, to match my floors. As the name indicates, the V.6 is the sixth incarnation of the speaker, with various improvements made along the way. I also have some high quality cables from Kimber, QED, NuForce, Audioquest, and a few generic ones thrown in as well.
The Monitor series is the middle of the extensive line, situated under the Studio series, with the Reference series being the flagship line. I have heard the Studio series floor standers and, in my opinion, they offer a superb value. The Studio 60 in particular, at around $2000, is one of the greatest bargains around. The Monitor 9 is the second largest floor stander in the Monitor series, out flanked only by the Monitor 11, which is slightly larger and offers more bass extension. The Monitor 9 is a four driver, two and a half way, ported design. The workmanship is wonderful and the overall finish is much better than the $999 price tag would make you believe.
Paradigm has made some significant improvements over previous generations of the Monitor Series. These include a modified phase coherent crossover, a new rear port, additional finishes, and a new magnetic grille, redesigned for minimum diffraction and for better fitting to front baffle via magnets. To its credit, Paradigm made some of these changes in response to dealer and customer feedback. The Monitor series has been very successful for Paradigm, hence five previous incarnations. I can honestly say I often wonder how Paradigm keeps the prices in check while devoting significant resources to research and development, and not setting up shop in Asia, as a multitude of others have. My enthusiasm wanes for companies that buy off the shelf drivers, throw them in a cabinet with a few tweaks, and then charge as much as a compact car. Paradigm is the antithesis of this approach.
Paradigm's drivers are all proprietary, which is a rarity these days. In fact, they boast, "many speaker companies do not have the resources to design and manufacture their own drive units, Paradigm purpose designs robust drivers for specific speakers." On their website, there is a factory tour which allows you to see all the processes involved in design and manufacturing. Quite impressively, they claim "we design and build drive units, crossover networks, electronics, amplifiers, plastics and enclosures ' and even our own tooling, production and testing equipment to ensure greater precision and superior quality control." Investing in the process has allowed Paradigm to continue to offer speakers at reasonable prices that really don't compromise on performance. I should also mention they spend quite a bit of time on crossover design, claiming they hand select components.
Setup / Listening:
Setup for the Monitor 9's was very straight forward. We generally sit around 12 to 15 feet away from the TV screen, so one speaker was placed about a foot in front of the TV, on either side, roughly 10 feet apart. With a few days of tweaking, they ended staying in the same position with a slight amount of toe in. The Magnetic grilles were left in place for two reasons. First, Paradigm recommends this as the grilles are designed for even dispersion. Secondly, the speakers were more attractive this way and blended in to the décor.
Spending a month watching movies, regular TV, DVD's, and listening to multi channel SACD and DVD-A's, along with the all music Palladia HD channel convinced me that the Monitor 9's were absolutely perfect for my set up. Dialogue was crystal clear and all other ambient sounds from movie soundtracks filled up the room effortlessly, with loads of detail, and solid imaging. One reason for this room filling big sound was the very high efficiency rating for the Monitor 9's. Unless you have a pricey, mega watt home theater receiver, you will be unsatisfied with speakers with average efficiency ratings. You will be straining to hear dialogue, and you will risk speaker damage as you continually slide the volume knob up. The Monitor 9's are rated at 94 db, which is at the higher end of the scale.
The height of the Monitor 9, roughly 44 inches, was perfect in relation to my seating position, with the tweeter, at just about ear level. The sound was not localized to the speaker, with the overall soundstage floating free, even with heavily compressed soundtracks or live television musical performances. One thing I should mention is that the cabinets are solid and they don't vibrate or produce any unwanted noise, which is important when watching a movie at full blown, movie theater volume. According to Paradigm, they use "acoustically inert high-density hardboard reinforced by strategically located radial braces that limit unwanted resonance, and increase enclosure stiffness."
One of the impressive aspects of the Monitor 9's performance was dynamics. It could go from a whisper to a scream with virtually no effort and in a totally natural way. There was plenty of headroom. To overload these speakers, you would really have to go out of your way to blow up the volume. At very quiet volumes, they sounded just as natural.
If I had the room, I would add two monitor 9's for the rear channels. For me, that would all that I would need, and would allow my receiver to coast having the easy task of driving so many efficient speakers. Some would say that's overkill, but the diehards seem to claim that the front and rear channels should ideally used the same speaker and a matching center channel to boot. Maybe with my next house!
Listening to two channel music was also a joy. Even though the Monitor 9 has four drivers, it remains coherent, with excellent, midrange clarity. Overall I would say the balance is slightly on the warmer side of things, which works really well for vocals and acoustic instruments. Bass goes deep, with plenty of weight. If being used in strictly a two channel system, I would personally not feel the need for a subwoofer. That being said, Paradigm has a line of excellent subs, with several new ones being added to the line recently.
Paradigm has for many years been at the leading edge of sanely priced, excellent sounding loudspeakers, and the Monitor series may be the sweet spot for budget home theater and hifi enthusiasts. I really could not find many flaws with these speakers considering the price. They are very nicely put together, sound great across the frequency spectrum, and are very versatile. They work equally as well for fronts in a home theater set up, or for main speakers in a two channel set up.
I have tested a few other speakers in my home theater that offered more detail and resolution, and a bit more clarity, but the cost more than my entire investment in the whole set up, from nuts to bolts! Needless to say, you would have to spend loads more to get closer to the state of the art. I will reiterate that Paradigm, in their Reference line, offers speakers for far less than their competitors that in my opinion are off the charts in value. I have an acquaintance that uses the Studio 60 in his two channel system and I have enjoyed some wonderful listening sessions there.
As a huge bonus, they look great, and they blended in beautifully in the decor of my living room. They are available in a bunch of finishes, and the Rosewood finish I chose was very attractive. Paradigm claims its proprietary SuperDrive™ technology, coupled with very high efficiency produces ultra low distortion and clarity. I agree. One of the benefits of this technology is that a modestly powered amplifier or home theater receiver can make it sing with minimum effort. They also claim to offer authentic high end sound for modest prices. I can't agree more with that as well. Add to that the fact they are made in North America, unlike most of their competitors, it becomes an easy recommendation.


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Painted Hunting horn
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Painted Hunting horn
I visited the old Saint John hospital in Bruges during the summer.
There I saw a 15th century painted hunting horn. Also called an Elephant.
Since my visit I am looking for more late medieval hunting horns that have been painted.
All the examples I have found so far are extensively decorated with carving.
Do you know of similar ivory hunting horns or can you give a lead to someone who knows more about these objects?
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By at June 17 2019 03:20:44
Use colour strategically. Colour in forms should be used with care - but used well it can really aid form completion and navigation. In general, yellow, for example, is a colour to avoid as much as possible - text set in yellow on a typical light background can be very hard to read - and people can find yellow aggressive.
A light shade of a colour, like blue, across the whole background of a form relieves the eye from the harshness of a stark white background. And if the answer spaces people have to fill in are white, the tinted background both cues them in to where they write, and allows them to visually sense how much they have to fill in.


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"Radiant well-being is a practice, not a destination. And there's no better guide than my dear friend Tara Stiles."
"I love Tara Stiles. Best yoga instructor I've worked with. I didn't think yoga would be challenging for someone athletic like me. I really couldn't have been more wrong. It made me control and move my body in ways I never could before, and it was an amazing outlet for stress."
"Tuning into intuition and gaining awareness through the moving meditation, along with approaching challenges with ease, are a dash of the magic ingredients that make up the special sauce of Strala Yoga [and Tara Stiles]. You get more with less effort. Everyone wants that."
How It Works
You'll have unlimited access to hours of yoga, all from the comfort of your own home. Lifetime access to the class allows you to return to the videos whenever you're looking to move, bend, and ease your mind.
You'll take what you've learned in the videos and put it into practice. Return to any session as often as you'd like, or use what you've learned and apply it on your own.
Interactive discussion boards allow you to discuss what's on your mind with instructors and fellow students. Get your questions answered, while joining a community of other wellness enthusiasts.
Find your happiest, healthiest self.
Our classes are designed to give you a simple and effective educational experience so you can focus on "you". Whether you're at home or on the go, you'll have access to world-class experts and a thriving community of wellness enthusiasts - all here to help you along the way.
Classes FAQS
All you need is WiFi or a direct internet connection - no downloads or DVDs required! All classes stream directly to the device of your choosing.
Whenever you're ready! There's no set start (or end) date here.
Learn at your own pace. Some classes have a suggested timeline, but you are free to adjust to fit your own schedule.
Yes! Watch as much as you'd like, and for as long as you'd like. Once you've completed the class, it's yours to keep!
No problem - let us know and we will work with you personally to find another class that suits you better.
We really hope you love it! Unfortunately, we're not able to offer refunds for the programs. If you're on the fence, we strongly recommend that you watch the preview videos to get a sense of what the class is like before you buy.
Email us at firstname.lastname@example.com. We're happy to answer all of your questions.


