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SAN RAMON, CA -- 24 Hour Fitness now has its cardless fingerprint check-in system in place at all its clubs throughout the United States.
Last week, 24 Hour rolled out the system in its clubs in Florida, the last state to have the system installed. Previously, 24 Hour installed the system in 16 other states.
Dan Benning, the north division president for San Ramon, CA-based 24 Hour, says 97 percent of the members who have been offered the option of the cardless check-in system have accepted. Those who do not wish to use the system still can check into the club with a government-issued ID, such as a driver's license. 24 Hour member cards issued in the past will no longer be used.
"Depending on the club and the number of members in that club, it takes us anywhere from 30 to 60 days to get everybody that wants to choose the option to sign up," Benning says. "The number of members that are participating in the cardless entry option is well over 2 million."
24 Hour members can now check into their clubs by having their fingerprint scanned and enter a 10-digit code of their choice, usually their phone number. Benning says 24 Hour does not keep members' fingerprints on file.
"The reason we put it in place was we were listening to members, and they were looking for an easier way to get in and out of clubs," Benning said. "We worked to find a solution that would meet that."
Club Industry will take a closer look at 24 Hour's new check-in system in the January issue.
In other 24 Hour news, the company opened its newest super-sport club in Irvine, CA, the 36th 24 Hour club in Orange County, CA. The 50,000-square-foot club includes an outdoor pool area covering about 9,500 square feet, complete with a lap pool and a kids' splash pool.
On Saturday, 24 Hour expanded the Les Mills Bodypump group exercise program to an additional 100 clubs in Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
And beginning today, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, 24 Hour is inviting all non-members to work out at its clubs free of charge, and its current members can use any 24 Hour club regardless of their membership level. The promotion lasts through Sunday.


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City Councilman Wants To Block New Hookah Bars
New legislation would extend indoor smoking bans to include herbal smoke.
One New York City lawmaker wants to stymie the growth of hookah lounges in New York City. Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile will introduce legislation this week to extend the city's indoor smoking ban.

subset: commoncrawl


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Structure of farmland utilisation in Poland. %. Structure of individual farms according to UAA size in 1995 and 2004. Total number of farms1995
Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server.


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Chris Brown Filmed Singing Rihanna's 'We Found Love'
Seth Rogen may not be a fan of Chris Brown, but Chris Brown is a big fan of Rihanna. Rihanna's duet partner and rumored reunited "#1 Love" was filmed singing her monster hit 'We Found Love.'
TMZ snagged the footage of Breezy at Club Vain in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday (Feb. 26). He was in town for an NBA All-Star weekend finale party. (You can check out his All-Star Game performance with Pitbull right here!)
TMZ reports that Brown was on the main stage at the club, knowing everyone's eyes were on him. When the DJ starts the RiRi-Calvin Harris collaboration, you can actually see Brown's face light up. He dances a bit awkwardly (especially considering the sick moves we're used to seeing from him) and is all smiles and sing-alongs.
Here's the really awkward part, though. Breezy is singing along and dancing to Rihanna … All up on another girl. For the record, the girl doesn't look like Breezy's sort-of-girlfriend, Karrueche Tran, either. Sounds like a pretty unconventional situation and serenade to us!
We wonder if Breezy asked the DJ to 'Turn Up the Music' when the track first began to play. We're betting he did.
Watch Chris Brown Sing and Dance to 'We Found Love'


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DeSean Jackson is angling for a pay raise with three years left on his current contract.
NFL Replay
will re-air the New Orleans Saints' 26-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles from Wild Card Weekend on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
» NFL Network schedule
Higher on the Philadelphia Eagles' offseason priority list will be the fate of impending free-agent wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper.
Maclin said Monday, via CSN Philly, that he "definitely" wants to return because his "heart is in Philly."
Coming off training-camp ACL surgery, Maclin acknowledged that he might have to accept a one-year contract to rebuild his value.
"I'm a realist, so I understand that's a possibility," Maclin said, per Philadelphia Magazine.
Asked if he would consider giving the Eagles a hometown discount, Maclin replied, "Money isn't everything. I just have to see what's best for me, look at the numbers, look at the personnel and I think we'll make our decision based on that."
Maclin said late last week that he's ahead of schedule in his knee rehab and expects to be ready for spring workouts.
If Maclin returns, there's a good chance he will be joined by Cooper. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is leaving the door open for both players to return.
Pro Bowl Draft on NFL Network
The first-ever Pro Bowl Draft will be televised during a live three-hour broadcast on NFL Network at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. More ...
» See full Pro Bowl roster
» Pro Bowl coverage
» NFL Network schedule
"I want to be back," Cooper said after Saturday's season-ending loss, via the Philadelphia Daily News. "I love the coaching staff and I feel like I fit in the system here."
Cooper benefited not only from coach Chip Kelly's offense, but also the ascension of Nick Foles at quarterback.
After catching just eight passes for 93 yards and one touchdown from Michael Vick in the first five games of the season, Cooper racked up 45 receptions for 812 yards and eight touchdowns in the final eight games.
Cooper might draw interest from other teams on the heels of a breakout season, but his best career move is to re-sign with the Eagles.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped all the Wild Card Weekend action.


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Skip to Content
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LMH Oncology Center
330 Arkansas
Suite 105
Lawrence, KS 66044
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Main: 785-505-2800
Fax: 785-505-5207
Patients in the Lawrence community don't need to travel for exceptional cancer and hematology care. The Oncology Center at Lawrence Memorial Hospital provides advanced treatments in a safe and caring environment that's close to home. From standard cancer therapies and clinical trials to social work and support services, we have the expertise cancer patients and families need. Learn more.
Located in the Lawrence Health Plaza just South of the main LMH entrance. Take advantage of the Free Valet service or park yourself, the office is located at the South end of the first floor.


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Washington's Sankey plans to enter NFL draft
Coming off a season in which he rewrote the Washington record
books, running back Bishop Sankey will skip his senior season with
the Huskies and enter the NFL draft.
Sankey's father, Chris, confirmed his son's decision in a text
message to The Associated Press on Monday after ESPN first reported
Sankey was leaving Washington early. Sankey has not yet decided on
an agent.
Sankey is coming off the finest season in Washington history,
rushing for 1,870 yards and 20 touchdowns in 13 games. He blew past
Corey Dillon's school record for yards rushing in a season and set
a mark that will be difficult to top. Sankey had 1,775 yards in the
12-game regular season – Dillon had 1,695 in 12 games in 1996 –
then added another 95 yards and two touchdowns in Washington's
31-16 win over BYU in the Fight Hunger Bowl last Friday.
By leaving Washington early, Sankey is bypassing a chance at
becoming the all-time leading rusher in school history. Sankey
finished his career with 3,496 yards and would have needed a little
more than 600 yards next season to surpass Napoleon Kaufman's
school record of 4,106 career yards rushing. Sankey did better one
of Kaufman's records, finishing his Washington career with 37
touchdowns rushing in three seasons.
Sankey's numbers are even more impressive considering he barely
played as a freshman and wasn't even the clear-cut starter going
into his sophomore season. Sankey had just 28 carries during the
2011 season and went into 2012 expected to split time with Jesse
Callier. When Callier went down with a knee injury in the season
opener, the job became Sankey's and he never gave it up.
Sankey junior season was highlighted by a trio of 200-yard
rushing games, including a career-best 241 yards and two touchdowns
against California. He ran for 208 yards against Illinois and
finished with 200 exactly in the Apple Cup against rival Washington
Despite there being a chance to hold every rushing record in
Washington history, Sankey was also aware of what happened to his
predecessor Chris Polk. Three years ago, Polk was in a similar
situation and chose to return for his senior season. He became the
No. 2 all-time rusher at Washington with more than 4,000 yards, but
also carried the ball 799 times and took a beating in the process.
Polk's draft position plummeted as concerns about his shoulders
arose and he went undrafted. Polk signed with Philadelphia as a
free agent.
Sankey submitted his name to the NFL draft advisory committee
and said before the bowl game last week he had received a
third-round grade. The last Washington running back drafted was
Rashaan Shehee in 1998.
Sankey is the second Washington junior to announce he's leaving
school early. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins announced after the
bowl game that he was headed to the NFL.


