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United gives sick kids a Christmas to remember
For 60 seriously ill children and their siblings, the North Pole was just a 30-minute flight away. And Santa Claus was waiting to greet them.
Santa's Fantasy Sleigh Ride was a gift that United Airlines employees gave to Starlight Children's Foundation for its Great Escapes, a program that gives seriously ill children and their families the opportunity to create memorable experiences outside of the hospital to take their minds off their illnesses.
The participants boarded a United jet at Denver International Airport for a 30-minute ride that ended at the North Pole — a UAL hangar decorated for the holidays. Santa Claus was awaiting their arrival, and after listening to individual wishes, he and his elves distributed gifts to all.
"Our Santa's Fantasy Sleigh Ride delivers a playful, fun experience for children, which is in line with our mission to provide positive experiences for seriously ill children," saiys Becky Gutrich, chair of the Starlight Foundtation board. "This event is made possible through the generous employees at United Airlines and creates a one-of-a-kind experience for our kids and their families." Some of the participating children are fighting cancer; others are waiting for organ transplants.
About Great Escapes
Starlight created the Great Escapes family activities program to provide families with the chance to spend quality time together — away from the hospital — so that they can relax and regroup, and return home with a new-found sense of strength and hope. In addition, everyone in the family is able to meet others who are facing similar challenges, reducing their feelings of isolation. This community-building bolsters spirits, provides outlets for buried emotions, and provides a vital support system during the most difficult times in a family's life. Outings include ball games, picnics, cruises, spa days and movie premiers. Starlight, corporate sponsors and individual donors underwrite all costs. For more information, click here: www.starlight.org/greatescapes.
About Starlight Children's Foundation
When a child or teenager has a serious medical condition, everyone in the family is affected. For 25 years, Starlight Children's Foundation™ has been dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. Starlight's programs have been proven to distract children from their pain, help them better understand and manage their illnesses, and connect families facing similar challenges so that no one feels alone. Through a network of offices, Starlight provides ongoing support to children, parents and siblings in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces with an array of outpatient, hospital-based and Web offerings. Programs are also delivered internationally through affiliates in Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom.
To learn more visit http://www.starlight.org
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or email@example.com; also, GetItWrite on Twitter


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This loop pack includes 83 audio guitar loops. The preview includes a cross sections of loops. All of the loops in the preview are played twice (back-to-back), so you can hear how clean the roll-over is for each loop. These loops work well as backgrounds for web pages, power points, digital slideshows, etc. To use these loops to there full potential, try a software program like Sony Acid. They offer a free version:
Note: The download is not a trial, but a full working free version that they offer. The free version includes some basic drum and bass loops. You can combine the free loops that they provide with my guitar loops to create complete songs and original loops of your own.All of my audio loops are "Acidized" and include a corresponding "SFK" file. The SFK files are data files for use with programs like Sony Acid, Pro Tools and other high end recording software. The SFK files include important information that recording programs can use to determine and display:
- Tempo (The original BPM)
- Key (The original musical key for each loop)
- Beat Map settings (Other advanced information depending on the program you open the loop with)
- Bit Rate (All of my loops are mastered @ 1411kbps)
- Audio Sample Size (All of my loops are mastered in 16 bit stereo)
- Audio Sample Rate (All of my loops are mastered @ 44 khz)
- Audio Format (All of my loops are .wav PCM for the highest quality possible)
Note: if you purchase any of my files and need help, just shoot me an email or post a comment. I'm always happy to help…
Preview some of my other music on Audio Jungle:
Music & Loop Packs:
Heavy Textures Guitar Loops
Warm Spaces Guitar Loops
Single Songs & Loops:
Guitar Rewind
Ethereal G
Appeggian Jungle
Power Up Dance Beat

subset: commoncrawl


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I'll bet you've never given any thought to the connection between the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" and the U.S. Senate. Neither have I, until recently.
Directed by David Lean and with Peter O'Toole in the title role, "Lawrence of Arabia" was far and away the blockbuster movie of 1962. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won seven, including best picture.
Lawrence was a lieutenant in the British Army stationed in Cairo as World War I began. At its outset, Europe had divided itself into two vast and opposing alliances. The Triple Entente included Great Britain, France, Russia and the Arab rebels. The Triple Alliance included Germany, Austria-Hungary and what remained of the once proud Ottoman Empire, which included Turkey and most of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs chafed under Ottoman rule, and the British, anxious to protect the Suez Canal, sought to exploit the restive Arab rebels.
Lawrence was the perfect man for the job. He was expert in his knowledge of the Bedouins. His loyalties were deeply divided between Britain and the Arab rebels. He was charismatic, daring and self-absorbed to a fault.
Near the end of the movie, with the Ottoman Turks in retreat, Lawrence and his Arab mercenaries encounter a column of Turkish soldiers. The slaughter that ensues is ghastly and is undertaken in reprisal of the Turks having recently annihilated all the inhabitants of the nearby town of Tafas.
As Lawrence and his men charge the Turks, Lawrence cries, "NO PRISONERS, NO PRISONERS." The Turkish column is butchered.
Lawrence, his dishdasha spattered with blood, is in a surreal, mad trance brought on by the sheer joy of what he has done. In his book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," T.E. Lawrence refers to the incident and says, "In a madness born of the horror of Tafas we killed and killed."
Lawrence and his Arab followers outpace the British Army to Damascus. But even with his inspirational leadership, the Arab rebels can't even agree on how to keep the lights on in the city. They leave Damascus to the British Army and melt back into the desert. The Arab Spring will have to wait for at least another century.
So what's all this got to do with the Senate? Plenty. Now don't get me wrong. If we were to send NCIS' forensic specialist, Abby Sciuto, into the Senate Chamber to analyze the carpeting, she would not find samples of blood. But that doesn't mean that something lethal isn't going on there. It is!
And it is a lethality that is almost completely disguised by the Senate's rules, procedures and obsession with the appearance of decorum. But for the Senate to work, it must be able to forge bipartisan alliances on major legislation. That means there must be a large cadre of senators from both parties who are willing to compromise. That cadre is shrinking, and shrinking rapidly. It's a casualty of the Senate's current mantra: NO PRISONERS, NO PRISONERS.
In the 2010 election cycle, 12 senators chose not to run, the highest number in 75 years. This year, another 10 will be gone. And many of the them are the ones whose careers are replete with bipartisan compromise. What's being lost is the connective tissue that holds the Senate together and enables it to function.
No single loss even approaches the magnitude of the loss in 2009 of Sen. Edward Kennedy to brain cancer. Although many don't know it, especially here in the South, Kennedy had no peer when it came to forging workable legislative accommodation on bills that were intensely controversial.
Without doubt, his highest priority was achieving health care reform. His work on it began in the early 1970s as chairman of the Health Subcommittee, and it never ended. Had he been in the Senate in 2009-2010, the course of the legislation would have been profoundly altered — for the better. Would he have openly opposed President Barack Obama? Of course not. But behind the scenes a different, better, bipartisan bill would have taken shape.
Here's a sampler of why senators are retiring:
Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said: "There is too much partisanship and not enough progress, too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving."
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said figuratively of Congress: "I think we have to blow the place up."
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said: "I have spoken on the floor of the Senate for years about the dysfunction and political polarization in the institution. ... There is no practical incentive for 75 percent of the senators to work across party lines."
Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., the man who was appointed to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, denounced the raw politics in the Senate.
Make no mistake about it, the long knives are drawn, and the Senate is hemorrhaging. And don't believe for a moment that all the blame is attributable to the Republicans and the tea party. The responsibility for this institutional crisis rests squarely on the shoulders of both parties, and the Democrats have the majority.
You have to look no further than the two leaders, Democrat Harry Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell, to find the heart of the problem. Think of them as pathetic versions of Lawrence of Arabia and the Turkish commander at Tafas.
How do those two bozos hold power? They get it from bozos like Kay Hagan and Richard Burr, who get their power from bozos like us!
The Shadow's rereading "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," but Goldman can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Senate's mantra: 'No prisoners'
I'll bet you've never given any thought to the connection between the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" and the U.S. Senate. Neither have I, until recently.


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David Moyes says Wayne Rooney will not be leaving Manchester United this summer.
Rooney's future has been the subject of intense debate ever since former boss Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that he had put in the second transfer request of his Old Trafford career on the last day of the 2012/13 season.
Since then rumours have been rife that he could be on his way out of Old Trafford, with the likes of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich all said to have been circling.
Speaking in his first official press conference since being named as Ferguson's successor, Moyes moved to dismiss the rumours, insisting that the England striker is going nowhere.
"Wayne Rooney is not for sale. He's a Manchester United player and will remain a Manchester United player. Wayne won't be sold by Manchester United," the Scot said.
"We are working together now. I have seen a glint in his eye, he looks happy and looks as if he is going to knuckle down."
Despite the former Everton boss's claims he refused to confirm whether Rooney, who has two years left on his current contract, has reiterated his desire to stay put.
Rooney's relationship with Ferguson is believed to have soured towards the end of the Scot's time in charge.
Ferguson, who dropped Rooney for a key Champions League fixture against Real Madrid, reportedly questioned Rooney's fitness, while the 28-year-old is said to have been angry his ex-boss for saying he had handed in a transfer request.
"We are working and trying everything to get Wayne to the level where everybody can benefit," continued Moyes. "I can tell you categorically Wayne is training fantastically well."
Moyes refused to respond to questions about Manchester United's transfer plans, which reportedly include moves for Everton's Leighton Baines, superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Thiago Alcantara.


