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Activity Pals
For single seniors. Get together with others to attend events, shop, go sightseeing, dine out and more. 301-596-6385.
The Bain Center
5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. 410-313-7213.
•Acting Up! Most Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m. A theater club at the center. Call center to confirm attendance. Free.
•American Indian Experience. Second Mondays, 1 p.m. Call center to register.
•Another Way to See It Laughter Club. Mondays, 9 a.m. $2 instructor fee at class each week.
•Bridge. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. $2.
•Chess. Wednesdays, 1 p.m.
•Computer Tutoring and Q&A. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Call center to schedule appointment.
•Drop-in Sewing Circle. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. Free.
•Duplicate Bridge. Tuesdays, noon. Free.
•E.S.L. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Free.
•Friday documentaries. March 30,"Waste Land," 1 p.m. Free.
•Gathering of the Arts. Mondays, 1 p.m. and Thursdays, 9 a.m. Drop-in class, bring your own supplies.
•E.S.L. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Help improve your conversational English. Participate in small groups with tutors. 410-313-7213. Free.
•Health Insurance Assistance. Weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Information and counseling services. Medicare beneficiaries, people age 60 and older and those with disabilities age 55 and older. 410-313-7391.
•Jim Ellis Book Club. Third Thursdays, 1 p.m. free. 410-313-7213 for reservation information.
•Mah Jongg. Wednesdays, 1 p.m.
•Medicare 101. This free workshop by the Howard County Department of Citizen Services' Office on Aging will look at gaps in Medicare coverage and how those gaps can be covered. Wed., May 9, at 7 p.m.
•Parkinson's Support Group. First Saturdays, 11 a.m. For individuals with a diagnosis of early onset Parkinson's disease. Malcolm Wolf, 301-490-7288 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
•Ping pong. Tuesdays, noon-4:15 p.m.; Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.-4:15 p.m.; Thursdays, 6-9 p.m.; and Fridays, 8:30 a.m.-noon. Free.
•Reflexology. Second Friday. $53 for 55 minutes. Experience foot massage as a form of stress management. 410-313-7213 to schedule an appointment.
•Scrabble. Tuesdays, 1 p.m.
•Sixty-Plus Wills/Legal Screening. Third Wednesdays, 1 p.m. Services include simple wills, powers of attorney, living wills, small estates and deed changes. 410-313-1400 to schedule an appointment.
•Wii Club. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. Improve hand-eye coordination and get exercise while competing against peers. Free.
•Work up the Beat. Thursdays, 1:30 p.m. Freestyle dancing, no instructor. Free.
•Yoga. Wednesdays, April 4-June 20, 11 a.m. $64.
East Columbia50+ Center
6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. 410-313-7680.
•Mary McCormick's Line Dance. Mondays, 3:30 p.m. A class for dancers with little experience. Monthly fees.
•Sew Who Cares. Tuesdays, 11 a.m. Join a group for people who want to improve knitting, crochet and cross-stitch skills.
Elkridge Senior Center
6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge. 410-313-5192.
•Age Well Exercise. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. Low-impact exercise designed for any fitness level. $32 for 16-week session.
•Book Club. Second Tuesdays, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
•Cards and games. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
•Computer Seniors of America. Day classes available for basic, advanced and specialized courses. Stop in or call for description and offerings.
•Golden Corral Bingo Breakfast. Second Fridays, 8:30 a.m. Breakfast for $7.95; free bingo.
•Just Bead It. Second Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. Make a craft with beads. $6 per craft.
•Legal Aid Help and Assistance. Second and fourth Fridays, 10 a.m. Free.
•Line Dance. Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m.
•Rummikub. Second Tuesdays, 1:30 p.m.
•St. Augustine Bingo Lunch. Third Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Free homemade lunch and cash bingo.
Ellicott CitySenior Center
9401 Frederick Road, Ellicott City. 410-313-1400.
•AARP Class (Driver Safety Program). April 16, 10 a.m. Call center to register. $14 for non-AARP members; $12 for current members.
•Billiards. Tuesdays, 9 a.m.
•Brain Fitness. April 26, 11 a.m. Learn how sleep can affect brain performance.
•Dorothy Bailey, author and book signing. April 17, 1 p.m. "In a Different Light."
•Genealogy Class. April 11, 10 a.m. After a 72-year wait, the 1940 Federal Census will be unveiled on April 2. At this session, explore the format, composition and value of this new genealogy tool.
•Insighters Group. Tuesdays, 12:30 p.m.
•Maryland Senior Idol. Wed., April 4, 1 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. $6 travel on your own; $10 bus trip from the senior center to Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, 15200 Annapolis Road, Bowie. Vicki Stahly, 410-313-1421.
•Open Bridge. Fridays, 1 p.m.
•Painting Together. Thursdays, 9 a.m.
•Pinochle. Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.
•Rainbow Theater Lunch and Show. April 12. Depart the center at 9:30 a.m. and return at 5:30 p.m. Travel to Paradise, Pa., to the Rainbow Dinner Theater to see "The Dixie Swim Club." $79.
•Shingles Clinic. April 27, 10 a.m. Get the Shingles vaccine. Call the center to schedule an appointment by April 20.
Gary J. ArthurCommunity Centerat Glenwood
2400 Route 97, Cooksville. 410-313-5440.
•Billiards. Weekdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
•Cards and Games. Fridays, noon.
•Computer Seniors of America. Call the center for class information.
•Drop-in Painting. Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-noon. Free.
•Duplicate Bridge. Mondays and Wednesdays, 1 p.m. $1.
•Mah Jongg. Wednesdays, 6 p.m.
•Men's basketball. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m.
•Pinochle. Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
•Silver Sneakers Walking Club. Weekdays, 8 a.m.
•Table Tennis. Weekdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
•Volleyball. Wednesdays, 1 p.m.
Jewish Federation
of Howard County
Century Plaza 1000, Suite 400, 10630 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 410-730-4976.
•jGroup. Second and fourth Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon, at the Bain Center; and third Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. Sophie Novinsky, 410-730-4976, ext. 103, or email@example.com.
Kiwanis-WallasRecreation Center
3300 Norbert's Way, Ellicott City. 410-313-2637.
•Bingo. First Fridays, 1 p.m. Ages 55 and older.
•Bridge. Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. Ages 55 and older.
•Community Knitting and Crocheting Group. Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m. Knit and crochet afghans, blankets, baby wear and more for local charities, hospitals and senior centers.
•Duplicate Bridge. Wednesdays, noon-3:30 p.m.; and Fridays, 9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Drop in for a few hours of duplicate bridge. Bring a bag lunch; coffee, tea and treats will be available.
•Medicare 101. This free workshop by the Howard County Department of Citizen Services' Office on Aging will look at gaps in Medicare coverage and how those gaps can be covered. Wed., April 4, at 11 a.m.
•Mah Jongg. Wednesdays, 1 p.m. Ages 55 and older. Free.
•Pinochle. Wednesdays and Fridays, 9:30 a.m. Ages 55 and older.
•Playing the Hand Brush Up. Fridays, for four weeks, beginning April 13, 9:30 a.m. Ages 55 and older. $36.
North Laurel50+ Center
9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel. 410-313-0380.
•Agewell Exercise Class. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. Sixteen classes for $35.
•Billiards. Weekdays, 9 a.m.
•Blood Pressure Screening. Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.
•Computer Classes. Call for descriptions of offerings.
•Handbuilding with Clay. Mondays, 1 p.m. Four classes for $42.
•Line Dance Drop In. Tuesday, 11 a.m. $1.
•Mah Jongg. Fridays, 12:30 p.m.
•Open Art Studio. Mondays and Wednesdays, noon.
•Sit, Stitch and Give. Fridays, 11 a.m.
•Sittercize. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 12:30 p.m. Sixteen classes for $36.
•Tap Aerobics. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Six classes for $33.
•Walking Club. Weekdays, 8 a.m.
•Zumba Gold. Mondays, 10 a.m. Eight classes for $43.
Office on Aging
6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia. 410-313-5980.
•Maryland Access Point (MAP) — Part of the Howard County Office on Aging, is an information and assistance gateway for older adults, people with disabilities, family members, caregivers and professionals. Types of information offered include respite and home care, long-term care, in-home evaluation, aging in place/home modifications, retirement/planning for the future, Medicare and health insurance, chronic disease management, housing, transportation, income management and legal services. Appointments are conducted at the Columbia office, at senior centers or in your home, weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact MAP at the number above, firstname.lastname@example.com or http://www.howardcountyaging.org.
Social GroupFor Singles 50+
Sundays, 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Complimentary coffee and snack. Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, 5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia. 410-997-0739.
Sponsored by Howard County Recreation and Parks, unless otherwise noted. 410-313-7275 or 410-313-7279.
•Cherry Blossoms and Odyssey Cruise. Tue., April 3, 9:30 a.m. Ages 55 and older. $93.
•Cherry Blossoms and D.C. Memorials. April 5, 9 a.m. Spend time amid the cherry trees and visit memorials. Ages 55 and older. $49.
•Wayne's World. April 12, 9 a.m. Meet Wayne Schaumburg, local historian, as he tours through Mount Vernon. Ages 55 and older. $73.
Second and fourth Saturdays, 2:15-3:15 p.m. Volunteers needed to sing or play an instrument to perform for the elderly at the Lorien Health Center. All ages welcome. Tim Belton, 410-730-6006, 410-908-7805 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text: This commercial aired during the first Monday Night Football game in 1970 and proves just what everyone already knew: women can't drive worth a damn and need exceptional tires to compensate for the lack of driving ability. Of course, the woman in the video has to deal with construction, bumpy roads, detours and more while picking up her manly husband from the airport after a very long and manly business trip. It kind of reminds us of the shower scene from Psycho, which is fairly accurate given a woman behind the wheel was like being murdered, at least in the 1970s. [Youtube] (Thanks, Sugi)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
U.S. News
Blog Examines Drug Donation Programs, Big Pharma's Role in Public Health Agenda
May 1, 2013
"Drug donations, reinvestment of profits in developing countries and a more flexible approach to intellectual property have all signaled a more collaborative approach from industry with the likes of GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson and Merck all performing well in the 2012 Access to Medicine Initiative," Adam Robert Green, senior reporter with the Financial Times' "This is Africa," writes in the Royal African Society's "African Arguments" blog. "But while talk of a new era of friendship is appealing (not least to the companies), there are still unresolved debates about the role that companies play in shaping the public health agenda in developing countries. Even the most seemingly charitable acts have come under scrutiny," he writes, noting some programs raise questions of sustainability, prioritization, and cost effectiveness. "No one should expect Big Pharma to act as a charity -- for one thing, such behavior will be superficial and unsustainable," he writes, adding, "The challenge is to establish where 'corporate citizenship' stops and the bottom line starts" (4/29).
Back to other news for May 2013
This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.
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BOSTON, Mass.—Despite a 2-0 day from freshman Kelsey Shea (West Bridgewater, Mass.), UMass Boston women's tennis (1-2) couldn't hold off Colby-Sawyer College Tuesday afternoon as the Chargers (1-1) earned a 7-2 victory at the B.C. High Tennis Courts.
The reigning North Eastern Athletic Conference Champions jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles action, before rolling to a 7-2 win to spoil the Beacons' home opener.
Shea and sophomore Logan Smith (Southwick, Mass.) provided the lone bright spots for the Beacons who have now lost back-to-back matches. Shea earned her team-leading third and fourth victories of the season, while Smith picked up her first collegiate victory in her first collegiate match, as the pair teamed up for a win at third flight doubles.
Colby-Sawyer opened up the match with a dominant 8-1 victory at number two doubles, as Oxana Tkachenko and Charlotte Horton knocked off Solveig Castelli (Precojo, France) and Vicky Woytowicz (Springfield, Mass.). The Chargers extended their lead to 2-0, when their top pair of Elizabeth Lincoln and Ashlyn Ramsay outlasted UMass Boston seniors Anitra Kloczewiak (Newton, Mass.) and Samantha Counts (Bridgewater, Mass.).
Shea and Smith cut the deficit to 2-1, when the pair earned a hard-fought 8-3 decision over Ellen Graham and Conley Dion at third flight doubles.
The Chargers continued their hard push towards victory in singles action, as Tkachenko knocked off Nurcin Celebi (Istanbul, Turkey) 6-0, 6-0 at number four singles. Horton put Colby-Sawyer within a point of victory minutes later, when she finished off Counts with a 6-0, 6-1 decision at number three singles.
Colby-Sawyer secured the victory when Lincoln finished off Nuha Muntasser (Braintree, Mass.) 6-0, 6-1. UMass Boston nearly picked up a point at number two singles, as Kloczewiak and Ramsay battled back-and-forth in the most even contest of the match. In the end, Ramsay outlasted Kloczewiak 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to push the Chargers' lead to 6-1.
Shea earned the Beacons' second point of the day at number six singles, as she easily dispatched Dion 6-0, 6-1, but Graham earned the last point of the day for Colby-Sawyer with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at fifth-flight singles over Castelli.
Colby-Sawyer will be off until next Wednesday when they play their home opener against Plymouth State University at 4 p.m. UMass Boston will enjoy an extended break as well, as the Beacons will travel to Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) next Thursday for a 3:30 p.m. match.