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There's been a lot of buzz lately in the BlackBerry developer community – even before the global launch of BlackBerry 10 last week. We're serious about supporting, enabling, and championing our developers, and to prove it we've run (and are still running) a whole series of events to help get everyone up and running.
BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour
A series of full-day events, the BlackBerry Jam World Tour aimed to take the tools and information to you. With 30 stops on 5 continents, thousands of developers had the chance to get one-on-one time with the BlackBerry Developer Relations team, get informed on the BlackBerry 10 developer tools, and get a hold of BlackBerry Dev Alpha devices for testing.
BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour – Enterprise Edition
A specialized version of the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour, these enterprise events catered specifically to corporate developers, governments, and those working on apps for business and productivity. They also provided a look at how IT administrators can deploy apps using BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10
BlackBerry Jam Conferences
BlackBerry Jam Americas, BlackBerry Jam Asia, and BlackBerry Jam Europe serve to hit key regions of the globe with big news, incredible sessions, experience centers, Jam spaces, and a whole lot more. BlackBerry and developers alike look forward to these immersive annual conferences.
BlackBerry Experience Forum
Kicking off this week are the BlackBerry Experience Forum events in 14 locations around the world up until March 2013. Designed for business decision makers, IT administrators, and enterprise developers, these events offer hands-on time with BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 as well as detailed keynotes and sessions.
As a result of this momentum, BlackBerry 10 launched with more apps than any brand new computing platform in history, and more are being added every single day. Included at launch are over 1,000 of the top global apps.
So Why is BlackBerry Developer Momentum Good for Businesses?
You get the tools that you need
With such a large number of apps at launch, the BlackBerry 10 platform can help provide what your business needs, including apps like SAP, Cisco WebEx Meetings, SalesNOW for CRM data management, and more.
You can leverage existing investments
Many businesses are already using BlackBerry Enterprise Server and services like the aforementioned SAP. Keep what you've got and introduce straightforward upgrades to get your employees mobile with BlackBerry 10 and work applications for increased productivity. There's no need to re-invent the wheel or drop your current licensing of common business software and services. And when it comes to BES 5 licenses, we've got a one-for-one trade-up program to get you rolling with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.
It means that there are a lot more apps to come
A thriving developer community means a thriving app ecosystem. New apps are being added to BlackBerry World everyday – sometimes by the thousands. If you're ready to be surprised by new ideas and tools, the options are widening every day.
A strong future for BlackBerry
A healthy developer community behind a new platform lends stability and paints a very bright future. Hundreds of thousands of businesses use BlackBerry, and many do so on a major scale with significant investments. You can be confident that it will continue to provide benefits and that BlackBerry 10 holds rich apps for you to take advantage of.
It helps bring BlackBerry Balance to life
We're big fans of BlackBerry Balance and the separation of work and personal data. With the BlackBerry developer community pumping out fantastic apps for both work and play, you're able to find apps that improve your business, and your employees are able to find apps that provide a delightful experience. Best of all, you can manage and deploy them using BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.
What have we missed? Share your thoughts on how the momentum in the BlackBerry developer community is good for businesses in the comments below.


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Lehman College - Where Adults Succeed!
The Adult Degree Program (ADP) at Lehman College has been successful at offering an exceptional array of services and opportunities to adults seeking their Bachelor's and Master's degrees. More than twenty percent of Adult Degree Program students and alumni have been recognized for their academic and professional achievements at Lehman College. They have made the Deans' List, been named Presidential Scholars, received prestigious honors such as the Golden Key Honor Society, fellowships, and grants including the LCU Fund for Women's Education, and the Women's Forum Fellowship.
The Adult Degree Program features:
The opportunity to earn college credits for prior learning from life, work, volunteer experience, or US military service
Academic and career advising geared especially for adult students
The choice to design your own concentration through our Self-Determined Studies program, or select from over 50 majors offered at the college
Flexibility to take courses during the day, evening, weekend, or online
Exemption from some college requirements, such as a foreign language
The option to take special interdisciplinary classes open only to adult degree students
Easy accessibility by public transportation or car, including parking
Affordable tuition and financial aid packages


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How much does it cost to move across the country?
The national average cost for hiring cross-country movers is $1,490-$2,220. A number of factors can affect the cost. One factor is the distance you want to move. For example, an East Coast-based moving company may charge $5 per cubic foot for consolidated moves along the East Coast and $6 per cubic foot for consolidated moves from the East Coast to the central states or the West Coast. Another factor is how many belongings you have. Most cross-country movers charge by the cubic foot.
The type of move you want is another consideration in cost. You can have your belongings moved exclusively and delivered on a set day, or you can opt for a consolidated move, which is less expensive. In a consolidated move your belongings are stored and transported with the goods of other customers who are moving to your general vicinity during the same general time frame as you. Your belongings should arrive within a one- to two-week window, rather than on a set day. If you want the cross-country movers to pack your belongings for you, the cost will also increase.
How much does it cost to move a one-bedroom apartment across the country?
Professional movers can handle the hard work of moving your one-bedroom apartment across the country for you. You can determine what your move will cost by learning the rate your movers charge per cubic foot and how they factor distance into the total cost. Cross-country movers typically charge based on your belongings rather than apartment size because that determines how much work they will have to do. For example, a studio apartment that is crammed full of things will take more work and moving truck space than the contents of a three-bedroom apartment with very little furniture.
Cross-country movers may also have varying rates, depending on where in the country you are moving. For example, a company may charge $5 per cubic foot for consolidated moves along the East Coast and $6 per cubic foot for consolidated moves from the East Coast to the central states or the West Coast. A one-bedroom apartment costs approximately $1,500 to move across the country.
How much does it cost for long-distance movers?
Long-distance movers transport your belongings across the country for you. No more renting a trailer and road-tripping from state to state with your entire house hitched to your bumper. Long-distance movers make the move happen so you can fly to your new home, suitcase in hand, and wait for your furniture to arrive. Nationally, the average price range for long-distance movers is $1,490-$2,230. The distance you are moving and the number of cubic feet the movers have to transport will both affect cost. Another factor in long-distance moving costs is whether you choose to pay for an exclusive move or a consolidated move.
In an exclusive move, which is more expensive, your belongings are the only cargo on the moving truck. The movers travel directly to your new house and deliver your belongings on a scheduled day. A consolidated move is more affordable because the movers transport your belongings along with those of other people, saving them time and gas — which means you save money. The downside is that your belongings typically arrive with a two-week delivery window rather than on a prescheduled day. Read reviews to make sure you can trust the company with your possessions to ensure a peaceful moving process.


