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Teen girls are treated with a surprising amount of dismissal and contempt, considering how many of us have been them at one time or another. It's widely understood that to compare a grown person to a teenage girl is an insult with specific connotations of pettiness and drama. Writers of Serious Literature like to focus on adulterous men, or if youth is necessary, precocious boys. But the upheavals of teen girlhood are rich with material: Friends drift apart, create new alliances; illusions are shattered and innocence lost.
Megan Abbott has been mining these fields with attention and vigor, in "The End of Everything" (2011), "Dare Me" (2012), and now, with her new novel, "The Fever." She understands what many writers don't — that these things are important and interesting; that they can even be deadly.
The Nash family lives in the foggy town of Dryden, an ordinary place carrying the volatile dramatic potential of an ordinary population of teenagers. The Nashes' lives are anchored in Dryden High School, where divorced father Tom is a popular teacher, and Eli, 18, and Deenie, 16, are students in the fitful, hormonal thick of their adolescent lives. When a mysterious illness strikes the teen girls of Dryden, the town and its inhabitants are thrown into a chaos that reveals the essential instability in their daily lives.
The point of view shifts among the three Nashes, but while Tom and Eli provide insightful perspectives that enrich the story and advance the plot, Deenie is the focal point of the novel.
"The Fever" is about the world of girls, a charged, eerie sphere that Abbott nails at every turn. Deenie has two best friends — Lise is her companion from childhood, a sweet, lovely girl whose newfound beauty has caught everyone by surprise; Gabby is a complicated girl from a troubled family who carries "the glamour of experience, like a dark queen with a bloody train trailing behind her."
One morning, Lise collapses in a classroom, her face and body distorted by seizure. She recovers her wits long enough to talk to Deenie ("Are they laughing at me?") before falling into a state of unconsciousness that everyone hopes is temporary. The school descends into a speculative, terrified panic, with several students traumatized after witnessing her fall.
Things go only downhill when Gabby suffers a similar attack during an all-school orchestral performance, and over the next several days, the fever spreads across campus, infecting girl after girl with a wide range of scary symptoms. As the hospital swells with young female patients, students, parents and teachers search for answers with rising hysteria. Afflicted girls upload creepy YouTube statements that go viral, and the Dryden illness attracts the attention of the media as well as of various shadowy investigative agencies.
The novel is built around this crucial, confounding question: What the hell is happening to these girls? Is it the scummy green lake? The controversial HPV vaccine? Or is it all in their angsty little heads? After a grueling PTA meeting, a mother says to Tom, "[E]ven if it isn't any of these things, it could be. Because all we do from the minute they're born is put them at risk."
This is not just the hyperbole of concerned parenthood — Abbott, at least, paints growing up as a perilous process, haunted by the inevitable, frightening transition into sexual maturity. These girls are twitching with desire, and while their bodies are assaulted by this strange illness, they follow their hormones with an impulsive abandon that suggests an analogous loss of control. Though no one suggests that sex is making the girls sick directly, all of the speculation seems to dance around the subject. The lake where the girls take a swim, drawn in by the promise of shirtless boys; the HPV vaccination, designed to inoculate young girls against the threat of adult disease. Suspicions arise about Tampax and birth control, and the investigation lingers on a certain encounter behind the school bushes, where a pair of discarded pink tights serves as a poignant clue.
And everyone, including Deenie, who spends the eve of Lise's seizure in the back of her co-worker's car, seems to be turning in V-cards. "Sometimes it seemed to Deenie that high school was like a long game of And Then There Were None" — there it is, then, the classic alignment of sex and death.
As the drama unfolds, Deenie is forced to deal with a full range of teen girl problems that stretch into every arena of her life. With Lise in the hospital, she becomes increasingly insecure about Gabby's close friendship with the witchy, waifish Skye. She deals with survivors' guilt, in addition to guilt over a small cluster of kept secrets and betrayals. These dramas intertwine with the unnatural havoc of the titular fever, and they force Deenie into a violent, heartbreaking coming of age.
The plot takes dark, scary turns that arise from the everyday turmoil of female adolescence. That these all feel terrifyingly plausible can be attributed to Abbott's masterful writing. Once again, she demonstrates an uncanny ear for the voice of youth, breathing life into every whispered confession, even every mashed-out text. She's a unique talent with a signature style that gets stronger with every book. With its confident plotting and lyrical prose, "The Fever" may be her best novel yet.
Cha is the author of "Follow Her Home" and the forthcoming "Beware Beware."
The Fever
A novel
Megan Abbott
Little, Brown: 320 pp., $26


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Area of engagement
Solution to integrate wireless temperature monitoring system with BMS (Building Management System).
A leading manufacturer of wireless temperature- and humidity-transmitters.
- Client offered a Temperature Monitoring System which consists of Wireless Transmitters and Application Software
- Third party BACnet Application such as a Building Automation System needs access to vital parameter such as temperature, humidity, CO2, etc., measured by wireless sensor devices
- Client needed a solution to allow data exchange from its Temperature Monitoring System with BMS
The SoftDEL Solution
- SoftDEL developed a software BACnet Gateway that converts the sensor data from the Temperature Monitoring System into a BACnet format
- SoftDEL used its own BACnet/IP stack in developing the gateway solution
- The gateway included a data logging facility for storing data until retrieval
- The overall development time was shortened due to use of ready BACnet stack
- BACnet applications able to fetch and monitor data from wireless transmitters

subset: commoncrawl


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On March 21 of this year, DL Media will be 18 years old. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate our anniversary than receiving the Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau.
Nixa, MO (PRWEB) March 06, 2015
DL Media was honored with the 2015 BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics in the medium-sized business category. The banquet was held on March 5 at the Ramada Oasis Inn and Convention Center in Springfield, Mo. Local celebrity, Joe Daues, served as host and Brent McCoy, vice president of Springfield Chamber of Commerce, served as the keynote speaker. Attended by over 330 business people and community leaders, this was the largest Torch Awards banquet in history.
The Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics is open to all for-profit businesses in southwest Missouri that provide goods or services to retail and/or wholesale markets. The companies are judged on excellence in customer care, marketplace excellence, advancing marketplace trust and consumer leadership. This year's judging panel consisted of Sherry Coker, director for OTC Center for Workforce Development; Loa Freeman, president/owner of Success Naturally Yoga & Image Center; Don Louzader, KTTS News Director at Journal Broadcast Group; Dan Prater, director of The Center for Nonprofit Communication at Drury University; and Joe Stokes, president/CEO of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Ozarks.
"We are humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award," said Dianne Davis, owner and president of DL Media. "On March 21 of this year, DL Media will be 18 years old. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate our anniversary than receiving the Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau."
DL Media also earned the Principles of Trust Award which recognizes members who have excelled at establishing trust in the marketplace. This award is given to members who have not received any complaints with the BBB in the standard three-year reporting period.
Founded in 1997, DL Media is a full-service digital marketing and advertising agency headquartered in Nixa, Mo. The agency works to advance clients' businesses by helping solve marketing challenges through relevant, engaging and compelling communications. For more information about DL Media visit dlmedia.com.


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As our TransRockies/Colorado trip approached, I wrestled with the worries, I faced the fears, I rubbed Ben's head and the Buddha's belly for good luck and then all there was left to do was run. We flew into warm, sunny Denver on Sunday and, as we drove towards our hotel in Salida, the temperature plunged and the thunderstorms rolled in. Then it started to hail. The mountains loomed in the distance, formidable, insurmountable, impossible. But that is, after all, why I came here. To find the boundary between impossible and possible. And push it back, one step, one mile at a time.
To say I was nervous would be an understatement. And the weather was only making it worse. I thought, I am not cut out for running up solid rock through lightning. I am cut out for hugging. And then I realized, what is hugging but an embrace. So I decided that whatever happens, I would embrace this experience. Monday, we went to packet pick-up and the opening ceremony in Buena Vista and learned that the rain was fortuitous, making the trails less dusty and more pleasant. Sometimes what seems like bad luck is actually good luck in disguise.
As the start of the race approached, my excitement started to drown out the anxiety. This race would be the farthest I've ever run on trails, the most miles I've ever run in a 3-day span (or in a whole week for that matter), my first 2-day camping experience, my first runcation, my first stage race, my first time in Colorado and my first vacation with Pete. I was about to embark on my most epic and excellent experience to date.
And so the adventure began...
Stage 1: Buena Vista to Railroad Bridge
The first stage was 20.9 miles with about 2,500 feet of elevation gain. The trails were a mix of gravel, rock and sand, mostly wide doubletrack. It was sunny and hot and beautiful. The last four miles were described as a "grueling false flat" which sounded ominous but I loved every minute of it. My legs were fresh, I felt great, the sun and views were amazing and my sweat was evaporating so quickly in the dry air that I never felt sweaty. Luckily, it turned out that my worries about altitude sickness were in vain. I focused on hydrating and fueling and I was totally fine.
Stage 2: Vicksburg to Twin Lakes
The second stage was the shortest, at 13.4 miles, but with 3,200 feet of elevation gain, I thought it was the most difficult. The previous day's sun had left me with sunburns on the backs of both calves, despite wearing sunscreen. I learned an important lesson that sunburned calves + compression socks = no good. But if that was the only pain I felt after almost 21 miles, I wasn't going to complain. Too much. For stages 2 and 3, we were required to bring a hat, gloves, waterproof jacket and space blanket because the weather can be drastically different at higher elevations. (I was a little concerned about the whole space blanket thing. I was unaware we were going to run to space). This stage took us through part of the Leadville 100 course, with a series of steep climbs and switchbacks up to Hope Pass at 12,500 feet. I'll never be fast enough, strong enough or insane enough to attempt the Leadville 100, but it was neat to experience part of the route. The climbs were tough but totally worth it for the stunning views. I did start to feel a little dizzy at the top, almost like altitude drunkness or something. I stumbled a few times and found I had to really concentrate and focus on my steps. After taking pictures at Hope Pass, we began a steep, technical descent. I'm terrible at downhills so this was my least favorite part of the whole race. I was slow, but I didn't fall. So there's that. The rest of the course was made up of more gradual descents and beautiful singletrack along a lake.
Stage 3: Leadville to Nova Guides
The last stage was the longest, 24.4 miles and 2,700 feet of elevation gain. The 2.5 miles of roads we ran out of Leadville (mostly downhill) were a nice break for my tired muscles. As we were running down the road, another runner said to me "I love your little buns. They're so fun." I'm pretty sure she was talking about my hair. Because my butt was being sore, not fun. And my quads were burning from the previous day's climbs and descents. Though it felt like all the training runs I did when I was sore from Fit1 and pilates, so I didn't mind it. There were some nice climbs and descents on this stage, but they were far more runnable than those of stage 2. We also had a few stream crossings, which felt great on my hot feet. The weather was sunny and warm again, though it started to get a little rainy and windy during our last couple of miles. We could see the finish line but still had about 3 miles to go to get there and it seemed to take forever. But we made it! After 58 miles of gorgeous and tough trails, Pete and I crossed the finish line hand in hand. We took a couple of pictures, got our finishers shirts and medals and I consumed the best tasting PBJ sandwich and Gatorade chocolate protein shake of my life.
For all my worries leading up to this race, it went surprisingly well. It was my highest mileage, toughest climbing and longest time on feet ever, but I felt the best I've ever felt during a long run. Actually, I think this race was pretty much my version of heaven: running through the mountains with my favorite guy, stopping at aid stations stocked with candy and peanut butter pretzels, cheering for and being cheered on by fellow runners/crazy people. This race was my hardest and best adventure yet. I hope there are many more racecations ahead of us. Because what better way is there to see a new place than by your own two feet? But next time we have to bring friends with us. I know all our TrailsRoc peeps would have loved this race.
Thanks to TransRockies for putting on a fantastic race. The course was challenging and beautiful and amazing, the food was delicious and the campsites were fun. I only wish the desserts had been better (though admittedly I have high standards for dessert) and that TransRockies made a RUN3 sticker I could put on my car. I'm going to have to find a new challenge with a cool sticker.
Infinity of thanks to Alison for driving us to the airport and to Danielle, Bob, Alison and Jenn for welcoming us home with signs and cookies. You know you're living the awesome life when you're as excited to come home as you are to go on vacation.
Super infinity of thanks to Pete for a most excellent adventure. I never would have attempted something like this on my own and the 58 miles and 8 days of exploring Colorado were made even sweeter by sharing them. I love him the mostest possible.
Lyric of the moment: "We're a thousand miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea. But as long as you are with me, there's no place I'd rather be..."


