text:
Next year, parents likely will get a rude awakening when they are handed their child's ISAT scores. After a decade in which ISAT cut scores crept down, state officials are poised to raise them, thereby likely reducing the number of students who meet or exceed standards.
The Illinois State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes at their meeting on Thursday. The move comes in anticipation of a new, tougher standardized test expected to be ready for use in 2014. The new test will be based on the Common Core standards, which have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. The Common Core standards are thought to be more rigorous than current state standards.
If the change is approved, ISBE projects that the percentage of students statewide who meet or exceed standards on the ISAT will drop by 20 points in reading and math. ISBE officials will analyze the expected effects on individual districts in the coming weeks, ISBE spokesman Matt Vanover said.
If CPS has the same projected decrease, about 50 percent of students would meet standards on the ISAT—a similar percentage as in 2005, before the state lowered cut scores. In 2006, the cut scores were recalibrated and CPS saw a 15 percentage point jump in students meeting or exceeding standards. Last year, 76.4 percent of students in CPS met standards on the ISAT.
"Raising expectations is never easy, and the anticipated drop in students' scores will be significant," said State Superintendent Chris Koch in a press release. "However, we must seize this opportunity to tap into our children's full potential and better prepare them at an earlier age to compete for jobs in a global economy."
CPS is planning on sending letters to parents to explain to them what is going on, said CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll.
Another reason for the recalibration, Koch said, is the state's desire to align results on the high school standardized test, called the PSAE, with the ISAT. Only 51 percent of high school juniors met standards on the PSAE, compared to 82 percent on the ISAT.
Consequences for student retention, school probation, school ratings
Over the past two years, district officials have worked to prepare parents for the change. They have downplayed the results on the ISAT and, instead, tried to get parents to focus on the NWEA, a benchmark exam with results reported for the first time in 2011 on the district's redesigned school progress reports.
The NWEA is considered to be more closely aligned with the Common Core standards. Currently, the NWEA is now the only test with results reported on a school's progress report.
But, for CPS students, the change may have greater consequences. CPS is the only school district in the state that bases grade promotion partly on students' ISAT scores. CPS officials have not said whether they plan to alter the policy in light of the cut-score increase or the Common Core assessment in coming years.
Also, ISAT results determine whether a school is placed on probation, as well as on the district's rating scale.
State standardized test scores also will be weighed into teacher and principal evaluations. However, growth will be considered, so low test scores, starting out, could be a benefit.


text:
CLEVELAND -- The courtship of Chip Kelly is under way.
The Browns and at least two other NFL teams are expected to interview Oregon's offensive-minded coach, who said after Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl win over Kansas State that he hopes to have the process "wrapped up quickly."
Along with the Browns, the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly in Arizona and have scheduled meetings over the next two days with Kelly.
The 49-year-old said he's entering the interviews open-minded. He turned down an offer from Tampa Bay last year to return for his fourth season at Oregon, where he is 46-7. He has boosted the school's national profile with a high-powered offense capable of turning any game into a track meet.
"It's more a fact-finding mission, finding out if it fits or doesn't fit," Kelly said after the Ducks beat No. 7 Kansas State 35-17. "I've been in one interview in my life for the National Football League, and that was a year ago. I don't really have any preconceived notions about it. I think that's what this deal is all about for me. It's not going to affect us in terms of we're not on the road (recruiting). I'll get an opportunity if people do call, see where they are.
"I want to get it wrapped up quickly and figure out where I'm going to be."
Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said "our first priority is obviously to retain Chip." He said Kelly's buyout was upwards of $3 million and that there are five years left on Kelly's contract. Kelly's contract rolled over with an extra year after Thursday's win over Kansas State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
If the Ducks do lose Kelly to the NFL, Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich will be promoted to head coach, sources confirmed to ESPN. That decision was first reported by USA Today.
Kelly is at or near the top of the Browns' list of candidates to replace Pat Shurmur, who was fired earlier this week after going 9-23 in two seasons. Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner have been conducting interviews in Arizona all week, searching for the team's sixth coach since 1999.
The Browns have declined comment on any interviews.
Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton confirmed he interviewed with Cleveland earlier this week. The Browns have reportedly met with former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, Syracuse coach Doug Marrone and Penn State's Bill O'Brien, who removed himself from consideration on Thursday night and intends to stay at the school.
Kelly doesn't have any NFL coaching experience, but aspects of his up-tempo offense are already being used by some teams.
Kelly wouldn't say whether he was leaning one way or another following the Ducks' bowl win.
"I said I'll always listen, and that's what I'll do," he said. "I know that people want to talk to me because of our players. The success of our football program has always been about our guys. It's an honor for someone to say they'd want to talk to me about maybe moving on to go coach in the National Football League. But it's because of what those guys do. I'll listen, and we'll see."
Oregon could be facing possible NCAA sanctions for the school's use of recruiting services, but Kelly indicated he isn't running from anything.
"We've cooperated fully with them," he said. "If they want to talk to us again, we'll continue to cooperate fully. I feel confident in the situation."
Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter was used in this report.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
McManus Refurbishment
The McManus was built on former marshland, immediately north of the old city walls of Dundee, and over the years the building has been beset by problems. However, an extensive renovation programme brought the facility, opened in 1867 into the 21st century and provided a platform for a greatly improved visitor experience and a 'must see' attraction in the heart of the City. The restoration took place between 2006 and 2009, and the 'revitalised' McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum re-opened to the public on Sunday 28 February 2010.
This image gallery gives a flavour of the extensive works that took place to create the new McManus and make it the art gallery and museum you see today, which included:
- a new retail area and cafe with an outdoor terrace
- a new south entrance off a newly pedestrianised Meadowside
- beautiful open gallery spaces with state-of-the-art displays and interactives
- a new top-lit atrium, with a lift and a spectacular staircase
- a Creative Learning Suite, with the latest equipment for workshops and classes
- the complete renewal of heating, lighting, ventilation and electrical fixtures
- the underpinning of the building to provide stable foundations
- the repair and repointing of all stonework
- the reslating of all roofs and turrets
- the restoration of the leadwork on the finials which are a defining feature of the architecture of the building
This restoration was funded by Dundee City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Union and Historic Scotland, with additional contributions from The McManus Fundraising Appeal. The design team was led by Dundee City Council and the appointed architects were Page and Park, Glasgow. The display design was undertaken by Campbell and Co., Edinburgh. The appointed heritage consultants were ABL Cultural Consulting, London.
Scotland's 'Best Visitor Attraction', The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum is back!
Admission Free.
Opening times:
Mon to Sat
Last entry is 15 minutes before gallery closing time.
Object of the Month
Sat, 23/09/2023 - 13:30
Sun, 24/09/2023 - 11:00
Wed, 11/10/2023 - 13:30
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 13:00


text:
Read More
The Trees Gallery features nature's tallest plants. Evergreens in the snow, bright maples in the fall, and bare in the winter, trees are photogenic no matter the season. Even their details are often overlooked. Click on any image to see a larger version. My prints are fully guaranteed! Please click here to view instructions for using the shopping cart.


text:
Home >
News & Policies >
November 2004
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 2, 2004
President's Remarks to Campaign Volunteers and the Press Pool in Ohio
Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Headquarters
Columbus, Ohio
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for doing this. Listen we've come to thank our volunteers here in Ohio. They represent thousands of people all across the country who are making the calls and turning out the vote. I have been uplifted by the fact that thousands of people are working on my behalf, and the fact that thousands pray for me and Laura and our country.
One of the best ways to help send a signal about how appreciative I am is to come and thank people in person. Obviously, Ohio is an important state. It's a state that we intend to carry. I know we've got a lot of work to do. There's a lot of people, as you can tell, in this building, working hard in Columbus and they're working hard all across the state of Ohio. So this is an exciting time. The polls will be closing in five or six hours -- however long it is. (Laughter.) And I'm confident -- I'm confident we'll carry Ohio and I'm confident we'll carry the nation. And I look forward to leading this nation for four more years. I'm running because I've got more to do, more to -- more work to be done to keep this country secure, more work to be done to make sure prosperity reaches every corner of the land.
I want to thank all our supporters here in Ohio for their hard work.
Q Are you getting updates on legal wrangling out there on the plain?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I really haven't. Call my lawyer. (Laughter.)
Q Sir, does a big turnout help both sides -- and should it?
THE PRESIDENT: Listen, I am for a turnout as big as possible. I believe everybody should vote. We have a duty in this country to vote. I hope every citizen in Ohio and elsewhere does their duty. And I think it's -- and I think we'll have a good turnout, and I will be grateful if there's a big turnout. I think it's good for our system.
Q Is it going to be a divided country, no matter what happens, if it's a close election?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, you know, I was asked that question by another one of the pundits earlier, trying to guess about the outcome of the election. You need to talk to the experts -- I can just tell you what I've seen. I've seen enthusiasm, a willingness for people to put in extra hours of work. And we'll find out how it` goes tonight. This election is in the best of hands: It's in the hands of the voters of Ohio and voters all around the country.
Q Sir, you may think you're no pundit, but you've clearly paid pretty close attention. Give us a sense of how involved you are in tracking the numbers and voter turnout and --
THE PRESIDENT: Well, David, since I last talked to you , which was outside the voting booth in Crawford -- (laughter) -- which was a couple of hours ago, I've had a couple of cups of coffee, I spent some quality time with my wife -- (applause) -- I am going to run this race out to its fullest. I will be able to -- both of us will be able to say that we campaigned as hard as we possibly could. I have made the differences as clear as possible about why I think I am the best leader for the country for the next four years. You know, we'll find out tonight what the American people think, and I'm looking forward to it.
Thank you all.