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Michigan Tech Faculty Members, Family and Student Survive Earthquake in Chile
Over a fuzzy phone connection to Santiago, with slight delays, Chuck Wallace, relays how scared--and lucky--his family was during the Chilean earthquake.
"It was 3:00 in the morning," he says, "and we were in bed on the fifteenth floor, would you believe? It was shaking like something I've never felt before, and I was raised in California."
He and his wife and two children, ages 10 and 13, were "thrown from wall to wall," and they braced themselves at those walls during a seemingly endless one and one-half minutes of shaking.
"Normally, these things happen and are over before you know what is going on," said the associate professor of computer science. "But this one was long enough that you knew what was happening.
"Like a Hollywood vision of an earthquake, we had the sound effects, the dishes breaking in the kitchen and all the car alarms in the city going off," Wallace continues. "And we had the visuals, too. I saw a huge flash of light, possibly a gas explosion."
The Wallaces were fortunate to be in a newer, well-built structure, as many of the buildings around them were in that area of Santiago: Providencia. The neighborhood surrounding The Universidad de Catolica, where Wallace is a visiting Fulbright Scholar, were not as lucky, he found when he ventured there.
The family has felt a couple of the aftershocks, but they haven't been major. "Nothing out of this world like the actual earthquake, which was like a bad amusement park ride, one that you might not survive," Wallace recalls.
Their life has almost returned to normal, he said. They have had water, electricity and Internet service restored to their building, but their elevator doesn't work, so they are walking the fifteen flights up and down.
"And my children were supposed to start school this week," he said. "It's the end of summer vacation here. Everything's been delayed a week. My wife, Susanna Peters [a senior lecturer in Tech's social sciences department], will be teaching English, too, but everything's been pushed back a bit"
Wallace's Fulbright Scholarship entails working with the computer science department at the Universidad de Catolica on their software engineering program. He hopes to develop an exchange program between the Chilean university and Michigan Tech someday.
Meanwhile, he is thankful for the emails he's been getting from Tech faculty, staff and students. "I appreciate all the nice thoughts," he said.
Also in Chile on a study-abroad program, Evan Johnson, a Michigan Tech student based in Santiago, was safely on a field trip in the far south of the country. He is studying through the Universidad Andrés Bello in Santiago. He has assured Tech's International Programs and Services office that he is OK.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.


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You will need Adobe's Adobe's FREE Acrobat Reader to view the Historian's reports.
Report from Riverstreet on the Revitalization of Westport
- Town of Westport, New York
Economic Revitalization Strategy – Final Draft Westport Report – 10/23/13
External link to Dropbox PDF file
Screened Sand Bid Specification
Westport Highway / Fire District Combined Garage
- Request for Proposals – Architectural Feasibility Study For Town of Westport
Dept. of Public Works and Westport Fire District Combined Building – April, 2013
Westport Town Office Building
Rolling Hills Farm Project Description
Hamlet Expansion Project
- Hamlet Expansion Complete Project Report
July 21, 2010 public meeting put on by Saratoga Associates and the Hamlet Expansion Grant; multiple documents stored in box.com repository
- The Town of Westport Hamlet Expansion Plan
External Site, Stored at Google Sites


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Opening the Door to Home Ownership
By Robert Schroeder
NLU Alumni Magazine
Rick Davidson is a man in high places—literally. As the President and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate, Rick commands the largest real estate company in the world. And as an avid high-altitude mountain climber, the Bachelor of Science in Management graduate could be found last December scaling the 18,491 foot peak of Pico de Orizaba, the tallest mountain in Mexico, as part of a charity climb to support Century 21's philanthropic efforts for Easter Seals.
Rick, 52, is also one who understands low places, leading Century 21 through what he calls the one of the worst real estate recessions ever.
"Nothing worth doing is ever easy, so having had the opportunity to lead the world's largest real estate company through one of the toughest downturns in housing has been an incredible experience," Rick said.
As CEO, Rick manages a company with a presence in 73 countries and territories, with more than 7,000 offices and 100,000 sales professionals worldwide. His goal for 2013 is to connect with consumers ages 25-34 by focusing on how technology can play a greater role in the real estate business. Century 21 is venturing into online gaming advertising as an attempt to strengthen connections with that demographic.
Century 21's second major campaign in 2013 took place in early February at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, with the company sponsoring the one-hour pregame show leading into kickoff as well as local "Hometown Hero" commercial spots during pregame coverage.
Connecting with community is a major focus for Rick, both as CEO and in his personal life. Century 21 has raised more than $104 million for Easter Seals, and Rick also volunteers with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.
"When you spend quality time with [kids], you show them that the commitment of time can also be the best thing you can give," Rick said.
Rick also sees his work as connecting with community on a larger scale, facilitating a fulfillment of the quintessentially American dream of home ownership.
"There is nothing more incredible than handing over the keys of a brand new house to a first-time homebuyer and watching them take their families in," Rick said.
Listen to a podcast of Rick Davidson at the Multimedia page.
Read more from the Winter 2013 NLU Alumni Magazine


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Bassand Surname Ancestry Results
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VG_Rich necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 45 diseños de 26 diseñadores freelance.
Looking for an Illustrator or similar vector logo for our company Web Media Network which is a publisher of content based websites. We are looking for something strong, modern and funky yet still suitable for a serious media company.
Web Media Network
No taglines
Desired Color Scheme:
Leave it to the designer
Desired Style:
Modern and funky yet serious and corporate ... perhaps the word I am looking for is professional... sorry a bit hard to put into words... Suitable for a media company
Accepted File Formats:
.ai preferred, needs to be vector based and resizable
We are looking for a vector logo for our company, Web Media Network (http://www.webmedianetwork.co.uk - this is going to be redone after we have a logo). Nothing flashy, we want something modern and reflective of a serious company. Choice of colors I will leave to the designer, but bear in mind we are looking for something quite corporate overall, must also be stylish and modern and reflective of the fact that we are in the media industry.
We can only pay via Pay Pal Credit Card.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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We were treated to a nice variety of blooms appearing at different times throughout the spring and summer. Here they are, roughly in order of bloom. First to bloom were the Baby Blue-Eyes and Tidy Tips, which I posted about back in March.
Next came the Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla), which grew quickly produced tall stalks covered in blooms. Some were white and some were a nice shade of bright purple.
These Salvia columbariae, also from Theodore Payne, grew here and there in the backyard. They were hard to spot, but really cool once I found them. Tiny complex blue flowers bloom off their spiny-looking heads.
The sunrise cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) are from seeds I planted last year. They're annuals and self-seeding, so maybe I'll get lucky and they'll spread further across the backyard.
The lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) also have fluffy, spiky heads covered with small purple flowers.
The elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) came up here and there in the backyard, mixed in with the weeds. There's also a thick patch of them in the small bed on the side of our house, which is a little shadier and has better soil. I really love their bright, complicated blooms. They must have some specialized pollination purpose, although I haven't noticed any particular bees or other pollinators hovering around.
There are still a few stragglers growing that haven't bloomed. We'll see what happens to them now that the weather is getting hot and dry. And, of course, some of my seeds didn't come up at all. I can't seem to grow lupines, which is frustrating since I hail from the Bluebonnet state. At least the hillside below me is covered in lupines every spring. I just hope it's never developed.


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Awesome Spring Wreath Decorating Ideas on a Budget 10
DecorEditor.com are really concern to Provide Home Design and Decoration. We are Gathering and Collecting photos from lot of source on internet. If some of them are yours, please don't be shy to contact us immediately, we are so pleased to add some credit to them.


