text:
As a young boy, Sanjay Mahboobani was a passionate reader. He travelled through time with Jack and Annie in the Magic Tree House series, and devoured each and every Harry Potter book as soon as it hit the local bookstore.
But as he got older, Sanjay, who lives in Redondo Beach, CA, began to lose interest in reading — he turned away from books along with his trucks, stuffed animals, and other childish things. Now that Sanjay is in high school, he rarely reads for pleasure. "I prefer playing video games or basketball or even hanging out with my friends," he says.
Sanjay is just one example of a trend that education experts are observing with growing alarm: large numbers of boys aren't reading, and this fact is contributing to a daunting achievement gap between boys and girls.
The gender achievement gap
The facts are stark: in every state and in every grade, boys are trailing behind girls in reading, according to a 2010 report by the Center on Education Policy, which called this lag, "the most pressing gender-gap issue facing our schools."
Experts believe this gap is responsible for another disturbing development: as college completion rates continue to rise in this country, young men are not keeping up. Since the early 1990s, college graduation rates have steadily increased for women but remained stagnant for men. Only about 40 percent of college graduates last year were male — a difference that many education experts believe is linked to poor reading habits and literacy skills that boys developed in the elementary and middle school grades.
The lag in boys' reading skills is consistent from the early grades through high school. Since the beginning of the National Assessment of Education Progress in the late 1960s, there has been a gender gap in reading, which is measured at ages 9, 13, and 17.
In 2004, the gap at fourth grade had narrowed to only five points, but then grew back to eight points in 2008. The gap is the largest in high school at 11 points.
While boys today have many more beguiling alternatives to books than they did in the past — including video games, television, and social media — experts say boys' lack of enthusiasm for reading is not a new phenomenon. Sarah Flowers, a librarian for more than 20 years in Santa Clara County, CA, says that she's always found boys more challenging than girls when it comes to finding books that interest them. Journalist Peg Tyre says the issue really began hundreds of years ago. In her book, The Trouble with Boys, she points out that three centuries ago John Locke, "lamented that male students were not able to write as well as female students, and he marveled at how much more easily girls picked up foreign languages."
As boys progress toward college, their reading deficits can hamper their success in other subject areas as well, educators say. Susan Tobia, the assistant vice president for academic affairs at the Community College of Philadelphia, sees the fallout of low reading achievement when boys enter their freshman year of college. Students who have spent less time reading are at a disadvantage when reading becomes a significant part of the program, she says: "College-level classes require critical thinking and reflection, and many of our students are struggling with basic comprehension."
It's not only college courses but our contemporary job market that demands high-level reading and writing skills, Tyre points out. Forty years ago there were plenty of employment opportunities for boys who didn't read or write well. But over the last several decades, jobs for unskilled workers have been outsourced overseas. "There are no illiterate scientists, tech geeks, and engineers," writes Tyre. "Kids can't do well in math and science unless they have a strong grounding in reading and writing. But as educators have been making these grand discoveries — and creating literacy-soaked curricula in response — boys have been losing ground in the very skills we now know are paramount.
Why Johnny doesn't read
Experts cite a number of different factors to explain the crisis of boys and reading.
Today's accelerated academic demands have been hard on boys, who tend to develop more slowly than girls do, according to journalist Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind.
"The world has gotten more verbal; boys haven't," Whitmire writes. "To prepare students for a more sophisticated economy, educators wisely pushed a tougher curriculum down through the grades. Preschoolers today are confronted with challenges first graders faced twenty years ago. On the surface, that makes sense, but educators overlooked the fact that young boys aren't wired for early verbal challenges." As a result, many boys fall behind in the early grades — and never catch up.
Boys' initial developmental delays are often compounded by the way many schools approach reading. As boys reach fourth and fifth grade, the texts that they are reading become more challenging — and no longer have pictures. But boys often don't receive the support they need to understand or interpret what they're reading, so they think they aren't as smart as they used to be and begin to see themselves as non-readers.
At the same time, boys and girls approach reading in fundamentally different ways. Girls are more likely to enjoy relating to characters in books and often equate fiction with reading for pleasure. Boys, on the other hand, "want an immediate function for what they read and learn," says Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, a professor of English education at Boise State University in Idaho. His books on the topic include Reading Don't Fix No Chevys and You Gotta BE the Book. Boys need to feel a sense of competence or developing competence, and if reading doesn't contribute to that then they won't see much point in it. This is part of "staking their identity," according to Wilhelm.
Tobia, for example, noted that her own nephew was a reluctant reader until he wanted to learn how to do magic tricks. Then he couldn't put the instruction manual down.
Reading experts also point out that since the majority of teachers are women, they tend to assign books that are more compelling for girls; meanwhile, boys get negatives messages from parents and teachers alike about the reading material they gravitate toward, which can often be magazines, graphic novels, and books that feature gory scenes or gross humor.
There's also the issue of role models: if a boy's father doesn't read and he's encouraged to read by his mother and by his (mostly female) teachers, he'll likely begin to see reading as something girls do. Overall, women read more than men, according to the Pew Research Center. Women are significantly more likely than men to read fiction: a study by the National Endowment of the Arts found that in 2008, for example, 41.9 percent of men reported reading literature, versus 58 percent of women. (Men are slightly more likely than women to be daily readers of current events, according to the Pew findings.)
By the time boys get to high school, large numbers are lagging behind and losing interest in reading; for many, high school reading requirements are the final straw. Says tenth grader Sanjay Mahboobani, "The huge workload that teachers give us for every book is the root of our hatred of reading."
Wilhelm agrees. "School actually kills engagement in reading for many boys," he says.
The siren song of the screen
Some parents and teachers blame video games for contributing to boys' lower achievement in reading and writing, and now there is some evidence to support that theory. A 2010 study by Robert Weis, a psychology professor at Denison University in Granville, OH, found a link between the use of video game systems and lower reading and writing scores. The research showed that video games were "displacing" other after-school activities that might have had more educational value.
Of course, video games aren't the only electronic entertainment vying for boys' attention. Computers, phones, iPads, and other mobile devices all keep boys connected to games, videos, friends, and other distractions — everything but reading.
Many parents wonder if shutting off the screens would motivate boys to pick up a book instead. Weis' advice to parents is to work toward creating some balance between reading and the activities boys consider more fun.
"I don't think there is much promise in blaming video games," adds Wilhelm. "We have to find out why they are engaging to kids and then bridge from this to other activities that will also be rewarding for them."
Teachers, he suggests, need to adopt a similar approach, and, for example, assign activities and projects related to the book the class is reading, instead of expecting them to enjoy sitting and talking about the book.
Wilhelm also points out that boys "experience video games as stories," and suggests that schools figure out ways to use the games as a resource to get them interested in narrative.
Teens like Sanjay Mahboobani not only find gaming more exciting than reading, they say it's more social, too. "Reading is more of an individual hobby," he says, "and I like to be with a group of people rather than by myself."
Approaching reading in different ways
Some ways to encourage boys to read:
Set an example by being a reader. Jeffrey Wilhelm recommends that parents — especially dads — read a variety of different materials to convey the message that reading is a way to learn about all different aspects of the world.
Don't reject what boys are reading. If boys get a negative reaction every time they open a graphic novel or a book filled with gore or off-color humor, they'll stop opening books altogether. Expand your definition of reading. Magazines, blogs, websites, comic books, and other materials are often more interesting to boys than classic novels because they feature shorter chunks of text, which are more appealing to many boys.
Take advantage of technology. Some boys are more interested in reading if they can use a Kindle or an iPad. Books made for these devices sometimes have interactive features and a boy might not be turned off by the length of the book if he can't actually see the number of pages remaining. Some boys also prefer audiobooks.
Make connections through reading. If a boy is interested in cars or sports, for example, look for articles and books on these subjects, and discuss them with him after he's read them.