text:
Built-in optimization
The Splunk software includes built-in optimizations that analyze and process your searches for maximum efficiency.
One goal of these optimizations is to filter results as early as possible. Filtering reduces the amount of data to process for the search. Early filtering avoids unnecessary lookups and evaluation calculations for events that are not part of the final search results.
Another goal is to process as much as possible in parallel on the indexers. The built-in optimizations can reorder search processing, so that as many commands as possible are run in parallel on the indexers before sending the search results to the search head for final processing. You can see the reordered search using the Job Inspector. See Analyze search optimizations.
Predicate optimization
Predicates act as filters to remove unnecessary events as your search is processed. The earlier in the search pipeline that a predicate is applied, the more efficient is the use of system resources. If a predicate is applied early, when events are fetched, only the events that match the predicate are fetched. If the same predicate is applied later in the search, then resources are wasted fetching more events than are necessary.
There are several built-in optimizations that focus on predicates:
- Predicate merge
- Predicate pushdown
- Predicate splitting
Types of predicates
There are two types of predicates, simple predicates and complex predicates.
- A simple predicate is a single conditional of the form
field = value.
- A complex predicate is a combination of several conjunctions (AND and OR) and disjunctions (NOT). For example,
Field1 = Value1 OR Field2 = Value2 AND Field3 = Value3.
A complex predicate can be merged or split apart to optimize a search.
In Splunk SPL, there are two commands that perform predicate-based filtering,
where and
An example of using the
where command for filtering is:
index="_internal" | where bytes > 10
An example of using the
search command for filtering is:
index="_internal" | search bytes > 10
Search-based predicates are a subset of where-based predicates. In other words, search-based predicates can be replaced by where-based predicates. However, where-based predicates cannot be replaced by search-based predicates.
Predicate merge
The predicate merge optimization takes two predicates and merges the predicates into one predicate. For example, consider the following search:
index=main | search a > 10 AND fieldA = "New"
There are two search commands in this example. The
search command before the pipe, which is implied at the beginning of every search, and the explicit
search command after the first pipe. With the predicate merge optimization, the predicates in the second
search command are merged with the predicates in the first
search command. For example:
index=main AND a > 10 AND fieldA = "New"
In some cases, predicates used with the
where command can also be merged. For example, consider the following search:
index=main | where fieldA = "New"
With the predicate merge optimization, the predicates specified with the
where command are merged with the predicates specified with the
search command.
index=main AND fieldA = "New"
Issues with field extractions and predicate merge
An inline field extraction requires special handling if the regular expression pattern extracts a subtoken. The field must be set to
indexed=false in the
fields.conf file. See Example inline field extraction configurations in the Knowledge Manager Manual.
Consider the following sample event:
Mon Apr 17 16:08:16 2017 host=10.10.1.1 Login name=John SUCCESS FRANCE
You create an extracted field called
country that uses the following regular expression:
SUCCESSmatches the characters SUCCESS literally and is case sensitive.
\smatches any whitespace character (space, tab, new line).
+?is a quantifier that matches between one and unlimited times, the fewest needed to match the pattern.
\Smatches any non-whitespace character.
{3}is a quantifier that matches exactly 3 non-whitespace characters
For the sample event, the following regular expression extracts the first 3 characters of the word FRANCE or
FRA. The extraction
FRA is a subtoken of the indexed term FRANCE.
When you search using the extracted field, for example:
index=main | search country=FRA
The search is optimized, using the predicate merge optimizer:
index=main country=FRA
However, the search returns no results because
FRA is not part of the index.
FRANCE is the indexed term.
To overcome this issue, you must add the following setting to the
fields.conf file:
[country] indexed=false
Alternatively, you can disable the built-in optimizations. See Optimization settings.
Predicate pushdown
The predicate pushdown optimization analyzes a search and reorders the search processing so that predicates are processed as early as possible.
Example of a simple predicate pushdown
You perform the following search:
sourcetype=access* (status=401 OR status=403) | lookup usertogroup user OUTPUT group | where src_category="email_server"
sourcetype=access* (status=401 OR status=403) portion of the search retrieves 50,000 events. The
lookup is performed on all 50,000 events. Then the
where command is applied and filters out events that are not
src_category="email_server" . The result is that 45,000 events are discarded and 5,000 events are returned in the search results.
If the search criteria used with the
where command is applied before the
lookup, more events are filtered out of the results. Only 5,000 events are retrieved from disk before the
lookup is performed.
With predicate pushdown, the search is reordered for processing. The
where command is eliminated by moving the search criteria
src_category="email_server" before the first pipe.
sourcetype=access* (status=401 OR status=403) src_category="email_server" | lookup usertogroup user OUTPUT group
Example of a complex predicate pushdown
Consider the following search fragment:
... | eval x=if(isnull(x) OR x=="", "missing", x) | where x = "hello"
In this situation, the
eval command is assigning a default value when a field is null or empty. This is a common pattern in Common Information Model (CIM) data models.
The built-in optimization reorganizes the search criteria before processing the search. The
where command is moved before the
eval command.
... | where x = "hello" | eval x=if(isnull(x) OR x=="", "missing", x)
Predicate splitting
Predicate splitting is the action of taking a predicate and dividing, or splitting, the predicate into smaller predicates. The predicate splitting optimizer can then move the smaller predicates, when possible, to an earlier place in the search.
Consider the following search:
index="_internal" component = "SearchProcess" | eval a = (x + y) | where a > 200 AND x < 10
field a is generated as part of the
eval command, it cannot be processed earlier in the search. However,
field x exists in the events and can be processed earlier. The predicate splitting optimization separates the components of the
where portion of the search. The search is reordered to process eligible components earlier.
index="_internal" component = "SearchProcess" | where x < 10 | eval a = (x + y) | where a > 200
The portion of the
where command
x < 10 is moved to before the
eval command. This move reduces the number of results that the
eval command must process.
Projection elimination
This optimization analyzes your search and determines if any of the generated fields specified in the search are not used to produce the search results. If generated fields are identified that can be eliminated, an optimized version of the search is run. Your search syntax remains unchanged.
For example, consider the following search:
index=_internal | eval c = x * y / z | stats count BY a, b
c field that is generated by
eval c = x * y / z is not used in the
stats calculation. The
c field can be eliminated from the search.
Your search syntax remains:
index=_internal | eval c = x * y / z | stats count BY a, b
But the optimized search that is run is:
index=_internal | stats count BY a, b
Here is another example:
| tstats count FROM datamodel=internal_audit_logs
For buckets whose data models are not built, this expands to the following fallback search:
| search ((index=* OR index=_*) index=_audit) | eval nodename = "Audit" | eval is_searches=if(searchmatch("(action=search NOT dmauditsearch)"),1,0), is_not_searches=1-is_searches, is_modify=if(searchmatch("(action=edit_user OR action=edit_roles OR action=update)"),1,0), is_not_modify=1-is_modify | eval nodename = if(nodename == "Audit" AND searchmatch("(action=search NOT dmauditsearch)"), mvappend(nodename, "Audit.searches"), nodename) | eval is_realtime=case(is_realtime == 0, "false", is_realtime == 1, "true", is_realtime == "N/A", "false"), search_id=replace(search_id,"'",""), search=replace(search,"'",""), search_type=case((id LIKE "DM_%" OR savedsearch_name LIKE "_ACCELERATE_DM%"), "dm_acceleration", search_id LIKE "scheduler%", "scheduled", search_id LIKE "rt%", "realtime", search_id LIKE "subsearch%", "subsearch", (search_id LIKE "SummaryDirector%" OR search_id LIKE "summarize_SummaryDirector%"), "summary_director", 1=1, "adhoc") | rename is_realtime AS Audit.searches.is_realtime search_id AS Audit.searches.search_id search AS Audit.searches.search search_type AS Audit.searches.search_type | eval nodename = if(nodename == "Audit" AND searchmatch("(action=edit_user OR action=edit_roles OR action=update)"), mvappend(nodename, "Audit.modify"), nodename) | rename action AS Audit.action info AS Audit.info object AS Audit.object operation AS Audit.operation path AS Audit.path user AS Audit.user exec_time AS Audit.exec_time result_count AS Audit.result_count savedsearch_name AS Audit.savedsearch_name scan_count AS Audit.scan_count total_run_time AS Audit.total_run_time is_searches AS Audit.is_searches is_not_searches AS Audit.is_not_searches is_modify AS Audit.is_modify is_not_modify AS Audit.is_not_modify | addinfo type=count label=prereport_events | stats count
This search can be optimized to this syntax:
| search ((index=* OR index=_*) index=_audit) | stats count
Eliminating unnecessary generated fields, or projections, leads to better search performance.
Event typing and tagging can take a significant amount of search processing time. This is especially true with Splunk Enterprise Security where there are many event types and tags defined. The more event types and tags that are defined in the system, the greater the annotation costs.
The built-in event types and tags optimization applies to transforming searches and data model acceleration searches.
Transforming searches
When a transforming search is run without the built-in optimization, all of the event types and tags are uploaded from the configuration system to the search processor. This upload happens whether the search requires the event types and tags or not. The search processing attempts to apply the event types and tags to each event.
For example, consider the following search:
index=_internal | search tag=foo | stats count by host
This search needs only the tag
foo. But without the optimization, all of the event types and tags are uploaded.
The built-in optimization solves this problem by analyzing the search and only uploading the event types and tags that are required. If no event types or tags are needed, none are uploaded which improves search performance.
For transforming searches, this optimization is controlled by several settings in the
limits.conf file, under the
[search_optimization::required_field_values] stanza. These settings are turned on by default. There is no need to change these settings, unless you need to troubleshoot an issue.
Data model acceleration searches
Another problem that can be solved by the event type and tags optimization is specifically targeted at data model acceleration. With a configuration setting in the
datamodels.conf file, you can specify a list of tags that you want to use with the data model acceleration searches. You specify the list under the
[dm.name] stanza with the
tags_whitelist setting.
For detailed information about the
tags_whitelist setting, including usage examples, see Set a tag whitelist for better data model performance in the Knowledge Manager Manual.
Analyze search optimizations
You can analyze the impact of the built-in optimizations by using the Job Inspector.
Determine search processing time
You can use the Job Inspector to determine whether the built-in search optimizations are helping your search to complete faster.
- Run your search.
- From the search action buttons, select Job > Inspect job.
- In the Job Inspector window, review the message at the top of the window. The message is similar to "The search has completed and returned X results by scanning X events in X seconds." Make note of the number of seconds to complete the search.
- Close the Job inspector window.
- In the Search bar, add
|noop search_optimization=falseto the end of your search. This turns off the built-in optimizations for this search.
- Run the search.
- Inspect the job and compare the message at the top of the Job Inspector window with the previous message. This message specifies how many seconds the search processing took without the built-in optimizations.
View the optimized search
You can compare your original search with the optimized search that is created when the built-in optimizations are turned on.
- Run your search.
- From the search action buttons, select Job, Inspect job.
- In the Job Inspector window, expand the Search job properties section and scroll to the normalizedSearch property. This property shows the internal search that is created based on your original search.
- Scroll to the optimizedSearch property. This property shows the search that is created, based on the normalizedSearch, when the built-in optimizations are applied.
Optimization settings
By default, the built-in optimizations are turned on.
Turn off optimization for a specific search
In some very limited situations, the optimization that is built into the search processor might not optimize a search correctly. In these situations, you can troubleshoot the problem by turning off the search optimization for that specific search.
Turning off the search optimization enables you to determine if the cause of unexpected or limited search results is the search optimization.
You turn off the built-in optimizations for a specific search by using the
noop command.
You add
noop search_optimization=false at the end of your search. For example:
| datamodel Authentication Successful_Authentication search | where Authentication.user = "fred" | noop search_optimization=false
Turn off all optimizations
You can turn off all of the built-in optimizations for all users.
- Splunk Cloud Platform
- To change the built-in optimizations, request help from Splunk Support. If you have a support contract, file a new case using the Splunk Support Portal at Support and Services. Otherwise, contact Splunk Customer Support.
- Splunk Enterprise
- To change the built-in optimizations, follow these steps.
- Prerequisites
- Only users with file system access, such as system administrators, can change the built-in optimizations using configuration files.
- Review the steps in How to edit a configuration file in the Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual.
Never change or copy the configuration files in the default directory. The files in the default directory must remain intact and in their original location. Make changes to the files in the local directory.
- Steps
- Open or create a local limits.conf file for the Search app at
- Open or create a local limits.conf file for the Search app at
- Under the
[search_optimization]stanza, set enabled=false.
- Under the
See also
Write better searches
Search normalization
This documentation applies to the following versions of Splunk® Enterprise: 7.0.0, 7.0.1, 7.0.2, 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.5, 7.0.6, 7.0.7, 7.0.8, 7.0.9, 7.0.10, 7.0.11, 7.0.13, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.1.3, 7.1.4, 7.1.5, 7.1.6, 7.1.7, 7.1.8, 7.1.9, 7.1.10, 7.2.0, 7.2.1, 7.2.2, 7.2.3, 7.2.4, 7.2.5, 7.2.6, 7.2.7, 7.2.8, 7.2.9, 7.2.10, 7.3.0, 7.3.1, 7.3.2, 7.3.3, 7.3.4, 7.3.5, 7.3.6, 7.3.7, 7.3.8, 7.3.9, 8.0.0, 8.0.1, 8.0.2, 8.0.3, 8.0.4, 8.0.5, 8.0.6, 8.0.7, 8.0.8, 8.0.9, 8.0.10, 8.1.0, 8.1.1, 8.1.2, 8.1.3, 8.1.4, 8.1.5, 8.1.6, 8.1.7, 8.1.8, 8.1.9, 8.1.10, 8.1.11, 8.1.12, 8.1.13, 8.1.14, 8.2.0, 8.2.1, 8.2.2, 8.2.3, 8.2.4, 8.2.5, 8.2.6, 8.2.7, 8.2.8, 8.2.9, 8.2.10, 8.2.11, 8.2.12