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San Antonio Historic Sites - Photo Gallery
San Antonio Historic Sites :: The Fairmount Hotel is Saved from Demolition
In 1984, the city struggled with the fate of The Fairmount. Developers were preparing to erect a major new retail center and hotel that would one day be known as Rivercenter Mall and the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. Public improvements for that project called for the widening of Bowie Street, but The Fairmount stood in the way.
A Community Joins Together To Save a Part of San Antonio History
Another city with fewer ties to the past might have easily gone forward with the demolition option, but San Antonio is a community famous for its conservation efforts. A local development team and local financial backers organized the Fairmount Hotel Company, which worked with the City of San Antonio, the San Antonio Conservation Society, the Texas Historical Commission and the University of Texas Center for Archaeological Research to plan and execute an out-of-the-box strategy - moving the three-story building to a new home next to the La Villita National Historic District.
Read more about the history and preservation of one of the well-known San Antonio historic sites, The Fairmount Hotel.


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What most people think of as Self-defense, the physical skills, is what happens when everything else went bad.
I'd much rather prevent things from ever reaching that stage.
I want to help you develop a lifestyle that offers you maximum self protection.
It's all about giving you assurance.
Size, age and physical limitations should not be an issue in learning to protect yourself.
Classes and
Boot Camps available


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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — The stock market's 200-day moving average has now been decisively broken.
According to many technical analysts, that means that the market's major trend has turned down. But how good a track record does this trend-following indicator really have?
This became an urgent question starting a week ago, when both the Dow Jones Industrials Average DJIA, +0.42% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.02% dropped below their respective 200-day moving averages.
However, because the S&P 500 SPX, +0.16% — until Tuesday's session — had been hovering within a point or two of its own moving average, the bulls could argue that it was premature to worry too much.
But, as of Tuesday's close, this widely followed benchmark stood more than 7 points below, and therefore hard to ignore.
The last time the major market averages dropped below their 200-day moving averages was this past June. Far from heralding a bear market, however, that technical violation came within a day or two of the bottom of the May-June correction. The market would turn in a double-digit percentage gain over the subsequent three months.
To find out whether that is more the exception than the rule, I back-tested the 200-day moving average to the late 1800s, when the Dow was created. I constructed a hypothetical portfolio that was fully invested in the Dow whenever it was above its 200-day moving average, and otherwise was on the sidelines earning nothing. (Notice carefully that I took into account neither the dividends earned by this portfolio when invested in stocks nor the interest on the cash it held when out of the market. I also did not charge any commissions.)
The results were quite impressive: My hypothetical 200-day moving average portfolio earned a 6.7% annualized return over this 116-year period, compared to 5.1% annualized return for buying and holding.
Its risk-adjusted performance was even better, since the 200-day moving average portfolio was out of the market a good chunk of the time and therefore a lot less risky than buying and holding.
Unfortunately, the 200-day moving average owes its impressive track record to the earlier decades of the last century. Since 1990, in contrast, my hypothetical moving-average portfolio made just 3.6% annualized, compared to 7.0% annualized for buying and holding. The money-market interest the moving-average portfolio would have earned while out of the market would not have made up this difference.
Are the last two decades a fluke? The academic researchers with whom I have spoken about the matter aren't aware of any reason why it would be.
On the contrary, they think it is entirely plausible that the 200-day moving average stopped working because of its increasing popularity — which effectively killed the egg-laying goose.
The bottom line? If you have reason to believe that the last two decades were a mere exception, and that the previous century is the rule, then you should be building up cash right now in your equity portfolio.
If you think the last two decades constitute the new normal, however, then you will be less concerned about the market's violating its 200-day moving average.
Click here to learn more about the Hulbert Financial Digest.


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Dan Enz, PT, LAT, SCS Print Friendly Page
Dan practices physical therapy at the UW Health Sports Rehabilitation Clinic. Dan specializes in treating athletes with an emphasis on the effect of sport biomechanics on injury and return to sport. Dan has a special interest in swimming- and cycling-related injuries and is the co-coordinator of the UW Sports Rehabilitation swimming and cycling clinics. Dan is a member of the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Association and the American Physical Therapy Association. He is licensed by the State of Wisconsin for physical therapy and athletic training. Dan sees patients upon referral and through Physical Therapy Direct Access (self referral).
Dan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physical therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is certified by the National Athletic Trainers' Association as a certified athletic trainer. He is board certified in sports physical therapy by the American Physical Therapy Association.
Physical Therapy Direct Access
Sports Rehabilitation Physical Therapists
Professional Certifications and Education
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI
|Medical interpreters are available to help patients communicate with hospital and clinic staff. For more information, please contact interpreter services at (608) 262-9000.


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The highly-anticipated new feature shred film Forum Or Against 'Em premiered in Portland, Oregon over the weekend. Holy crap it's sick! I'll get to that in a minute, first this: The Forum wizards decided to release the flick outside of the normal ASR Trade Show blowout and did so on September 27th in Portland, which was a great time and place to let 'er rip. The invitational event was held in a slick bar/theater called the Living Room and was attended by the entire team and 100 or of their friends. Some free food and drinks warmed folks up for the first of two showings of the film. When people had taken their seats and the opening began to roll … Oh man. The movie is wicked; and of course proudly sponsored by Transworld.
We don't want to completely ruin the surprise, but here's a bit of a breakdown:
The movie has a varied and bearable soundtrack that carries FOA along on high-notes and high-energy. In the intros and also the individual rider segments, there's voice-over commentary from the team that helps bring a more personal vibe to the delivery of the hardcore tricking. We get the riders in their own voice and we get into their head a little; the effect is dramatic. A credit to the film's mastermind Jeremy Pettit!
So yeah:
•Pat Moore opens the movie with one of the most versatile movie segments of the year. Thought he wouldn't?
•Nic Sauve is smooth. So smooth in fact, it's a bit deceiving when you're trying to keep track of whether his rail shots are switch or regular.
•Jake Welch has a part that's short but sweet. He is a rider with a very refined style in the street. And then he kills himself on a rail and …
•Joni Malmi—the raw power of his part should not be surprise anyone, but it still does. Some evil rails, pow booters and a hairy sled stunt will make you laugh.
• Stevie Bell energetically delivers some hammers in the street. In his opening shot he takes a very gross slam on a rail that causes everyone gasp and groan … and then Stevie shows an iron will by sticking it.
•Travis Kennedy is funny but also gnarly.
•Eddie Wall got some before he wrecked himself early season.
•John Jackson offers a commanding attack on backcountry jumping. He rides fast. Yes, there's a 10.
• Peter Line is not just the team dad. Pete comes in with an inventive segment full of tricks kids will definitely be trying to mimmick (again).
•Jake Blauvelt will blow your mind.
Snap to. Go get this movie.