text:
This happened to me twice while trying to watch a demo in the user levels replay box. No idea if it's a bug with N or with NReality.
I'm aware that I'm using a slightly older verison of NReality
Edit - It seems to happen if you try to watch the replay before the user levels load.
Need help getting the classic version of the ninja game to work? Ask here. Find a bug? Tell us here.
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Izzy and TRO - #n-highscores: <@Izzy> Where'd those frames come from? | <TRO> meta's ninja runs faster | <@Izzy> He stole TFK'S?!
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Your edit is correct. No clue why it happens though.
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text:
This Monday, Lamborghini was nice enough to invite me to participate in their Lamborghini Esperienza, which I believe is Italian for "let's make sure our cars won't explode if we put a dipshit in them." Happily, they don't, and even better, I learned a bunch of stuff about Aventadors I'd like to share with you.
We've actually covered the Lamborghini Aventador pretty well here at House Jalop already: Mike got to go to Rome and try the beast on a track when it first came out, and then he got a crack at the roadster for a full review. Later, Travis took one on a road trip to some wedding in a desperate attempt to either get the bride to leave with him or convince everyone he was some kind of sheik or ambassador or something. I wasn't really listening.
The point is, the basics of this remarkable, house-priced car are pretty well covered, so I need to bring you dashing readers something new. I'm sure an Aventador is on everyone's list for potential next cars (right between full-size locomotive on rubber tires and since I'm dreaming, a fucking robot unicorn) so I wanted to try and give you some bits of information about the car the more comprehensive reviews may have missed.
Let's see what we've got here:
• It's the best new car for kidnappers.
Hands down, if you're a kidnapper, or at least interested in pursuing kidnapping as a career, you can stop looking right now. The Aventador coupé is by far the best car to use to kidnap people.
Why? Great question, kidnapper. That's the inquisitiveness that makes you so damn good at what you do. The key, of course, is in the trunk — or, specifically, what's not in the trunk: an emergency release handle.
See, since 2002, all new cars have to have an internal, glow-in-the-dark trunk release. Even for trunks you'd never think could fit a person, like a Tesla frunk or a RamBox. But they all do, making them useless for the kidnapper that wants to buy new. Except for the Aventador.
See, the Aventador has this little flimsy, removable divider that is the loophole to having to include an internal trunk release. Not only is there no release handle, you can't even reach any of the latch components, making all traditional trunk-escape methods obsolete. If you're in an Aventador trunk, you're boned.
I think the trunk can fit a fetal-positioned person probably up to about 5'5" or so and about 140 lbs or so. That covers almost all kids and a lot of women and it's even alarmingly not too far from my own dimensions. Plus, the fact that it's a Lambo makes it far easier to attract victims than some tired old Econoline with "free candy" Sharpie'd on the side.
• The brakes defy physics
I got to do an awful lot of fun track stuff with the car — in addition to many laps of the track at Fontana, there was also a slalom, acceleration test, and a panic/emergency stop area. While I was hugely impressed with the car's grip, handling, and power, the brakes may be the most shocking component.
I'm not exactly sure what or how they're doing it, but those 6-piston carbon ceramic brakes are doing some unholy conversion of speed into heat and pheromones. On the emergency brake test, you stop from about 50 MPH to 0 in the space of what I swear is no longer than some dining room tables I've seen.
My brain couldn't quite process what was happening, since it's such a radically different set of experiences than what I'm used to. You keep mapping out a normal-physics stopping distance in your head and then you find yourself, at rest, staring at that point in the distance.
It's strange and powerful, and I'm pretty sure it employs some of the blackest magic. Maybe they have a little quantum singularity mounted in a box on the frame that alters the laws of physics in a small sphere around the car. Because I've never seen anything Aventador-sized, moving so fast, stop so quickly.
• It has the smallest storage compartment known to man
They must have really been going for all the superlatives here, because when it comes to inability to store pretty much anything, this little center-console compartment in the Aventador has them all beat. It's impressive.
It houses the cigarette lighter 12V socket, and I saw it used to hold the proximity key, which pretty much maxed out the bin, save for maybe a half-deck of cards. It's carpeted inside, which is a bold move, since that carpet probably ate up a good 25% of the available vertical space.
While any normal human-scaled sunglasses won't fit in there, you could use it as a very handy sunglass crusher, by simply placing the glasses in the bin and attempting to close the lid, applying mild pressure until you hear that satisfying 'crunch.'
• With engine lid up, it looks like a Sea Monkey
Here, see for yourself. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and could suggest some compelling advertising tie-ins.
• There actually is a chance in hell you maybe could drive it even though it costs as much as a house
I'm not saying it's a good chance, but it's something, and it's through the same program via which I got to try the car, the Lamborghini Esperienza. Remember, this is a $400,000 car making about 700 HP and it sure as hell doesn't drive like most cars you're used to. It's painfully exclusive, and that's all by design. Half the point of why people buy these is because it's so hard for anyone to actually even get near one.
Even so, Lamborghini does have this program in place to let you get behind the wheel of an Aventador, on a track, with real, highly skilled instructors, most of whom have Italian accents that make being told you have no talent for racing sound so very sexy.
The program is an invite-only thing, and is usually for prospective or current Lambo owners — but not always. A number of people at the event I attended managed to get there via various other means, and I'm sure a determined gear head with a local Lambo dealer could figure out something.
Lamborghini's program is like a pyramid scheme (well, in that they use a triangular diagram) that starts with the Esperienza and goes to a more intense racing academy, and then on up to their one-make "Gentleman Racer" Super Trofeo, and then on to a point where you're racing for a living.
So, it's probably really expensive, and you'll have to cozy up to some Lambo-connected people, but I think it's at least possible. Which is more than you can say for a lot of cars in this class.
• It shifts like a robot trying to start some shit with you
The shifts on the 7-speed paddle/robot controlled gearbox are incredibly fast — like 50ms fast. And when you shift, it feels like a huge robot standing behind you just gave you a massive kick in the kidneys with his big, cast-titanium foot.
It doesn't feel like any regular road or sports car shift — it's more like gravity shutting off for one incredibly brief moment, and then starting up with an angry lurch.
It's pretty fun, and further evidence that this is not a car to enjoy a Slurpee in.
• For most buyers, it's their fifth fucking car
Want to feel like an insignificant, broke-ass loser? Of course you do. So get this — for most Aventador buyers, the Aventador is their fifth car. That's 5th, as in there's four other freaking cars these people own. There's almost no daily driver Aventadors, cars that a normal but-still-pretty-well-to-do person could save up years for and buy and drive to work every day and use and love. These are almost all sold into fleets.
I'd like to think that most of those fleets consist of four AMC Hornets and then the Aventador, but their market research doesn't really support that.
I hope these little snippets add something to your appreciation of the car, even if the vast majority of us will never get a chance to own one of these outside of pulling one out of the rubble after the Giant Monkeys come or something.
They really are remarkable cars in almost every driving characteristic, and getting some track time in one was an amazing experience. It has the brutality of a Viper, but with more refinement and controllability than a look at the raw numbers would suggest. Too bad most of these are locked away in rich guy garages, where you know they're dreaming about a simpler life with almost any of you delightful readers.
We can dream, right?


text:
If you had any doubt that Nooks, Kindles, iPads, and even smartphones were radically changing the habits of American readers, give it up. So says a report, "The rise of e-reading," published yesterday by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, and it has a mountain of facts to back up that claim.
One in five Americans read an e-book within the past year. About 43 percent of American adults say that they have either read a book or other long-form content (magazines, journals, or news stories) in the past year on an e-reader, a tablet, a computer or a cellphone. And 28 percent of Americans own at least one device for e-reading, either a tablet or an e-reader. Not only that, but the people who read e-books, many of whom also read printed books, are reading more than ever, even more than people who read the old-fashioned way. The average reader of e-books claims to have read 24 books in the last year, compared with an average of 15 books read by those who read only print. And this all happened before J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books were available as e-books.
Publishers have reason to be thrilled by these findings. People reading more? What's not to like? Booksellers in brick-and-mortar stores and librarians, on the other hand, can take little comfort in the statistics. Most people buy their e-books online, and they do buy most of what they like to read (the exception: audiobooks are big with library patrons—61 percent of those who listen to audiobooks prefer to borrow them). And e-book readers don't share (not because they're selfish, obviously, but because it's difficult to transfer an e-book from your device to mine).
According to the Pew study, the percentage of people who read printed books still dwarfs the percentage of e-reading folk. Some 72 percent of American adults say they read a book last year, compared with 17 percent who said they read an e-book. But that was in December. When Pew did another canvas in February, the number who said they'd read an e-book jumped up to 21 percent (it was a big Christmas for e-readers of all kinds). There are, according to the report, "four times more people reading e-books on a typical day now than was the case less than two years ago."
As for those who read both electronically and the old-fashioned way, they said they preferred e-books when they wanted a book in a hurry, when they were traveling or commuting, and when they were looking for a broad selection. Print won out when it was a question of sharing books with others or reading to children. As for reading in bed, 45 percent liked to do it with an e-book and 43 percent preferred printed books.
But how's this for strange: 42 percent of e-book readers read their e-books on a computer, and 29 percent read e-books on their cellphones, proof enough that people will read books on just about any type of device, a fact with far-reaching implications: this week Worldreader, a U.S. nonprofit literacy agency, launched a beta version of an app for non-smartphones, or feature phones, which account for 70 percent of the mobile phones sold worldwide. Worldreader hopes to use the technology—an option that barely existed a decade ago—to bring free e-books to children and families in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world.
The section of the Pew report on why people read what they read is slightly suspect, only because you suspect that people answer surveys about reading the same way they answer surveys about sex—that is, they lie. According to the report, 80 percent of Americans over 16 say they read at least occasionally for pleasure and 36 percent say they read for pleasure every day, while 78 percent say they read at least occasionally to keep up with current events and 50 percent say they do so daily or almost every day. But note this: if people are lying, they aren't lying as much as they were in 1978, when 13 percent of the respondents in a Gallup survey claimed to have read 50 or more books in the previous year (the December 2011 Pew study found only 5 percent of the responders willing to make that claim). The number of people who said they'd read no books (or didn't know or refused to answer) in the last year jumped from 12 percent in 1978 to 22 percent in 2011.
But on one tantalizing question, the report has little to say: are e-books expanding the market for books or are they simply cannibalizing an existing market? Are all those e-book fans just old print fans in new outfits? According to Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet Project, because the e-book era has barely begun, it's still too early for a definitive answer. "We really won't know for sure what's happening to the size of the book-reader population for another couple of years," he says, while pointing out that, according to long-term data, "there seem to be fewer book readers now, but those who are book readers are reading a bit more, at least compared with early 2000s."
One thing is certain, though. Readers are not a touchy-feely bunch. Only 2 percent mentioned the physical aspects of a printed book—the way it feels, looks, or smells—as a primary pleasure.