text:
How to Build a Compost Bin
By glblguy
Building a compost bin is something I've had on my list of things to do to ever since we moved here to the mountains. Compost is a great soil amendment for vegetable and flower gardens. Mature compost is the result of the natural breakdown of organic waste. Composting is the ultimate in recycling and considering organic waste makes up for more than 24% of municipal waste, composting is a great way to help the environment and save money.
Two weeks ago, I visited our local Lowes and picked up the wood and hardware needed to start building a compost bin. I love building things, especially when my kids help as I get to teach them. Building a compost bin turned out to not only be a useful project, but a fun a fun family project as well.
Compost bin design
I started out initially with a compost pile over near the woods behind our vegetable garden. Using a compost pile is a frugal way to get started, but not the most efficient way to generate or maintain good compost. Let me briefly overview some of the more popular ways to compost. I'll touch on the advantages and disadvantages of each:
- Compost pile – Obviously the most frugal choice. Find an out of the way location and start piling. Advantages: inexpensive Disadvantages: eye sore, doesn't produce mature compost quickly, can attract animals.
- Wire bin – Another frugal choice. Just take some chicken wire (or similar fencing), make a cylinder out of it and begin mixing your compost inside. Advantages: inexpensive, better than a compost pile Disadvantages: Difficult to "turn", doesn't produce compost quickly
- Compost Barrel – A compost barrel produces compost quickly and makes turning your compost a snap. Two of the many different barrel products are the Spinning Horizontal Composter and the Tumbleweed Composter. Advantages: fast compost, easy turning, attractive option Disadvantages: Somewhat expensive, makes a small amount of compost, will rust over time.
- Wooden Bin – A wooden bin produces compost quickly and can be built to contain multiple bins to facilitate making more compost. There are tons of plans on the internet. Advantages: Attractive, can be built specifically for your needs, adjusted to your budget, fun – if you enjoy wood working. Disadvantages: Heavy, can be pricey, not the best solution for the non-do it yourselfer.
Building a compost bin
After researching several plans, I decided to go with a plan I found on Lowes.com. It had a material list, was the size I needed, and was a multiple bin plan. I also really liked the way it looked and the plan included lockable covers, which was important for me in order to keep the critters (and our dogs) out.
If you can do basic wood construction, you can assemble this bin. The most difficult part is making it square. If you decide to go this route, invest in a good carpenter square. I promise, you'll be glad you did.
I took the materials list to our local Lowes and purchased all of the wood and hardware. Make sure you get everything you need on the first trip. Nothing worse than having to stop your project in the middle and head to the hardware store. Total cost for me was $350.00, but you could save some money by using scrap wood or existing hardware you may already have. Don't use non-treated wood though, or your bin won't last long.
Assembly took about 10 hours. Although if I had been doing it by myself (i.e. no kiddos), I think it would have been more like 6-8 hours. The plans from Lowe's are good, but not perfect.
Here's the end result:
One of the best features of this plan is that the wooden slats you see in the front are removable. If you look closely, you'll see that they actually slide into tracks and stack on top of each other. There is a 1/4″ gap between the boards to allow for air-flow to the compost. The gaps were obtained by placing two screws in the bottom of each slat and leaving them out 1/4″. The removable slats make loading, unloading, and turning your compost so much easier.
The plan also has a raised floor which helps keep your compost dry and allows airflow into the bottom of the compost bin. The lids also ease access to your compost, but protect it from being invaded by critters. In area that could be anything from our dogs to bears, but most likely racoons.
Overall I think it turned out very nice. It's not perfect, but hey it's a compost bin, not a piece of furniture right? One of the problems is that the plans from Lowes aren't perfect. Let me share a few tips I learned along the way:
- If you aren't real experienced at building wood projects, pick up an extra piece of wood for each size. The plans specify the exact amount of wood you will need. One bad cut, and you won't have enough wood. As my grandfather and father used to always reinforce to me: "Measure twice, cut once". You can always use the extra wood for other projects you'll have.
- Use the step by step plans and not the downloadable diagram for measurements. They don't match and the diagram is wrong. Use the diagram just as a visual reference.
- The materials tells you to buy two boxes of most nails and screws. Buy one. I have unopened extra boxes. I'm ok with that, as I always need them, but if you don't do much wood work, it's a waste of money.
- As you build the compost bin, constantly check to make sure it's horizontally and vertically square. If you don't, it will make putting in the slats and top far more difficult.
- Once you get the frame built, place it where you are going to keep it permanently. The completed compost bin is heavy. We made the mistake of assembling it in our driveway. Fortunately I have 5 boys and a truck, so we were able to load it up and hauled it up to our garden. But it was HEAVY. I'm guessing at completion (with no compost) it weights around 300lbs due to the treated wood.
- One area of the plan that was NOT clear is how long to cut the the 2x2s for the lid. Measure from the back to the front of the slats. The plan seems to imply that you measure from the back to back of the slats. If you did this (like I did), the locks for your lid won't work. I had to cut two small pieces of 2×2 to place the locks on so they would work. Look at the locks on the right side in the picture and you'll see what I mean.
- While you can do this project with a handsaw, there is enough cutting that a power circular saw would be highly recommended. If you don't have one, pay the extra for a Dewalt. A Dewalt saw is not the most frugal option, but it cuts wood like a hot knife through butter and will last you forever. I believe that paying more for quality tools is worth it in the long run. I've had mine for over 5 years and it's never skipped a beat.
Filling it up with compost materials
Once we had it placed, we moved the compost pile into the bin. This gave me a chance to interweave some fresh material and also aerate the pile. I thought our pile would fill up at least 1 bin and most likely 1/2 of the other. Turns out in only filed about 3/4 of the one bin.
The secret to successful composting is the proper layering and ratio of materials. You want 1/3 green and 2/3 brown. Green includes things like: grass clippings, vegetable peelings, manure, seaweed, plants and plant cuttings. Seaweed? Yes, I compost the extra algae growth from my saltwater aquarium. Brown materials include: leaves, hay, coffee grounds, shredded paper, wood ash, sawdust, and teas bags. Layering your bit with green and brown materials in the right mixture is critical to having a productive compost pile. Don't use full sheets of paper or newspaper, as they will just compact your compost pile. Also, shred leaves before placing them in the bin to avoid the same problem. An easy way to do this is to run over the leaves with a lawn mower a few times.
You can see here in this picture the initial layering when we loaded the new bin:
I've since added more grass clippings to the top. All the white is shredded paper out of my paper shredder. I've also started the second bin as well with a base of dry leaves I found under our deck. Leaves make for great compost.
To hold kitchen scraps until we can take them up to the bin, we keep a 5-gallon bucket with a lid next to the trash and other recylables. You can pick up the bucket and lid at Lowe's for next to nothing in the painting area. Here's a picture:
Now we wait. Mature compost generally takes 3-6 months depending on the materials. The only care and maintenance required is to turn the materials every few weeks to keep things aerated. Airflow is a critical component to good compost.
A tell tale sign that your compost is maturing and breaking down properly is the temperature at the center. It should be between 110 and 160 degrees F. Yes, that hot. It surprised me too. I have a long stem thermometer and tested my temperature last week: 120 degrees F. So I'm composting away! (yeah I know, I'm excited about compost…my wife picks on me too).
We're adding new compost materials to the second bin now, while the first bin "cooks". I plan to build a compost sifter soon too using some scrap wood and left hard hardware fencing I have. This will allow us to filter out all of the materials that didn't fully breakdown and have good clean compost.
To make sure I turn it on time, I've added repeating entries to my Google calendar to remind me. Most experts recommend turning it every 4 weeks, so that's what I'm doing. I'll keep you posted!
Composting Resources
Here are some really good resources I found on composting you should check out:
- Blue Ridge Gardener – Compost Resources
- Vermicomposting – This is on my list too.
- EPA site on Composting
- Composting 101
- Cornell University Composting
- Compost Confidential
Do you compost? Have any tips you can share? What type of compost bin do you use? Add a comment!


