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In his paper "Categories and cohomology theories" Graeme Segal considers the category of finite length chain complexes of finite dimensional vector spaces: Let $n = (n_i)_{i \in \mathbb{Z}}$ be a sequence of positive integers almost all zero. Then he claims that the space $K_n$ of chain complexes $E$ with $E^i = \mathbb{R}^{n_i}$ is a real algebraic variety. I am no algebraic geometer, but I suspect this to be similar to flag varieties somehow. So my first question is:
What is the topology on $K_n$?
As morphisms in the above mentioned category he takes chain homotopy equivalences between these complexes and claims that these also form a topological space. So:
What is the topology on Mor($E,F$) for two chain complexes $E$ and $F$ as described above?


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Shriners, Shrinettes have annual get-together
Lenoir County Shriners and Shrinettes are part of the Shriners Hospitals for Children � a group of 22 hospitals whose mission is to provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment; provide for the education of physicians and other healthcare professionals; and conduct research to discover new knowledge that improves the quality of care and quality of life of children and families.
This mission is carried out without regard to race, color, creed, sex or sect, disability, national origin or ability of a patient or family to pay.
At the recent awards banquet, the Lenoir County group elected officers and presented awards.
New officers for the Shriners are Tommy Daughety, second vice president; Mark Keen, secretary; Claude Stroud, 2013 president; Paul Taylor, first vice president; George Basden, Board of Governors; Jerry Eubanks, treasurer; and Buddy Gates, outgoing president.
Shriners recognized with awards were Stroud, Shriner of the Year, and Basden, President�s Award.
The Lenoir County Shrinettes are women who are related to a Shriner either by marriage or an immediate family member and who assist the Shriners in their goals to assist children and support the Shriners Hospitals for children.
New Shrinette officers are Peggy Grady, president; Angie Eubanks, first vice president; Michelle Basden, second vice president; Gertie Dawson, treasurer; and Ann Daughety, secretary.
Lana Russell received the Shrinette of the Year award.
To refer a patient or to check to see if Shriners Hospitals for Children can help your child, call 800-237-5055 or contact a Shriner.
For more information about Lenoir County Shriners, call Jerry Eubanks at 252-468-1581.

subset: commoncrawl


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As the owner of a Land Rover, we know you want to keep your vehicle performing its best. At Carl's Auto Body in Hemlock our professional, trained technicians have years of experience performing good, solid auto body and collision repair with modern technology and equipment. We can help with any of your auto body repair or collision needs:
Carl's Auto Body in Hemlock also services the needs of Midland, Saginaw, St. Charles, St. Louis, Alma, Chesaning, Freeland, Merrill
Carl's Auto Body


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Matthew J. Leslie, has been selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot Training upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy. He is currently serving as C/Capt Flight Commander with Cadet Squadron 11, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado. Leslie is the son of Paul and Carolyn Leslie, of Los Alamos, and is a 2011 graduate of Los Alamos High School.
Kaylie Burk, a junior at Los Alamos High School, has been nominated to attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Washington, D.C. Friday through Sunday.
The Congress of Future Medical Leaders is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields.
Burk was nominated by Dr. Connie Mariano, the medical director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists to represent Los Alamos High School based on her academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine.
Los Alamos High School Principal Dr. Deborah Belew-Nyquist presented Letters of Commendation recognizing LAHS Commended Students in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program. Front from left, Eleanor Devlin, Helen Lu, Aletta Marciano, James Sinnis. Back from left, Samuel Wolfe, Sudeep Dasari, Gerald Collom and Jacob Holesinger. Not pictured: Megan Kuzmack and Wesley Skidmore.
Ashley Michelle Montoya and Aaron Charles Pacheco were married Aug. 9, 2014 in Durango, Colorado. The bride is the daughter of Lawrence and Yvonne Montoya of White Rock. The groom is the son of Mary Pacheco of Los Alamos and Charles Pacheco of Santa Fe.
Surrounded by family and friends, the wedding and reception was held at the beautiful Ridgewood Event Center at Blue Lake Ranch.
The bridesmaids were Chelsea Abeln, Kiyana Allen Glass, Danielle Beckman and bridesman Isaiah Cisneros. The groomsmen were Drew Lara, William Pacheco, Ian Wright and Michael Gutierrez. The ring bearer was Jnai Pacheco, the flower girl was Lyric Gutierrez and banner holders were Yaza Pacheco and Lyric Gutierrez.
The bride and groom both attended Los Alamos High School. The bride graduated from the University of New Mexico and is pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Genetics at the University of Colorado. The groom attended University of New Mexico-Los Alamos and New Mexico State University and is currently a software developer.
The couple resides in Aurora, Colorado.
On July 11, Benjamin Macdonell, a 1999 alum of Los Alamos High School, was awarded a Medal of Honor from Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Macdonell, a police officer since 2010, and his team forced entry through a security door to save two elderly women from a burning house — a fire started by a Molotov cocktail.
■ ■ ■
Erik Anderson, an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadet at the University of Rhode Island recently graduated from the Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Anderson is the son of Timothy Renshaw of Los Alamos and Kristen Anderson of Charlestown, Rhode Island. He is a 2011 graduate of Monadnock Regional High School, Swanzey, New Hampshire.
Tristan Goodwin of Los Alamos was one of more than 200 new students who enrolled in Cornell College for the 2014-15 academic year.
Christiane and John Bounds are happy to announce the engagement of their daughter Claire Samantha to Christopher Glenn Campbell.
Christopher is the son of Patricia and Bruce Campbell of Breckenridge, Colorado. Claire is a graduate of Colorado State University-Fort Collins with a bachelor's degree in microbiology. She works for Sandoz in Broomfield as a chemist.
Christopher is a graduate of CSU-Fort Collins with a bachelor's degree computer science. He works for Aerstone in Boulder, Colorado.
The couple is planning a Nov. 8 wedding in Boulder, Colorado.
Sept. 24: A girl, Violet Joy Durham, born Abbey and Matt Durham
Sept. 26: A girl, Emma Matsuzaki Chien, born to Yan-Ting Chien and Hiroko Matsuzaki
Sept. 29: A girl, Lily Anne Christine Montoya, born to Leanne and Jemuel Montoya
Sept. 29: A boy, Joseph Garcia, Jr., born Amber Ocaña and Joseph Garcia
Sept. 4: A girl, Aly Rose Martinez, born to Audrey R. and Dennis T. Martinez
A boy, Graham David Casleton, born to Emily and David Casleton
Sept. 5: A girl, Felicity Rose Dinkel, born to Maria and Dominic Dinkel
Sept. 13: A girl, Adelheid Kristin Weis, born to Danielle K. Hauck and Eric M. Weis
A girl, Amelia May Rebecca Robinson, born to Holly and Joseph Robinson
A girl, Ari Snow Nakaoka, born to Kendra Pientka and Tyler Nakaoka
A girl, Brooke Teresita Martinez, born to Bridgette and Frank Martinez
Sept. 23: Brian Grange Cardon, born to Taylor and Jamie Cardon
Carol Lynn Champion and Zachary Jay Springfield were married Aug. 9 in Annapolis, Maryland surrounded by family and friends. The groom is the son of Steve and Ellie Springfield, of White Rock.
The wedding and reception took place at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis, Maryland. The bridesmaids were Stephanie Rulon (bride's sister), Lindsey Springfield (groom's sister) and friends Kristyn Riggs, Rachel Massara and Megan Kuhn-McKearin.
The groomsmen were Brad Springfield (groom's brother), Jack Champion (bride's brother) and friends Sean Bowyer, Pat Pellette and Deepak Aggarwal. The bride is a graduate of Jefferson Township
High School 2003 in New Jersey, and Rutger's University 2007 and 2008.
She works as a CPA tax accountant for Ernst and Young LLP. The groom is a graduate of Los Alamos High School 2001 and New Mexico State University 2006 and 2007. He works as a CPA auditor for Delloite and Touche LLP.
Following a honeymoon to Boston and Lisbon, Portugal, the couple resides and works in Madrid, Spain.
Ken and Jennifer Holmes of Los Alamos announce the engagement of their daughter, Royceleen Loqa Holmes to Sergiu Nedevschi, son of Sergiu and Anca Nedevschi of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The bride, also the daughter of the late Kathlyn Qilapupui of Banganoi, Solomon Islands, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and is employed as marketing coordinator for Tarana Wireless in Berkeley, California. The groom also graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and is co-founder and executive vice president of Tarana Wireless. The couple will be married on Aug. 24 at the Presidio in San Francisco, California. They will make their home in El Cerrito, California.
Copyright © 2019
The Los Alamos Monitor is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Los Alamos County and Los Alamos, NM, and the surrounding area.