text:
About this Charm/Pendant
Rembrandt Charms Sterling Silver Windsurfer Charm. A perfect gift for the windsurfer in your life.
Sterling Silver
Rembrandt Charms is World-renowned for superb craftsmanship and a stunning collection featuring thousands of charm styles. Rembrandt is a family-owned business that has been designing and manufacturing charms and charm bracelets for over 40 years. Each charm style comes in five different precious metals: sterling silver, gold plate, 10k yellow gold, 14k yellow gold, and 14k white gold.
This would be good for…
- Christmas present
- Birthday gift
- Just because gift


text:
To your pancake, add butter, syrup or whipped cream, as you like it.
Edit: One of the characters in Shakespeare's "As You Like It" was Orlando de Boys.
To your pancake, add butter, syrup or whipped cream, as you like it.
Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via a chain of thought, or an internet search) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.
You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.
Not clear- do we drop the last letter on the city too?ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
Same here. Well known city.Delete
(From end of last week's string)
A little trickery with this week's puzzle. And Will deserves a Tony award for acting like he didn't realize there were two answers last week.
I found this not a puzzle to figure out, but to look up, using lists.ReplyDelete
Yeah, Just a job of perusing lists looking for a pattern.Delete
26 states with an odd number of letters.
3 states that have the property.
Cities? -- left to the reader.
Yes. I have the 3 states and a city in each of those states...Delete
That's what I did 🔤Delete
I have two cities in one state, plus the intended answer.
Thanks Blaine! Went back and found the third state.Delete
CORRECTION: I think you drop the last letter of the city. At least I did and I found a very simple answer. Interestingly, there is a secondary answer from a different state and, although the city there is hardly major, it is named after a major world city.
There is a second answer from the second state that fits the pattern but it only what I would call a small town that I have never heard of before.Delete
May we repeat state postal abbreviations?ReplyDelete
Good thinking about the two sets of answers - I hope WS will mention both of them when he gives the answers next week. Both sets have the valid properties – but the "majorness" of the city in the second answer (not the city it is named for) could invalidate that answer.ReplyDelete
No unused clues in this week's On Air Challenge.ReplyDelete
Enjoying Blaine's breakfast, then going out to play.ReplyDelete
WS certainly has a funny character! He kids.
Is the city part of a different state?
I have nailed two different States and two different Cities in each State.ReplyDelete
Not that bad a puzzle. But like some other players have found, I don't doubt there are multiple answers.
I wonder if this week only, would Will Shortz accept snail mail??
Very easy. I project that there will be over 1,000 correct entries to this puzzle.ReplyDelete
I have three states and three cities, two easily major and one not.
I guess that there are several more "not" but worth looking for.
I have three states, but have not found the city of one of the states, yet.Delete
There's also a city that shares its name with a state in one of the three states. That would have been a fun puzzle.Delete
This comment has been removed by the author.Delete
Yep! So far I have come up with 10 legitimate answers if one stop light towns were included. I should get a life.Delete
Three states and up to 7 towns so far – plus the one that shares its name with one of the states. Thanks, WW.Delete
I just received an email from a friend in that city and state and never connected the dots! This can be tricky if one does not follow the rules.ReplyDelete
Some country and city names have the property that if you remove their last letter you get a series of country postal abbreviations. Can you name a country and major city in that country that both have this property?
I got a little flustered with this morning's puzzle. Focusing on states or cities lists was just not helping. Finally, when I re-read the list of states, the answer appeared. Duh :)ReplyDelete
Opinion - I found a solution in which a postal abbreviation repeats in the city and the state. That doesn't violate the rule about the city and state names being different, correct? (Meaning, if the puzzle were about countries, the answer couldn't be France, France, if there were a city in France called "France") What think you?ReplyDelete
Meant to prohibit Oklahoma City, Oklahoma or Kansas City, Kansas if either of those would have fit the pattern.
BridgeWAter, IoWA could be used repeating the WA for Washington state. Of course the rest of the words don't fit the requirements.
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
It's been awhile since we've had more than half a dozen female posters here at Blainesville.ReplyDelete
really !!
No, MF, not whining, just observing.Delete
WW, have wondered about some of the names that could be either gender. Personally I like the idea of the board being coed.Delete
Yes, MC, I've wondered that, too. Today, there seem to be more typically female names, like Jean and Deborah, newly posting here, but who knows? They certainly could be male; Jean from Montreal or Paris? It's curious.Delete
Am guessing that Jan is also a woman, tho it could be a man's name.
Be Well! Am trundling off to bed. Have to be up before dawn. Heading for the pharmacy and a meeting with the good doctor. Wish me luck.
jan is a man. You could talk to jan in the morning ;-).
Good luck.
At least one Jean is a woman... This one!Delete
Not to congratulate you merely for your anatomy as a woman but welcome to the blog. Glad to have you.
I'm not far from the non-answer.ReplyDelete
Just for fun, I drew a triangle connecting the city and two towns that I found, and then dropped a perpendicular from the larger of the two towns to the opposite side of that triangle. I'm easily amused.ReplyDelete
Aren't we all? The geographic midpoint between my northern and southern municipalities is almost exactly on a state line.Delete
Some city landscapers need new training.Delete
OR LA ND o, FL OR ID a; Pop. 277,173
CO NC OR d, NE WY OR k; Pop. 8,494
CA SC o, MA IN e; Pop. 3,880 (Sa-lute!)
The perpendicular from Concord to the Orlando-Casco leg seems to pass through "the city so nice they named it twice" (at least close enough to melt away those little town blues).
What is the longest word you can make using postal abbreviations?ReplyDelete
I mentioned it before.Delete
There's a 12 letter word meaning "producing unhealthy milk".Delete
Maybe Will should milk it for whatever it's worth.Delete
Udderly possible.
I have 2 ten-letter words and a slew of eight-letter words.
I made up a series of Postal Code word quizzes for FunTrivia several years ago utilizing 200 plus words.
I ended up with four ten letter ones, but not Blaine's twelve, which I am guessing it has "lactaria" in it
Blaine, what was your 12-letter word?Delete
One last ten: convallari.
WW: Did you have another?
The 12-letter word is cacogalactiaDelete
It's summertime. Anyone going on vacation?ReplyDelete
I've got it! Blaine thanks for publishing this. I can't write or typecast enough to get Will Shortz's directions down.ReplyDelete
Will Shortz covered how you don't even need a pencil in a long comment to Blainesvuille on 9/6/15. Look at the right sidebar to find it.Delete
Here's a direct link to Will Shortz's commentDelete
We struggled with last week's puzzle but today's was a cinch. Sending it off now. But they never call.ReplyDelete
I've been to the city/state that I believe to be the intended answer. It's easy to get there from here, though it may take a few hours, naturally. There are a few points of interest there for anyone choosing to vacation there, but of course revealing much about those points of interest would be a dead giveaway.
Musical clue: Eric Clapton
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
There will be closer to 2000!ReplyDelete
Every so often it's good to solve a puzzle quickly. Then I can think about something else during the week. It's my birthday today and at my age (80,ouch!!) I'm not interested in what this city has to offer.ReplyDelete
C a p, here's to a fabulous trip around the sun! Here's to many more.Delete
Happy birthday, Boy named "Pseudonym."
Happy Birthday! 45 miles due East of this city you may find a place more to your liking. Safe travels.Delete
Clark, Happy Birthday! I enjoy reading your posts. Superman is a good role to play I think. My daughter in law was the set designer on the Lois and Clark series. Did you ever watch it?Delete
Hoping the dawn of a new day will help me see the solution to this puzzle.ReplyDelete
Musical clue: AmericaReplyDelete
Add-on clue: Central AmericaDelete
You got it. "Clark a pseudonym" is because I often wear Superman T shirts. That's because I firmly believe that part of retirement is to be as eccentric as you can. The other more important part is to reinvent yourself.
Also thanks to WW and Garry Rust for their good wishes
Clark Nym, does this mean your real name is Superman? Any additional wisdom from your four-score years here? This evening, what are your thoughts on kryp tonite (sic)?
SHEESH! Superman's real name is Kal-El. Why do we even let girls into this playhouse?!?!?!Delete
Gadzooks, eco! A quick primer on the Man of Steel, Codex, (not I)-Zod has me wondering about comic relief on this blog.
I still want to hear from our local Superman, though.
P.S. Kal-El? Isn't that a branch campus of the University of Kalifornia?Delete
Will you settle for a SuperZee?Delete
All 12 boys and their coach have been rescued in Thailand.
Confirmed – Just the last few divers and a doctor still to exit, but otherwise the rescue operation is complete.Delete
Great news!!!! Glad they are all safe.
I still find this incredible. Don't think there is a professional FIFA team that would have to be taught how to dive.
The Thai cave news is purely lump-in-the-throat time.
Reminds of the Peruvian miners, Apollo 13 and all the kids down wells since Kathy Fiscus.
Great about the kids and all without my help! Lois and I had stopped listening to the news for a while. So we missed one of the great feel good stories...drat!ReplyDelete
Once the kids were safe I kinda quit following the story. I'll be curious what the heck that coach was thinking in letting those kids go so far into the cave.
Plus, there is that dark cloud over the whole thing knowing that one of the Seals died while helping out.
This is a fascinating article about the boys, several who are from Myanmar: Boys.
Here is an exerpt:
"It was Adul Sam-on, 14, the stateless descendant of a Wa ethnic tribal branch once known for headhunting, who played a critical role in the rescue, acting as interpreter for the British divers."
"Proficient in English, Thai, Burmese, Mandarin and Wa, Adul politely communicated to the British divers his squad's greatest needs: food and clarity on just how long they had stayed alive."
The Onion has a picture of a grimy kid in front of the cave with the headline "THAI SOCCER PLAYER STILL WAITING FOR PARENTS TO PICK HIM UP".Delete
And while you're there at the Onion be sure to also check out the video just below the photo:
How To Get Your Picky Toddler To Finish All Of Their Foie Gras
"Coach Ake (Ekkapol Ake Chantawong) - 25 years old, kept the incredibly brave and resilient young soccer players safe inside the cave. Here's a bit about him: He lost his entire family when he was just 10 yrs old. He became a Buddhist monk, and was raised in the monastery; he now devotes his life to young people and to the boys he coaches.
Inside the cave he taught the boys to meditate in order to stay calm and to conserve their energy; he helped them to keep their spirits up and he refused food - instead giving the boys his rations.
After the rescue, he was in the worst shape of the group and he was the last one rescued out.
His aunt says that she knows he is probably blaming himself. The parents of the trapped boys say "We will heal his heart"."
I can't blame the coach. Although the reports vary widely and wildly, it seems pretty much a tourist cave, not a spelunking cave, at least when it's dry. Their bicycles were found about halfway in, couldn't be that hard to move about.
I read that it's a right of passage for boys to scratch their names in one of the chambers. Boys will be boys - sheesh, why do we even let them into this playhouse?
There are signs at the entry warning about the weather from July to September (they entered June 23rd). Apparently the coach checked in with the park rangers before they entered, who should have been aware of weather forecasts. Though I also read that Thai's don't obsess about the weather like we do.
Rather than find fault, I'd rather think of this as one of those accidents when nature does things different than our expectations. And yes, the coach deserves a lot of credit for their survival that WW notes.
Maybe it's a matter of different cultures. As a parent or as head of an institution for kids, I would want to know where those kids are at all times. Especially if they are going a mile or two inside a mountain cave!Delete
By cultures, I just mean between the USA and Thailand!Delete
I disagree. To me it seems like when I grew up here in Seattle. Parents were not over protective then and it was a much better way to grow up, not being afraid of everything like kids are trained to be now.
When I would come home, after being out all day, my mother would usually ask me where I had been and what I had done. I was always able to respond articulately to both questions with a single word answer. To question #1: "Out." To question #2: "Nothing."
I think it is a great shame that Charles Manson had to die before Trump could pardon him.ReplyDelete
Donald could always pardon Charley posthumously. He did so with Jack Johnson. Don't know how pardoning Manson would appeal to Trump's need for self aggrandizement though.Delete
It looks like a whole bunch of people, young and old, comported themselves admirably, before and during the rescue.
I am looking forward to the stories as they come out.
Read this article and then watch the video to get a very different perspective on how the rescue was actually performed.
This comment has been removed by the author.Delete
This story is also interesting, but the one I posted a link to above is better. I suggest reading both as they are very different.
SDB: Tks for sharing articles. I never would have known about the sedation.Delete
It is called the Sedation Act.
I am glad no one consulted Prime Minister Theresa May on how to rescue the Thai boys from the cave. She still can't seem to figure out how to get out of the EU via Brexit. (Not that I want them out of the EU)ReplyDelete
Sort of like the lifeguard training i went through 60 years ago when we were taught that we might have to knock out (i.e. slug in the jaw) swimmers in trouble who were struggling.
Now I want to hear the story of how the decision was made to knock 'em out and who made it.
Should be interesting this afternoon as to the number of cities and small towns that fit the pattern in the three states that also fit the pattern. Would not be surprised to see over a dozen.
Will did say: "Can you name a MAJOR CITY and state that both have this property?" So I would assume he won't accept or mention small towns some of us come up with.
The sedation/stretcher technique is not getting much play in the main stream media.
my local paper's AP summary mentions only "guide" as to how the boys were extracted.
Still looking forward to future revelations.
Alternate municipalities that do not meet all the puzzle parameters are:
"PVC" is Peach Valley Cafe in ORLANDO, FL.
Add-on clue: Central America refers to Central Florida University, located in ORLANDO.
I forgot this one: The embedded "Boys" link about the Thai rescue was a reference to Orlando de Boys from As You Like It.
Florida & OrlandoReplyDelete
WS certainly has a funny character! He kids.: WS (the PM) refers to William Shakespeare, the Play Maker; Orlando is the lead male and younger brother in As You Like It, as Blaine noted.
Is the city part of a different state?: Orlando was also a novel by Virginia Woolf.
I have two answers.
Orlando, Florida → Or La Nd (o) Fl Or Id (a) Is a major city.
Casco, Maine → Ca Sc (o) Ma In (e) Pop. 3742.
I also posted: "Am trundling off to bed. Have to be up BEFORE DAWN. Heading for the PHARMACY and a meeting with THE GOOD DOCTOR. Wish me luck.
Tony ORLANDO was a 70 pop singer with his backup singers Dawn. The group was known as Tony Orlando and Dawn, therefore Orlando was before dawn.
Tour De Pharmacy and The Good Doctor were two movies staring ORLANDO Bloom.
In terms of its fame if not its size, I'd say Scarsdale, New York is nearly major.ReplyDelete
My hints were Dawn, as in Tony Orlando and Dawn, see(sea) water surrounding Fl, golf(gulf) as in Gulf of Mexico, Fl. western border, and hot, as in Fl. being in the tropic zone.ReplyDelete
What about SCARSDALE NEW YORKReplyDelete
ORLANDO, FLORIDA , or COCOA, FLORIDA
Virginia Woolf wrote Orlando
My clues -
"A little trickery " was reference to Orlando Magic.
"Tony award for Will" was reference to Tony Orlando.
Great clue, Snipper.
My watch comment, was intended as a reference to a Mickey Mouse watch, with its Disney and Orlando associations. To avoid what wold have been a well earned, "Blaining," I refrained from characterizing this puzzle as, "Mickey Mouse."
An alternate answer - that is as far from being a major city as you can get, Denmark, New York, 2016 population 2844
"¡Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas!" is the Spanish announcement on the Walt Disney World monorails, following the English Please stand clear of the doors!ReplyDelete
I had 3 cities, 10 towns, and 1 village.
FL OR ID A: OR LA ND O, CO CO A, both cities. MA RI NE LA ND, a town with 5 postal code pairs is pretty cool, but doesn't remove leave an extra letter.
MA IN E: CA SC O, PA RI S, LA MO IN E, DE NM AR K - all are towns, not cities
NE WY OR K: NE WY OR K, the city which violates the rules. AL DE N, CO NC OR D, DE NM AR K, MI LA N, PA RI S, SC AR SD AL E, all towns. FL OR ID A (a village)
There is a well known signpost in Maine listing distances to a
nine locations, all in Maine, including Norway, Paris, Denmark, Naples,Sweden, Poland, Mexico, Peru and China.
While Maine is a major state, none of these are major cities.......
So I submitted Paris, Maine (PA RI S, MA IN E), as a possible answer.
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
EKW, I like your different thinking on the majorness of the city.
Tomorrow is Friday the 13th!
Do not venture out. Stay home from work. Do not go spelunking.
Average number of people who explore caves per year: 2,000,000
Average number of deaths in cave exploration per year: 3
Likelihood of death from exploring a cave: 1:666,667
Number of skydive jumps in 2017: 3,200,000
Number of fatal skydiving accidents: 24
Likelihood of death from skydiving: 1:133,571
5 times more likely to die skydiving.
This surprising as I thought you were for sure a dead duck.Delete
Why can't I be both???Delete
This is an excellent summary of the Thai rescue with new details, well-crafted diagrams and video clips, and a cohesive look at so many threads of the story.ReplyDelete
(Oregon, Louisiana, North Dakota; Florida, Oregon, Idaho)
Eric Clapton had a song called "Mainline Florida" on his 1974 album "461 Ocean Boulevard".
My comment using the words "mundane" and "usual" referred to the Universal Theme Park in Orlando. Both words are synonyms for "universal".
Now that, my friends, is a hint that would never be removed by a blog administrator!
(I did get this puzzle)
And, BTW, did you know that there is a Florida, New York? It's not a city, I believe it's termed a village, but it fits... not that most people have heard of it...but it's in my area. Not that WS may have heard of it...
This may be the most revealing cave rescue story yet, from the Washington Post:
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
The most worrisome thing about the sedation story is the variation in accounts of the strength of the effects.
They run from mild anti-anxiety to full unconsciousness.
It looks like ketamine was the drug used and it may have been a reasonable choice.
Maybe Jan can weigh in.
Next week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from Sandy Weisz of Chicago, who's also attending the National Puzzlers' League convention in Milwaukee this weekend. Name a famous person from Chicago — first and last names. The last name ends in an E. Change the E to an I and rearrange the letters in just the last name to get a famous actor — whose first name is the same as the first person's. Who are these people?ReplyDelete
Puzzles this easy should be illegal.
Is this supposed to really be a puzzle?ReplyDelete
Seriously? Another anagram puzzle?
As the first dealer of the Society To Relimquish Anagram Puzzles I am embarrassed to admit I had the answer before he finished asking the question.
Well, at least the Anagram Solvers on the 'net won't help with this one.ReplyDelete
Will Shortz mentioned SCARSDALE, NEW YORK as being longer than his intended answer, but that he didn't consider SCARSDALE a "major city" so he didn't accept it.ReplyDelete
For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.
You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.