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@ Veinticinco de Mayo The way you talk to other users on this forum is something you should be ashamed of as someone who is suppose to be representing the site.
We aren't walking through the storm now - we are the storm.
From the lower CT I could see his gesture to the Kop, many others would have missed it. From the moment he came on he was trying to raise spirits. It's a travesty he didn't start today Chops.
Who should he started instead of?
Can or Milner.
It's true to say that if Shankly had told us to invade Poland we'd be queuing up 10 deep all the way from Anfield to the Pier Head.
Look lads, don't get too drawn into this player, that player - just embrace and celebrate the fact we have a player who looks like he gives a fuck. I'm sold already. Keep it up Danny lad.
I remember people on here saying Borini should start after his early substitute appearances last season because of his passion to be fair.
I think people confuse running more with having more passion. I think they just have different playing styles. Shelvey for example, I thought he looked a lazy fucker at times but I also think he wanted to win as much as any one.
Lucas or Can mate, easy decision. Lucas' job today was to hold while Can ventured. So if I had to make a choice it would be an undoubtable Can.What do you think?
I don't know why my posts were deleted by the way. In the above quoted by jfc, I don't think I said anything offensive.
Do you mean the irrelevant ones about Shelvey etc ?In an hour this and yours above will be deleted also mate .
Fisted the Kop and the Kop went, pffffffffLove his passion, really like his directness and the the whole edge to the lad. When he ran from the soon to be dunkin doughnuts stand side of the field, glided past two or three west ham players and nearly, nearly, played an ace one-two with Benteke, was for me, the highlight of our attacking intent today....Unless you count Lovren's shot, which I think was our only shot on target?Ace.After a season of half-hearted performances, its nice to see a lad who looks like he gives a fuck. Love people and players with attitude. Can't wait to see more of this lad. I'd well give this lad 20 at the mancs just for his heart alone. Kopites are gobshites.
The chants for Kenny Dalglish that were heard again on Wednesday do not necessarily mean that the fans see him as the saviour. This is not Newcastle, longing for the return of Kevin Keegan. Simply, Dalglish represents everything Hodgson is not and, in fairness, everything Hodgson could or would not hope to be.
I just feel we need to be playing 4-4-2 diamond, given when Benteke and Sturridge are both fit, they should both be starting alongside one another. Why not allow the players to familiarise themselves with the system now by playing 2 forwards, whether that be Ings or Firminho with Benteke.
Really like this guy. He tries his heart out and he never stops trying. Exemplary attitude and one with real fight in him.
And that's just Chopper on RAWK.
This lad, on only what was a 20 minute or so first time run out, on your debut at Anfield - to gesture to the Kop like that, to get its arse into gear and get some atmosphere going - well then you're alright by me.
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No More Secondhand Art
This eBook is available from the following online stores
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DetailsThis book is about using art as an instrument of personal transformation, enabling us to move from an inherited to a chosen state of being. Peter London offers inspiration and fresh ideas to artists, art students, and art teachers—as well as to people who think they can't draw a straight line but want to explore the joys of creative expression. Inside every person, he believes, there is an original, creative self that has been covered over by secondhand ideas, borrowed beliefs, and conditioned behavior. By freeing the capacity for visual expression—a natural human language possessed by everyone—we can awaken and release the full powers of that original self. Among the topics and exercises included are: How to increase the ability to visualize, fantasize, and dream Obstacles to the creative encounter and what to do about them Experimenting with art media as true mediators between imagination and expression Making masks to reveal the hidden self Painting with "forbidden" colors Arranging found objects as metaphors for one's lifeNews & Reviews
"A joy to read. In a style both conversational and precise, London questions the conventional attitudes that form a barrier to keep art outside most people's lives. London shows us that making images is as natural as speech, as dreams." —Yoga Journal
"Passionate and insightful . . . A must-read for all artists, art students, and art teachers. But anyone who wants to explore their own inner dimensions of creativity can learn and profit from it." —Intuition
"Peter London is grounded in his approach to the visual arts and he communicates it beautifully. He gives a fresh vision to creativity." —Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
"I am impressed—no, I am thrilled—by the courage and ripeness of his guidance toward creativity, how it can work, how it can be helped and hindered, how it can change everything." —M. C. Richards, author of Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person
"His eloquent, at times poetic ruminations return the reader to some earlier state of grace that may have been damaged or neglected in the hurly-burly of teaching. London not only invites the reader on this journey to some unexplored recesses of the mind, but also provides very specific tasks to ease the passage of transition. Philosopher and artist though he may be, London's commitment as a teacher shines on every page." —Al Hurwitz, author of Gifted and Talented in Art and coauthor of Children and Their ArtReader Reviews


text:
Is it a waste of time to investigate the nature of transmission? What you're saying is that "that's how it is, that's the tradition". Actually, that is an answer too and if that's all then I'm fine with it.Namdrol wrote:Astus:
You are wasting everyone's time with this question.
Dzogchen is a Vajrayana system. The Guru is indispensable.
If you want transmission, you must get it from a Guru. Live.
I've participated in Dzogchen transmission both face to face and DC's webcast, but I don't think it is relevant.