text: B Gross rent and other leasing and hiring incomeWarning: This information may not apply to the current year. Check the content carefully to ensure it is applicable to your circumstances. End of attention Show at B all the rental income from land and buildings and all income from leasing and hiring. This item cannot be a loss. Do not include any rental, leasing or hiring income derived from foreign sources. Show them at D Net foreign income and D1 Gross foreign income. Do not include any rental income distributed from a trust. This should be included at Q Trust distributions other amounts. Last modified: 29 Jul 2020QC 21714


text:
Los Angeles Times Names Book Prize Winners For 2006
LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2007 On the eve of the nation's largest public literary festival, the Los Angeles Times tonight applauded the year's most accomplished authors with its 27th Annual Book Prizes ceremony at UCLA's Royce Hall. News anchor Jim Lehrer served as master of ceremonies for the event that drew many of the biggest names in the book world, honored author William Kittredge with the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement and recognized 2006's best books and their writers in nine categories.
"The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes honor the year's great writers and great literary works," said Publisher David D. Hiller. "Celebrating the diverse literary universe is a longstanding Book Prizes' tradition and the 2006 honorees well represent a rich tapestry of writing."
Times Book Editor David Ulin presented Kittredge with the Robert Kirsch Award, given annually to a living author with a substantial connection to the American West whose contribution to American letters deserves special recognition. Based in Montana, Kittredge is one of the West's preeminent cultural voices. His novels, stories and essays are considered classics of western literature, with an unpretentious, no-nonsense style that uses straightforward prose to convey deeply powerful emotional undercurrents.
Established in 1980, the Book Prizes span genres as diverse as The Times' spectrum of content, from history to captivating mystery, and masterful poetry to cutting-edge science. This year's winners include a biography of creative pioneer Walt Disney; a perspective on the tensions between the Dutch and Muslim immigrants; and a first-time writer's dreamy, lyrical tale of teenaged American sisters growing up in Hong Kong during the Vietnam War. Each winner, including Kittredge, receives a $1,000 cash award.
2006 Book Prizes Winners
Biography: Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (Alfred A. Knopf). Presented by Rick Wartzman.
Current Interest: Ian Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of the Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance (Penguin Press). Presented by Reza Aslan.
Fiction: A.B. Yehoshua, A Woman in Jerusalem [translated from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin] (Harcourt). Presented by Steve Lopez.
Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction: Alice Greenway, White Ghost Girls (Black Cat / Grove/Atlantic). Presented by Jane Smiley.
History: Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Alfred A. Knopf). Presented by Geoffrey R. Stone.
Mystery/Thriller: Michael Connelly, Echo Park: A Novel (Little, Brown). Presented by Lisa See.
Poetry: Frederick Seidel, Ooga-Booga (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Presented by James Ragan.
Science and Technology: Eric R. Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind (W.W. Norton). Presented by M.G. Lord.
Young Adult Fiction: Coe Booth, Tyrell (Push / Scholastic). Presented by Jacqueline Woodson.
2006 Book Prize finalists (including winners)
Debby Applegate, The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher (Doubleday)Rodney Bolt, The Librettist of Venice: The Remarkable Life of Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's Poet, Casanova's Friend, and Italian Opera's Impresario in America (Bloomsbury USA)Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (Alfred A. Knopf)Jeffrey Goldberg, Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew across the Middle East Divide (Alfred A. Knopf)Daniel Mendelsohn, The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million (HarperCollins)
Current Interest:
Douglas Brinkley, The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (William Morrow / HarperCollins)Ian Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance (Penguin Press)Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone (Alfred A. Knopf)Alicia Drake, The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris (Little, Brown)Terri Jentz, Strange Piece of Paradise (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
David Mitchell, Black Swan Green: A Novel (Random House)Peter Orner, The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo: A Novel (Little, Brown)Susan Straight, A Million Nightingales (Pantheon Books)Daniel Woodrell, Winter's Bone: A Novel (Little, Brown)A.B. Yehoshua, A Woman in Jerusalem [translated from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin] (Harcourt)
Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction:
Tony D'Souza, Whiteman (Harcourt)Lisa Fugard, Skinner's Drift: A Novel (Scribner)Jennifer Gilmore, Golden Country: A Novel (Scribner)Alice Greenway, White Ghost Girls (Black Cat / Grove/Atlantic)Janis Cooke Newman, Mary: A Novel (MacAdam/Cage Publishing)
Taylor Branch, At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 (Simon & Schuster)Niall Ferguson, The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West (Penguin Press)Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War (Viking)John Tayman, The Colony (Lisa Drew / Scribner)Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Alfred A. Knopf)
Michael Connelly, Echo Park: A Novel (Little, Brown)Patrick Neate, City of Tiny Lights (Riverhead Books)George Pelecanos, The Night Gardener: A Novel (Little, Brown)Jess Walter, The Zero: A Novel (HarperCollins)Don Winslow, The Winter of Frankie Machine (Alfred A. Knopf)
Erin Belieu, Black Box (Copper Canyon Press)Adrian C. Louis, Logorrhea (TriQuarterly Books / Northwestern University Press)Thom Satterlee, Burning Wyclif (Texas Tech University Press)Frederick Seidel, Ooga-Booga (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)Michael Waters, Darling Vulgarity (BOA Editions)
Science and Technology:
Joyce E. Chaplin, The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius (Basic Books)Ann Gibbons, The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors (Doubleday)Eric R. Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind (W.W. Norton)Daniel J. Levitin, This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (Dutton)Edward O. Wilson, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth (W.W. Norton)
Young Adult Fiction:
M.T. Anderson, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party (Candlewick Press)Coe Booth, Tyrell (Push / Scholastic)John Green, An Abundance of Katherines (Dutton Books / Penguin Young Readers Group)Meg Rosoff, Just in Case (Wendy Lamb Books / Random House Children's Books)Nancy Werlin, The Rules of Survival (Dial Books / Penguin Young Readers Group)
About the Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of nearly 2.2 million and 3.3 million on Sunday. The Los Angeles Times and its media businesses - including latimes.com, The Envelope/theenvelope.com, Times Community Newspapers, Recycler Classifieds, Hoy, and California Community News - reach approximately 9.2 million or 71% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace every week.
The Los Angeles Times, has been covering Southern California for over 125 years and is part of Tribune Company ( NYSE: TRB), one of the country's leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information about the Los Angeles Times is available at www.latimes.com/mediacenter
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text:
|/* This file contains the definitions and documentation for the
|additional tree codes used in the GNU C++ compiler (see tree.def
|for the standard codes).
|Copyright (C) 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998,
|1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
|Written by Benjamin Chelf <email@example.com>
|This file is part of GCC.
|GCC is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
|the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
|Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later
|GCC is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
|WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
|FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
|for more details.
|You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
|along with GCC; see the file COPYING. If not, write to the Free
|Software Foundation, 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA
|/* Tree nodes relevant to both C and C++. These were originally in
|cp-tree.def in the cp subdir. */
|DEFTREECODE (SIZEOF_EXPR, "sizeof_expr", tcc_unary, 1)
|DEFTREECODE (ARROW_EXPR, "arrow_expr", tcc_expression, 1)
|DEFTREECODE (ALIGNOF_EXPR, "alignof_expr", tcc_unary, 1)
|/* APPLE LOCAL radar 4278774 */
|DEFTREECODE (AT_ENCODE_EXPR, "at_encode_expr", tcc_unary, 1)
|/* APPLE LOCAL begin CW asm blocks */
|/* Tree nodes for CW asm block. */
|/* Use to represent [x]. */
|DEFTREECODE (BRACKET_EXPR, "bracket_expr", tcc_unary, 2)
|/* APPLE LOCAL end CW asm blocks */
|/* Used to represent an expression statement. Use `EXPR_STMT_EXPR' to
|obtain the expression. */
|DEFTREECODE (EXPR_STMT, "expr_stmt", tcc_expression, 1)
|/* Used to represent a `for' statement. The operands are
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|DEFTREECODE (WHILE_STMT, "while_stmt", tcc_expression, 2)
|/* Used to represent a 'do' statement. The operands are DO_BODY and
|DO_COND, respectively. */
|/* APPLE LOCAL radar 4445586 */
|DEFTREECODE (DO_STMT, "do_stmt", tcc_expression, 3)
|/* Used to represent a 'break' statement. */
|DEFTREECODE (BREAK_STMT, "break_stmt", tcc_expression, 0)
|/* Used to represent a 'continue' statement. */
|DEFTREECODE (CONTINUE_STMT, "continue_stmt", tcc_expression, 0)
|/* Used to represent a 'switch' statement. The operands are
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|DEFTREECODE (SWITCH_STMT, "switch_stmt", tcc_expression, 3)
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|/* A COMPOUND_LITERAL_EXPR represents a C99 compound literal. The
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|the compound literal. */
|DEFTREECODE (COMPOUND_LITERAL_EXPR, "compound_literal_expr", tcc_expression, 1)
|Local variables:


text:
- Home
- City Services
- Fire & Rescue
- Fire Safety
Fire Safety
Call 911
The most important thing to remember if you are involved in a fire or think there might be danger of fire is to call 911. The sooner you do this the less likely there will be damage or death.
Create an Escape Plan
Whether you live in an apartment, one-story home or three-story home, you need to establish an escape plan for all members of your family/household. Designate a safe "meeting place" outside your home in case their is a fire, and try to establish at least two exits out of each room. Escape plans should be practiced twice a year - during the day and night.
Install Smoke Alarms
Smoke alarms save lives - it's a proven fact. Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of your home, in every bedroom or around each sleeping area. Test alarms on a monthly basis by pushing the test button. Batteries should be changed twice a year (usually at Daylight Saving Time). The City of Derby has a free smoke detector program.
Children and Fire
Children playing with fire cause hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries each year. Preschoolers are most likely to start fires, typically by playing with matches. Here are several tips to remember:
- Store matches and lighters out of children's reach and sight, up high, preferably in a locked cabinet.
- Never use lighters or matches as a source of amusement for children; they may imitate you.
- If your child expresses curiosity about fire or has been playing with fire, calmly but firmly explain that matches and lighters are tools for adults only.
- Use only lighters designed with child-resistant features. Remember child-resistant does not mean child proof.
- Teach young children to tell an adult if they see matches or lighters, and teach school-age children to bring any matches or lighters to an adult.
- Never leave matches or lighters in a bedroom or any place where children may go without supervision.


text:
AND still many dangers had to be faced. The wooers whom Odysseus had slain were the richest and the most powerful of the lords of Ithaka and the Islands; all of them had fathers and brothers who would fain avenge them upon their slayer.
Now before anyone in the City knew that he had returned, Odysseus went forth to the farm that Laertes, his old father, stayed at. As he drew near he saw an old man working in the vineyard, digging round a plant. When he came to him he saw that this old man was not a slave nor a servant, but Laertes, his own father.
When he saw him,
Old man, thou dost care for this garden well and all things here are flourishing--fig tree, and vine, and olive, and pear. But, if a stranger may say it, thine own self is not cared for well.
Who art thou that dost speak to me like this? old Laertes said, lifting his head.
I am a stranger in Ithaka, said Odysseus. I seek a man whom I once kindly treated--a man whose name was Odysseus. A stranger, he came to me, and he declared that he was of Ithaka, and that one day he would give me entertainment for the entertainment I had given him. I know not if this man be still alive.
Old Laertes wept before Odysseus. Ah, said he, if thou hadst been able to find him here, the gifts you gave him would not have been bestowed in vain. True hospitality thou wouldst have received from Odysseus, my son. But he has perished--far from his countrys soil he has perished, the hapless man, and his mother wept not over him, nor his wife, nor me, his father.
So he spake and then with his hands he took up the dust of the ground, and he strewed it over his head in his sorrow. The heart of Odysseus was moved with grief. He sprang forward and fell on his fathers neck and he kissed him, saying:
Behold I am here, even I, my father. I, Odysseus, have come back to mine own country. Cease thy lamentation until I tell thee of the things that have happened. I have slain the wooers in mine hall, and I have avenged all their injuries and all their wrongful doings. Dost thou not believe this, my father? Then look on what I will show thee. Behold on my foot the mark of the boars tusk--there it is from the days of my youth.
Laertes looked down on the bare foot, and he saw the scar, but still his mind was clouded by doubt. But then Odysseus took him through the garden, and he told him of the fruit trees that Laertes had set for him when he, Odysseus, was a little child, following his father about the garden--thirteen pear trees, and ten apple trees, and forty fig trees.
When Odysseus showed him these Laertes knew that it was his son indeed who stood before him--his son come back after twenty years wandering. He cast his arms around his neck, and Odysseus caught him fainting to his breast, and led him into the house.
Within the house were Telemachus, and Eumæus the swineherd and Philtius the cattle-herd. They all clasped the hand of Laertes and their words raised his spirits. Then he was bathed, and, when he came from the bath, rubbed with olive oil he looked hale and strong. Odysseus said to him, Father, surely one of the gods has made thee goodlier and greater than thou wert a while ago.
Said the old hero Laertes: Ah, my son, would that I had such might as when, long before thou wert born, I took the Castle of Nericus there upon the Foreland. Would that in such might, and with such mail upon my shoulders, I stood with thee yesterday when thou didst fight with the wooers.
WHILE they were speaking in this way the rumour of the slaying of the wooers went through the City. Then those who were related to the men slain went into the courtyard of Odysseus house, and brought forth the bodies. Those who belonged to Ithaka they buried, and those who belonged to the Islands they put upon ships, and sent them with fisherfolk, each to his own home. Many were wroth with Odysseus for the slaying of a friend. He who was the most wroth was Eupeithes, the father of Antinous.
There was an assembly of the men of the country, and Eupeithes spake in it, and all who were there pitied him. He told how Odysseus had led away the best of the men of Ithaka, and how he had lost them in his ships. And he told them how, when he returned, he slew the noblest of the men of Ithaka and the Islands in his own hall. He called upon them to slay Odysseus saying, If we avenge not ourselves on the slayer of our kin we will be scorned for all time as weak and cowardly men. As for me, life will be no more sweet to me. I would rather die straightway and be with the deParted. Up now, and let us attack Odysseus and his followers before they take ship and escape across the sea.
Many in that assembly put on their armour and went out with old Eupeithes. And as they went through the town they met with Odysseus and his following as they were coming from the house of Laertes.
Now as the two bands came close to each other--Odysseus with Telemachus and Laertes; with the swineherd and the cattle-herd; with Dolius, Laertes servant, and with the six sons of Dolius--and Eupeithes with his friends--a great figure came between. It was the figure of a tall, fair and splendid woman. Odysseus knew her for the goddess Pallas Athene.
Hold your hands from fierce fighting, ye men of Ithaka, the goddess called out in a terrible voice. Hold your hands. Straightway the arms fell from each mans hands. Then the goddess called them together, and she made them enter into a covenant that all bloodshed and wrong would be forgotten, and that Odysseus would be left to rule Ithaka as a King, in peace.
So ends the story of Odysseus who went with King Agamemnon to the wars of Troy; who made the plan of the Wooden Horse by which Priams City was taken at last; who missed the way of his return, and came to the Land of the Lotus-eaters; who came to the Country of the dread Cyclopes, to the Island of Æolus and to the house of Circe, the Enchantress; who heard the song of the Sirens, and came to the Rocks Wandering, and to the terrible Charybdis, and to Scylla, past whom no other man had won scatheless; who landed on the Island where the Cattle of the Sun grazed, and who stayed upon Ogygia, the home of the nymph Calypso; so ends the story of Odysseus, who would have been made deathless and ageless by Calypso if he had not yearned always to come back to his own hearth and his own land. And spite of all his troubles and his toils he was fortunate, for he found a constant wife and dutiful son and a father still alive to weep over him.