text:
Official Birthday Celebration Information Jul 3, 2016 16:52:49 GMT -6
Official Birthday Celebration Information
Colony News
Acrean Colony
Oreax Colony
Ruess Colony
Official Birthday Celebration Information
0ur journey began with a great wind hailing from the north which shattered our world into pieces.
Lives were lost, families torn apart, house pets were left on their own without any humans to care for them.
Since then we have prevailed in the face of the darkness that loomed over us day by day. We have thrived in this new world and our story has only just begun.
In the Summer of Year 1 a destructive tornado ravaged the isolated village of Foxcroft killing many of the humans, the rest fled never to return.
It has been 17 years since the tornado that ravaged and changed the Village forever.
It is Winter, Year 18
Guests and Members alike who speak a language other than English you can use this translator to fully enjoy our forum!


text:
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text: 1. I can't reach my license unless you hold my beer. 2. Sorry, Officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in. 3.Aren't you the guy from the Village People? 4 . Hey, you must've been doin' about 125 mph to keep up with me. Good job! 5. Are You Andy or Barney? 6. I thought you had to be in relatively good physical condition to be a police officer. 7. You're not gonna check the trunk, are you? 8. I pay your salary! 9. Gee, Officer! That's terrific. The last officer only gave me a warning too! 10. Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does 11. I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there are no other cars around. That's how far ahead of me they are ! 12. When the Officer says "Gee Son....Your eyes look red, have you been drinking?†You probably shouldn't respond with,â€Gee Officer your eyes look glazed, have you been eating doughnuts?â€


text:
Hugh Turvey: Inside the Life of an X-Ray Artist
This post was originally published in January 2014. We're resurfacing it as part of our #ThrowbackThursday effort to give some love to our favorite posts.—The Proof Team
Hugh Turvey is a British artist and photographer who uses x-ray technology to create what he calls xograms, a fusion of visible light and x-ray imagery. I first worked with him for an assignment in the magazine and have to come to rely on his expertise when it comes to seeing the unseen. I spoke with him about his work and recent photo published in the February issue of National Geographic magazine.
"I am an experimentalist and I think in images. Since I started working with x-ray in the late 1990s, I am constantly amazed with how little I know."—Hugh Turvey
JEANNE MODDERMAN: Tell me about your initial foray into x-ray imaging.
HUGH TURVEY: My x-ray passion was ignited after a designer friend asked for a broken bone image for an album cover. At the time, I was doing a four-year apprenticeship with iconic music photographer Gered Mankowitz in London. I took a walk from his studio in Belsize Park up to the local hospital to meet the head of radiography to seek his advice. (Oh, and yes, I was planning to be a rock-and-roll photographer.)
JEANNE: What is the most challenging aspect of your work?
HUGH: Density defines my work. Very big or very small objects challenge the technology and physics. Commercially we have been asked to x-ray a huge range of subjects over the years. We once had a call from Saatchi Advertising in London wanting to know if I could x-ray a building. In my mind nothing is impossible, but a line has to be drawn somewhere.
The trickiest image was trying to get a series of simultaneous rotating x-ray and visible light objects for an educational eBook and app called X Is for X-Ray. This had never been done before and the technology didn't really exist. So with a lot of patience and melding of techniques we were able to introduce kids to science in an easily digestible format. I am very proud of this and am continuing work on it.
JEANNE: Do you have a favorite image?
HUGH: One of my personal favorite images is titled "Femme Fatale." It is a colored x-ray image of a woman's foot in a stiletto shoe. It is one of my first images—transparent, self-explanatory, and [it] has become an iconic image inadvertently, possibly made more unique by radiation law amendments. It also happens to be my wife and a fitting portrait of my sole mate … pun intended.
JEANNE: Your work has been published a few times in National Geographic magazine. I recently assigned you to x-ray an elephant skull for the February issue. Can you talk about the process?
HUGH: Have you ever tried to get an elephant skull? Have you ever tried to lift an elephant skull? It turns out that I have now, and needless to say it was not easy.
We are accustomed to sourcing specimens and had recently imaged a huge python for National Geographic and a series of peregrine falcons for Discovery. However, an elephant skull with good teeth in the mandible was a little more elusive. We were put in contact with a company who works to ensure the welfare of nondomesticated, wild animals which have been abandoned, confiscated, or surrendered. They had not only a skull and mandible, but also the tusks, a collection of ivory and skin items, and an elephant foot table. (The total insurance value of these objects was nearly $150,000!) To lift the skull required three people, and two for the mandible.
Normal medical equipment is very finely calibrated to the human body and useless for this application. We were forced to upgrade to industrial x-ray, which is normally used for x-raying engineering structures, such as bridges.
JEANNE: Can you talk about your post-process work? What goes into making the finished product?
HUGH: We have huge pieces of film that need digitizing using photographic scanners. These are layered and combined to produce a grayscale image at approximately one gigabite. Coloring is where you can interject depth back into the image and control the path of the eye over the image. Even though I have written the smallest reply to this question, post-process accounts for at least 70 percent of my time!
Hugh Turvey's solo show "X-POSÉ: Material and Surface" will be on display at the Oxo Tower Wharf in London from February 12 to 23. Follow Jeanne Modderman on Twitter and Instagram.


text:
Story highlights
"This is beginning to look very, very much like a hijacking," says John Nance
"Mechanical explanations are narrowing quickly," says former safety board managing director
Transponders: "They're not supposed to break, but they do break"
As investigators search for clues to what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the answer to one question may prove key: Why did the transponder in the Boeing 777-200ER stop transmitting information?
The fact that it happened at all is astonishing to John Nance, a broadcast aviation analyst and veteran pilot. "It is hard to conceive of a situation in which a triple seven would lose all ability to have its transponder on and the crew would not find some way to communicate," he told CNN.
A senior Malaysian air force official said Tuesday that the plane traveled hundreds of miles in the opposite direction from its original destination, and had stopped sending identifying transponder codes before it disappeared from radar screens.
Suggestions that the plane veered off course and that its transponder was not working raise questions about a hijacking, but a catastrophic power failure or other problem might also explain the anomalies, analysts said.
Here are some of the options:
Turned off intentionally
Kit Darby, a longtime pilot, said Tuesday it was not clear whether the transponder was turned off intentionally. A power failure would have turned off the main transponder and its backup, and the plane could have flown for more than an hour with such a power failure, the president of Aviation Information Resources told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
But Nance expressed doubt that that could have been the case. The electrical system aboard the plane is so robust and the transponder draws so little power that it would be one of the last pieces of equipment to go dark, even after a catastrophic event like an engine explosion or a breach of the cabin and rapid decompression, he said.
"I'm in a head-scratching mode," Nance said. "The most likely probability is that a human hand turned that off. Then you get into the logic tree of who and why and there aren't that many channels in that tree."
He added, "This is beginning to look very, very much like a hijacking."
A former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector agreed. David Soucie, author of "Why Planes Crash," cited the redundant electrical, charging, battery and communications systems on Boeing 777s. Much had to go wrong for the aircraft to lose its transponder and then to veer off course, he said, adding that it stands to reason "that someone forced those pilots to take control of the aircraft and take it off course."
Turning off a transponder requires a deliberative process, said Peter Goelz, former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board. "If someone did that in the cockpit, they were doing it to disguise the route of the plane," he told CNN. "There might still be mechanical explanations on what was going on, but those mechanical explanations are narrowing quickly."
'Patchy' radar
Alastair Rosenschein suggested that a pressurization problem may have been to blame. If the plane lost pressure and the pilots failed to don their masks within a few seconds, "they would become unconscious," the aviation consultant and former British Airways Boeing 747 pilot told CNN. "The aircraft would continue on the last heading."
If that happened, the plane may have crashed in the middle of the Indian Ocean, nowhere near where the search is going on, he noted.
How does he explain the loss of the transponder signal?
"It is possible that, even with the transponder putting out a signal, the radar controllers didn't notice it, pay attention to it or receive it," he speculated. That would be rare, he acknowledged, but so too is the disappearance of a jetliner.
And radar is "pretty patchy" around there, he said.
The transponder broke
The mechanics of the device may have been at fault, said Kirk Fryar, president of Sarasota Avionics, which sells the devices. "They're not supposed to break, but they do break," he told CNN. "Sometimes the transponder itself could be off frequency, not sending the right pulse."
The boxes are located in the cockpit, within reach of the pilot, copilot or both, he said. Each is equipped with an on, standby or off mode.
And there is often more than one. "Boeing would have at least two transponders," he said. "What happens is sometimes you're flying along and, say, your transponder breaks and reports the wrong code or wrong altitude, air traffic control will go, 'You need to turn it off because we're getting erroneous readings,'" he said.
And, if one were to break, the pilot or copilot would have to flip a switch to replace it, something that a pilot stressed during an emergency might not do.
An antenna malfunction may also have been to blame, but that would be unlikely on a Boeing, which undergoes routine maintenance checks, Fryar said.
See more of our coverage on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Flying below the radar
Flying below the line of sight of the air traffic controller is another way for a transponder to stop identifying a plane. "The higher you are, the better sensitivity you're going to have to air traffic control," he said.
That would be improbable during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, the itinerary that the Boeing jet was on when it fell off radar early Saturday.
He too cited the possibility that it was turned off intentionally. Why might that have happened? To escape detection. Fryar recounted when he and his flying instructor flew into airspace over Denver without having communicated with air traffic control.
"He goes, 'Oh, my God, we're going to get in trouble,' flew 500 feet off the ground, turned off the transponder. They can't find you, basically." Thirty miles later, he switched it back on and the two completed their flight without incident.
CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Tom Fuentes said Tuesday he was not persuaded by any of the theories: "There's still as many possibilities out there, maybe more, now that we know about the transponders being off and the length of time that plane flew in the air without them. It still leaves mechanical, terrorism (and) other issues as much in the air as they were before."
Transponders have been around since World War II and commonly used in general aviation since the late 1960s, said Fryar.
It supplemented military radar, which was unreliable – unable to distinguish a flock of birds from a plane, he said.
A transponder for use in general aviation would typically cost from $2,000 to $7,000; versus $20,000-$30,000 for a commercial airliner.
There's nothing fancy about the technology. An air traffic controller sends out a radar sweep that contains a microwave pulse requesting information; the transponder decodes the request and sends back that information – identity of the aircraft, its location, altitude and speed.
Q. What information does a transponder send, and who does it send it to?
A transponder is a radio transmitter in the cockpit that works with ground radar. When the transponder receives a signal from a more sophisticated ground "secondary" radar, it returns a squawk code with the aircraft's position, its altitude and its call sign. It is constantly being radar pinged, helping air traffic controllers on the ground determine the airplane's speed and direction, too.
Q. What does "squawk" mean?
It's a four-digit identifying code that the pilot enters into a transponder for each flight. It helps air traffic control recognize each plane.
Q. Why are transponders necessary?
Primary radar is more basic, effective only at seeing the radar reflection of objects. It paints targets, displaying them with a blip on a screen. The bigger the object, the bigger the reflection. Transponders enhance the reflected signal and provide the additional information for air traffic control.
Q. Is there a way to use it to indicate a problem on board the aircraft?
There are codes for different emergencies. For a hijacking, it's 7500. For communications failure, 7600. Emergencies are 7700.
Q. How do you turn off a transponder?
There is a switch that you would move from "ON" or "SBY" (standby) or "ALT" (altitude). You could also pull the circuit breaker for the transponder in the cockpit.
Q. Why would you turn off a transponder during a normal flight?
There could be several reasons. One reason could be when airplanes get close to each other (perhaps they are approaching an airport). Air traffic controllers may then request pilots to turn the transponders off or to standby. Also, if the transponder is sending faulty information, the pilot might want to turn it off. Planes are still visible on primary radar until they get below the radar's coverage ability.
READ: Timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
READ: Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: What we know and don't know


