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Sanchez has a unique, special bond with his mom
PITTSBURGH -- D'Marie Recicar is always telling her son, "You show your love toward the people you love the most in the weirdest way."
Tony Sanchez proved as much early last season. He hadn't yet even taken his first sip of big league coffee -- that was still two months away -- when he texted his mom the image of a newspaper clipping with his mug prominently displayed next to the headline "Sanchez suspended."
PITTSBURGH -- D'Marie Recicar is always telling her son, "You show your love toward the people you love the most in the weirdest way."
Tony Sanchez proved as much early last season. He hadn't yet even taken his first sip of big league coffee -- that was still two months away -- when he texted his mom the image of a newspaper clipping with his mug prominently displayed next to the headline "Sanchez suspended."
Now, coming from a son who already had some Minor League baggage in his past, the doghouse was entirely believable, and D'Marie panicked.
"What the heck did you do? I'm shaking I'm so upset," she texted back.
Tony let it brew only for a few minutes, then clued her in: The suspended Sanchez was Jonathan, the short-lived Pirates lefty being disciplined for having hit St. Louis' Allen Craig under suspicious circumstances, but the newspaper had engaged in a bit of mistaken identity.
"That's our relationship in a nutshell, how well my mother and I get along," Sanchez said. "If you're gonna provide the material, I'm going to punk my mother -- standard procedure. I tease her like that all the time. I know what boils her blood, how to get under her skin."
Sanchez is easily the most personable, outgoing player in the Bucs' clubhouse -- maybe in any Major League clubhouse. The source of his love of life is evident: the mom who raised him since his parents' divorce when he was 7.
"Baseball was always Tony's outlet," D'Marie said. "And as a single mom, that was a blessing. When you have batting lessons at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, you aren't going to be partying Saturday night. That was the deal between us."
D'Marie and George Sanchez made sure Tony and younger sister Jackie retained a well-adjusted life, going from being a couple to being best and lifelong friends.
"Putting together a grill, putting up shutters for hurricanes ... everything my mother needs around the house, my father is there to take care of it," Sanchez said.
Still, except for every other weekend, growing up it was Tony and his mom.
"So she was a huge influence on me," he said. "She was the one to take me to all the practices. I played hockey when I was younger, and when baseball finally became the priority, she was the one financially supporting it and transporting me to and from practices and games -- at one point among three different teams -- schlepping me all over the place."
Payback is sweet. One of the first things Sanchez did when his $120,000 signing bonus as the Pirates' top 2009 Draft pick showed up in his checking account was pay off his mom's debts and present her with new wheels.
"Nothing too crazy," he said. "Just a nice little mommy-mobile."
And late last June, it was Tony's turn to do some "schlepping." He had gotten his first call from the Bucs, to join them in Anaheim, on the other side of the continent from D'Marie's Miami home. But she was in the Angels Stadium stands to see Tony play his first Major League game and collect his first big league hit, on June 23.
"It was amazing," D'Marie recalled. "I felt bad because he got me a ticket in the family section, but I bought my own ticket so I could sit closer to the dugout. Second row. I tried to take his picture, but I was shaking too much. So this lady noticed and made a point about it and I said, 'That's my son,' so she took the camera from me and took the picture.
"A guy was heckling him, because the scoreboard showed his .000 average. So I told him, 'It's his first Major League at-bat.' And when Tony got that double, the heckler became his best friend."
Being there gave D'Marie the chance to deliver her regular little inspirational messages -- "Believe!" foremost among them -- in person prior to the most important day of her son's life. Other times, the encouragements are only a phone tap away.
"She'll text me before every game," Sanchez said. "'Love you.' 'Good luck.' But 'Believe' -- that's her big thing. And she'll give you the cliched mother life advice."
Rather than roll his eyes and run from it, Sanchez keeps going back for more. Not just a figure of speech -- he still lived at home this offseason.
"Embarrassingly enough, yes," he said. "At 25, with big league time and more than enough money to buy my own place, I stayed at my mother's house. The home cooking, the laundry -- OK, that was part of it, but also just not being ready to move out."
"We had a wonderful time. We spent the mornings together, before I had to leave for work," said D'Marie, for 35 years a regional project manager for the utility Florida Power Line. "It was nice to be able to cook for him -- I love to cook. I enjoyed it. I realized it's probably the last time he'd be home; the time has come for the next chapter in his life."
Sanchez, just maybe, was still pulled back home by the memory of that day when he was starting the collegiate stage of his life, at Boston College.
"She took me there to drop me off, but when time came to say, 'See you later,' the tears started rolling," Sanchez said. "Her baby boy was out of the house ... little did she know I was gonna keep coming back as a pro and still live in her house."
Sanchez mentions that, yes, his mom is on Twitter, and right away bells go off. As many know, he is among the most "sociable" big leaguers and, in fact, his tweets got him into hot water once. But that isn't what raises the red flag -- it's the public flack he, like many athletes, gets on Twitter. Goodness, imagine a mother having to read such stuff about her son.
"It doesn't get under our skin. I'm trained to spin it. She's not," Sanchez said. "She sees what people write, she sees all the negatives. So I've given her guidelines. One time, she barked back at somebody, and I had to tell her, 'No. No. Stay with me. Keep it positive. If you see something negative written about me, don't answer it. Leave it to me.'"
"I learned you have to let it go," D'Marie said of the Twitter noise. "Just take a deep breath, and realize that everyone's got an opinion."
When every day you think about your mother, what can you do when one is formally designated as Mother's Day? That's the beauty of little things being able to make boldface statements.
"First thing, we all send flowers," said Sanchez, looking around the Pirates' clubhouse, including teammates in that gesture. "It's a small token of appreciation. 'I wouldn't be where I am without you. This is me showing you that I know that.'"
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer.


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At 9:56am ET today, SpaceX's Dragon capsule was successfully captured by the International Space Station (ISS). The heavenly meet-up marks the first time in history that a privately-funded spacecraft has visited the ISS.
"Looks like we caught a Dragon by the tail," said Don Pettit, a NASA engineer, following the successful docking of Dragon..
.@SpaceX #Dragon capsule captured by International Space Station!
— NASA (@NASA) May 25, 2012
Dragon launched into space early Tuesday morning on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. On Thursday, Dragon went through a practice run of its dock with ISS, successfully flying 1.6 miles below the space station — a relatively close distance in space.
Dragon's final approach toward ISS began at around 3am ET today, according to NASA. Associated Press reports that there was some delay this morning, thanks to some reflections off of the Japanese portion of the ISS, which caused some interference with Dragon's laser-based sensors. The total official mission time clocked in at 3 days, 6 hours ,19 minutes, and 13 second.
The Dragon capsule is carrying about 1,367 pounds worth of unessential supplies to the astronauts aboard ISS. This includes food, clothing, and a number of student projects.
The success of SpaceX marks the beginning of a new era for U.S. space travel. Following the retirement of the NASA shuttle program last summer, NASA astronauts have had to hitch rides on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to get back and forth from ISS.
Dragon is expected to return to Earth on May 31.
To watch the live video of ISS wrangling in Dragon, click here.
CORRECTION: Dragon has not yet docked with ISS, as was previously reported. It has been captured by an robotic arm on the the ISS.
Editors' Recommendations
- SpaceX's ISS mission was a success — but the landing didn't go as planned
- Prepare for liftoff: Here are all the important upcoming SpaceX rocket launches
- Hope it doesn't melt! Rocket to ISS carries vital supplies — including ice cream
- SpaceX makes rocketry look easy, sticks yet another Falcon 9 landing
- Breathtaking video: A Soyuz rocket launch as seen from space

subset: commoncrawl


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Transition and Innovation
Transition and innovation is the process of taking a technology from the developmental and prototype phase to production and deployment by the end user community. Transition success is achieved when research and development projects have evolved to the commercial market and/or have been inserted into government acquisition programs and can be easily and continuously obtained by the end users. The path from a research and development contract to transition success can be challenging, and it is the mission of the Technology Transition Program to help vendors overcome transition challenges to ensure the success for the contractor and the government customers. Planning for technology transition should start at the beginning of the contract to ensure that the program can transition successfully.
Transition and innovation is successful when contractors have executed a plan that produces full-scale capabilities to the hands of end users. Technology transition fails when programs end after prototype development and the technology is shelved or there is an inability for the end users to acquire the technology; this is a waste of significant resources by the contractor, the government, and the end user community.