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Smithsonian National Zoo Receives $4.5 Million for Panda Program
The has announced a five-year, $4.5 million gift from David M. Rubenstein to help fund its panda program.
The gift will be used to fund conservation efforts in China, reproductive science, professional training programs, giant panda care and upgrades to panda habitats at the zoo, and public education. In addition, young conservation biologists in the United States and China who are awarded National Zoo fellowships for their work to save the endangered species will be named David M. Rubenstein Fellows. In recognition of the gift, the giant panda complex will be named the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat.
The gift will enable a scientific team from the and the zoo's animal care team to proceed with a five-year plan developed with Chinese colleagues from the . The plan focuses on the creation and impact of corridors linking fragmented habitats to benefit giant pandas and other species; the restoration of panda habitat, especially in regions where pandas appear to be making a comeback; the potential impact of transmissible diseases on giant panda populations and other species; and continued research on giant panda reproduction and management.
"On behalf of the zoo advisory board, we are most grateful to David for his generous gift, which keeps the beloved giant pandas at the National Zoo for Washington, D.C., and all Americans to enjoy," said zoo advisory board chair John Marriott. "More importantly, his generosity will enable us and our Chinese partners to continue our conservation work to give this critically endangered species the chance to survive in its native habitat."


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- Sales Tax
- Charitable Contributions
- Unrelated Business Income
- Form W-9
- Foreign Vendors
- Employment Issues
- Fringe Benefits
- Independent Contractor versus Employee Status
- Intermediate Sanctions (Private Benefit/Private Inurement)
- Cellular Phone Policy & Procedures
Charitable Contributions
An individual can usually deduct a contribution of money or property made to a qualified organization. The following information is not provided as advice for making charitable contributions, and only provides a general overview of this tax area. IRS Publications 526 and 561 should also be consulted.
Qualified Organization
Charitable contributions are only deductible by the donor when made to a qualified organization. As a non-profit educational organization, Baylor University is a qualified organization and is listed in the Internal Revenue Service's Publication 78 as such. This publication can be referenced at the following site: http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78.
Charitable Contribution
A charitable contribution must in essence be a gift, and has been defined by the Supreme Court in U.S. v. American Bar Endowment as "a transfer of money or property without adequate consideration". As a part of this definition, a contribution must be given with donative intent. Many sub-issues exist due to this "gift" requirement.
A. Ear-marked Funds
Under IRC §170, a taxpayer is entitled to a deduction for charitable contributions to or for the use of a qualified charitable organization. A gift is not considered a charitable contribution if the organization is merely a conduit to a particular person, such as when the gift is "ear-marked" for a particular individual. Rev. Ruling 62-113 stated that two factors will be used to determine the deductibility of a gift:
a. The qualified charitable organization must have full control and discretion over the contribution, and not bound by a commitment or "understanding" that the contribution will benefit a designated individual.
b. The donor's intent must be to benefit the organization and not the individual recipient.
Rev. Ruling 79-81 provides a good example of earmarking funds. In this Ruling, a religious organization gave four year training to individuals at one of its colleges. The organization expected to be paid approximately $4,000 for each of the two years that an individual was in residence at the college and had the student solicit the sponsorship of other persons to gain the funds. The sponsor pledged his commitment by completing a form that contained the amount of the pledge, the timing of payments to be made, the name of the sponsor, and the name of the member who solicited the payment. The form stated the payments were nonrefundable and that the use of the payments was solely at the discretion of the organization's Board of Trustees. Envelopes were provided for the payments and contained a space for the student's name. The IRS held the $4,000 was earmarked, shown by the name of the member who solicited payment on the commitment form and on the envelope in which payment was received. This showed the intent to benefit the student rather than the organization. In addition, the money donated was almost exactly the amount needed by the student, so the only control the organization had was comparable to the control any school has over tuition payments received.
Subsequent case-law has focused on this control test, defined as whether the organization has full control of donated funds and full discretion as to their use. If a donation has been earmarked for a particular individual, or there is a commitment or understanding that the donation will only be used for a designated beneficiary, or if the intent of the donor is to benefit himself and not the organization, then the organization lacks the control and discretion needed. In this situation, the donor will not be allowed a charitable deduction by the IRS. (Top)
B. Charitable Contributions Thru Third Parties
The IRS will allow individuals to take deductions for certain charitable contributions that flow through third parties, depending on whether the third party is the designated agent of the qualified organization. In Rev. Ruling 55-192, membership dues for a club were paid by the members to the treasurer of the club, who was authorized by both the club and the donee organization to act as its agent. Part of the club dues constituted contributions. The IRS allowed the contributions, as long as the treasurer was designated as the agent of the organization. This scenario was broadened in Rev. Ruling 85-184, in which a local chapter of a national charitable organization entered into an agreement with the local utility company to collect charitable contributions made by customers of the utility. The local chapter designated the utility as its agent to collect contributions on its behalf on the customer's monthly bills. The IRS held since the funds were segregated by the utility and the utility did not exercise any domination or control over the funds, nor draw upon them to cover expenses incurred in the program, deductions were allowed for the charitable contributions. Allowance of charitable contributions through third parties was further broadened in Rev. Ruling. 2002-67. In this Ruling, a charitable organization entered into a written agreement with a for-profit entity located and licensed to sell cars for the for-profit entity to act as the organization's agent in administering a fund-raising program. The program consisted of the for-profit entity soliciting donations of used cars, accepting, processing and selling the cars, and transferring the proceeds, less a fee, to the charitable organization. The IRS held since the agreement created an agency relationship under state law, and the donations were then in essence made to the charitable organization, the donors were entitled to a deduction for their donations. (Top)
C. Donation of Unreimbursed Expenses
A charitable deduction may be allowed for expenses incurred in donating services to a qualified organization. Such a deduction will only be allowed if the expenses are unreimbursed, directly connected with the donated services, expenses that existed only because of the services, and not personal, living, or family expenses. Allowable expenses include out-of-pocket car expenses, such as the cost of gas and oil, and parking fees and tolls. If the actual cost of gas is not used, the donor can use a standard rate of 14 cents per mile to calculate his/her donation. General repair and maintenance expenses, depreciation, registration fees or tires or insurance costs are not allowed. The donor must keep reliable written records of his/her car expenses. Allowance expenses also include travel expenses necessarily incurred while the donor is away from home performing services, but only if the donor does not engage in significant personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation. Such travel expenses include air, rail, or bus transportation, out-of-pocket car expenses, taxi fares, lodging costs, and meal costs.
Also, if a donor is providing services for a qualified charitable organization and receives a daily allowance to cover allowable costs, the donor can receive a charitable deduction for travel expenses that exceed this allowance. If the allowance received is greater than the expenses incurred, the donor must include the excess in his/her income.
To sustain a charitable deduction for such unreimbursed expenses, the donor must keep reliable records of all claimed expenses and a written acknowledgement from the charitable organization, discussed under Contributions of $250 or More. (Top)
D. Quid Pro Quo Contribution
A "quid pro quo" contribution is a donation that is comprised of both a payment in consideration for goods or services provided to the donor by the donee and also a charitable contribution. An essential element of such is proof that some part of the payment represents an amount in excess of the fair market value of the goods or services received. If tickets or other privileges are purchased but not used, the donor may be able to deduct the full purchase price, as long as the intent existed to make a contribution to the organization at the time of purchase.
Because of the difficulty in assigning value to certain items, the IRS has issued safe harbor rules for qualified fundraising campaigns. Under these rules, certain benefits are treated as having insignificant value and are therefore ignored in determining the amount of a charitable contribution. These benefits are given such treatment if the requirements found in the following paragraph are satisfied and if either (1) the fair market value of all the benefits received by the donor does not exceed the lesser of 2% of the payment or $86 (for 2006) or (2) the payment equals or exceeds $43 (for 2006), and the only benefits received by the donor are token items bearing the organization's name or logo, i.e. bookmarks, calendars, keychains, mugs, posters, t-shirts, etc. In addition, the cost of the benefits received by the donor to the organization must be $8.60 or less (for 2006).
To be a qualified fundraising campaign, the campaign must be one formulated to raise tax-deductible contributions and one that during which the organization must provide a written statement to the donor: (1) stating the amount of the contribution that is deductible is limited to the excess of the amount contributed over the value of the goods or services received by the donor, and (2) providing a good-faith estimate of the value of goods or services furnished to the donor by the charitable organization. (Top)
E. Membership Dues
Membership dues paid to a charitable organization are not deductible as contributions if the donor receives benefits or privileges, with two exceptions. First, if a charitable organization solicits "sustaining" or similar memberships that consist of much higher dues for the privilege of acknowledgement as a benefactor of the organization, the IRS will allow possible separation of the amount paid into an amount for the benefits received and an amount for a charitable contribution. Such separation must be conducted on a uniform basis among members. Second, certain goods or services may be disregarded in the determination of a charitable deduction. These benefits include the following:
a. annual membership benefits attained for payment of $75 or less annually that the donor can exercise frequently during the membership period; i.e. free/discounted admission to organization events, free/discounted parking, discounts on the purchases of goods/services from the organization, etc.
b. Discounts offered by the organization for purchases from retailers working with the organization, if they can be exercised frequently during the membership period.
c. annual membership benefits attained for payment of $75 or less annually consisting of admission to organization events open only to organization members when the organization reasonably calculates the direct cost per person is within the limits set by the IRS for low-cost articles. Currently, for 2006 this limit is $8.60. (Top)