text:
The BGH Guide to Growing in Coco
As a growing medium, coco brings together the best of the growing worlds. Made from the fibrous husk of the coconut, coco combines the performance of a hydroponic medium with the forgiving properties of soil, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and experts.
With coco's natural 70-30 moisture-to-aeration level, over-watering plants is difficult, as water will run off but aeration will remain intact once coco reaches its saturation point. Since it is an inert medium containing little if any nutrients, coco can be watered daily with nutrient solution, delivering a fresh supply of fuel to the roots to accelerate plant growth. That can't be done with soil, which will restrict the amount of oxygen available to the roots and slow a plant's growth if watered daily.
While a number of manufacturers have developed coco-specific nutrients that are uniquely adapted to meet the nutritional needs of coco-grown plants, coco is also suited for growers using organic nutrients that would muck up most hydro systems. What's more, coco beats out most other hydroponic mediums in creating the perfect environment for beneficial bacteria to colonize the root zone and help plants absorb nutrients and ward off disease, while better protecting the root zone from heat than most hydroponic mediums.
Versatility is yet another positive aspect of coco, and growers can add amendments to make coco fit a wide variety of growing scenarios, whether it's an automated drip system indoors or a hand-watered container garden outside.
The performance of plants grown in coco is well-documented. In a two-year trial of growing roses in coco and granulated rockwool in a recirculating system, the coco-grown roses produced nearly 16 percent more marketable flowers with an 18 percent higher fresh weight compared to the rockwool roses, according to the International Symposium on Growing Media and Hydroponics.
So if you want faster, bigger blooms through hydroponics with the relative ease and familiarity of soil, you may want to consider trying coco.
What is Coco
Coco, also known as coco coir or coco peat, is made from the husk of the coconut. For decades, the sturdy fibers of coconut husks have been harvested to make rope, doormats and other durable items. But years ago, the horticultural industry discovered that the dust and fibers left over from that process were an excellent – and sustainable – replacement for peat moss, a non-renewable resource.
But since coconut palms tend to grow in salty environments, mainly near the ocean, the first commercially available coco products had nearly plant-toxic levels of salts that required the coco to be flushed with gallons of water before it was ever used.
Today, makers of coco products, like Canna, Botanicare and others, have enacted intensive rinsing and aging regimens to produce coco with as little residual salt as possible, making it unnecessary for the grower to flush the coco before transplanting.
In the mix
Unlike other hydroponic mediums, coco gives the grower a high degree of control over moisture retention and drainage, in addition to being the perfect environment for beneficial bacteria and fungi – namely bacillus, mycorrhizae and trichoderma.
Just like with soil, growers can achieve different degrees of drainage and aeration by amending coco. With plain coco, growers can water almost as they would if the plants were being grown in soil – once every one to three days, depending on the size of the plants and the containers they are in – and provide nutrients with every feeding, since coco contains no nutrients.
But if plain coco is mixed with Perlite, coco can easily fit the precision of drip and ebb-and-flow hydroponic systems.
Botanicare's Ready-Gro coco-perlite mixes offer growers two different drainage levels right out of the bag, in addition to pumice stone, earthworm castings, seaweed meal and natural sources of humates for your plants to draw on. Ready-Gro Aeration Formula contains 60 percent coco fiber and 40 percent perlite, and can be watered four to six times a day, making it perfect for automated indoor hydroponic gardens. Ready-Gro Moisture Formula consists of 75 percent coco fiber and 25 percent perlite, allowing it to hold more moisture so larger plants – even those grown outdoors – can be watered just once or twice a day. A 1.5-cubic foot bag of ReadyGro coco mix will fill roughly three 3-gallon growing containers.
For plug-and-play ease, Botanicare's CocoGro is also available in BOSS blocks that eliminate the need for growing containers and can easily be used in recirculating drip or ebb-and-flow systems. Just hydrate the coco block inside the bag, poke drainage holes in the bottom of the bag and transplant.
Many growers prefer to create their own coco blends as a money-saving alternative to out-of-the-bag mixes, or to exclude certain organic elements that can muck up recirculating hydroponic systems. Others do so simply to augment coco's naturally occurring 70-to-30 moisture-to-air ratio to match their cultivation style.
Canna Coco or Botanicare's CocoGro can be mixed with Perlite to increase aeration and drainage in the root zone. Growers should avoid using coco-specific nutrients when amending coco with Perlite to keep plants from yellowing and under-performing.
Additionally, a 50/50 blend of coco fiber and Vermiculite is excellent for rooting cuttings and helping seedlings get off to a promising start, as Vermiculite clings to moisture, nutrients and a little air at levels that can be beneficial to young plants.
Since coco is an ideal environment for beneficial bacteria, coco growers often inoculate their medium before transplanting. In fact, Canna Coco comes pre-charged with Canna's proprietary strain of trichoderma, and Botanicare is now including packages of Zho Root Inoculant, which also contains trichoderma, with 1.5-cubic foot bags of ReadyGro coco mix.
But diversity is important when using beneficial bacteria, since the root zone requires many different species of fungi and bacteria working together to meet all of a plant's needs. Great White Mycorrhizae is a blend of 36 species of trichoderma, mycorrhizae and beneficials that helps ensure your plants make the most of the nutrients you feed them. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of Great White into your coco when transplanting, and reapply every two weeks at half a scoop per gallon of water. Stop applying Great White four weeks before harvest.
If you are a grower lucky enough to live near a BetterGrow Hydro retail location, BGH's Actively Aerated Compost Tea will also work wonders for your coco-grown plants. BGH's fresh-brewed compost tea contains living microbes that help guarantee maximum microbial activity in the root zone far better than off-the-shelf preparations.
If you don't live near a BetterGrow Hydro location, find a hydro store near you that brews its own compost tea using high-quality ingredients in a top-notch brewer, or make a brewer yourself to produce your own microbial concoctions. Your plants will thank you for it.
Feeding your plants
To match the nutritional needs of plants grown in coco, several manufacturers have introduced coco-specific nutrients that work better with coco's unique nutrient-binding characteristics.
Among the most popular are the two-part Canna Coco formula and Botanicare's CNS 17 Coco and Soil grow and bloom formulas. Both are designed to ensure that elements that bind to coco – like potassium, which is critical to how plants use water and other nutrients – are in ample supply and available to plants throughout their life cycle.
"The nutrient you use on coco is going to be extremely important," said Canna's David Hill, adding that growers should be cautious when using flowering enhancers loaded with high levels of potassium, which competes with magnesium to bind with coco, upsetting the nutrient balance in the root zone.
Irrigation and flushing
For a mature plant in a drip system, a mix of roughly two parts coco to one part perlite in three-gallon containers will require one to two one-minute irrigation cycles per day to start, achieving about 15 percent runoff each time to flush out salt residues left behind by the nutrient solution. In an ebb-and-flow system, a tray of three-gallon containers containing that same coco-to-perlite ratio could be flooded about once a day. However, BetterGrow Hydro recommends either using a drip system or hand-watering plants growing in coco, since the ebb-and-flow action will create an accumulation of salts toward the top of the coco.
However, those suggested irrigation cycles are simply rules of thumb and the grower should ensure that the coco goes from wet to barely moist between waterings. Additional cycles may be needed as the plant's root system grows larger and draws water more rapidly.
Since salts cling to coco, the containers should be flushed with plain water every week or two to remove excess salts from the medium. Another method growers can use to avoid toxic accumulation of salts is to feed-feed-flush, supplying nutrients in two waterings and plain water in the third, to keep the parts per million (PPM) within an acceptable range.
Coco growers feeding with nutrient solution at every watering should periodically test the PPM of the runoff and irrigate with plain water for one or two feedings if the runoff PPM moves beyond 500 PPM.
A week before harvest, it's good to use a salt-leaching solution – BGH recommends Botanicare's Clearex – with plain water to fully flush the medium.
pH Issues
For all the benefits of growing in coco, it is not without its quirks. One of the difficulties coco growers encounter is stabilizing the pH of the medium so that nutrients remain available to the plant and beneficial microbes. To prevent nutrient lockout problems, the pH of the nutrient solution should be kept between 5.5 and 6.2.
The pH of the coco medium should be tested as well. Unlike with soil, checking the pH in the root zone by testing runoff is not very telling with coco, because the elements that bind to coco not be at the same concentration in runoff as they are in the root zone.
To test the pH levels your plants' roots are dealing with, take about a 1-ounce sample of moist – not dripping wet — coco out of a container, stir it with 2.5 ounces of distilled water and measure the pH after the mixture has rested for about 20 minutes.
Shoo, fly
Many growers love coco. Unfortunately, so does the pesky fungus gnat, a small, winged insect that lays its eggs in the moist upper layers of most growing mediums. While winged adults pose no threat to plants, their larvae do, since they feed off of organic matter – including root hairs and roots, a plant's life source – and can spread pathogens in the process. Fungus gnats are often very difficult to get rid of once they become established in the grow room, and if winged adults can easily be found on foliage, the wilting that comes with fungus gnat larvae damage is not far behind.
But keeping the fungus gnat curse out of your coco can be as simple as letting the top inch of the medium dry out before re-watering, making it that much harder for fungus gnat larvae – small worm-like creatures that can be seen wriggling through coco – to gain a foothold and grow to maturity in two weeks. However, when it comes to maximizing yields, a teaspoon or two of prevention is always better than a pound of cure.
A teaspoon or two of Gnatrol WDG – a biological larvicide containing the bacteria bacillus thuringiensis, which kills most gnat larvae, but not adults – added to the nutrient solution or to plain water and applied as a root drench can keep fungus gnats at bay, while a dilution of roughly 3 teaspoons per gallon is an effective way to combat a fungus gnat infestation.
Constant monitoring of fungus gnat populations is another helpful method of halting pest problems before they get out of control. To find out what may be lurking in your garden, place Sticky Whitefly Traps near the growing medium to identify whether fungus gnats or other insects are living among your plants.
Growers with severe fungus gnat problems should consider using a PT-1100 Pyrethrum Fogger in conjunction with the prevention and control methods described above.
If you are a soil growers looking for larger harvests or a hydroponic grower looking for a simple alternative, it's time to get to BetterGrow Hydro or bghydro.com to get your garden coco'd out.
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Reviewing Jefferson the Politician
Meacham has read the scholarly literature on Jefferson—some of it critical—but doesn't let enough of this debate intrude on the storytelling, which nearly always puts Jefferson in the best possible light. . . .Abigail Adams fell out with Jefferson not just over the 1800 election but over his bald-faced denials that he had anything to do with press attacks on her husband. On 1 July 1804 Abigail wrote to the President of the U.S. of A.:
In his notes, Meacham concedes that "a vapor of duplicity," as Charles Francis Adams wrote, beclouds this founder. But Meacham hastens to reassure us that Jefferson would never tell a lie. If his language seemed to deceive, the deception must be in the ear of the listener: "He hated arguing face-to-face, preferring to smooth out the rough edges of conversation …" Thus, Jefferson gets a pass for lying to [George] Washington when he sought to deceive the president about his deep involvement in the propaganda wars raging in the newspaper: "Jefferson had been dishonest …preferring to mislead Washington rather than force a confrontation." This was power politics at its dirtiest—and most fascinating—yet Meacham gives it only cursory attention, perhaps because, as he admits, Jefferson's financial ties to the propaganda hounds reeked of "the smell of the stables."
And now Sir I will freely disclose to you what has severed the bonds of former Friendship, and placed you in a light very different from what I once viewed you in. . . .Jefferson, of course, denied that he had been supporting Callender when that printer attacked the Adams administration. Abigail Adams didn't believe him, and rightly so.
Until I read [James Thomson] Callenders seventh Letter containing your compliments to him as a writer and your reward of 50 dollars, I could not be made to believe, that such measures could have been resorted to: to stab the fair fame and upright intentions of one, who to use your own Language "was acting from an honest conviction in his own mind that he was right." [In other words, her husband.] This Sir I considerd as a personal injury. This was the Sword that cut asunder the Gordian knot, which could not be untied by all the efforts of party Spirit, by rivalship by Jealousy or any other malignant fiend.
As author of a study of Jefferson's slaveholding, Wiencek naturally considers what Meacham has to say on that topic:
The shadow of the Peculiar Institution looms over this book and, I suspect, is the main reason why Meacham so persistently emphasizes Jefferson's political "realism" and his refusal to move farther and faster than the law or the public mood allowed. Meacham has no problem with bold presidential moves such as the Louisiana Purchase, which as Meacham admits, was illegal (the Constitution did not provide for its acquisition) and Jefferson's naval action against the Barbary pirates, which he pursued without Congressional approval (he secured it retroactively). But slavery is always a special case. Slavery was just one of "the complexities of life." Sally Hemings was not enslaved by Jefferson but by "geography and culture." When the political issue is slavery, the man who elsewhere seizes control and imposes his will, immediately gives up: "Wounded by the defeats of his progressive efforts on slavery, Jefferson was finally to retreat to a more conventional position." Meacham does not let Jefferson entirely off the hook, but his rebuke is gentle.Meacham uses the phrase "geography and culture" when writing of young Sally Hemings in Paris, saying that having previously enslaved her (i.e., she was born to an enslaved mother in British-speaking North America), those circumstances now offered a risky opportunity for freedom. On the same page of the book, Meacham writes that Jefferson had this "beautiful woman at his command" because of "an evil system," and "he was not a man to deny himself what he wanted." So it's not as if Meacham erases Jefferson and his desires from the picture.
In fact, Meacham, unlike most Jefferson biographers before 1998, cites Madison Hemings's account as the most reliable source on his mother Sally's life. Seeing a complimentary biographer do that reveals how much the ground has shifted on the consensus picture of Jefferson.
Nevertheless, Wiencek makes an important point. If Meacham's Jefferson "was not a man to deny himself what he wanted" yet took very few steps toward ending slavery at Monticello, he can't have wanted emancipation as much as he said he did. At the very least, he wanted other things more.