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Nutriol 第三代健发滋养液
Nutriol® Hair Fitness Treatment
Whether it is totally unexpected or genetically inevitable, noticing a change in the texture of your hair may seem like the beginning of the end. Instead of watching and worrying, would it not feel great to be truly proactive in protecting the future of your hair?
To help ensure a lifetime of healthy looking hair, Nutriol® Hair Fitness Treatment enhances the vitality of your hair and scalp with patented technology. Nutriol features Tricalgoxyl®, a clinically proven seaweed derivative developed by a European laboratory. Formulated to remineralise the scalp and hydrate the hair, Nutriol helps you hair look and feel abundant. By helping revitalise the scalp for maximum hair vitality, Nutriol gives you the hair care technology to fight back!
Buy Now
Product Details
- Promotes healthy, abundant hair
- Revitalises and strengthens hair
- Increases the availability of key nutrients and vitamins to the hair follicle
- Remineralises and hydrates hair, improving volume and shine
- Safety-allergy-dermatologist tested.
Usage for Women:
Attack phase - one bottle every other day for eight weeks
Maintenance phase - two bottles per week for four weeks
Usage for Men:
Attack phase - three bottles per week for eight weeks*
Maintenance phase - two bottles per week for six weeks
*Usage for 1 box of Nutriol® Hair Fitness Treatment per month.
Attack Phase:
This is the intensive application period that our formulators, on the basis of clinical trial results, have determined to be the best for "attacking" the problem and give the best results in terms of general improvement of the condition of the scalp. The attack phase for both men and women should be repeated in spring and autumn because during these seasons the body's nutritional needs change, interfering with the availability of vital nutrients to the hair and scalp. Nutriol Hair Fitness Treatment responds to these needs. Other conditions may require the attack phase to be repeated.
Maintenance Phase:
This phase takes place after the attack phase and it is the application period suggested to maintain a general healthy scalp and hair condition. The duration of this maintenance phase is to be evaluated by the consumer on the basis of results obtained.
When to apply:
Treatment may be used continually. Duration of treatment should be evaluated on the basis of the results obtained. Minimal recommended use is two cycles of treatment per year (spring and autumn). Each box provides 12 treatments.
How to apply:
1) Prior to treatment, shampoo and condition hair using Nutriol Shampoo and a Nu Skin® conditioner of your choice.
2) Towel-dry hair.
3) Activate Nutriol Hair Fitness Treatment by twisting the cap clockwise to break the protective seal around the bottle and release the powder into the solution.
4) Shake the bottle to activate the formula.
5) Remove the top and attach the applicator, allowing a few drops at a time to flow onto the scalp (carefully avoid the application of the product beyond the hairline).
6) Massage with fingertips for three to four minutes using a light motion to gently move the scalp. DO NOT RINSE. For best results, use with ageLOC® Edition Nu Skin Galvanic Spa System™ II.
7) Style hair as normal.
Liquid: Aqua, Glycerin, Alcohol, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract, Asparagopsis Armata Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Ammonium Glycyrrhizate, Mannitol, Arginine, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Faex Extract, Ethyl Nicotinate, Allantoin, Biotin, Threonine, Coceth-7, PPG-1-PEG-9 Lauryl Glycol Ether, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Isopropyl Alcohol, T-Butyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Aminomethyl Propanol, Parfum, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Linalool, Limonene.
Powder: Himanthalia Elongata Extract, Mannitol, Dextrin, Gardenia Florida Flower Extract.


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Nobody wrote:I've changed to Chain-L from Finish Line Wet. If anything, Chain-L is probably a little bit thicker. Interestingly it smells and looks like automotive 80/90 gear oil. This time I've got a new drive train so I'll see how far I get. Chain-L has had some good reviews.
I use Castrol 80-W90 gear oil on my daily rider s/s - the same oil I use in my car's gearbox, not bought specially. Chain goes black, but it survives water really well and is smooth riding.
Mobil 1 on my geared bikes. A litre for the cost of 100ml of one of those piddly specialist lubes. Thin enough to get into the chain, good shear additives, smooth as. Lovelyyyy.


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Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Leukaemia is a cancer that occurs when abnormal blood stem cells (immature white blood cells) are produced in the bone marrow. Normally white cells develop, repair and reproduce in an orderly fashion. The leukaemia cells do not mature, and therefore are not able to function as immune cells, but they keep on dividing in the bone marrow.
The two most common types of leukaemia found in children are Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). Leukaemia accounts for about 35% of all childhood cancers.
All blood cells are made in the bone marrow which contains:
- Red blood cells: They carry oxygen around the body
- White blood cells: They help the body fight infection
- Platelets: They help the blood clot and control bleeding
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) which is also referred to as Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia affects the lymphoid cells and gets worse very quickly if not caught and treated early on. ALL affects children of any age but is mostly found in children aged 1-4 years, and in more boys than girls.
The blood stem cells that are formed can either become a myeloid stem cell or lymphoid stem cells. A lymphoid cell becomes a lymphoblast cell which then becomes one of 3 types of lymphocyte or white blood cell:
- B Lymphocytes make antibodies to help fight infection.
- T Lymphocytes help the B lymphocytes make antibodies that help fight infection
- Natural killer cells that attack cancer cells and viruses
In a child with ALL, too many stem cells become B Lymphocytes, Lymphoblasts, or T Lymphocytes. These leukaemia cells fill the bone marrow so that healthy red blood cells and platelets can't be made and this creates an added risk of infection; symptoms such as bruising and anaemia can occur.
Eventually there are so many cancerous cells that the immature leukaemia cells eventually leach out of the bone marrow along with the good white cells, platelets and red cells.
Causes of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
The exact cause of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia is not known, even though there is continuous research being done on ALL.
Children with genetic disorders like Down's syndrome, Neurofibromatosis, or Shwachman syndrome have a high risk of developing leukaemia.
Signs and Symptoms
Some of the typical signs and symptoms of ALL are:
- Bone or joint pain and trouble standing or walking
- Loss of appetite or continuous weight loss
- Painless lumps in the stomach, neck, underarm, or groin
- Lethargy, weakness, paleness, and dizziness
- Repeated, frequent infections
- Night sweats or irritability
- A fever that lasts for several days or even weeks
- Being prone to frequent and easy bruising and frequent nosebleeds, bleeding gums or Petechiae (flat, pinpoint, dark-red spots under the skin caused by bleeding).
Tests and Diagnosis
ALL can be diagnosed or staged using the following tests and procedures:
- Physical Exam and History: The doctor will perform a physical examination, checking your child's general health as well as checking for anything unusual or any lumps. The doctor will also request complete medical history including past illnesses.
- A Complete Blood Count (CBC): This procedure is crucial in the diagnosis of leukaemia and will involves blood being drawn and sent for various tests to check the number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, and the amount of haemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen) in the red blood cells
- A Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy: A sample of the bone marrow is required to confirm the diagnosis. This is done by inserting a hollow needle into the hipbone or breastbone and withdrawing a sample. These samples, containing blood, bone, and bone marrow are scrutinised under a microscope in a laboratory test.
Treatment options
Treatment options will depend on whether the leukaemia cells began from B lymphocytes or T lymphocytes; whether the ALL is standard or high-risk.
Treatment options consist of:
- Chemotherapy: The use of a combination of anti-cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells is the correct treatment for children.
- Radiotherapy: High-energy rays that destroy the cancer cells but do minimal harm to normal cells. Radiation is sometimes used to treat those children with a poor initial response to chemotherapy, those with central nervous system disease and those with relapsed disease..
Bone Marrow Transplantation: Bone marrow transplantation is only necessary in approximately 5% of children with ALL and depends on their response to chemotherapy, their cytogenetic profile and whether or not there is a proven benefit in consolidating a second remission in those children who have relapsed.
Awareness Ribbon Colour
The awareness ribbon colour for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia is Orange.
Article researched and written on behalf of Little Fighters Cancer Trust by Billi du Preez of Red Feather Scribes
Academic Editing by Dr Marc Hendricks MBChB (UCT), DIP PEC (SA), DCH (SA), FCPaeds (SA), CMO Paeds (SA) Senior Specialist, Paediatric Oncologist Red Cross War Memorial Children's HospitalPlease feel free to share the article, but please respect copyright by sharing the article in its entirety, as is, including this paragraph with links at the bottom of the article. Thank You!


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A clause in the North Carolina constitution designed to ensure just and equitable taxation by local governments is being put to the test by companies the state has barred to do business.
The N.C. Supreme Court ruled March 8 that a business privilege license tax imposed by Lumberton on Internet sweepstakes operators exceeded constitutional bounds because it went from from $12.50 a year per machine to $135,000, a 59,900 percent increase.
Following that ruling, a growing number of municipalities are facing lawsuits by former sweepstakes operators. Among those are Lenoir, Hickory, Newton, Conover, Haw River, Sylva, Highlands and Macon County.
The fees and taxes involved generally are much less than was the case in Lumberton -- for instance, Lenoir's tax went from $500 per machine to $1,000, a 100 percent increase -- so the question will be how to determine what is just and equitable, and excessive, said Ed Blair, Lenoir's city attorney.
"The Lumberton case represented a change in the law," Blair said. "What is fair and just is ultimately for the Supreme Court to decide. But this is kind of a developing area of law. Are there facts that justify increases? Some of the cities have taken the position, 'Let them do busienss here, let us raise revenues.'"
The lawsuit against Lenoir by Clark Consulting Group, which did business in Lenoir as Highway 18 Sweepstakes, seeks $22,000 it says it paid in franchise fees and taxes, plus attorney's fees. Clark Consulting also is behind the lawsuits against Hickory, Newton and Conover.
Internet gaming businesses gained popularity after the General Assembly banned video poker in 2007. A loophole in the state's gambling law allowed customers to purchase computer time to play the games. Users also could spend that time word processing or checking e-mails, but the main draw was the lure of instant cash.
Some municipalities decided either to try to cash in or require the operators to pay steeply if they wanted to stay in business. In 2012 Granite Falls proposed to raise its business privilege license tax on sweepstakes establishments from $500 per machine to $2,500, a 500 percent increase, but the town passed a lower rate of $1,000 per machine. Still, the measure kept at least one potential operator out of town, its owner citing the "discriminatory rate," and withdrew his conditional use permit.
In December 2012 the state Supreme Court upheld a state ban on sweepstakes businesses.
Jeanette K. Doran, executive director and general counsel for the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law, feels a careful balance must be struck between the power of government to impose a tax for legitimate reasons, and the right of the people to be "free of abuse of the taxing power."
"There is not set amount which I (deem) necessarily unreasonable or unconstitutional," she said. "The emphasis is on equality and fair play. What constitutes an unconstitutional tax may vary based on the circumstances of the tax imposed, but what constitutes a constitutional tax will inevitably bear the hallmarks of freedom and fairness."
Mitch Kokai of the conservative think tank the John Locke Foundation said a tax increase could be justified if it paid for additional services to be provided. But the tipping point for deciding what is reasonable or excessive is a gray area.
"I don't know of any hard-and-fast threshold that would separate reasonable from excessive," he said. "That determination is based largely on context. If a municipality charges a fee to businesses operating within its jurisdiction, the fee generally ought to be applied in an equitable way to all legal businesses.
"I'm not certain whether state law permits it, but I could understand an argument from cities that they should be allowed to charge a higher fee for businesses that generate a substantially higher cost to the city. If a particular type of business requires much more police activity, fire protection, or other public services, a business fee scale that incorporated those additional taxpayer costs would seem to make sense. In the case of the sweepstakes companies, the higher fees seem to have been completely divorced from that sort of calculation. Instead, local governments seem to have decided that raising fees far above those charged to other businesses would either drive the sweepstakes operators out of business or generate a lot of new revenue."