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Vitamin D-tail – a guest blog from Eileen in ItalyApril 12, 2013 at 10:44 pm | Posted in arthrits, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, joint pai | 1 Comment
Tags: aches, broken bones, doctor, GP, joint pain, NHS, osteoporosis, pain, polymyalgia rheumatica, R.A., rhematoid arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), rheumatology, rickets, stiffness, sunshine, vitamin D
I'm calling this Vitamin D-tail because it's vitamin D in detail. I suppose it could have been Vitamin D-tale – the tale of vitamin D, but anyway, after my rambling and vague post about Vitamin D, Eileen in Italy posted a rather long comment, which I suggested we expand into a guest post, and here it is.
Eileen is a graduate of physiology and worked in the NHS before moving abroad. She has polymyalgia rheumatica, and spends a lot of her time making medical stuff comprehensible for other sufferers. As you will see below, she has a knack for this!
Vitamin D – you'll probably have seen a lot in the media over the last few months. You might even have asked your doctor about it and probably got a dismissive "You get all you need from diet and sun and it isn't important." In the words of the song: "that ain't necessarily so!"
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D isn't really a vitamin – it is something called a pro-hormone and is made in the skin by the action of the sun's rays on cholesterol and stored in the liver to be used to make a variety of different hormones. It is very important for the way the body uses calcium – without enough vit D you may have a low level of calcium in your blood and, in the long term, you may not build bone properly.
Why do we need it?
The original importance of vit D was seen as preventing rickets in children and it helps prevent osteoporosis in adults. However – that isn't all: it is now thought that it is involved in many processes in the body and being deficient can give you aches and pains in your muscles and joints and contribute to depression and may be particularly significant in autoimmune disorders. More and more research is suggesting, too, that the amount we need is really much higher than what they have been saying for years.
Where do we get it from?
Many GPs still believe you get vit D from food – in fact you get less than 10% of even the amount they say you need in food. It is found in oily fish, salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna, for example. It is highest in wild fish – and even then you would need half a pound of salmon every day to get what you need – but much lower in farmed fish so you would need more. Tinned tuna in oil has far less than fresh – and the "healthy" version in water has almost none left because of the canning process. Other than that you could have a 17 egg omelette for lunch, or a couple of kilos of mushrooms. When you see in an article that "fortified" foods provide vit D that mainly applies for the USA where milk, orange juice and cereals have vit D added to them. Not so in the UK where margarine is described as fortified – but only so that it has the same amount of vit D as butter! The food with the highest level of vit D is fish oils – maybe great grandma knew something when she got the bottle and spoon out! But you must not rely on cod liver oil – it also has a lot of vitamin A in it and that is dangerous if you take too much.
The main way to get enough is being out in the sun: about 20% of your skin needs to be exposed to the sun between about 11am and 3pm in order to be able to manufacture enough. But there are problems with this in the modern world and living in northern climes. The skin factory is most efficient at the age of 20, from then on it starts to slow down gradually anyway until at age 70 it is at less than 25% capacity. As you get older, you wear more clothes and spend more time indoors during the middle of the day doing boring things like work, looking at that lovely sunshine through the window – which blocks the essential wavelengths of light. When you do go out you use sunscreen – many foundations now contain Factor 15 and even Factor 8 sunscreen reduces the amount made by over 90%. And we have had it drummed into us that we shouldn't go out in the midday sun and always "slip, slap, slop". Anyone living north of Turin in northern Italy is so far from the equator that between October and May they won't make enough vit D from the sun – the sun's rays have to strike your skin at a high angle to flick the switch to turn the machine on, once your shadow is longer than you are tall – the sun isn't strong enough. The further you are north, the less you make. So that means that you have to store it up between May and September – and then you get a summer like last year! In children, all this is added to by the fear of letting children out to play and their desire to play on computers rather than on the swings. And if you have dark skin or a suntan – your skin factory takes even longer to make vit D.
What are the issues if we don't get enough?
I live in northern Italy, just slightly north of the level of Turin, and it is reckoned by our local osteoporosis expert that even here more than 80% of the population (both men and women) are vit D deficient and that increases a lot of risks as they age. Obviously most people know about osteoporosis and resultant broken bones – but fewer know about its role in muscle health. Severe deficiency can lead to similar stiffness and aches to those that many people with arthritises are familiar with. A few weeks of very high doses may improve that dramatically. It is something that should always be checked to rule it out with regard to one particular arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, as the symptoms are so similar. There's nothing to say you aren't suffering from both, but improving your vit D status rules out one cause. As we age we tend to fall more (another factor increasing your fracture risk) and studies have shown that improving vit D levels reduces the number of falls and broken bones the elderly have as well as improving their balance in general, walking and ability to get up from chairs unaided. In fact, it is thought that simply making sure residents in homes are drinking plenty and improving their vit D would prevent a large proportion of the falls that are so common and can lead to hospitalisation.
Getting a test
A request to your GP to check your vit D level is often met with some degree of scorn but anyone with an autoimmune disease should have it checked because low vit D and autoimmune disease are associated but it isn't known whether it is cause or effect – and everyone who is told to take "bone protection" medications (bisphosphonates or alendronic acid) should also have their vit D and calcium levels checked first because they don't work if you are low on either and they can reduce your calcium levels even further and make you ill. It is stated in the drug information by the manufacturers – some doctors tend to think they know better. Someone I know was allowed to have her vit D checked with a very patronising attitude by the GP: "It's very expensive you know, about £200". It isn't, it costs about £25 and, as a last resort, a hospital in the Midlands offers it to anyone by post as well as to NHS hospitals!
What do you do once you know what your vit D level is?
The level at which you are said to be deficient varies from one NHS Trust to another. As an example, however, Gateshead Trust in the northeast of England recommends a range of 48 -144 nmol/litre as being adequate. Below 25 they say it should be treated with high dose vit D3 – and by high dose they mean 60,000 IU a week for 12 weeks! That, of course, needs to be done under medical supervision although if you are very deficient the likelihood of adverse effects is not very high. Between 25 and 50 they recommend supplements of 1,000-2,000 IU a day for 12 weeks, and it is easy and relatively cheap to obtain tablets for that sort of dose from Boots or Holland&Barrett. Once you are what they describe as "replete" you should continue with 800-1,000 IU/day, especially in the winter but also if you are not getting out into the sun much. Even with supplements some people find their vit D level falls quite rapidly so having your vit D checked every year or if any symptoms that disappeared with being given vit D return may be a good idea.
Be careful though: if you are on the standard "calcichew" supplements given to you if you take prednisolone, do not just take extra tablets to increase your vit D intake (whatever your doctor suggests). Taking calcium and vit D supplements together can sometimes cause kidney stones or "grit" which can irritate your bladder. You need some extra calcium because of taking prednisolone (it makes you lose more in your urine) but too much is not a good thing. If you need more vit D than the 800 IU in two tablets then buy pure vit D tablets and take both. You should not take more than 4,000 IU of vit D a day unless your doctor tells you to but 2,000 IU is a perfectly safe dose for most adults.
And if you want to top up your vit D the skin way: it is safe to stay in the sun with no sunscreen for about 10 minutes, or the time it takes to start to get a tiny bit pink and warm and Cancer UK has issued some guidelines for safe sun exposure rather than the previous "don't go out in the sun" mantra. Low vit D has also been associated with depressive mood and with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) but going out in the sun for a walk will achieve a lot in terms of making you feel better. All the UK needs now is some sun!
A few references:
http://pain-topics.org/pdf/vitamind-report.pdf Pain relief through vitamin D
http://updates.pain-topics.org/2012/07/vitamin-d-current-research-roundup.html Update
http://updates.pain-topics.org/2012/06/vitamin-d-prevents-falls-disability-in.html ditto
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Besides being a working ranch there are cabin rentals, horseback riding and fishing.
I didn't have time for all of that but I did tour The Little House Museum which was a delight.
The museum is filled with treasures, all beautifully displayed.
The buggy John Wayne used on his ranch and in some of his movies. Wayne's ranch is just down the road from the X-Diamond.
The displays show the life of the pioneers who settled that part of Arizona when it was still a territory.
The music display includes a Nickelodeon with old saloon music.
Visit X-Diamond Ranch to learn more about the history and services of this beautiful setting.
To learn more about the A to Z Blogging Challenge go here.