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After three incredible days in Dubai, a new FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion has been crowned: Alfonso Ramos from Spain.
The FIFA Interactive World Cup 2012 has been characterized by a number of record-breaking moments. Over 1.3 million registered players tried to win a place in Dubai, making this edition the most successful to date. For the first time, FIFA.com streamed the three-day event live on several platforms, giving fans all over the world the ability to watch matches all the way from the group stage to the finale.
It was also the first time the Final match of the FIWC was contested between two former champions - 2009 winner Bruce Grannec and 2008 winner Alfonso Ramos. And finally, the record to break them all: Alfonso's victory was the first time in the history of the FIFA Interactive World Cup that a former champion has won the title for a second-time - something every single winner has wanted so desperately to do.
"When I won in 2008 I think there were maybe 100,000 players and now it's over a million. It's become so very hard." said Ramos.
Ramos' road to the finalThe Spaniard was not an out-right favourite when the tournament kicked off, and he suffered a big 3-1 defeat to Germany's Kei Wollin in his first group-stage match. It took an 85th-minute goal by Ramos against countryman David Arboli to secure him a place in the quarter-finals. Ramos called the strike, "A finesse shot...a beautiful goal to send me through."
In his quarter-final, Alfonso started to show his true pedigree, edging out Bulgaria's Klasnic Ivanov - a favourite on his FIWC debut – by a 2-1 scoreline. The Kei Wollin-Ramos semi-final was a repeat of the group match, but this time Ramos co-coordinated a tactically proficient 2-0 win. "I'm happy, but I still have three exams this week, so the true party will be back home with my friends on Saturday," said the down-to-earth Spaniard after winning. German semi-finalist Wollin did not go home empty handed, however, winning the third place playoff against Guiseppe Guastella.
Penalties decide winnerThe FIWC12 finale was one of the most evenly balanced matches ever played at the tournament. Regulation time ended in a goalless deadlock. Extra-time was just as tough, with Ramos missing a very late chance to potentially secure the win and with it USD20,000 in prize money and a trip to the next FIFA ballon d'Or Gala. Ultimately, the title was decided on penalties. Every shot, every goal, every save had the crowd and commentators gasping and shrieking. "I usually play with the mentality of my opponent when it comes to penalties," said Ramos.
Live from Dubai
TV Personality Charlotte Jackson hosted the live streaming event with the help of a commentary team that included FIWC10 champion Nenad Stojkovic and special guests and former FIFA World Cup™ winners' Christian Karembeu and Luca Toni. "When I was playing I also had this kind of pressure, but he has proved he is more than capable of handling it," said Luca Toni of Ramos's victory.
The various stages of the tournament were held in incredible locations. From Jumeirah beach to the opulent interior of the iconic Burj Al Arab, the heights of the Burj Khalifa - the tallest man-made structure in the world - and finally on Day three, the Jambase venue at the Jumeirah resort.
"We've had this unique privilege," said Karembeu. The 1998 World Champion attended the event, even finding time to provide commentary on matches and play a six-a-side match with a team of Grand Finalist's against a Luca Toni selection of Grand Finalists. Karembeu was impressed at how the players pay attention to very aspect of their game. "This is football," he said. "They know each and every player and their characteristics and they showed the ability to move in proper space and to drive towards the goal."
Tears were welling up in Alfonso's eyes, the Spaniard unable to control the elation of winning the interactive world title and making history. An always-composed Grannec, hiding the disappointment of losing on penalties, congratulated Alfonso, calling him a true champion.


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Come January, who doesn't want a fresh start? The best new products, top natural supplements, tips for weight management and how to do a—enter buzzword of the month—detox.
We've all questioned whether "detox" is a fad after seeing one too many unconvincing ads and cheesy celebrity testimonials. Yet, as long as our world is filled with toxins (if yours isn't, we should really talk… ), the desire to flush them from our bodies with the goal of looking and feeling our best is certainly a rational sentiment that's not going anywhere. But what supports or refutes its staying power (and determines the fate of detox-product manufacturers) is how we approach the concept.
In the first phase of the detox craze, believers seemed to rely on stringent liquid regimens, once or twice a year. But we've since discovered that natural, everyday techniques—incorporating detoxifying recipes, supplements and even topical products—can be more realistic and hence more effective.
In the January issue of Delicious Living, we use the fundamental concept that detox is a lifestyle to offer yet another perspective: Though we most often associate cleanse with the liver and kidneys, the body's largest organ—the skin—is a major player.
Why look to your skin for detox?
While Eastern medicine relies heavily on external signs for "diagnosis," in the U.S., we often neglect to literally see the whole picture. When your liver is overloaded with toxins, skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea, dark under-eye circles (in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the eyes and liver are strongly connected), forehead wrinkles and lackluster complexion can be the result. And our skin calling out for a cleanse is just one of the many health-beauty links.
In addition to providing a more holistic definition of detox and understanding what our skin is telling us, writing "Detox your skin" was a great way kickoff this year's beauty coverage: Once again, we're showing the true importance of caring for ourselves from the inside and out—and that making informed personal care choices isn't just for healthy skin but rather overall health and well-being. And, just as what we're putting in our bodies can make a big difference in our appearance, what we put on our bodies can affect our health. Enter cleansing supplements and pure, efficacious skin care.
Another takeaway? More reasons we should see a greater convergence of the supplement and beauty industries in the next year. As consumers continue seeking topical and ingestible solutions for their health and beauty concerns, I'm hoping companies take a proactive approach to beauty, incorporating topical products and supplements to target the cause of our beauty concerns, rather than just offer a quick fix. That, my friends, is no fad.


text: |Welcome to our website! We are a fifth grade class in Greenville, Pennsylvania. After taking a vote, our class named itself "Mrs. Abernethy's Outdazzling Owls." We are smart and ready to take on the future. From 3D printing to state testing to topics as complex as pi, we are ready for anything. We use many of the sites listed on this website in our daily quest for knowledge, and we create many sites along the way. We love to share what we learn with others. Feel free to use our links or just check out our great classroom projects, field trips, classroom pets and more! Thank you for showing interest in our classroom. We hope you enjoy the site!


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The Kings have traded forwards Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt and a second-round pick to the Rockets for center Cole Aldrich, guard Toney Douglas, forward Patrick Patterson and $1 million, according to reports from Yahoo! Sports, USA Today Sports and NBA.com. The three-team deal also involved the Rockets sending forward Marcus Morris to the Suns for a 2013 second-round pick, according to NBA.com. The Rockets and Suns were able to absorb more salary than they sent out without matching because both teams are under the salary cap.
Robinson, 21, was the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft. Seen as a scoring power forward when he entered the league, Robinson has been relegated to a reserve role behind a Sacramento front line that starts DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson and John Salmons. Robinson is averaging 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 15.9 minutes. He spent three years at Kansas, where he averaged 18.7 points and 9.8 rebounds. Robinson was suspended for two games in November when he threw an elbow to the neck of Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko.