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Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a well-established device technology now at the heart of many commercial and military systems. The technology is now more than 40 years old, with early diffused-gate transistors with lower-Megahertz gains reported over four decades earlier.1 Those earlier research efforts resulted in a significant leap forward in 1971 when GaAs transistors with 1-m gate lengths (Fig. 1) were fabricated, having maximum frequency of oscillation (fMAX) to 50 GHz and useful gain to 18 GHz.2
GaAs is an excellent material for fabricating field-effect transistors (FETs) and Schottky diodes since it can be a low-loss dielectric material (with a dielectric constant of approximately 10.9). In its semi-insulating form, it has become the basic material for RF and microwave integrated circuits in which active and passive elements are combined on the same chip. The passive elements take the form of either transmission lines (usually microstrip) or lumped-element components. Lumped elements produce more circuit design flexibility provided that the equivalent circuits of these components can be modeled accurately. Much of the early work at Plessey in the late 1960s and early 1970s (both hybrid and monolithic) used lumped components from L-band through J-band to produce both passive and active circuits.3
Much of that early lumpedelement development at Plessey was inspired by research being done at the famed RCA Laboratories (Princeton, NJ).4 Prior to GaAs, a number of materials served as substrates for miniature lumpedelement circuits, including polished alumina, quartz, and sapphire. Figure 2 shows typical structures and equivalent circuits for single-loop and spiral inductors as well as interdigital and overlay capacitors. Before sophisticated electromagnetic (EM) computer- aided-engineering (CAE) software was available for analysis, lumped elements were typically characterized by means of equivalent circuits. The one- and two-port scattering parameters (S-parameters) of the lumped elements were measured, computer corrected, and extracted to subtract parasitic reactances from the model in progress.
For example, single-loop inductors were found to be most suitable for inductance values of less than 2 nH at frequencies above 6 GHz. Loop inductors were measured with quality factor (Q) values of over 60 at 10 GHz. Figure 3 shows the variation in Q with metallization thickness and track width for a 1-nH inductor at 10 GHz. The Q drops rapidly below 1 m due to skin depth effects.
Both thin- and thick-film lumpedelement components were developed and both active and passive circuits developed such as low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), filters, and couplers. Novel circuits were built using polished alumina, discrete transistors, diodes, and lumped elements. Alumina materials were relatively low in cost during those pioneering days, and available in relatively large substrate sizes. Use of the material enabled "fast-turn" designs on a substrate material with dielectric constant relatively close to that of GaAs Figs. 4(a) and 4(b)>.
During that same time period, Plessey Research (Towcester, Caswell, England) was developing the first GaAs metal-epitaxial-semiconductor FETs (MESFETs), so that lumped-element characterization was extended to GaAs substrates. Figure 5(a) shows an early example of a rectangular spiral inductor using an underpassed connection to the center of the spiral, with the available inductance plotted in Fig. 5(b). The connection is deposited onto the GaAs surface and a thin layer of polyimide applied as an insulator prior to deposition of the spiral metal layer on top.
Early GaAs monolithic- microwaveintegrated- circuit (MMIC) designs were fabricated on irregularly shaped 1-in. substrate wafers prior to the availability of 2-in.-diameter GaAs wafers. Figure 6 shows the processing sequence used by Plessey to fabricate GaAs MMICs either on ion-implanted GaAs or vapor-phase-epitaxial (VPE) GaAs material. The sequence shown here relates specifically to the use of implanted material. Active channel regions and FET Ohmic contacts were formed by a dual dose and energy implantation schedule to produce devices with low drain-to-source resistance. Active areas were defined by either a selective implant or mesa process. Source-drain contacts were then defined and contacts alloyed to produce acceptable low specific contact resistances. FET channels were etched to produce the required saturated drain current while gates were formed using Ti-Al. A first-layer metallization was then defined using a lift-off process; this same process was also used to form the bottom electrodes of overlay capacitors. The silicon nitride for these capacitors was deposited using a plasma-enhanced deposition technique and with selective material removal by means of plasma etching.
At this point, a polyimide material was spun on the wafers and cured to produce a very uniform, low-loss dielectric that was used in several ways: as inter-metal layer isolation, a dielectric layer for low-value overlay capacitors, as a "stress-relief" barrier between the GaAs and other layers (such as resistive films), and finally as an ion-milling barrier. Following polyimide deposition, windows were opened in the polyimide, followed by interconnect metallization that also formed the top electrodes of overlay capacitors. Thin-film resistors were deposited on the top of the polyimide and interconnected to the metallization. Where low-capacitance interconnects were required, for example, from the center of a spiral inductor, 3-m-thick "air-bridge" technology was developed to form those three-dimensional connections. Early MMICs did not employ viaholes through the GaAs substrate. Early work on Xband and J-band MMIC LNAs at Plessey used simple lumped elements (such as single-loop inductors and interdigitated capacitors) to provide matching networks. This was because only single-level metallization was available and silicon nitride (dioxide) overlay capacitors had not been developed.
The first singlestage LNAs, covering 8 to 12 GHz, were designed in 1974 at Plessey Roke Manor. Figure 7(a) shows hand-drawn MMIC artwork (from March 1974) prior to being transferred to a hand-cut rubylith; a single-stage MMIC amplifier similar to that represented by the artwork is shown in Fig. 7(b). After successful development projects using lumpedelement impedance matching to cover broadband X-band and J-band LNAs,5 MMIC developments concentrated on S-band designs for radar applications. In particular, developments of a MMIC chip set for the naval Multifunction Electronically Scanned Adaptive Radar (MESAR) phased-array system started as a joint program between Plessey Central Research Laboratories (Caswell) and Roke Manor Research Limited. MESAR was seen as an ideal vehicle to demonstrate S-band MMICs.
A number of MMICs were developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s as proof of concept for various circuit functions as well as for fully integrated, multifunction modules. Of significant importance during this period was the rapid advance of CAE software that made the design and analysis of complex circuits possible.6 Four of the RF functions for transmit/receive (T/R) modules merit review here: for T/R switching, low-noise amplification, power amplification, and phase-shifting functions.
Figure 8 shows an example of a single- pole, double-throw (SPDT) switch where GaAs FETs are operated as voltage-controlled resistors with zero drain-to-source voltage. The gate operates as an "isolated" switch control and, in contrast to a PIN diode, the FET requires no drive current. This T/R switch featured insertion loss of 0.5 dB, with 20 dB isolation and 2 W power-handling capability.
Various different circuit approaches were used for producing LNAs, using both passive and active impedance- matching approaches.7,8Figure 9 shows an example of a two-stage LNA IC with noise figure of 5 dB and gain of 12 dB from 3 to 6 GHz. The input and output VSWRs were better than 1.80:1 and 1.30:1, respectively. The amplifiers employed 1-m gate-length FETs with gate widths of 600 m. Figure 10 shows an actively matched LNA employing a common-gate input stage, a common-source second stage, and a source-follower active splitter output stage. This MMIC covered 2 to 4 GHz with 19-dB gain, 3-dB noise figure, and low sensitivity to component value changes of the order of 20 percent from their mean values.
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Early MMIC power amplifiers developed at Plessey used feedback techniques to produce large percentage bandwidths in the 2-to-4- GHz frequency range.9 At these frequencies, conventional broadband matching circuits require rather large-value inductors that consume large areas of GaAs as well as having low Q. In order to reduce the number and magnitude of matching components, the high transconductance of the power FET can be exploited by feedback.
As an example of these design approaches, Fig. 11 shows a single-stage chip amplifier capable of 10-dB power gain and +30-dBm (1-W) output power at 1-dB compression from 2.5 to 3.5 GHz. It used a GaAs FET with 2.4-mm gate width, silicon nitride capacitors for RF bypassing, DC blocking, impedance matching, and CrSiO cermet resistors. The single-stage GaAs amplifier measured 2.3 x 4.5 mm.
In those early GaAs pioneering days at Plessey, two types of phase shifters were investigated for radar applications : "analog" vector modulators and "digital" switched-line phase shifters.10,11 Unlike digital phase shifters that redirect a single signal through a number of alternative paths, an analog phase shifter takes a single signal, divides that signal into two equal amplitude vectors, shifts the vectors by a fixed phase with respect to each other, attenuates both vectors by predetermined amounts, and then recombines the vectors into a single resultant. Using GaAs technology, Plessey produced a complete MMIC-based S-band vector modulator (Fig. 12). The vector modulator was designed for relatively high insertion loss due to the need to fully attenuate one of the vectors under certain phase settings. This can be overcome by the use of an active signal splitter (such as the one shown in Fig. 10) prior to the phase difference networks.
Digital phase shifters were also developed at Plessey during the early days of GaAs. For example, a 4-b, switched-line phase shifter consisted of two ICs mounted in cascade. The ICs contained the matrix of FET switches used to switch one length of microstrip to another. These microstrip lines were contained on an alumina substrate used to carry the ICs and also provided control lines. Figure 13 shows the switching chip. Across all 16 phase states, the worst-case phase error from 2.7 to 3.3 GHz was 4 deg., representing a least-significant-bit (LSB) error of 0.25LSB or less.
Figure 14 shows a typical T/R module for phased-array radar applications. The first of these modules were completed and delivered just over 25 years ago (in 1983). The GaAs MMIC T/R circuit was housed in a low-weight hermetic package with an aluminum heat sink. Interconnections between the module, the antenna face, and the RF beam-forming network were made by means of three OSP push-on (blind-mate) connectors. Control data was supplied via a fiber-optic cable to reduce both the problems of data corruption from EM sources and also the weight associated with a conventional wiring loom. A complete module, shown in Fig. 15, measured 40 x 117.5 x 10 mm, excluding the heat sink. The microwave circuitry occupied an area of 18.5 cm2 at one end of the module while the remaining 28.5 cm2 contained the custom thick-film hybrid control circuit. The microwave circuits were printed on to 10-milthick alumina substrates.
The microwave circuit was composed of six subassemblies: a T/R switch, LNA, phase shifter, driver amplifier, power amplifier, and PIN diode limiter.12 The T/R switch contained a GaAs MMIC with on-chip gate feed resistors and capacitors. The chip measured 1.1 x 1.57 mm. The MESFETS were used in shunt across the quarter-wavelength transmission lines and a grounded stub was used to offset the stray capacitance. Insertion loss was less than 0.7 dB while isolation was 18 dB.
The LNA subassembly was made from two cascaded GaAs MMIC LNAs. These LNAs had an individual chip area of 5.0 mm2. The MMIC circuit was a two-stage design with feedback on the first stage in order to improve the input VSWR. It featured gain of 18 1.5 dB from 2.5 to 3.5 GHz with maximum noise figure of 2.1 dB. The MMIC represented a fairly complex design for the time; still; yields of better than 57 percent were achieved for the fabricated devices.
The 4-b phase shifter was a switched line design with the delay lines being realized on alumina.13 Phase shifting was accomplished by the use of two GaAs MMIC switching chips measuring 1.12 x 2.54 mm. Each chip contained 2-b phase switching by means of series FETs and a T/R routing switch. The insertion losses through the phase line and the bypass switch were equalized by tailoring the gate widths of the FETs. This resulted in amplitude imbalance between all 16 phase states of better than 1 dB. Phase shifting accuracy at the 2.7-GHz design frequency was 4 deg rms across all 16 phase states.
The driver amplifier was a conventional two-stage hybrid design using two GaAs power FETs. The amplifier had an overall gain of more than 22 dB from 2.5 to 3.5 GHz with output power of +28 dBm at 1-dB gain compression. The power amplifier was also a hybrid design using an 8-mm gate-width power FET. The circuit had gain of greater than 8 dB and output power of +34 dBm (2.5 W) at 1-dB compression. The PIN diode limiter subassembly was capable of limiting pulsed signals at peak power levels to 10 W. The thick-film control hybrid contained the DC voltage regulation for each of the microwave subassemblies together with a custom gate array and electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). The gate array interprets the data sent to the module via the external fiber optic control link. The gate array performed all the necessary T/R switch sequencing together with computation of the optimum phase shifter setting for a given beam direction and module location.
1. J. A. Turner, "Gallium Arsenide," Institute of Physics Conference Series, Vol. 3, 1967.
2. J. Turner, A. Waller, R. Bennett, and D. Parker, "An electron beam fabricated GaAs microwave field effect transistor," GaAs and Related Compounds Symposium Digest, pp. 234-239, 1970.
3. R.S. Pengelly and D. C. Rickard, "Design, Measurement and Application of Lumped Elements up to J-Band," 7th European Microwave Conference, 1977, pp. 460-464.
4. M. Caulton, B. Hershenov, S. Knight, and R. DeBrecht, "Status of Lumped Elements in Microwave Integrated CircuitsPresent and Future," IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. MTT-19, No. 7, July 1971, pp. 588-599.
5. R. S. Pengelly and J.A. Turner, "Monolithic Broadband GaAs FET Amplifiers," Electronics Letters, Vol. 12, May 13, 1976, pp. 251- 252.
6. R. S. Pengelly and A. F. Podell, "MMIC CAD tools and workstations," 10th Annual IEEE GaAs IC Symposium, 1988, p. 325.
7. R. S. Pengelly, J. R. Suffolk, J. R. Cockrill, and J. A. Turner, "A Comparison between actively and passively matched S-Band GaAs monolithic FET amplifiers," IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, June 1981, pp. 367-369.
8. P. N. Rigby, J. R. Suffolk, and R. S. Pengelly, "Broadband Monolithic Low-Noise Feedback Amplifiers," IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, May 1983, pp. 41-45.
9. R. S. Pengelly, "Application of feedback techniques to the realization of hybrid and monolithic broadband low-noise-and-power GaAs FET amplifiers," Electronics Letters, Vol. 17, Oct. 15, 1981, pp. 798-799.
10. C. W. Suckling, P. N. Rigby, T. Bambridge, R. S. Pengelly and R. S. Butlin, "The Performance of GaAs Lumped Element Phase Shifters at S and C Band," 13th European Microwave Conference Digest, 1983, pp. 374-379.
11. C. Suckling, R. Pengelly and J. Cockrill, "S-band phase shifter using monolithic GaAs circuits," International IEEE Solid-State Circuits Conference, Vol. XXV, 1982, pp. 134-135.
12. R. S. Pengelly, "Transmit/receive module using GaAs ICs," Electronic Engineering, Vol. 56, No. 695, November 1984, pp. 141-144 and 149.
13. C. R. Green, A.A. Lane, P.N. Tombs, R. Shukla, J. R. Suffolk, J. A. Sparrow, and P.D. Cooper, "A 2 Watt GaAs TX/RX Module with Integral Control Circuitry for S-Band Phased Array Radars," IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, Vol. 87, 1987, pp. 933-936.