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If Superstar Billy Graham is the man most responsible for bringing steroids into pro wrestling, then hopefully his new autobiography, Tangled Ropes, is the wake-up call that the industry needs to rid itself of the freakish physiques.
Superstar was indeed "the man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour" in the 1970s, with his incredible, chiseled physique that put most of his fellow grapplers to shame. His look paved the way for the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Kerry Von Erich and Triple H in the years to come, while his entertaining rap on the microphone would be followed by Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair and countless others.
During his run as WWWF World champion in 1977-78 (beating Bruno Sammartino, losing to Bob Backlund), Graham (born Eldridge Wayne Coleman) was a hugely popular heel, the precursor of anti-heroes like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
But his success -- largely based on his Atlas-like physique -- came at a cost. Graham injected huge amounts of steroids, an activity that was legal at the time. Knowing what we know today about their effects, his tale is truly terrifying.
As a reader, you will go "yikes" again and again as the Superstar details his steroid use, his drug use, and his many near-death experiences.
Some examples:
Teamed with co-author Keith Elliot Greenberg, Graham has delivered much more than a treatise against steroids. A lot more. The book is a true inspirational and emotional read, showing how one man can triumph over incredible odds; how faith can come and go in one's life; how a drive to succeed can regrettably leave family in the dust.
And it's full of surprises, and a few laughs.
Did you know that Coleman was a preacher at age 20, giving some legitimacy to adopting the name of the famed Reverend Billy Graham?
Did you know that Graham and Ivan Koloff tried to set up competition to Mike LeBell's NWA promotion in Los Angeles, only to fail miserably?
Did you know that less than a year after being WWWF champion, Graham was digging underground sprinklers in Phoenix?
He covers everything you expect in an autobiography, taking us through his troubled youth into the world of bodybuilding, then to Stu Hart's Dungeon on a whim to learn pro wrestling. Graham leaves little out from his career, inviting the reader along as he meets and comes under the (drunken) wing of Dr. Jerry Graham and they head to Los Angeles together. After splitting up from the Good Doctor, we travel with Superstar to San Francisco, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Florida, Houston, and many stops in between.
His WWWF days are covered in depth, and his experiences with the likes of The Grand Wizard, Ivan Putski and Dusty Rhodes bring back many memories.
Graham isn't one to pull punches, either. He's critical towards a few select grapplers, which is refreshing in the world of WWE autobiographies. Superstar still doesn't see the appeal in Bob Backlund as WWWF champion, for example, and had his difficulties with Mad Dog Vachon.
But as is often the case, the harshest critic of Superstar Billy Graham is Superstar Billy Graham. He takes himself to task for many mistakes in the past, from his steroids, to his failed relationship with his two kids in his multiple marriages.
It's the steroid trial of Dr. George Zahorian and subsequent federal case against Vince McMahon for distribution where the truth is truly laid out. Graham explains his motives for helping the prosecution against his old employer, and is deeply sorry for some of the lies he spouted in the heat of the moment, especially in regards to Pat Patterson. (It's especially cool to actually hear from WWE legal whiz Jerry McDevitt for the first time that this writer knows of; now his book would be a whopper!)
Despite all the fun tales from the road, it's the brushes with death and the strength of his relationship with his wife Valerie that will stick with you at the end. His liver transplant, harvested from a 26-year-old accident victim, is harrowing and will make you teary-eyed when he expresses his appreciation to the family of the deceased organ donor.
The emotion is very real, making this very unlike any other WWE release, or for that matter, their TV programs. In short, Superstar Billy Graham is lucky to be alive. And we're lucky to be able to read his book.


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Some say Hamilton County Schools took a risk when the district became the first in the state to seek TennCare reimbursement for some special education services.
That move now is paying off locally and across the state as more districts join in.
Hamilton County Schools has so far collected about $1.6 million by having its contractor, Stellar Therapy Services, bill TennCare for some of its occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology and speech language pathology services. That money goes back into the special education department, which officials say allows more students to receive more special education services.
Leaders in school districts across the state credit Hamilton County's success with giving them the confidence to pursue reimbursement, as well. So far at least 15 school systems are billing TennCare. And Stellar says school officials in the state's biggest districts in Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville are now looking to do the same.
That means big bucks for school systems. Stellar estimates the trend could free up tens of millions of dollars that districts could pump back into special education programs.
Wilson County Schools Special Education Director Jill Micco said her district's decision to pursue reimbursement had a lot to do with Hamilton County's results.
"I think that they are pioneers in this area," she said. "I think others would have liked to do it, but just didn't know how."
Wilson County has just started to receive reimbursement - about $1,000 so far. But Micco has been told to expect as much as $30,000 annually, which will help pay for services like occupational, physical and speech therapy.
When officials from Stellar met with Micco, they were able to show exactly how much Hamilton County had brought in. Stellar receives a percentage of all reimbursements for handling the administrative work.
"If they had said, 'Well, we're just starting this for the first time, I would have been much more hesitant," Micco said.
Holly Christopher, executive director of Chattanooga-based Stellar Therapy Services, said 47 states widely seek Medicaid reimbursements for special education services. But being a managed care state made it a much more difficult system for Tennessee districts to traverse. That's why Tennessee special education programs are turning to private companies like Stellar that have experience working in the complex world of Medicaid.
"It is administratively burdensome and prohibitive," Christopher said. "There is no way a district has the time, the personnel to do this."
In some states, schools statutorily are required to bill Medicaid for special education services, with departments of education providing clear guidance on such procedures. But in Tennessee, any such move has been from districts, not the state, Christopher said.
Working with an outside contractor puts extra cash in district coffers without using valuable staff time, said Tammy Hatfield, director of special education for Tullahoma City Schools. She, too, said Hamilton County's reimbursement trailblazing helped convince her of its merit.
"That had a lot to do with me feeling comfortable pursuing it," she said. "Knowing that Hamilton County could do it, I didn't see why we couldn't, as well."
Tullahoma is putting its reimbursement dollars - about $10,000 so far - toward staff training and to cover the cost of a consultant.
Hatfield said she felt as if she was stepping out on a limb when her district started the process last year. But now, it's becoming much more common.
"Now, every time I go to a state conference, this topic comes up," she said.