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Official Portal for North Dakota State Government
The Teredo was a worm-shaped mollusk related to clams, mussels, and oysters. It burrowed its way through sequoias and other trees growing near warm-water swamps in North Dakota 60 to 80 million years ago. As the trees in the mineral rich water petrified, some of the wood was replaced by silica and quartz, thereby preserving evidence of the Teredo. North Dakota was not represented in the Smithsonian Institution's mineral collection. Naming of the Teredo petrified wood as the state fossil remedied that situation and promoted the fossil to tourists, geologists, and rockhounds.


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Trent Reznor Makes 'Call of Duty: Black Ops II' His Next Musical Mission
Trent Reznor has found his next project. USA Today reports that he'll lend his talents to creating the official theme song for the next 'Call of Duty' video game.
Reznor told the paper that the song will feature "aggressively sounding" guitar rock in keeping with the theme of the game that "envisions a new Cold War between the U.S. and China."
The singer says, "There is a lot of reservations and angst and sense of loss and regret and anger bubbling under the surface. So it didn't make sense to have a gung ho patriotic kind of theme song. It has to feel weighty."
Weighty is something that Reznor does well, from his various projects to his musical score work on such films as 'The Social Network' and 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.' The singer also has a history in the video game world, previously working on 'Quake and Doom 3′ for id Software.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops II' is due in stores Nov. 13.
In related news, Reznor revealed that he's also returning to work with his band How to Destroy Angels. He adds, "We have a finished album. It's been finished for a little while. We're doing a little bit of tweaks on it. The record will be out soon. We are doing a different type of distribution this time, so it's taking a little longer to coordinate stuff. There's a lot of music about to be unleashed, videos, et cetera."
He also added that he's started thinking about Nine Inch Nails again, and says the first music since 2008′s 'The Slip' album is "in its gestation period."


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Professor who downplayed oil spill has federal government contracts
Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science at Louisiana State University, Overton, who has been criticized for downplaying the effects of the worst offshore oil spill in history, has also headed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chemical hazard assessment team for over 25 years.
Yet in nearly every media appearance, and even during congressional testimony, Overton, an environmental chemist, has omitted this long-term, high-level contracting position for the federal government through LSU, a Raw Story investigation has found.
Webmaster's Commentary:
This is how lying to the public gets purchased by the Federal Government.


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Martha Stewart Cabinets from Home Depot
Remodeling your kitchen? Like Martha Stewart's style? If you are looking for the clean, contemporary cottage and farmhouse style often seen in Martha's magazines, then you might want to check out her new line of cabinets at Home Depot.
Many of the 11 special-order cabinet styles are based on (or at least named after) Martha's own homes. There are 32 styles of hardware to accompany the various cabinet styles, and complementing styles of Corian countertop and wall paint too. (So Martha — she makes it easy to put it all together!) Some of the cabinets are wood; others are laminate.
The prices for these cabinets run from about $96 to $184 per linear foot, and they're available this month at Home Depot.
• Martha Stewart Living at Home Depot
Are you a fan of Martha Stewart's kitchen styles?
Related: Martha Stewart's Sleek New York City Kitchen
(Images: Martha Stewart/Home Depot)


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New Car Review
2015 FIAT 500: New Car Review
By now, everyone knows the FIAT 500 as a small car that is primarily remembered for its unique looks and risque television ads. The 2015 FIAT 500 offers a lot more than that, touting fuel-efficient powertrains, a modern interior, and in Turbo or Abarth guise, surprisingly impressive performance. Originally available only as a hatchback and offered solely with its small 1.6-liter engine, the 500's lineup has grown to include performance versions, an electric model (the 500e) and even a convertible -- each designed to enhance the car's appeal. The new models seem to have worked; the 500 is more popular than ever, and updates for 2015 will likely enhance the small car's appeal even further.
What's New for 2015?
The 500 offers major changes for 2015. The biggest update is a pair of new automatic transmissions, which are available in the 500 Abarth and 500 Turbo for the first time. The 500 also offers a few new features, including a 7-inch thin-film-transistor gauge cluster, Bluetooth audio streaming and an enhanced rear park-assist feature.
What We Like
Good fuel economy; fun styling inside and out; available quasi-convertible roof; zesty available turbocharged power; automatic now offered for Abarth and Turbo buyers
What We Don't
Limited rear headroom; steering wheel doesn't telescope; base engine lacks punch; base model is less fun to drive than it looks
How Much?
Fuel Economy
The 500 offers three engines. Base-level models use a 101-horsepower, 1.4-liter 4-cylinder. With the standard 5-speed manual, it returns 31 miles per gallon in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. The optional 6-speed automatic drops those figures to 27 mpg city/34 mpg hwy.
Next up is the 500 Turbo, which uses a turbocharged version of the base model's engine that's tuned to 135 hp. Now offered with manual or automatic transmissions, it boasts 28 mpg city/34 mpg hwy in manual guise or 24 mpg city/32 mpg hwy with the newly available automatic.
Finally, the 500 Abarth uses an even more powerful 160-hp version of the same engine. It shares the Turbo's fuel economy ratings of 28 mpg city/34 mpg hwy with the manual or 24 mpg city/32 mpg hwy with the new automatic.
Standard Features & Options
The FIAT 500 is offered with two body styles (a hatchback and a convertible called the 500c), five trim levels and three engines. That may sound complicated, but it's not as bad as it seems.
The 500 Pop ($17,200 hatchback; $21,000 convertible) is the base model. It offers 15-in steel wheels with hubcaps, power accessories such as locks, windows and mirrors, cruise control, split folding rear seats, a trip computer, Bluetooth, auxiliary audio input and an iPod hookup.
Next up is the 500 Sport ($18,500), which is offered only as a hatchback. It adds 16-in alloy wheels and sporty items such as firmer seats, a revised suspension, fog lights, a thicker steering wheel and an Alpine audio system.
FIAT's next trim is the 500 Lounge ($19,500 hatchback; $23,500 convertible). It drops many of the Sport's performance-oriented upgrades for high-end touches such as automatic climate control, smaller alloy wheels for an improved ride, a glass roof and satellite radio. Convertible models also include a power top and park assist.
Beyond the Lounge is the 500 Turbo ($20,500), which comes in hatchback guise only. It keeps all the sporty features from the Sport but adds a 135-hp turbocharged version of the base-level 500's engine. It also includes larger brakes, a roof spoiler and a leather-wrapped shifter.
Topping the range is the high-performance 500 Abarth ($23,200 hatchback; $27,200 convertible). It also uses a turbocharged version of the base-level 500's engine, but power is boosted from 135 hp to 160 hp. Other features include unique interior and exterior styling and available 17-in wheels.
The 500 offers many options. There's a Beats Premium Audio package with an upgraded sound system, a Comfort and Convenience package that adds heated seats and satellite radio to the Sport and Turbo, and a Luxury Leather package on Lounge models that includes parking sensors, leather upholstery, heated front seats and auto-dimming mirrors.
The 2015 FIAT 500 comes with standard stability control, 4-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and seven airbags (front, front-side, driver-knee and full-length side-curtain).
In government crash-testing, the 500 received four overall stars out of five, a rating that consists of four stars in frontal and rollover tests and five stars in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's side-impact assessment. In crash tests by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the 500 earned Good ratings in four of the agency's five tests and a Poor rating in the final test. That last test, the small-overlap assessment, has caused trouble for many of today's smaller cars.
Behind the Wheel
The base-level 500 may look like a barrel of laughs, but it drives mostly like the tall economy car that it is. A car as tiny as the 500 is bound to feel nimble, of course, and this FIAT likes tight spaces, darting through the concrete jungle with sure-footed poise. Get it out on a real road with real curves, though, and what you notice is the 500's high center of gravity and leaden steering.
Things change, however, when you're talking about the 500 Turbo or the Abarth. Finally offered with an automatic to give them mass appeal, these models boast excellent midrange power and quickly dial things up in fun and enjoyment. The Abarth is especially a hoot to drive just about anywhere, though its optional 17-in alloy wheels are punishing on harsh road surfaces.
We should add that the 500c's power-retracting convertible top is unconventional. Instead of constituting the entire roof, the 500c's soft-top fills the open middle section between conventional side pillars. It's more of a targa-style roof -- you always have metal around you, even when the top is all the way down. The top includes three distinct positions and a glass rear window.
Other Cars to Consider
Kia Rio -- Kia's smallest subcompact is a sensible choice that happens to look great in its new design. It's not as cute as the 500, but it's more practical.
Mini Cooper -- The Mini is still the standard in this class for driver engagement. Its technology offerings are improving, especially in the recently released 2014 model.
Volkswagen Beetle -- The latest Beetle isn't mini, but it is an intriguing mix of German engineering and adventurous styling. It's a worthy FIAT rival for drivers who can stretch their budgets.
AutoTrader's Advice
We're not enamored with the Abarth's exhaust, but we love the turbocharged motor; it makes the 500 much more interesting to drive. We'd take our Abarth in red with the white-painted alloy wheels. If you don't want all the power, consider a base-level 500 Pop; it's an excellent deal and boasts just about everything you may need thanks to Bluetooth, an iPod hookup and power accessories.