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PROLEVELING SYSTEM - PRSL-5 Linear Leveler 3/16" (100 pieces)
PROLEVELING PRSL-5 Linear Leveler 3/16" (100 pieces)
The Proleveling System uses two components, a Leveler and a Cap, to both space and level wall and floor tile installations, virtually eliminating spacing and lippage problems. Unlike almost all other systems, the Levelers can also be used as tile spacers and no tensioning tool is required! They are available in Cross, Linear (straight) and 'T' shapes with spacer widths of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm and 5 mm. The base of each Leveler has four holes for anchoring between the mortar and tile. The vertical legs of the Leveler rise from the base and act to space the tile. The legs are 'coded' for their millimeter width by the number of holes in one leg. The legs then join to the threaded stem of the Leveler, over which the Blue Tensioning Cap is hand tightened, leveling the tile. The Blue Cap can be threaded from either side to allow leveling of tile from 3 mm (1/8") to 40 mm (1-5/8") thick, and is easily loosened and adjusted without any tools. Once the tile has set, either kick the Blue Cap, or strike it with a mallet, in the direction of any two legs along the grout joint. This will cause the stem and leg portion of the Leveler to break just above the base. The Red Protection Cup is available for optional use as a protection against tile marking, and can be used for soft marble, onyx and other soft tiles. Use the Red Removal Cap to quickly remove the broken stem and leg portions from the reusable Blue Caps. All Levelers, Caps and the Cup are injection molded plastic, will not damage the tile in clean use and float in water for easy cleanup and collection.
Complete Kit Includes:
- 100 pieces of 3/16" PRSL-5 Linear Levelers


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Bautista caps big day with walk-off single in 10th
TORONTO -- Jose Bautista almost single-handedly willed the Blue Jays to victory on Wednesday evening, and by doing so, finally put an end to the club's prolonged struggles against the Rays.
Bautista enjoyed his best game of the season with a 4-for-4 day at the plate, which included a pair of homers and four RBIs. The remarkable performance gave the Blue Jays their first series win vs. Tampa Bay in almost three years.View Full Game Coverage
TORONTO -- Jose Bautista almost single-handedly willed the Blue Jays to victory on Wednesday evening, and by doing so, finally put an end to the club's prolonged struggles against the Rays.
Bautista enjoyed his best game of the season with a 4-for-4 day at the plate, which included a pair of homers and four RBIs. The remarkable performance gave the Blue Jays their first series win vs. Tampa Bay in almost three years.View Full Game Coverage
The decisive blow came in the bottom of the 10th inning as Bautista recorded an RBI single to give Toronto its first walk-off victory of the season, 4-3, in front of 18,771 at Rogers Centre.
"You know, he's pretty good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said with a wry smile after the game. "He's one of the elite players in the game, one of the top hitters. He definitely carried us today, no question about that."
While most of the Blue Jays' lineup has struggled to find its bearings this season, Bautista has continued to be a relatively solidifying force. The fact that he has received little recognition for the performance speaks more to his impressive run over the past few years than anything else.
The two-time Hank Aaron Award winner is now hitting .275 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs in 39 games. He has reached base in all but five games this year, and he entered play on Wednesday with a .417 on-base percentage and a .952 OPS, which included 11 extra-base hits since April 23.
Bautista has found himself in the unfamiliar No. 2 hole for most of May, but so far the move has had little impact on his overall value. He continues to be the most feared hitters on the team, and if there were any doubts about that before, they were erased on Wednesday.
That doesn't mean there will be any type of carry-over effect into the Blue Jays' next series, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
"I don't think we need this type of performance to win a game," Bautista said. "I think we need to just keep playing baseball, play hard, grind out at-bats and have good approaches at the plate, and eventually we're going to start winning more of those close games that we haven't been able to win."
Bautista's impressive day began in the first inning with an RBI single to center off right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. The success continued in the fourth when he led off the frame with a solo shot into the second deck in left.
Despite the early domination, the Rays continued to attack Bautista in the zone with the hope of avoiding an even better hitting situation for No. 3 hitter Edwin Encarnacion. That mentality clearly cost Tampa Bay in the ninth, as the club appeared headed for a 3-2 victory until Bautista led off with a solo shot off closer Fernando Rodney.
That sent the game into extra innings, and once again Bautista was presented with an opportunity to become the hero. He quickly fell behind 0-2 to right-hander Kyle Farnsworth in the 10th, but then got a pitch he could handle.
Farnsworth's fastball was low and outside, but Bautista was able to hit a blooper to the opposite field. Under other circumstances, it possibly could have led to an out, but with Tampa Bay utilizing the shift, there was a gaping hole on the right side, and the ball easily looped into the outfield for the game-winning hit.
"I made a good pitch on him," Farnsworth said. "I just tip my hat to him. This was just one of those days for him. He had a great day. I made a real good pitch, shattered his bat, just a blooper over to right field. He rarely hits the ball that way."
Almost lost in all of the late-inning activity was another strong outing from left-hander Mark Buehrle. Toronto's No. 3 starter continued his recent turnaround by allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out six over seven innings. It marked the third consecutive start in which he entered the seventh having surrendered two runs or fewer.
Buehrle retired the first seven Rays batters he faced, and the only real difficulty he encountered came in the third. The native of St. Louis allowed three singles and issued two walks as Tampa Bay scored twice in the inning.
The 34-year-old Buehrle lowered his ERA to 5.90, but still only has one win on the season. The number might be considered disappointing, but it becomes completely irrelevant during a game like this one.
"I look at the team win-loss record," Buehrle said. "Obviously, as a starting pitcher, you want to go out and try to win 20 games a year. But so much stuff has to happen. My goal is to go deep in games and good things are going to happen.
"Listen, I'd like to be 5-1 right now. I'm not, I'm 1-3. But as long as we're winning my starts, I'm going out there giving our team a chance to win, that's all I can ask for."
Toronto's series victory over Tampa Bay couldn't have come at a better time. The Blue Jays entered the three-game set after suffering a pair of tough losses against the Yankees and were in serious danger of falling back into their rut from earlier this year.
But instead, the Blue Jays can look at the positives. They have now won six of their past nine games and finally can say they've found a way to defeat the Rays in a series. That's something they hadn't done since Aug. 6-8, 2010, a span of 15 series.
"It's huge because they're not the team that's going to come out and score 10 runs on you every day," Bautista said. "They just have good pitching and good situational hitting, they play good defense and they're fundamentally sound.
"Those teams are always hard to beat because of their pitching, but it's good to finally get a series win and maybe that will get our confidence up a little bit when we play against them."
Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB.