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Wiregrass cotton grower J.P. Kelly summed up the mood at the 2005 Wiregrass Expo, held in Dothan, Ala. Appearing as one of the panelists for a discussion titled "Making a Profit on the Farm," Kelley quipped that a more apt description would be "Looking for Farm Survivability."
Survival is a word repeated often among southeast Alabama cotton producers these days, thanks to an unusually large worldwide surplus of cotton that has depressed prices. The on-going debate about the future of farm subsidies has only added to growers' concerns.
It's ironic in one sense considering that in terms of yield, 2004 was an amazing crop year, according to Robert Goodman, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System economist and one of the featured speakers at this year's expo. In the United States alone, producers turned out more than 23 million bales. Worldwide, the final tally stood at 115 million bales — a total Goodman concedes he scarcely would have imagined only a year ago.
The levels attest to the enormous technological leaps that have occurred in cotton farming, not only in the United States but throughout the world. Yet, there's a downside.
"It's the fundamental law of supply and demand at work here," Goodman says.
"When cotton supply goes down, prices go up," he explains. "But when we produce too much of something — too much corn, soybeans and cotton — ending supplies and prices go down."
With a 40-million-bale carryover of worldwide cotton stocks from last year, cotton producers face seriously depressed prices.
"We've got to find a way to become more profitable in cotton — profit is the bottom line," says Jimmy Jones, Henry County Extension coordinator who specializes in agronomic crops. "Every single facet of a farming operation has to be looked at, from land rent prices to how much diesel fuel they have to run through their tractors and pickup trucks."
In a period of depressed prices, part of this will involve squeezing operating costs even further — something with which Jim Carver, a Blakely, Ga., cotton and peanut grower is all too familiar.
Carver's first rule of thumb is simple: "matching his production system with what the land will produce."
Marginal land is reserved for narrow-row cotton.
"We don't try to treat it like a stepchild," Carver says. "We just put enough money in the crop so we know we can get a yield out of it."
Even so, Carver and his business partner consistently garner 700 to 850-pound yields with their narrow-row cotton.
With bedded cotton, he says he strives to limit the trips across the field to one harrow and one field cultivation, followed by bedding and planting.
In an effort to reduce his debt load and overhead, Carver and his business partner also have sold newer farm equipment and replaced it with older model equipment.
He also counts himself fortunate that his father, a retired service manager for John Deere, agreed to come to work servicing and maintaining his farm equipment.
Offering one last piece of parting advice, Carver stressed that it is vital for producers to look at everything from the standpoint of matching the production system with soil type.
"There's no one system that works every time. It just involves sound management."
Marking its sixth year, the Wiregrass Cotton Expo has developed into one of the most well attended and comprehensive annual cotton meetings in the Deep South, attracting producers from Alabama, Georgia and Florida. An estimated 175 growers participated in this year's meeting.
In addition to cotton productivity, speakers also discussed new weed control technologies, insect control and newly available cotton varieties.


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Russell here. I've been feeling left out of PZ Myers' series on how people became atheists, but I thought it would be greedy of me to try to guest post on his blog when we've got our own. So instead, I'm posting my own story here.
My parents are both of Jewish cultural/ethnic backgrounds, with roots in Germany and Eastern Europe. They are also both more or less atheists — my dad more, my mom a bit less.
Continued below the fold…
Mom has some attachment to reform Judaism as well as some new agey "spiritual" tendencies, although on the whole I still think of her as being more skeptical than most people's parents. My dad and I used to occasionally get taken to temple and we would sit in the back together, making jokes under our breath. Nevertheless, my mom's influence won out enough to have me bar mitzvahed and to send me through three years of Jewish summer camp, both of which I still view as generally positive and enjoyable experiences. If nothing else, I can still read and sound out Hebrew writing, although my vocabulary is next to nothing.
I first became aware that atheism wasn't "normal" when I started going to Kindergarten in Alabama, where just about everyone I knew was a Christian — except for some connections my parents made through a Unitarian church. Kindergartners are not well equipped to handle theological debates, so one day after getting in an argument with a friend, I came to my dad, confused. "Daddy, if there is no God then do we think that 'the nothing' made the world?" I asked. I don't remember many details of that conversation, but I assume that he explained some scientific background, and then threw in some background about religious beliefs and why so many people have them. He is, after all a scientist, and anyway that's what I would do now.
I don't remember encountering many serious challenges to my atheism until college. When you're a kid, everything seems very black and white anyway; the information you get from your family is just stuff you "know" to be true. Getting older, I got in a few minor arguments with Christians in the high school debate club, but I also had quite a few unbelieving friends, so it wasn't much. My freshman biology teacher skipped over teaching evolution, which my dad raised a stink about, but I didn't have enough familiarity with the topic to care as much as I should have at that point. In senior year, my favorite teacher created a humanities class which brought in representatives of various religions, and my dad became their designated atheist for about 15 years. Unfortunately, I didn't register for the class myself, but I've seen his talk and it's generally well received.
In college I met a much broader base of people. There was a Mormon in my freshman dorm, who wound up leaving school after a year to go on a mission. I started to encounter religious tracts challenging evolution for the first time. There are a lot of advertisements for churches and religious groups around college campuses. I started encountering those delightfully crazy outdoor preachers who set up shop in a populous area and yell at people to repent.
And, of course, there was the internet. Back in 1993 it was a brand new thing to most people, and there were still a number of private dial-up networks that people signed up for. My family joined the Prodigy network, and I joined the "Teens" board and ran smack into a roiling mass of religious conflict. Needless to say, I dived right in, made myself a stupid screen name, and started offending kids right and left. It was great!
After all this exposure, I experienced a period of self-reflection. After all, I'd been an outspoken atheist all my life, and college is a time when you start re-examining your key assumptions. I saw church marquees as I walked to and from the beach which posed Pascal's Wager to me: can you really take the chance that you might be wrong? And I asked myself: The vast majority of people I've ever met have believed in some kind of God. Surely, I wondered, mustn't there be some kind of basis for this belief? How would I know if I was wrong?
So I started trying to approach the question scientifically. First thing I did was dabbled in prayer. There's no shortage of reasons to pray in college. There's that hot girl on the fifth floor and I'm still a virgin. (My concept of a potential god didn't include quite so many sexual hang-ups.) There's a tough test coming up, and I'm not sure I'll pass this class.
Prayer didn't help me get a date — as a nerd, it took a few years of self-improvement for me to figure out how THAT field of study works — but it did seem to help with school work. I noticed that after praying for support on a test, I felt calmer and more confident about my chances, and reducing the level of panic helped me focus better. But as tempting as it was to give God credit for that kind of minor success, I recognized that it hadn't been a good test.
So I picked something specific and unlikely, but within the realm of possibility. I prayed: Some time in the next week, I'm going to get a sign. Someone is going to walk up to me and give me a big cookie. No explanation, no reason, no strings attached. Just hand it to me and walk away. I said that if this happens, I'll give a shot to that Christian church I saw with the Pascal's Wager marquee. I figured that it was weird enough that it would be a respectable sign, but not outrageous enough to be seen as demanding favors.
It didn't happen, so I finally said to myself "Okay, I'm not the crazy one." And over time, I dropped the idea of praying for help and accepted my atheism as the best bet about how reality works.
I'm not going to hide the truth here: I became an atheist because my family was full of atheists, and I agreed with them. Going along with your family is not a good reason to be a believer, and it's not a better reason to be an unbeliever either. But since then, I feel like I've given religion as fair and objective a hearing as I could manage, and I've never found any good reason to switch teams. I don't accept faith as a good reason to believe something, and I think even most evangelists acknowledge, deep down, that there is not much in the way of evidence or justification for picking their religion. I've got a great community of supportive friends here in Austin, and I've never been unhappy with the fruits of skepticism and disbelief.


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TSA Says 'You Might Be A Terrorist If... You Complain About The TSA'
from the seriously-guys? dept
"Very arrogant and expresses contempt against airport passenger procedures."An ACLU person quoted in the article wonders if this violates the First Amendment, in that it's going after someone for expressing their opinion:
"Expressing your contempt about airport procedures -- that's a First Amendment-protected right," said Michael German, a former FBI agent who now works as legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "We all have the right to express our views, and particularly in a situation where the government is demanding the ability to search you."Honestly, you'd have to think that a real terrorist or criminal, hoping to avoid calling attention to themselves, wouldn't be openly hostile to the search procedure, but would try to be quiet and blend in. Perhaps the TSA will defend this latest ridiculousness by saying it's all okay because it's standard operating procedure.
"It's circular reasoning where, you know, I'm going to ask someone to surrender their rights; if they refuse, that's evidence that I need to take their rights away from them. And it's simply inappropriate," he said.


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The marquee features a square double cover design. It measures 15.5-inches when closed and has a 42-inch arc. The umbrella includes an automatic opening, windproof frame, pongee polyester, black rubber spray handle, matching sleeve with color pull tab.
Pricing & Options
Customize your product based on the available color options and decorating methods. If you need more information, simply add this product to the Wish List and we will get back to you with answers.


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Press & Reviews
Online Coverage:
Magazine Coverage:
Professional Testimonials:
"Pitterpac give yummy mummies exactly what they need with their luxurious yet incredibly functional arm candy……….
The sleek designer exterior hides incredible attention to detail and provides everything that a changing bag should and more.
Pitterpac's gorgeous styles and colours are absolutely on trend, it's a bag that could and should be used a long time after you need to carry nappies etc"
- Sam Shorten
The Baby Show & London Fashion show Stylist
"Dear Pitterpac,
Thank you for my beautiful changing bag. Not only have I had lots of compliments from my mummy friends but I can't believe just how much I can actually fit inside the bag! As a mummy of a new born and a 30 month daughter I need to carry so much around with me day to day. Now I can do it and look fashionable at the same time.
Thanks again for making me feel stylish once again!" - Helen Mum to 30 month old daughter
"As a busy working mum, I use my Warwick bag as a laptop tote during the week and as a changing bag at weekends so I am able to stay organised whether in work or Mummy mode! The high quality leather and the rich red colour works equally well with my smart workwear and killer heels, or with jeans at the weekends. The changing accesory pac is brilliantly designed - everything you need for effortless nappy changing!" - Sophie Mum of Alex (2 years)
As worn by:


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Join the Ionia County Peace Community beginning at 5 p.m. at Ionia First United Methodist Church to celebrate our community!
By Penny Beeman
The Ionia County Peace Community would like to invite you to join us for an evening of food, fun, and festivities to honor MLK Jr. Day! We will begin with a Potluck Dinner at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20, have a moment of silence for Newtown and prayer time for PEACE, and enjoy listening to some great entertainment and speakers. This event is open to the whole community!
The Ionia County Peace Community also wishes to thank the Ionia First United Methodist Church for opening their doors to host the 2013 MLK Jr. Day Dinner. This is the fourth year the Peace Community has put on this event, which has traveled between three churches in an attempt to include everyone regardless of cultural or religious beliefs!
Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. Visit MLKDay.gov.
MLK Day of Service Activities
Millions of Americans will come together on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Jan. 21, 2013, in a day of national service and dialogue to honor the memory of Dr. King. Dr. King had a dream that one day all people would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as called for in the Declaration of Independence. Dr. King called for social justice and opportunity. He asked that we bridge differences and come together in unity.
Since Dr. King was assassinated, tremendous social progress has been made, but much remains unfinished. Americans believe that people have the power to make positive change – in cities struggling with poverty and high unemployment rates – in families where people are going hungry – and in school districts where more than half of our children aren't graduating from high school.
With many communities struggling to find financial and human service, volunteer service can be a powerful force. Neighbors helping neighbors, young helping old, employees offering skills and companies investing in communities where they do business. We dream of the day in which everyone is actively involved in making a better America.
Our MLK Jr. Day Projects
1. Will engage children using key talking points on Martin Luther King, Jr., his vision and ideals, personal service, and community and peace in general.
2. Read a book that compliments these themes.
3. Provide all children being read to with a bookmark giving them some simple steps to encourage peace throughout the community.
4. Children will be encouraged to draw what peace looks like to them and share ideas about what they could 'pledge to do' that week to improve their community. Children will be asked to pledge to do one 'ten minute' act of service for someone else each week from then on.
5. PEACE READERS are asked to pledge to volunteer on at least one more service project in the next ten months.
PEACE READERS can choose the school or library they wish to read at. Peace Community Members can help you to choose a school or library if you do not have one. The Reading Event will take place all day on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, A majority of the reading project will be done during school hours, roughly 8am to 3pm, depending on the school's wishes and schedules. The rest will take place at local libraries during their regularly scheduled children's story times in the week before and after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Ionia County Intermediate School District
Monday January 21, 2013
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Is your business, organization, or nonprofit is looking for ways in which you can get involved in National Days of Service volunteer events? HandsOn Connect is the leading resource for online Volunteer Management and Recruitment. This workshop will demonstrate how you can connect with local partners to make a difference in YOUR COMMUNITY!
1. First Christian Church
Saturday January 19, 2013
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ionia Kids Club Members will be starting out this project two days early to apply the first coat of stain to eight garden benches that will be used in area community gardens.
2. Bertha Brock Park
Monday January 21, 2013
1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The Community Food Network is looking for volunteers to complete the bench project by assembling the benches and applying a second layer of stain.
Location To Be Announced
Monday January 21, 2013
Time To Be Announced
The United Way Montcalm-Ionia Counties and Volunteer Connections is looking for community partners to help with this laundry soap project. Supplies are needed and volunteers to help mix the supplies.
1. Bar Soap: This is perfect for schools or classrooms wishing to get involved. Students collect bars of soap the week before MLK Day and spend time shredding the soap on MLK Day.
2. Borax and Washing Soda: This is perfect for businesses or adult groups wishing to get involved. We need approximately 12 boxes of Borax and 12 boxes of Washing Soda. These items can be costly, so this is great for small groups where everyone buys one box! Together ONE can Make a Difference.
3. Volunteers needed on MLK Day to mix the ingredients together and pack for distribution through local food pantries.
To learn more about any of these volunteer projects or to sign up visit HandsOn Connect, email us at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 616-755-8050.
PENNY BEEMAN, a member of the Ionia County Peace Community, works with volunteers in many United Way-supported projects. As coordinator for the Ionia Kids Club, Penny reaches out to teens, giving them a chance to Do Something GREAT in their Community! Her favorite MLK quote and the Kids Club motto: "EVERYBODY can be GREAT! Because EVERYBODY can VOLUNTEER!" www.ioniakidsclub.org


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Capstone Roundtable: State of the Caribbean Renewable Energy Industry
Capping off the discussions throughout CREF, the Capstone Roundtable will feature a panel of experts speaking on the roles of finance, government, project development, utilities, and technology in the Caribbean renewables industry. The event will also provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion on these topics with fellow executives from the power generation, finance, project development, and manufacturing sectors, as well as other key industry stakeholders.
Worldwatch's Climate and Energy Director Alexander Ochs will be a panelist.
This Capstone Roundtable is being held by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) in collaboration with Green Aruba and the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF), and sponsored by LAC-CORE.
There is no cost to CREF participants to attend. To RSVP, please contact Risa Edelman, at email@example.com or (+1) 202-777-7586.
Click here for more information.


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November 21, 2013
Authority issues may arise early in the week. You can handle these thoughts by observing them and letting them go. Listen to some music that fills you with positive vibrations. Soul Affirmation: I see myself as a finisher rather than a starter this week. Lucky Numbers: 14, 40, 46
You have strong physical energy this week. Make the most of it and get a lot of the work done that you've been meaning to get around to. This week's a great week to get around to it! You'll be very pleased at the end of the week with what you have created. Soul Affirmation: I concentrate on the highest possibilities this week. Lucky Numbers: 18, 22, 53
Freedom needs may be high this week. Use your powerful imagination to discover a way to feel freer in your current situation. At least in your personal space, let yourself be free and surrounded by objects and vibes that set your spirit soaring. Soul Affirmation: I speak my mind knowing that truth is my best defense this week. Lucky Numbers: 41, 44, 48
Passing on knowledge, or gaining some new knowledge, preoccupies your fine mind this week. You can teach as well as learn. Look for a way to combine these two activities. It will benefit the many that you attract. Soul Affirmation: I am uplifted by the presence of friends. Lucky Numbers: 7, 28, 29
Details, details, details. They are cluttering up your vision of the big picture. Be patient and deal with one detail at a time. You'll soon see your big picture very clearly again. You are kind, and can be amazingly tolerant. Soul Affirmation: Giving is a luxury that a rich spirit can afford. Lucky Numbers: 8, 54, 55
Lots of wild ideas may occur to you this week, and you may want to act the mental daredevil. Be patient with those who are just learning or who want to do things the way they've always done them. Lead by example. Soul Affirmation: When I feel good about myself, the world feels good to me. Lucky Numbers: 17, 29, 36
A practical solution is at hand to one of your inventions. Give yourself some space to allow the answer to come to you. Any repetitive task, such as weeding the garden or washing the dishes or car, will be conducive to your receiving the solution. Soul Affirmation: I know where I'm going because I know where I've been. Lucky Numbers: 9, 10, 27
You may feel an internal pressure towards responsibility this week. Go with the flow on this and the week will be like a gift. Let your words assist others in becoming more self-responsible. You are a good teacher of right actions. Soul Affirmation: I take it easy on myself this week. Lucky Numbers: 17, 40, 48
Money may come to you from an unlikely source this week. Keep your eyes peeled for opportunity. Let your words this week paint the images of better ways of being in the world for yourself and for those under your care. Soul Affirmation: I invest new faith in everything I do this week. Lucky Numbers: 6, 23, 46
You may decide to visit a friend you haven't seen in a while, or you may hear from one while you are at work. How did they get your number? You'll be pleased to connect again with this person. Soul Affirmation: Things are as I know them to be. Lucky Numbers: 9, 12, 48
You are full of ideas this week, and some of them have practical application. Pick and choose which ones to test as you move through your week. Keep a very positive outlook on all relationships. Soul Affirmation: I find comfort in the familiar. Lucky Numbers: 32, 34, 37
Too much information is as confining as too little information for you. Try to find a balance in your conversations with others. Listen and observe, and you'll learn the thing that you are looking for this week. Soul Affirmation: I enlarge my happiness by forgetting about myself this week. Lucky Numbers: 11, 28, 41


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Pages: 1
How to downgrade Awesome 3.5 to 3.4?
Thanks in advance.
Check teh AUR
Please can you explain more, because I am noob with Arch, I would love to install to experiment, but can not learn the ropes.
Thanks in advance.
Please search first. You should not expect to have your hand held in these forums. Search the wiki (or google) for the Arch User Repository.
Please read the relevant wiki pages. Arch doesn't hold your hand and we expect everyone, newcomers and older hands, to do their own research.
Arch + dwm • Mercurial repos • Github
Registered Linux User #482438
OK thanks will try something to do if I dont succes I will ask here.
Sorry for inconvenience.
Pages: 1


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ROCKFORD — Thanksgiving deals may lead to fewer headaches for store security and law enforcement on Black Friday.
Area representatives from major retailers do not expect there to be fights or mad rushes during one of the busiest shopping days of the year because of the staggered deals, said Rockford Police Lt. Patrick Hoey.
"Now that these stores are doing these relief valves instead of opening up at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, (there isn't) a big push at two or three stores at one time," Hoey said.
He said the department met with retailers and loss prevention specialists earlier this year and created a Web-based portal for sharing information about scams and suspects between businesses and officers. Although this practice had been done informally for years, now there is a one-stop shop for law enforcement and retailers to learn this information.
This communication, along with surveillance equipment, extra staff and check approval systems, help to ward off criminals, says Steve Johnson, a fraud prevention specialist.
Employees are warned of quick-change artists, who present several bills during a transaction to confuse and shortchange the cashier. Workers watch out for short-change artists, too, which are individuals who present a large bill for a small purchase and then claim they didn't receive the correct change back.
"(Scam artists) like to do it when there are lot of people in the store so there is pressure to take care of them and move on to the next customer," Johnson said. "You are trying to balance good customer service with good security measures and those two sometimes conflict."
Primetime Audio/Video, 6917 E. State St., in Rockford, changes the layout of the store to discourage individuals from stealing merchandise. Large items, like televisions, are displayed in the front of the store since it would be difficult to take unnoticed, while smaller items are near the back, Marketing Director Jeff Marsili said.
"We try to keep everything where it isn't grab and go. The whole store is laid out very differently. We have tons of cameras all over," he said.
Mark Peterson, general manager of CherryVale Mall, declined to comment on the mall's security policies or staffing levels on Black Friday.
Jennifer Wheeler: 815-987-1354; email@example.com; @jenmwheeler