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Nursing Students Host Health Fair For Eastern European Community
While most people were enjoying a three-day President's Day weekend hiking, gardening, or skiing, three dozen nursing students from the Samuel Merritt University (SMU) Sacramento Regional Learning Center (SRLC) spent their holiday weekend organizing a free community health fair for West Sacramento's underrepresented Slavic immigrant population.
Nearly a hundred Eastern Europeans, several from the former Soviet Union, attended the free health screenings after Sunday service at the Russian Baptist Church in West Sacramento. The event was held in cooperation with a local primary clinic, Midtown Medical Center for Children and Families (MMC). The goal of the health fair was to heighten awareness of common health problems among the City's underserved population.
"I felt very proud to see how my cohort gave up their personal holiday time to attend the event," said Michelle Van Roekel, SMU nursing student in the Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing (ELMNS) program. "Most of the students are entering their second year at the time of the fair, and were quite confident in using nursing skills learned throughout the curriculum for conducting health assessments of community members."
"There are an estimated 150,000 Russian immigrants in the Sacramento region, with 52 Russian-language based churches," said Terry Deane Dauwalder, RN, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), SMU assistant professor School of Nursing. "The Midtown Medical Clinic is one of the first federally qualified health centers in the United States that is dedicated to serving the needs of the Eastern European immigrant community."
Nursing students from the ELMNS and the Accelerated Bachelors of Science in Nursing (ABSN) programs planned and staffed the event, supervised by SMU faculty FNPs. There were 16 ELMSN students assessing blood pressure and blood glucose levels, three ELMSN students measuring height and weight for BMI, five ELMSN students who performed diabetic foot exams, and three ELMSN-FNP students helping with follow-up care and advanced assessment of patients.
Sacramento Regional Learning Center ABSN and ELMNS students
"I was in motion almost the whole time," exclaimed Van Roekel who helped manage the station units. "I made sure the students were stocked with supplies, and ensured that patients were being assessed as well as receiving follow-up care."
According to Deane Dauwalder, SMU students are taught that one of the most important roles of a nurse is public education. "Teaching in the classroom is a great experience, but applying concepts in the field to those who need healthcare is magic. Watching the students broaden their understanding of culture, disparities, and how they impact population health is an amazing experience."
As ELMNS student Cherly Merwin explains, working with members from this community presented some health challenges. "The challenges are language and cultural barriers, distrust of westernized medicine, medication compliance, low income, and access to healthcare. We also recognized that this community develops hypertension and diabetes within five years of relocating to the United States."
"In addition, many people of this population do not trust American healthcare providers," adds Van Roekel. "For all of these reasons they do not access healthcare until they are very ill. In locating the health fair at the community church, we thought we could provide a link for the population to local healthcare providers. Developing trust within the community was also an important goal of the fair."
Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar testing staton
The free health fair focused on topics that are of usual concern to community health nurses such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke, healthy eating, adult immunizations, smoking cessation and community-acquired bacterial infections. Those who attended received individual care from SMU student nurses, with interpreters to assist in communicating information about how to do basic self-care related to their findings. The patients also received a written summary of the assessment findings, including suggested resource lists providing information about where to get affordable healthcare available in the Russian language.
The event not only provided primary care services to the community, but it was also a learning experience for the nursing students in what's involved in putting on a community health fair, and getting the experience of talking to the public and answering their questions.
"I learned that when going outside of your own ethnic and language comfort zone that it is tremendously important to partner with credible representation of that ethnic group," said Merwin. "Partnering with representatives from the Russian Baptist Church for translation of health education information from English to Russian was key to the success of the fair."
"Watching the students learn how to be good nurses as they apply all the principles they have been taught is a highlight in my [teaching] life," said Deane Dauwalder.


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Jazz Band and Brass Ensemble to present Concert on Tuesdayby Karen Handley • November 1, 2006 Share:
The Wabash College Brass Ensemble and Jazz Band will present a fall concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 7, in Salter Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Center.
The Brass Ensemble, under the direction of Peter Hulen, Assistant Professor of Music at Wabash, will perform Fugue in G Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach; Courant by Samuel Scheidt; Irish Tune from County Derry by Percy Aldridge Grainger; Maxwell's Silver Hammer by John Lennon and Paul McCartney; and The Liberty Bell by John Philip Sousa.
The Jazz Band, under the direction of Steve Robinett, will perform One O'Clock Jump by Count Basie; Cute by Neal Hefti; Lil' Darlin' by Neal Hefti; Basie, Straight Ahead by Sammy Nestico; and April in Paris by Vernon Duke.
Admission to the concert is free. The public is cordially invited.


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this is the stinger MK2
http://shop.lego.com/Product/Factory/Pr ... b9b0bb935d
Moderators: Dr. X, ikensall, fredde
OneEye589 wrote:Are you actually buying any of these?
pesgores wrote:I challenge you to create the so called "mass-production fighter".
A fighter good enough and not much expensive (like, maximum 10 Euros or 15 dollars).
warman45 wrote:pesgores wrote:I challenge you to create the so called "mass-production fighter".
A fighter good enough and not much expensive (like, maximum 10 Euros or 15 dollars).
i have taken up you challenge and produced 2 fighters the stinger MK1 $11.86
http://shop.lego.com/Product/Factory/Pr ... 3d60b167f8
and the Stinger Mk1 with missile $13.33
http://shop.lego.com/Product/Factory/Pr ... 48ca4461d5
all dollar amounts are in canadian
definition : the stinger MK 1 a marvel of mass-production not a single corner was uncutt not a single dollar went to waste (it even travels in the atmosphere) but due to incredible cost cutting it will only ever be a mass production fighter
(History: the stinger corperation was founded in 2054 just as man started to expand into space. after the third world war (which was brought upon due to a lack of oil and a stubbernous attitude towards compromising) earth became united calling itself the United Earth Empire it began expanding to mars and the moon with the prospects of vast mineral resources. the stinger was desighned to be a fast manouverable cheap mass-production fighter unfortunately the Earth Empire was full of cheap buissnessmen who (unfortunately) did not die in the war. space pirates and hostile alien species BEWARE!!!)
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


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Hi guys I have just finished a RTS game called Stormrise which is for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, I will show all my concepts gradually in this thread for that game. Critiques are very welcome. If you want to know more information about this game you can check http://www.gametrailers.com/game/9018.html and official fan site http://www.stormrisers.com/media/, and its official site http://www.sega.com/stormrise/
All the updates will be posted in the first thread by the way


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Rangers trade De La Cruz back to Cleveland
The Texas Rangers have traded Kelvin De La Cruz back to
Cleveland, less than a month after acquiring the left-handed minor
league pitcher from the Indians.
Article continues below ...
De La Cruz was sent back to Cleveland on Thursday for cash
considerations, the same way he had been acquired Feb. 21 by the
Cleveland had designated the 23-year-old De La Cruz for
assignment on Feb. 14 to make room on their roster after free agent
first baseman Casey Kotchman signed with the Indians. De La Cruz
spent last season at Double-A Akron, where he went 5-6 with a 4.19
ERA in 23 games, and had been the Indians organization since
Texas also optioned right-handers Wilmer Font and Matt West to
Class-A Myrtle Beach and reassigned right-hander Fabio Castillo to
Double-A Frisco.


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immerse brauchte ein neues Logo Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 115 Designs von 38 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
Club for the Cause, International
Club for the Cause, International is a company we've formed with a single goal- creating exciting club parties and events, who's proceeds benefit various charities and non-profits. The logo should reflect a crisp professional, yet modern and sexy image. Something that when seen, pulls you in and makes you want to learn more.
The target demographic for typical club advertising is 18-35, however as we'll be working with people older than this with the various charities and nonprofits, the logo should have a bold and fresh, yet broad appeal.
We would like to see a disco ball incorporated somehow into the logo, as it's the classic symbol of a night life event, though it's not totally necessary (it could also be just the square mirror-like pattern somewhere). Though we're open to most colors, too many would be tacky, so keep it simple. Club for the Cause is the main focus, the 'International' can be something in much smaller font, perhaps along the bottom, or wherever. Either way, it's not the focus, though it needs to be included. Bold and sexy, yet classy with broad appeal.
Finden Sie heraus, wie ein Designwettbewerb funktioniert, oder lernen Sie mehr über unsere Logo-Design-Angebote.