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Public Lands DayFind an Event Near You
Fall Photo ContestSubmit Your Entries
Your Gym AlternativeLearn More
Outdoor FloridaFind Recreational Opportunities on Public Lands
Become a Junior RangerLearn More
Plan your adventures to Florida's 175 award-winning state parks, trails and historic sites.
A Message From Our Director
Around this time last year, I was in the dirt at Maclay Gardens pulling up invasive coral ardisia plants. It was National Public Lands Day, among the most significant single-day volunteer events in the nation.
Planning for the Future of FL Recreation
We work with local governments, park users, scientists, recreation providers and non-governmental organizations to ensure that Floridians have access to safe, well-managed parks, trails and public lands.
Telling the Story of Springs
Last year, 70 Florida State Parks staff joined Department of Environmental Protection water quality experts to find new ways to tell the story of Florida's springs.
Solar Power at Cayo Costa
Cayo Costa State Park has made huge strides to reduce their use of diesel fuel with the installation of their solar power system.
A Park for EveryoneSee All Parks
Henderson Beach State Park
Established to preserve Destin's last genuine stretch of coastal dune scrub, Henderson Beach proves that even the smallest areas of preservation can result in an incredible abundance of natural beauty.
17000 Emerald Coast Pkwy.
Destin FL 32541
Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park
Home of the world's largest and deepest freshwater springs, the sapphire water of Wakulla Springs boasts manatees, alligators and a host of diverse wildlife that can be viewed from a riverboat or atop the diving platform.
465 Wakulla Park Dr.
Wakulla Springs FL 32327
Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park
A historic beachside escape from the nearby city of Fort Lauderdale. This last example of a natural coastal beach community in Broward County offers an escape from city life as well as protection for endangered plant and animal species.
6503 North Ocean Dr.
Dania Beach FL 33004
People Make the Parks
Staff Spotlight
The Florida Park Service's geographic information experts aid in the fight to protect Florida's sea turtles and their habitat.
Volunteer Spotlight
In September 2017, Hurricane Irma struck Bahia Honda State Park and severely damaged many of the ecosystems within the park. After the storm passed, volunteers and staff came together to remove debris, clear paths and begin the long road to recovery.
Things to Know
Every Stamp is a Story
We invite you to visit any one of our amazing state parks, and to save your adventures with the Special Edition Real Florida Passport. This travel-sized journal is the perfect place to collect your memories and discover new places to explore!
Skip the Straw
Plastic straws are one of the many single-use plastics that litter beaches, pollute oceans and harm wildlife. To preserve natural resources and keep Florida's environment free of pollutants, DEP encourages residents and visitors to Skip the Straw!


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Red Planet Mission: UT Dallas Professor Contributes to Exploration of Other Worlds
Dr. John H. Hoffman, a space scientist at The University of Texas at Dallas, was on hand Saturday as the Delta II rocket carrying the Phoenix Mars lander lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base for a 10-month long journey to the Red Planet.
A physics professor and member of the University's William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences, Hoffman is part of team of researchers lead by Dr. Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson who were selected in 2003 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to lead an unmanned mission to Mars. The team, among other tasks, was asked to look for evidence of past habitability on Mars.
Phoenix, laden with sensors, is expected to land on the northern plains of the planet in June 2008. Once there, an arm on the lander will dig a trench in the Martian surface to look for water ice and other water-related substances. The materials will be collected and analyzed in a series of small furnaces, and the effluents from the furnaces will be analyzed by a mass spectrometer system designed by Hoffman. The system will determine the presence of water and the mineralogical composition of soil samples.
In addition to performing sub-surface mineral studies, the UT Dallas spectrometer will analyze the atmosphere of Mars. If the planet had copious amounts of running water in the distant past, as channels on the surface indicate, the earlier climate was likely very different from that of today.
Hoffman, who received funding of approximately $4 million from NASA to build the system, has worked at UT Dallas and its predecessor research institution since 1966. He has designed and built scientific instruments that have flown on numerous exploration missions — both manned and unmanned — into space and to other planetary bodies and objects, including the moon, Venus and Halley's Comet.
News Contact:Jenni Huffenberger, UT Dallas, (972) 883-4431, 8/07/2007
- Updated: February 10, 2014


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Former Marine Sgt. Gary Brown (left) receives the official Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard belt buckle from Sgt. Edgar Torrealba, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the Mounted Color Guard, July 5.
Photo by U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Samuel Ranney
The only remaining Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard declared its first honorary member during a buckle ceremony, July 5, in Cody, Wyo.
The prestigious ceremony involved former Marine Sgt. Gary Brown, a Vietnam veteran and long time host and friend of the MCG, receiving his very own MCG belt buckle. The buckle, which displays the eagle, globe and anchor, was presented to Brown by Sgt. Edgar Torrealba, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the MCG.
Brown was recognized for his hard work and dedication to the MCG and the Corps as a whole.
"The belt buckle has been a Mounted Color Guard tradition for years," explained Torrealba. "Only official members of the MCG receive one."
The reasoning behind making him an honorary member is simple, explained Torrealba. He is a Marine through and through.
"Mr. Brown is very welcoming and supportive of every devil dog he meets. Anyone and everyone who has taken the oath and earned the EGA is a brother or sister to him," explained Cpl. Bryanna Kessler, a stableman with the MCG. "He is always willing to help anyone. That's what makes him a Marine's Marine; he lives by honor, courage and especially commitment."
Brown played an integral part in getting the MCG to Cody for their Independence Day celebrations. A tradition that has now been going on for seven years, said Torrealba. Each year the MCG has come to Cody, Brown and his wife Leslie have hosted the Marines and made sure they were taken care of.
During the current sequestration, for example, Brown fought for the MCG to come to Cody, knowing many other military functions were being cancelled due to the budget cuts, explained Torrealba. He even prepared arrangements to cover the expenses of the trip in case the government wouldn't pay for it.
Nothing means more to him than the Marine Corps' presence in town, said Leslie.
"From the moment we arrive, Gary is with us. He works with us from the early mornings to the late nights," added Torrealba. "He is always the first one to greet us and the last to see us off."
"Gary has supported the MCG without having any obligations to us. He has gone out of his way time and again to make sure we get to Cody," said Sgt. Jacey Marks, a stableman with the MCG. "Gary makes it his mission to take care of Marines even though he has been out of the Corps for years. He has done more for the MCG than any other civilian … he rates a Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard belt buckle."
Marks further explained this goes to show Marines are brothers in arms … no matter what generation. "Gary Brown is a true American hero," Said Sgt. Joel Richards, a stableman with the MCG. "Words cannot describe how much he has done for the Mounted Color Guard and for the Marine Corps." Richards added that the ceremony brought him to tears. Watching someone who has done so much for America, not only during his time on active duty but decades later, and then becoming an official member of the MCG, was an emotional experience.
"Nothing means more to me than the Marine Corps presence here in Cody," said Brown. Brown also added how proud it makes him when people from the community come up to him and tell him how good the MCG looked after their performances.
He can often be overheard saying, "I wish I was still in the Corps," and although that may not be possible for this Vietnam veteran, he is and always will be a Marine and honorary member of the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard. "Receiving that buckle meant everything to me … and I mean everything," Brown said. "It was the biggest honor of my life." The Purple Heart recipient has been out of the Corps for decades, yet demonstrates the epitome of esprit de corps day in and day out. He is a true example of 'once a Marine, always a Marine,' which was the consensus of all four members of the Mounted Color Guard.
Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/110231/once-marine-always-marine#.UeU7ZmdGaoo#ixzz2ZDAWnLzF
©2015 Vietnam War Commemoration. All rights reserved.


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Transcend the traditional. Venture beyond the expected. Watch motivation soar as your guests become inspired by the allure of a corporate or incentive cruise aboard Silversea – the world's most awarded small ship luxury cruise line.
Silversea's special interest, corporate and incentive cruises indulge guests with an array of sublime luxuries: spacious ocean-view suites, gourmet dining and exceptional amenities.
Set the bar high, far and in distant lands. Silversea's Corporate cruises & Incentive cruises feature intriguing itineraries with over 900 enticing destinations on all 7 continents.