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Where Is The Outrage Over the Domestic Use of Drones?
And where have all the Jeffersonians gone?
For the past few weeks, I have been writing in this column about the government's use of drones and challenging their constitutionality on Fox News Channel where I work. I once asked on air what Thomas Jefferson would have done if–had drones existed at the time–King George III had sent drones to peer inside the bedroom windows of Monticello. I suspect that Jefferson and his household would have trained their muskets on the drones and taken them down. I offer this historical anachronism as a hypothetical only, not as one who is urging the use of violence against the government.
Nevertheless, what Jeffersonians are among us today? When drones take pictures of us on our private property and in our homes, and the government uses the photos as it wishes, what will we do about it? Jefferson understood that when the government assaults our privacy and dignity, it is the moral equivalent of violence against us. The folks who hear about this, who either laugh or groan, cannot find it humorous or boring that their every move will be monitored and photographed by the government.
Don't believe me that this is coming? The photos that the drones will take may be retained and used or even distributed to others in the government so long as the "recipient is reasonably perceived to have a specific, lawful governmental function" in requiring them. And for the first time since the Civil War, the federal government will deploy military personnel inside the United States and publicly acknowledge that it is deploying them "to collect information about U.S. persons."
It gets worse. If the military personnel see something of interest from a drone, they may apply to a military judge or "military commander" for permission to conduct a physical search of the private property that intrigues them. And, any "incidentally acquired information" can be retained or turned over to local law enforcement. What's next? Prosecutions before military tribunals in the U.S.?
The quoted phrases above are extracted from a now-public 30-page memorandum issued by President Obama's Secretary of the Air Force on April 23, 2012. The purpose of the memorandum is stated as "balancing…obtaining intelligence information…and protecting individual rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution…" Note the primacy of intelligence gathering over freedom protection, and note the peculiar use of the word "balancing."
When liberty and safety clash, do we really expect the government to balance those values? Of course not. The government cannot be trusted to restrain itself in the face of individual choices to pursue happiness. That's why we have a Constitution and a life-tenured judiciary: to protect the minority from the liberty-stealing impulses of the majority. And that's why the Air Force memo has its priorities reversed—intelligence gathering first, protecting freedom second—and the mechanism of reconciling the two—balancing them—constitutionally incorrect.
Everyone who works for the government swears to uphold the Constitution. It was written to define and restrain the government. According to the Declaration of Independence, the government's powers come from the consent of the governed. The government in America was not created by a powerful king reluctantly granting liberty to his subjects. It was created by free people willingly granting limited power to their government—and retaining that which they did not delegate.
The Declaration also defines our liberties as coming from our Creator, as integral to our humanity and as inseparable from us, unless we give them up by violating someone else's liberties. Hence the Jeffersonian and constitutional beef with the word "balancing" when it comes to government power versus individual liberty.
The Judeo-Christian and constitutionally mandated relationship between government power and individual liberty is not balance. It is bias–a bias in favor of liberty. All presumptions should favor the natural rights of individuals, not the delegated and seized powers of the government. Individual liberty, not government power, is the default position because persons are immortal and created in God's image, and governments are temporary and based on force.
Hence my outrage at the coming use of drones–some as small as golf balls–to watch us, to listen to us and to record us. Did you consent to the government having that power? Did you consent to the American military spying on Americans in America? I don't know a single person who has, but I know only a few who are complaining.
If we remain silent when our popularly elected government violates the laws it has sworn to uphold and steals the freedoms we elected it to protect, we will have only ourselves to blame when Big Brother is everywhere. Somehow, I doubt my father's generation fought the Nazis in World War II only to permit a totalitarian government to flourish here.
Is President Obama prepared to defend this? Is Gov. Romney prepared to challenge it? Are you prepared for its consequences?
Andrew P. Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, is the senior judicial analyst at Fox News Channel. Judge Napolitano has written six books on the U.S. Constitution. The most recent is "It Is Dangerous To Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom."


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The custom figurines are all handmade ,out of the non toxic polymer clay. It can became not only the highlight of the whole event but also a lasting memory. Because All the figurines can be kept through your whole life with its strong craftsmanship.
More different styles, please follow Owl, Penguin, Bird, Love Bird, Cat, Deer, Dog, Horse, Dinosaur, Elephant Wedding Cake Toppers in Animal Wedding Cake Toppers. If you have more unique ideas, plaese follow Custom Orders.
1. As Picture
We sculpt the figurines completely as the picture above shows. For example, if the figurine presents with a banner, you don't need to choose the option "Adding a banner +$8.00" in Accessories.
2. Upgrade the figurine to do some modifications
Personalize them, for example matching the details to your wedding colors!
Copy the form below, with your preferences, on the Note to seller, during the check out:
- For the bride: open or closed eyes?
- bouquet: color/s for the flowers?
- on the head: veil with tiara of flowers, or birdcage veil, or only flowers? Color/s for them?
- For the groom: open or closed eyes?
- tie, bow tie or without tie? Color?
- top hat, bowler hat or no hat? Color?
- describe the detailed modifications you prefer
They are also available in other colors (pink, blue etc.).
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If you want to add one or two accessories you want, note to seller during the check out.
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If you have other ideas for the customizations, we'll be happy to work out the details with you! Some details could have an additional cost. Contact us BEFORE purchasing.
As all our crafts are handmade, they usually will be finished in 2-4 weeks or faster and delivered in 3-7 business days or faster after you place the order. Of course, your event date more than 12 weeks from today is at the best circles. You know, more time we get, more perfect we make it. We'll arrange your order according to which shipping option you choose when you check out. You'll get a tracking number when it has been shipped.
Standard shipped items will be delivered using DHL. Expressed orders are mostly shipped using UPS but sometimes we will use DHL or FedEx. Which one we choose is based on the delivery address and shipping option you choose on the checkout page.
Rush Order: If you want your figurines earlier, we can offer this special service. Please select the best production/shipping method for your order when check out. The shortest time that you can get it in 12 days (processing+shipping). And you should pay relevant charge for the expedited service. Of course, your event date is less than 1-2 week from today, you can choose Quick Ship Style.
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It's difficult to say which international affair is tugging more on the British psyche right now: the no-end-in-sight NATO conflict in Libya; the costly, clumsy run-up to the 2012 London Olympics; or the royal wedding that's about to turn the capital into a full-blown Glastonbury mosh pit. All of this, mixed with the austerity measures of increasingly confident prime minister David Cameron, and you'd expect to find one glum metropolis. But tell that to the crowds marauding on Vyner Street during the free monthly art walks, or to the squatters gleefully taking ownership of a Qaddafi-family mansion, or to anyone who's paused to peer up at Renzo Piano's skyline-piercing Shard building. Seen through these lenses, that London fog you were expecting doesn't seem so gloomy after all.
• The Three-Hour Art Walk
• Rogues' Gallery
• Three Restaurants Londoners Clamor For
• The New Teenage Slang
• Squat Like a Pro
• What Your Football Club of Choice Says About You
• Where Three Foreign-Born Londoners Go When They're Feeling Homesick
• A Survey of London's Most Talked-About Buildings
• What London's Listening to
• Where Locals Would Stay If They Weren't Locals
Reported by Rachel B. Doyle and Will Frears


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Arnold Schoenberg: A Survivor from Warsaw from BU School of Music on Vimeo. I am pleased to announce the launch of our newest web initiative, BU's Virtual Concert Hall. We have decided to coincide the launch with the release of the video production of our most recent concert at Symphony Hall, which featured a great […]
Tagged: Verdi
BU Virtual Concert Hall Launched!
December 15, 2011 at 12:14 pm
By krone | Posted in CFA School of Music Event | Also tagged A Survivor from Warsaw, Ann Howard Jones, Clay Hilley, Daveda Karanas, Michelle Johnson, Morris Robinson, Schoenberg, Symphony hall, virtual concerts | Comments Off on BU Virtual Concert Hall Launched!


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Dyspeptic: Pertaining to dyspepsia, a term that is probably more often encountered today in advertising than in medicine. "Dyspepsia" refers to nondescript, nonspecific upper abdominal symptoms which may include discomfort, bloating, a feeling of unusual fullness with very little intake of food (early satiety) or following meals (postprandial fullness), nausea, loss of appetite, heartburn, regurgitation of food or acid, and belching.
The term "dyspepsia" may be used for these symptoms when they are not typical of a specific disease as, for example, gastrointestinal reflux (GERD), and the cause of the upper abdominal symptoms is not clear. Once a cause for the symptoms has been determined, the term "dyspepsia" usually is dropped in favor of a more specific diagnosis such as gastric ulcer, GERD, etc.
Attempts have been made to subcategorize dyspepsia into ulcer-like, dysmotility-like, reflux-like, and unspecified; however, the utility of this categorization is unclear. Subdividing such a nebulous condition is a dubious endeavor.
A French writer (1862) called dyspepsia "the remorse of a guilty stomach." The word "dyspepsia" came into English usage in 1706. It was contrived by cementing "dys-" to the Greek "pepsis" (digestion) = dysdigestion = indigestion.


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Celebrity News June 20, 2014
Who Is Jeremy Meeks? Felony Suspect's Hot Mug Shot Goes Viral
Convicted felon Jeremy Meeks' blue-eyed mugshot was a big hit on social media, generating more than 2,400 swooning comments.
The 30-year-old was arrested Wednesday on felony weapons charges during a sweep in the Weston Ranch area of Stockton, California.
Once the Stockton Police Department posted Meeks' mugshot on their Facebook page, the comments came pouring in. See some of them here.
Following an increase in shootings and robberies, Meeks was one of four men arrested in a multi-agency operation. He faces five weapons charges and one gang charge, police said, and is being held on $900,000 bail.
Speaking from jail, the tattoo-covered Meeks, who previously served nine years in prison for grand theft, said he said he learned of his newfound fame when he spoke with his wife.
"I just visited my wife and she said I blew up all over Facebook," he told News 10. "I appreciate [the attention] but I just want them to know that this is really not me. I'm not some kingpin."
His mother agrees, and she insists that her son is innocent. She set up a GoFundMe page to raise $25,000 to get him a fair trial.
She writes on the page, "He has a job and he was on his way to work, with no gang affiliations as per two of the charges. He has old tattoos... which causes him to be sterotyped [sic]. He's my son and he is so sweet. Please help him to get a fair trial or else he'll be railroaded."
Meeks' arraignment is scheduled for Friday afternoon.