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Choose your voucher design:
£50 Millstream Voucher
This voucher may be redeemed against your bill at the Millstream Hotel & Restaurant and Marwick's Brasserie,
We look forward to welcoming you!
PostalVoucher will be packaged and delivered by mail.
Your Voucher will be delivered to you or to the recipient if you choose to specify the recipient's email address.
- There are no restrictions on when your voucher can be delivered. You can choose to have it delivered instantly or at a later date of your choosing.
- Delivery of your voucher by email is free of charge.
- You (or your recipient) will receive an email containing your voucher as you see it in the window above together with a link to download your Voucher at any time.
- Your Voucher is loaded with value and ready to spend in accordance with voucher usage terms.
- After placing your order you will receive a confirmation email that includes your order number together with a link to the Voucher if you need to print it.
- If you have specified a voucher recipient email address other than yourself you will receive notification to confirm when the voucher has been sent by email to your specified recipient.
Please note that advance booking is required when using your gift voucher. Please call us on 01243 573 234.
Kindly notify us at time of booking that this voucher is to be used, and present it to a member of staff on arrival.
Your voucher is non-refundable and no refund is available for part-use.
Redeem locations
- Millstream Hotel & Restaurant, Bosham LaneBosham, Chichester, PO18 8HL, t: 44 (0) 1243 573234 , e: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Expires:
- 23/01/2020
Quantity must be in the range -
You must select at least one option


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Please excuse my long break in posting the next contribution to this mini-series (Part 1 and Part 2). As you have read on my blog I was stuck in the field with lots of snow and other more urgent matters to attend to. Back home I was compiling my few preliminary results to present them.
In a note ahead I recommend reading the two articles referenced at the bottom for details. The topic is rather extensive and my post here is only a small glimps of the issue and far from a complete synthesis. Nevertheless I believe it will suffice to broaden my own and everybody's geological horizons.
Today I would like to discuss some concepts of the paper by Pawellek and Aigner called Dynamic stratigraphy as a tool in economic mineral exploration: ultra-pure limestones (Upper Jurassic, SW Germany) and it's implications for sequence stratigraphy and industrial minerals. Ultra-pure limestones are the resource for many industry uses in the manufacture of glass, paper and many other applications.
Sequence stratigraphy has long played an important role in predicting prospective regions or formations in the hydrocarbon industry, however, it can also be used for other, perhaps less known, approaches in the raw-material exploration.
Knowing the genesis of deposits greatly reduces the time and cost of exploration by focusing only on the most prospective areas. Pawellek and Aigner use concepts of "dynamic stratigraphy" for this, ranging from microfacies analysis, sequence to basin analyses to understand the occurences of ultrapure limestones. They are using reef and particle-rich limestones from the Upper Jurassic as an example.
Microfacies analysis is a good tool to determine depositional environments and the effects of diagenesis and thus also provides information on both the chemical composition and economic potential. For example low-energy carbonate rocks usually have a higher content of clay or other, unwanted matter and are less pure than high-energy rocks like grainstones.
Petrophysical and facies analysis focuses on the chemical-physical properties and is used in characterising the quality.
Architectural analysis allows the reconstruction of shape and volume of a deposit.Sequence analysis highlights the genetic framework and occurence within sedimentary sequences and cycles. Among other things this reveals the levels within the stratigraphic record where economic mineral concentrations could most likely be present.
Last but not least the analysis of stacking patterns and basin analysis allows us to determine regional concentrations and assess the basin-wide scale. A direct step to predicting the possible distribution of profitable facies.
In their paper Pawellek & Aigner examine two major facies of the Upper Jurassic. The so called "normal facies" and the "massive facies". The former consists mainly of well-bedded limestones and calcareous marls, the later has no or at least a very inconsistent bedding and is host of extensive reefs, mounds or bioherms.The two major facies are further divided into sub-categories based on their composition. Within the bedded limestones the particle-rich limestones composed mainly of intraclasts, peloids and ooids are the most pure. In the massive limestones the purest are the coral debris limestones and the stromatolites (+thrombolites). Both with an average CaCO3 content above 98% and reaching-up to 100%. These also have the highest witness index values.
As a sidenote: Due to the variable clay content these rocks have different levels of radioactivity with the purest limestones having the lowest activity and the clay-richest the most active. They show how this implies a correlation between gamma-ray count and facies types.
In sequence analysis facies belts can not only be recognised on a regional scale but also facies zones can be identified within outcrops, cores or logs. Shallowing and deepening would be present in vertical successions of regular cycles. This can be observed.Shallowing-upward and deepening-upward halfcycles show symmetrical facies successions. Considering a wide range of evidence like clay content, organism successions, matrix and ooids content and other evidence this can be attributed to changes in water-energy and waterdepth. As an example upward increases of ooids, size, roundness and sorting can be interpreted as an increase in depositional energy.
Cycles of meter-scale thickness (4 to 10m) can be regionally correlated in Southern Germany. These cycles are referred to as "genetic sequences" that record phases of shallowing followed by deepending. Seven of these have been identified in the Upper Jurassic of Southern Germany. Within these "genetic sequences" ultra-pure limestones are most abundant in zones of highest depositional energy. Clay and other impurities are prevented from settling in these high-energy environments. In general this results in the bioherms and particle-rich limestones to be the purest.
To put this into a sequence stratigraphic framework:
When and where do bioherms and particle-rich limestones - reefs, stromatolites and peloid-ooid-pack- or grainstones form? As outlined we do need a high-energy depositional system with little clastic input and shallow waterdepth. When we think of the succession of depositional environments during sea-level rise and fall the above mentioned criteria are most usually met within the transgressive system tract at the shelf- or platform edge in the form of shoals or reefs. When sea-level rise continues we can expect the development of hardgrounds which are often concentrated along the maximum flooding surface. The production of large amounts of pure carbonate would cease.
We learned (and me, too): The most prospective areas for ultra-pure limestones are genetic sequences of shallowing-upward within the transgressive system tract that show distinct evidence of shallow, high-energy depositional environments close or on the shelf or platform edge.
- Thomas Pawellek and Thomas Aigner (2004): Dynamic Stratigraphy as a tool in economic mineral exploration: ultra-pure limestones (Upper Jurassic, SW Germany), Marine and Petroleum Geology, 21
- C. Robertsen Handford and Robert G. Loucks: Carbonate Depositional Sequences and System Tracts - Respondes of Carbonate Platforms to Relative sea-level change, in Loucks, R, G. and Sarg, Rick, eds., Carbonate sequence stratigraphy: Recent advances and applications: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 57


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Maria Somma, a spokeswoman for the Actors' Equity union in New York, said Friday morning that the Victory Gardens Theater production of "Ameriville" was now being produced under an Equity contract. Cathy Taylor, a Victory Gardens spokeswoman, confirmed that change on Friday.
Victory Gardens is a long-established Equity company in Chicago. The exclusive use of non-union actors in the mainstage production, the debut production of new artistic director Chay Yew, was discussed in a Tribune story posted Thursday.


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NWSB Vancouver Canucks Insider Josh Hall lays the smack down on the wheelings and dealings of the Canucks this Trade Deadline day. He's pretty miffed about Cody Hodgson but agrees Zack Kassian is a good pickup…just not for CoHo. How will Sami Pahlsson help the bottom six forward mix? Why the heck wasn't Mason Raymond traded instead? Check it.
Five Reactions to the Vancouver Canucks 2012 Trade Deadline Deals
February 27, 2012 By


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Hey, I hope this is isn the right forum .. it seemed the most fitting to me. Anyway, I friend of mine came over tonight and was wanting me to help him set some stuff up on his laptop. One of the things he wanted me to do was disable his BIOS password, I went in blanked it out, saved and rebooted. After that it wouldn't let me past the bios password (which should have been gone). I tryed everything, his old password, a single space, all spaces, so on and so on.
So after none of that worked I turned to the internet, after a quick search on google I was able to find posts on various message boards from people that this has happened to with this particular ver. of the BIOS. They change/disable the password, reboot and then can't get back into it. The thing is, out of all those I was never able to find a fix. I searched around and found lists of backdoor passwords, I went through about 40 with no luck. And a search on here only gave me 1 result that didn't have a fix either .
Can anyone give me any ideas? I've thought about trying to get in with a boot disk and resetting it with debug but I want to be sure that I don't damage the machine. I've found a few BIOS password recovery tools but I'm not sure how reliable they are and so on. Worst case scenario I guess would be tearing it open and pulling the battery for a few minutes. I've never taken apart a laptop though and don't know if it's something I'd want to try on someone elses machine.
If any of you can give me any suggestions I would really appreciate it, I could post the code I would use in debug if any of you are familiar with it and could tell me exactly what it does. Here's his BIOS ver.
PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0
and here's his laptop info ..
HP OMNIBOOK XE3 BIOS Version GC.M1.61
Any info would be appreciated.
p.s. I am going to call HP in the morning but I kinda doubt they'd have a fix for me over the phone and I would like to fix it withought sending it back to them if possible.