text:
Patriots Hold Cowboys' No. 1 Offense without TD in 13-9 Win
By Kyle Hightower AP Sports Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Few teams have had success scoring touchdowns against the Patriots this season.
Add the NFL's top-ranked offense to that list.
The Patriots held the Cowboys without a TD for the first time this season, Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass and New England beat Dallas 13-9 on Sunday.
It was New England's 18th straight regular-season victory at home. The Patriots (10-1) have won 10 games in 17 consecutive seasons dating back to 2003 and surpassed the San Francisco 49ers (16 seasons from 1983-98) for the most consecutive years with at least 10 wins.
Dallas (6-5) had a chance to take the lead late. But facing fourth-and-11 on its own 25 with 1:50 left, Dak Prescott's 20-yard completion to Amari Cooper was nullified after an official review.
The Patriots, who struggled offensively in their win over Philadelphia last week, played without two key receivers after Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett were ruled out with injuries. Brady made the most of what he had, tossing a first-quarter touchdown pass to rookie N'Keal Harry and completing a 32-yard pass to rookie Jakobi Meyers.
Brady finished 17 of 37 for 190 yards. Julian Edelman caught eight passes for 93 yards. Sony Michel rushed 20 times for 85 yards.
Brady has been critical of the offense's output in recent weeks. Coming away with wins is enough for him right now.
"I think every team develops at different times," Brady said. "I think we take the challenges as they come and try to do the best we can. ... I'm happy we came away with more points than them."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the wet and windy conditions on the field, which included temperatures that dipped into the 30s, played a factor.
"Obviously no excuses. But the weather had an impact on both offenses," he said. "A lot of balls on the ground, a lot of balls going off receivers' hands. I thought our guys handled it better and better as the game went on."
But not well enough.
Dallas struggled to move the ball for most of the game. Ezekiel Elliott rushed 21 times or 86 yards, but the Cowboys were just 2 of 13 on third down.
Prescott finished 19 of 33 for 212 yards and an interception. Cooper was held without a catch for the first time as a member of the Cowboys.
Dallas entered the game averaging 444.6 yards per game on offense and had the league's best passing attack, averaging 312.7 yards.
But the Cowboys looked pedestrian for most of the first half opposite New England's top-ranked defense, which came in allowing just 152.6 passing yards.
The Patriots focused on taking away two of Prescott's favorite targets in Cooper and tight end Jason Witten. Prescott threw in their direction just twice in the opening half, while mostly checking down to short passes.
Elliott helped the Cowboys keep the ball moving, but his long gains were limited as New England stacked the box on first and second down.
"It was frustrating," Elliott said. "Just gotta find a way to score."
Dallas finally found some traction trailing 13-6 in the fourth quarter when Prescott connected with Randall Cobb for a 59-yard gain to get the Cowboys to the New England 25.
The drive stalled on the Patriots 11 and the Cowboys settled for a 29-yard field goal by Brett Maher.
New England got help from a special teams play to set up Harry's TD.
Matt Slater blocked Chris Jones' punt on the Dallas 30, and Nate Ebner recovered on the 12. Two plays later, Brady hit Harry in the front of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown — the first of Harry's NFL career.
"I'm definitely not satisfied yet," Harry said. "Anybody who knows me knows I'm about to turn it up a notch. To set the bar higher. I'm ready to get back to work."
Prescott was intercepted by Stephon Gilmore on Dallas' ensuring drive. The Patriots took over on the Dallas 29, but quickly went three-and-out. They settled for a 44-yard field goal by Nick Folk that made it 10-0.
Harry became the 75th player to catch a touchdown pass from Brady, extending an NFL record. Vinny Testaverde was second, with 70 different TD targets.
A first-round draft choice from Arizona State, Harry made his debut last week after spending time on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
It was the 15th touchdown pass of the season for Brady. That's a record for a player after his 42nd birthday.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was frustrated the team didn't perform better on a day it had a chance to gain some distance in the NFC East.
"Make no mistake: This was a bigger game for us than it is for the Patriots," he told reporters in a lengthy session in an equipment closet off the visitors' locker room. "We had a chance to establish something. I'm just frustrated. I thought we could put together a better effort."
Jones said he got what he expected out of the defense and seemed willing to give the offense a bit of a pass because of the foul weather. But the special teams came under scrutiny for allowing a blocked punt, missing a field goal and blowing 20 yards of field position with a penalty on another punt.
"Special teams is 100 percent coaching," he said.
Dallas: S Jeff Heath was checked out on the sideline after delivering a hit on Meyers in the third quarter.
Patriots: Visit the Texans next Sunday.


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Category Archives: waffles
Stroopwafels in Amsterdam
Posted on May 17, 2013 by Lisa Orwig
Have you ever been to Amsterdam? If you haven't, it's a city you should seriously consider. It has it all – beautiful canals, cobblestoned streets, interesting architecture, tons of bikes, and friendly people. And of course, Amsterdam has great … Continue reading →


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Two Car Carriers Pay $2.3 Million in Penalties
Contact: Karen V. Gregory, Secretary (202) 523-5725
The Federal Maritime Commission announced compromise agreements reached with two common carriers operating pure car carriers (PCCs) and roll on/roll off (RO/RO) vessels in U.S. inbound and outbound trades. Under these separate agreements, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K Line), paid $1,100,000 in civil penalties and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), paid $1,225,000 in penalties. Both carriers are headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and operate diverse fleets trading in the U.S.-foreign trades and globally.
The compromise agreements resolved allegations that K Line and NYK Line violated provisions of the Shipping Act, including section 10(a) of the Shipping Act, 46 U.S.C. § 41102(b), by acting in concert with other ocean common carriers with respect to the shipment of automobiles and other motorized vehicles by RO/RO or specialized car carrier vessels, where such agreement(s) had not been filed with the Commission or become effective under the Shipping Act. The compromise agreements also addressed related activities and violations. Commission staff alleged that these practices persisted over a period of several years and involved numerous U.S. trade lanes, including from and/or to the Far East, Europe, the Middle East and South America.
Chairman Mario Cordero stated: "These penalties underscore the seriousness with which the Commission views the carriers' obligation to file with the Commission any agreement with other carriers affecting working relationships in the U.S. trades, both for import and export traffic. The shipping public has a right to know the subject matter and scope of any such agreement, and the Commission is charged by Congress to oversee the parties' operations and conduct under such agreements. Investigations by our Bureau of Enforcement as to additional carriers implicated in similar agreement activities are continuing at this time."
In concluding the compromise agreements, K Line and NYK Line agreed to provide ongoing cooperation with other Commission investigations or enforcement actions with respect to these types of activities. The carriers did not admit to violations of the Act or the Commission's regulations. Staff attorneys with the Commission's Bureau of Enforcement negotiated the compromise agreements.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is the independent federal agency responsible for regulating the nation's international ocean transportation for the benefit of exporters, importers, and the American consumer. The FMC's mission is to foster a fair, efficient, and reliable international ocean transportation system while protecting the public from unfair and deceptive practices.