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< Economic Improvement
Nov 07, 2013 07:31
Category: General News
Category: General News
Strength in U.S. Economy
Washington (AP) - There's a surprising show of strenth in the U.S. economy - which expanded at a 2.8 percent rate from July through September. The Commerce Department says growth increased from the second quarter's 2.5 percent rate. Exports rose, businesses stocked up and home construction increased. And state and local governments spent at the fastest pace in four years.


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Peter Jackson is making his hobbits and dwarves march double-time in his "The Lord of the Rings" prequel, which he's shooting in a faster film speed than the Hollywood standard.
Jackson hopes the 48-frames-a-second rate — twice the 24 frames that has been the custom since the 1920s — will help bring about a gradual transition to faster speeds that can bring more life-like images and action to the screen.
Digital cameras allow for shooting at 48 frames or faster, reducing the blurry effect known as strobing that can come with 24-frame filming.
Jackson said he hopes there will be a fair number of theaters equipped with digital projectors that can handle the faster film speeds by December, when Warner Bros. will release "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," the first chapter in his two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic.
"You shoot at 48, project at 48 and you get an illusion of life that's remarkable. You don't realize just how strobing and how flickery 24 frames is," Jackson said at the Sundance Film Festival, where he presented the documentary "West of Memphis," produced by him and his wife, "Hobbit" co-writer Fran Walsh. "You look at something at 48 frames, and it looks gorgeous. It looks like real life. It's amazing."
Other digital pioneers are making the same push for higher film speeds. "Avatar" creator James Cameron has said he will shoot the sequel to his science-fiction blockbuster at 48 or 60 frames a second.
At the CinemaCon convention for theater owners in Las Vegas last March, Cameron showed footage he shot at 24, 48 and 60 frames a second. The faster speeds noticeably reduced or eliminated blurriness in action sequences or when the camera panned and dollied down the length of a crowded banquet table.
As Hollywood moved into the digital age, movie makers generally have stuck with the 24-frame speed at which celluloid film moves through cameras and projectors. "The Hobbit" will show that it's an outdated way to shoot films, Jackson said.
"I'm hoping it'll be just the first gentle step into changing film rates because we can change them, especially with all the digital technology now," Jackson said. "Twenty-four is irrelevant. It doesn't mean anything anymore. It's just a traditional thing. It's far from the best visual way to present a film."
"The Hobbit" has had a hard road to the screen after Jackson's blockbuster "Lord of the Rings" trilogy," whose 2003 finale, "The Return of the King," swept the Academy Awards with 11 trophies, including best picture and director.
Jackson planned only to co-write and co-produce "The Hobbit," but he stepped in to direct after Guillermo del Toro dropped out because of delays caused by the bankruptcy of MGM, which owned half of the project.
"It's actually been a reasonably joyous thing to do," said Walsh, who returned as a co-writer and co-producer. "I'm surprised to say that because I thought it would be very hard. Certainly, it was a difficult birth of this film. It was protracted and fought. ... But it's surprisingly pleasant, if I can use that word. Pleasant. So far. So I hope I haven't jinxed it."
The two films are being shot simultaneously in 3-D, with the second one, "The Hobbit: There and Back Again," due in theaters in December 2013.
British actor Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who acquires the evil ring that sets the action of "The Lord of the Rings" in motion. Cast members returning from that trilogy include Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis.
Jackson joked that the snowy mountains surrounding Sundance's home in the ski resort of Park City remind him of the heavy workload still ahead on "The Hobbit."
"We have a hundred days of shooting to go, which still feels like we're at the bottom of a mountain. I kind of don't like being in Park City because I look up the mountain, and I kind of think, well, 'The Hobbit's' at the top of that mountain. I've got to kind of climb this. It looks pretty daunting," Jackson said.
Yet Jackson said he's having a great time revisiting Tolkien's Middle-earth.
"If I show up at work every day happy to be there and excited about what we're shooting, to me, that's always a good sign," he said. "So I think we're making a couple of pretty entertaining movies."


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While doing your girl doggy-style you switch back and forth between holes, disregarding any screams or attempts to stop this action. The whole time you moan like a zebra.
Joan was totally being a bitch the other day so I decided to blind zebra her while having sex. Now she can barely walk straight AND has a yeast infection.
by kfree October 24, 2007
buy the domain for your travel site


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Use the menu below to learn more about quoting and paraphrasing.
These materials will help you avoid plagiarism by teaching you how to properly integrate information from published sources into your own writing.
How to paraphrase a source
General advice
- When reading a passage, try first to understand it as a whole, rather than pausing to write down specific ideas or phrases.
- Be selective. Unless your assignment is to do a formal or "literal" paraphrase, you usually don?t need to paraphrase an entire passage; instead, choose and summarize the material that helps you make a point in your paper.
- Think of what "your own words" would be if you were telling someone who's unfamiliar with your subject (your mother, your brother, a friend) what the original source said.
- Remember that you can use direct quotations of phrases from the original within your paraphrase, and that you don't need to change or put quotation marks around shared language.
Methods of Paraphrasing
Look away from the source then write.
Read the text you want to paraphrase several times until you feel that you understand it and can use your own words to restate it to someone else. Then, look away from the original and rewrite the text in your own words.
Take notes.
Take abbreviated notes; set the notes aside; then paraphrase from the notes a day or so later, or when you draft.
If you find that you can't do A or B, this may mean that you don't understand the passage completely or that you need to use a more structured process until you have more experience in paraphrasing.
The method below is not only a way to create a paraphrase but also a way to understand a difficult text.
Paraphrasing difficult textsConsider the following passage from Love and Toil (a book on motherhood in London from 1870 to 1918), in which the author, Ellen Ross, puts forth one of her major arguments:
Love and Toil maintains that family survival was the mother's main charge among the large majority of London?s population who were poor or working class; the emotional and intellectual nurture of her child or children and even their actual comfort were forced into the background. To mother was to work for and organize household subsistence. (p. 9)
- Change the structure
Begin by starting at a different place in the passage and/or sentence(s), basing your choice on the focus of your paper. This will lead naturally to some changes in wording. Some places you might start in the passage above are "The mother's main charge," "Among the . . . poor or working class," "Working for and organizing household subsistence," or "The emotional and intellectual nurture." Or you could begin with one of the people the passage is about: "Mothers," "A mother," "Children," "A child." Focusing on specific people rather than abstractions will make your paraphrase more readable.
At this stage, you might also break up long sentences, combine short ones, expand phrases for clarity, or shorten them for conciseness, or you might do this in an additional step. In this process, you'll naturally eliminate some words and change others.
Here's one of the many ways you might get started with a paraphrase of the passage above by changing its structure. In this case, the focus of the paper is the effect of economic status on children at the turn of the century, so the writer begins with children:
Children of the poor at the turn of the century received little if any emotional or intellectual nurturing from their mothers, whose main charge was family survival. Working for and organizing household subsistence were what defined mothering. Next to this, even the children's basic comfort was forced into the background (Ross, 1995).
Now you've succeeded in changing the structure, but the passage still contains many direct quotations, so you need to go on to the second step.
- Change the words
Use synonyms or a phrase that expresses the same meaning. Leave shared language unchanged.
It's important to start by changing the structure, not the words, but you might find that as you change the words, you see ways to change the structure further. The final paraphrase might look like this:
According to Ross (1993), poor children at the turn of the century received little mothering in our sense of the term. Mothering was defined by economic status, and among the poor, a mother's foremost responsibility was not to stimulate her children's minds or foster their emotional growth but to provide food and shelter to meet the basic requirements for physical survival. Given the magnitude of this task, children were deprived of even the "actual comfort" (p. 9) we expect mothers to provide today.
You may need to go through this process several times to create a satisfactory paraphrase.


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Pantone Names Ron Potesky Senior Vice President and General Manager
CARLSTADT, N.J., Sept. 23, 2009 – Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company (NASDAQ: XRIT) and the global authority on color and provider of color standards for design professionals, today announced the appointment of Ron Potesky as senior vice president and general manager of Pantone. In this role, Potesky will spearhead the development of new digital innovation to advance the PANTONE® Brand.
"Ron's previous success in brand development, marketing and sales is exactly what we were looking for to lead Pantone into the future," explained Thomas J. Vacchiano, Jr., chief executive officer of X-Rite. "Ron has a terrific track record, working for innovative and successful technology leaders. I have great confidence that Ron will lead the Pantone team in a very positive direction."
"Pantone has been the global color authority and a technology innovator for nearly 50 years," said Potesky. "Our recently announced iPhone application, myPANTONE™, is an example of how we are extending the value and power of PANTONE to help communicate color anytime, anyplace for anyone. PANTONE is a world-class brand and I'm very excited to be a part of this talented team."
Potesky previously served as senior vice president of marketing at Ricoh Americas Corporation, having joined the company in 1999. In this role, Potesky was responsible for brand and channel strategies which were central to Ricoh's growth over the last decade. Prior to joining Ricoh, Potesky spent seven years at Canon USA, Inc. as director of product marketing.
In 2009, Potesky served as a keynote speaker at the Lyra Imaging Symposium in Palm Springs, Calif., and the Digital Sign Show in Las Vegas. Potesky holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York at Purchase.
About Pantone
Pantone LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated, has been the world's color authority for more than 45 years, providing design professionals with products and services for the colorful exploration and expression of creativity. Always a source for color inspiration, Pantone also offers designer-inspired products and services for consumers. More information is available at www.pantone.com.
About X-Rite
X-Rite, Incorporated, is the global leader in color science and technology. The company, which now includes color industry leader Pantone, develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative color solutions through measurement systems, software, color standards and services. X-Rite's expertise in inspiring, selecting, measuring, formulating, communicating and matching color helps users get color right the first time and every time, which translates to better quality and reduced costs. X-Rite serves a range of industries, including printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles, dental and medical. For further information, please visit www.xrite.com.