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< Wildfires
Aug 20, 2013 10:39
Category: General News
Category: General News
5 year old helps save his dad
A 5 year old Spokane boy may have saved his father's life. On Sunday the boy's father had a stroke while driving. They were able to get off the road, but that left the 5 year old to call for help, and he didn't quite know where they were. He called his mom, and then 911 who worked with the cell phone company to narrow in on the car's location. The boy was able to describe to police what it looked outside and that there was a train going by, which led the state patrol to finding the vehicle along side interstate 84 in northeast Oregon. The father is expected to survive.


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On the show tonight appearing @Packard_Sonic, as your host & co-hosts Atheist Ranger @Antonio_Prous, &Matt Gillmore. The live show that starts at 9 PM CDT (Central Daylight Time) or GMT (-5) In the winter months this will be at 9 PM CST (Central Standard Time) or GMT (-6). Call our voice mail at 662-709-PPAP or 662-709-7727. You can find the live show at http://youtube.com/PackardPokesAt. Please feel free to hit the donate button and give what you can or what you feel the show is worth to you. Trying to get some new equipment to make the show better and eliminate hardware failures that have been disrupting the show. I would even be willing to take a older G5 or Intel Mac off your hands. If you wish to donate any hardware to the show contact @Packard_Sonic on twitter or packardpokeasat at gmail.com
Download Packard Pokes At 486: Space Military Crackers MP3
The show is now available on YouTube! You can find us there at http://youtube.com/packardpokesat Looking forward to see your comments there as well. Please subscribe and hit the thumbs up! Thanks!
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U.S. safety regulators are looking into reports of ceiling fires in some of Chrysler Group's Jeep Grand Cherokees.
Continue Reading Below
The investigation includes about 146,000 of the sport-utility vehicles from model-year 2012.
Three drivers reported that while they were driving, the ceiling caught fire near the sun visor on the passenger side. One driver said the sunroof shattered, and in another case, flames spread when a burning sun visor fell onto the passenger seat. All three vehicles had to be towed away.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, no injuries related to the issue have been reported.
Chrysler said its engineers are working with the regulator.
A recall could be announced if the problem is considered to be a wider issue.


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by Pete Mazzaccaro
This week we carry a follow-up story on the zoning request by the owners of Herbiary to run classes out of a converted garage at 133 E. Mermaid Lane. The classes, or "herbal consultations" as they've been called by Herbiary's owners, are small affairs that bring a dozen or more people to the garage.
Near neighbors of the E. Mermaid Lane property, on a residential section of the street across from United Cerebral Palsy and the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, are understandably less than thrilled about a business in the middle of their block – one that no doubt will bring more people to park on what is already a relatively crowded street. And, as neighbors have said, it brings crowds, however small, too near to their back yards, disrupting their privacy.
This issue, like so many others in Chestnut Hill, demonstrates just how tough a job it is to strike a balance in Chestnut Hill between those business concerns that all would agree are vital to the longterm welfare and vitality of the neighborhood, and the rights of residents who are no less important not only to the neighborhood's vitality but to the businesses themselves. Study after study has shown that most businesses draw their customers from within five miles.
Thus the Chestnut Hill Community Association and its committees that deal with zoning issues – the Development Review Committee and the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee – are routinely put in the tough position of playing the role of arbiter when these interests collide, which they routinely do.
A while back, when it looked like the CHCA very well might lose all of its zoning clout in new zoning rules passed last year by the city, I wrote in this space that I thought that it would be to the association's benefit. It would no longer need to play the role of arbiter, in which one party or another will invariably feel aggrieved and likely not think well of the CHCA's role in the decision making. As fair as the LUPZ and DRC are, in the end they must decide, and often that decision will rankle one of the parties.
The CHCA has been knocked for being pro business. Some have said the CHCA should, instead, advocate for residents no matter what – a safeguard, so to speak, against encroaching commercial interests.
I think there's a pretty fair argument to be made for that model. In fact, I'm sure many would say: "Yeah. Why not? There are other organizations that advocate for businesses. Residents could use a champion."
Of course as popular as that might be with residents in every corner of the neighborhood, it would no doubt fuel the usual NIMBYism that would run nearly unchecked. It's doubtful that the CHCA would retain any influence over zoning matters if it took a one-sided path of advocacy. Businesses would know they wouldn't get a fair hearing and avoid the CHCA altogether. It would probably do even more to split residents and the business community.
So, the balancing act is a tough one, and maybe it's a necessary one. It's not a proposition to gain popularity for the CHCA, but it does help the organization to have a say in neighborhood zoning, even if that say has been reduced somewhat by the new rules. The LUPZ suggested a compromise for Herbiary that would keep classes from meeting after business hours. It seems a reasonable compromise. About the best balancing act you could hope for.


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Buying your clothes from ethical and planet-friendly sources is only the beginning. Most life-cycle assessments agree that a garment's greatest environmental impact comes not from its manufacture but rather its use. Washing and drying, in fact, accounts for more than half of an item's ecological burden. To encourage less-frequent laundering, Lisa Bengtsson, a product-and-furniture design student at Kingston University, arrived at a creative solution: a set of clothes hangers that harness activated charcoal to keep clothes fresh and clean.
Typically derived from coconut shell, activated carbon is a highly porous, nontoxic material known for its ability to purify air and neutralize smells. "Activated charcoal is already widely used for purifying the water in fish tanks or animals' feeding bowls and it can absorb the odors from a piece of clothing even if it's held a meter away from it," Bengtsson says. "Today we wash our clothes much more than we need to and it harms both the garments and the planet. A worn item very often doesn't need to be cleaned, but merely freshened up."
Derived from coconut shell, activated carbon is a highly porous material known for its ability to purify air and absorb smells.
Derived from coconut shell, activated carbon is a highly porous material known for its ability to purify air and absorb smells.
Each "Bye Bye Laundry" hanger consists of a refillable glass chamber perched on top of a wooden filter, along with a ring from which clothes can be hung. Granules of activated charcoal in the chamber "suck" in odors in their vicinity, a process that can take a few days. Despite their less-than-attractive task, Bengtsson wanted her hangers to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. "I've covered the rings in flocked velvet, to give them a touch of luxury and prevent the clothes falling off," she says. "I wanted them to be an attractive feature that people would be proud to have in their homes."
Besides saving water and energy, reduced laundering also minimizes wear and tear on clothing fibers, which can shorten a garment's lifespan. Good for the planet, good for your wardrobe, and good for your wallet? Bengtsson's hangers are a winning proposition all around.


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Sell something for me
Бюджет $250-750 USD
Hi there
looking for rocket sales persons
will paid 10% of each sale. (around 30-150$ each sale)
easy to sell product.
will contact some if you for more details.
7 фрілансерів(-и) у середньому готові виконати цю роботу за $344
Sir, I reviewed your job description and am very interested to work with you. I can complete with fast and accurately. Please consider my bid. Thanks........Shariful
Hi there, I'm a salesman with 4 years of experience in B2B and B2C sales. Cold calling or face-to-face selling is not an obstacle
hi interested to work in your job offer im a online sales person for 6yrs hoping to hear from you i can start anytime
i will definately sell more and more products , i just want to be self dependent and to earn some income on own
I have working experience of selling products online at eBay and other eStores and web portals in UK, Europe.


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Unityprevious next
Unity is when we come together with other individuals or groups to form something greater than any of us. For many people, the heart of spirituality is a sense of being part of something larger than ourselves, a unity or oneness with our fellow humans and with the vast and intricate Reality in which we have our existence.
Unity is often built around a common purpose – a harmony of interests or values that create a shared identity. When people are united by shared values and goals, they can move together, synchronizing their efforts to attain things that none could attain alone.
Unity is inclusive. It frees us from the divisiveness of prejudice. We see our commonality without devaluing our differences. A sense of unity can transcend our fear of each other. In unity, the joy of one is the joy of all, and the hurt of one is the hurt of all; the honor of one is the honor of all.
- What does unity look like in a person? (1 response)
- What does unity look like in a society? (4 responses)