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NEW YORK (AP) ? Big banks, facing declining revenues and a regulatory climate that leaves them fewer creative ways to make money, are quietly introducing or experimenting with fees that are sure to outrage customers.
Bank of America was shouted down by angry customers last fall when it tried to impose a $5 monthly fee for using a debit card. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo backed off plans to impose their own fees.
But the major banks have imposed or are testing other fees:
? Since November, Wells Fargo has charged $15 a month for some checking accounts unless customers have three accounts with the bank, maintain a minimum balance of $7,500 or have a Wells Fargo mortgage.
? Some Citibank customers are being charged $20 a month unless they keep $15,000 in their accounts, up from $6,000 before December. They're also being dinged with a $2 fee for using non-Citi ATMs if their balance falls below the minimum.
? Bank of America, even after a backlash last fall when it tried to impose a $5 monthly fee for debit card transactions, is testing a menu of checking accounts in Georgia, Massachusetts and Arizona with monthly fees of $6 to $25.
Banks aren't charities, and they say they need to make money, or at least cover the cost of doing business. Consumer groups ? and customers, too, it's safe to assume ? have a less forgiving view.
"Banks have a short-term memory," says Norma Garcia, senior attorney at Consumers Union. "These fees affect all consumers, but particularly impact the most vulnerable, who have the least capacity to meet minimum balances and avoid the fees."
Nothing in banking is free anymore. All of the largest banks in the United States offered free checking with no strings attached until 2009, and almost none do today, says Mike Moebs, the founder of Moebs Services, a financial research company.
And what wasn't free before costs a lot more these days: Moebs' research shows that cashiers' checks that used to cost $3 now cost as much as $12, and the cost to get money orders has doubled to $2 at the largest banks.
The big banks are public companies and are expected to make a profit somehow. And it's not as easy as it used to be.
Historically, banks have made money off of something called interest rate spreads. They borrowed money cheaply, loaned it out at higher interest rates and pocketed the difference.
But interest rates are at historic lows, making it harder for banks to charge high rates when they lend and squeezing their profits.
Regulatory rules since 2009 have also curtailed traditional bank fees, costing them billions of dollars. Banks were barred in 2010 from automatically enrolling customers in a service that charged them as much as $35 for overdrafts on their checking accounts.
Another law barred banks from charging fees and changing interest rates on credit cards without notifying customers.
Banks' revenues have dwindled since these laws came into effect. Bank of America's revenue last year was $93 billion, compared with $121 billion two years before. Wells Fargo took in $81 billion last year, down from $89 billion in 2009.
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, told an investor conference earlier this week that it costs the bank an average of $300 a year to maintain a bank account. About 85 percent of customers of the two largest banks in the U.S. ? JPMorgan Chase and Bank of American ? still qualify for free checking.
Banks are trying to figure out how to make up that cost. But their fees are landing hard on customers in a country with 8.3 percent unemployment, some of whom point out that it was taxpayers who bailed out the banks less than four years ago.
The $5 debit card fee that Bank of America announced on Sept. 29 became a flashpoint of anger, including for protesters in the Occupy movement.
The bank said it was triggered by a federal law championed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that went into effect Oct. 1. It capped what banks charge stores for debit card transactions at 24 cents, down from an average of 44 cents.
The law cut into quarterly revenue at Bank of America by $475 million, at JPMorgan Chase by $300 million and at Wells Fargo by $250 million.
Nevertheless, after public outrage, those three banks, plus SunTrust Banks Inc. and Regions Financial Corp., all backed down from plans to charge monthly fees for debit card purchases.
Bank of America says it is "not planning to increase checking account fees with our existing customers." Of the tests in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts, it says it is "continuing to learn" from them and has made no decisions.
Some bank executives say the political environment has made it difficult for them to charge for their services. Todd Maclin, head of consumer banking at JPMorgan Chase, points out that banking is cheaper than a cellphone, a cable TV or a gym membership.
"But still we don't expect that you're going to be able to increase in this environment," he says, referring to prices.
Still, Chase and the other large banks have increased monthly fees by an average of $10 for checking accounts in the last two years. They also introduced fees of $2 and $3 for small services like printed statements and canceled checks.
Consumer advocates say they worry that the fees will push people out of banking and toward more expensive services, like payday lenders and loan sharks.
"A significant part of the population will be squeezed out of banks because they can't afford it," says Nancy Bush, founder of banking research group NAB, and columnist at SNL Financial, "and that is absolutely wrong."


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This video might just make you believe a man can fly, all over again. This live-sized "Superman" is actually a custom-built RC plane, but when you see it flying through the sky it actually looks reasonably convincing. And actually graceful. I love the way Kal-El glides over the waves in this video.
Taylor Lorenz Talks "Extremely Online"


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"QU4RTETS" Art Exhibition
|Nov. 29, 2012 - Jan. 17, 2013
|Martin Museum of Art
|The Honors College, the Department of Art, the Martin Museum of Art, and the School of Music are delighted to announce an art exhibition, a one-day conference and a concert.
The distinguished Japanese-American artist Makoto Fujimura, and Boston-based artist and teacher Bruce Herman, have collaborated to produce a new body of painting in response to T.S. Eliots "Four Quartets." The paintings will be exhibited in The Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University from November 29-December 15, 2012, and January 2-17, 2013. (On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 15, the artists will participate in a panel discussion of faith and arts. That evening, there will be a concert of a newly commissioned piano quintet by the distinguished composer Christopher Theofanidis, also inspired by Eliot's great poem.)
|More Information
|Read More »
|Honors College
|Download this event


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(Repeats FEATURE with no changes to headline or text)
By Joan Biskupic
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., April 9 (Reuters) - Last month a baby in Tennessee made history: Emilia Maria Jesty was the first child born in the state to have a woman listed on the birth certificate as her "father."
The marital status of the baby's parents was the subject of a flurry of court filings up to a few days before her birth. Valeria Tanco and Sophy Jesty were wed in New York, a state that recognizes gay marriage, and moved to Tennessee, which does not.
They are among scores of same-sex couples who, working with advocacy groups, have filed lawsuits to expand gay-marriage rights following a major U.S. Supreme Court decision last June allowing federal tax and other benefits for same-sex married couples.
Depending on the pace of rulings, as early as next year Tanco and Jesty's case or a similar challenge could reach the Supreme Court. Since the court's June decision in U.S. v. Windsor, about 50 such cases have been filed, in nearly all 33 states that prohibit gay marriage.
So far, the eight federal judges who have ruled citing Windsor have sided with the same-sex couples, saying the states may not treat same-sex couples differently from opposite-sex ones. All of those cases are on appeal.
On Thursday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will begin hearing cases involving Utah and Oklahoma. In May, the 4th Circuit will hear a dispute from Virginia.
As Tanco approached her due date, a Nashville federal judge in mid-March issued a preliminary injunction forcing Tennessee to honor their marriage. The state appealed to the 6th Circuit.
It is possible a ruling against the couple could void Emilia's birth certificate and require that it be reissued with only Tanco listed. A spokeswoman for Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the state Health Department, which oversees birth certificates.
But for now, says Jesty, "It gives me strength."
About half of the cases were brought by gay-rights advocacy groups that do not charge the plaintiffs, and many of the lawyers in the other cases are working for free. As part of their legal and public relations strategy, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights look for a broad mix: Same-sex couples from both urban and rural America, in an array of vocations and facing problems such as those arising from care of their children or an ill partner.
State attorneys general typically defend the state laws, although private lawyers have become involved too. Lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based Christian organization, are assisting in the defense of state bans in Oklahoma and Virginia and have submitted "friend of the court" briefs in other cases, including the Tennessee dispute.
Greg Scott, an Alliance spokesman, said his group seeks to counter sympathetic "micro" narratives with a "macro" argument. "What we argue is that marriage has a particular role in society as a whole," and that has historically meant only unions between a man and a woman.
Most new challenges seek a broad constitutional right to same-sex marriage. But a handful, including the Tanco case, take a more incremental approach, arguing only that states must recognize marriages from other states. Gay-rights groups say the narrower argument could sway judges in more conservative states and potentially the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 in Windsor.
Tanco and Jesty became the lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit after they were approached last August by Regina Lambert, a Knoxville lawyer who had been volunteering for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The advocacy group relies on a network of lawyers and other volunteers to help find plaintiffs. During a series of conference calls, Lambert and other lawyers decided to bring one of the narrower cases in Tennessee, a largely conservative state. The group separately has filed broader based lawsuits in Idaho, Wyoming and Florida.
Lambert, who teaches at the University of Tennessee law school, thought of Tanco and Jesty. She had met the couple through a friend and knew they presented a good set of facts. Even though they had a legal New York marriage, they were not entitled in Tennessee to spousal benefits.
"You want someone who is in a stable, good relationship," Lambert said. "I liked the fact that they were homeowners, too." She thought the couple would also connect with the public because they were "likeable" and professors of veterinary medicine at the University of Tennessee. At that point she did not even realize Tanco was pregnant.
Lambert learned that when she invited the couple over to her house in August to broach the idea of the lawsuit. Tanco had become pregnant through artificial insemination about two months earlier.
The couple asked for time to think. Tanco was ready to say yes right away, but Jesty hesitated. She was not sure she wanted the attention that would come from a lawsuit. But two days later they called Lambert and agreed to sign on. "This was an opportunity to make a difference," Jesty said. "How do you turn away from something like that?"
In October, they filed suit in federal court in Nashville. Two other couples, gay men, are part of the lawsuit.
The pregnancy turned out to boost their case in court, at least for now. By mid-March, the court had yet to rule, and the couple's lawyers requested a status report. Judge Aleta Trauger issued a preliminary order requiring Tennessee to recognize the marriages of the couples pending a final decision. She noted that under existing Tennessee law, Jesty would not be recognized as a parent to Tanco's child and would be unable to make certain medical decisions.
The state appealed. Two days later, on March 27, just after 4 p.m., Emilia was born, weighing eight pounds, five ounces.
Following the usual routine, a hospital employee visited Tanco's room the next day to fill out the birth certificate. Tanco said Jesty's name should be on it with hers.
At first there was confusion over whether that was possible. Lambert worked the phones. After several hours and many calls between the hospital in Knoxville and the health department in Nashville, hospital officials produced the birth certificate.
A health department spokesman said in an email that officials were not aware of any previous Tennessee case in which the names of same-sex parents were listed on the birth certificate.
The document now sits on a desk in the couple's study. "It might be something that needs to get framed," said Jesty. (Reporting by Joan Biskupic; Editing by Amy Stevens and Grant McCool)


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Over at The Novice Chef Blog, Jessica shares a fabulous looking fall themed dinner party, complete with menus, recipes, and organizational tips. Love it! Check out one of the menu items… Pumpkin Thai Soup–isn't it gorgeous!
Throwing dinner parties can be a lot to take on…especially when they have multiple courses. No one wants to come to a party where the host spends the entire night in the kitchen. And trust me…that used to be me. I used to be the girl in the kitchen, covered in flour, when my guests arrived…and left. But along the way I learned a few tricks of the trade. And here they are, my 5 tips on how to trick your guests into thinking you are Martha throw a successful dinner party!
Read Jessica's tip, and get the menu here.
Get the Pumpkin Thai Soup Recipe
While you're there, check out her very cool Vertical Pear Salad, too!
We love The Novice Chef…Previously featured on Foodwhirl:
Shaved Ice Cupcakes (and more cupcake ideas) : These Cherry Coke Float cupcakes from The Novice Chef are old fashioned fun… I think these would be quite tasty!