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Admission Committee necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 199 diseños de 37 diseñadores freelance.
The Admission Committee, theadmissioncommittee.com
The Admission Committee is looking for a simple, clean design to launch their business this summer. In a market of one-on-one admission consulting at high prices, we are launching a college application service that centers around a committee-based review – that is THE strength of the brand. Services will be primarily web-based. Just as Kaplan and Princeton Review have cornered the market on test prep, we'd like to become a powerhouse brand for college application assistance/review.
When we saw the talent on this site, we knew this was the place to come for the logo! We look forward to seeing the submissions!!
Winner will most likely lead to further work with web-business consultant.
Targeting families that have a hundred options when hiring help for their students – logo needs to create a solid sense of credibility and respectability. Instead of spending $5000 on an expensive consultant, we want them to use our less expensive, but more valuable service. Logo should not look less expensive, but should look authoritative or strong.
Maybe authoritative is not the right word, thinking more like "major brand leader"
Mark is optional.
Partial to variations of Helvetica family.
Words "The Admission Committee"
Open to having or not having .com in the logo.
Colors: either (red, white, gray) or (two different blues, white)
might be nice to see multiple silhouettes in simple shapes in the logo to tie in with the "committee" aspect - not necessary though
clean and simple only please.
needs to be in illustrator or photoshop
nothing childish
no stock grad hats, books, columns, etc.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Alabama split the games and swept the titles.
The Crimson Tide was voted No. 1 in the final AP poll for the eighth time, tying Notre Dame for the most of any team in college football, after winning a rematch with LSU in the BCS championship on Monday night.
Alabama's 21-0 victory easily offset the Tigers' 9-6 win on Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and gave it the top spot in the AP ranking to go along with the No. 1 ranking in the USA Today coaches' poll.
The Tide received 55 first-place votes and No. 2 LSU got one. Big 12 champion Oklahoma State (12-1) was No. 3 and received four first-place votes.
Oregon finished fourth and Arkansas was fifth, giving the SEC three of the top five teams in the country.


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Comcast CEO Argues Rules Will Protect Customers In Merger, While Comcast Lawyers Argue Rules Are Unconstitutional
from the how-it-works dept
"In other words, looking to get approval for this merger, you sat there in my office and told me to my face that these rules would protect consumers but your lawyers had just finished arguing in front of the Commission that it would be unconstitutional to apply these rules."You can see the video here:
All that said, I have to say that I'm not particularly concerned about Comcast and NBC merging. I'm all for it. If two companies that poorly run are getting together, it's pretty much guaranteed to be a disaster. We've seen this game before, and it was called AOL-Time Warner. While it's difficult to think that anyone could screw up that badly again, if anyone can, it's the folks at NBC Universal.


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The court had on Dec. 16 approved having a Big Sandy grant administration firm, Amazing Grants, begin work toward a process which could land the grant. Commissioners authorized the firm to work with the court "on the necessary preliminary actions related to the county's participation in the County Energy Transportation Infrastructure Fund (TIF), and possible creation of a County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zone (CETRZ)."
Melinda Smith of the grant firm said at the hearing that Upshur was originally allocated $630,000 in state grant funds under the program, but that figure could increase. At the Dec. 16 meeting, County Judge Dean Fowler had said grant funds were given to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to allot to counties based on such drilling and the road use for it.
Tuesday's hearing was to "consider creating County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zones" and the potential boundaries. Fowler said Dec. 16 that the county must designate a zone, and that certain tax increases must go for work on roads in it.
Creating the zone costs the county nothing, he added, although it would have to match 20 percent of any grant amount, which Fowler said is still "a pretty good deal." Ms. Smith had said Dec. 16 the court is out no money if the county receives no grant, and that the court can also dissolve the zone should that occur.
At Tuesday's hearing, former Upshur County Juvenile Probation Officer Ronnie Mitchell, who is now interim Road and Bridge Administrator in Karnes County, told the court he had been involved in legislation that created the program and that he was to implement it in that county. Noting he still owns property and pays taxes in Upshur County, Mitchell said he was at the hearing to "sell" the county on the program.
He said this was the first time the state has allocated money to improve county-maintained roads, and that Karnes County has created its zone. He urged the court to designate the entire county rather than establish the zone in a particular area.
But Mary Kay Thomas of Amazing Grants, displaying a map, said she believed a smaller zone "would take less of the auditor's time." She proposed a zone for an area in the northern part of the county, which includes Peony Lane, Lavender Road, and Ginger Road.
Ms. Smith said they had identified a road with damage from oil and gas traffic, and that county Road Adminstrator Andy Jordan is identifying all roads in the county with such damage. She said the court could define zone boundaries at its Jan. 31 meeting.
Jordan, who praised Mitchell for his assistance, said grant funds would be spent throughout the county, but that he wasn't sure how he felt about having a countywide zone. He said he favored the smaller zone, asking what he would do if grant funds were no longer available after 10 years.
In other business Tuesday, Commissioners Court took no action on whether to request proposals for Information Technology support and maintenance and infrastructure.
Fowler said there had been "some confusion" over what the court needed to do. Brock Leger of Inline Networks in Longview told the court he thought his firm could inform commissioners what it believed is needed by the middle of next week.
Leger said he believed 65-70 computers (of the county's 178) needed replacing, that other computers needed upgrading, and that the county needed a new computer operating system.
Fowler said the matter would be placed on the court's next agenda.
Also on Tuesday, over the objection of County Auditor Brandy Lee, the court moved $87,000 received from an auction of road and bridge equipment from the county's general fund into the Road and Bridge fund.
Pct. 3 Comm. Frank Berka said he understood Mrs. Lee's "reluctance to release" the money until the county sees down the road where it is financially, but he noted the Road and Bridge Dept. had "sacrificed this summer"—a reference to a major cut the court made in the R&B budget to help resolve a major budget shortfall.
The court also approved Berka's proposal to apply for a one-year Veterans Transportation Assistance Program Grant of $150,000.
He said the county has 3,712 military veterans, and that a grant allows 56 cents per mile round-trip for volunteers who drive veterans to medical facilities. Berka said the funds come from state lottery proceeds, not taxes, and that 27.7 percent of the veterans need transportation assistance.
The grant requires no matching funds from the county, he noted.
In other business Tuesday, the court raised its mileage rate for county personnel by one cent a mile, to 56 cents, and also approved executing an agreement with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Fowler said the agreement involves such matters as testing kits and blood tests, which the DPS can obtain cheaper than the county.


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2012 Tour Stop #15 - Blues, Brews & BarbecueAugust 17, 2012
Blues, Brews & Barbecue
Birch Run, Mich.
After the long days at the Wisconsin State Fair, Christine and I were due a little R & R and what better way to relax than cook a contest?? Since we had a retail stop in Woodbury, Minn. we were close enough to hit the Med City BBQ contest in Rochester. For a third year contest, they seemed to have a good grasp on putting on a top notch contest. Christine and I didn't embarrass ourselves either and walked away with a 6th place chicken call and 17th overall out of a tough field of teams.
The Blues, Brews & Barbecue contest in Birch Run, Mich. was the next stop for the Great American BBQ Tour and we pulled into town early and dropped the trailer at the event site. This same weekend, Birch Run also hosted the Vietnam Moving Wall, a small scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., which brought additional people to the area.
This was the first year for the Blues, Brews and Barbecue contest and they had 30 teams from the United States and Canada attend. Bub-Ba-Q from Georgia even made the trek to the North to chase the win! The blues music drew the crowds on Friday night and gave us a good crowd attendance for our demonstrations and samplings. One younger lady who tried my Smithfield® Pork Loin with the Weber® Just Add Juice™ Caribbean Juice recipe told her friend that it was, "ten times better than her mother's cooking!"… Kind of interesting that it wasn't twice as good or way better
than, but 10 times better. I put the credit back to the pork and the recipe and slipped her a packet of seasoning to take home with her!
I have to share that shows just how special our BBQ community is and why we are so thankful to be part of this BBQ family. Danielle (Diva Q) made the trip south from Canada and as she pulled into the event, it was clear that her trailer was past due for new tires. Three of the four tires were bad with one especially close to horrible. She had tried to get them changed but that is a different story altogether. One of the guys from the local Bavarian Smoke BBQ team brought over his jack and took her bad tire off to get replaced. On Saturday at awards, that good Karma paid off as Bavarian Smoke BBQ was called for Grand Champion! Big Brothers BBQ won Reserve while Diva Q headed home with a 3rd place overall along with 1st place in Brisket!


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TTR Sotheby's International Realty is committed to creating extraordinary real estate experiences for our customers and clients through unrivaled, exceptional service. Our style is professional as well as personal. We are successful because our people are excellent. Each hand-picked agent was an industry leader before he or she came to us. Each are experts in market trends and the latest numbers. Each of us also listens to your needs, your tastes, your definition of success. You are always a welcome participant in every part of the process. Clients enjoy working with us from all over the metropolitan area. You'll see our signs in Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Arlington, Potomac, Cleveland Park, Bethesda, McLean and all of the other communities throughout Washington, Maryland and Virginia. We welcome every opportunity to earn your trust and build a relationship because in the end, it's all about the people. Ours are extraordinary.