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Fielder, Murphy hit homers in Globe Life Park debuts
ARLINGTON -- Prince Fielder's first swing in a Rangers uniform at Globe Life Park couldn't have been any better.
In a 7-4 exhibition victory Thursday over the Quintana Roo Tigers of the Mexican League, Fielder laid off three straight balls in his first-inning at-bat, then crushed the fourth pitch 424 feet into the Rangers bullpen for a two-run homer.View Full Game Coverage
ARLINGTON -- Prince Fielder's first swing in a Rangers uniform at Globe Life Park couldn't have been any better.
In a 7-4 exhibition victory Thursday over the Quintana Roo Tigers of the Mexican League, Fielder laid off three straight balls in his first-inning at-bat, then crushed the fourth pitch 424 feet into the Rangers bullpen for a two-run homer.View Full Game Coverage
"He's starting to get locked in a little bit," manager Ron Washington said of Fielder, who has hit three home runs in the last eight days. "He's starting to swing the bat, starting to get through some baseballs and starting to have some real good [batting practice] too. It's nice that he caught a good fastball and punched it out of the ballpark."
Rangers right-hander Tanner Scheppers went through a brief dry run for his role as Monday's Opening Day starter, taking the mound Thursday and throwing a 13-pitch, one-run first inning. His only blemish was a ringing leadoff double to Jerry Owens, who moved to third on a groundout and scored on Sergio Contreras' groundout.
Scheppers got a flyout from the fourth batter he faced and left the game after one inning, as planned.
"It was good," Scheppers said of his quick outing. "I just wanted to go out there and use my fastball and spot up a little bit. I made one bad pitch but overall it was good. I got a couple of ground balls. I just needed a quick little tuneup."
A pair of candidates for the second base job had productive nights Thursday. With Jurickson Profar out 10-12 weeks, Josh Wilson and newly acquired Donnie Murphy are both in the running to play his position.
Murphy doubled in his first at-bat and followed that in the second inning with a three-run homer that was initially called a double. The ball cleared the left-field wall but bounced off the area just above the out-of-town scoreboard and caromed back. The umpires chose to review the call, which was then overturned in the new instant replay system's first test in Arlington.
Murphy had a "good first day in a Texas Ranger uniform," Washington said. "A double, a bomb, he moved a runner from second to third [on a fly ball in the fourth] and we got a run out of it. He had a good day, he made some nice plays, he turned a double play. He did everything that you could possibly do."
Wilson singled in both his at-bats, driving in a run in the second inning before he stole second base and scored on Murphy's homer.
The Rangers used seven pitchers Thursday. Lefty Martin Perez, the No. 2 starter in the rotation, relieved Scheppers and pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out the first two batters he faced. Justin Germano pitched a perfect third, fanning two.
Relieving Germano, Alec Asher allowed a solo homer to Jorge Vazquez in the fourth and a two-run single to Owens in the fifth.
Daniel McCutchen pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, Shawn Tolleson retired all six batters he faced and Seth Rosin threw a scoreless eighth. Rosin earned the save in the ninth.
Eight of the Rangers' starters left after the fifth inning. Everyday shortstop Elvis Andrus pinch-hit for Wilson and singled to right in the sixth before being replaced by Adam Rosales.
Up next: The Rangers will close out the spring in San Antonio for the second year in a row, playing the Houston Astros in the Alamodome at 7:05 p.m. CT. Manager Ron Washington said the starters will play more Friday than Saturday; at any rate, watch out for left-handed power hitters like Prince Fielder in the converted football stadium with a 16-foot high right-field fence just 285 feet away from the plate. Lefty Matt Harrison will pitch a few innings in what amounts to a rehab start; he isn't expected to join the Rangers' regular-season rotation until mid-April.
Dave Sessions is a contributor to MLB.com.


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|The Sense-Making Methodology Approach to Interviewing for Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
Full Day Seminar, Friday, Oct. 24, 2008, 9:00am-5:00pm (separate fee)
In response to requests by members of the ASIS&T community, the purpose of this workshop would be to make available to
ASIS&T members at a convenient location an intensive one-day workshop that will zero specifically in on the interviewing methods that are informed by Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology (SMM) as an approach to studying users and potential users (by whatever names they may be called: users, patrons, patients, clients, customers, employees, citizens, audience members, participants, and so on).
The workshop will provide a general overview of the Methodology emphasizing, in particular, it's use in interviewing. The core questions to be addressed include:
What is methodological about Sense-Making?
What are its core premises?
How do these inform the theory of interviewing that the Methodology provides?
What are the difference interviewing methods?
When and how do you use the different types?
How is Sense-Making interviewing used in different contexts: self-administered, survey, phone, in-person, instant messaging, group?
How does the researcher systematically incorporate qualitative depth and breadth with quantitive anchors?
How does the researcher use the narratives obtained systematically for descriptive, explanatory, and/or predictive analytics?
It goes without saying that designing systems and practices that serve user needs is central to the core foci of many ASIS&T members. In this context, "understanding" users is an especial requisite. At the 2007 ASIS&T meeting, a rough count of program listings showed that fully 50% of paper/panel sessions and 50% of poster presentations involved at least some attention to:
a) users (intended and actual) and user behavior, and b) secondary or primary reporting of research results coming from studies that at least in part "interviewed" users.
The purpose of this workshop will be to provide attendees with an intensive one-day introduction to Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology specifically as it applies to interviewing.
Topics to be covered include those listed below. Those with * will be core focus.
Sense-Making Methodology for studying communication communicatively. The requirements of a genuinely communicative approach to studying communication communicatively.
Beyond metatheory and beyond method: What being methodological means.
Why we are constrained by how most qualitative approaches adduce method to metatheory; and most quantitative approaches reduce method to statistics and variable analytic operationalizations.
*Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology interviewing approach: Where it comes from and why it is the way it is. A brief presentation of the metatheoretic assumptions on which the interviewing approach is based and how these once understood provide a theory of interviewing method.
*Sense-Making questionning: The mandated foci -- time, space, movement, gaps, outcomes, power, energy, flexibilty and inflexibility, constancy and change, outcomes, helps, hindrances, impacts. How and when to use them.
*The different approaches to Sense-Making interviewing: Micro-Moment Time-Line, Life-Line, Micro-Mioment Micro-Element, Help Chaining, Q/uing, Sense-Making Journaling, Sense-Making On-The-Fly
*The issue of Sense-Making interviewing depth: Why and how. Sense-Making Triangulation Levels 1 and 2.
*Different interviewing contexts: Self-administered, survey, phone, in-person, instant messaging, group.
*Systematizing the qualitative in Sense-Making interviewing: Using systematic qualitative coverage in interviewing protocols. Incorporating quantitative anchors.
Beyond interviewing: The mandates from Sense-Making Methodology for research analytics. Uses and potential abuses of predictive, descriptive, and explanatory analyses. Why stat is not the enemy. Why stat is neither method recipe nor methodology. Being qualitative, being quantitative, being both.
Beyond data and analyses: The utilities of being critical dialogic utopian.
Brenda Dervin is Full Professor of Communication and Joan N. Huber Fellow in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Ohio State University. She holds a 1972 PhD in communication research from Michigan State University and an honorary PhD in social sciences from the University of Helsinki. She was the 2006 recipient of the ASIST Research Award. Her work has received more than 1700 "hits" in ISI journals as of the end of 2007. Her writings are most well known for serving as a call for user-oriented user studies and for advancing her Sense-Making Methodology for studying users and audiences (by whatever names they may be called) communicatively in any context. Most used applications of her methodology include a broad spectrum of interviewing approaches (e.g. focus groups, surveys, in-depth qualitative interviews, self-administered, web-based) in contexts such as information seeking and use studies, human computer interaction, web and software design, health communication, citizen participation, and development communication. These applications are set within a methodology that has deep metatheoretic roots in philosophic and theoretic discourses that inform research design, execution, and analysis. She has conducted many workshops for researchers, policy makers, and practitioners.
Members $255, non-members $285, before Sept. 12, 2008
Members $285, non-members $315, after Sept. 12, 2008


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St. Elizabeth Hospital named Yvonne Pellerin, RN, MSN, NE-BC, as its new Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care effective July 22, 2013.
"We are very pleased to have Yvonne join St. Elizabeth," said Robert Burgess, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We had several strong candidates for this position, but Yvonne's experiences and philosophies fit well within the culture of our community and organization. Her passion for quality, safety, patient satisfaction, and compassion will serve us well," he said.
Pellerin holds a Diploma of Nursing from Lutheran Medical Center School of Nursing, Cleveland, Ohio, and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She earned her Masters of Science Degree in Nursing from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois, where she focused on Leadership, Management, and Finance.
Pellerin has worked as a nurse since 1983 where she began her career as a staff nurse at Deaconess Hospital in Cleveland. She brings with her over 19 years in management experience having served in various nursing supervisory positions in hospice, hospitals, and industry in Florida and Illinois. Prior to joining St. Elizabeth, she most recently served as the Nursing Services Manager and Co-Director of Patient Care Facilitators at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois.
Pellerin has also served as an Assistant Professor for clinical leadership students in cooperation with Illinois State University. She is a Board Certified Nurse Executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and is trained in the principles of LEAN and Six Sigma to ensure highest quality outcomes with minimal variation.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to join St. Elizabeth Hospital and to serve its team members, patients, and the community," she said. "I consider myself a servant leader, and I hope to be able to utilize by education and past experiences to make this exceptional organization even better."