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Home Page Chess Life Online 2009 May Fantasy Chess Update: Rounds 3 and 4
|Fantasy Chess Update: Rounds 3 and 4
|By Arun Sharma
|May 12, 2009
Welcome to the first fantasy chess update, which will go through the top standings and announce the daily prize winners.
First matter of business: Since Anna Zatonskih unfortunately had to withdraw from the tournament, for the purposes of this contest, we will give her a half point bye for all future rounds (which will take her to a 3.5 / 9 score by the end, roughly what a player of her rating would be expected to score in this tournament).
If you wish to review your team and current ranking, go to http://uschess.org/fc_2009/, and login to see both.
As expected the strategy of picking several draws to win an early daily prize was somewhat effective, with the current leaders having several more draws than average. It's anybody's guess if that trend will continue, but the reality is that anything can really happen in this year's contest, given how many matches can switch from day to day (especially at this early stage, with it being entirely possible for whoever might be in the lead to be close to last after tomorrow and vice-versa). The point system seems to somewhat indicate this also as while we have many scores above fifty points, we also have many players with scores close to zero, including two people actually at zero. Luckily those poor souls (and their successors in the following days) can breathe a sigh of relief as I won't embarass them by giving their names and selections out here (unless of course one of the future such bottom dwellers happens to be Greg Shahade in which case it's not only getting mentioned here, but might well be made the headline of this article).
The winner of the daily prize for round three is Richard Francisco, with 71.5 points.
1st Place: Richard Francisco 71.5 Points
In round four, with a logjam of a tie for first in the tournament, those entrants with tie heavy entries lead the contest for the second day. Those like me, who spoke up against the choice to pick ties statistically can only hope that trend falls quickly if we want any chance at any of the daily prizes and of course most importantly the grand prize. At least the contestants as a whole showed some marked improvement in overall competence with no one having 0 points at the end of this day (a trend which I fear may not continue).
Once again, to review your picks and see your current ranking login at http://uschess.org/fc_2009/
These are the current Top Five entrants. The winner of the daily prize is Matt Kizaric.
1st Place: Matt Kizaric 67.5 Points
2nd Place: Alfredo Nunez 65.5 Points
3rd Place: Andrew Bateman 63.0 Points
4th Place: Pranav Marupudi 62.0 Points
5th Place: Jonathan Ingellis 61.0 Points


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MFA Creative Writing Online programs offer an advanced masters curriculum that balances writing workshops with academics to take your writing to the next level. Courses in literary theory and writing traditions might flesh-out your knowledge in new ways. Then, valuable peer and professor feedback in the digital classroom could take your draft from good to great. And, you could have access to these advanced literary techniques from anywhere with an internet connection.
MFA creative writing online programs could be a great way to develop your writing talents and support them with academic literary study. In laymen's terms? These programs might help you write more effectively! But, creative writing is a rather large umbrella term. Some of the following genres might fall under the heading of "creative writing."
Depending on your artistic passions, you could choose to concentrate on any one of these fields during your masters program. Of course, not everyone in your classes may write the same style. Which is great for developing your own work! This way, you could have the chance to see what goes into writing other genres in addition to your own. This might be especially true during workshop courses. Students are often required to submit recent drafts for feedback and review. Who knows? You may find that some creative nonfiction advice could be applied to your young adult series!
Additionally, students may have the chance to engage with other scholastic topics to further develop their understanding of their craft. Courses may be available on subjects such as the below.
These classes could be a great way to gain a fresh perspective and flesh-out your own writing. Or discover new genres you hadn't even considered. Courses and programs may differ by institution, so be sure to check before applying.
Online creative writing masters programs are typically offered as a master of arts (MA) or master of fine arts (MFA). Though you may find both in your research, MFA programs are typically more common. MFA degrees tend to focus on students' writing and providing critique in workshops as opposed to academic literature studies. MAs on the other hand, take a more comprehensive approach. They may incorporate additional courses into their curriculum to round out students' education. For example, they may study some overlapping subjects with English graduate courses like literary analysis and scholastic critique. Apart from these differences, both degrees aim to prepare students to confidently step into the creative world with their writing.
Taking into consideration writing and reviewing for workshops, as well as academic courses, students could potentially earn an online masters in creative writing in 1 to 3 years depending on their course load. Programs length may vary by institution.
Many MFA Creative Writing Online programs only have 4 to 6 students per class year. Why? Because small classes are ideal for giving and receiving feedback, especially during workshops. This is an important part of online create writing masters programs and could be integral to further refining your art. Typically, workshops require students to submit drafts of their work for peer review on a weekly basis. This way, you could become familiar with your classmates' styles and offer insightful advice. Additionally, your peers' feedback could help define problems – and strengths – in your writing through email or online chatrooms.
Not to be forgotten, your professors could also provide industry specific criticism to help polish your work. And, since your classes are online, you could quickly email your professor for additional assistance whenever you need it! You might not miss the traditional, on campus writing experience when your classroom and peers are only a few clicks away!
Not only could workshops potentially improve your writing capabilities, they may also assist you in completing your final project. Online MFA creative writing programs often require students to submit a completed work, in lieu of a thesis research project, to graduate. You could have the chance to develop your piece in workshops throughout your entire masters experience!
Online creative writing MFA admissions may differ from other masters programs you've researched. Unlike others, creative writing applications may pay equal attention to your undergraduate transcripts and samples of your previous work. Schools may request examples to better assess your current writing capabilities and whether you might be a good fit for their program. Depending on your area of expertise, your samples could include things like manuscripts, poems, and screen plays. Check with your intended program for admissions guidelines and deadlines.
By earning an MFA in creative writing online, you could have the chance to write where and when it is most comfortable for you. Not to mention, by taking your courses online, you could maintain your professional life. Since you might be able to log into your classes at your leisure, you could do so after work. This way, you could develop new skills and knowledge right alongside your current job.
However, while much of an MFA in creative writing could be completed online, many programs require students to attend a residency as part of the curriculum. Residency typically includes students living on campus for a brief time to intensely work on their writing. For online students, these programs act as a highly-focused session for them to write without the distractions of home. Usually, a university houses students with other writers from their program. This could encourage them to offer each other regular and instant feedback to support their current writing initiatives. Or, it might just be a perfect opportunity to network.
Schools may offer either high or low residency stays. Low residency programs typically last 10 days. Online programs offer these programs so that students may insert residency into their current home-life schedule without much difficulty. High residency programs, on the other hand, could last 2 to 6 weeks. Most residencies occur on a semester basis. For more information about residency goals and lengths, check with your intended institution.
Some stories begin with "once upon a time," but yours may start with an online MFA in creative writing! To continue your literary journey, browse the list of potential programs on this page. To refine this list further, select your preferred degree format from the menus also on this page. Good luck starting your new chapter with an MFA Creative Writing Online program.
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10 Uses for Bottle Caps
The pop of a cap rocketing off a beer or old-fashioned soda, followed by the hiss of carbonation, is a familiar sound, but what happens next? If you're a tidier, like me, you probably toss the cap into the recycling (or possibly the trash)...or you leave it out until you feel like cleaning up. Either way, you're probably used to thinking of bottle caps as useless disposable items, there only to keep your beverages under compression until you're ready to drink.
Think again! Here's a list of some unexpected, fun, and useful ways to give bottle caps a second life.
1. Backsplashes
Want memories of beers gone by? Try embedding their caps in your walls! You might be able to find a tile contractor who's game for an adventure, or you can create a DIY backsplash using bottle caps (face out, of course) to add a quirky note to your kitchen.
2. Bar or counter top
As with a backsplash, bottle caps can be used to make the surface of a bar, countertop, or table. Since they may become magnets for grime when people set food and drinks on them, consider mounting a piece of glass or acrylic over the bottle cap display to protect it.
3. Basket or bowl
If you have a lot of bottle caps, run them together to create a very cool basket for storage and display. It might not be very practical for carrying things around due to its weight, but that's more than made up for in how neat it looks!
4. Tiny votives
Have some old candles you need to use up? Recycle them into thumbnail votives by placing wicks in bottle caps and pouring wax over them. Your tiny candles will make for eye-catching décor, and they'll last about an hour and a half.
5. Magnets
Need low-profile magnets for the fridge, but don't want to look at plain old magnets from the hardware store? Glue bottle caps on them for a little color and visual interest. Face out to keep a collection of interesting lids, or face in and use the interiors to personalize magnets.
6. Planter
I love this bottle cap planter, made by wiring caps together and stringing them across support struts. Good for indoor or outdoor use, it provides plants with room to grow, and space to drain evenly. (If crumbling soil becomes an issue, the planter can be lined with hardware cloth.)
7. Floors
Love old-fashioned tiny tiles? Want some new flooring? Well, you can use bottle caps. Here's the proof of concept. Attract commentary with a very one of a kind bathroom floor that uses bottle caps as tiles.
8. Liven up your siding
This incredible bottle cap mosaic turns ho-hum builder-grade siding into a mysterious garden. Check with your HOA first in case they're not wild about it, but then, fire away!
9. Fish scaler
Removing scales from fish can be tough, because they want to stay right where they are. Nail bottle caps to a dowel, rough side up, and use them to scrape the scales off that fish you're about to panfry.
10. Garland
A garland of bottle caps can turn into a useful label if you paint them with chalkboard paint; string garlands around the food table at parties so people know what's what and where to find what they need.
Katie Marks writes for Networx.com.
Updated April 25, 2018.
Looking for a Pro? Call us(866) 441-6648