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The Shirley Pipe Band is returning to Worcester to perform on the opening day of the Festival. Join the players of the band outside the Guildhall as they help get the Worcester Festival off to a cracking start, along with Percy the Peacock and the official opening from the Mayor of Worcester. Playing throughout the day, be sure not miss the Shirley Pipe Band.
From Angel Place through CrownGate to the Guildhall


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Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt
Inner Harbor | Website
This event occurred in the past.
Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt, Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) Strategic Studies, will deliver an address titled "What is Going on in the South China Sea? United States Interests and Chinese Behavior" before the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs on Thursday, April 14, 2016. The program will be held in the Constellation Room at the World Trade Center Baltimore, 401 E. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD, 21202 at 6:00 p.m. Reservations are required: firstname.lastname@example.com, 410-727-2150


text: DigitalDid Rep. Frank Toot On Air?By Betsy Rothstein|August 9, 2011 ShareBy Betsy Rothstein|August 9, 2011 ShareThe Daily Caller's media writer Jeff Poor today writes on Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) appearance on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow program last night.It's the audio that weighed most on Poor's mind.In his short piece Poor suggests that Frank may have passed gas on air. Asked if any ethics discussions on writing that a congressman potentially "let one rip," as he put it in his piece, Poor replied, "No ethics issues raised as far as I can tell." He told us that his colleague, CJ Ciaramella, phoned Frank's office and left a message. No response was forthcoming.Even HuffPost's Sam Stein noticed the story: "Daily Caller reports out whether Barney Frank farted on TV, best line: "Frank could not be reached for comment," he wrote on Twitter.We, of course, listened to the footage and a sound can be detected, but no, we would not bet our lives that this was a gaseous Frank on the loose as opposed to an audio mishap. Did it happen? You decide.UPDATE: We grilled Ciaramella about phoning Frank's office. He explained that he left a message to confirm a quote. So no mention of the er, purported wind? "No, I just asked to confirm a quote, which, y'know, is pretty much the truth," he told FishbowlDC. 'I didn't think I'd get a return call if I asked straight-up:"Wondering if Rep. Frank farted on-air last night. Holler back.'" Asked whether he personally believes the congressman passed gas or not, he said, "Now, I'm an objective journalist, so I can't speak to the veracity of the alleged fart. I'll leave that up to the readers. I will say I've watched the video many times, and it's hard to determine. Rep. Frank could have good recourse to the 'it was the chair' defense." Sharehttp://adweek.it/2keZdLa copy Adweek Adweek


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Soil moisture ratings in the lower Southeast, including Alabama, Georgia and Florida, were mostly in the adequate range heading into the meat of the planting season for cotton and peanuts.
But with the extreme heat and drought of 2010 still fresh in their minds, growers are worried that a fast start in the spring might be followed by drier weather in the summer and fall.
Corn planting was progressing on schedule by mid-April, and cotton producers were waiting for the soils to warm before beginning.
According to the Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC) — an organization comprised of weather experts at eight Southeastern universities — heavy rains in early spring helped to improve drought conditions in the region.
The last week of March, says the SECC, brought an active weather pattern across the Southeast U.S., characterized by an energetic jet stream with frequent low pressure systems moving across the northern Gulf of Mexico.
A slow moving cold front swept across the Southeast in late March, covering north Georgia and northeast Alabama with 1 to 3 inches of rainfall. The system stalled across central Florida and the associated squall line dumped a widespread 1 to 3 inches from Ocala, Fla., southward through Palm Beach County, with a heavier swath of 2 to 4 inches north of the Tampa area.
The recent heavy rains across the Southeast have gone a long way towards recharging soil moisture and replenishing lakes and rivers, states the SECC. "The timing of the recent rainfall was very advantageous, as drought had been intensifying over the Southeast and looked likely to worsen as we enter the spring dry seasons. The recharge provides a bit of a buffer against the onset of spring dryness and decreases the risk of more extreme drought developing."
La Niña influence to weaken
While La Niña is expected to last through the spring, its influence on climate patterns of the Southeast should weaken considerably into May and June, say the experts.
"With La Niña less of an influence on the weather patterns of the Southeast, we can anticipate normal spring and early summer climate patterns. Normal does not necessarily imply that seasonal temperature and/or precipitation will be near the long-term average, rather that there is little inclination towards wetter, drier, warmer or colder due to events in the Pacific Ocean.
"Near-normal rainfall and temperature is the most likely, but we can also anticipate the normal variability of weather and climate to be a factor in the next several months," says the SECC.
April and early May is the spring dry season in Florida, so the peninsula should continue to dry as temperatures and evapotranspiration increases, says the forecast.
Elsewhere in north Alabama, north Georgia and the Carolinas, spring potentially brings the last chance of meaningful recharge for surface and groundwater.
"Evapotranspiration exceeds normal rainfall during the summer months, so winter and spring recharge is important for water resources. During the summer, the Southeast is characterized by hot, humid conditions and convective thundershowers. Coverage and frequency of these afternoon thunderstorms is higher in Florida and extreme south Georgia, but more 'hit and miss' in the remainder of Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas.
The amount and coverage of rain from summer thunderstorms varies greatly from day to day and from one location to the next."
Over Florida, says the forecast, the onset of the summer rainy season is usually anywhere from mid-May to early June. One benefit in beginning the year in a strong La Niña is that the onset of the summer rainy season over the Southeast is often a little earlier and more robust following a winter of La Niña conditions.
"The tropical season greatly affects rainfall amounts and coverage during summer in the Southeast. One or several strikes by tropical systems, whether a hurricane or just a weak storm or depression, can bring beneficial rainfall that is a normal component of the climate."


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pH-Bonder is Redken's new hair bond protecting service, specifically designed for Salon application. It helps protect the hair's bonds and reduces breakage during technical services (such as 'bleach' and hair colouring). Unlike other "Colour Additives" (such as Olaplex, Colorphlex and Innolux) that are designed to work with any brand of Colour, Redken's pH-Bonder is specifically tailored to work best with the Redken colours that are used at HAC.
During the application of Colour to a Client's hair, it helps protect and strengthen the natural bonds in the hair. After the application of colour, it helps restore the hair fibre and smoothes the hair's cuticle for improved strength, shine and softness.
Use of the aftercare product in between applications helps maintain the hair's natural pH at home. Recommend for use once a week (before shampoo) alongside your Redken haircare regimen.
Client Benefits
- Optimised for Redken products
- Helps reduce breakage for increased strength
- Improves elasticity
- Provides touchable smoothness
- Adds visible shine
We want you to leave us looking and feeling fantastic...
Hair Advice Centre
2 South Place
Kingsbridge Devon
01548 853073
Monday – 9am to 6pm
Tuesday – 10am to 6pm
Wednesday – 9am to 8pm
Thursday – 9am to 5pm
Friday – 9am to 6pm
Saturday – 9am to 5pm
Sunday - Closed
Holiday Opening
Late Arrival
Prices From
Cut And Finish - £35
Blow Dry - £20
Semi Perm - £29
Tint Full Head - £57
Half Head Highlights - £48
Full Head Highlights - £58
Men's Cut And Finish - £21
Girls's (10-15) - £24
Boy's (10-15) - £12
Full Price List Here
- Good Salon Guide - 5 Star Salon
- British Hairdressing Awards - Regional Finalist
- British Hairdressing Business Awards - Finalist
- South Hams Radio - Best Hairdressing Salon in the South Hams
- South Devon College - Official Apprenticeship Partner
- South Devon College - Apprenticeship Awards - Best Small Business 2014. Highly Commended 2015
- Venus Awards Nominee (2015) - Sara Antoniades
- Youth And Business Achievement Awards - Best Employer 2015 (Runner Up 2016)
- Youth And Business Achievement Awards - Best Apprentice Employer 2015 (Runner Up 2016)
- Online Booking
- SMS and Email Appointment reminders
- Complimentary Fringe Trim between appointments
- Complimentary Fairtrade and/or Rainforest Alliance Tea & Coffee
- Complimentary Cold Drinks
- Free Wifi for Clients
- Current Women's and Men's Magazines and Daily Newspapers
- Want a sandwich? - we'll get you one
- Run out of parking time? - we'll put money on for you
- TheMusicLicence Licensed music playback (formerly PPL & PRS)