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Food & Drink
New Caledonia's new marine park: Where biodiversity is off the charts
By Ian Lloyd Neubauer, for CNN • Published 3rd July 2014
View Gallery
6 Pictures
Until a few months ago, Denmark's
Greenland North National Park
was the world's largest nature reserve at 972,000 square kilometers -- bigger than all but 30 countries on Earth.
There are now two spots that eclipse it.
For a few short weeks, the French semi-autonomous territory of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific held the top spot, having established the
world's largest marine managed area
in May.
Covering 1.3 million square kilometers (502,000 square miles) -- the territory's entire economic zone -- the Natural Park of the Coral Sea protects the world's second longest double barrier reef and the world's largest marine lagoon, an underwater coliseum where the level of endemism (the number of species found nowhere else on earth) is off the charts.
"Because it lies in a temperate zone, the marine biodiversity of New Caledonia's reef is very peculiar," says Richard Farmer, director of the Aquarium Des Lagons in the capital Noumea.
"So we have an obligation to humanity to keep the reef pristine."
On June 17, the United States outdid New Caledonia when it declared an even bigger national park in the central South Pacific Ocean measuring 2 million square kilometers.
But getting there is difficult.
The U.S.-controlled islands lying between Hawaii and American Samoa that are incorporated into the new
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
are mostly uninhabited or off limits to all but a handful of scientists.
New Caledonia's park, however, is open for business.
Here are three novel ways to experience the world's largest "accessible" national park.
On a surf board
On the east coast of the main island of Grande Terre, La Roche Percee beach is a long strip of sand edged by an extraordinary cliff formation that looks like a giant chess piece.
Offshore, the swell hits the outer reef to produce thick and hollow waves.
Courtesy Gill Chabaud
It's the only known place in New Caledonia where one can surf off the shore.
The waves are for beginners but the real action lies three kilometers out to sea, where the swell hits the outer reef to produce thick and hollow waves.
Manu Hernu runs Nekweta (Respect for the Ocean), a small surfing and fishing camp set in the mangrove forest behind La Roche Percee.
A typical day starts with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. followed by a half-hour motorboat ride to the outer reef.
There, guests spend the next five hours surfing two different reef breaks, snorkeling or fishing for snapper to be baked back at the camp.
"We saw four- to five-foot (1.2-1.5 meter) waves, but it can get up to six to eight feet," says Nicolas Sarian, a surfer and recent visitor from Argentina.
"But the best things about it is nobody was there. Just Manu and me."
Nekweta Fish & Surf Camp
+687 784 026
) offers seven-day surf camps and bungalow-style accommodation with communal meals from $1,386. Book via
The Perfect Wave
World Safaris
MORE: World's 50 best surf spots
On a yacht
Each June, a dozen or so monohulls and catamarans sail out of Noumea's Port Moselle to compete for glory at the Great Lagoon Regatta.
Nokanhui islet, Isle of Pines, New Caledonia.
Martial Dosdane/NCTPS
The friendly three-day, 90-nautical-mile yacht race heads along the west coast of Grande Terre to Ouen Island for a night, then through the Woodin Canal and south to Ua Islet for a second night at sea before heading back to Noumea.
This isn't an event filled with wind-burnt sailors who wake at the crack of dawn to swab the decks and raise the sails.
The crews -- families and groups of friends from Noumea plus a few ring-ins from Sydney and Tokyo -- spend race nights at sea eating paella, drinking punch and dancing to '80s hits on the beach.
They aren't early risers.
For those who are, the late-morning starts present an opportunity to borrow a kayak or tender to explore the outer reef and its rich marine life.
Or to walk around a tropical island all by themselves.
"In this small part of the lagoon you have at last 50 little islands," says Herve Moal, a super-yacht agent in Noumea who co-founded the regatta in 2011.
"Even on the weekend you can find a place to be alone."
Great Lagoon Regatta
+687 795 601
) is held on the first weekend of June. Entry is free for foreign boats.
Dream Yacht Charters
+687 799 118
) in Noumea rent 43-foot catamarans that sleep eight to 10 people for $900 a day. Add $275 per day for a skipper.
MORE: 50 natural wonders: The ultimate list of scenic splendor
snorkel mask
Less than 20 kilometers from Noumea, Signal Island Marine Park is a campground straight out of "The Blue Lagoon."
New Caledonia's rich coral creates habitat for an extraordinary number of marine species.
New Caledonia Pierre LabouteNCTP/
On weekends, rangers visit to leave chopped wood for people to enjoy campfires on the beach.
Camping is free but most visitors sleep on yachts and motorboats moored around the island on floating buoys designed to protect the reef from anchor drag.
More alien than the edge of space and more spectacular than an exploding supernova, the coral here is free of the bleaching and crown-of-thorns starfish infestation affecting reefs throughout other parts of the South Pacific.
The rich coral creates habitat for an extraordinary number of marine species: leopard sharks, green turtles, dugongs, shoals of rare bump-headed parrot fish and yellow sea perch, poisonous but friendly banded sea snakes, clown fish, big sweetlip cod, huge toothy groupers, delicate feather starfish and the serene butterfly-shaped fish from "Finding Nemo" known as Moorish idol.
"It's incredible to have this quality of water and coral so close to the city," says Bernard Andreani, a diver who runs small group snorkeling tours to Signal Island.
Bernard Andreani Snorkelling Treks (
+687 779 072; email@example.com
) offers half-day snorkeling, walking and birdwatching boat tours to Signal Island Marine Park for $170 for two people. Bookings essential. Tours depart 8 a.m. from Noumea's Kuendu Beach.
MORE: Into the deep: World's 50 best dive sites
Getting there:
Qantas and Aircalin offer codeshare flights to New Caledonia from Australia and New Zealand.
Flight times from Auckland and Sydney are less than three hours.
Tontouta International Airport
is a 45-minute drive from the capital, Noumea.
A year of the world's
Best Beaches
There's a perfect beach for every week of the year. Join us on a 12-month journey to see them all
Go to the best beaches


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Covering the Bases: Game 23
FIRST: So, maybe a few of the Blue Jays hitters should take part in some extra-early batting practice from now on.
Early this afternoon, when the lights were low and the stadium was empty, John Buck took to the field with manager Cito Gaston, hitting coach Dwayne Murphy and pitching coach Bruce Walton.
Walton threw. Murphy advised. Gaston observed and offered his two cents as well. The goal? To get Buck's timing back on track.
Um, it worked a little.
Buck slammed three home runs in a 6-3 win over the A's that felt like a rout even though the difference was just three runs. Buck victimized Justin Duchscherer, Jerry Blevins and Craig Breslow to become the 15th Blue Jay to belt at least three homers in a game in franchise history.
There weren't many fans here tonight — announced attendance of 10,721 — but those in the stands began chanting, "Buck! Buck!" during his final at-bat. Alas, Carlos Delgado remains the lone Jay to launch a quartet of moonshots in a single contest.
Buck might have a few more early sessions in his future.
"I might as well. I'll do it every day if I'll get those results," he joked.
SECOND: Had Buck not dominated the storyline tonight, we might have been writing more about the solid effort from Ricky Romero. He did not look sharp early, allowing three runs on four hits in the first three innings. Then he settled in and managed to log six innings, giving Buck time to do his damage
Buck was impressed with how Romero battled his way through six frames.
"I think that's a really good thing on Ricky's part," Buck said. "Normally he's able to go out there and just be nasty. Tonight his changeup didn't have that bit — they got a coupld early hits on that. I told Ricky, 'You've just got to pitch.' It was like he felt too good.
He made the adjustment right away and did a real good job. I was really, really proud of him, the way he was just able to go out there and pitch."
THIRD: Another player lost in the wake of Buck's wallops was Travis Snider. Like Buck, Snider has been fighting through a month-long slump. Like Buck, Snider homered on Thursday. Snider just didn't go yard two more times.
Following Buck's solo shot in the third inning, Snider crushed a pitch from Duchscherer to right field for a rocket of a home run. Or, as Cito put it…
"That missile got out of here in a hurry," Gaston said. "Then Buck came back and put one off the restaurant."
Yeah, that one was crushed. Off the windows of the restaurant in center field.
Oh, wait. I was talking about Snider. Right. Anyways…
Snider finished 2-for-4 with that homer and a double. The Jays can only hope that gets him jump-started.
HOME: OK, I've always got to play Debbie Downer at least once, right? Well, the A's led 3-0 after three, but had it not been for a "wild pitch" from Romero it would've likely been just a two-run advantage. Buck did not properly block a pitch and it skipped away. There have been a few of those this year.
But, Buck made up for it. Three times. So, all's forgiven.
3 Comments
One point you missed: The bullpen pitched 3 spotless innings. Hard to believe after the last week.
Finally, Ricky gets some run support and Buck can have passed balls each game if this is how he makes up for it. lol
Snider did hit a missile, also got one of his line drives to drop in, finally. Considering how low his babip is, we might be seeing a lot more of those in the near future than the shots directly at someone as they've been all spring.
Looks like the bullpen refreshment has brought new life to the pen, nice outings by all last night.
attendance of 10 000? pathetic. i don't know what's wrong with the "fans" in T.O. i don't buy the excuse , "oh the team's not winning" looks at the maple laughs the last time they won a cup , the picture was in black and white. i personally think all the fans that were around in 92 and 93 have simply left toronto and what remains are people that are more concerned with mocha's and latte's and spending all their money at hair salons. it's all about appearances there. the city is full of metrosexuals. i know the rest of canada actually does give a damn about the jays, and if they were in my back yard , i'd go see them , even if it was the nosebleed section. TORONTO "FANS" GET OF YOUR BUTTS AND MAKE THE REST OF CANADA PROUD TO HAVE AN MLB TEAM. they just might play better with people in the building, look at fenway and yankee stadium