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About Us
Infochangeindia.org is an online repository of information and analysis on social justice and sustainable development in India.
Infochange is one of the earliest knowledge-building and knowledge-sharing portals in India, providing a mix of perspective, analysis and independent reportage from the corners of India and some of the country's most marginalised areas. All our content is designed to be accessible and readable, taking information for social change out of seminar rooms and to the people, enabling them to participate in drawing up an agenda for a more equitable and sustainable world.
This website is the collaborative work of a wide, credible and informed network of over 400 of India's leading writers, researchers, civil society activists, policymakers, development journalists and subject specialists. The bulk of our content was built between 2001 and 2014.
Our content has been widely linked, cited and reprinted in scores of mainstream and specialised publications/portals. Infochange has won the Manthan Award, supported by the Department of Information Technology, Government of India, for best e-content for development. The Government of Maharashtra has selected Infochange as a leading innovation in development communications.
Infochange content is widely linked, cited and reprinted in scores of mainstream and specialised publications/portals.
Infochange is an initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies (CCDS), a non-profit institution that creates knowledge resources for social change and fosters open and independent spaces for research, advocacy, dialogue and citizens' action on pluralism, social justice and sustainable development in India (ccds.in).
Infochange Agenda, CCDS's theme-based online and print dossier, is also available on this site. Agenda was designed to 1) take our content into university libraries, governmental and non-governmental policymaking institutions and to leading opinion-makers; 2) bring information about development/social justice to the attention of mainstream media; 3) provide comprehensive but concise learning/discussion material for trainings, seminars and campaigns. Agenda documents the ways in which lives and livelihoods are impacted by 'development' or failures of governance, and changed by innovative solutions at the grassroots. Twenty-eight volumes of research and reportage have been published since 2004.
CCDS has also published the Open Space booklets and pamphlets addressed at young adults and students on topics such as gender and sexuality, globalisation, cultural diversity and inclusion. Many of these are available for free download on ccds.in.
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We encourage use of the content on this website for educational and non-profit purposes. Please credit the individual writers and Infochangeindia.org when using our content, and send us links/copies of the content you have used.
Any commercial use of the material on Infochangeindia.org requires express written consent from the copyright owners of the original materials.
The Team
CCDS has been promoted by a team of experienced, highly-regarded and competent media professionals, communication experts, development researchers and analysts. All mid-career professionals, we were brought together by the shared desire to use our knowledge and skills in ways that would help bring about change in the lives of the most deprived sections of society. And in doing so, bring about change in our own lives. Each member of the team has substantial years of experience in either activism or communications and in most cases, both these fields. CCDS thus has an extensive network of journalist-activists/activist-journalists. This network is perfectly placed to synergise perspective, knowledge, skill and experience, so that communication and information are used to effect institutional and social change.
Project Leaders
Hutokshi Doctor: With over three decades of experience in media and communications, Hutokshi held senior editorial positions at leading Indian publications before deciding to focus on communications for social change. She co-founded CCDS in 2002, and has headed the organisation since. She launched and edited Infochangeindia.org in 2001 and Infochange Agenda in 2004. She also conceptualised and guided CCDS's popular youth and civil society outreach programme, Open Space, between 2004 and 2014. She has been a communications consultant to several international and national development organisations and institutions.
John Samuel:John has 25 years of experience in strengthening democratic governance, public policy advocacy and sustainable development in India and internationally. He has headed the Global Programme on Governance Assessments, and been Global Democratic Governance Adviser at UNDP Headquarters, New York, and the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre. He was the International Director of ActionAid, leading its global thematic work on just and democratic governance and heading the Asia-Pacific region. He is the former Executive Director of the National Centre for Advocacy Studies. John has been a visiting fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex and at the Advocacy Institute, Washington DC. John heads CCDS's governance initiative, the Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance (ISDG), in Thiruvananthapuram.
Associates and Subject Specialists
Ammu Joseph is an independent journalist and author based in Bangalore, India, and writing primarily on issues relating to gender, children, human development and the media. Her publications include five books: Whose News? The Media and Women's Issues (Sage, 1994 and 2006, co-authored/edited with Kalpana Sharma), Women in Journalism: Making News (Konark, 2000 and Penguin India 2005), Terror, Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out (Kali for Women/Zed Books, 2003, co-authored/edited with Kalpana Sharma), Storylines: Conversations with Women Writers and Just Between Us: Women Speak about their Writing (Women's World India/Women Unlimited, 2003 and 2004, co-authored/edited with Vasanth Kannabiran, Ritu Menon, Gouri Salvi and Volga ).
Anosh Malekarhas been a full-time senior researcher with CCDS for three years. He has considerable experience in reporting the impact of public policy on grassroots communities, and processes that allow communities to influence public policy. His reportage for www.infochangeindia.org has been widely appreciated and awarded. At present he is an Infochange Associate, who contributes regularly to the portal.
Anil Dharker is a senior editor, writer and columnist. He is the former editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, The Independent, Debonair and Midday. His columns have documented trends in society, the media, politics, human rights, the arts and sport for over 25 years. He is a columnist for The Hindu, The Times of India and several other leading publications.
Anu Kumar is a former assistant editor of Economic and Political Weekly, Mumbai. She is interested in issues relating to education, development and environment and has contributed articles to EPW and other newspapers on these subjects. She was awarded a CSE fellowship on Making Water Everybody's Business between in 2002. She is currently working on a PhD from the University of Mumbai on grassroots women activists and their contribution to issues of civic concern.
Arshia Sattar has a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilisations from the University of Chicago . Her abridged translations of the Sanskrit Kathasaritsagara and Valmiki's Ramayana have both been published by Penguin Books. Her book reviews and articles appeared regularly in ,The Times of India, The Illustrated Weekly of India and the Indian Review of Books. She has also worked with documentary film and theatre. She taught Indian Studies at the Mahindra United World College of India in Pune for five years. She currently works as a freelance writer and researcher.
Aseem Shrivastava wrote his doctoral thesis on Environmental Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has taught economics for many years at college and university level in India and the US. Most recently, he taught philosophy at Nordic College, Norway. He now works as an independent writer, focusing on issues emanating from globalisation, including specifically on Special Economic Zones. His articles have appeared in The Hindu, Outlook, Economic and Political Weekly, Seminar, and Himal.
Ashish Kothari is a founder-member of Kalpavriksh, a 30-year-old environmental research and action group. He is active in several grassroots movements, and has co-ordinated the process to formulate India 's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. He has been a member of several government committees including the Expert Group on the Biodiversity Act, the committee to revise the National Wildlife Action Plan, and the Environmental Appraisal Committee for River Valley Projects. He has been co-chair of the IUCN inter-commission Strategic Direction on Governance, Equity and Livelihoods in Relation to Protected Areas (TILCEPA), served on the board of Greenpeace International, and is currently chair of Greenpeace India's Board.
Ashok Gopal is an independent writer and editor based in Pune. He has over 20 years of experience with several publications, including Imprint and The Times of India. He specialises in corporate communications, technical writing and writing for CD-ROMs and websites. He is a communications consultant to several development organisations and institutions and also teaches communications to students of journalism and management.
Bharti Ali was head of the Women and Child Programme of MARG, New Delhi. Her work includes research on domestic violence, Panchayati Raj, sexual exploitation of SC/ST women, child labour, reproductive health, documentation of NGO experience in educating adolescent girls etc. She has also been involved in the setting up of the documentation system of the National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO). Gender sensitisation training with the Delhi Police and NGOs and child rights training with school teachers have been a major activity. She is an executive secretary of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, New Delhi.
Darryl D'Monte was Resident Editor of The Times of India and The Indian Express in Mumbai. He writes a column on environment and development, which is published in several Indian newspapers and websites. His book Temples or Tombs? Industry Versus Environment was published in 1985. He is the chairperson of the Forum of Environmental Journalists in India.
Devinder Sharma is a food and trade policy analyst. Trained as an agricultural scientist, Sharma was Development Editor of The Indian Express. He now researches policy issues concerning sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and intellectual property rights, environment and development, food security and poverty, and the implications of the free trade paradigm. He is a visiting fellow to several universities abroad. He has authored GATT and India: The Politics of Agriculture; GATT to WTO: Seeds of Despair and In the Famine Trap. He is the winner of the 2001 Chaudhary Charan Singh Award for Excellence in Journalism, instituted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi.
Enakshi Ganguly Thukral is currently the executive director of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, New Delhi . She has been working on issues of child rights and gender justice for over 15 years. She has worked with the Indian Social Institute and Multiple Action Research Group (MARG), New Delhi. Child participation processes and child rights training with children and schoolteachers has been an important area of concentration in the last few years.
Kalpana Sharma is an independent journalist, columnist and media consultant based in Mumbai. She writes a fortnightly column in The Hindu titled The Other Half. She writes for several other Indian publications as well. Until 2007, Kalpana was Deputy Editor and Chief of Bureau of The Hindu in Mumbai. In over three decades as a full-time journalist, she has held senior positions at Himmat Weekly, Indian Express and The Times of India. Her special areas of interest are environmental and developmental issues and gender. In 1982 she worked with Anil Agarwal of the Centre for Science and Environment to edit the first Citizens' Report on the State of the Environment. During her years at The Hindu, she was responsible for the annual Survey of the Environment published by The Hindu, a collection of articles on contemporary environmental issues that appeared in the form of a separate priced publication. Kalpana has also followed and commented on urban issues, especially in the context of Mumbai's development. She is the author of Rediscovering Dharavi:Stories from Asia's Largest Slum (Penguin 2000). Her other books, which she has co-edited with Ammu Joseph, are Whose News? The Media and Women's Issues (Sage, 1994 and 2006) and Terror Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out (Kali for Women, 2003).
Kaustubh Moghe is associated with Kalpavriksh and has worked as a researcher/ wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. He was involved with the Tourism Impact Assessment at Corbett National Park, Uttaranchal, India. Currently, he is authoring a portion of 'Restoration Practices in Abandoned Opencast Mine Areas in India', which is part of the Mining and Biodiversity subthematic review of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).
Laxmi Murthy is associate editor, Himal Southasian. Her writings, with a focus on giving voice to issues marginalised by mainstream media, have appeared in major dailies including The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu and the Indian Express. Laxmi was an editor at the Women's Feature Service, an international news-feature agency specialising in development issues from a gender perspective and was also South Asia coordinator for the Tolerance Prize, an award for excellence in journalism instituted by the International Federation of Journalists.
Mari Marcel Thekaekara is founder-associate director of ACCORD, an organisation that works with the tribals of Gudalur, Tamil Nadu. She is a frequent contributor to The Hindu and Frontline and was a columnist for New Internationalist, UK. Her articles have also appeared in the Economic and Political Weekly and other leading publications. She is the author of Endless Filth, a book on the safai kamdars of Gujarat , published by Books for Change. She was commissioned by the Directory of Social Change, UK, to do a study of poverty and development in the United Kingdom.
Mini Shrinivasan taught in primary schools for several years before moving to teacher training and development of teaching-learning materials. She worked with the Centre for Learning Resources, Pune, involved in designing training inputs for NGO and government projects, focussing on improving the quality of elementary education for children from the poorest sections of society.
Manjima Bhattacharjya has a PhD in sociology and has been active in the Indian women's movement for over 10 years. In the past, she has worked with Jagori, a feminist resource centre, and the International Secretariat of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in Geneva. She is currently on the executive committee and governing body of Jagori. Her special areas of interest include gender, globalisation, work, feminism and other social movements, sexuality, trafficking and migration. She currently freelances as a writer, researcher and consultant for NGOs and international organisations from across the world.
Neema Pathak is a member of Kalpavriksh, an environmental action group. She has worked as a researcher at the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. She has co-ordinated several projects, including the preparation of a Directory of National Parks and Sanctuaries in Maharashtra state, a Directory of Community Conserved Areas in India and the South Asia Regional Review of the above programme.
Oishik Sircar is a human rights lawyer and independent researcher and presently a Fellow in Reproductive & Sexual Health and Women's Rights at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. He has previously worked as a campaigner with Amnesty International India, and has taught courses at the Women's Studies Centre, University of Pune, and Research Centre for Women's Studies, SNDT Women's University, Mumbai. In 2005 he set up the CCDS Human Rights Education Initiative. He works and writes in the areas of postcolonial feminist legal theory, sexual rights, migration studies and cultures of human rights.
Rahul Goswami researches rural economies with a focus on agro-ecology. He is a consultant with the National Agricultural Innovation Project, Ministry of Agriculture, and is an examiner for UNESCO's Culture Sector, on intangible cultural heritage. He writes on issues concerning food and energy. He has worked with IUCN/South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics and has been a journalist with the mainstream and business press in India (Business Standard and the Sunday Observer), South-East Asia (the Straits Times group) and the Persian Gulf region.
Rahul Srivastava has written on the environment, popular culture and new knowledge practices. He has studied sociology and anthropology in India and the United Kingdom. He was co-director of PUKAR, Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research, a Mumbai-based research initiative founded by Prof Arjun Appadurai. He is now concentrating on writing fiction.
Rajashri Dasgupta is an independent journalist based in Kolkata specialising on issues r elated to gender, health, human rights and social movements. She has been working as a journalist for more than 25 years and started her career in Business Standard before she moved to political and social issues as a senior editor in The Telegraph. She was awarded the Panos Fellowship and exposed the unethical drug trials with quinacrine to sterilise women in West Bengal. She has contributed articles in edited volumes on health, women and violence. She is on the editorial board of the Kathmandu-based Himal Southasian. She is involved in the peace and women's rights movements and on the board of several organisations working for social change.
Rashme Sehgal is a Delhi-based writer/journalist who has specialised in investigative reporting. She broke the story on the Taj Corridor Scam for The Times of India in June 2003, and did a series of media-related exposes during her tenure with The Telegraph. She was also the first Indian journalist to expose the ISI presence in Kashmir for The Independent in 1990. Her first novel, Headlines and Other Lives, was published in 2005.
Rubina Lal has an MEd and PhD in special education. She is a senior lecturer in the Post-Graduate Department of Special Education, SNDT Women's University, Mumbai. Dr Lal has worked with people with developmental disabilities, and their families for 25 years. She has introduced new methods of intervention for children with developmental delays in India and is an active participant in advocacy and human rights movements for the disabled. She is President of SOPAN, Society of Parents of Children with Autistic Disorders. Lal has presented papers at several national and international conferences including the UN Conference on Population & Development (1994), Cairo . She is the recipient of the Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship for Post-Doctoral Research 2003-04.
Saloni Mathur is Programme Officer at HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, New Delhi. Her work has included research and evaluation of childcare organisations, reproductive health and child rights. Vocational guidance to children, training of helpers in child care institutions, workshops on educational material for effective teaching in preschool, processes of child rights with children have been an important area of her work.
Sandhya Srinivasan is a senior researcher and writer on public health and medical ethics. She has a bachelor's degree in philosophy (Bryn Mawr College, USA) and master's degrees in sociology (University of Bombay) and public health (Columbia University, USA). She was executive editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics from 1998 to 2011 and is currently consulting editor of the journal. She is also associated with Scroll.in, a digital daily of political and cultural news from India. In 2002-03, she was an Ashoka Fellow for her work in medical ethics. She has served on the institutional ethics committees of the National Institute for Research in Reproduction, a government body, and of the Anusandhan Trust, which conducts research and advocacy on health and human rights. She is a member of the editorial board of Developing World Bioethics.
Shailendra Yashwant is an activist, writer and photographer who has been documenting, reporting and campaigning on environmental justice issues in the Asiapacific region for over two decades.Shailendra was part of the team that established Greenpeace's presence in India and since 1998 has held various senior management positions with the international pressure group, including Campaign Director of Greenpeace India and Campaign Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.His flair for communications strategies, commitment to non-violent protest and creativity in executing innovative tactics to influence public opinion has helped galvanize people's movements on key ecological issues in India and Southeast Asia. He is the founder of Mitra Foundation, a not for profit initiative that pioneered carbon-neutral campus programmes in India and is now running solar library programmes in underprivileged schools. As a photographer he has worked with Outlook, The Hindu and other leading Indian publications.
Sharmila Joshi works in the academic field of historical sociology, with an interest in issues related to development, gender, labour and social movements. She has been a journalist, writing for several years on social issues.
Sujata Madhok was editor of Women's Feature Service from 1989 to 2000. She has been active in the women's movement and has worked with women's groups in Delhi on a range of issues and campaigns. She has co-ordinated radio series on Women and the Law and on Women and Health for broadcast on All India Radio. She has also worked for The Statesman, The Hindustan Times and Democratic World.
Sudhirendar Sharma is a Delhi-based water expert and development analyst. Sharma has a doctorate in environmental sciences. He has worked with India Today and The Pioneer and with the UN for the World Bank's water and sanitation programme. Policy analysis of water management and the role of traditional knowledge in human development are his special interests. He is Director of the Ecological Foundation.
Administration and Accounts
KC Dwarkanath is Manager, Operations. A senior finance professional, formerly a bank manager, he has been with CCDS for the last 15 years.