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Congress may have passed a new tax bill, but they're not the only ones preparing for tax season. There is still time to make changes right now that will save you a bundle on your 2010 taxes.
Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, appeared on "Good Morning America" to answer questions and share tips about what people can do by year's end to lower their tax bills.
Lower Your Tax Bill
Q: One of the big tax incentives that is expiring this year has to do with making your home green. How can people take advantage of this tax credit before it's gone?
A: The government introduced a tax credit for energy efficiency last year, but it will expire Dec. 31. If you are thinking of making an energy improvement soon, you must have it installed in your home by Dec. 31, Hobson said.
Click HERE for Mellody's web-extra tips.
If you do, you save money on your monthly utility bill and you'll get a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the cost, up to a maximum of $1,500, she added.
If you have used a partial credit, you can still use the remaining amount right up until the deadline. Qualifying jobs include the installation of insulation, energy efficient windows and doors, water heaters and roofs, among other things, she said. Only existing homes that are the applicant's principal residence quality for the credit. New homes and rentals do not, she said.
Click HERE for more information on how to claim the credit.
Q: Health care reform has been a hot topic this year. Is there anything in the bill that will affect my taxes?
A: Many Americans have flexible spending accounts (FSAs) through their employers. FSAs are accounts that allow you to set aside pre-taxed money to use on out-of-pocket health-related costs such as drugs, co-payments and other medical expenses. The downside is that you will lose any money you set aside and fail to spend.
Some companies have a Dec. 31 deadline so account-holders to use the money in their FSAs, while other employers allow until March 15, 2011 for the funds to be exhausted, Hobson said.
Either way, the health care bill now stipulates that, after Dec. 31, you may no longer use FSA funds for over-the-counter drugs -- such as aspirin – without a prescription, Hobson said.
Q:. Many Americans are struggling just to pay their bills on time. Can I save money on my taxes by paying bills early?
A: Hobson said people can save money on their taxes if they prepay some of their bills. For example, those who decide to pay their January mortgage in December can deduct the January interest payment this year.
If a property tax bill is due in January or February of next year, homeowners may also pay it this month and deduct it from their taxes for 2010, she said.
Those who are considering contributing to their child's 529 savings plan may consider putting in a little bit more before the end of the year. Many states allow parents to deduct their annual contributions up to a certain amount, she said. Before you contribute, make sure to talk to a plan provider to ensure the contribution is deductible, she added.
Q: The stock market has been very volatile over the past few years. If I have lost money, how does that affect my taxes?
A: The stock market has been on a wild ride this year, and although stocks have been up more than 10 percent this year, stocks are still more than 20 percent off their 2007 peaks, Hobson said.
If there are stocks that you no longer believe in, you may consider selling them before year's end. The IRS will allow you to deduct up to $3,000 of your total losses on stock sales each year, Hobson said. Any loss that is greater than $3,000 may be carried forward to future tax years, she added.
This can get a little complicated, so talk to your accountant before you decide to sell, she noted.
Q: As much as a quarter of all charitable gifts are made during the holiday season. How can I make the most of the tax deduction?
A: Donating money around the holidays has always been part of the fabric of American society, Hobson said. Those who are considering donating money should do it before the end of the year to deduct it from their 2010 taxes.
The catch is that you can only deduct your donation if you itemize your taxes on your tax return, and your donation must be made to an IRS-recognized 501c(3) organization in order for you to qualify for the deduction, she added.
Before you donate, ask if the organization is a 501c(3). You can confirm the nonprofit's status by reviewing the IRS's publication 78. It's available at www.irs.gov. Don't forget to save your receipts with any donation.
Also, remember that you can deduct the fair value of donated items, such as furniture and clothing. The IRS requires that any such items be in good conditions. Most people may have a hard time determining the fair value of their items, but there are websites – such as www.itsdeductible.com (from the makers of Turbo Tax) – that can help. These websites values the items based upon actual sales of similar items, she said.
You may even deduct the mileage – up to .14 per mile – that you drive to and from the place where you volunteer, she added.
Also, you are allowed to give any individual a tax-free gift of up to $13,000 a year (twice that amount if the donors are a married couple). The gift won't reduce your current taxes, but it will help someone else in need and they won't have to pay taxes on it, she said.
Web-Extra Tips
The end of the year is a great time to get your paperwork in order for your tax return. Make sure you collect all of your receipts and statements. Not only will this save you time while preparing your tax returns, it will also protect you if you are audited.
Although many people get excited by a large tax refund, what you are essentially doing is loaning the government money interest-free with each paycheck. Instead you should consider lowering your withholdings, so you get a larger paycheck and a lower refund. This way you get the money earlier so you can use your money now on whatever you want.
If you do not expect your tax rate to change in 2011 and you are self-employed, consider waiting until January to bill for your December services. This way you will not pay taxes in 2010 on what you earned in December. If you are expecting a bonus, try and see if your employer will pay the bonus after Dec. 31.


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Mort Shuman
The songwriter of such immortal classics as "Save the Last Dance for Me."
Mort Shuman was fluent in the current musical trends and all musical genres, as well as several languages. With songwriting partner Doc Pomus, he wrote hits for Elvis, the Drifters and more.
Mort Shuman and Doc Pomus were in the upper tier of songwriting duos during rock and roll era of the Fifties and Sixties.
Something of an odd couple—Shuman was eleven years younger and more free-spirited than the earthy Pomus—their improbable chemistry yielded a formidable procession of hits. Their collaboration ran from 1956 to 1966, yielding such indelible classics as the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and Dion and the Belmonts' "Teenager in Love."
They were also—along with Otis Blackwell and the duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller—a frequent source of material for Elvis Presley. Together, Pomus and Shuman wrote fifteen songs cut by Presley, including "Little Sister," "Suspicion," "Viva Las Vegas" and "Surrender," a Number One hit. Shuman wrote "You'll Think of Me," also recorded by Presley, by himself.
The son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Shuman was born in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, where he attended the same high school as songwriter Neil Sedaka. He took piano lessons, learned guitar, studied music and attended New York's City College. Doc Pomus, who was scouting for a partner, gave Shuman an informal education in rhythm and blues and urged him to try his hand at songwriting. After tutoring with Pomus for a few years, Shuman became his songwriting partner. It was, in Pomus's words, "a true collaboration." Pomus wrote most of the words and Shuman much of the music, but each made contributions to the other's area of expertise as well. To the relationship Shuman brought a feel for the musical likes of the burgeoning teen market at a time when rhythm and blues began yielding commercial ground to rock and roll. "He had a great ear for what was going on with young kids," noted Pomus.
Pomus and Shuman's first modest success was "Kiss and Make Up," a regional hit for the Crowns (members of whom would later join the Drifters). With a recommendation from Otis Blackwell, Pomus and Shuman got signed to Hill and Range Music. They set about writing hit songs at Hill and Range's offices at 1650 Broadway and, later, 1619 Broadway (a.k.a. "the Brill Building). Their first major successes came with teen idol Fabian, for whom they wrote "Turn Me Loose," "I'm a Man" and "Hound Dog Man." Fellow Philadelphia teen idols Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell also recorded some Pomus-Shuman songs, as did budding star Bobby Darin. While those songs may not have been the cream of their catalog, they gave the duo their first significant exposure in the music business. Soon came the songs that cemented their reputation as top-drawer tunesmiths: "A Teenager in Love" (about which the street-savvy Dion was initially skeptical) and the Mystics' "Hushabye," a sublime streetcorner-soul paean to teen romance. Andy Williams had a Number Two hit with Pomus-Shuman's "Can't Get Used to Losing You."
Dion DiMucci was impressed by Mort Shuman's worldliness and versatility. "He was an amazingly talented guy," said Dion. "He had a photographic memory, spoke more than fifteen languages and sang in even more. He'd take a guitar and suddenly become a flamenco virtuoso or sit down at the piano and transform himself into a Mississippi blues master."
Pomus and Shuman's next step forward was writing for the Drifters, at the behest of Leiber and Stoller. Their hits with the Drifters included "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "This Magic Moment," both of them sublime odes to romantic love in which words and music blended with an almost definitive grace. On a musical level, Shuman occasionally worked mambo and other Latin influences—of which he was a great aficionado—into Drifters songs, notably "Sweets for My Sweet."
The most successful year for Pomus and Shuman was 1961, when thirteen of their songs made the pop charts. Having apprenticed at writing Presley-type songs with teen idol Fabian, the duo began placing songs with Presley himself after his return from the Army. The quality of their material helped Presley compete in the altered landscape of the British Invasion and Motown. They were also some of the best songs Presley cut during his checkered movie-soundtrack years.
The musical landscape changed in 1964 with the success of the Beatles and other British Invasion bands. Pomus and Shuman briefly moved to London to write for British acts. Shuman had some success, co-writing the Small Faces' "Sha-La-La-La-Lee," the Hollies' "Here I Go Again" and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas' "Bad to Me" with other collaborators. Back in New York, a fall down a flight of stairs left Pomus, who walked on crutches due to polio, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. A subsequent fall from his wheelchair into the street sent Pomus to the hospital. During Pomus' hospital stay, Shuman announced his intention to end the partnership, and he moved to Paris a year later. The last copyrighted Pomus-Shuman song, "Double Trouble," was cut by Elvis Presley in 1966.
The mercurial, multilingual Shuman wrote songs for French singers Johnny Hallyday and Mike Brant. He also cut records of his own, including the chart-topping French hit "Le Lac Majeur." Shuman became a devotee of the French singer and composer Jacque Brel. As Shuman told a friend, his discovery of Brel "closed the book on writing rock 'n' roll music." Shuman was struck by Brel's forthright way of inserting real-world concerns—war, hunger, misery and anguish—into popular song. Shuman befriended Brel and translated many of his lyrics, with collaborator Eric Brau, into English. Shuman and Brel wrote the musical Jacque Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, which had a highly successful seven-year run at a Greenwich Village club. Shuman, in fact, played Brel in the production.
Shuman lived in Paris for fifteen years, where he raised a family and became a revered recording artist (with six gold albums) and prolific composer of film scores. He moved to London in order to crack the English-language market as a recording artist. In 1991, Atlantic Records—the label for which he had co-written so many rock and roll and rhythm & blues hits decades earlier—released his album Distant Drum. That same year, Shuman died of cancer in a London hospital just shy of his 55th birthday. In 1992 he was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Inductee: Mort Shuman (songwriting, piano, guitar, vocals; born November 12, 1936, died November 3, 1991)


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Artist's description:
$18 to worldwide shipping by China post after receiving the payment you maybe get it in about 15 -25 days,This paintings is unstretched and unframed for selling. many thanks for your support my art.
Materials used:
watercolour on paper
original art watercolour painting portrait of solider on paper #16-5-6
Watercolor by Hongtao Huang
- Watercolor on Paper
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 5.5 x 7.5 in (unframed) / 5.5 x 7.5 in (actual image size)
- Signed on the front
- Style: Urban and Pop
- Subject: People and portraits
This artwork is sold by Hongtao Huang from China


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Although there had been some concern that budget woes would prevent the city of Boston from providing security for Sail Boston 2009, the event happened regardless this weekend, with plenty of police officers on the waterfront to make sure everyone stayed safe while checking out the tall ships during their annual visit.
On Sunday afternoon, crowds at the Charlestown Navy Yard were well-behaved, giving several motorcycle cops a chance to take a rest in the shade while a throng of kids and camera-wielding parents admired their wheels. At least one little boy even got to live out every kid's dream of climbing astride one of the big bikes while mom snapped pictures and dad waved to get Junior's attention. Say cheese, son!
Lest you think that Boston police officers were the only Good Guys on hand to garner positive PR by making friends with kids and parents, check out this picture of a Boston firefighter helping one little guy use a fire hose as an impromptu lawn sprinkler to cool off a handful of grateful kids.
It will probably take me a while to go through the hundreds of ship-pix I took this weekend; in the meantime, you can re-visit my photo-set of the Argentinean Navy training vessel La Libertad, which J and I toured in 2007. Enjoy!