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105L 2 in 1 Freezer Fridge
This 2-in-1 Fridge and Freezer features extraordinary cooling performance and is equipped with accurate digital control and display. Fitted with heavy duty handles for easy transportation and interior light, this one was built to maximise your convenience when you're on camping trip. Runs from either 12V, 24V or 240V, with 75W compressor that runs quietly and efficient cooling system.
So get ready for that next road trip and be sure that you have a mobile fridge and freezer handy when the Esky is just not enough. Get the Glacio 105L Fridge and Freezer now and have one less thing to worry of.
* 2-in-1 fridge and freezer
* Use as fridge and freezer simultaneously
* Anti-fingerprint stainless shell
* Can be connected to 12V, 24V or 240V
* Huge capacity: 105L
* Easy to operate control panel
* LCD display
* Temperature controlled by micro computer
* Overload protection
* Auto low battery protection
* Power reverse connect protection
* Automatic cut-off system with customizable voltage setting
* Heavy duty handles and connections
* SAA approved plug and adaptor
* Comes with a carry bag
* Capacity: 105L
* Refrigerant: R134a, 55g
* Foam vesicant: C5H10/C-pentane
* Temperature drop: 40 - 50°C
* AC voltage: AC100-120V/ 220-240V/ 50-60Hz
* Rated power: 75W
* L-box temperature range: -18°C to + 10°C
* R-box temperature range: -18°C to + 0°C
* LCD display range: -20 to 45°C
* Classification of climate: T, ST, N, SN
* Consumption of energy: 0.075kWh/hour
Package Content
1 x Glacio 105L Fridge and Freezer
1 x User Manual


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The Bute Community Land Company had its AGM at Bute Museum on the 21st June. The minutes will be available online once completed. Meantime there was a demand at the meeting for some further company documents. I have now uploaded the Forest Plan, which is out of date, and will require revision before we can operate the Forest again, and also the Memorandum and Articles of the Company to this page BCLC Information. Please contact me if you want further information.
John Reid


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As an experienced specialist in packaging systems SEALPAC has launched seven thermoformers of the next generation on the market: from our entry-level model PRO10 up to our custom-made high-end model RE30. All models are particularly professional and come with uniform standard features. Even with our 'smallest' solution customers should not miss out on any benefit of our thermoformers. Standard features, for example, are:
- Rapid Air Forming
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Rapid Air Forming
Our exclusively developed forming system for creating thermoformed trays without pre-heating. Your benefits:
- Clearly better forming quality
- Corner reinforcement of the package
- Use of thinner films possible
- Faster cycle times due to shorter forming and ventilation times


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I have been an Agilist from the beginning of 2007. I am a Partner/Entrepreneur/Lead Consultant at Omenia. And now my friends, I want to share my observations.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Exploratory Testing - Practical Guide
We had a small session with one of our Agile Coaches about Exploratory Testing (ET) and we came out with following practical guide. This guide is written in Scrum Context. I'll try to update this guide, when I explore more about Exploring :)
So what is Exploratory Testing? Word exploring is actually very defining word. Idea is to explore, how product the in our hands is working, and this does not mean only trying to find as many bugs as you can , but also find out how it really is behaving and come familiar with it.
How to do this?
- Product Owner (PO) should be the person, who requests this.
- PO decides the area which is going to be explored.
- You should not write own User Story out of ET, just allocate time in Sprint for it.
- Short 30-60min intensive session.
- Intensive session excludes time for preparation and analysis.
- All observations are written down, during session but not analyzed.
- Analysis happens after session.
- You can use real entities towards System Under Test, or use test tools.
That's all folks. Happy exploring :)
Lähettänyt Unknown klo 20:33 No comments:
Tunnisteet: Agile Testing, Exploratory Testing, Scrum, Testing
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Dilemma of: Scrum from Above and Self-managed teams
Scrum values strongly self-managed teams, with a good reason and that probably works nicely, if Scrum has been taken first into use in R&D team(s) and after that it has spread up.
But when you are in situation where Scrum has been decided in the management and it has dropped to teams, situation is pretty much different. Job of a Scrum Master or an Agile Coach becomes very interesting when you offer the gift of self-management to persons who are absolutely not wanting it.
This is again the situation where your people skills are far more valuable than technical skills, because changing people to think that self-management is rather like freedom than a cage of responsibility, is a challenging task.
Lähettänyt Unknown klo 20:56 No comments:
Tunnisteet: Agile Coach, Scrum, Scrum Master, Self-management, Selg-managed teams
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Briefing: the fact that ethical alternatives to this appalling approach have proved far more promising is an important factor here.
From the BBC, in part: But since the bid to outlaw the research was defeated in May last year, two of the three groups which hold a license to create hybrid embryos have been unable to find funding, while the third has yet to try.
Human animal hybrid embryos - in which the nuclei of human cells are inserted into animal eggs - have been seen as one of the most promising ways of overcoming the dramatic shortage of good quality human eggs.
The stem cells then extracted from the embryos - which are some 99% human and 0.1% animal - have the potential to become any kind of tissue and as such could be used to develop treatments for cancer and conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
"We can't do anything at the moment, we just don't have the money" says Dr Stephen Minger, of King's College London, who received his license over a year ago.
"What we have to work out now is whether it's a good use of our scant resources to put our efforts into resubmitting a proposal - which is incredibly time-consuming."
Dr Lyle Armstrong, of Newcastle University, who has failed to find money to take his hybrid research to a next stage added that "legislation does not guarantee that funding will follow".
See the full BBC story.
Friday, January 16, 2009
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Pope Leo XIII's Prayer to St Michael
Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust down to Hell Satan, and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen


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New York man fights to get back his unlimited ticket from American Airlines
He's the man who flew too much.
Steve Rothstein bought a golden ticket from American Airlines in 1987 — granting him a lifetime of unlimited travel.
He clocked more than 10 million miles and 10,000 flights. He used his power to fly hopeless strangers home, a friend to the Louvre, and a priest to Rome to meet the pope. He hopped planes to other cities just for a baseball game or a sandwich.
"[I] became a hero at the airline," Rothstein, 61, a Manhattan investment banker, told The Post. "I could just show up and get a seat."
But in 2008, AA accused him of fraud and snatched his bottomless boarding pass.
American is reviewing its AAirpass program to find ways to terminate some of the 66 high-flying contracts that are costing the company millions of dollars a year.
Rothstein, then living in Chicago, bought his AAirpass for $250,000, plus a companion ticket for $150,000 more.
He traveled 18 times in July 2004 alone, jetting to Nova Scotia, Maine, London, Los Angeles and Denver.
He booked flights under fake names such as "Bag Rothstein" if he didn't know who his companion would be — a practice that the airline later used to accuse him of fraud.
Because of the AAirpass, his daughter went to boarding school in Switzerland. He took his son to dozens of nationwide sporting events including the Yankees-Mets Subway Series.
Some days he flew to Providence, RI, home of his alma mater, Brown University, just for a baloney-and-Swiss-cheese melt from a place called Geoff's.
Still, the charmed traveler paid his fortune forward.
He gave away all of his 14 million air miles. If a stranded traveler was crying — such as one woman desperately trying to return to Bronxville, NY, because her children didn't have a baby sitter — he'd offer her his companion seat.
"I felt those random acts of kindness were exactly the sorts of things that we're meant to do as people," he said.
It was on another goodwill trip that Rothstein was ultimately dethroned, and he had no idea it was coming.
On Dec. 13, 2008, he checked in at Chicago O'Hare International Airport with a friend, a policeman hoping to return to his native Bosnia.
An AA employee gave him a letter saying his pass had been terminated due to fraudulent activity.
He went home in shock and didn't leave bed for days.
"I feel betrayed," Rothstein said, adding that he helped sell AAirpasses to firms and spoke at the carrier's events. "They took away my hobby and my life. They essentially destroyed my persona."
Rothstein filed a lawsuit and a federal judge in Illinois ruled against him for booking under phony names. The case is now being appealed.
"Our country is almost captive to big companies who have incredible power to do whatever they want to do," said Rothstein, who moved to New York in 2009. "It's hard to fight them."
But that's just what he's doing to get his beloved AAirpass back.
"They signed a contract," he said, "and a contract's a contract."


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On Aug 24, 2012, at 6:33 AM, Daniel Dui wrote: > Roger et al., thanks for the clarification. > > I have used XML Schema for a long time and this is definitely a dark corner of the specs. > > I always warn people about using default values and often recommend not using them. This non-obvious defaulting behavior looks to me like another reason why many schemas should avoid using default values. I'm puzzled. The behavior "Empty element gets the default" seems straightforward enough to me. Can you clarify in what way you find the behavior non-obvious? -- **************************************************************** * C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, Black Mesa Technologies LLC * http://www.blackmesatech.com * http://cmsmcq.com/mib * http://balisage.net ****************************************************************Received on Friday, 24 August 2012 15:57:16 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Wednesday, 7 January 2015 14:56:20 UTC


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The Princeton Entertainment Center Base serves as a flat screen TV base with plenty of storage space. Made from the highest quality wood and finish, this authentic Amish furniture will endure time with grace and style.
When all you need is a place for your flat screen TV, this is a perfect base that is beautiful and well made. This base features storage space to store all of your DVDs, gaming units, and accessories.