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Conference attendees had plenty to explore during the coffee and lunch breaks. With 18 exhibitors set up outside the main auditorium and an adjacent poster exhibition featuring nearly 50 posters, which were submitted by conference sponsors, speakers, attendees, and the 2009 award winners. Every break was an active session of networking for the attendees.
Exhibition layout plan.
Conference Sponsors & Exhibitors:
Silver Sponsors:


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Grades 6-8, 9-12
Income and Expense Statements
This lesson will assist students in identifying various taxes and the services they help governments provide.
State, federal, sales, property — taxes taxes taxes! Why do we pay taxes? Why do we pay so many kinds of taxes, and what is the benefit to us? What are the goods and services that the government provides for us? How does the government pay for those goods and services? This lesson will take you through the different types of taxes governments impose, and the goods and services the governments provide in return.
Our governments, at all levels, provide us with goods and services that are sometimes more difficult for companies or individuals to provide. A paving company wouldn't be able to charge individual drivers for the roads it creates. A hospital can't collect from people who can't afford to pay. Governments have a role in our society to provide some of these goods and services on behalf of all citizens. But governments have to pay to get the job done! Those costs are called expenditures. The government doesn't have its own paving company, and even if it did, it would have to pay the people who work there! How do governments pay for the goods and services they provide? They pay for these things through a system of taxation, to gain necessary revenues.
Activity One:
Name some goods and services that are provided by the government. Brainstorm a list of these items with a group of classmates.
* Why do governments need to provide these services?
Activity Two:
Use The Economics of Taxation page provided by the U.S. Department of The Treasury to find out more about the kinds of taxes governments impose, and the goods or services they provide. [Students may need some assistance in comprehending the text in this fact sheet. A whole class or small group read-through and summary discussion will help students prior to working on the related activities in this lesson.]
* Which of the goods and services you named are provided by the federal government, which are provided by the state government, and which by the local government? What can you add to your list?
Use this Activity Sheet or create a three-column chart to place the goods and services where they belong. If a good or service is provided by more than one government, place it in both columns.
Activity Three:
How does each level of government get the money or revenue it needs to be able to provide the goods and services you have listed? Taxation is the primary revenue generator for our governments. There are three main kinds of taxes:
Work with a partner to define each type of tax. Go back to the activity sheet and add each tax to the appropriate column in the revenues section. Use "Primary Source" and "Other" distinctions to show which levels of government gain most from each type of tax. Refer to the Economics of Taxation page again to help you be as specific as possible.
Discuss with your class the types of taxes you learned about today. What kinds of services or goods does each one help our governments provide? Which level of government provides the opportunity to go to school? Where do roads and highways come from?
The governments we support through our taxes provide valuable services. Do you think the tax structures you have studied today make sense? Do you have other ideas about how the government should pay for the services it provides? If you do, you may wish to submit your ideas to your local, state, or federal representatives. Taxation is a big deal — and everyone's ideas should be represented. But everyone must understand the basics of taxes and government roles in order to be represented well.
Visit the IRS resource for kids called IRS Tax(i) History . At this site you can learn about taxation throughout history. You can work on this independently or with a partner. Complete the follow-up activities for each section to be sure you are getting the most out of your adventures.
Work with a partner to play the Tic Tac Taxes Game. Be careful! You'll need to draw on the ideas you learned about today to win the squares!
Grades 6-8, 9-12
Grades 9-12
Grades 9-12
Grades 9-12
Grades 6-8, 9-12


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Description: PA Paper Mache Shapes can be decorated using a large variety of items such as stickers, rub-ons, paints, paper, fabric, buttons, charms and more. Each shape is Eco-friendly and 100% recyclable. Bumblebee is approximately 12 x 10 inch and is attached to a 12 inch rod. Total length is approximately 16 1/2 inch.
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The New $100 Bill is Here
In case you've been waiting with eager anticipation for the new $100 bills to get here, you don't have to wait any longer. It is here and a lot more colorful than it used to be.
They are giving old Ben Franklin a face lift to make him harder to counterfeit. It doesn't appear that they got rid of his wrinkles or double chin, but they did add raised printing, a dashed blue strip and even a new icon.
Alright, I'm not really excited about the new $100 bill. Perhaps that is because I don't usually carry a wad of this particular denomination around with me every day. In fact, I don't know many people who carry cash around anymore period.
I myself have probably only had the pleasure of flaunting a $100 bill a handful of times. I have to admit that I'm a little scared to carry around cash like that. You see I'm terrible about misplacing (not losing) things. The last thing I want to misplace is one hundred dollars. Ten dollars I can live with, but one hundred, no.
Hopefully, I'll get my hands on a fancy new face lifted Franklin soon. If I do, I will be taking it straight to the bank. It's much safer there.
Joy Larson is a mother of four boys, graduate of the University of Montana, animal lover and writer.


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In certain weeks it is hard to narrow down the game of the week in college football, but this time it is very easy as #1 LSU goes on the road to Tuscaloosa to take on #2 Alabama.
Not since 2006, has the number one and number two ranked teams in the nation played each other in the regular season (excludes conference championship games), so this type of game doesn't happen often. The 2006 game lived up to all the hype when #1 Ohio State defeated #2 Michigan 42-39, and hopefully this game will be just as compelling.
The winner of this game will be favorite to win the national championship. Here is what you can expect from the two best teams in the country.
Click to read arguments for and against an LSU-Alabama BCS Title game rematch.
The Crimson Tide has one of the best of rushing attacks in college football, averaging over 200 yards per game. Trent Richardson (149 car, 989 YDS, 17 TDs) is one of the best running backs in the country and is one of the top contenders to win Heisman Trophy. Richardson will get a bunch of carries in this game, and with his 6.6 average yards per carry he will be very tough for the LSU defense to stop.
The Tide's offense is best known for their ground game, but sophomore quarterback A.J. McCarron (134-200, 1664 YDS, 10 TDs) has been very efficient this season. All they ask of McCarron is to manage the game, and so far he has excelled in this role. McCarron has been very good at protecting the ball and last week he threw his first interception since throwing two in week one.
Quarterback Jarrett Lee (98-155, 1250 YDS, 13 TDs) has been better than expected since he took over the starting quarterback role after Jordan Jefferson got suspended. Just like McCarron for Alabama, Lee has been very good at protecting the ball and has only thrown one interception this season. He will need to continue not throwing interceptions if LSU wants stay ranked number one.
LSU does have a very effective ground game as well, which makes their offense very balanced. LSU is a run-first team that averages 189 yards per game on the ground, and they have two running backs that they will use throughout the game. Spencer Ware (128 CAR, 512 YDS, 6 TDs) leads LSU In rushing, but they will also use Michael Ford (79 CAR, 441 YDS, 6 TDs).
Alabama has the number one defense in the country and leads the nation in scoring defense. Teams are averaging less than 7 points per game against them and they have only given up six touchdowns this season. Their run defense has been so good this season that in eight games they have only given up 359 yards on the ground.
Alabama's defense is loaded at all positions, and their Linebackers are the best in the nation with three All-American candidates (Dont'a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw and Nico Johnson). Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw are among the 12 semifinalists for the 2011 Lombardi Award.
LSU's defense has been just as dominant this season, and they have the second rank defense in the country. Teams are only averaging 11.5 points per game against them this season, which is very impressive because they have played against some very good offenses.
LSU has arguably the best secondary in the country, and with 11 interceptions they have done an outstanding job of getting turnovers. This unit is headlined by cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, whoc in two seasons has forced nine fumbles – an LSU record. So far this season Mathieu has five turnovers (two interceptions, three fumble recoveries) and his 42 tackles is third on the team.
- ALABAMA: LSU has forced a lot of turnovers this season, and if Alabama wants to be number one in the polls after Saturday night then they are going to have to protect the ball.
- LSU: Alabama is going to run the ball with Trent Richardso,n and if LSU wants to win this game they are going to have to stop him and force A.J. McCarron to beat them with the pass.
These teams are very evenly matched, and trying to predict a winner is extremely difficult. I give the slight edge to Alabama because they are at home. Alabama wins 17-14 in a low scoring game.
LSU v Alabama Game Info:
- LSU-Alabama Date: Saturday, November 5
- LSU-Alabama Date Kickoff Time: 8:00 PM ET
- LSU-Alabama TV: CBS
- LSU-Alabama Point Spread: Alabama -4.5
* – LSU Alabama photo credit: via Nola.com


text:
Unified ICM and Unified CCE Database Troubleshooting: Logger Exit
From DocWiki
Revision as of 19:50, 18 December 2009 by Docwikibot (Talk | contribs)
Logger Exit
|Problem Summary
|The logger exits after local time has been stopped for few milliseconds
|Error Message
|Possible Cause
|The SQL server is busy. As a result, during that time no heartbeat response is sent to the Router process.
|Recommended Action
|Increase the MessageTimeout value under the registry key Logger\CurrentVersion\Configuration\Time\MessageTimeout.
|Release 7.5(1)
|Associated CDETS #


text:
Crossfit Grandview Elements 7:30pm
Crossfit Grandview
Monday, April 30, 2018 from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Event Details
Everyone starts in the Elements Sessions!
- New Elements #1 cycle begins every Monday
- Class size is limited to 5 people per session.
- Elements 2 is on Wednesdays and Elements 3 is on Thursdays. You must complete all three sessions in this order to enter the All- Level Training.
Intent of Elements Sessions:
- Define Functional Strength and what it is we do at CrossFit Grandview
- Programming – What to expect in the training sessions and how they are setup
- How all of these items are connected to our demand for safe movements at CrossFit Grandview
- To build knowledge and skill base for all entry level athletes
- Overview of CrossFit, Russian Kettlebells, Olympic/Power Lifts, Plyometrics and Gymnastic movements
- Maintain consistency in training pipeline
- Explain the following:* Scaling – How we scale the movements to the individual* Pacing – Recognizing your pace during a workout and controlling the urge to push too hard* Intensity – Understanding the effects of intensity on your ability to build work capacity
What happens when you finish Elements 3?
- You will graduate and with instructor approval will enter the classes as a Level 1 Athlete
- All classes are led by one of the instructors:* Instructors are: Brandon Couden, Dan Cestoni, Kyri Gold, and Katie Gotro * The CrossFit Grandview instructors can help you with training issues and answer questions * The CrossFit Grandview instructors will contact you if your attendance is slipping* The CrossFit Grandview instructors will motivate you to achieve your goals by holding you accountable for your efforts
Have questions about Crossfit Grandview Elements 7:30pm? Contact Crossfit Grandview
When & Where
Crossfit Grandview
880 Kinnear Road
Monday, April 30, 2018 from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Add to my calendar