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Thursday, April 22, 2010
WoT Ten Years Later: Robert Jordan, The Dragon Reborn
One thing that I focused on as soon as I began this re-read was the notion that this massive twelve-volume series (and counting) could be divided into distinct narrative arcs. In particular, I was curious to see if the first three volumes might differ in their plot structures and presentation from succeeding volumes. To an extent, there is indeed an interesting interplay between these three early novels that I have not seen during my current re-reading of the fourth volume.
The Dragon Reborn opens several weeks, if not months, after the Battle of Toman Head that concluded The Great Hunt. Rand al'Thor, who has now successfully fought off the EVIL Ba'alzamon, the presumed Dark One in this Manichean-style cosmos, twice in the previous two volumes, is still struggling to deal with the revelations of the past year. Born gifted/cursed with awesome power that is tainted for males, Rand constantly frets in the early chapters about his "destiny" as the reincarnated Dragon Reborn and the belief that the apocalyptic Last Battle was drawing nigh. Although Jordan continues to lapse into lengthy descriptive passages that fail to let the characters illustrate their conflicts through their actions, I found myself being more drawn into Rand's plight that I ever remembered being when I last read this book a decade ago. Seeing him struggle to fight for control of his double-edged magical powers through his actions and failures more than through his internal monologues was a refreshing change.
But although the book's title would lead the unwary reader to believe that the book will feature the Dragon Reborn prominently, Rand appears only in flitting scenes for three-quarters of the novel. Yet this was a wise decision by the author, as this allowed Jordan to explore the effects that Rand's appearance at Toman Head had on the world around. Sometimes, instead of just rattling off paragraph after paragraph detailing what the central protagonist is to accomplish via mysterious prophecies, it might be best to let the überpowerful character take on the aspect of the looming 800 lb. gorilla in the room rather than dominating all of the proceedings. Jordan's decision to switch the narrative focus away from Rand and toward those following him after his flight/quest to the city/state of Tear allows for a greater understanding of the events that are transpiring as a result of the destiny-bending powers of Rand and his two childhood friends.
The basic structure of this novel is that of a classical epic fantasy quest narrative, except there are four main strains of quest being interwoven here. Besides Rand's quest to discover for himself if he is truly the Dragon Reborn (to be proven by seizing the Arthurian-like Sword That Isn't a Sword, contained within the Stone of Tear), there are the quests of Rand's companions to track him down in time to protect him, the one involving the three young female trainees trying to sniff out the traitors in their midst, the conflicted desire of the previously-infected Mat to escape from Aes Sedai manipulation and to help his friends, and that of the fiercesome badass ninja-warriors, the Aiel, to track down their prophesied leader/destroyer. Unlike in The Great Hunt, where I felt the disparate narrative strands were not integrated well, here there is much more balance between these quests. Those of Rand and the Aiel are kept brief and fleeting, as befitting the characters of their quests. The ones involving Moraine/Perrin, Mat, and the three trainees receive more space, but none of these receive more than perhaps three chapters at a time, creating the sense that the action is moving swiftly and decidedly toward a resolution.
It is in this novel that the quest narrative structure that had dominated to date begins to shift. More is seen of the setting's environs and particularly the increasingly bad situations that the common people experience. Jordan is often (and rightly) criticized for taking too much of a "theme park" approach to his setting. The characters move from locale to locale, see a few of the local monuments, interact with maybe a couple of locals, fight off a group of baddies and then they move on. But here, and this is especially true in Mat's later scenes, more detail is given to the "outside" world. Short passages such as the one involving the refugees at a local port and their desperate cries for food and other supplies is touching, as this is one of the few times that I recall in the series (perhaps I'll remember more as I re-read the other volumes) where the human suffering is shown rather than told in passing by a character. The turbulence brought by Rand's emergence and by the nefarious counterstrokes of the EVIL opposition are shown to good effect here.
However, this should not excuse several problems that I noted in this book. First, the prose continues to be pedestrian. Often, too much description is wasted on minor characters and not enough attention is given to the dialogues. In particular, the EVIL Forsaken and their servants sound more like caricatures of movie villains than anything resembling a well-rounded, complex character. The usual complaints I've heard over the years from other readers about the repetitive physical tics (sniffing, braid tugging, and the like) would apply nicely to a few scenes here. It is unfortunate that the author failed to develop other ways to express his characters' emotional states, as after a while, the repetitive complaints about how X "knows women better than I do" or "Men!" or any other similar expression tends to numb some readers (or at the very least, this reader), leading to several dull moments within what should be a rollercoaster-style narrative.
Although these complaints really are endemic to the series as a whole, they do not affect my enjoyment of The Dragon Reborn. In fact, I would have to say out of the three novels read so far, my opinion of this one improved the most. It still contains several annoying flaws, but these don't impede the narrative flow and plot developments as much as I fear future volumes might (again, based on faint memory). It wouldn't surprise me to learn if it was around this point that several readers became ardent fans of the series, as there are enough intriguing developments that begin to veer away from the traditional quest narrative as to make me curious about how I'll receive the next three, mammoth volumes. No waning in interest so far.
8 comments:
This is, to me, the most fun of the 12 books, with the emergence of Mat, quality Perrin-Faile interactions, and finally learing about the mysterious Aiel. I also enjoyed the authorial conceit of calling the book The Dragon Reborn and then having him appear only at the beginning and end - the first broadening of scope that is the hallmark of the rest of the series.
One general comment - RJ's great strength is loading the story with plot critical details and then letting the reader figure it out for his or herself. It makes each book into a series of interlocking puzzles that become clearer and more enjoyable with every re-read. Hence the addiction that many WoT fans begin to feel as they pick up more and more of the subtleties buried in the text.
Glad you're doing this. Enjoy. Rob
- Lsrry said...
While I agree that this book was the most "fun" to read in terms of some character development (finally!) and action, I don't know if the broadening is necessarily a good thing for several readers. I am about 100 pages into The Shadow Rising and it's much more languid in pace. Perhaps it'll pick up.
Also, I'm not for sure if making this series so dependent on plot coupons (prophecies, Dreams, etc.) is a good thing for the structural integrity of the series. Will have to *ahem* (re)read and find out, I suppose ;)
Glad you're enjoying this and yes, so far this has been a more enjoyable exercise than I had anticipated.
Larry - RJ did some really interesting structural things with TSR (i.e., Perrin's arc thematically follows in a minor key Rand's major arc through use of consistent symbols, colors, etc.) Look for essays on the excellent and maniacally detailed Thirteenth Depository website to get the highlights. Rob
- Lsrry said...
I might later, Rob, but I'm trying my best not to consult other sources as I do my re-reads, lest they color my impressions too heavily. But I am quite familiar with the fine work that Linda and Dom do there, as I worked with them during the old wotmania days :D
Understood. I won't spoil the rest. Just looking forward to your takes on Shadow Rising and Fires of Heaven in particular. Rob
- bookrazy said...
I'm wondering if you're seeing any differences in style from book 3 to 4. For many, this is the point they got hooked to the books. For others, the expansion of the scope of the series had the opposite effect.
I'd especially like to see your thoughts on characterization pre and post tDR.
- Lsrry said...
I hope to have the TSR writeup up by sometime tomorrow, if not later tonight. I'm currently about halfway through it.
And yes, I've noticed that switch and I'll be addressing it at length. Not as enjoyable this time around. Much of the commentary will indeed focus on that shift and not just my perspective, but also on why I suspect many fans enjoy the work.
- Amy said...
Again, I agree with most of your thoughts here. I enjoyed this one more than book 2, but not as much as I did book 1. I kind of like how each of the three boys thinks that the other two are better than he is with women, but it does get very repetitive the way it is done. And the braid tugging and constant exclamations about men is very very annoying.
The way the prophecies work in too is a little annoying to me. I mean, rather than things just happening, they purposely work toward fulfilling them. Also, the Forsaken and their dreaming really bothered me. Obviously if they are that powerful and in the know they would KNOW that their dreams aren't being shielded. It seemed odd to me that all three would 'forget' to do so?
I do seem to remember from previously that the first three books were the best, so I'm a little hesitant to get to book 4 now!