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One against all
Play with Fire 2
Poor ice cream
Police control
Adventure klob agencies
Prince and Princess Elope 2
The Complex Escape
Mission Impossible - 2
Dora & Diego. Chistmas gifts
Monkey go happy - 2
Mario and the time portal
Pony platforming project
In search of cupcakes
Fluttershy's bunny rescue
Evilbots: Christmas
Papa Louie 3. When sundaes attack!
Radio Zed
Lep's World
Sword occident warrior
Megaman X: RPG
Pie-man 3
Mini Ninja
Bad land


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Independent game developer Online Warmongers LLC today announced that it has secured marketing and distribution across major global territories for its free-to-play online shooting game, War Inc. Battlezone. The company has partnered with US-based [a]list games to launch a major campaign for the game in North America, Europe and Australia. Through a partnership with Syncopate, a Moscow-based online game publisher, the game is also now available in Russia and other Russian-speaking territories, where it is already gaining notoriety among competitive game players as an official tournament title for World Cyber Games (WCG) Russia.
An ultra-realistic, visually stunning mercenary combat game, War Inc. Battlezone delivers a premium online shooting experience in a free-to-play package. The game is an addictive, clan-based 3rd-person shooter punctuated by high production value, gameplay depth and a rich, frequently updated feature set. In the game, players join the ranks of Paramilitary Commando Units, battle-hardened mercenaries that stand as the last line of defense in a world descending into anarchy. Gameplay is tactical shooting, centered on relentless action and intense competition, with diverse maps and multiplayer game modes for up to 64 players. The game also features one of the deepest customization systems ever designed for an online shooter, giving players free and immediate access to create persistent characters using custom physical traits, gear, armor, military dress and a wide range of modern warfare weaponry.
"We're thrilled to secure partners who understand the online game market and match our vision," said Sergey Titov, CEO of Online Warmongers. "Once people play our game, their expectations for what free-to-play games can offer will change forever. With [a]list games' unique capabilities in building demand for digital games and Syncopate's expertise with Russian-speaking gamers, War Inc. Battlezone is ready to become a standout title in the world's biggest shooting game markets."
Online Warmongers developed the game using the Eclipse Game Engine, a proprietary engine created by its affiliate Arktos Entertainment Group. It's the same technology behind other currently popular online games, including Riot Games' award-winning League of Legends. With War Inc. Battlezone, the powerhouse engine delivers an experience that rivals HD console games, while the competition and community aspects of online gaming as well as the ability for developers to iterate on player input help set the title apart from traditional multiplayer shooters. Online Warmongers is actively engaging players in driving future feature and content updates and encouraging its community to vigilantly police for fair play and help keep the game balanced.
With the new partnerships in place, the aim now is to establish War Inc. Battlezone as the standard in free-to-play shooter quality and gameplay depth. A campaign to introduce Western players to the game is being launched by [a]list games, while those in Russia and Russian-speaking countries can get it through Syncopate's popular social network and distribution platform for gamers, GameNet.
California-based [a]list games is a video game market maker founded by The Ayzenberg Group, an innovator in game marketing for 17 years, and headed by game industry veterans from Microsoft, Disney, Activision and Take-Two. The company partners with innovative developers looking to build an audience for their games, helping their products rise above the clutter in the burgeoning online, mobile and digital game categories by applying marketing strategies normally reserved for video games released at retail.
"We want to expose new and existing online gamers to what a premium free game can offer," said Steve Fowler, GM of [a]list games. "Players experience a graphically stunning, deep, tactical, feature-rich and relentlessly competitive shooter in War Inc. Battlezone, and they don't pay a red penny to start playing."
With its deep knowledge of the Russian game market and executive leadership with backgrounds at top companies in Russian gaming and online industries, Syncopate seeks to aggressively identify high-quality games to bring to the expanding Russian-speaking market. Syncopate is distributing War Inc. Battlezone through GameNet, its social play platform, giving gamers an easy and convenient way to download, discuss and discover games. Syncopate is also a technology partner for the official World Cyber Games (WCG) Russia competition, for which War Inc. Battlezone has been approved as a tournament title.
"With War Inc. Battlezone, Syncopate is blasting into the emerging online shooter market," said William Verigin, CEO of Syncopate. "We are fascinated with Online Warmongers' passion, their meticulous attention to detail and the game's rich cyber-sports capabilities. It's truly exciting to introduce this outstanding title to the Russian gaming community."
For more information on War Inc. Battlezone please visit www.thewarinc.com.
About Online Warmongers Group Inc.
Online Warmongers Group Inc. is an independent Los Angeles-based video game development company, funded through Arktos Entertainment Group. The studio was established in 2009 to develop innovative online next-generation titles for consoles and the PC. Online Warmongers LLC was formed by a group of industry veterans from EA, Activision, and Cryptic Studios with the vision of creating a high quality, free to play, online games.
About [a]list games
[a]list games is redefining marketing for emerging categories in video games, as a pioneer go-to-market solution provider for independent digital game developers. The company has an unprecedented business model designed from the ground up to address the booming yet cluttered market for online, mobile and social games. Its strategy is combining product launch campaigns normally reserved for big budget packaged games with large-scale incentive programs run through a proprietary social play platform. [a]list games is a division of The Ayzenberg Group, a creative force in video game marketing and audience building for 17 years. For more information, please visit www.alistgames.net.
About Syncopate
Syncopate is a leading Russian online game publisher introducing a brand new social network for gamers – GameNet – that enhances both the gaming experience and game to game communications. GameNet seamlessly integrates social networking and community features that extend the boundaries of online gaming. Syncopate is the exclusive publisher in Russia and the CIS of internationally acclaimed hits including Blood Rites by KongZhong (NASDAQ:KONG), Rage of Titans by Ningbo SG-TY and War Inc. Battlezone by Online Warmongers Group. Additional information is available at www.syncopateglobal.com.


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Green Goo
|Green Goo
The Truth flies in on Carl Johnson with the jetpack.
|GTA San Andreas
|The Truth
|Green Goo
|Verdant Meadows, Bone County
|$20,000 and Acquired asset for Airstrip
|Unlocked by
|Black Project
Green Goo is a mission in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, given to protagonist Carl Johnson by The Truth from the Verdant Meadows Aircraft Graveyard in eastern Bone County, San Andreas.
Carl is in the airstrip, sitting on a crate, looking and waiting for The Truth. Suddenly, The Truth, who is riding the jetpack, comes out of nowhere and heads straight for Carl, who ends up avoiding him. He later says he can't fly the thing, so Carl should better do the task. He should head for a train heavily-protected by guards, kill the guards, and get the "stuff". Carl asks what stuff, but Truth does not know yet. Carl, being confused and a little angry, asks Truth why he does not know yet. He just says to get the stuff they least want Carl to get.
Carl heads for the train, which is coming from Prickle Pine. He kills the guards protecting the train. He then shoots at three blue crates, with one crate revealing the package needed for The Truth. He collects the jar of green goo, and takes it back to The Truth, who is waiting at the airstrip. Carl gives it to The Truth, who calls the green goo "everything". Carl asks one more time what is it, but it was too late, as The Truth drives off in The Mothership.
Carl Johnson: Damn. Where is this fool?
(The Truth comes)
The Truth: Woooah! Shit! Oh!
Carl Johnson: Hey, man, look out!
The Truth: Damn! Ow!
(Truth gets up)
The Truth: THE NEW AGE BEGINS HERE!
Carl Johnson: Say what?
The Truth: Not all fantastic things are lies, Carl! Today, we'll know EVERYTHING.
Carl Johnson: Oh, I can hardly wait. I hear knowledge is truly sacred in this part of the world.
The Truth: Man, I've tried, but I can't fly for shit! You better do it. Land on the train, kill the guards, get in and steal the stuff.
Carl Johnson: Oh, yeah. What stuff?
The Truth: I don't know yet!
Carl Johnson: Oh. You don't know yet! I was starting to think you was a lunatic. What do you mean, you don't know yet?
The Truth: You'll be stealing the answer! Look, fly the jet pack. Land on the train. And steal whatever they least want us to get. Shhh. Listen. They're coming. We better go. Peace on earth, dude.
(Carl goes back to airstrip with the green goo)
The Truth: You got it, man?
Carl Johnson: I got something.
The Truth: Let me see. Oooh... Everything is different now.
Carl Johnson: What is it?
The Truth: Everything. They will call this 'year zero'. I'll be in touch.
Carl Johnson: Wait! What is... Yeah, see you around.
- The reward for this mission is $20,000.
- The airstrip is now an asset, which generates a maximum of $10,000.
- A jetpack is always available near the water tank, the garage and the abandoned AC tower on the eastern part of the airstrip.
Carl Johnson attacks the soldiers on the train.
Video walkthrough
|PC Version - GTASeriesVideos


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The days at The Cove are a little slower, a little quieter, and the only appointment you need to keep is with the fish. Most folks get lost in the serenity of the setting that ensures there truly is a God. It's a place that few want to leave...and all can't wait to come back. The Guest Ranch offers a LODGE with RESTAURANT, largest GIFT SHOP in the area. CABINS, RV PARK, large PAVILION for gatherings and PLAYGROUND for the kids, HORSEBACK RIDING, RAFTING, FISHING, JEEP RENTALS, HUNTING and a beautiful setting in the Colorado Rockies.
Cottonwood Cove Guest Ranch is perfect for vacations, family reunions and other group activities.
Home | Lodge | Amenities & Activities | Cabins & Rates | RV Park & Rates | Traveling with Horse | Family Reunions & Groups | FAQ | Local Attractions | Pictures | Workamper Opportunities | Cabins For Sale | Map & Directions | Contact Us
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13046 Hwy 149 Creede, Co 81130 (719) 658-2242 Toll free: (855) 216-COVE (2683) Fax (719) 658-0802
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Cottonwood Cove All rights reserved