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Bremen beats Rockies in offensive showdown
BREMEN — Neither coach could be unhappy with their teams' offensive output. Now if they could just find a way to bring their defense up to the same level of play.
Bremen rallied from a 2-0 deficit after a somewhat sleepy start with three goals before the half, then responded to a Plymouth equalizer in the second stanza with a three-goal outburst and held on for a 6-4 win in an offense-heavy game with the Lions' area rivals at Jane's Park Tuesday.
"We're going to score goals. We attack very well, we have multiple formations that we can use, and even my defenders have quite a few assists from some nice balls over the top," said Bremen boys soccer coach Mark Yoder. "I think the past couple games we weren't defensively challenged as much, so we held strong. Tonight we saw a great Plymouth team that can play the ball to the center and move it quickly and that challenged our backs a lot more than we were used to, and we broke down in certain areas."
Plymouth head coach Josh Martin echoed Yoder's sentiments after the game.
With four goals by the Rockies at the contest, he might have expected a win. Indeed, with an initial 2-0 lead, Plymouth seemed poised to coast to its first victory in five games. But in a theme that's become all too familiar over the past year or so, they couldn't hold on to their early advantage.
"The problem isn't our finishing all around the field; we've got all kinds of finishers. Obviously it's the defense that's leaking the goals," Martin said. "The team defense — I can't just blame the goalie or the back four. We're not collectively defending well, and we're giving up way to many opportunities around our box."
The Lions registered 17 shots to Plymouth's 12, but the two teams recorded a dead-even shots on goal margin of 9-9.
The home team found itself playing from behind early after goals by Clay Marshall and Ronaldo Garcia in the 5th and 14th minutes, but even trailing 2-0 the Lions looked dangerous after a Sam Lacher shot had caromed off the cross beam in the ninth minute and several other near misses before Roberto Gonzalez finally finished one off on a Danny Reynoso helper in the 29th minute to cut the Plymouth lead to 2-1.
Sam Lacher's header on a short cross by Alex Adams wiped the slate clean in the 37th minute, and Lacher's assist on a Ricky Reynoso score just 45 seconds later gave Bremen a 3-2 halftime advantage.
"I think with our attacking prowess this year, we have enough guys that are quality attackers that I don't really worry about us getting goals. It was frustrating watching the final touches go over and go wide — we had so many close opportunities that we didn't finalize on — and I think that was just some mental rust," said Yoder of his team's start. "We gave them the three days off over Labor Day, and I think that ended up hurting us rather than helping us, and I think Plymouth, although probably their legs may have been more tired, they didn't look like it, and they were very mentally sharp coming into this game. I think as a coaching staff, maybe that one's on us."
The second half opened as a back-and-forth possession battle, and it was the Rockies who drew first blood when Blake Millser snuck an equalizer past Bremen keeper Austin Adams on a Cesar Aguilar pass in the 62nd minute.
But Bremen was quicker to respond in the second half as Reynoso got in behind the defense for a goal on a low drive from just a few feet outside the goal mouth to give the Lions back the lead at 4-3 in a physical play that saw Plymouth forward/ fullback Joe Smith sidelined with an ankle injury.
Roughly two minutes later, Arturo Reynoso dribbled one in on a Danny Reynoso lead pass, and Danny followed with his second goal of the night on an unassisted play in the 68th minute to push Bremen's advantage out to an all but totally insurmountable 6-3 cushion. Tim Fonseca scored in the same minute, but the goal proved academic as the Rockies fell 6-4, their fourth loss in five games after a 2-0 start to the season.
With a big Northern Lakes Conference home game with Goshen this Thursday, Plymouth will need to shake off Tuesday's loss as well as a disappointing 0-2-1 finish at their home tournament over Labor Day weekend. The team now sits at 2-4-1 overall with an 0-1 NLC start via a 3-0 loss to No. 2-ranked Warsaw last week.
"I think this was a psychologically difficult defeat," said Martin Tuesday. "We didn't perform in our tournament like we would've really liked to. Going from 2-3-1 to 2-4-1 going in against Goshen is never great for your confidence. But we're finishing pretty well."
Bremen remains unbeaten at 5-0, meanwhile, and will look to upend another Northern Lakes opponent with a big rivalry game against NorthWood Thursday.
"We'll look to move forward and learn from this game. It was a nice test against a very good Plymouth team," Yoder said. "I guess I relish in that. We had a really good test against a team that can put pressure on us. And we've got another big test with another NLC team on Thursday in NorthWood. That's going to be another huge test for us, and these are the games that we should want to play in, that make you better as a team."
At Bremen
First half
P – Clay Marshall (Ronaldo Garcia), 5th minute
P – Ronaldo Garcia (Cesar Aguilar), 14th minute
B – Roberto Gonzalez (Danny Reynoso), 29th minute
B – Sam Lacher (Alex Adams), 37th minute
B – Ricky Reynoso (Lacher) 38th minute
Second half
P – Blake Milliser (Cesar Aguilar), 62nd minute
B – Danny Reynoso, 64th minute
B – Arturo Reynoso (D. Reynoso), 68th minute
B – D. Reynoso, 78th minute
P – Tim Fonseca, 78th minute
Shots on goal: Bremen 9, Plymouth 9
Saves: Austin Adams (Bremen) 5, Zak Lee (Plymouth) 3
Corners: Bremen 7, Plymouth 4
Records: Bremen 5-0-0, Plymouth 2-4-1


text:
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text:
by Microsoft |
Item # 543620
Product Details
About this item
- Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Console
- Kinect Sensor
- Black Wireless Controller
- Kinect Adventures
- Disneyland Adventures
The Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect. Kinect brings games and entertainment to life in extraordinary new ways – no controller required. Easy to use and instantly fun, Kinect gets everyone off the couch moving, laughing and cheering. See a ball? Kick it. Control an HD movie with a wave of the hand. Want to join a friend in the fun? Simply jump in. Wi-Fi is built-in for easier connection to the world of entertainment on Xbox LIVE, where HD movies and TV stream in an instant. Xbox 360 is more games, entertainment and fun.
Policies & plans
What's in the Box
- Xbox 360 4GB SConsole
- Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360
- Kinect Adventures Game - "ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
- Disneyland Adventures Game - "ESRB Rating: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up"
- Xbox 360 Black Wireless Controller
- Xbox 360 Composite A/V cable (standard definition)
- One Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership
- One Month Epix
- One Month Hulu Plus
- 1 year limited warranty on console (90 days on accessories)
- Xbox 360 4GB S Console: A bold design and the matte black finish mean the new Xbox 360 looks every bit as good as it performs. The Xbox 360 S Console runs whisper quiet, letting you play games and watch movies without interference.
- Kinect Sensor: With the Kinect sensor, you can experience gaming like never before. Easy to use and fun for everyone, the Kinect sensor utilizes revolutionary full-body tracking to put you in the center of the fun. This amazing new technology allows the sensor to recognize your body and mirror your movements in the game, making you the controller. With Kinect Xbox 360 now has the best controller ever made – YOU.
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- Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (black): This award-winning, high-performance wireless controller features a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of up to 30 hours on two AA batteries.
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1 year manufacturer's warranty
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text:
The agency plans to put 41 parcels totaling almost 64,000 acres up for lease on Feb. 19, 2013. Thirty-seven of the parcels covering 59,525 acres are in the Moab and Monticello field offices domains. Four others on 4,384 acres are on Manti-La Sal National Forest lands.
Opponents to the lease sale can mail comments to Becky Hammond at Bureau of Land Management, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. Protests also may be faxed to 801-539-4237. Emails will not be accepted.
BLM Utah spokeswoman Megan Crandall said Wednesday there's no timetable for how long it will take to evaluate the comments. She emphasized the agency intends to take enough time to do a thorough job.
"We want to justify the time and effort people have gone to in commenting," she said. "We want to respect what they've done. In the last few years we have tried to focus on encouraging public involvement. Without a doubt, we will take time with these comments and make sure they are thoroughly evaluated."
She said BLM does its best to read all protest comments in a timely manner, but added, "We have some sales where we get so many comments and they are so complicated and substantive that it takes a long time."
Lisa Bryant, assistant manager of BLM's Moab field office, said the Salt Lake City office will work with the Moab office in assessing the comments.
"We will look at the protests and what is in the analysis so far and see if we can resolve questions that have come up," she said. "The state office will determine whether they would add additional stipulations or notices or drop parcels."
Bryant said it's difficult to predict how many leases will be bid on. The most recent lease auction produced quite a few purchases although the one before had none, she said. However, the parcels in this auction were chosen because they had been nominated by oil and gas companies and the public, she noted.
Even if a parcel is leased, there's no guarantee the winning bidder will develop it, Bryant added.
BLM has eliminated a few sites from the auction, but a controversial parcel known as 042 remains on the list. It is about 13 miles south of Moab and opponents are concerned about its possible effects on Moab and northern San Juan County drinking water.
Kiley Miller of San Juan County, who lives near parcel 042, delivered two petitions she said contain a total of 76,000 opponent signatures to the BLM last month. She told The Times-Independent then that oil and gas exploration could contaminate the region's water source, air and private water wells.
Laurel Hagen of the Moab-based Canyonlands Watershed Council, added in an email to the newspaper, "Several of the parcels proposed for the auction are either overlapping or immediately adjacent to wells and reservoirs that are the sole drinking water source for thousands of people.
"Two parcels west of Monticello are right over the reservoir protection zone, the parcel south of Moab is within the aquifer recharge area for several proposed county wells, and the parcel near La Sal is less than half a mile from the well at the elementary school."


text:
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Open a Certificate of Deposit account today by visiting a local Burke & Herbert Bank branch or call us at 703-684-1655 to learn more.


text:
A new version of the GoodTools frontend GoodGUI has been released. GoodGUI needs the .NET framework to run.
The news:
Download here: http://polarz.home.mchsi.com/GoodGUI.rar* fixed several problems with the 7za frontend
* added the option to disable the progressbar as it was eating too much cpu power for some people
* cleaned up some error code
* new windows now centered to parent