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Viewing Fax History in Fax Thru Email
Fax Thru Email tracks your incoming and outgoing fax history to review and sort. You can view this information in the application from the History tab.
To View Your Fax History
- Log in to your Fax Thru Email account.
- Click History, or under Account Overview, see your five most recent faxes. Click View all history, which also shows your entire history.
- (Optional) To narrow the fax history list — from the Show: drop-down list, you can select the criteria you want to view: all, sent, received, or blocked.
- (Optional) To change the number of history items that display — from the Display drop-down list, select the number of items you want to display on the page.
Note: Faxes sent from a number on your Blacklist are blocked. The status displays as blocked, zero minutes, and zero pages. Toll-free accounts are not charged for blocked transmissions.
Understanding Fax Statuses
- Incoming faxes display the following statuses:
Successful — fax received and forwarded
Failed — not forwarded due to account status
Blocked — not forwarded due to sending number being blacklisted.
- Outgoing faxes display the following statuses:
Pending — starting transmission process
Failed — failed to send
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Partial — fax in process and the remaining portion of the fax is in queue to be sent
Incomplete — partial transmission sent, ending in error
Complete — fax sent successfully


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More on the Venus/Saturn/Neptune t-square.
The word "epistemology" comes from the Greek "episteme" which means a "knowledge or acquaintance with something." It also means, "skill or experience." Add the "ology" and you get something like, "the study of knowledge, skill, and experience." Unfortunately most people speak of epistemology in purely philosophical terms, as "the study of knowledge," and even worse the "episteme" part of the word gets reduced to its most analytical sounding component, "knowledge."
But even with the science or study of "knowledge," we're generally not ACknowledging the deeper and more mysterious resonance of the word that is the subject/object of study. The word knowledge has a variety of root associations, including "honoring something superior or worship," and even more interesting, "to have sexual intercourse with."
So, using these deeper meanings as our guide for the moment, what can we say about our "theories of knowledge," or put more simply, our "beliefs?" We might say that each set of beliefs, each piece of knowledge we carry, is to some extent the distilled or rarefied expression of our experiences. Stranger: whatever knowledge we carry is also sexual experience. Our knowledge and beliefs reflect the kind of "intercourse" we've been having with the world: environments, people, culture, geography, race, religion, gender, etc.
Our curiosity to learn more about other people, other parts of the world, other beliefs, other ways of seeing, doing, or believing, is also a sexual curiosity. To know anything involves an intimacy that we can't help but experience as sexual, even if only on a psychic level.
Right now, many of our relationships are reflecting back to us the nature of our beliefs or knowledge...the accumulated experiences, their differences or similarities, which in turn are reflecting different sexual orientations, styles, aesthetic values, or curiosities.
We're so hooked on the OLOGY part of epistemology, that we forget that experience, deep sexually intimate experiences with the world around us, are inseparable from the logical or intellectual comparisons between "systems of knowledge or belief." In fact, we're so hooked on the OLOGY piece of it that many people throw it right out the window. "What do you believe?" we ask someone. And they say, "Well, I'm spiritual not religious," which is a way of saying, "My mind and body is sexually intimate with a lot of ideas and experiences, and putting them into one particular system would close the door to more of those experiences, so I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious."
Even when people choose things like "universalism" or "oneness," but then embrace hugely contradictory metaphysical ideas or ways of seeing or thinking, most people sort of nod and smile because we each "acknowledge" that these all inclusive notions are just more ways of honoring the experiential nature of the soul...the love or the making loveness of life.
The problem with all of this (not that it's always a problem) comes when reflecting on the fact that so many of these all inclusive faith or knowledge statements originate from an overly dichotomized view of dichotomies themselves. Because we don't want to shut ourselves down to the ongoing love making of experience (which is how we feel real knowledge is made), we react too strongly to the idea of systems or theories of knowledge all together. Granted that this is usually because so many of the theories or systems of knowledge DENY the ongoing experiential nature of truth, but nonetheless we tend to react to these rigid systems by closing down our imaginations to the value or beauty of such systems across the board.
It's sort of like saying, "Just because monogamy can be a really shitty institutional form of relating, doesn't mean it's useless or bad. Just because systems of knowledge or truth are often repressive, doesn't mean they are ONLY repressive."
Staying "open," therefore is sometimes more like "the dogma of non-commitment," which can be another way of saying "selfishness" or "defensiveness." Staying "all inclusive," is sometimes more like, "the dogma of indifference or apathy."
Isn't it true that Picasso committed to the color "Blue" for a brilliant moment of his painting career? Hemingway the simple sentence? Bowie to Ziggy Stardust? Prince to Jehovah's witnesses? Dickinson to her attic view? Or Madonna to the virgin and the whore?
Isn't it possible to commit very deeply to someone, something, some way of seeing or knowing, without denying the ongoing and radically open nature of experience? Don't we see the paradox all around us, and isn't there something refreshing about epistemological commitment? Don't we also admire statements of belief, commitments to schools of thought or traditions, doctrines, dogmas, lineages, apprenticeships, specialties, styles and subjects?
Don't we eventually clarify our tastes, needs, and abilities in between the sheets of life?
The distaste that people often have for polyamory (not trying to pick on polyamory now) is the same distaste that people have for universalism or oneness. While it works for some people, there is also strange dogma or insistence upon the "radically open and without monogmaous commitment of any kind," that rubs people the wrong way, like the person you sleep with who makes you feel like you're just another person on a long list of lays that are mostly impersonal.
Our intellectual and spiritual commitments are begging to be made from the place of natural selection...from the most organic and soulful places convalescing into shapes and colors and styles...just as much an aesthetic as a "belief." Like Picasso's blue or Madonna's cone stabbing bras in the 80's. Universalism isn't always the answer because Universalism is like an intellectual (rather than aesthetic) rejection of a non-aesthetic way of being.
The truth is that we like laying in bed with some gods more than others. Some ideas penetrate us more than others. Some seduce and take our mental pants off more than others. Some hold and nurture us more than others. We can't avoid this process of differentiation if we want to grow in truth. Because truth is like the development of the thousand wings and colors of a single peacock's tail. Truth grows and changes all the time, and commitments to particular truths, especially the kind that naturally exclude others, are just as important to the soul's individuation as any all inclusive faith statement.
Right now we're looking eye to eye with each other, and any of these questions or concerns might be present:
* Do you know the same things I know and is that make or break?
* Are we capable of creating a compatible reality?
* Are we sexually compatible on the deepest level?
* Is this environment stimulating enough for my soul?
* Do I have enough faith, do I need more, or is my ambivalence just fine?
* Does he/she/this group really see me or experience me as I am?
* Am I desired or desirable exactly as I am?
* In what ways are my beliefs changing based on new experiences I'm having?
* What compromises am I willing to make in my relationships based on what I believe or what my experiences have led me to value?
* What am I missing or longing for in terms of the conversations or relationships happening in my life right now?
Prayer: Commitment isn't something that can stop new experiences. Commitment is a kind of experience itself. Help us to understand this, and lead us toward our soul's deepest commitments in this moment.
image courtesy of creative commons: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkcotton/