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Space robot on new $5 bill confuses the focus groups
The new $5 and $10 plastic notes to be unveiled by Bank of Canada on Tuesday
By Steve Rennie
OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada is set to unveil its latest plastic bank notes this week — but documents show some people found one of the new bills too "cartoonish" and the other too old-fashioned.
Focus groups consulted about the proposed images for the new bank note series thought the space motif of the new $5 bill looked childish.
"There is a perception that the note looks 'cartoonish' or too-child like," says a 2009 report commissioned by the bank from The Strategic Counsel, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
Others were left scratching their heads over the depiction of "Dextre," a Canadian robotic handyman on board the International Space Station. Some people wrongly assumed Dextre was the name of an astronaut shown on the bill, while others had no clue who the name referred to.
"Dextre is not recognized — although once explained, it is accepted as an element of Canada's contribution to space technology that should be kept," the report says.
"The image of the space station is not recognized. It is confused with a concept drawing."
But if some people were stumped by the space-age technology on the $5 bill, others complained the train on the new $10s looked too quaint.
"Significance of the image to Canada is immediately understood — participants acknowledge that the railway was the key to linking Canada and played an important role in the development of Canada as a nation," the report says.
"However, while the image is seen as attractive, many do not find it inspiring or motivating. It is seen as an archetypal image of Canada's past — standard or expected."
Under a section labelled "dislikes / concerns," the report adds the train "illustrates a mode of travel that many now find outdated or cost prohibitive."
The train also struck a nerve with focus groups in Atlantic Canada, where many rail lines have been decommissioned.
"The train no longer fully traverses Canada," the report says. "In particular, those in the East feel that it underscores that their railway links have been decommissioned."
There were also some who felt the train motif hearkened back to the treatment of Chinese labourers who helped build the trans-Canada railway.
"For a few, brings up human rights issues with the development of the railway."
The Bank of Canada declined comment on the focus group report.
The new $5 and $10 bills are scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday and will go into circulation later this year.
This is not the first time focus groups have raised concerns about images on the new polymer notes.
Outgoing Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney apologized last year after The Canadian Press reported that the image of an Asian woman was purged from the original design for new $100 bank notes after some focus groups raised questions about her ethnicity.
Other focus groups thought they saw some offbeat images on the polymer $50 and $100 bank notes that went into circulation in 2011.
One Vancouver group thought an image on the $100 of a researcher at a microscope and a depiction of the double-helix structure of DNA was a sex toy.
Other focus groups thought they saw religious iconography on the face of the Peace Tower clock.