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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Say It Ain't So, Warren
A. I think the principles are cut and dried. The problem often lies in the interpretation of the principles. The basic principle is that anything, positively or negatively, that occurs inside a company or has a reasonable probability of occurring that could be viewed as impacting the information needs of an investor needs to be made public. You need to make it public to everybody at once, not just a select group, or not just dribble it out - fair, prompt and full disclosure.
—David Sokol, from "Businesses can avoid trouble by telling truth, Sokol says," by Steve Jordon, Omaha World-Herald, March 17, 2002
A single, big mistake could wipe out a long string of successes.
—Warren Buffett, Chairman's Letter, Berkshire Hathaway 2006 annual report.
Odd timing.
We were about to begin editing the final draft of our soon-to-be-published ebook, "Secrets in Plain Sight: Business and Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett," when the David Sokol news hit the tape, generating simultaneous emails, phone calls and instant-messages that made it impossible to focus on the task at hand.
David Sokol, as everyone except perhaps a few nomads in the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula knows, is the Berkshire Hathaway executive who "resigned" suddenly and unexpectedly last month, shocking Wall Street in general and Berkshire Hathaway-watchers in particular.
Why all the shock?
Well, for one thing, Sokol was widely seen as The Successor who would someday take Warren Buffett's place as CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies.
That's a big deal, considering the fact that Warren Buffet is the most successful investor of his times (not hyperbole), and that Berkshire Hathaway, which his investment acumen created, today has more than a quarter-million employees generating close to $150 billion a year in revenues. That's almost as big as General Electric.
Unlike GE, however, Berkshire's home office doesn't occupy a tree-shaded headquarters building in a leafy Connecticut suburb on 68 acres of land with 600,000 square feet of space, dozens of sharp-elbowed Vice Presidents jostling for position, and hundreds of home-office types toiling away.
No, the stingy and bureaucracy-shy Buffett runs Berkshire with the help of just 20 other professionals, in leased space on one floor in downtown Omaha, and he has been publicly discussing what he's looking for in a successor with the same thoughtful deliberation he uses when discussing stock-picks, the state of the economy, and acquisitions like the recently announced $9.2 billion Lubrizol purchase.
Of course, David Sokol was never actually named Buffett's successor. Buffett likes the limelight, for one thing; for another, he'll run Berkshire until he drops dead; and for a third, until that time he can always change his mind about who should succeed him.
Still, so many signs pointed to Sokol over the years that Barron's once picked him as the heir-apparent in a front-cover story.
Whatever David Sokol's true position in that horse race, last month's very public disruption of Buffett's long-considered plans was surely a shock to the Oracle of Omaha himself, for Buffett thinks not in terms of months and quarters but in terms of years and decades, and he does not often see his well-made plans disrupted—especially not in such an ugly, public way—with the actions and integrity of a Berkshire "All-Star," as Buffett refers to his managers, suddenly called into question.
This leads to the second, and bigger, reason for the stunned reaction to the Sokol Affair: what Sokol actually did before he "resigned."
What Sokol did was this: he traded—quite profitably, it appears—in shares of Lubrizol while lobbying Buffett to have Berkshire buy the company. This kind of trading-in-advance-of-someone-with-deeper-pockets-than-you is known as "front-running" on Wall Street, and it is one of the first things even a summer intern learns never—ever—to do.
Sokol, of course, is no summer intern. He's a veteran, not merely of board rooms but also of the ways of Wall Street. And as the quote at the start of this piece indicates, he is quite familiar with the rules of disclosure for public companies.
Indeed, Sokol's first experience as president of a public company dates back to 1992, when he took the helm of an obscure but memorable outfit known as JWP (the old Jamaica Water Properties—'Jamaica' as in Queens, New York; not as in Bob Marley and the Wailers), where his Chief Financial Officer uncovered questionable accounting practices which Sokol admirably disclosed before submitting his resignation and moving on to the predecessor to MidAmerican Energy, even as JWP was moving on to Chapter 11.
Nor is Sokol some underpaid subaltern for whom the lure of a quick buck might seem too great to pass up.
During his 2000-2010 tenure as Chairman of Berkshire's MidAmerican Energy group, Sokol earned, by our calculations, total salary of $8.8 million and bonuses of $53.9 million, plus a $26.25 million payout thanks to MidAmerican's "Incremental Profit Sharing Plan."
But that was not all David Sokol earned at MidAmerican, for not only did he work at MidAmerican, but Sokol was an owner of MidAmerican.
That's because Sokol, Walter Scott (a Berkshire board member) and Greg Abel (a longtime MidAmerican executive who replaced Sokol as Chairman of MidAmerican when Sokol "resigned"), invested alongside Berkshire to buy MidAmerican in what was, in many respects, a good old-fashioned $2.2 billion leveraged buyout. (Berkshire owned 75% of MidAmerican when the deal closed; today it owns roughly 90%.)
Now, leveraged buyouts can be risky. On the other hand, they can be highly rewarding, too, as Sokol's experience shows. All told, from 2000 to 2010, MidAmerican's filings report he sold a total of $145.5 million in MidAmerican stock or stock-equivalents back to MidAmerican, taking his ownership as of 12/31/10 down to zero.
And Sokol certainly earned his good pay, at least when measured by the gain in MidAmerican's value over the years. When the Buffett and Sokol/Scott/Abel investor group bought MidAmerican in 2000, they paid $35.05 a share. Five years later, MidAmerican paid an implied $145 per share to buy back stock from Sokol, and by 2009 the valuation had increased to what appears to be $175 per share for Sokol's remaining shares.
It is no wonder Buffett wrote in his March 30 letter, "Berkshire is far more valuable today" thanks to Sokol. And it is unlikely Buffett begrudges one dime of Sokol's compensation, for Warren Buffett is, as he likes to say, "A pay-for-performance kind of guy."
Yet Warren Buffett is also a Wall Street veteran. (He first visited the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when he was 10 years old.) And if anybody in the financial world knows "front-running" when he sees it, it would be Warren Buffett.
This brings us to the third, and biggest, shocker of the Sokol Affair: Warren Buffett's own handling of it.
The way Buffett handled it was through a press release written in the form of a letter that first praised Sokol's work for Berkshire and then divulged the stunning news that Sokol had bought, then sold, and then bought shares of Lubrizol during a period of time in which Sokol was encouraging Buffett to buy Lubrizol lock, stock and barrel for Berkshire Hathaway—which Buffett eventually would do.
Buffett summed up the matter, and simultaneously tried to close the door on it, by writing, "Neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful."
To understand why this rationalization was so head-scratchingly, stop-the-presses stunning, one must understand that for a quarter-century Warren Buffett has been sending a version of the following memo to his managers (David Sokol, no doubt, included) defining what he calls Berkshire's "top priority"—and that priority is not money:
This is my biennial letter to reemphasize Berkshire's top priority….
The priority is that all of us continue to zealously guard Berkshire's reputation. We can't be perfect but we can try to be. As I've said in these memos for more than 25 years: "We can afford to lose money – even a lot of money. But we can't afford to lose reputation – even a shred of reputation." We must continue to measure every act against not only what is legal but also what we would be happy to have written on the front page of a national newspaper in an article written by an unfriendly but intelligent reporter.
Sometimes your associates will say "Everybody else is doing it." This rationale is almost always a bad one if it is the main justification for a business action. It is totally unacceptable when evaluating a moral decision….
If you see anything whose propriety or legality causes you to hesitate, be sure to give me a call. However, it's very likely that if a given course of action evokes such hesitation, it's too close to the line and should be abandoned. There's plenty of money to be made in the center of the court. If it's questionable whether some action is close to the line, just assume it is outside and forget it.
As a corollary, let me know promptly if there's any significant bad news. I can handle bad news but I don't like to deal with it after it has festered for awhile. A reluctance to face up immediately to bad news is what turned a problem at Salomon from one that could have easily been disposed of into one that almost caused the demise of a firm with 8,000 employees.
Somebody is doing something today at Berkshire that you and I would be unhappy about if we knew of it. That's inevitable: We now employ more than 250,000 people and the chances of that number getting through the day without any bad behavior occurring is nil. But we can have a huge effect on minimizing such activities by jumping on anything immediately when there is the slightest odor of impropriety….
—Warren E. Buffett, July 26, 2010 ("Memo to Berkshire Hathaway Managers")
That letter was reprinted in the 2010 annual report that went to all Berkshire shareholders a month before the Sokol Affair exploded, and it needs no elucidation.
After all, the sentiments expressed are exactly what Buffett and his long-time business partner, Charlie Munger, have been telling shareholders at his annual shareholder meetings for decades.
Indeed, Munger has proven to be even more emphatic than Buffett when it comes to what constitutes appropriate conduct—"being an exemplar," as he likes to say. In a speech at Harvard Law School that still circulates on the internet, Munger once discussed the "isolated example of a little old lady in the See's Candy Company, one of our subsidiaries, getting into the till":
"And what does she say? 'I never did it before, I'll never do it again. This is going to ruin my life. Please help me.' …. Well in the history of the See's Candy Company they always say, 'I never did it before, and I'm never going to do it again.' And we cashier them. It would be evil not to, because terrible behavior spreads."
Interestingly enough, Sokol tried to throw Munger under the proverbial bus in a CNBC interview shortly after the Lubrizol trades came to light by claiming his Lubrizol trades—unreported to Berkshire shareholders until after the fact—were somehow similar to Munger's longstanding and fully disclosed interest in Chinese car company BYD, in which Berkshire subsequently took a stake. (Munger, appropriately, took no part in Berkshire's BYD investment process—in fact it was Sokol who went to China to look at the company for Berkshire.)
So what did Munger—the man who spoke so sternly about the 'little old lady' at See's Candies—have to say about Sokol's Lubrizol trades? He called it "a glitch."
Warren Buffett was right when, explaining the kind of risk-conscious individual he was looking for to succeed him as the Chief Investment Officer at Berkshire Hathaway, he wrote this line in 2006:
A single, big mistake could wipe out a long string of successes.
At the time, of course, Buffett was referring to financial mistakes—the kind of mistakes that brought down Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch, and Fannie Mae, and so many others just a few years later.
That those financial mistakes did not happen at Berkshire Hathaway during the worst financial panic since the Crash of 1929 was entirely due the rational, thoughtful, forward-looking individual at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway. Owing to that foresight, Berkshire Hathaway will continue to thrive under Warren Buffett and beyond thanks to the collection of durable companies that now make up most of Berkshire's assets, even though it will never be the growth machine it was during his stock-picking years.
But the reputational mistake from that single, awful line, "Neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful"—a line that, while factually very likely the truth, just wiped out a long string of reputation-building successes—is not so easy to fix.
What you are reading and hearing is from people who believed—thanks to years of careful studying of what Buffett wrote in those annual letters and careful listening to what he said at those annual meetings—that Buffett meant what he said and said what he meant.
And they cannot believe what they have just read.
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2011 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. Also, this blog is not a solicitation of business by Mr. Matthews: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
25 comments:
- Anonymous said...
Buffett wrote that he did not view Sokol's actions to be unlawful. He did not state that he found them to be ethical, and I suspect Buffett would have a very different answer to that question which will no doubt be asked at the AGM.
- Mr. Market said...
I have been waiting for this post. I am 28 years old and have been following Berkshire since taking a value investing class in college. Like many others that you described in your book, I found myself turning into one of the faithful, reading all the letters to shareholders multiple times, attending the meeting, reading all the books (including yours twice), etc.
The one thing that I do not believe has been discussed thoroughly is Buffett's own investment process and how it relates to this matter. Almost every investment decision that I have read about (you probably know more) has been 100% Buffett's final decision (with input from Charlie). While there is no doubt that others may have had some influence in some decisions (BYD, etc.), nobody but Buffett makes the final call and I find it unlikely that someone can really "talk him into something" on a deal of this size or quite frankly on anything. Therefore to me, what Buffett is saying in all of this is, "I knew about the purchases, but no one can convince me to make a deal that I do not think is 100% beneficial to Berkshire shareholders, no matter who they are."
In the end I agree that this doesn't look good, but taking into account the fact that Buffett really does make the final call on all material investment decisions, it seems to me that this is not as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be. You said in your book (or maybe the blog about the meeting to approve BNSF) that you can always tell the people who don't like Buffett, this just seems like their opportunity to finally have their day in the sun.
Would love your comments (and yes it is fine to tell me I am young and naïve).
- Anonymous said...
One of your best Jeff. Thank you.
- Colin P said...
I was starting to think you were going to remain silent on this subject, or tell your readers, "you'll have to read it in the book".
- David Merkel said...
I found Buffett's seeming lack of care over the matter to be the most disappointing aspect of this.
It would be one thing if Buffett had never said word one on business ethics. It is quite another when you have emphasized it for years, and then to not follow your own principles at the first material test of them.
- Ritholtz said...
Very cogent observations, Jeff
- Anonymous said...
You're spot on that the wording was undesirable from the Mid-Western Oracle with golden ethics. However, isn't it clear or at least strongly inferred that Sokol left because Buffett found his behavior inappropriate? I feel Warren's actions still scream that he is a solidly, well-principled man.
- Doug said...
Warren has just jumped the shark.
- Anonymous said...
Jeff, don't you think that, over the years, there were many investments that Sokol has brought up to Buffett and that he didnt even consider? I mean, Sokol is probably there doing a bunch of trades a year on his personal account (as Buffett has previously mentioned about his own personal account investments) that goes unnoticed and this time that's what happened?
Aside from this specific issue, I wonder who does the back office work at Berkshire. There must be someone checking the custody and the trades Warren does daily, right?
- But What do I Know? said...
Well, Mr. Matthews, you deserve a lot of credit for looking at the facts and being willing to reevaluate your position on WB, rather than seek to excuse him or search for reasons to exonerate his behavior in this case as others have done. It shows your intellectual honesty and I for one admire you for it.
- Not allowed to sign my name said...
As always, well done.
Mr. Market, in answer to your question, here is accepted practise amongst investment firms. I am a senior fund manager and one of my analysts buys a stock and then recommends it to me for my fund. If I then purchase that stock, he loses the right to any profits on his investment, instead they go to my fund. If he makes the recommendation to me and instead waits an appropriate time after I make my purchases (in my firm's case 2 weeks), then there is no front running issue and any profits are his.
What is inexcusable here is that after the fact Buffett didn't insist that Sokol's profits belong to Berkshire and that Sokol didn't volunteer to surrender them. By alerting Buffett to the holdings Sokol probably avoided any legal issues with front running. Ethically he should have conceded the profits. Buffett, by not seizing the profits, failed to look after the fiduciary interests of Berkshire's shareholders - and might well lose a lawsuit were he to be sued over his actions.
Not allowed to sign my name
- Anonymous said...
Most writers about Warren are more enamored with creating additional mythology about Buffett's saintliness. I'm afraid Sokol is just a small tip of the iceberg.
If you look at the sales generation process of any business, you'll really see how the sausage is made: promises made or promises broken; scams or not. If you spend any time looking at how Wells Fargo or Geico actually extracts money from ordinary customers, you'll see how dear ole Warren has cleverly turned another blind eye. I suggest that you take a real hard look under these rocks. There might be more creepy crawlers scurrying about.
- Jeff Matthews said...
For starters, Paul, who kicked things off by noting that Buffett would not have bought Lubrizol if he didn't think it was a great deal for shareholders, is factually correct.
But it is not Buffett's actions regarding Lubrizol that are the issue. It is Sokol's actions, and Buffett's public response. (And while we won't call you 'young and naive,' Paul, we urge you to read the comment we'll get to in a minute.)
As for the Anonymous comment that Buffett's actions still "screamed" that he is a solidly principled man--well, we think they screamed no such thing, and that was the problem with the press release. Buffett is very quick to call Lehman bankers "carnys" when their behavior offends him...not so David Sokol.
Regarding the 'back-office issue at Berkshire, it seems clear there IS no 'back-office' at Berkshire. That will change.
The final "Anonymous" takes the conspiracy-theory angle on Buffett, without providing any factual basis for the claim that Buffett 'turns a blind eye' on bad business practices at Wells Fargo and GEICO...if he or she had instead highlighted Kirby vacuum cleaners, which essentially sells expensive vaccum cleaners on credit to people who can't afford them, we'd have been more impressed.
It is "Not Allowed to Sign My Name," however, provides the most interesting take of all, and it is from personal, real-world experience. Paul, our self-described 'young and naive' reader who defended the purchase of Lubrizol as being Buffett's alone, without considering Sokol's actions in their own regard, should take a minute and read it.
Two thumbs up.
- Anonymous said...
Conspiracy theorist, JM? I think I'll leave that up to people who watch the defunct program, X-Files.
Check out this ruling against Wells Fargo:
Judge orders Wells Fargo to pay $203 million in overdraft fee suit: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/08/judge_orders_wells_fargo_to_pa.html
Given the size of this suit, I doubt it didn't make it to the board of directors. And there are plenty more against Wells and Geico -- i.e. defrauding consumers. (And no I'm not Elizabeth Warren.)
Warren is no angel -- despite the attempts of many of your like to apotheosize him to drive book sales and gain reflected glory.
- Mr. Market said...
Thank you both "Not allowed to sign my name" and Jeff. I certainly did read of your comments and I understand the points that you made. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
- Piotr said...
Demanding fee for being well advised? Is this the answer for Paul, who obviously hit the point? Jeff, I can't believe you ended into that misleading Wall Street reasoning. This case is far from obvious, and this blog inured us to something more than copycatting CNBC's arguments.
(No offense, I'm just temporarily shocked)
- Jeff Matthews said...
Anonymous takes umbrage at the term 'conspiracy theorist,' and although there is a fierce contingent of conspiracy theorists who view everything Buffett has ever said/done as a scam, we'll say, okay, to paraphrase the Arctic Monkeys, 'perhaps conspiracy theorist is a bit strong...'
But the Wells Fargo example does not make your case. Berkshire owns a minority interest in WFC and does not have a board seat. Hard to see how everything they do is at the bidding of Warren E. Buffett.
- Anonymous said...
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Chap 1
Don't criticize
You're read Snowball. I expect you remember that Buffett was a devotee of Dale Carnegie. When has Buffett ever criticized anyone? Pretty much never.
Even when Santulli blew up Netjets you never heard Warren run him down.
I wouldn't take Buffett choosing not to criticize Sokol as an endorsement from Buffett of Sokol's behavior. I'd just take it as Warren being diplomatic and realizing nothing to be gained by criticizing Sokol.
- Jeff Matthews said...
Well, we don't watch CNBC so we don't know what the relationship is between "Say It Ain't So, Warren" and anything else out there.
And we do know Warren doesn't criticize specifically--that Dale Carnegie maxim he adopted was in our own book as well as "Snowball."
We also know what Buffett has been writing and saying for 25 years.
The piece speaks for itself.
- ashwin deshmukh said...
Insider trading aside--and the new Lubrizol filing makes it seem not such a remote possibility---Sokol is just as guilty as a secretary that takes white-out, a factory worker that takes a slightly imperfect shoe for himself off the assembly line or the executive that takes home his old Aeron chair after an office remodel (disclosure: Long Herman Miller).
Deriving benefit from your employer such as a cup of coffee you grab at 4:45 PM and finish on the drive home is one thing. It's incidental. Being central to a transaction and benefiting along the way just because you are there is theft.
I doubt Citi's bankers used Sokol's personal email . He was a Berkshire employee on Berkshire time when he took the meeting.
Jeff can we expect you again this year at the meeting?
- Anonymous said...
Your analysis is the best I've seen so far (most everything out there seems to be mindless chatter).
Buffett was magnanimous in making the statement "Neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful."
This one statement, I feel, is Buffett's parting gift to Sokol, for his many years of dedicated service. This is the best Buffett could do for Sokol, under the circumstances, betrayal of trust by a front runner (sic) among Buffett's successors.
I am making this up (sic), but imagine Sokol being investigated by the SEC for this trade. Sokol may be able to draw comfort from Buffett's statement.
This statement is the best Buffett could do to "hide" Sokol - recall the Polish Jew who said "I am slow to make friends because when I look at people, I have one question in mind — would they hide me?"
That Buffett came up with this statement in a single day, despite emotional toll from the betrayal of trust, speaks to Buffett's rationality in weathering the emotional storm.
Thank you Jeff, for your excellent commentary - keep up the good work.
- jb said...
So we've learned that Warren Buffett is a hypocrite. A word I haven't seen used yet. Maybe his ethics are not always golden.
For example, previous commenter, David Merkel, wrote an article, "What Did Buffett Know about the Gen Re Finite Reinsurance Deal with AIG?" back in 2007. It makes you wonder if Buffett was lying then about his knowledge of a very large Gen Re/AIG "sham" insurance contract.
- Anonymous said...
It may be that Buffett isn't on Wells Fargo's board, but he owns a very, very large piece of it. It would be hard to imagine that this bank's shenanigans wouldn't have crossed his shrewd mind.
And it probably crossed yours as well, Jeff.
But that wouldn't make for mythologizing and apotheosis would it? After all, there many also rans like you who make their living with Buffett-aping and Buffettology. Except that only one man has that scam down right.
- Anonymous said...
Jeff, I love your blog and have read it for years. It is witty, intelligent, reasoned, and generally unbiased. I've been a Buffett fan and Berkshire stockholder for a long time. But starting in 2009 something began to rub me the wrong way. The more I read about Buffett the more he didn't seem to be the guy I thought he was. At one point the accolades I used to share started to grate on me. I really appreciate that you're calling this straight when it would have been easy to gloss it over. You have guts; thank God someone does.
- Dhaka news said...
I m looking to read your next Ebook..