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text:
Roundup Ready technology has created a revolution in cotton and soybean production. Eighty-five percent or more of the soybeans and 95 percent or more of the cotton in the Southeast is Roundup Ready, and Roundup Ready corn is catching on fast.
Over reliance on any one thing can often lead to problems. In the case of Roundup Ready, there is increasing concern over the potential for weeds to become resistant to glyphosate.
By now, most growers have heard of the problems with glyphosate-resistant horseweed (also called marestail) in western Tennessee, Arkansas, and the Delmarva region.
Horseweed resistant to glyphosate was confirmed in North Carolina in 2003, and the problem now exists in at least five counties. It is also suspected in northern Alabama.
During the summer of 2004, common ragweed resistance to glyphosate was found in Arkansas and Missouri.
Are these isolated problems? Or, are we just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg?
To investigate this concern, the Southeast Farm Press recently sat down with three top weed scientists in the Southeast: Alan York of North Carolina State University; Stanley Culpepper of the University of Georgia; and John Wilcut of North Carolina State University. Greg Elmore of Monsanto also offered insight about glyphosate resistance.
According to the weed scientists, herbicides do not cause resistance. Rather, herbicides select for resistance already present in the population.
Herbicide resistance, defined by the Weed Science Society of America (www.weedscience.org), is the inherited ability of a biotype of a weed to survive and reproduce following exposure to a dose of herbicide normally lethal to the wild type.
A biotype is a subgroup within a species that possesses certain traits or characteristics not common to the entire population. A biotype, for example, may be resistant to a particular herbicide that kills most individuals within that species.
According to York, there are two prerequisites for resistance to develop. First, there must be at least one plant (biotype) present which has the genetics that allow it to be resistant to a particular herbicide mode of action, and second, one must select for that biotype by using herbicides with that mode of action.
Herbicide-resistant biotypes are normally present in the population at very low frequencies — one in a million to one in 100 million. The higher the frequency, the more quickly resistance can develop. "A one in a million frequency, such as we see with ALS-inhibiting herbicides such as Scepter, Classic, and Staple, is a high frequency," Wilcut says. "Within three years of registration, there was resistance to ALS materials reported." The frequency of resistance to glyphosate is unknown but thought to be very low. In that regard, one might assume the potential for resistance to glyphosate is low. And, until recently, that was the prevailing opinion among weed scientists. The situation changed, however, with the wide-spread adoption of Roundup Ready technology. According to Culpepper, one must also consider the frequency of use. "The extensive use of glyphosate on multiple crops certainly increases the risk of resistance evolution."
There are two strategies to deal with resistance. One is to simply gamble on it not happening, and then deal with the problem should it occur. This is an unacceptable strategy, for several reasons.
First, growers have come to expect regular introduction of new chemistry into the marketplace. When resistance to one product developed, growers historically switched to a new product. Unfortunately, development of new herbicide chemistry has almost ceased. As Wilcut points out, "There have been only two new herbicide modes of action in the U.S. marketplace in the last 20 years." There is likely not a magic bullet coming to replace glyphosate.
Second, growers need to stop and think just how much they depend upon glyphosate. Growers have embraced Roundup Ready technology because of the broad spectrum control by glyphosate, the convenience, and the overall economics of the system. Moreover, the technology has been instrumental in wide-spread adoption of no-till or strip-till systems, which have reduced equipment and labor costs and allowed growers to expand acreage while enhancing environmental quality.
"The potential impact of glyphosate resistance is too great to ignore," says Culpepper. "We simply can't go back to where we were before Roundup Ready technology came on the market."
Third, it is critical to keep glyphosate as an effective and viable tool because of resistance, or potential resistance, to some of the products that would be used as alternatives to glyphosate. For example, there are many known cases of resistance to ALS inhibitors (Classic, Staple, Scepter, others), organoarsenicals (MSMA, DSMA), triazines (atrazine, Princep), and the postemergence grass control herbicides (Poast, Fusilade, Select, Assure). "Resistance is not unique with glyphosate," said York. "What makes glyphosate resistance so important is our level of dependence on glyphosate."
A much wiser strategy would be to manage to avoid resistance evolution. Such a strategy centers on reducing selection pressure.
"Selection pressure is the key," says York. "You have no way of knowing whether that 'one in a 100 million' plant is present or not. You just assume it might be present and your resistance management strategy becomes one of reducing selection pressure on that plant."
Reducing selection pressure means reducing one's dependence on a particular herbicide mode of action, in this case glyphosate. This can be accomplished by using a non-glyphosate program in crops rotated with Roundup Ready crops or integrating other chemistries into a program for Roundup Ready crops.
When one is rotating crops, Culpepper advises a non-Roundup Ready crop in the rotation. A high percentage of the cotton and soybeans in the Southeast are Roundup Ready. However, peanuts are not Roundup Ready, and most of Georgia's 750,000 acres of peanuts are rotated with cotton. "A peanut-cotton rotation is an excellent way to break the glyphosate cycle", says Culpepper. "There are eight herbicide modes of action to use in peanuts, all different from glyphosate."
The weed scientists are much more concerned with continuous planting of Roundup Ready crops, such as back-to-back cotton, or Roundup Ready cotton and Roundup Ready soybeans in rotation, or even a soybean and corn rotation now that Roundup Ready corn is catching on fast.
Cultivation is a very effective resistance management tool, but most growers are no longer cultivating. And, it is not practical to expect growers to abandon the Roundup Ready technology. Hence, with continuous planting of Roundup Ready crops, the only practical resistance management strategy is to integrate other chemistry into the system.
The reasoning behind using multiple chemistries in the same crop is simple. The idea is that if a biotype resistant to one herbicide is present, the second herbicide will kill it before it can reproduce and build up.
York, Culpepper and Wilcut believe the effective life of glyphosate can be extended another 15 years by judicious use of other active ingredients in the battle against weeds.
It comes down to a selling job — whether the extra expense is worth the added value to the farmer, the weed scientists say.
"It is hard to ask a grower to spend additional money for other chemistry to use along with glyphosate to deal with a problem he currently does not have and may never have," says York. And yet, each of the weed scientists agreed that a strong, proactive program to avoid glyphosate resistance is greatly needed to keep glyphosate working effectively into the future.
As York pointed out, however, integrating additional chemistry into a Roundup Ready program can bring immediate value, in addition to helping avoid resistance. "Cotton is a good example," said York. "Many of our growers are already using other chemistry in the system to help with various problems. They may be putting down a pre-emergence herbicide, such as Prowl, to control Florida pusley or to buy some time before having to start back with glyphosate. Many growers are mixing Staple with glyphosate to boost morningglory control, or mixing Dual with glyphosate to provide residual control of grasses and pigweed and extend the window for layby application. Many are also still using conventional chemistry for layby, or at least mixing something else with glyphosate at layby to help with morningglories and maybe give some residual. In addition to helping with current problems and bringing value, these practices are also good for resistance management."
University weed scientists are not alone in their concern over glyphosate resistance. Greg Elmore of Monsanto pointed out that his company takes this issue seriously. Monsanto is encouraging use of 2,4-D with glyphosate in burndown programs for horseweed and other tough to control weeds such as cutleaf evening primrose. The company also supports the use of residual herbicides, either applied pre-emergence or postemergence with glyphosate, where appropriate.
"Residuals have value," says Elmore, "whether it is for tough weeds or time management, and many growers are including residual herbicides into their Roundup Ready weed management programs".
Both Monsanto and the university weed scientists advised against cutting glyphosate rates. Monsanto's Elmore pointed to a long-term study that looked at glyphosate rates in the Midwest. The conclusion: reducing rates created weed shifts. A connection between low use rates and resistance is less clear.
The weed scientists encourage growers and others to be on the alert for resistant weeds. Typically, about 20 percent of the population has to be resistant before a grower realizes he has a problem.
Unfortunately, "the horse may already be out of the barn" by then. Early detection and response can help in preventing spread to other fields and farms.
As the weed scientists point out, there are many causes of herbicide failures. Most herbicide failures are not due to resistance. When a control failure is noted, growers need to first eliminate the more likely causes, such as poor weather for herbicide activity, poor application technique, poor timing of application, etc.
If, after considering all the possible causes of herbicide failure, resistance is still suspected, growers are encouraged to seek assistance in verification from their county agent, dealer, or consultant.


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Guide to Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act offered in Torrington workshop
Register Citizen Staff
TORRINGTON - The face of open records and open meetings in Connecticut will lead a workshop in Torrington Tuesday night to educate public officials and taxpayers about the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Thomas Hennick, a longtime staff member of the state's Freedom of Information Commission, will speak and answer questions at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, at City Hall Auditoriaum, 140 Main St., Torrington.
He'll lead Torrington city department heads, board and commission members and citizens through the state law's requirements.
Topics will include what types of meetings are subject to the Freedom of Information Act, what "groups" qualify as government entities under the law, the requirement for providing notice of meetings and filing minutes, and when and who can participate in closed-door "executive session" meetings.
Hennick will also speak about the rights of citizens in requesting public records and the responsibility of public officials in responding.
Hennick spoke in Torrington last year as part of a series of workshops on the Freedom of Information Act held at The Register Citizen Newsroom Cafe.
The Register Citizen recently announced the creation of a new "investigations editor" position that will focus on Freedom of Information Act reporting and also on training reporters and the public on issues relating to open records and open meetings.
Viktoria Sundqvist, former editor of The Middletown Press and former managing editor of The Register Citizen, will be writing about those efforts at http://openrecordsct.blogspot.com and at http://Twitter.com/ctfoi.


text: Evonik has introduced, Dynasylan Hydrosil and Sivo-Sol, two new solvent-free metal corrosion protection products. Dynasylan Hydrosil and Sivo-Sol technologies provide maximum corrosion protection for valuable metal products and simplify the manufacturing process, according to the firm. The environmentally-friendly water-based systems offer an extremely low volatile compound level and maximum corrosion protection without the use of chromium VI in the system. The new products offer protection against abrasion and chemicals and also provide excellent adhesion of coatings. More info: Evonik, (877) 748-3686; E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.