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Hood River Valley High School varsity girls soccer hosted Rex Putnam Tuesday evening in the team's season-opener. The 3-1 loss against the Kingsmen was a tough way to start their schedule; but the girls found some strong points to build on and the game will serve as a gauge of progress for the rest of the season.
After battling to keep a more cohesive Rex Putnam squad from scoring for much of the first half, the Eagles let two goals slip by in the last 11 minutes, including the second with only 10 seconds left in the half. After a quick pep talk in the shade, the girls came out for the second half visibly re-energized and with much more cohesive tactics.
Senior midfielder Kristin Lago scored the Eagles' solo goal off a penalty kick caused by a Rex Putnam foul midway through the second half.
"We did have a couple of breakdowns which led to their goals and I am hoping that next time, we will be able to recover more quickly and contain and delay our opponents," said coach Kevin Haspela. "I was happy with how well they rebounded mentally in the second half. We played smarter, made some better decisions with the ball and were able to generate some chances on goal."
In his third year as head varsity coach, Haspela is taking aim at a three-peat Columbia River Conference title and is hoping to lead his squad deeper into the state playoffs than last year's second-round overtime loss against Crescent Valley. To achieve those goals, he's focusing with the team on keeping an organized backfield while developing a more dynamic and aggressive offensive strategy. Without any specific playmakers established yet this season, teamwork and communication are going to be a key to hanging with the state's top teams as players find their grooves with one another and their positions through the season.
"We're a pretty young team this year," Haspela said. "We graduated some dominant seniors last year and are without the one or two players who want to run the show this year. That may be a blessing in disguise; it will force us to be more balanced and rely on everyone, rather than just one or two super strong players."
Although second-half scoring Tuesday went 1-1, the Eagles controlled the pace of the period and showed great improvement over their first-half performance.
"I was pleased at their ability to dig deep in the second half and keep the match competitive," Haspela said. "This was a positive learning experience for us and now we have more specific areas we'll focus on."
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'Stingers' at Naked Winery
Friday, May 13, 4-7 p.m. Kit Garoutte — Relax with Kit and his jazz, rock and new acoustic mix. Saturday, May 14, 7-10 p.m. Franco and the Stingers — Since breaking into the Portland blues scene in the mid-'80s, Franco Paletta has become one of the mainstays of city's blues fans. His dynamic harp style and unique vocals have made him a frequent player at Naked Winery. Sunday, May 15, 5-7 p.m. Ben Bonham — Ben's guitar playing is rooted in the music of pre-radio America when all music was live and styles weren't pigeonholed. Catch him playing country blues, ragtime, vintage swing, Delta blues, folk, jazz, old-time country and Hawaiian. Mondays, 7-10 p.m. Naked Winery's open mic/jam hosted by Les Vaughn.
Stillman plays HR Hotel
The Hood River Hotel has music on Saturday, May 14, with Kay Floria and Polly Norris playing from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. There's jazz from Mike Stillman and Dave Henehan with friends on Saturday, May 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Local band the Hapa Hillbillies play on Monday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the lobby. Hood River Hotel, 106 Oak St., Hood River; 541-386-1900.
Tillinghast at Brian's May 20
Folk musician Richard Tillinghast will be playing a regular show at Brian's Pourhouse in Hood River on the third Friday of the month, starting May 20. Join Richard with guitar, banjo and Tova Cochrane on cello from 7-10 p.m. Brian's Pourhouse, 606 Oak St., Hood River; 541-387-4344.
Chervona returns to Everybody's
"Wild Eastern European style" best describes the dance band Chervona. The Northwest's favorite party band returns to Everybody's Brewing on Friday, May 13, at 9 p.m. Get ready for old-world magic and a dance floor of mad-capped delight. Everybody's Brewing, 151 E. Jewett Blvd., White Salmon, Wash; 509-637-2774.
'Feast of Words' benefit May 14
Eat, drink and dance at the Hood River County Library? For one night only, leave your whisper at home and whoop it up at "Feast of Words," a benefit for the Library Foundation's Early Opening Fund. Music will be provided by the Hood River Hot Shots — traditional jazz and good-time blues featuring many of the finest players in the Gorge. Tickets are $25 and include sumptuous desserts and local wines. Proceeds will go toward opening the library on July 1. Saturday May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Hood River County Library.
Victor Johnson kids show
Kids music specialist Victor Johnson will be playing this Saturday, May 14, in the The Dalles City Park for the free children's fair at 11:30 a.m. Victor reports that there will be all kinds of cools stuff for kids, including free music CDs to each family that attends, courtesy of the Commission of Children and Families. The Dalles City Park, Sixth and Union streets, The Dalles.
#1 Elvis onstage May 14
The World's #1 Ultimate Elvis, Justin Shandor, will be onstage with his rock and roll band and the 50-piece Columbia Gorge Sinfonietta on Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Hood River Middle School. General admission tickets are only $20 and are available at Waucoma Bookstore in Hood River and Columbia River Music in The Dalles or go to www.brownpapertickets.com. This concert is a benefit for the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association.
Country Dance May 14
The Second Saturday Country Dance happens May 14, from 7-10 p.m. at the Rockford Grange. The caller will be Sue Baker and the band will be the Trout Lake String Band. Dance lessons will begin at 7 p.m. All ages welcome. No partner required and this is a family-friendly event. All dances walked through first time. Enjoy an evening of country squares, contras, circle dances and a few waltzes. $6 for members, $7 for non-members, $1 for youth 16 and under. Please note: There's a potluck starting at 6 p.m. - please bring a dish and plate settings. Call Keith Harding at 541-352-7550 or Tom Hons at 541-386-5771 for further information.
Preston Shannon plays May 14
Squrl Music Presents international blues favorite Preston Shannon at The Pines Tasting Room in Hood River on Saturday, May 14. Show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15 in advance. Guitarist Preston Shannon has been described as "a cross between Otis Redding and Bobby Womack" and is a fixture on the Memphis music scene. Show is 21-and-over only.
Music Mondays at Solstice
Music Mondays continue at Solstice Cafe with local musicians every Monday night from 6-8 p.m. May 16: Joel Valle; May 23: Richard Tillinghast; May 31: Special Memorial Day musician TBA. No cover charge. Solstice Wood Fire Cafe, 415 W. Steuben, Bingen, Wash.; 509-493-4006.
Pretenders Theater 'One acts'
The Pretenders Theater Company in Lyle, Wash., presents three one act plays, "Bad Street," "Ticket Please," and "The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter" on Saturday, May 14 and May 21. Tickets are $20 (adult) and $10 (children) in advance at Klindt's Booksellers and St. Mary's Academy in The Dalles. (Tickets at the door are $25/$15). Price of ticket includes lunch or dinner. The early show starts at 2 p.m. ( 1 p.m. lunch) and the evening show starts at 7 p.m. ( 6 p.m. dinner). The venue is the Columbia River Grange Hall (Lyle) just off of Old Highway 8 on Columbia Grange Road. For more information visit www.pretenderstheatrecompany.org.
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What people are saying - Write a review
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Wither I wander I find we are travellers, never thinking of home, until one day we find that we are too old, to actually climb on a tour bus!
Selected pages
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Common terms and phrases
alderman alwayes Anthony ballad beleeve businesse called Chap Crispine and Crispianus curtesie Deloney Deloney's divers dost doth drink Drum editions Eyre favour fellow Fleet Street Florence friends Gauls Gentle Craft gentlemen give Greene King hand hast hath Haunce hearing heart himselfe husband I'le intreat Iphicrates Iwis John the Frenchman journeymen lady live London Lord Maior Magnus Clemens Maximus maid maidenhead marriage married Master Doctor Master Eyer Maximinus meanes merry mind mistresse mistris neer Nevell never night Palaestra Peachie pray thee prentises prince Purslow quoth Gillian quoth Harry quoth Margaret quoth Richard quoth Robin quoth shee Saint shew shooes shoomaker Sir Hugh song soon sorrow sort speak story Strangwidge sweet tell thee thereof therewithall Thomas Deloney thou art thou shalt Tush unto Ursula wench Westminster Wherefore Whereupon widdow wife willow wilt wine words yeeld yeeres
Popular passages
Page 69 - At your return from the merchant, you shall put off all these clothes at my cousin's again, and come home as you did go forth. Then tell John the Frenchman, that the alderman was with the merchant this afternoon, you may send him to him in the morning, and bid him to command that his ship may be brought down the river: while she is coming about, you may give notice to the linen drapers, of the commodities you have coming.
Page 34 - ... and in this humour, they sat them down, and sometimes they stalkt round about the field, till at last the watch met with them, who, contrary to Gillian's mind, took pains to bring them home together. At what time they gave one another such privie flouts that the watchmen took no little delight to hear it. The upshot of it all is that the desirable Richard marries neither, whereupon Meg indulges in a soliloquy reminiscent of Falstaff: "Wherefore is grief e good?
Page 72 - ... (quoth she). And it did 3° her so much good to talk of it, that I suppose, if she had liued till 1/~ this day, she would yet be prating thereof, and if sleep did not ^ driue her from it. And now seeing that Simon the Shoomaker is become a merchant, we will temper our tongues to giue him that title, which his customers were wont to do, and from henceforth call him master Eyer, who, while he had his affairs in hand, committed the Gouernment of his shop to...
Page v - Deloney, the balloting silke-weaver, hath rime enough for all myracles, and wit to make a Garland of good will more than the premisses, with an epistle of Momus and Zoylus ; whereas his Muse, from the first peeping foorth, hath stood at livery at an ale-house wispe, never exceeding a penny quart, day nor night, and this deare yeare, together with the silencing of his looms, scarce that, he being constrained to betake him to carded ale...
Page 95 - City: these were the words, little thinking, (God wot) that euer it should come to passe: but such was the great goodnesse of our God, who setteth vp the humble, and pulleth down the proud, to bring whom he pleaseth to the seat of Honour. For as the scripture witnesseth, Promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West, but from him that is the giuer of all good things, the mighty Lord of heauen and earth. Wherefore wife, seeing God hath bestowed that vpon me that I neuer looked for; it is...
Page 57 - ... in his hand, and the Ale in his head, he trips so light in the highway, that he feeles not the ground he goes on : and, therefore, being in a merry vaine, and desirous to...
Page 21 - And by our mirth expelled all moan; Like nightingales, from whose sweet throats Most pleasant tunes are nightly blown. The Gentle Craft is fittest, then, For poor distressed gentlemen.
Page 8 - ... the chin, fetching many stealing toutches at her rubie lips, and so soone as he heares the Bell ring eight a clocke, he calles her to goe to bed a° with him.
Page 6 - I will accept it, if you will preferre it, in sending it back to the place from whence it proceeded, and I would to God I could send you away as soone as your suite." "Why, then belike I am not welcome", said Sir Hugh.
Page 85 - O my good mistris, pardon my presumption for being thus bold to unburden my heart's griefe unto you. My hearty love to your sweet selfe is so great that, except you vouchsafe favourably to censure and kindly to judge thereof, that the sorrowes of my mind will wound my very soule and make my life loathsome unto me. — Wherefore, my good mistris, despise not your poore servant, but yeeld unto him such succour as may prolong his dayes with many blessed houres.