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Undergraduate Degrees
- Admissions
- Transfer Credit
- Undergraduate Academic Advising
- Forms and Handbook
- Financial Aid and Scholarships
- Honors and Undergraduate Research
- Civil Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Internships & Co-Ops
- Minors
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- Study Abroad
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- Professional Engineer Exams (FE & PE)
- FAQs
You are here
- Home >
- Undergraduate Degrees >
- Diversity >
- Women in Engineering (WiE)
Women in Engineering (WiE)
The Women in Engineering (WiE) program is a comprehensive, multi-faceted program that assists the College of Engineering with the recruitment, retention, motivation and graduation of all women engineering students.
The Women in Engineering (WiE) Program at The Ohio State University was established in 1979 in order to increase the participation of women within the engineering profession. The WiE program fosters a supportive learning environment and culture within the College of Engineering and beyond. In partnership with corporations, faculty, students and alumni, educational and community organizations; WiE's mission is to work as a change agent to increase the number of women pursuing engineering degrees and entering the workforce as engineering professionals. The WiE network includes innovative and exciting programming to introduce girls to engineering opportunities and to support women in reaching their full potential.
The Women in Engineering Program builds tomorrow's future through:
Academic Excellence
The WIE program at The Ohio State University was established in 1979 to increase the participation of women within the engineering profession. The program concentrates on recruiting, retaining and advising women, as well as establishing close relationships with industry. The Women in Engineering Program offers many special services designed for both prospective and enrolled women engineering students such as the signature program The Women in Engineering Learning Community WiE LC for 1st and 2nd year students.
Community Partnerships
Working with industry and community partners to develop our domestic engineering talent via WiE Mentoring events, and the Annual WiE Student Recognition Banquet.
Creating targeted programs that engage middle school and high school female students, educators, alumni and the community.
Learn more about Ohio State's Women in Engineering Program.


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From Trails to Taps
Named one of America's best adventure towns by National Geographic, Knoxville has a reputation for its stunning mountain scenery, outdoor sport culture, friendly people, and of course, University of Tennessee football. The Urban Wilderness is filled with adventure for all ages and all levels of experience.
And there's something else brewing in Knoxville... Thanks to a number of craft breweries, plus some well-established local favorites, Knoxville is building a name for itself as one of the best craft beer towns in the Southeast.
How Will You Explore Knoxville?
Far Out Adventure in the Heart of It All
But wait! There's more! From disc golf to paddle boarding, the outdoor adventure continues in Knoxville... just MINUTES from the music, entertainment, food and brews found downtown.


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The Louisville Courier-Journal has a story this morning on Mitch McConnell's statements to WHAS in Louisville. And just look at that headline – whoo-boy!
McConnell knew of e-mails about boy.
Now one of the most telling things I noticed was this below from McConnell's communications director, Don Stewart, who sent a 'follow-up e-mail last night (apparently, Oct 16th – Tuesday) to the Courier-Journal, in which he reiterated that McConnell's answer to WHAS that "there was 'no involvement whatsoever' " was accurate."
"The blogs started this story on Oct. 6 — two days before I pointed it out and spiked it. This story started and ended in the blogs," Stewart wrote. "I told reporters there was 'no story.' I told Sen. McConnell that I spiked the story. That is 100 percent accurate."
Sooo, it's the fault of those damned blogs. But wait, Donnie – didn't you leak the info to 'a blog?' (Red State come to mind?) I'm sure there are some 'out there' and specifically in the U.S. Congress who undoubtedly think blogs and more specifically, liberal blogs, are a blight on the dissemination of their lies and tactics. Blogs play as important a role as pamphlets did in the time of the American Revolution. Blogs are dangerous.
Now – in the event you think your lying ears and eyes might be deceiving you when you see Mitch's lips (?) moving, there's a transcript from the C-Journal's page – down just a bit, to the right.
Here is a transcript of WHAS reporter Mark Hebert's interview Friday with Sen. Mitch McConnell:
Hebert: Was there an indication that your office was trying to push reporters to go dig into this 12-year-old's background?
McConnell: No.
Hebert: Then what was the deal with the e-mail?
McConnell: What?
Hebert: What was the deal with the e-mail from your staffer?
McConnell: There was no involvement whatsoever.
Hebert: From your staff?
McConnell: None.
I read a couple of blogs from Kentucky, BlueGrass Roots and Bluegrass Report; Ditch Mitch (Cliff Schecter is there – one of my favorite bloggers), and there is always The Hillbilly Report.
Over at The Gavel, there's a number of others who reveal how they were helped by the version of the CHIP program in their varied states. Being poor is not an easy task.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention – Mitch is married to Elaine Chao, the Department of Labor secretary responsible for this.
[Why Kentucky, you might ask? I was stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky assigned to the hospital there for a 6-month stretch. A few years later my husband was stationed at Ft. Knox assigned to the Blood Bank for 2-1/2 years. We loved Kentucky; we just loved home more.]
Filed under: Kentucky politics, Liars - Crooks & Thieves, Mitch McConnell, S-CHIP, The Frost Family | 2 Comments »


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Local law enforcement are asking for the public's help in finding a wanted man.
Evan Brown is wanted on multiple felony warrants, according to the Brush Police, including kidnapping, 2nd degree assault and felony menacing.
On Wednesday morning, the Morgan County Joint SWAT Team executed a search warrant in the 300 block of Carson Street in search of Brown, but he was not found.
According to the department, Brown should be considered armed.
Information regarding his whereabouts can be called into any local law enforcement agency, Morgan County dispatch or call 911.
Robert Leininger: email@example.com


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YKVN Advised Leading Chinese Online Retailer in Largest Foreign Investment in a Vietnamese Tech Startup
YKVN recently advised JD.com in the acquisition of a significant stake in Tiki, a successful Vietnamese B2C (Business to Consumer) e-commerce company. JD.com is China's largest e-commerce retailer by revenue. This was the latest move [...]
YKVN advised M.U.S.T. Holdings on the sale of VFR
YKVN advised M.U.S.T. Holdings on the sale of VFR, one of the leading manufacturers of elite/designed furniture in the world, to Markor Inc. an SSE-listed company and the second largest distributor of Furniture in China. [...]
YKVN Completes Historic Sweep By Winning Its Fifth "Vietnam Law Firm of the Year" Award for 2017
On 28 November 2017, the leading law firms from across the region gathered at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong for the inaugural Asialaw Asia-Pacific Legal Practice Awards. The event seeks to honor firms that [...]
YKVN Co-Organized the First-Ever Seminar on Claim Management in the Construction Sector in Vietnam
Leveraging on its substantial experience in construction disputes in Vietnam, YKVN recently conducted a full-day seminar in Hanoi on construction claim management in Vietnam. This was the first time that such a seminar was held [...]
"unparalleled in their ability to successfully blend genuine Vietnamese legal knowledge with the client experience of a major international firm"
"YKVN is an equal to the Magic Circle firms. They work at an international standard"
"should be at the top of any client's list of work involving a Vietnamese connection"
"Offering local expertise with an international level of service"
"involved in industry transforming transactions and complex foreign-related projects"
"strong bench of disputes specialists"
"Vietnam's leading deals firm in banking and finance"
"clearly a top tier law firm"


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Reviewed by Janell
I haven't read a time travel book in forever. Maybe because I assumed they all involved Scottish Highlanders, and with the exception of Outlander's sweet young virgin, I picture all Highlanders as big tough alpha roar!smash types. That's not for me. But this book has a modern woman traveling back to the Regency era, and I am all about historicals, so I gave it a shot.
Sarah Baxter is the archeologist heroine in question. Her job involves traveling to the past for non-nefarious research reasons, or something. On one trip, she accidentally leaves behind a piece of equipment. She has to retrieve it because, you know, anomalies. During her retrieval mission (which is actually a stealing-it-from-the-guy-who-collects-oddities mission), she's involved in a rainy horse crash which results in an earl's death. And she loses the Important Object.
Eric, Lord Earnston, is that dead guy's twin brother who has now inherited the earldom. He carries the Important Object around in his coat so that, when the mysterious woman who killed his brother comes looking for it, he can turn her over to the police for a sentence of imminent death.
Sarah and her partner in time travel, Richard, head back about a year later. They pose as a brother and sister who lived in Rome until their parents died, so now they're in London to crash ton parties. The ton, so fickle in other books, is very welcoming to these strangers with no actual pedigree. After a few waltzes, Eric decides that Sarah is, you know, Not Like Other Women, so he quickly falls in love with her.
I had certain expectations for this book that were not met. I expected Sarah to comment on the differences between the time periods, maybe long for a hot shower or pizza delivery. Or wonder about class differences and how lucky she was to fit in with the swells instead of having to masquerade as a kitchen maid. But no. She did not strike me as a modern heroine at all. When she was speaking with Richard in private, she said, "What if his lordship forms a tendre for me?" The correct pronunciation would have been, "What if Eric starts to like me?" If I wasn't told that she was a time traveler, I would not have suspected that she was a time traveler.
Speaking of time travel, that was all just brushed over. It's kind of a short book, so I can understand not wanting to get bogged down in technicalities. Still, absolutely nothing is spelled out. Not what Sarah does, or why, or the method of time travel, or even what the Important Object does. The only thing we're told is that, for every year in the past, a week passes in the future.
I had other problems with this book. Sarah describes Eric as a Regency rake more than once, when we don't know anything about a womanizing past and he seems to fall for Sarah and give up his alleged wicked ways in quick fashion. I think Sarah was stereotyping, don't you? She seems to fall for him because he gives her attention and thinks she's cool, unlike modern men who either run screaming when they find out she's a "boring archeologist" or who are themselves so boring that she can barely stay awake through dinner. Again with the stereotyping.
Eric doesn't get much to do other than fall for Sarah and vow revenge. Oh, and avoid his mother and his dead brother's fiancée because they're evil and scheming. He impressed me with his sudden devotion to Sarah. Then he lost me. When Sarah reveals that she's a time traveler and also the woman responsible for his brother's death, Eric bursts into anger and assumes he was used. Then he asks how many men she's slept with to get what she wants, and he slut shames her for not being a virgin. "I should have known…You were very apt in your lovemaking." Not cool, Eric the alleged rake. Not cool.
At least I believed in the happy ending.
Rating: C-
*ARC provided by Entangled
Click to purchase: Amazon
A Stolen Season
by Tamara Gill
Release Date: February 23, 2015
Publisher: Entangled