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Life has been a little crazy this year and I just lacked the time to keep up with the blog. We've made the decision to homeschool this upcoming school year (for a number of reasons) and I'm really excited and nervous about it all at the same time. Summer is almost over and I think I'm about 95% certain on the curriculum we're going to use.
The kids are growing like weeds and I thought I'd just share a few quick and easy boredom buster ideas that we've been doing recently...
I saw this idea in Family Fun a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try. You take a plastic bottle, rinse it out, cut the bottom of it off and secure a small piece of a terry towel or washcloth over the cut end with a rubber band. Then you just get the towel damp and dip the end in a shallow bowl full of dish washing soap...and blow and blow and blow.
It's super easy, fast, free with items you already have and great entertainment. It kept my kids busy for about 45 minutes! See how many bubbles it's producing? (Oh, and my blogging bud Beckie said they did this in the bathtub recently..certainly going to try that soon!)
Here is another quick idea: {Chalk paints} Skip to my Lou did a post about this recently and we decided it would be a great activity for today. Head on over here for the directions on mixing up your own. After lunch, the kids helped me measure the corn starch and added the water and food coloring. It was also a great lesson in mixing colors and kept them occupied until the paints ran out. The kids used an assortment of paint brushes but really seemed to prefer the cheap sponge brushes since they'll soak up so much of the paint. We also brought out the chalk and the kids drew pictures and then painted those. It's going to rain again soon so we'll have a blank canvas again for tomorrow. :)


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U.S. News
U.S. Panel Advises HIV Tests for Everyone Ages 15 to 64
November 20, 2012
Adapted from:
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group that operates under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to advise the U.S. government and physicians on the medical evidence for preventive health measures, has recommended HIV tests for everyone aged 15 to 64. The guidelines also recommend that doctors offer HIV testing to people under 15 or over 64 if they are at high risk for contracting HIV and that they offer HIV testing to all pregnant women. On November 19, the task force posted its recommended guidelines to its website for a four-week period of public comment. The task force conducted two reviews of the science done by independent groups of scientists: one focused on pregnant women and one focused on HIV screening for the population at large. Annals of Internal Medicine published the two reviews on November 19.
Los Angeles Times
11.19.2012; Rosie Mestel
This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.
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It's been a long road to recovery for Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden since an injury to his heart suffered during his senior season at the University of Houston nearly cost him his life.
But the Raiders took a leap of faith in making Hayden a first-round draft pick in April. Friday night against the Chicago Bears he'll play in live game-action for the first time since his injury.
"I'm looking forward to my first NFL game. Can't wait to get out there and play," Hayden said, via Josh Dubow of the Associated Press. "I want to go ahead and shake the rust off. Get wet a little bit. Can't wait."
Hayden was injured during a practice in November and required emergency surgery to save his life. He had an additional surgery in May to clear scar tissue from the initial surgery. That procedure kept Hayden sidelined for the start of training camp and limited to a red "no-contact" jersey until last Sunday.
Hayden participated in pregame warm-ups last week against the New Orleans Saints but wasn't able to play. Now the Raiders are looking forward to finally seeing the player they drafted get to work.
"I just want to see him play football," head coach Dennis Allen said. "It's been a while since he's really had an opportunity to go out and play real football. I'm looking forward to watching him. He's done some really good things in this camp. He's got exceptional coverage skills. I think everyone is anxious to see when he has his first real live contact."


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Family Day Concert "one of the best"by Steve Charles • November 7, 2005 Share:
Family, friends, and music fans packed Salter Hall Saturday night for a Family Day Concert that Professor and Music Department Chair Larry Bennett called "one of the best student concerts we've had in recent years- especially for this early in the year."
"The level of singing and playing has really risen," Bennett said of the performances by Wamidan, the College's world music ensemble; the Jazz Improv Combo; and the Wabash Glee Club (view a photo album from Saturday's concert) Most surprising, though, were solo piano works, as well as Fritz Kreisler's arrangement of Manuel de Falla's Danse Espagnole, played to the audience's delight by violinist Adam Dybel '07.
"We have an especially talented freshman class," Bennett said, commenting on the piano performance by Kyle Prifogle '09. Prifogle and sophomore Christopher Geggie '08 played works by Spanish composers that brought rousing applause from the standing room only crowd at Salter.
Wamidan's drum and dance groups have become crowd favorites, but most original composition honors went to percussionist Syud Ahmed '07 and Crawfordsville High School junior Grey Castro's blending of Asian tabla drum and Australian didgeridoo.
Junior Desmond Risper on tenor sax led a stirring set by the Jazz Improv Combo, playing numbers by Wayne Shorter, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker, accompanied by sharp piano riffs by George Colakovic '06 and guitarist Haris Amin '08, bass player Tyler Carr '06, and freshman drumming standout Miguel Munoz.
"The Jazz Improv Combo will no doubt be asked to perform in Indianapolis," Bennett said. "George and Desmond have really grown musically.
"I think this concert didn't come out of the blue," Bennett noted. "Last year's Spotlight Concert and final student recitals were also on a high level. It bodes well for the future."
Members of the Jazz Improv Combo will perform with the College's Jazz Band at the Jazz Band/Brass Ensemble concert on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in Salter Hall.


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Interactive Medical Data on Demand: A High-Performance Image-Based Warehouse Across Heterogeneous Environments
Sponsor: National Library of Medicine (NLM)
The value of high resolution imaging is not simply the ability to acquire data at increased precision, but to make these data both available and usable to as many specialists as possible. This planning grant will determine the requirements of a system for intuitive, real-time access to patient specific data that are based primarily on very large multimodal images and multimedia. We will design and implement a prototype of limited scope to evaluate our system designs. We will evaluate and select system architectures, software, and network configurations to provide access over manifold network bandwidths to users running a variety of computing platforms. This design will include scalability of the system and extensibility to other healthcare applications.
This scenario inlcudes a computerized patient record that is set up as a database/server. End users are clinicians, researchers, and residents/students. This work presents novel research in areas of data management support for rendering extremely large data objects, automatic selection of visualization techniques, and methods to guarantee network performance in a heterogeneous computing environment.
Funding for this project is made possible from the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine.