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On Friday I posted a question about the Hogback in San Antonio Canyon in the Transverse Ranges of Southern California: what is it? It was an imposing barrier to my little VW Bug when I drove up the canyon decades ago, and it looks out of place, but it fits in very well with the dominant geological processes in the steepest of mountain ranges, the San Gabriel Mountains. That process is mass wasting, the failure of slopes and rock masses under the influence of gravity. Rock falls, debris avalanches, slumps, earthflows and soil creep are all common forms of mass wasting.
A view of the hogback from upstream (this shot is from Cow Canyon Saddle) gives a better view of what happened. A large mass of rock slid from the slope on the right, breaking up as it covered the canyon floor. It dammed San Antonio Creek, forming a temporary lake. Within a few centuries the lake filled with rock and debris, forming one of the few flat areas in the canyon, which much later allowed for a small village to be developed on the canyon floor. Ironically, many of the developments in the San Gabriels are built on mass wasting deposits (Wrightwood is built on mudflow debris and is sited atop the San Andreas fault for good measure, and Crystal Lake is an avalanche deposit as well).
The rock slide is nicely exposed along the old highway, with a clear delineation between the lighter colored slide breccia on the left and brownish river gravels on the right. In retrospect, placing a highway at the toe of a huge rock slide next to a volatile stream seemed a less than bright idea. As noted before, the current highway goes over the top of the slide.
San Antonio Creek was forced into the left wall of the canyon (from the upstream side), and it started to carve directly through the solid bedrock, forming a deep gorge with a 30 foot waterfall. The sheer cliffs below the waterfall are used as a practice wall by technical rock climbers.
Once you know what to look for, many instances of mass wasting become obvious throughout the canyon. The rock mass above lies near the entrance of Icehouse Canyon, and drivers must climb a series of steep switchbacks to reach Manker Flats and the ski area in the canyon above. Another rock mass, at Cow Canyon Saddle, tells a very interesting story about the formation of San Antonio Canyon (below).
The upper part of San Antonio Canyon abruptly changes direction near Baldy Village, and Cow Canyon Saddle is situated at the turn. To the west, Cow Canyon drains into the larger and deeper San Gabriel River system. Before the landslide took place, upper San Antonio Canyon probably drained to the west into the San Gabriel River. The slide at Cow Canyon Saddle blocked the ancestral canyon, and diverted the drainage into the lower San Antonio gorge (or headward erosion quickly captured the dammed up drainage).
It will be interesting to see if any major changes took place in the canyon after the events of this week...
It will be interesting to see if any major changes took place in the canyon after the events of this week...


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"Introduction," Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor (2011), iv–vi
"Introduction," Teachings: John Taylor, iv–vi
Each chapter in this book includes four sections: (1) an opening quotation that briefly introduces the focus of the chapter; (2) "From the Life of John Taylor," which illustrates the messages of the chapter with a story or counsel from President Taylor; (3) "Teachings of John Taylor," which presents important doctrines from his many messages and sermons; and (4) "Suggestions for Study and Discussion," which encourages personal review and inquiry, further discussion, and application to our lives today through questions.
How to Use This Book
For personal or family study. This book is intended to enhance each member's understanding of gospel principles taught by President John Taylor. Through prayerful reading and thoughtful study, each member may receive a personal witness of these truths. This volume will also add to each member's gospel library and will serve as an important resource for family instruction and for study in the home.
For discussion in Sunday meetings. This book is the text for Melchizedek Priesthood quorum and Relief Society Sunday meetings. Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught that the books in the series Teachings of Presidents of the Church "contain doctrine and principles. They are rich and relevant to the needs of our day, and they are superb for teaching and discussion."1 Teachers should focus on the content of the text and related scriptures and should apply these teachings to circumstances with which class members will be familiar.
Teachers should draw from the questions at the end of the chapter to encourage class discussion. Reviewing the questions before studying President Taylor's words may give additional insight into his teachings.
The Sunday meetings should concentrate on gospel principles, personal examples that teach these principles, and testimonies of the truth. When teachers humbly seek the Spirit in preparing and directing the lesson, all who participate will be strengthened in their knowledge of the truth. Leaders and teachers should encourage class members to read the chapters before they are discussed in Sunday meetings. They should remind class members to bring their books to their meetings and should honor class members' preparation by teaching from President John Taylor's words. When class members have read the chapter in advance, they will be prepared to teach and edify each other.
It is not necessary or recommended that members purchase additional commentaries or reference texts to support the material in the text. Members are encouraged to turn to the scriptures that have been suggested for further study of the doctrine.
Since this text is designed for personal study and gospel reference, many chapters contain more material than can be fully addressed in Sunday meetings. Therefore, study at home becomes essential to more thoroughly benefit from President Taylor's teachings.
Sources Quoted in This Book
The teachings of President Taylor in this book are direct quotations from a variety of sources. Unless editorial changes were necessary to improve readability, the quotations have retained the punctuation, spelling, and capitalization of the original sources. For this reason, readers may notice minor inconsistencies in the text.


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Henry George Helmstetter
Henry George Helmstetter, age 95, died on 12/24/2012 in Bend Oregon. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Esther Wittwer Helmstetter, his parents, Carl and Emma Helmstetter, his sister Emily H. Bollinger, and by his brother, Albert C. Helmstetter.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Riley Helmstetter, sons Richard C. Helmstetter of Carlsbad, CA, Bill Helmstetter of Piedmont SC, stepdaughter Eileen Riley of Bend, OR, stepsons Curt Conner of Atlanta, GA and Douglas Conner of San Diego, CA. He has six grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
He was born in Toledo Ohio and moved to Wisconsin at an early age. He graduated from Sharon, WI High School and from the University of Wisconsin, where he earned a BS degree in Agricultural Economics. He was a WW II veteran with 3 years' service in the Army Air Corps. Later while living in East Troy, WI, he wrote a weekly sports column under the name of "Gus Phan" covering high school sports. After the war he spent 30 years working for the U.S. Veterans Administration in Wisconsin, Washington, DC, Manila, Philippines, and Portland, Oregon before retiring in 1975. His early years with the USVA was in helping disabled veterans get started in farming; the later years were spent primarily in administration assisting all veterans. During his career Henry received several awards, the most prestigious being the one given him by President Ferdinand E. Marcos in April 1967 bestowing on him the honorary title of "Batong Buhay" (Eternal Rock) for coordinating the construction of the Corregidor Memorial. Other awards were the Key to the City of Dumaguete City, the Philippines, and the "Distinguished Career award from the Director of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D. C. But the one that probably pleased him the most was the simple Outstanding Soldier Award he received while at Truax Field, Wisconsin in 1943 for organizing his fellow soldiers help harvest field crops for local farmers. After retiring from the USVA, Henry and his wife settled in Oak Ridge, TN where they enjoyed golf, world travel and attending high school football games. After 27 years they relocated to Surprise, AZ. There will be a Christian service of commitment at the cemetery in Paoli, WI at the convenience of the family after which there will be a gathering of friends at the Zwingli United Church of Christ in Paoli.
The Becker-Beal Funeral Home of Belleville, WI is assisting the family with local arrangements.
An online memorial with guestbook is available at www.bealfuneralhomes.com


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Oriental Medicinal Herb and Acupuncture for Fatty Liver and Diabetes
Chief Complaint: fatty liver and poorly controlled Type 2 Diabetes
Medical History: 55 yr old Caucasian male. Morbidly obese.
First appointment on March 2004 pt's labs reflect triglyceride level of 1105, cholesterol of 230 and elevated AST (50's) and ALT (80's). Pt's record of blood sugars indicate his blood sugars were consistently in the high 230's. Pt was not (and is not) on any western medications. Even though pt had dangerously elevated triglycerides and blood sugars he consistently refused western medications. His MD finally referred him to acupuncture in the hopes that something could be done to stabilize the patient.
Patient does not drive and does not cook. He reports excessive appetite He either buys prepared meals at the deli counter of grocery store or goes out to eat. His only exercise was walking to the public bus.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, anger, diabetes, fatty liver · Posted in: Hepatic, Metabolic


text:
World's Largest Croc
Friday, 6th June 2008 by Alex Turnbull
Not reptilian, as you might expect, but rather a ridiculously overpriced, stupidly coloured plastic sandal. A very, very big one.
There's not much more to be said about Crocs that hasn't been said already, and yet someone has managed to devote an entire blog to hating their very existence.
Sheesh, the stupid topics blogs manage to base themselves on huh?
Anyway, here's some links to some giant crocodiles and giant alligators as seen by satellite!
Thanks to mnj1233.