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About Us
Touch Point Staffing is a privately held and locally owned staffing agency that has been serving the Piedmont Triad and surrounding areas for more than 20 years. With an office centrally located in Greensboro, NC we stay abreast of the Piedmont Triad's staffing needs and have built long-standing relationships with local job seekers and employers.
Touch Point Staffing offers temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct placement staffing services at all levels within industrial, commercial and professional environments.
We proudly offer staffing solutions in the following areas:
Receptionist, Administrative Assistant, Bookkeeper, Call Center, Customer Service, File Clerk, Data Entry, and other office personnel.
Skilled Trades
Welder, Machinist, Sheet Metal, Electrical Helper, Machine Operator, Plastic Injection Mold, Drivers, etc.
Light Industrial & Manufacturing
Assembler, Forklift Operator, Machine Operator, Shipping/Receiving, General Labor, Janitor, Inspector, Parts/Inventory, Logistics, Landscaping, etc.
Receptionist,, Medical Coder, Billing Specialist, and CMA.
Legal Support
Legal Assistant, Legal Secretary, and Paralegal.
Accounting, Human Resources, Management, Sales, Marketing, and more.
Touch Point Staffing offers the following benefits to our associates:
- Groups Health through PAI
- Holiday Pay
- Vacation Bonus
- Referral Bonuses
Touch Point Service is not only about temporary work we also offer:
- Background Checks
- Direct Hire
- Outplacement
- Payrolling
Touch Point Staffing is an equal opportunity employer.
Touch Point Staffing does not discriminate against a person because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, or marital status.


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Scientists from the University of Kansas analyzed mollusk extinctions over millions of years, finding the laziest species had the lowest chance of extinction.
A fishing trawler has pulled up a fascinating example of a living fossil. Frill sharks are one of the earliest types of sharks and date back 80 million years.
Who lives in the sediment under the sea? SpongeBob Industrial WastePants!
Plankton are tiny, but important. The robotic variety could help us study the real plankton in the ocean.
Undersea scavengers are first blowing up, then looting WWII-era grave sites for the metal and materials on-board the old fighting ships.
New research suggests Mars didn't just have a liquid ocean — it may have suffered devastating tsunamis up to 400 feet high.
Ocean-based solar farms could help countries hit their ambitious renewable energy goals by putting rooftop solar all over Aquaman's house.
French architect Jacques Rougerie come up with a deign for a massive and futuristic floating city capable of housing some 7000 scientists — or perhaps as the case may be, villains.
Russian astronauts found actual living organisms in outer space. They were clinging to the side of the International Space Station, and the astronauts aren't sure how they got there.
A team from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory claims to have found a method of saline water electrolysis that can both capture CO2 from the atmosphere and use that carbon to neutralize ocean acidification.
Even though we're living in 2013 and can stream entire seasons of TV shows in between banking and sending work emails on our phone alone, sending data around the world is not exactly an easy feat. The internet exists how it does today thanks to the help of cables sunk deep into the world's oceans. A new, gorgeous map details the world's submarine cables as they appear in 2013, and shows us where the underwater internet is headed in the future.
Subscribe Today to get the latest ExtremeTech news delivered right to your inbox.
We strongly encourage you to read our updated PRIVACY POLICY and COOKIE POLICY.


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Hello from Arizona! I am at my parents house in Yuma, Arizona and the weather has been gorgeous in the 80's since I have arrived. For those of you who do not know my father has the beginning of Alzheimer's and colon cancer and my mother has the beginning of dementia and pretty significant neuropathy in her feet which causes her to stumble a lot. My father will be 89 in a few weeks and my mother will turn 86. They also will be celebrating their 68 wedding anniversary in July. Can you imagine being married 68 years. Oh my gosh, that just amazes me how lucky I really am and they are my best friends. When I get home I will tell you about my adventure in Mexico with my parents!! It's a story for one of the books! Any how they are doing remarkable good and still own and maintain their own home. Life is good!
The twelve of March was started another Belles 'n Whistles Challenge and sure hope you will play along with us! This is my second month as a guest designer and I am loving it! The theme is butterflies which is one of my favorites. A large amount of my creations have a butterfly in one fashion or another so I was super happy! My card was created using the image "Flowers" from the Sweet Art Ebony Collection. Isn't she sweet!! I totally enjoy coloring any of Elisabeth Bell creations rather it be Belles 'n Whistles, SCACD collections, Whiff of Joy or the new collections at Whimsy Stamps. I would buy all of them if I could! Does this card not scream springtime!! I cannot complain about the winter though. Maryland literally had no snow this year except for 2 days under an inch. Awesome year!
Paper: Spring Feast by First Edition: I love First Edition paper pads for each one comes with 16 different designs, 4 sheets of each, 8 have glitter w/effects and 8 are double sided! Did you know that Oozak.com has the largest selection of paper pads at the most reasonable price, over 240 different paper pads to choose from.. The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch. The grass was created using a memory box die. Love, love Memory Box which will be in Oozak's store real soon at the best prices ever!
Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to come play at the Belles 'n Whistles challenge!!


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My philosophy of how we learn to surf, kite and sup.
Progression is fundamental when it comes to surf sports. Yes, reconnecting with nature, getting your dose of vitamin D, meeting great people and travel are all wonderful facets of playing in the ocean but no one picks up a surfboard with the intention of remaining a beginner forever.
I think there are three main factors that determine our development in surfing, SUPing, kiting etc…And these are:
1. Knowledge (cognitive) = Very fast changes
2. Technique (neuroplasticity) = Fast changes
3. Fitness (physiological) = Slow changes
Each of these elements is tested, and benefited on some level each time we go for a session. Recognising the demands and benefits of a surf session before you go in and evaluating how it went when you got out is very useful for seeing where you energies are best spent, and finding the way forward.
Knowledge Session
Knowledge can be acquired instantaneously. Think about how you learn facts at school, or watching a documentary, or reading a book. As soon as the event has finished, you know more than when it started. It doesn't take weeks for basic info to settle in, synaptic plasticity occurs in milliseconds – we receive information at the speed of sound, or light. Immediately, knowledge can improve your chances of success.
A bit of 'classroom' time – reading, watching, listening – can really fast track the progression process. The classroom can be your sofa and Youtube, it could be talking to someone more experienced, or it could be paddling out to 'have a look' at a place you haven't surfed before to get an idea of water movement and channels.
A practical example of a knowledge session would be paddling a kayak out to the Cribbar take off spot on a day when it's not breaking to get a feel for the distances involved, line up spots, and to see how the tide pulls you when it ebbs and flows. All useful info, gained in real time, for when the big day arrives. So even though you won't have caught any waves or particularly taxed your muscles and energy systems you're definitely a bit more prepared for the Cribbar.
Another example would be familiarising yourself with new equipment. Taking a new board out in marginal conditions; discovering how it paddles, how it glides, what the turning radius is like. Stuff that you wouldn't want to be finding out for the first time when the wave of your life swings through.
Technique Session
Neuroloplasticity changes happen fast, but it takes a steady approach to get the right technique, and enough repetition so that the action can be repeated instinctively.
Things like balance, coordination, reaction time and agility cannot be learned by reading a book or watching a video or listening to a coach. They aren't cognitive processes run by the forebrain, rather they are administered by the cerebellum, tucked somewhere around the back.
With technique, we're aiming to learn something so that we can repeat it without thinking about it – In the heat of the moment, knowledge is slow but instinct is instant.
A very obvious example of this is when you see surf coaches drilling their students on the pop up before getting them in the water. Often times, the student is thinking, 'yeah, I get it – can we go surfing now?' but a good coach knows that the student needs to repeat the pop up on land enough times that they can forget about it, or do it without thinking.
A more intermediate situation could be using a skateboard to get used to the body mechanics of turning. In either case, the surfer is not expending so much energy that technique degrades, and they're not distracted or overwhelmed with new information coming at them. They can just concentrate on steadily repeating the movement while the nervous system wraps itself around the task and discovers what muscles and motor units need to fire for the most efficient movement.
This is why some activities are so exhausting at first; your mind (knowledge) might know what needs to be done but your body (instinct) does not, and so muscles which don't need to be fired are fired, and other muscles have to fire back against them, which takes fuel…
Technique sessions are what most of us are going for, most of the time, trying to get better at our sport while we are doing it, after all that's what makes it feel good. Of course, this requires knowledge – wave selection, spot familiarity, equipment selection – and fitness, we can't develop a killer cutback if we're too tired to paddle back out after one wave!
With adequate knowledge and fitness, how quickly does technique develop? I think of it like learning an instrument: in the morning you can barely make a tune but by the evening a nearby sufferer will just about tell what you were trying to play – it's not instant, but it happens before your eyes.
Fitness Session
You could have encyclopaedic knowledge of sport and superb technical ability but if you're not physically fit enough for the session ahead, you're going nowhere. Physiological adaptations – building muscular endurance, cardio vascular fitness – take time.
As I've written before, I think that fitness is the biggest impediment to learning to surf; it's why it'll take a new surfer at the very least all summer to link turns and set a rail whilst the same person would attain equivalent performance on a snowboard in about two weeks. Thanks to ski lifts a whole day on the slopes, day after day is possible. Without a jet ski assist, most of us won't be able to commit that sort of time in the surf.
I'm not sure it's a good idea to reduce practicing a sport you love to a fitness session, the fitness should really be a by-product of doing something you enjoy. But, there's nothing wrong with grabbing a foamy and catching as many 1ft waves as you can in forty minutes rather than sacking the whole thing off. Will you learn anything? Unlikely. Will you develop technique? You're more likely to pick up a bad habit but two or three sessions like this each week through summer would surely keep you in best fettle for when the Autumn swells arrive.
There is a circular relationship between knowledge, technique and fitness that, like the M25, doesn't really have a start or end point. Jump in at fitness. Higher levels of fitness allow you to practise longer, thereby improving technique. Improving technique gives you context for new knowledge I.e. what are the forces I'm trying to exert on my surfboard? A deeper understanding of ocean forces and how to deal with them will allow you to go surfing in a broader range of conditions, a by product of which is increased surf fitness which allows you to surf for longer and develop technique and so on. Each element is worth developing in its own right and it also helps you reach 'next level' in the other two elements.
Here's how I see my own challenges of learning to surf, sup and kite
Cognitive Neurological Physiological
Surf Low. Med. High.
SUP Med. Med. High.
Kite High. High. Low.
Recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses against the sports you enjoy can help you work out why you've hit a plateau. In kiting for example with its high cognitive and neuro demands, I can recognise that if I'm doing the 'same old things' it's not because of a lack of fitness, but it's because I don't know how to do anything else – and there are hundreds of tricks among different disciplines that I could be cracking on with, I just have to learn them. First course of action then would be a Youtube tutorial to discover a new trick, and then some land based simulation before having a crack at it for real.
Well, that concludes the bones of my philosophy on how we learn to surf. Feel free to get in touch or comment if you want anything fleshed out or wish to counter anything. Hopefully this might be of some use to you as a self-coaching tool or as a framework for coaching a student over many sessions.