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When the animated character Becky Botsford isn't dealing with fifth-grade homework or her family, she turns into WordGirl and fights villains while correcting their vocabulary in the TV show of the same name.
The Scholastic Media production began its third season this week on PBS KIDS GO! It received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation in 2008 and was nominated for three Emmy Awards this year. It has also received a Television Critics Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Animation and a Gracie Award for its portrayal of a strong female character.
Voicing that role model for elementary-school-age kids is Glendale's own Dannah (pronounced Donna) Phirman. The voice of her dad is performed by Ryan Raddatz of Burbank.
The show is produced out of Boston, but the voice talent meets at a studio in Los Angeles.
Phirman originated the role of Becky/WordGirl and said starting the third season is nothing short of awesome.
"I've worked on a few animated shows, and this is the best," she said. "Kids and parents love it. It is so well written. I'm so excited! It's the best job in the world. It never feels like work."
Danielle Gillis, one of the show's producers, still laughs after seeing the same show several times, she said.
"Dannah always surprises me," she said. "She's clever and thinks on the spot. She can come up with the funniest things out of nowhere."
When coming up with her character's voice, Phirman said she tried to remember what her voice sounded like when she was about 10 and took her already high-pitched voice up a little higher.
Another fun aspect for Phirman is getting to voice several other characters, like the mother of villain Chuck the Evil Sandwich-Making Guy, voiced by Fred Stoller from "Everybody Loves Raymond."
"What's great about the show is the great cast members," Phirman said.
There are plenty of comedians, including Chris Parnell from "30 Rock" as the narrator; Maria Bamford of "kick Buttowski" as Mrs. Botsford; Jeffrey Tambor of "Arrested Development" who provides the voice of Mr. Big; Tom Kenny from "SpongeBob Squarepants" as Brent; John C. McGinley of "Scrubs" as Whammer.
And so it's not all work, Phirman said, adding that the voice actors take time to play tricks on each other.
"At the last recording, we noticed that it started getting darker and darker in the room and we looked in the hallway and Jeffrey Tambor had his hand on the light switch and was starring at us and laughing maniacally," she said.
On the more serious side, her character fights crime and defines two words each episode, Phirman said.
"A villain might use one of the words the wrong way, and WordGirl corrects him, but in a nice way," she said. "They usually have a conversation about it, then get back into their fighting stances, and finish their battle."
Phirman does a lot of work opposite Raddatz, who voices her father, Mr. Botsford, and her friend Scoops.
When developing Mr. Botsford, Raddatz tried to model him after a 1950s sitcom dad.
"He is naively enthusiastic — a send-up of the 'Dick Van Dyke sitcom dad,'" Raddatz said. "He is always in calamitous situations, and he still manages to have a great attitude."
Scoops, however, is always trying to find out WordGirl's secret identity, he added.
There are lots of fun and different storylines between these characters. And to that end, I'm proud of the show," said Raddatz, who also works as one of the show's writers. "It's entertaining for kids, and I think adults are enjoying the storylines too. That's the goal at least."
One of the things that impresses him is how well the animators add so much to what the voice actors give them, Raddatz said.
"The animators are in Boston, and the best part of all of this is writing a script, having fun performing it and seeing it six months later and seeing what the animators have done with it," he said. "They take our voices and stories and make them so wonderfully visual."
And with Ryan it's the same thing, Gillis added.
"They love the characters, and they are invested in the educational mission of the show, and that is so important," she said. "They want to teach kids new words and make them laugh."


text: Hi Monang Here's my contribution to your decision about which language you program in for your cluster: Suppose that you know Java well, but not C. Suppose that it will take you 6 months to learn C well enough to be able to write your programs in it. In those 6 months you can do an awful lot of computing in Java. If your project is intended to last, say, 9 months, then you might decide that you will program in Java because you will get more computing done that way than by learning a new language. If your project will last much longer then you might decide that learning C will be of benefit, because each program will be faster in C than in Java. If you're doing some calculations then I'd suggest that you allow C to be 5 times faster than Java on average for cluster-type computing. Some will tell you that it is more than 10 times as fast (and it is for some types of computation), others that it is no faster (which is true for some types of computation). Another issue (or problem if you look at things that way ) with Java is that the implementations of MPI for Java are non-standard and not as widely used as the implementations for C. You might find it difficult, therefore, to get good support from groups such as this one, for a Java / MPI program. To sum up: If you can write good Java programs to solve your problems on your cluster then you should prefer that to writing bad C (or Fortran) programs. If you find that your Java program is not fast enough then you might think about rewriting parts of it in C (or another compiled language) to achieve specific performance improvements. Hope this helps Mark Monang Setyawan wrote: > Hi. I'm a newbie in this parallel computing thing. > (sorry for my bad english, I'm Indonesian) > > My current project is a software that analyze DNA/Protein sequence > data that needs high performance aspect on it. I plan to deploy this > software on network of workstations (mm, may be just about 10 PCs on > the network). Am I in wrong place now? > > I am going to use message passing paradigm (MPI) to write the > software. I've read that there are several choice of MPI > implementation. The problem is, I'm bad in both C or Fortran (I > usually use Java as my favorite language). Some source said that Java > (or it's MPI wrapper or pure MPI implementation) isn't good enough to > implement a parallel computing solution. Is that right? > > My third question is, is there any pdf/ps/one file version of > "Engineering a Beowulf-style Compute Cluster''? > > Thanks in advance. > -- Mark Westwood Parallel Programmer OHM Ltd The Technology Centre Offshore Technology Park Claymore Drive Aberdeen AB23 8GD United Kingdom +44 (0)870 429 6586 www.ohmsurveys.com


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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Actress Shayne Lamas, who was 16 weeks pregnant, has suffered a miscarriage and is now in a coma, TMZ said Monday.
The 28-year-old reality TV personality was rushed to the hospital Sunday night after she collapsed in the Ocean County home she shares with her husband Nik Richie, founder of TheDirty.com.
TMZ said doctors at an undisclosed hospital determined she was bleeding internally around her uterus. Her baby died during surgery.
Although Lamas is in a coma and breathing with the help of a ventilator, doctors are optimistic about her recovery, the celebrity news website said.
No other details were immediately available.
Lamas, daughter of actor Lorenzo Lamas, is best known for her work on the soap opera "General Hospital," as well as her appearances on the reality shows "The Bachelor" and "Leave it to Lamas."


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Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Wenger: We cannot afford mistakes
Arsene Wenger knows his Arsenal side now must be patient and that two wins from the final two games of the Barclays Premier League season is the minimum requirement in their quest to qualify for the Champions League.
By the time Wenger's team next take to the field - against Wigan on Tuesday week - their London rivals will have each played a game more and may be in significantly stronger positions in the all-London top-four fight heading into the final day of the season.
Arsenal last lost to Tottenham on March 3 and took their unbeaten run to eight games with victory at QPR, secured by Theo Walcott's fastest goal of the Premier League season after 20 seconds. And Wenger said: "It's very tight and it's down to the team who makes no mistake."
He added: "I love it because it's a lot of tension and very exciting. It's demanding as well, because it's not easy. We definitely have momentum, if you look at the points we have made compared to two months ago. We are going for it.
"Away from home recently, we've won everywhere - at Fulham, at Sunderland, at Swansea and at QPR. It was a derby which was difficult to win."
Chelsea's clash with Spurs at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday could go some way to deciding the Gunners' Champions League fate.
"Of course I want a result that goes for us, but again, it's not because I wish something that you will get the result," Wenger added. "A long time ago we focused on us getting the maximum points.
"We have nearly done that because we dropped two points against Everton and two points against Man United (both home draws). Apart from that, we've won every single game (since that defeat to Spurs in early March) and we have to continue to do that."
Walcott took his tally to 20 goals for the season for the first time with his strike in the opening attack of the match at Loftus Road. Wenger cannot recall as swift a goal for his side - it was Arsenal's quickest in the top flight, surpassing Robin van Persie's effort against Sunderland in October 2011 - but lamented the failure to add to the goal.
"Unfortunately I waited for the second goal but it never came," Wenger said. "Going forward we can do better."