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Vegan Recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange & Ginger
There's a secret I've been fostering for quite some time now. I love vegan cupcakes — even more than "regular" cupcakes. Their flavor is intense, pure, and did I mention there's none of that creaming and beating nonsense? They're literally as easy as 1, 2, 3!
You're sure to be a hit at your next party if you come toting these!
These cupcakes get a little lift from the reaction between baking soda and vinegar, and although it might seem a bit strange, it's one of the coolest things to see your batter lift in the bowl when you add the vinegar.
This is a recipe that takes mere minutes to make, and once you make it I'm willing to bet that most of you won't go back to your standard chocolate cupcake ever again!
Tester's Notes
Butter who? These veganized cupcakes aren't lacking in richness, despite the absence of animal products. In fact, the canola oil keeps the cake super moist, whereas butter sometimes has the tendency to dry out. The vinegar's reaction with the baking soda helps the cupcakes rise in lieu of eggs, and the cakes came out of the oven with perfectly rounded tops.
The generous amount of zest in the recipe makes the cupcakes taste just like a chocolate orange (my favorite holiday treat), while the ginger lends an earthy, slightly spicy undertone. The frosting is creamy and sweet, sweet, sweet! I sprinkled some chopped candied ginger and a bit of orange zest over the tops of my cupcakes to hint at their flavor profile and to showcase the ginger.
If you're anything like me, you'll be chasing these cupcakes with a tall glass of cold soy milk. They will definitely be making a repeat appearance on my dessert table, especially at parties where my guests have various dietary preferences and food allergies!
- Maria of Sift & Whisk
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Ginger & Orange
Makes 24 cupcakes
- For the cupcakes:
3 cups
all-purpose flour
2 cups
2/3 cup
unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons
baking soda
1 teaspoon
1 2/3 cups
water or cold freshly brewed coffee
1 cup
neutral oil, such as canola
2 teaspoons
pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon
orange juice
2 tablespoons
freshly grated ginger
4 tablespoons
zested orange peel
4 tablespoons
cider vinegar
- For the frosting:
1 cup
vegan margarine, softened and at room temperature
4 cups
powdered sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup
soy milk
1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon
orange juice
1/8 teaspoon
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two standard cupcake tins with paper liners.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the water, oil, vanilla, orange juice, ginger, and orange peel. Stir to combine. Add the vinegar and stir quickly. The batter will be slightly foamy and lighter in color as you mix in the vinegar. The batter will turn darker again; this is the sign that all the vinegar has been incorporated.
Fill the prepared cupcake tins 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top of a cupcake springs back when lightly pressed with a finger.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes and place on wire rack until completely cool. Frost only after the cupcakes are cool.
To make the frosting, whip the margarine with a hand or stand mixer until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Gradually whip in the soy milk, then the vanilla, orange juice, and salt and mix on high speed until lightened and creamy.
Frost the cupcakes. Refrigerate any unused frosting for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
Recipe updated — first published January 2011.


text:
Originally Posted by palmbook
Nikon Capture - The best for your NEFs
Not only has it rich features, but also the calculation and manipulation is very well done.
I love D-lighting
Thanks. Yes I agree. Looks like NC is worth the price of admission.
50mm f/1.8, Sigma 18-125, Sigma 24-70 f/2.8, Nikon 18-105 VR, Nikon 55-200 VR, Nikon 43-86 f/3.5 AiS, Vivitar 28-90 F/2.8-3.5 Macro, Vivitar 75-205 F/3.8-4.8, SB800.
Ha! See, I can change...
Well how 'bout you guys posting some results using the Nikon program. Makes me wanna see what I might be missing.
Canon EOS 30D | Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 | Canon 17-40mm f/4L | Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS| Canon 70-200mm f/4L | Canon Speedlite 430EX + Sto-Fen Omni Bounce | Manfrotto 3001BD & 680B/486RC2 | Hoya Super HMC Pro1 Digital Filters | Hitech ND & GND Filters | Bags > Kata R-103 + Lowepro Nova 5 AW
RawShooter | premium 2006 > My PBase Gallery
Originally Posted by George Riehm
There is a new e-book out from Uwe Steinmeuller called The Art of RAW Conversion if anyone is interested. I am ordering it just to see if it's worth $39.http://www.outbackphoto.com/booklets...2/DOP3002.html
Since Uwe is one of the developers of RSE, sounds like a good one to have. Thanks for the lead.
"...and only the stump, or fishy part of him remained."
Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township
Originally Posted by Bluedog
Well how 'bout you guys posting some results using the Nikon program. Makes me wanna see what I might be missing.
No image adjustment applied; I just pop the photo up and convert.
First guy is from Nikon Capture 4.2. The image size is well over 100KB that I have to reduce the quality
The next contender is C1 Pro. Seems that this folk can't read all settings from NEFs, such as Color Space. The image size is 90.2KB (larger the file, finer the details)
The last competitor comes the famous free RAWessential. The image size is roughly 92KB.
My Online Albums
With my monitor resolution @ 1280X1024 I can't tell too much with those images as they are a little small. The first one looks too dark form what I can tell? I've got a high speed cable connection so put up some higher res. stuff if you can.
I'm sorry, but I did this set of comparison some time ago.
Now I have uninstalled some programs; therefore I can't make another comparison. But if I have enough time, I might re-install the programs again.
IMO, the first picture is perfectly exposed. It's higher contrast that might induce some people to think that it's underexposed
Yes, I agree, the first photo has finer tonal qualities and a bit more color. That is a nice comparison. Thanks very much for posting those esamples.
Sarah Joyce
A little thing I discovered last night. Everyone speaks about how fast RAWShooter Essentials is. However, it does slow down a lot if you load a lot of photos directly from the CF card in the reader. I does keep a goodly amount of information around, because after I had looked at all the photos and started setting priorities (1-2-3-Trash), it started working much faster on followup viewing.
On the other hand, Nikon Capture, slow as it is, does not seem to slow down further due to volume or source. While I really like RSE's priority workflow system, I don't care for it's controls as much as NC, either in the set of controls or way they handle. I'm also not a big fan of the unconventional interface in RSE.
I guess ones computer memory could equate to slowdown too. I've got 2 512MB's Corsair XMS Extreme Memory running in Dual Channel so I don't see any slow down in RSE.
I have used RSE, PS Elements 3.0 and ACDSee 7 and have found that when processing RAW NEF files I get a different exsposure result with each one. Then I bought Nikon Capture and found that it processes NEF files consistently and gives me the exposure that I expect with the shooting parameters that I have used. I still like to finish up in PS Elements before printing Mainly because I have not yet taken the trouble to learn Capture thoroughly.
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