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I naturally have super thick eyebrows, I'm talking monobrow. But I've groomed my brows since I was about 14….. Being 27 now shows I was once 100% victim to the pencil thin eyebrow trend, and skinny 'fierce brows'. As time has passed since then and now fuller eyebrows are the 'it' thing I've been slowly growing them back. Now this hasn't been a slow process due to my hair not growing, oh it grows. I just can't handle the growing out part, it kills me to grow my eyebrows out so I've been doing it bit by bit and that seems to help. With a family event approaching very soon I've been trying to not give in and pluck as I want to get them threaded (just shaped a little).
On my journey of growing them out I've experienced every emotion under the sun and through talking to friends and family, realised I'm not the only one who feels this.
- I can do this I really miss my old brows.
- I'll be fine, make up will save me.
- Ooh these are looking fuller already.
- I could get used to not filling them in as much.
- Okay there are stray hairs but concealer will do the trick.
- Oh my god! Why is my re growth so visible.
- Maybe it's in my head. I hope it's in my head.
- I swear people are looking at my brows when they are talking to me. Eye brow contact is that a thing?
- No it's not in my head, definitely not in my head people are starring! Maybe I need big glasses.
- I need to hide my tweezers…. They are calling me.
- I miss my face.
- I look like wolverine.
- No no, I have to go out and this is not working….. Off with them.
Growing your eyebrows out is hard! I'm still trying to find a way to work with the regrowth and not give in to temptation.
Have you every grown your eyebrows out?
Any tips??


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This weekend's German Village pub crawl is sold out, but an event honoring a legendary Columbus magician still has room for audience members.
This weekend's German Village pub crawl is sold out, but an event honoring a legendary Columbus magician still has room for audience members.
The pub crawl, which is part of the German Village Society's 50th anniversary celebration, will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1. The crawl will feature six stops, where participants will be treated to drinks, food and hats bearing the 43206 ZIP code.
"The pub crawl has been extremely popular," said Sarah Irvin Clark, a member of the society and chair of its 50th anniversary committee. "It sold out all 60 slots within a few days and we already have a rather lengthy waiting list. We'll have a blast at the different pubs around the village, plus we've got a few surprise stops planned to add a little spice."
The other event, slated for 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, is an evening of magic and illusion hosted by the Green Lawn Abbey Preservation Association. The event will pay tribute to Howard Thurston, a Columbus native who was an early 20th-century magician and contemporary of Harry Houdini.
Performers include David McCreary and Timothy Moore, both locally based magicians, and Rory Feldman, a New York magician and one of the nation's leading authorities on Thurston. Other magicians will be performing in the crowd.
Pat Matheny, president of the preservation association, said it will be an evening of quality entertainment.
"It will be hauntingly beautiful," she said. "You may come under the spell of the abbey once you enter."
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door of the Green Lawn Abbey, 700 Greenlawn Ave. Price of admission includes light fare and desserts. There will be a cash bar.
The preservation association is looking to raise money for the mausoleum, which is in need of repairs and will be accepting crematorium remains starting in 2012. Also, money will help restore the highly visible bronze doors on the second floor of the abbey.
"They've been vandalized terribly over the years," Matheny said. "They're covered with plywood right now."