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Just because you're behind bars doesn't mean your heart is. Inmates need love too. No, seriously. There's a website called MeetAnInmate.com dedicated to displaying the sexiest inmates, looking for love. Even typing this makes me realize that the dating pool has gotten so…well…scarce that we've got to expand our horizons.
The prisoners have full profiles that detail who they are, who they're looking for when they will or hope to be released. As far as I know, prison pen pals was a thing that helped lonely prisoners feel as if someone cared about them and that very well may be still going on, but this site takes it to the next level.
LIKE HelloBeautiful On Facebook To Keep Up With Black Pop Culture!
Internet dating is scary as it is, now they've gone and added the possibility of landing a convicted criminal as your new love interest. Hmm.
Here's five reasons you may want to consider picking up your next date from MeetAnInmate.com:
1. One inmate writes, "Over the year of being incarcerated, I've come to realize that 'freedom' is truly one of the most important things in this world, because without it, we can't be who or what we really want to be in life. The truth has allowed me to cultivate my mind, and prepare me for what I have lost, which is 'my freedom'." One thing's for sure–your boo will be so glad to be free, they won't have time to play any games that you normally have to deal with in dating.
2. Most people get a little bored with their loves lives when their significant other is available for them on a daily basis. Depending on your intimate inmate's release date, seeing them every day is something you will not really have to deal with.
3. Not everyone in prison gives in to the almost inevitable same sex relationship. For those that stand their "straight" ground, they're almost desperate for someone of the opposite sex to call their own. The devotion that they will show you will be a breath of fresh air if you're used to dealing with someone that's dating you, them and someone else.
4. If you're the type of lover that needs to know where your boo is nine times out of ten, having an inmate as your significant other is perfect. You always know where they are, unless of course that release date comes sooner rather than later.
5. Skeletons in the closet tend to end a lot of relationships. One thing about your prisoner lover–those skeletons are exposed for you to see and if not, you can always Google their record.
Would you find love with an inmate? Let's discuss on Twitter @Rhapsodani.
Listen To This Behind Bars Playlist
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These Realty TV Favorites Are Joining The Cast Of Zeus Network's 'Baddies East'
How To: Give It To Him Like You Mean It
Yo Gotti Showers Angela Simmons On Her Birthday, Angela Slays In Custom Caszé
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Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in professional and business services, retail trade, and health care, but declined in transportation and warehousing.
Household Survey Data
Both the number of unemployed persons (12.5 million) and the unemployment rate (8.1 percent) changed little in April.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.5 percent), adult women (7.4 percent), teenagers (24.9 percent), whites (7.4 percent), and Hispanics (10.3 percent) showed little or no change in April, while the rate for blacks (13.0 percent) declined over the month. The jobless rate for Asians was 5.2 percent in April (not seasonally
adjusted), little changed from a year earlier.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was little changed at 5.1 million in April. These individuals made up 41.3 percent of the unemployed. Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed has fallen by 759,000.
The civilian labor force participation rate declined in April to 63.6 percent, while the employment-population ratio, at 58.4 percent, changed little.
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged in April at 7.9 million. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.
In April, 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally
adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
Among the marginally attached, there were 968,000 discouraged workers in April, about the same as a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.4 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in April had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 115,000 in April. This increase followed a gain of 154,000 in March and gains averaging 252,000 per month for December to February. In April, employment rose in professional and business services, retail trade, and health care. Transportation and warehousing lost jobs over the month.
Employment in professional and business services increased by 62,000 in April. Since a recent low point in September 2009, employment in this industry has grown by 1.5 million. In April, employment in temporary help services edged up by 21,000. Employment grew in architectural and engineering services (+7,000) and in computer systems design and related services (+7,000).
Retail trade employment rose by 29,000 over the month. General merchandise stores added 21,000 jobs in April but has shown no definitive trend in recent months. Employment in building material and garden supply stores continued to trend up; the industry has added 19,000 jobs since December.
Health care continued to add jobs (+19,000) in April. Within the industry, employment in ambulatory health care services, which includes home health care and offices of physicians, rose by 15,000.
Within leisure and hospitality, employment in food services and drinking places continued to trend up (+20,000) in April. Since February 2010, food services and drinking places has added 576,000 jobs.
Manufacturing employment continued to trend up (+16,000) in April, with job growth in fabricated metal products (+6,000) and machinery (+5,000). Since its most recent employment low in January 2010, manufacturing has added 489,000 jobs, largely in durable goods manufacturing.
Transportation and warehousing lost 17,000 jobs in April, with employment declines in transit and ground passenger transportation (-11,000) and in couriers and messengers (-7,000).
Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction, wholesale trade, information, financial activities, and government changed little in April.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours in April. The manufacturing workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.8 hours, and factory overtime rose by 0.1 hour to 3.4 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.8 hours.
In April, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 1 cent to $23.38. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.8 percent. In April, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 3 cents to $19.72.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised from +240,000 to +259,000, and the change for March was revised from +120,000 to +154,000.


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Last week I stumbled into my new favorite coffee shop for The Latest Morning Coffee, Ever because I am still adjusting to this new schedule of having "everything" but also "anything" to do at any given time.
[One of these days I'll get into all of these changes–the way that I stomp on the grave of business casual attire; the fact that, yes, I still get up early each day and shower and put on mascara; oh, and more relevantly to this site, the breakfasts and lunches I put together (that is, once I get past the yogurt and PB&J sandwich phase, though no promises that will be be happening any time soon)–but for now, suffice it to say that I am still in the Adjustment Phase… Hence the 12:30 p.m. "morning coffee."]
As it was obviously time for lunch–but still, my internal screams for delicious, bitter, cold coffee demanded to be placated–my stomach was grumbling as I walked in, and I had zero resistance when my hand literally bumped into the jar of chocolate-hazelnut biscotti while going to order a much-more-earnest skim latte. And while that wee biscotti was quite delicious, especially once dunked* in my coffee, it served to remind me that I am so overdue to make a batch of real biscotti.
What do I mean by "real" biscotti? What's so wrong with the almond and parmesan-black pepper versions I've told you about before? Pretty much, while you can still call them biscotti–biscotti meaning "twice baked" which they indeed are–they're not the type of biscotti you'd get in Italy because they have butter in them–making them more cookie-like–rather than just eggs as a binder–making them snappier and more dunking*-friendly.
They're also generally less sweet and with have significantly less fat in them, if you're into those kinds of bathing-suit-season-friendly things.
* I am lying and Alex has called me on it. I don't dunk things. I have an issue with crumbs floating in beverages, even Oreo crumbs in a glass of milk. I am obviously dead inside. What I meant to say is that I am sure it would be delicious if you dunked it in coffee, if your name isn't Deb and you are not brimming with neurosis.
One year ago: Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes
Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
Adapted from The New York Times, 12/12/93
This New York Times recipe is as old as time. I wish I could tell you how many recipes for biscotti I dug through before finding a couple that didn't have butter in them, but I'm not sure I can even count that high. Suffice it to say, it took me to an article from 1993, a year that biscotti were all the rage but probably not for me as I was in … high school. (Sob.)
They are mildly sweet and chocolaty–they're the exact opposite of a molten chocolate cake on the indulgent chocolate obsession sliding scale. They're also quite easy to put together if you promise to watch out for one thing: this is the stickiest dough I have ever worked with and you cannot have too much flour down on your surface.
Total time: 1 hour
Makes about 60 biscotti
1 cup whole hazelnuts, preferably blanched
2 1/2 cups flour, plus flour for work surface
1/2 cup Dutch-style cocoa powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread hazelnuts on baking sheet and toast about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. If hazelnuts are not blanched, toast them until the skins begin to crack, then remove them from oven and wrap them in clean linen or cotton towel (not terrycloth). Rub hot nuts to remove most of the skin. Set toasted nuts aside.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Beat eggs lightly, just until blended, in mixing bowl with whisk or in electric mixer. Remove two tablespoons of egg mixture to small dish and set aside. Beat sugar into remaining eggs until blended. Stir in flour mixture to form soft dough.
4. Divide the dough in half and place one portion on a well-floured work surface. (She is not kidding about this.) With floured hands, pat it into a six-inch square. Scatter half the hazelnuts on the dough and press them into the surface. Roll the dough into a cylinder about 2 inches in diameter and 12 to 15 inches long. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place the roll of dough on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Brush the tops of both rolls with the reserved egg.
5. Place in the oven and bake about 15 minutes, until firm to the touch. (This took me until 20 to 25 minutes.) Transfer to a cutting board and cut on an angle into slices one-half-inch thick. (I found that letting them cool for five minutes made this easier, as well as a sharp knife with a tight serrate.) Return the slices to the baking sheet, laying them on their cut sides, and return them to the oven. Bake another 20 minutes, until they are crisp and dry. Allow to cool completely before storing or serving.