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Keep your children safe online. Protect your family from pornography with these services:
Disclaimer: All models on this website are 18 years or older. schoolshemale.com has a zero-tolerance policy against illegal pornography. We have no control over the content of these pages. All scenes and links are provided by 3rd parties. We take no responsibility for the content on any website which we link to, please use your own discretion.
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|40" x 40"
|Frame Size:
|41" x 41"
|Acrylic on Panel
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Cindy Kane has used multi media to explore her lifelong fascination with politics and nature. Growing up in Washington, D.C., she was shaped by the powerful political climate of the Vietnam War era. A self-taught artist, the young Cindy lived and worked at the bottom of the Grand Canyon National Park, where she documented Anasazi Indian pictographs in pen and ink drawings -- images which would inform her art for years to come. She draws on personal narrative and experience to create her paintings of maps, birds, toys, and artifacts from nature. Her work encompasses a broad range of themes, from the extinction of birds to the role of journalists reporting from war zones. Cindy has exhibited her work nationally in galleries and museums since 1986, and her paintings can be found in a number of private and public collections, including the U.S. Embassies in Tijuana, Mexico, and in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She lives on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, with her husband and their two daughters.


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In the slimming-down spirit of Spring, I've been experimenting with a sort of Paleo-Meets-Atkins food regimen recently.
I can say that, while this gal loves her gluten free pizza, bread, cereal, and pasta, and I will never forsake these completely, the lower-carb diet is making me feel great! So I'm going to be sharing some high in protein recipes with you over the next few months.
Here's my go-to breakfast for when I'm sick of scrambled or poached eggs. It bakes up quickly, and I can eat it for a few days. Enjoy!


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This resource is no longer available
How To Motivate and Retain Key Employees
With the right talent in the right place, companies are well positioned to execute on their strategic goals. However, motivating and retaining key employees is not always as easy as it sounds – you must be able to make objective performance, pay, and promotion decisions consistently.
Read this white paper to learn how many companies have been able to eliminate the inconsistency associated with these decisions by calibrating performance ratings across the enterprise. Become aware of the challenges involved with calibrating employee performance data and how find tips on how to overcome them.


text: You're building a website and it's all going swimmingly. Oh, bollocks: mobile. People need to read it on mobile devices. You've gone about this all wrong. You need to start at the bottom and work your way up. But you also need to remember that mobile users absorb content differently. But what do they want? Read on to find out… Read more


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Community Walking Program
Walking is one of the easiest ways to improve the cardiovascular health of your family. Simple, comfortable clothes and walking shoes is all that you need. To get started, The Medical Center offers the Community Walking Program.
Completing a registration form is all that's needed to get started; there is no fee to join. You will receive a card to log the miles you walk. You can count the miles anywhere you walk including your neighborhood, the mall, area parks with walking trails and on treadmills. The Community Walking Program is open to everyone, so get your family involved.
Anyone with a health risk factor should contact his or her personal physician to make sure it is safe to start a walking program.


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Former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo has listed his Bergen County home.
The 7,500-square-foot Franklin Lakes home was listed at $2.9 million on Zillow this weekend, two years after McAdoo and his wife, Toni, purchased it in May 2016 (after his promotion to head coach on the team). McAdoo was fired the following year after the team started the season 2-10.
The house has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and sits on just more than two acres of land.
It is described on Zillow as being a private modern-day estate with everything controlled by smart technology from your phone. Features include:
- Pool with party settings/retractable cover
- Outdoor cooing station with BBQ/refrigerater
- Outdoor fireplace
- Water filtration system
- Two laundry rooms
- Three-car garage
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.


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|Product ID: 1278 - English
Published: 10 Oct, 2008
Product Links
|PDF (2.2MB) - Static viewing and printing
PDF (4.2MB) - Static viewing and printing
This map presents a satellite-based damage assessment for the affected village of Nikozi, Gori District, Georgia following the armed conflict between Georgian and Russian military forces, August 2008. Damaged buildings have been identified with WorldView-1 & Formosat-2 satellite imagery acquired on 19 August 2008. Pre-conflict QuickBird imagery in Google Earth was also used. Affected buildings were classified either as destroyed or severely damaged by standard satellite image interpretation methods. Destroyed buildings have been defined either by the total collapse of the structure or when it was standing but with less than 50% of the roof still intact. Severely damaged buildings were defined as having visible structural damage to a portion of one wall, or where a section of the roof was damaged but with over 50% of the roof still intact. The estimated total number of affected buildings for the selected village is approximately 20. Of this total 14 buildings have likely been destroyed and 6 buildings have likely been severely damaged. An important preliminary finding of this satellite damage analysis is the observed heavy concentration of damages within clearly defined residential areas. Please note, this is an initial damage assessment and has not yet been independently validated on the ground. Please send any additions or corrections to UNOSAT. Map scale for A3: 1:5,100; Projection : Pulkovo 1995 GK Zone 8N; Datum : Pulkovo 1995.
|Satellite Data : WorldView-1
Resolution : 50 cm
Imagery Date : 19 August 2008
Copyright : Digital Globe (2008)
Source: U.S. Department of State - HIU
Access Rules : NextView "EULA" - 2008
Additional Imagery : Formosat-2 (2m pansharpened)
Imagery Copyright : NSPO 2008
Imagery Date : 19 August 2008
GIS Data : USGS, UNEP, UNOSAT
Damage Analysis : UNOSAT


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MissionPage address: https://www.mnsu.edu/wcenter/mission.html
The mission of the Women's Center is to foster a healthy, safe, and engaging campus community by enabling the full and active participation of women students in both their personal and educational pursuits at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Women's Center provides programs, connections, advocacy, services and leadership opportunities for all MSU students.
It is our guiding value to empower women to:
* Develop individual identities
* Find healthy role models
* Develop self-confidence
* Identify career options
* Unearth hidden talents
* Choose nontraditional alternatives
* Dispel stereotypes
* Celebrate diversity
* Achieve individual and collective goals
* Become social change agents
Everyone Welcome!
The Women's Center offers a welcoming space where students are encouraged to think and make choices in an accessible environment that enables transformation and change in themselves, in their community, and beyond.
The Women's Center provides a safe, affirming place in which students can find their voice, believe in themselves, and make decisions that are right for them.
Through our educational outreach programs, the Women's Center is dedicated to helping all students achieve their goals and dreams.
The Women's Center provides high-impact programs, diverse opportunities and powerful collaborations, affording all students with the skills and tools necessary to provide innovative leadership and activism.
The Women's Center has a number of opportunities for involvement as well, like designing campus-wide programs to bring in great guest speakers and shaping how we celebrate Women. We'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions.
Violence Awareness and Response Program
The Violence Awareness and Response Program (VARP) provides a safe, supportive space for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and family members and friends affiliated with Minnesota State University, Mankato. VARP's mission is to reduce the pervasiveness and effects of sexual violence,
For more information, stop by the Women's Center in CSU 218. We're looking forward to meeting you.


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750 000
36 000
145 000
Guest houses
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Nonthaburi is the second largest city in Thailand, and borders numerous water canals. The city is known primarily for the floriculture, horticulture and handicraft. In Nonthaburi you can see the rarest flowers in the world that do not exist anywhere else. The most interesting place in town is the puppet theatre, where all the puppets are made by local people. If you want to visit Nonthaburi, it is good to book a cheap accommodation. Here you will find not only cheap hotels in Nonthaburi, but also luxury suites and comfortable motels. We know all about comfortable and cheap accommodation, so do not hesitate to compare our offers for cheap accommodation in Nonthaburi and save by booking online! Read more
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