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Hey, Mets Fans, It's True…
Curtis Granderson Whiff In His First Mets At Bat
Shocking, eh?
Juan Lagares
Man, he can pick it. Where did the Mets ever find him?
Red Sox Are Shopping Ryan Lavarnway
Let's see if they get more in return than the Yankees do, when New York trades one of their surplus catchers this spring.
Mets Coach In Hot Water
Via CBS –
New York Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen apologized Wednesday for using a slur during a locker-room conversation with Daisuke Matsuzaka's interpreter.
The slur was overheard by Wall Street Journal reporter Stu Woo.
"I apologize for the thoughtless remarks that I made yesterday in the clubhouse," Warthen said in a statement released by the team. "They were a poor attempt at humor but were wrong and inappropriate in any setting. I am very sorry."
Woo wrote Wednesday that he was "startled" when the 61-year-old Warthen approached Matsuzaka's Japanese-American interpreter, Jeff Cutler, earlier this week and said, "I'm sorry I called you a 'Chinaman' yesterday."
After Cutler replied "It's OK," Warthen added, "I didn't mean to insinuate –- I know you're not Chinese. … I thought it was a pretty good joke, though."
Cutler told Woo he wasn't offended by the joke referred to by Warthen. But it was a different story for the Chinese-American reporter.
"I didn't want to be complicit in tolerating the use of a slur that should have been retired long ago," he wrote.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson also apologized for Warthen's "insensitive remarks" — the slur was once commonly used to disparage Chinese immigrants, Woo wrote — on behalf of the franchise.
"The remarks were offensive and inappropriate and the organization is very sorry," Alderson said.
The whole thing reminds me of a scene from a movie.
Good Luck, Mets
Via the Post –
In less than two weeks with the Mets in spring training, Jose Valverde has emerged as the leader of, what the reliever calls, the team's "Dominican Mafia."
The members include young pitchers Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Rafael Montero and Gonzalez Germen, and meetings are held in a corner of the clubhouse near Valverde's locker. Another veteran Dominican pitcher, Bartolo Colon, also presides.
"It feels like we are brothers here," Mejia said Tuesday.
Valverde views his leadership of the "Dominican Mafia" as part of the job description, as he attempts to land a spot in the Mets bullpen, after signing a minor league deal with the club this month.
Omar Minaya could not be reached for comment.
Lucchino & Levine Are At It, Again
Via Sean McAdam –
The rivarly between the players on the field — save for an occasional Ryan Dempster target practice at A-Rod — has cooled. But as long as Larry Lucchino and Randy Levine are around, the Red Sox and Yankees will always be the Hatfields and the McCoys.
In his annual spring-training meeting with the media on Friday, Lucchino seemed to take more than a little satisfaction in watching the Yankees spend more than a half-billion dollars this winter on free agents Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Masahiro Tanaka, trying to play catch-up to the world champion Red Sox.
"We're very different animals," the Red Sox CEO said of the Sox and Yanks. "I'm proud of that difference. I always cringe when people lump us together."
By contrast, the Sox continued the philosophy that brought them a championship, signing complementary players — like catcher A.J. Pierzynski and pitcher Chris Capuano — to cheaper, shorter-term deals.
The Yankees, said Lucchino, "are still, this year at least, relying heavily on their inimitable old-fashioned Yankees style of high-priced, long-term free agents. And I can't say that I wish them well, but I think that we've taken a different approach."
Well, you knew Levine — the Yankees' president and CEO, who has tangled with Lucchino in the past — wouldn't take that lying down.
"I feel bad for Larry; he constantly sees ghosts and is spooked by the Yankees," Levine said. "But I can understand why, because under his and Bobby Valentine's plan two years ago, the Red Sox were in last place."
Well then.
"[Boston general manager] Ben Cherington and the Red Sox did a great job last year winning the World Series," continued Levine, "but I'm confident [Yankee GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi] and our players will compete with a great Red Sox team to win a world championship this year."
Lucchino and Levine are both blowhards who need to learn to stay quiet. Lucchino only talks when he team has done well and then he crawls under a rock when they tank. And, Levine needs to learn that playing the ghosts card died in 2004. On the whole, they both need to wake up and realize that they are not Williams and DiMaggio, or Fisk and Munson, or even Schilling and A-Rod, and no one wants to hear a couple of stuffed shirts trying to be macho.
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson is a prospect in the Red Sox chain. If he makes it, I wonder how many times he will be asked about this:
Man, that was scary. Glad he turned out OK.
The Idiots Are Back
Ralph Kiner Passes
Not too shabby.
Do The Yankees Need RSN To Help Sellout Their Stadium?
If you look at the top five single game attendance crowds at the previous Yankee Stadium, they are Opening Day crowds against teams like Oakland, Kansas City, Texas and Detroit where they drew 56,000+ fans.
If you look at the top five single game attendance crowds at the current/new Yankee Stadium, they are all games against the Red Sox from games played in July, August and September where they drew 49,000+ fans.
So, does this mean the only way the Yankees can pack their new Stadium to the rafters is when Red Sox Nation comes to town and takes over the Bronx?
Granderson Said What?
Via the Daily News –
There is no going back now. Curtis Granderson not only put on a Mets jersey for the first time Tuesday, but he took on the long-suffering fanbase on his shoulders and the franchise's new $60-million outfielder lobbed a salvo back across town.
"A lot of the people I've met in New York have always said true New Yorkers are Mets fans," the former Yankees outfielder said after being introduced at the Winter Meetings. "So I'm excited to get a chance to see them all out there."
True New Yorkers are Mets fans? Really?
Red Sox Sign A.J. Pierzynski
Oh, this is going to be interesting.
Congrats To The World Champion Red Sox
You can make a case that the only times the Cardinals won in this series is when the Red Sox made sloppy throws.
Think about this: In the last 35 years, the Yankees have 5 rings and now the Red Sox have three. So much for the hammer and the nail…
Now, the count-down begins…until someone in Beantown does something totally unclassy in their celebration of this win in Fenway.
Who Will Trade For David Price?
According to everyone and his brother, it's a given that David Price gets traded this off-season.
Figure the Rays not to trade him to someone in the A.L. East.
So, where does he go?
This is just a gut feeling…but…I think it will be the Dodgers or the Tigers.
If The Red Sox Win The 2013 World Series
This would mean, in the last 10 years, the Red Sox would have made the playoffs 6 times and won 3 World Series.
Does that make them the best franchise in baseball over the last decade?
For RSN
Poor Manny Machado
This is going to leave a mark.
Fun In The East
Does it get any better than the Yankees-Jays, Orioles-Bosox, Rangers-Rays games last night?
Mo's Farewell Ceremony At Fenway
It's easy to say that the Red Sox did a great job recognizing and sending off Mariano Rivera last night.
Heck, there are probably long standing and/or fan favorite Red Sox players who didn't get treatment from the team the way the Sox had that ceremony and gifts for Rivera…
But, there's a part of me that does wonder if that was all for Mo, or, was a good part of that a way for the Sox to make themselves look good, on (Sunday Night ESPN) national TV?
Seriously, was the whole front office on the field during that thing? Talk about overkill and a media grab…
Yanks, Orioles, Changing Lanes
Via Steve Melewski –
Over the last 15 years, the Orioles have not won a season series once against the New York Yankees. They lost 13 times and tied the season series twice – going 9-9 last year against New York and 9-9 in 2007.
That is a lot of losing to the Yankees over the years.
The O's are now 18-12 in their last 30 regular season games against the Yankees, but before that, they went 12-41 over a 53-game stretch. A lot of losing indeed.
But if the O's win just one of the three remaining games in this series – and they'd like to win a lot more than that – they'll take a season series from the Yankees for the first time since going 8-4 in 1997.
They lead the series this year 9-7 and one more win will clinch it. The last time the Orioles won 10 or more against the Yankees was in 1982 when they went 11-2.
Well, the Rays are better than the Yankees these days…actually, for a while now. And, we just saw Boston. More so that the O's, perhaps, now, the big question will be: How long until the Yankees are worse than the Blue Jays?
The Showalter – Girardi Dust Up
I would love to know what that was all about, just a few moments ago, in the Yankees game.
I have a ton of respect for both Joe Girardi and Buck Showalter. It's hard to believe that one of them was doing something wrong. But, I suspect that we'll know what's going on soon…
Huuuughes & Booooone
Sounded like boos tonight.
Quintin Berry = Dave Roberts?
Maybe not…
…but, he sure runs the bases better than Alfonso Soriano.
Lucchino Ready To Rumble With Levine
Let the hair pulling and bitch slapping commence!
Via WEEI –
The last time the Red Sox and Yankees met, on Aug. 18 at Fenway Park, Ryan Dempster drilled Alex Rodriguez with a pitch, leading to the players from both teams leaving the benches and milling about the infield.
The teams are set to start a four-game series in the Bronx on Thursday night, and Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino knows the feud could continue, even though Dempster was punished by the league with a five-game suspension.
During a Thursday morning appearance on Dennis & Callahan, Lucchino said he plans to attend Thursday's game, and he has a plan in mind if the teams get into it again.
"If it starts up, I'm going to look for Randy Levine," Lucchino joked about his Yankees counterpart.
On a serious note, Lucchino said he hopes the players put the incident behind them.
"They've had some comments about the incident," Lucchino said, referring to the Yankees' condemnation of Dempster. "Baseball sort of has a way of allowing these things to perpetuate themselves. I hope [another incident] doesn't happen. It's a little different now, because each of these games matters so much. I don't think anybody wants to ignite the other team.
If Larry and Randy do square off, expect FOX to get the rights to it.
Ding, Ding…It's Yankees, Red Sox, In September…With Something On The Line
According to fangraphs, as of this morning, the Red Sox have a 99.8 % chance of reaching the post-season this year, via winning the division or getting the wildcard, whereas the Yankees have a 15.9 % chance.
Starting this evening, the two teams face off against each other for a four game series in the Bronx.
It will be Jake Peavy against Ivan Nova tonight – followed by Felix Doubront versus Andy Pettitte on Friday. And, over the weekend, it will be John Lackey and David Huff on Saturday with Jon Lester and Hiroki Kuroda on Sunday. (Figures, the game I will be going to, I pull Huff!)
The Yankees have to win at least three of four in this series, all things considered, to continue their fight to make the playoffs this year.
Even if Boston loses three of four, I don't think it hurts their chances to play in October. But, I have to think that they want to win as many of these games as possible.
The Yankees have won 12 of their last 17 games. The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 13 games. Both teams are "hot" right now.
This all has the makings of one exciting four game series starting in Yankee Stadium today. Are you up for it? Why? And, what do you think will happen in the four games?
Tommy John For Matt Harvey?
Matt Harvey is headed to the disabled list with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.
The Mets will try and rest him before opting for Tommy John surgery.
I wonder if Phil Hughes will now try and sign a one-year deal with the Mets for 2014, as a starting pitcher, using Citi Field to help his numbers, and then try and get a long term deal elsewhere after next season?
One Of The Best Fights Ever Aired On MSG
Mets & Yankees, Which Team Will Be Better First?
Both the Yankees and the Mets suck this season. Between the two, which team will rise from the ashes and have a team capable of winning 90+ games and making the post-season? Why?
Personally, I think the Mets may get there first. They have the young starting pitching that the Yankee lack. And, I think Sandy Alderson is smarter than Brian Cashman. But, the Mets ownership is a mess and lacks money. So, you never know…


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NFL Playoff Betting Odds Have Gamblers Laying High Numbers
Play at Full Tilt Poker!
The NFL has a way of working itself out. When teams make runs like the Pittsburgh Steelers did a few season's ago, it is considered the exception in this league, not the rule.
This week, the NFL is holding semi-final games in the two conferences and sports books do not expect any of the games to be close. The lowest point spread is seven and a half.
The New England Patriots are trying to match the Miami Dolphins as the only football franchises to ever go through a season undefeated. They are hosting a Jacksonville team that is among the hottest in football. The odds makers are not impressed. New England is favored by thirteen and a half.
Indianapolis is the defending Super Bowl champions, and judging from this week's spread against the Chargers, odds makers like their chances of repeating. The Colts are favored by eight and a half.
In the NFC one has to wonder what the point spread would be in the Dallas-Giants game if Terrell Owens was healthy. Owens is a game time decision, and the Cowboys are still favored by seven and a half. Apparently sports books do not believe Eli Manning can have three good games in a row.
The other game features Green Bay facing the coach who won them a Super Bowl, Mike Holmgren. His current team, Seattle, was in the Super Bowl two years ago, and is hoping to get back. To do that they must beat the number two seeded Packers. Green Bay is favored by eight.
Almost every year there is an upset in this round of the playoffs. So before any of those point spreads look too good to be true, and you think the underdogs are over matched, do some more research.…


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The Boulevard Ring is the first orbit and on it we chose five bubbles that encircle the Kremlin. These bubbles are not just places – they are constellations, principles, motifs for our exploration. They are focal points that we can return to, when we get lost, thus they allow us to get lost. Their boundaries are as blurry as their inner centre. But for now, we choose to believe in them – we choose to let them take us.
Chapter 1
Arbatskaya Square – Kirill Savchenkov, uses the skateboard as a tool to explore the cityscape as a training zone for future survival techniques. In his essay »Tactical Behaviours« editor-in-chief Fabian Saul turns to the concept of tactical behaviours to decode his meanderings.
Chapter 2
Pushkinskaya Square – Author Ksenia Golubovich revives her childhood memories by returning to her former communal home. A team of people collected a wealth of information of those using the Boulevard Ring to paint a vivid picture of the transient life on the Ring. Oxana Rudschenko tells stories of her life on Pushkinskaya Square through the twilight of the Soviet Era.
Chapter 3
Chistye Prudy – The photographer Anna Skladmann visits her grandmother's house in Germany that is full of artifacts of her former life in her native Moscow. Pavel Pepperstein introduces us, with the grace of one who has seen everything, to his home on Chistye Prudy, where he grew up with his father, the artist Viktor Pivovarov. Marinika Sadgyan uses social media content to reconstruct a civilian attempt to save a Constructivist building from being demolished. Photographer Stas Galaktionov explores the underground vibes of one of the last remaining squats in the neighbourhood.
Chapter 4
Moskva Waters – Editor-in-chief Grashina Gabelmann uses her watery dreams and a challenging cat to navigate through a psycho-geographical, introverted piece. The artist Judith Sönnicken considers the mental architecture of disappearing and reappearing structures. Her considerations take on the form of a fictional museum and its permanent collection, for which she is a curator and artist. In the piece »Two Hours In«, a bar on Chistoprudny Boulevard provides the setting for a free-wheeling conversation about five-year-olds watching Soviet-era parades on YouTube, Lacan and the question of whether or not you can talk about sex while having it.
Chapter 5
Prospects – The last chapter considers the future as much as the possible futures of the past, the crossroads that haven't been taken, through a collection of poems, short stories and visuals.


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Find free Teachers of English as a Foreign Language practice tests on TestDen.com and 4Tests.com, as of 2015. Both websites feature tests that visitors can take online, getting results upon completion.
Find free TOEFL English practice tests on TestDen.com by clicking Free TOEFL Test near the middle of the home page. The next page prompts you to enter a name, an email address and your citizenship, then to click Start to begin the test. The website also provides free TOEFL study guides.
To find free TOEFL English practice tests on 4Tests.com, click TOEFL on the left side of the home page. To take the practice test online, choose the desired sections, and then click Start The Exam.