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Bill Stibor interviewed Stephen Buhler about Shakespeare Uncovered, from "Friday Live" on 1/25/2013.
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text:
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I usually don't keep granola in the pantry, but I do make it when we have house guests and during Lent when it helps the Silver Fox keep his sugar cravings in check. This very simple version is easy to make and while it is high in calories, portion control and will power help keep love handles under control and make it possible for me to keep it on hand. This recipe was developed by Sara Quessenberry who co-authored The Good Neighbor Cookbook while living on the 46th floor of a high-rise in New York City. While that irony always makes me smile, her recipes are spot on and I'm really comfortable in recommending her book and the recipes she developed while working at Real Simple magazine to you. The great advantage to making your own granola is that you can control what goes into it. I like this version because it uses maple syrup rather than sugar to sweeten the oat and nut mixture. I think you'll like it, too. It will keep for up to a month if stored in an air-tight container. Here's how it is made.
Homemade Granola ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Sara Quessenberry
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut (preferably unsweetened)
1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dried fruit (such as cherries, cranberries, raisins, or currants)
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss oats, almonds, coconut, and sunflower seeds together with maple syrup, oil, and salt on a rimmed baking Sheet. Bake, tossing once, until golden and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the dried fruit and toss to combine. Let cool. Yield: 6 cups.
One Year Ago Today: Cherry Berry Fudge
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text: Awesome, thank you all for the information. In relation to my transcripts, my worry was that in addition to my GPA, they would actually look at the grades I received for the courses. I know they put more emphasis on the overall LSDAS GPA, but do they factor in your actual course grades themselves when making a decision?