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Cooking prime rib roast: a revelation
What's the best way to cook a standing rib roast?
The standing rib roast, aka prime rib, is the king of roast beefs. A choice roast sells for $10 to $15 a pound; a prime roast can go for up to $25 a pound. (The "prime" in "prime rib" refers to the cut of meat; it does not signify that the meat has been graded prime by the USDA.) With such an expensive cut of meat, you want to be sure you don't mess it up.
Until recently, I'd been a high-heat roaster, starting my beef in a 450-degree ove, then turning it down to 350 for the duration. Over the years, I'd heard tell of folks roasting the meat at a very low temperature for a very long time, but I'd always been turned off by the recipes because they invariably started with browning the meat in a pan before roasting it. I understood the reasoning: meat cooked at a low temperature never browns, and who wants to eat a rib roast that lacks a crisp, crackling, brown crust?
But who wants to sear an irregularly shaped seven-pound roast in a pan on the stovetop? Not me.
Then, I came across a recipe on chow.com that cut the Gordian knot. It has you roasting the meat at 200 degrees for 4 to 6 hours, and instead of browning the meat before roasting, you brown it just before serving. I tried the recipe recently, and it worked like a dream. Instead of the usual medium-well exterior and rare center, the meat was a uniformly pink medium-rare throughout. It gave up virtually no juice when carved -- all the juice stayed in the meat.
I am a changed woman, and I offer my adaptation of the recipe herewith.
Bear in mind that this recipe requires a meat thermometer, preferably an instant-read or an electronic probe thermometer, the former available for less than $10; the latter, less than $20.
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 cloves garlic, pressed (optional)
1 (3-bone) standing beef rib roast (6 to 8 pounds)
1. The night before you plan to serve the roast, combine the salt, pepper and garlic (if using). Smear the mixture all over the meat. Place the roast on a large plate or baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
2. The next day, remove the roast from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour. (The longer it stays out, the shorter the cooking time will be.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and arrange a rack in the lower third. Place the roast -- fat-side up, bones-down -- on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan. It's important that air circulate around the meat while it cooks so you may have to elevate the rack by placing 4 scrunched-up balls of aluminum foil underneath it. Roast until the center reaches 120 degrees, about 4 to 6 hours.
3. Place the roasting pan on a wire rack, tent the roast loosely with foil and set aside for an hour. During this rest, the meat will continue to cook and the juices will settle evenly throughout the roast. Go ahead and cook anything else you're serving. About 30 minutes before dinner, increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.
4. Take the foil tent and crumble it into a ball. Place the ball under the bones of the roast to prop up the less-exposed area of fat. Roast at 450 degrees until a dark brown crust forms over the entire top surface, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the roast to a cutting board and carve immediately; it does not need to rest again. To carve, carefully cut the meat away from the rib bones in one piece, then slice into 1/2-inch portions. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Mea Culpa, Modena
In a recent column, I wrote that "Modena, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, is famous for two things: the aged elixir known as balsamic vinegar and Luciano Pavarotti." Shortly thereafter, I got an email from Nick Saridakis of Hampton Bays that informed me I had "committed a terrible omission." Modena, he wrote, "is at least equally famous for being the area where Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis are built. I know they're only cars, but to a substantial number of people around the world, Modena is something like hallowed ground."
Point taken.


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hehehe..thankx for the suport bro..
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nice design!
hey thanks for the comment man!
so,... what's up lately in Denmark?
A lot of action in Copenhagen huh?
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I run a company maybe we can get together and make something happen! firstname.lastname@example.com
hi how are you?, fine? … well just wanted to say hello and invite you to support my new design for Halloween, thanks for the care see you soon! http://www.designbyhumans.com/vote/detail/62997
Gracias por tu voto! Thanks!!
In " la giraffe", I say that my son is obsessed by the giraffes. And it is contagious me.
Sorry but I don´t speak english very well and I use a traductor.
Thanks you so much for your feedback on my design! =)
Thanks for your kind words, K-19! I made it to Top 4 and will be grateful for your support again:)
Thanks so much for support!
thanks for the coment….you hav very cool works too…...
hey, I was on emptees and saw this. Somebody straight jacked your design. They don't even come close to pulling it off though, but still thought you'd want to know
dude I got your suit up shirt when they reprinted it and I rock it all the time and every is always like sick shirt, where did you get it? you need to crank out some more designs
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please check my first one here and if you like vote : )P thanks!
Bright ideas +1!
Please return the favor and vote for my entry for the Kings of Leon contest.
Mind giving my latest submission a look?
Thanks! =D
thanks for commenting k-19! hope to see more of your designs!
Congrats on the win!


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Featured Articles
Famine Fear Won't Change Minds on GM Crops21 June 2014
A sack-hauling time traveler from the 21st century lands in an Irish potato field in 1849, just before a terrible famine, and asks: If you thought genetically modified potatoes could avert late blight disease, spare a million countrymen from starvation and keep another million from emigrating off the Emerald Isle, would you plant these newfangled spuds?
Fast forward to the Internet Age, when communication researchers ran 859 U.S. grocery shoppers through a similar thought experiment: Half the subjects in an online survey read the story of the 1850s Irish Potato Famine, learning the potential impact of fungal Phytophthora infestans on potato and tomato crops today. The other 400-plus pondered generic plant disease, with no mention of specific crops or historic famines.
"Stories of the Irish Potato Famine were no more likely to boost support for disease-resistant genetically modified crops than were our generic crop-disease descriptions," said Katherine A. McComas, professor and chair of Cornell's Department of Communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
"Preconceived views about risks and benefits of agricultural genetic engineering – and perceptions about the fairness and legitimacy of the decision-making process – these things matter most," McComas said.
With co-authors John C. Besley (Michigan State University) and Joseph Steinhardt (Cornell), McComas will publish study results as "Factors influencing U.S. consumer support for genetic modification to prevent crop disease" in the July 2014 journal Appetite – right about the time airborne P. infestansspores are drifting through home-garden tomato crops.
"If you think genetically modified crops are dangerous 'frankenfoods' and/or that crop disease is best controlled with chemicals – if you suspect federal regulators care more about Big Ag's interests than your family's, thus the whole game is rigged – plaintive tales of historical famines won't change your mind about genetic modification for disease resistance," McComas said.


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Network Transformation tag
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Partnering is Key to Successful Network Transformations
One of the things that will characterize 2015 is the trend that started picking up momentum in 2014 that operators of physical communications networks have developed a sense of urgency about transforming their networks. It used to be that if you were a network operator you could invest with some level of assurance that the hardware and the associated software to run it would be core to your network for possible decades before becoming obsolete. However, as everyone in the industry knows, this is no longer the case.
As the world becomes more software-centric in terms of service creation, delivery, agility, security and performance— to meet the tsunami of data heading operator's way and to allow network operators to maintain their relevance as ecosystem hubs rather than "dumb pipe" providers—cost efficient and effective operational excellence and the need to be fast-to-market and fast in the market with innovative services and enhanced customer experiences have become paramount. It is why so much attention is being paid to thing like Software-Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (VFV).
The need for speed has become (pardon the turn of phrase) hyper-critical. However, with recognition of the need to transform and do so rapidly should also come the recognition that network operators cannot transform rapidly and successfully on their own...


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Mission Mart to move to Sangamon Street
Sweet Home Ministries expands efforts in Lincoln
Send a link to a friend
[January 13, 2014]
BLOOMINGTON — Home Sweet Home
Ministries has purchased a new building in Lincoln in a step to seek
out greater partnership with businesses and organizations in the
community. The building is at 119 N. Sangamon St.
"We have been
part of the business community of Lincoln for 20 years, and we have
seen that Lincoln is a community with a multitude of assets to deal
with homelessness and poverty. Home Sweet Home Ministries wants to
be part of the solutions that Lincoln is already providing,"
explains Matt Burgess, chief operating officer at Home Sweet Home.
"Home Sweet Home wants to develop resources in the Lincoln and Logan
County area that can help meet the needs of individuals and families
in that community."
At Thanksgiving, Home Sweet Home Ministries raised funds at the
Lincoln Mission Mart that went to support the community outreach
efforts of Open Arms Christian Fellowship in Lincoln. The outreach
helped provide a Thanksgiving meal to hundreds of Lincoln citizens.
[to top of second column]
Home Sweet Home Ministries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit,
nondenominational Christian organization serving homeless and
low-income families in the Bloomington-Normal area through a variety
of programs. Home Sweet Home operates the Mission Mart Thrift Stores
in Bloomington and Lincoln. Home Sweet Home provides numerous
services 24 hours daily, 365 days a year, and has been since 1917.
For more information, visit
[Text from file received from
Home Sweet Home Ministries]
Past related articles
Open Arms & Mission Mart partner for 2nd
annual Thanksgiving meal
Hundreds benefits from Open Arms
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