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Is This the Best Time for Investors? Don't Bet On It.
These have been good times—surprisingly good times—for investors.
Interest rates on Treasury bonds are near historic lows. Corporate bonds, including those for blue-chip and riskier companies, are booming.
Those who stuck with markets through the crisis of 2008, and especially those who held a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds, are probably feeling very pleased with themselves, and well they might.
But there's a problem at the heart of financial markets. Psychologists would call it cognitive dissonance—the problem of trying to believe two incompatible things at the same time.
Mixed Signals
The stock market is expecting a massive new economic boom, with accelerating growth, widening prosperity and expanding profit margins. Meanwhile, the bond market sees the economy remaining in a funk, with slow growth, widespread unemployment and low inflation.
Obviously, they can't both be right. Ominously, though, they could both be wrong. For the first time in 50 years, U.S. investors in a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds face the near-certainty that they will lose money on a large chunk of their investments, after accounting for inflation—and a significant risk that they will lose money on all of them.
Consider, first, the risks of stocks. The Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman Sachs' bullish equity strategist David Kostin is telling clients he still sees "considerable upside to the [Standard & Poor's 500-stock index] during the next few years," even though the index has already raced through his year-end target.
Alan Gayle, a strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management, explained to Bloomberg recently that "what is helping the market is the belief that downside risks to stocks are limited right now."
Yet as stock prices rise, investors are paying more and more for each dollar of per-share earnings. The S&P 500 now trades at 23 times average earnings of the past 10 years, according to data tracked by Yale University finance professor Robert Shiller.
Historically, the index has typically traded at about 16 times such earnings. In the past, levels of 23 or so on this "Shiller Price-to-Earnings Ratio" have almost always been followed by poor returns over the subsequent decade, according to research by Prof. Shiller himself and others.
The dividend yield on the index (dividends divided by the stock price) is just 2.1%—a fraction of historic averages, and barely enough to keep pace with current, subdued inflation.
There are some intelligent fans of stocks even at such levels. Crispin Odey, a major hedge-fund manager based in London, is telling investors that he believes the bull market that began in 2009 has a long way to run. Yet the stock market can only produce strong returns from these levels if U.S. company profit margins, which are already near record levels, keep expanding on a rising tide of growth and prosperity.
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Some, such as Mr. Odey, believe that will happen. The bond market, however, does not. Even after a bump in recent weeks, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond sports an interest rate of less than 2%.
The average corporate bond, as tracked by Barclays Capital, yields just 2.7%. These are a fraction of historical rates, and below even the core inflation forecasts of the bond market itself. Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, are so expensive that in most cases they guarantee investors a loss of purchasing power over the life of the bond.
The Fed as Spoiler
There is a reason for this paradox. The Federal Reserve. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is engaged in a deliberate policy of driving down short- and long-term interest rates as low as possible to boost the economy and forestall a slump. The policy, known as quantitative easing, involves effectively printing billions of dollars each week and buying up Treasury bonds. It is a policy designed to fight the economic slump by inducing euphoria—akin to riot police hitting an angry crowd with a large dose of laughing gas.
How important is this to asset prices? Some say it is the main story. Rob Arnott, chairman of Research Affiliates in Newport Beach, Calif., suggests investors engage in a simple thought experiment to understand.
Imagine, he says, if Mr. Bernanke announced tomorrow that he would end this policy forever. "Ninety-nine people out of a hundred" on Wall Street, Mr. Arnott says with a chuckle, know full well what would happen immediately: clattering falls of both stocks and bonds.
Conventional wisdom, and the practice of most investment advisers and pension-fund committees, subscribes to the idea that stocks and bonds largely move in opposite directions, so anyone with a "balanced portfolio" of about 60% stocks and 40% bonds will thrive in all environments: At those points where stocks do badly, the bonds will do well, and vice-versa.
Up and Down, Together
Yet it's a flawed analysis. Stocks and bonds were both on the floor 30 years ago. Anyone who invested in them in the early 1980s would have seen both assets boom over the subsequent decades. And what can go up together can come down together. The so-called 60/40 portfolio failed to protect investors in the 1940s and 1970s. In both cases, investors lost money after inflation.
Here is the risk today. If the economy booms, quantitative easing will end. Stocks and, especially, bonds will suffer. But if the economy doesn't boom, stocks will suffer because profits will run out of steam. Then the Fed will have to resort to ever more wild measures to stimulate economic growth and inflation. Sooner or later, bonds will suffer, too.
These are more dangerous times than many investors realize. Far from holding a portfolio which is protected in all environments, they are basically betting on a steady boom with rising prosperity and no inflation—a best-case, and rare, scenario.
Write to Brett Arends at firstname.lastname@example.com
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And Then Giddy Helen Drowned in a Well
A Halloween slide show history of cautionary tales for children.
In his influential 1976 book The Uses of Enchantment, psychiatrist Bruno Bettelheim claimed that children need the horror in fairy tales to help them process their Freudian fears of abandonment, pain, and extinction. Regardless of the average tot's death instinct, children's stories from Jack and Jill's violent tumble down the hill to R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series have happily obliged. The latest round of big-screen fairy tales, including three upcoming Snow Whites and Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight-esque Red Riding Hood, market themselves as unusually dark, but good luck matching the grisly source material in which wolves eat children and queens dance themselves to death in red-hot iron shoes.
The other strain running through the history of children's literature is didacticism. A 1563 English text, to take one example, exhorted young readers to "remember this well, all you that be young/ Exercise vertue, and rule well your toung." If the traditional purpose of children's stories is to turn them into proper adults, writers have very often treated that mission with grown-up earnestness.
The cautionary tale lies at the intersection of didacticism and gore. Gruesomeness without redemption is gratuitous (e.g., the Saw series), and didacticism alone (e.g., the simpering 19th-century child heroine Elsie Dinsmore) is dull. Together, they're magical, and the stuff of a blood-soaked yet pious genre that flourished throughout the 19th century. The typical collection of cautionary tales, including the best-known, Struwwelpeter, includes multiple illustrated stories, usually told in verse, about various wicked youths who meet lurid fates that match their sins with poetic justice; at the end, a narrator arrives to sum up the lesson for readers in rhyme. The formula's broad strokes echo through everything from after-school specials to fundamentalist "hell houses."
As early as 1865, the conventions of these little books were so established that Lewis Carroll cheekily refers to them in Alice in Wonderland:
She had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if your hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds.
Flash forward a few homages, and you'll stumble on the campy 1971 drug-scare novel Go Ask Alice, a worthy heir to the stories Carroll poked fun at.
Here, a look at the traditional children's cautionary tale through history. Be good and read carefully, or you might meet the same fate as little Johnny Head-in-the-Air, who didn't pay attention to where he was going and fell headfirst in the river. A lot can go wrong when little boys and girls disobey orders.


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52 Weeks to Better Genealogy: Good Writing TipsPosted: September 29, 2010 Filed under: Genealogy | Tags: Good Reads, Rants and riffs, Writing 5 Comments
This week, Amy Coffin's provocative series of genealogy exercises throws down a challenge dear to my heart: Brush up on good genealogy writing tips.
Talk about timely. I don't yet have a whole family history book in me, but I'd love my extended family to read at least a brief summary of the research I've done so far. If I get going on it now, it might be done in time for the holiday card mailing.
But how to square the demands of good storytelling with the structure of a well-researched genealogy table? I was cheered by this pragmatic advice in a wise, witty article from Sharon DeBartolo Carmack: Split them up. "Part One is the readable narrative family history; Part Two is the reference section of genealogical reports or summaries with all the bare bones facts."
This sounds like an admirable way to tame these wildly different beasts. The trick is making sure everything in Part One is substantiated in Part Two.
So that takes care of my structure problem. On to the writing itself.
I've spent many hours hanging around copy-editors who waxed eloquent about gerunds and dangling participles. But over time, I've come to think the writing I most admire follows the sort of rules you'd hear from a plainspoken great-aunt:
Don't show off.
Get to the point.
Say what you mean.
The motherlode of plainspoken writing advice is Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, a bible for generations of writers. "Pithy" doesn't begin to describe it. ("Omit needless words!" the authors thunder — leaving you nodding. Wordlessly, of course. )
I can't resist one final (and personal) tip:
Read it. Then cut it.
Once upon a time, I sat mesmerized as an editor (crusty, old-school, winner of two Pulitzers) whacked my story from 20 inches to 8. It was great. I mean it: In an hour's work the strong, clear bones of the story emerged from the trivial details and extraneous turns of phrase I'd draped about to show what a clever thing I was. You don't argue with an editor who demands, "What happened next? Why aren't you just SAYING WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?"
In his memory, I always ask myself those questions when I'm writing. And then I whack whatever gets in the way.
Thank you, Amy, for the opportunity to think this over!


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stock(redirected from stock market)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to stock market: Stock Quotes
Wolfgang, German ophthalmologist, 1874-1956. See: Spielmeyer-Stock disease.
All the populations of organisms derived from an isolate without any implication of homogeneity or characterization.
[A.S. stoc]
n initial material used to create a homeopathic remedy via dilution or trituration.
All the populations of organisms derived from an isolate without any implication of homogeneity or characterization.
[A.S. stoc]
stock equivalents
units of livestock measurement used when budgeting feed or assessing productive capacity. All forms of livestock are expressed in terms of one of them, e.g. dry sheep equivalents.
stock guard
used in lieu of a gate; consists of a pit fitted with steel rollers close enough together to make a satisfactory crossing for a motor vehicle but sufficient to deter livestock. Called also cattle grid.
stock horse
a riding horse used to work cattle, sheep or other horses. Small stature, light weight, wiry, fast for a short distance, agile, mostly bay. Called also cow pony, cutting horse.
stock and station agent
person conducting a rural store dealing in implements, supplies and livestock pertaining to agricultural pursuits of all kinds.


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30th June 2006, 11:33 AM
Well the day is here, I have been up since 4am off and on. I am like a kid at Christmas. LOL. I get to pick up my baby today. I will be sure to post some pictures after we get settled in. I can't wait. I am nervous and excited at the same time. Well off to take my shower so I can leave.


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Buy Women Canada Goose Resolute Parka Red Ireland
Conducting the event in February gives scientists a remarkable snapshot of wild bird populations throughout North America. Among other things, those data provide information about winter survival and where many species are located prior to the spring migrations that will commence in the coming weeks.
One such diversion would be the 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count that will take place from Friday, Feb. 15, through Monday, Feb. 18. This year marks the 16th installment of this annual volunteer event, which is a joint effort of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. Birders of every skill level can participate in this important citizen science project either as individuals or as a group even if you are not able to identify every bird you see. How much time spent counting is flexible and left to the discretion of each individual participant.
During the 2012 event, bird enthusiasts from every state and Canadian province submitted more than 104,000 checklists that reported sightings of 17.4 million birds, comprising more than 600 different species.
I'm not sure how that silly bit folklore started or why it has persisted into more enlightened times, other than it might be a testament to how long and boring the winters were in northcentral Pennsylvania. Rather than pretend some captive rodent can predict weather patterns, I much prefer to cope with the midwinter blues by engaging in something more grounded in reality.
Big day for bird loves is coming up
"We've taken Buy Women Canada Goose Resolute Parka Red Ireland substantial steps on these pages to acquaint more Pennsylvanians with the state's wild birds and the agency's role in bird conservation, both within the Commonwealth's borders and internationally," Dan Brauning, supervisor of the Game Commission's Wildlife Diversity Division, said. "This content will help more people see the value of wild birds, and get them closer to birds. It also offers ways to get involved in bird conservation and to make your property safer and more attractive to birds."
In Pennsylvania, the northern cardinal, mourning dove, dark eyed junco, tufted titmouse and downy woodpecker were the five species most often sighted during the 2012 GBBC, while the five most numerous species reported were snow goose, Canada goose, European starling, common grackle and red winged blackbird.
To keep the exercise manageable, counting every individual bird you see is not required, just the most individuals of a species that are sighted at one time during a counting session.
Many casual birdwatchers I talk with are often surprised to learn that here in Pennsylvania the Pennsylvania Game Commission is the agency responsible for the management of all species of wild birds not just ducks, turkeys, grouse and other game birds.
To participate in the event, you can observe birds for as little as 15 minutes on a single day during the event or spend as much time counting as you want over several days. You may also count birds in several different places, from your backyard feeder to woodlands, fields or parks anywhere wild birds are found.
Almost anything to do with the history and traditions of Pennsylvania interests me greatly, but Groundhog Day is one notable exception to that fascination.
The group's website provides a wealth of information and online resources about the event and birding in general. In addition to all the instructions about participating in it, you can download a regional bird checklist, which lists all the birds that are likely in this area during February. There are even educational materials available for teachers who might be interested in making participation in the GBBC a class science project.
One of the most worthwhile aspects of the project is it offers anyone who enjoys wild birds the opportunity to provide researchers with important information about bird distribution and populations.


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Stock Image: Timberline Green
The all-new 2019 Kawasaki MULE PRO-MX™ EPS brings a mid-size option to the MULE PRO Series. With the muscle to cover more ground in less time, and the capability to get out for some fun, the MULE PRO-MX EPS is the right size for work or play. The MULE PRO-MX EPS comes equipped with speed-sensitive EPS and two LED auxiliary headlamps complementing two halogen headlamps. To top it off, it's backed confidently by the Kawasaki STRONG 3-Year Limited Warranty.
**Curb weight includes all necessary materials and fluids to operate correctly, full tank of fuel (more than 90 percent capacity) and tool kit (if supplied). KAWASAKI CARES: Always wear protective gear appropriate for the use of this vehicle. Never operate under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Protect the environment. The Kawasaki MULE™ side x side is an off-highway vehicle only, and is not designed, equipped, or manufactured for use on public streets; roads or highways. Obey the laws and regulations that control the use of your vehicle. Read Owner's Manual and all on-product warnings. © Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. Specifications subject to change.


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Food & Drink
What is it like to land a plane at the world's busiest airport?
By • Published 17th January 2014
The world's busiest airport is not in New York or London, but Atlanta. Whatever way it is measured -- passenger traffic or airplane movements -- Atlanta's international airport tops the ranking.
More than 95 million passengers passed through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2012, according to Airports Council International's latest report that was released last year. The airport also boasts the highest number of takeoffs and landings, with 930,000 flight movements in 2012.
With such sheer volume, navigating an aircraft there can be a great challenge. Tom Staigle, chief pilot of Delta, whose main main hub is at Atlanta, compares the airport to "a congested freeway."
"We have on a clear day, 120 airplanes per hour flying in and out of here, so you have to be on your toes," Staigle says.
Atlanta has five runways that are kept busy with aircraft's comings and goings. Pilots need to pay attention even when they are on the ground.
CNN Business Traveller, go behind the scenes at Atlanta International Airport and see what makes it work.
CNN's Richard Quest goes behind the scenes at Delta Air Lines' Atlanta hangers, where engineers fix and maintain their planes.
CNN's Richard Quest looks at the relationship between Atlanta International Airport and Delta Airlines.
How do you manage the constant flow of flights at the world's busiest airport? The key is communication. And coffee.
"You have to be careful to ensure you're on the correct taxiway and you don't end up on a runway," says Delta pilot Stuart Kenny, "or do something else and taxi to the wrong place as you're getting ready for takeoff."
MORE: A day in the life of the world's busiest airport
To give an idea how daunting it is to fly from and into Atlanta, Kenney takes CNN Business Traveller to a flight simulator.
As a plane approaches Atlanta, a pilot would see the airport's multiple runways, a field of aircraft and a multitude of activities.
"You'd see aircraft in front of you, see aircraft over here on the north complex," says Kenny, "see aircraft taking off at the far end, and you'd see guys turning onto the south runways."
That's why those in the cockpit need to work closely with those in the airport control tower.
"Air traffic control and the pilots are working together," says Kenney, "so you have to monitor all these targets and make sure nobody incurs into your air space and causes a problem."
As the result, "the radio traffic is daunting, says Kenney. "The radio calls are constant, so you have to listen carefully."
MORE: Where are the world's busiest airports?
And it is not just about managing landings and takeoffs. "Think about the bags, and transferring passengers from all over the world," Staigle says. "Not only do they get where they need to be on time most of the time, but their bags come with them, and it's a pleasant experience."
The world's busiest airport is not among the world's best, however. Of the 100 airports listed in Skytrax's 2013 World Airport Awards ranking, Atlanta's is at No. 48, though it's also named one of the most improved airports.
For many pilots, their first landing in Atlanta is likely to be an unforgettable experience. "It was really busy. I was a young co-pilot, and I was probably sweating a gallon of water," Kenney recalls.
As soon as they landed, he had to go through the after-landing checklist and talked on the radio. "There's no time to savor the experience," says Kenney.
It is the world's busiest airport, after all.
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Dietary supplements are big news at the minute and Beano is one of the brands that's on the rise and that people are beginning to use. We will investigate this product in detail and work out if it is any good or whether the hype is over-rated. There are of course many other forms of dietary supplement in the market so there is a wide range of choice.
Beano is purchased in the form of tablets in a bottle and claims to offer various benefits to the consumer with regards to aiding the digestive system. It is designed to be sold to those people that have regular internal problems such as excess gas or bloating when eating food. The product first hit the shelves in 1990 but has been revised several times and evolved with modern medicine to better treat the user.
The Claim
Beano claims that their product can "prevent gas before it starts" which is a huge plus to those people that are unfortunately prone to getting that horrible bloated feeling when they eat gassy food such as broccoli, cabbage and peas etc. Beano also claim that their product is unique as it contains natural enzymes which are used to break down and digest the complex molecules that carbohydrates are made of.
The Hype
Many fruits and vegetables are full of gas and can leave the consumer with an irritating gassy stomach after eating. This is a big downside to eating healthy and can cause some people to turn away from such good nutrition in favour of fried or processed foods that leave the stomach less bloated but much worse for overall health. The beauty of Beano is that is promotes healthy eating and will encourage those with delicate digestive systems to continue or return to a healthy diet.
The hype comes from the statement that there will be no gas. This is quite misleading as you'll likely still experience some gas, just not at the level that you would have had you not taken the product.
The Cost
The recommended retail price for a bottle of 50 capsules is $29.99. The prescribed consumption is 2 tablets before a gassy meal and assuming that you have 1 big meal a day, a bottle should last 25 days. Therefore it will cost just over $30 a month for full usage. This is a rather hefty price tag to be gas free.
The Commitment
This product requires little commitment as it simply needs the user to take a pill prior to consuming any foods that are likely to cause problems internally. Grains, vegetables and bean food products are the most likely contributors to internal gas and bloated bellies and so the user will simply need to identify when this type of food is being consumed and take a supplement. It can be tricky to start a regimen of taking pills daily, but once established can become a habit requiring little thought.
Beano is available in a tablet form that is intended to be swallowed as well as a melt away version which does as it says and melts in the mouth and is then digested by the stomach. This product is a particular plus to those people that struggle to swallow pills.
The product will not make you lose any weight but will allow you to resume a balanced healthy diet by preventing the build-up of nasty gasses. Doctors have often recommended Beano as a non-prescriptive means for curing this symptom. Beano can also be used by people that are as young as 12 and in some case can also be given to children that are even younger after seeking medical advice.
Does Beano Really Work?
Beano has generally received highly positive reviews from those people that have bought the product and added it into their diet. Many people say that they have tried several alternatives but none have been effective in preventing the build-up of gas and leaving people bloated all day long through simply trying to eat the right kinds of food.
Our Recommendation
Beano is highly reccomended as a problem for sorting out digestive bloatedness. It is worth buying even if the initial purchase is for a small batch and tried for a month before commiting to it as a long-term solution for a gassy belly. It is definitely worth a shot as so many positive reviews and with doctors highly recommending Beano, it must be a great product.