text:
Cannabis Use Mimics Cognitive Weakness That Can Lead to Schizophren...
The conclusion, of course, hasn't been proved by experiment. It's an interpretation.
Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have found new support for their theory that cannabis use causes a temporary cognitive breakdown in non-psychotic individuals, leading to long-term psychosis. In an fMRI study published this week in Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers found a different brain activity pattern in schizophrenia patients with previous cannabis use than in schizophrenic patients without prior cannabis use.
The results reinforce the researchers' model where cannabis users suffering from schizophrenia actually may have higher cognitive abilities than non-cannabis using schizophrenics. This difference may indicate that the cannabis-user group did not have the same mental propensity for psychosis.
The study shows that schizophrenia sufferers with previous cannabis use had consistently higher levels of brain activity while undergoing these tests as well as a higher number of correct answers. These results are in line with previous conclusions from the Bergen researchers who support the idea that cannabis users with schizophrenic characteristics do not appear to suffer from the same neuro-cognitive weaknesses as other patients with schizophrenia.
This implies that it is the cannabis use itself that leads otherwise non-psychotic individuals down the nightmarish path towards schizophrenia by imitating the cognitive weakness that is the main risk factor for developing the psychological condition. [emphasis mine]
Views: 154
Good qualification, good info. But info. on the potential harm from cannabis use vs. its benefits is a medical issue and none of the government's business. Virtually all prescription drugs are strong chemicals, some with horrendous side-effects. But they are legal and regulated. There is no argument, medical or moral, for continued prohibition of cannabis.
It's interesting that one doctor, who was one of the first to come up with effective treatment for schizophrenia, is also an outspoken advocate for pot - Dr Lester Grinspoon - http://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/LesterGrinspoonMD?xg_source=pro...
depends on the person.. the environment.. social structures..
who's to judge who's schizo anyhew.. maybe it's diff w/male females..?
To believe in gods is like Dawkins said to hallucinate...
It's all about education. Same old bob n' weave.. long live common sensi farmers! ; )
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text:
Catholic schools got a shout out, of sorts, in the opinion page of The Wall St. Journal Sept. 30. The column praised Catholic schools for all their achievements but also lamented their increasing struggles.
"Catholic education in the United States is in dire straits," wrote Richard Riordan, former mayor of Los Angeles and the founding president of the Los Angeles Catholic Education Foundation. Citing a recent study by Loyola Marymount University, he noted that 98 percent of Catholic high school students graduate and most of them continue on to college. But despite the academic success of these schools, enrollment is down and many Catholic schools are closing. Today's 2 million students attending 6,900 Catholic schools is a far cry from the 5.5 million students attending more than 13,000 U.S. Catholic schools in the early 1960s .
Riordan said this trend is not the result of a lack of demand but of the inability of parents to pay tuition.
That's why his foundation just announced a campaign to raise $100 million for Catholic schools in the Los Angeles area — in the hope of providing Catholic school scholarships to local students in need.
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez likewise noted the great achievements of Catholic schools coupled by their growing unattainable cost for so many. He also credited the Catholic Educational Foundation for making a Catholic education available to so many who would not have been able to afford it. He described the foundation as one of the church's "most important social programs" noting that in the last 24 years it provided 120,000 tuition awards totaling $108 million to the poorest families in the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
In his column in The Tidings, the archbishop said:"Our schools face challenges. The most serious come from the economic needs of families who can't afford the costs of Catholic school tuition. So we need to find a way to help."
He said the mission to help Catholic schools should be shared by all Catholics. "Let's work together to grow our Catholic schools, to expand into new areas where schools are needed, and to raise the money we need to give a Catholic education to every student who wants it," he wrote.
Riordan's message was similar: "Each of us, no matter what career we have followed, has an obligation to educate the next generation. The education needed for success in our world necessarily includes the basics of reading, writing and math. It must also include the ability to reason, to make good judgments, and to be responsible for our planet and all its peoples. These have been the fundamentals of our Catholic schools for over a century. We must guarantee they are here for generations to come."


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text:
Stonington couple upset that neighborhood going to the dogs
Stonington — A dispute over the unofficial dog park at the borough sewer plant escalated Sunday morning as police say one of the new owners of an adjacent home displayed and turned on a stun device while ordering two children to get their dog off the tiny beach below her seawall. The children told their parents, who called police.
On Sunday afternoon, police were back at the park when a resident complained that the owners, Laura Ann Gabrysch and Frank Mastrapasqua, had placed a mixture of paprika and pet repellent on the rocks that separate the park from Stonington Harbor in an effort to keep the animals out of the water.
Police said Gabrysch did not threaten the children with the stun device but admitted to putting the mixture on the rocks. Witnesses and police said another neighbor upset with the dog park confronted the officer who responded to the afternoon incident.
No arrests were made in either of the incidents, but police said they issued warnings and told Gabrysch to talk to town and borough officials about their park concerns. Police also said they informed Gabrysch that state law ensures public access to waters and beaches below the high water mark. The beach area is covered by water most of the day.
The couple, who recently moved to the borough from Nashville, Tenn., bought the house at 13 Front St. in April for $900,000. On Monday afternoon, a woman who answered the door at the house said she had no comment.
Residents had dogs in the park Monday afternoon, and a few of the dogs climbed down the rock to cool off in the shallow, protected water where the couple has placed a sign that reads: "No Trespassing - Violators Will Be Prosecuted."
The large, grassy property, which is owned by the town, has never been officially designated as a dog park. Still, it is very popular with borough dog owners, who meet there each day with their pets. Much of the property is surrounded by a fence. The parts that are not fenced are bordered by rocks that lead down to the water.
Last year, park users said, the town installed a new area of fence along the Gabrysch-Mastrapasqua property. It contains a gate that dog owners would open to let their pets access a small trail that leads down to the water. But a few days ago they say someone placed a heavy-duty bicycle lock on the gate so it can longer be opened. The lock was still there Monday afternoon, forcing dogs that could to climb up and down the large rocks to the water.
Borough Warden Jeff Callahan was at a Warden and Burgesses meeting Monday night and could not immediately be reached to comment.
Property line in question in dispute over dogs' use of beach in Stonington borough
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18th March 2005, 01:08 AM
Jaspar is finally losing his puppy coat and at the moment always looks a bit dishevelled. In particular the soft downy puppy hair on his head is now meeting an uprising of adult hair creeping up the back of his head and this seems to make the downy hair stand on end all the time. I always say he looks like a man with a combover on a windy day (shhh, don't let him hear I said that!). I sure hope this goes away soon!: