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Friday, November 30, 2012
skippy's friday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
hostess gifts
...while requesting permission for the bonuses, hostess's lawyers also reported that it can't pay retiree benefits, and quit contributing to the pension plan more than a year ago. which just might have had something to do with the level of anger among the employees. the latest bankruptcy filing is the second in a decade. -
...anyone can drive a business into bankruptcy. it's not hard. hostess has done it twice. and the same people who achieved this are so valuable they need $100,000 each to stick around and finish the process? and we wonder why there are so many people out there willing to march around with placards denouncing the well off? - daily post
Labels: corporations, criminal, crooks, hostess, twinkies, union, wall street
let the shaming begin
this is hostess ceo hostess ceo greg rayburn. his pay was $125,000 a month running hostess into the ground.
if you see his pasty mug out in public, shame him. no, really. let's start putting these crooks on notice that we're not going to let them destroy our country, our manufacturing, etc. and then slither back to whatever rock they oozed out from without some consequence.
Labels: criminal, crooks, liars, wall street
every friday afternoon
5 burning questions about legal marijuana
why rich guys want to raise the retirement age
donald trump's 50 stupidest tweets
Thursday, November 29, 2012
skippy's thursday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, womens issues, youtube
we love stephen colbert, too
especially when he weighs in against the faux "news" war against women.
Labels: colbert, faux news, war on women
the tale of the magic thursday
postal deadlines for sending gifts to troops this holiday season
5 charts about global warming that will make you very, very worried
the world almost ended in 1883
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
happy birthday jon stewart!
Labels: birthday, jon stewart
skippy's wednesday night music club
wednesday blonde
next saturday is a national day of action alert to preserve middle class tax breaks
republican rep. paul broun: science is straight from the pits of hell
oh noes!!! homosexuality is caused by incubi and succubi!!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
skippy's tuesday night music club
singer tony bennett was a democrat from childhood because "the hoover administration left everybody so stranded. i have never gotten over that." later, he recalls that he himself "was in the infantry in france and germany in world war II. we won that one. It was still tough. [today] what I would like to see is our troops coming home. I can't wait until we get them all home."
Labels: democrats, music, skippy's music club, tony bennett, youtube
tuesday's heartbreak
the future of the white man's party
some other things to worry about besides the fiscal cliff
in kentucky you could spend a year in jail for not believing in god
nation's largest group of ob/gyn's think all birth control should be over-the-counter
Monday, November 26, 2012
skippy's monday night music club
monday's rain
racial diversity on fall tv
it's not really red and blue states, it's more like purple states
apes also can suffer from mid-life crisis, study finds
Sunday, November 25, 2012
skippy's sunday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
environmental news stories sunday
silver springs backers fight proposed cattle ranch. when scuba diver guy marwick looks at florida's most famous spring, he sees that the sparkling white sand on the bottom has been smothered by globs of toxic algae. studies have found that 90 percent fewer fish are swimming in the spring compared to the 1950s, and pollution is increasing - tampa bay times
florida's vanishing springs. a century ago florida's gin-clear springs drew presidents and millionaires and tourists galore who sought to cure their ailments by bathing in the healing cascades. now the polluted springs tell the story of a hidden sickness, one that lies deep within the earth - tampa bay times
ginnie springs owner fights off threats. part of what attracts divers to ginnie springs is the crystal clear water, which jacques cousteau once proclaimed to be the clearest in the world with "visibility forever." keeping it that way hasn't been easy - tampa bay times
report of arsenic in rice products alarming, but doctors urge calm. about two weeks ago, deb de moulpied went to the concord food co-op for her groceries and, as she often does, asked for more information about where the food she was buying came from. the clerk assured her the rice she was considering was organically grown in california by lundberg family farms. then she saw a new york times feature on the same california rice farm, battling arsenic in the soil that was contaminating its rice - concord monitor
after sandy, climate change gets more attention. coastal communities including the eastern shore of virginia need to begin to prepare for changes in the climate, according to two experts who spoke at the nasa visitor's center at wallops island about adapting to climate change - worcester county times
your smartphone's dirty, radioactive secret. the rare earths inside microcomputers make our lives easier. but just how toxic are the guts of your smartphone? does my phone have to have such a toxic footprint? not if manufacturers—and consumers—are prepared to spend more - mother jones
are urban chicken-keepers doing more harm than good? this week it was suggested that the growing numbers of city dwellers keeping chickens were spreading disease and harming birds. but is it just bad blood on the part of big food producers? - the guardian
recycling for food. mexico city's landfills are at capacity but the government has come up with an innovative way to encourage recycling. mexico city residents can bring recyclables to a market and trade them in for locally grown produce. - living on earth
restaurant mogul george schenk melds the needs of people, planet, and profits. american flatbread restaurants have a family-friendly atmosphere featuring a wood-fired oven and gingham-checked tablecloths – and a mission that promotes tolerance, social justice, and environmental sustainability. - christian science monitor
ottawa moves against lab that reported virus in british columbia salmon. a lab that revealed the first evidence of an infectious virus in british columbia salmon should be stripped of its credentials, according to the canadian food inspection agency. the action has surprised other experts, who worry the government is trying to silence a scientist. - globe and mail
how the drought may dampen holiday dinner. while your thanksgiving shopping list may not have been affected, shopping for christmas for dinner may be another story. this summer's drought has some farmers selling off their livestock today because they're worried about how to feed them tomorrow - marketplace
ban on bee-killing pesticides to be investigated in uk. the uk environment secretary is examining the possibility of banning the controversial nerve-agent pesticides increasingly implicated in the decline of bees and other pollinating insects - the independent
rise of acid ocean eats away base of food chain - the independent
Labels: bees, cell phones, climate change, dc, drought, environment, food, food safety, global warming, gop, lobbyists, mexico, ocean, vermont, water
save your sundays for surfing
the lavish lifestyles of the four-star generals
is wall street really clueless about the fiscal cliff?
nobel prize winners eat more chocolate
Saturday, November 24, 2012
skippy's saturday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
saturday night banjo
and 5 signs the right is losing it completely
has the media failed in covering climate change?
hubble has possibly spotted the furthest galaxy ever
and rest in peace, j.r. ewing and maj. tony nelson, actor larry hagman
also rip hector "macho" camacho
Friday, November 23, 2012
black friday insanity
would jesus mug someone for a cheap piece of plastic something made in china?
Labels: america, consumerism, insanity
skippy's friday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
rip larry hagman
black friday rules
remember the poor during this door-busting holiday
wal-mart is bracing for strikes today (and they seem to be going viral)
and here's a list of wal-mart strikes, if you plan on attending one!
new study shows fashion industry's reliance on slave labor
hostess making off with the mostess
over $1.28 billion in taxpayer subsidies went to junk food ingredients, bringing the total to a staggering $18.2 billion since 1995. to put that figure in perspective, $18.2 billion is enough to buy 2.9 billion twinkies every year - 21 for every single american taxpayer. - us pirg
Thursday, November 22, 2012
thanks for the memories
giving thanks in dark times
here's the history of the presidential turkey pardon
thanksgiving leftovers repurposed
here's some holiday cooking tips from kids (and from these kids, too)
giving thanks
november 22
Labels: good works, holiday, jfk, passings
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
wednesday 13
msnbc beats fox in primetime demo 3 nights in a row after election
nobody preaches hate better than america's christian right
michael gondry and 'ubik' ? yay!!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
exchanging more than securities
move over, adulterous generals. It might be time to make way for a new sexual rats'nest – at america's top financial police agency, the sec - matt taibbi rolling stone
Labels: banksters, matt taibbi, rolling stone, wall street
tuesday's gone
karl rove's crossroads never filed legally required registration
papa john's facing $250 million text message spam lawsuit
and look out! mount doom is about to explode!!
big banks vs. elizabeth warren
lobbyists and trade groups for wall street and other major banking players are pressuring lawmakers to deny warren a seat on the powerful senate banking committee. with the impending departures of sens. herb kohl (d-wis.) and daniel akaka (d-hawaii), democrats have two spots to fill on the committee before the 113th congress gavels in next year. warren has yet said whether she wants to serve on the committee. but she would be a natural: she's a bankruptcy law expert, she served as congress' lead watchdog overseeing the $700 billion bank bailout from 2008 to 2010, and she conceived of and helped launch the consumer financial protection bureau (cfpb). - mother jones
Labels: banking, banksters, massachusetts, senate
Monday, November 19, 2012
skippy's monday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
the twinkie defense
why were the republicans shellshocked?
....just two days after election day, as the republican party was in full-blown despair and karl rove was trying to figure out what went wrong, anonymous released a press statement claiming it did indeed prevent an attempt by rove to steal the election for mitt romney. - truth out
Labels: 2012 elections, gop, voting integrity
monday sweetheart
twilight of the old guys
the fiscal cliff is more like a fiscal curb
separated at birth?
Sunday, November 18, 2012
skippy's sunday night music club
Labels: movies, music, skippy's music club, youtube
environmental news stories sunday
Obama to address climate change, smog in second term. The president has been sending signals on the environment like policy test balloons. He mentioned climate change twice since re-election, once during his victory speech and during a press conference at the White House - san gabriel times tribune
GOP House leadership pledges to oppose climate change tax. Perhaps smarting from getting a zero percent return on investment from the $36.7 million spent bashing Barack Obama, the Koch Brothers' Super PAC Americans For Prosperity has narrowed its focus on a new enemy: a tax on carbon emissions. - mother jones
Alarm sounded as water rose. The one-two punch of Superstorm Sandy and a follow-up Nor'Easter got local lawmakers in Connecticut asking: How should the city deal with rising oceans and extreme weather brought on by global climate change? - new haven independent
Boulderites' film creating big buzz. It appears "Chasing Ice," the new documentary film created by a team from Boulder, is catching fire. The independently produced film about climate change grossed just less than $21,000 on a single screen in New York during the all-important opening weekend. - boulder daily camera
Flooding danger puts Sacramento at risk of a disaster worse than Sandy. Aside from New Orleans, Sacramento has the greatest flood risk of any major urban area in America, and a levee breach in Sacramento could cause many deaths and cripple the economy for 1.4 million people in the metro area who depend to some degree on the city of Sacramento staying dry - sacramento bee
Exclusive: New Jersey railway put trains in Sandy flood zone despite warnings. New Jersey Transit's struggle to recover from Superstorm Sandy is being compounded by a pre-storm decision to park much of its equipment in two rail yards that forecasters predicted would flood, a move that resulted in damage to one-third of its locomotives and a quarter of its passenger cars - reuters
Take on climate change. It is long past time for our nation to take seriously the issue of climate change, so it is good that President Barack Obama last week said he wanted to open a national conversation on the issue. - carroll county times
Labels: california, climate change, colorado, energy, global warming, gop, natural disasters, new jersey, sacramento, sandy, train
remembering sunday
not news to us: human intelligence is slowly declining
ups ends support of boy scouts over anti-gay policy
priest bite off the ear of another priest over a parking space
climate change is real
drought may dry up barge traffic in st. louis
mississippi river interests fear that the reduced flow will force a halt to barge traffic at the river's midpoint. they warn that the economic fallout will be enormous, potentially forcing job cuts, raising fuel costs and pinching the nation's food supply.- star telegram
Labels: climate change, drought, food, rivers
Saturday, November 17, 2012
skippy's saturday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
saturday night at the world
woman angered by obama's re-election runs over husband for not voting
five misconceptions about our tattered safety net
fear of obamacare plummets after election
Friday, November 16, 2012
skippy's friday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
hitler finds out obama got re-elected
presented w/o comment
let them eat hostess cake
hedge fund owned hostess filed for bankruptcy earlier...and now it says it will shutter it's factories.
hostess brands says it is going out of business, closing plants that make twinkies and wonder bread and laying off all of its 18,500 workers - salt lake tribune
so...while workers are struggling to survive as their livelihood is shuttered, the silver point hedge fund ceo, edward a. mulé, is basking in luxury in his 15,045-square-foot connecticut residence (pdf) and the ceo of hostess itself is sucking some financial juiciness out of the company while the workers are paid crumbs.
rayburn announced that the pay of the four top executives would go down to $1 for the year, but that their full salaries would be reinstated no later than jan. 1. hostess pays rayburn $125,000 a month, according to court filings. at the same time rayburn became ceo, gephardt's son matthew, 41, the coo of the gephardt group, was put on the hostess board as a $100,000-a-year independent director. - cnn money
Labels: bankruptcy, food, labor, two americas, wall street
friday face
the honor roll of who got 2012 right
wile e. coyote must be a republican
is mcdonalds getting too expensive?
Thursday, November 15, 2012
skippy's thursday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
rules, laws and regulations
when karl rove's drossroads grassroots policy strategies (gps) formed in 2010, it established its official address in warrenton, va, and registered with the internal revenue service a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) "social welfare organization." it apparently did not, however, register as a charitable organization with the commonwealth of virginia, as appears was legally required. - think progress
the non-partisan citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington (crew) filed complaints thursday with both the federal election commission (fec) and the federal bureau of investigation (fbi) alleging that karl rove and his secretive crossroads gps violated election law and may have engaged in a criminal conspiracy to do so - think progress
Labels: gop, lawlessness, liars, rove, taxes
sweet thursday
right wing media threatens revolution, impeachment & more after election
the gwa party is dead. long live the tea party
will the waltz be the next big dance craze? (party like it's 1799!)
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
waiting for wednesday
nine jobs mitt romney would be perfect for
racist facebook posting gets woman fired
speaking of facebook, here's the disappearing romney page
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
tuesdays in chinatown
vaginas are not cars, wallets or other items of movable property
we are not powerless to confront climate change
hey! you! get out of my cloud!
Monday, November 12, 2012
veteran's day
skippy's monday night music club
Labels: movies, music, skippy's music club, youtube
monday's rain
ironically, it looks like the gop's efforts to suppress minority votes actually backfired
and nate silver thinks that from here on in, the gop is at a disadvantage for electoral votes
a short history of spies and their sex scandals
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Why We Use Statistics, NFL Example Edition
We are now mostly through Week 10 of the NFL season, which means most teams have played nine games. Unless Kansas City manages to beat Pittsburgh by more than 36 points on Monday*—not, to be gracious about it, the Way to Bet—there will be four teams in the NFL that have give up between 10 and 20 points more than the have scored.
You would naturally assume that those teams would have losing records, either 4-5 or even, the closer you get to –20, 3-6. But certainly it depends on the distribution of your wins and losses. But, just for fun, let's look at the four teams:
Point Differential
This, not to put too fine a point on it, is why we apply statistical analysis. A couple of blowouts (both New Jersey teams lost today by three touchdowns, though the Jets—Jersey/B, as Gregg Easterbrook's sole viable contribution to popular culture named them—gave up extra points as well) may skew the record—if every other game is close. If I tell 100 people who know the rules of football but not the way the season has gone, "The Colts have given up 15 more points than they have scored through nine games," chances are that 80-90 of them would guess the team was 4-5 or even 3-6. Some small number might guess 5-4, and an even smaller one will guess 6-3.
But then add information. For instance I say, "They lost their first game of the season by 20 points." At this point, those will at least moderate math skills realize that the Colts are +5 over 8 games; 5-3 is not out of the question, though 4-4 remains the Way to Bet—by a much smaller margin.
Now I add, "Coming into this week, they had only won one game by more than three points." Suddenly, that +5 looks strong; there is a shift of some set of the 4-5 people (who know the first week was a loss) to 5-4 (5-3 plus that loss).
The more information you get—"they were blown out by Jersey/B as well"—the more likely you are to guess that they might be 6-3. But the odds still don't favor that. Indeed, the Dolphins have been blown out twice (-20, –34), but they have also won two blowouts (+22, +21). (The Bengals are 1-1 in blowouts; the Cowboys, like the Colts, are 1-2.)
So if we're just looking at the raw data and the predictions of the people, we would see the Informed Voters hanging around 5-4 or even 6-3, the Paying Attention group splitting between 4-5 and 5-4, and some Randomly-Asked-Questions people guessing 3-6 or 4-5 (with a few clever enough to say 5-4 just because they know someone thought the question was interesting).
Any parallels to those complaining that Nate Silver was estimating percentages to four significant digits are left as an exercise to the reader.
*Or there is a blowout of epic proportion tonight between two teams that are both at least +100 through eight games.
remember that sunday
free food for veterans at some restaurant chains this weekend
the va backlog is unacceptable
every day should be veterans day
environmental news stories sunday
new york readies for veterans day as region struggles. thousands were in temporary shelters, and in new jersey a tent city on the edge of monmouth park racetrack was home to hundreds. authorities in the region said they did not have access to enough alternative housing or hotel rooms for all those who have been displaced - nytimes
u.s., vietnam deal with agent orange. a jungle raid in january 1962 in which u.s. helicopter pilots ferried south vietnamese troops to attack soldiers from the north was one of america's first major operations in the vietnam war - usatoady
adapting to climate disruption. superstorm sandy was a wake-up call, laying bare the vulnerabilities of our built environment in the face of dangerous new realities of climate disruption. rising sea levels and severe storm surges target coastal communities, and many towns and cities are inadequately protected. so the question is, what are we going to do about it? - living on earth
months without power in wake of Sandy. about 100,000 homes and businesses in new york city and long island were so damaged by hurricane sandy that restoring power to some of them may take months, the governor of new york, andrew cuomo, has said. - bloomberg
the american illusion of water abundance. from the docents at the hoover dam to the biggest users to our own, overwatered backyards, let's break the cycle of ignoring threats to u.s. aquifers and rivers - and stem the drain on america's water resources before it's too late - latimes air force ships california radioactive waste to idaho landfill. after california regulators refused to allow the u.s. air force to label residue from radioactive aircraft instruments as "naturally occurring" – declaring it unsuitable for a Bakersfield-area dump – the military turned to idaho with the same story. there, military officials met with success. - california watch
battered new york city looks for ways to hold back the sea. new york city had been gradually preparing for a world of rising seas and more powerful storms. but the devastation caused by hurricane sandy is now forcing officials to consider spending billions of dollars on storm protection, including a network of surge barriers. - yale environment 360
help sandy relief efforts with voltaic's "buy one give one" solar charger program - treehugger
climate change report outlines perils for us military. climate change is accelerating, and it will place unparalleled strains on american military and intelligence agencies in coming years by causing ever more disruptive events around the globe, the nation's top scientific research group said in a report issued friday - nytimes
allergies from pollen projected to intensify with climate change. spring and summer allergy sufferers might already have noticed a slight increase in days spent sneezing each year. And new research suggests that allergies triggered by pollen are set to increase—in both duration and severity—with climate change - scientific american
sandy: what a coastal us can learn from other threatened cities. new yorkers aren't accustomed to thinking that they live in a disaster-prone city, but does sandy mean that the big apple needs the same kind of extensive – and expensive – flood barriers that protect european cities like Rotterdam or london? - time magazine
Labels: asthma, climate change, drought, military, new york, ocean, sandy, veterans, vietnam, water
Saturday, November 10, 2012
saturday night at the movies
the gop's top 10 methods in their war on women
kevin drum scolds liberals; driftglass scolds kevin drum
another study shows millionaires don't flee if their taxes are raised
and, in lieu of chronicling mitt's mendacity, let's look at the tumblr for white people mourning romney
Friday, November 09, 2012
friday at five
and montana passed a referendum declaring corporations are not people
jewish leaders push back over boy scouts' anti-gay policy
ach! gehen sie zu hause! es ist die krampus! (winter holiday demons of the alps!)
Thursday, November 08, 2012
so glad the election is over
but...i feel the election adrenaline slowly seeping out of my soul...my body...
Labels: 2012 elections
let's drink to obama!
suite thursday
michigan elected santa claus
california school district blames 12-year-old rape victim for her own abuse
is there any real reason london needs a statue of christopher hitchens?
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
spring summer and wednesdays
how one woman lost her faith in the pro-life movement
the 20 weirdest religious beliefs
and if those bones found beneath the carpark in london really are richard iii, they will be formally interred in leicester cathedral
missouri showed 'em
yesterday's missouri election results show that you can show an awful lot of negative tv ads if you like, but if you're a jackass in a very public way, the way todd akins was this past summer, well, you get where this going. the ads i heard were so nasty and filled with hate-filled undertones that i am delighted their author was repudiated. Those ads were contemptible and anyone who would permit them to be shown on his behalf is reprehensible.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
It's Them, and Maybe You – A Tale of Two Cities
Here in suburban New Jersey, we are just now getting power back throughout town. (As of yesterday—remember, remember, the Fifth of November—we were the town in Essex County that had the least restored houses.) A lot of progress today, with teams from Texas and Florida among those called in (which presumably left the NJ teams to deal with the major issues down by the shore).
By a fluke of (mis)transcription, my work number is getting calls from the Huntington (NY) School District. Huntington is (per Google Maps) fifty-six (56) miles away, around the middle of Lon Gisland.
One of the things that has been happening is that the towns are in parallel: my childrens's schools have both been closed since last Monday. So has the Huntington School District. For the past two days, on two separate telephones, I have gotten a call saying, in short, "We have no power. No school tomorrow."
Today, the calls were different.
For here, the grade school is open tomorrow. For the middle school, power is still not restored, but alternatives have been found.
For Huntington, the message went roughly like this:
Power has now been restored to the school. However, we are now anticipating that the high winds from tomorrow's Nor'easter will reach our area before the scheduled dismissal time tomorrow. Given the danger from trees and power lines that have not yet been repaired from Sandy, we are going to remain closed tomorrow.
Jersey Jazzman asked if his annual evaluation would include a "Sandy variable." All the talk from Lon Gislanders has been about how Sandy impacted the South Shore and how tomorrow's Nor'easter will impact the North Shore.
Some areas of the Northeast were less affected. Some are recovering. And some—such as the middle of Lon Gisland—are getting the worst of both worlds.
Just to relate this to finance: I really wouldn't go long any insurance companies (or even reinsurance companies) just yet.
(cross-posted to Angry Bear)
happy days are here again
don't know where your f#cking poling place is? you can f*cking find it here
18 reasons you might want to vote for mitt romney
voting wrongs
Monday, November 05, 2012
monday sweetheart
5 female animators who shook up the industry
2/3 of republicans believe in demonic posession. (but less than half believe in global warming!)
george will is a serial auto-plagiarist
Sunday, November 04, 2012
skippy's sunday night music club
Labels: music, skippy's music club, youtube
gop shenanigans in florida and ohio
there have been massive lines this weekend in the key swing states of florida and ohio, with some voters waiting six hours or more to cast their ballot. this is not an accident.
in ohio, after attempting to cancel weekend early voting all together, secretary of state jon husted (r) drastically rolled back early voting hours. in florida, gov. rick scott (r) reduced the number of early voting days from 14 to 8. - think progress
...last night, voters in miami-dade county were forced to wait in line up to six hours to vote. in some precincts voters who arrived at 7pm were not able to cast their ballots until 1am. in response, republican-affiliated election officials in miami-dade have effectively extended early voting from 1pm to 5pm today by allowing "in-person" absentee voting. but this accommodation will only be available in a single location in the most republican area of the county. - think progress
Labels: cheating, florida, gop, ohio, voter suppression, voting integrity
environmental news stories sunday
in perfect storm, would d.c. have fared any better than yew york? had the nation's capital and its surrounding counties, home to 5.7 million people, taken the full force of last week's freak storm, would it have fared any better than new york? the bottom line: probably not. - wapo
insurance companies rethink business after sandy. superstorm sandy capped what's been a pretty impressive couple of years for u.s. natural disasters and there is one thing the insurance industry agrees is true: the cost from hurricane damages is increasing. that's largely because population density and the cost of coastal property increases every year - weekend edition npr
hurricane sandy a taste of more extreme weather to come. killing nearly 200 people in the united states, canada and the caribbean and crippling much of new york city and surrounding areas earlier this week, hurricane sandy was the kind of extreme weather event scientists have long predicted will occur with global warming. - interpress service
when the lights went out in manhattan. everyone here knows the conditions are not comparable to those after the earthquake in haiti, or during the hunger crises in africa, but many new yorkers still get angry with the spiteful and condescending commentaries from other parts of the world. do a thousand people need to die before one can call something a catastrophe - der spiegel
new jersey shore, ravaged by sandy, might never be the same. within hurricane sandy's immense strike zone, there were places that were shaken, places that were inconvenienced, places that sustained damage and death, and places that may never be the samen - latimes
after getting back to normal, big job is facing new reality. basic restoration leaves everything just as vulnerable to the next monster storm. hurricane sandy is now a gauge of the region's new fragility. climate change and extreme weather are presenting government — and the public — with some overwhelming choices - nytimes
we need to get ready for more storms on steroids. regardless of the outcome of tuesday's election, we will expect lawmakers from both parties to be serious about addressing carbon emissions and global warming in a comprehensive way - augusta kennebeck journal
despite sandy, talk of climate change is stifled. everyone's talking about the weather, but no one's doing anything about it — especially those who really could do something: politicians, businesses and individuals - marketplace
global warming: more americans believe 'big lie'. global warming skepticism is still alive and well, thanks to an effective campaign of public disinformation — one heavily financed by oil, gas, electric utility and coal interests, and employing tactics pioneered by the tobacco industry - lewiston sun journal
Labels: climate change, disaster capitalism, disasters, hurricane, natural disasters, nyc, sandy
say hello
raining on sunday
latino excitement at record levels for the election
how screwed are jp morgan chase and wells fargo?
all the sharpest dressed conservatives wear glenn beck jeans
Saturday, November 03, 2012
saturday night again
batacchio considers the civil "both sides" bipartisans
nate silver is on the front lines in the war on math
here's a list of the richest members of congress
Friday, November 02, 2012
skippy's friday night music club
please consider a donation to santa barbara's own direct relief international that is shipping much
needed medical supplies to those whose lives were shattered by sand on the east coast and in haiti.
Labels: disasters, haiti, music, new jersey, nyc, sandy, skippy's music club, youtube
romney holds some whacky ideas
watch mitt romney get in a heated exchange with a radio host from a radio interview in 2008 about where jesus will reign and rule over the earth for 1,000 years -- in jerusalem and missouri. romney displays deep familiarity with the thinking of a mormon hermit-conspiracy theorist cleon skousen, who was also glenn beck's great inspiration - alternet
Labels: conspiracy theories, jesus, mormons
relief for hurricane sandy's victims - please give!
the american red cross
apple itunes has a portal on its itunes store for donating relief to sandy's vicims
donate via ebay
watch and donate to the nbc universal marathon tonite on the nbc networks
and the aspca is helping pets displaced by hurricane sandy
here's the fema guidelines for donating safely
friday after next
are you a workaholic?
social security has a rate of return that's tough to beat
is the progessive blogosphere dead? (we hope not!)
Thursday, November 01, 2012
skippy's thursday night music club
Labels: music, sandy, skippy's music club, youtube
regulations save lives. lack of them endangers them.
the fatal meningitis epidemic sweeping the united states can now be traced to the failure of then-gov. mitt romney to adequately regulate the massachusetts pharmaceutical company that is being blamed for the deaths. - salon
Labels: drugs, massachusetts, regulation, romney
probably on thursday
hurricane sandy should be politicized
but conservatives bash chris christie for cooperaring with obama


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U.S. election campaigns have become gaffe-centric. Candidates live in fear of letting slip that sentence, or half-sentence, that makes the opposition's day.
Take a town hall appearance earlier this month by Republican Rep. Allen West of Foridla.
During the
meeting, the Tea Party-affiliated legislator — who serves Florida's 22nd Congressional District but is seeking re-election in its redrawn and more Republican-leaning 18th District — was asked by an attendee, "What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists or international socialists?"
Some in the audience laughed at the question. West, however, responded: "No, that's a good question. I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party that are members of the Communist Party."
The remark was reported on local news sites. But what gave it legs — and gleeful play on left-leaning national sites such as the Huffington Post — was the fact that it was caught on video.
Political Paparazzi
Catching those moments is the job of the video trackers. They're usually young people, fresh out of college, looking for a way into politics.
For every gaffe that goes viral, the trackers record hundreds of hours — maybe thousands — of pure tedium.
In a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the strange business of video tracking, Jessie Williams, a tracker f
or the Democrats, approaches Adam Hasner, a Republican running for Congress in Florida, and says: "Hi. Before you go inside — can you answer a couple questions for me?"
"Yeah. Can I get dressed first?" the former Florida state legislator asks as the video tracker captures him adjusting his suit and cuffs in a parking lot.
The videographer, who says in another video posted on her YouTube channel that she works for the Democrats, then follows the candidate as he
crosses the parking lot to an event.
What's remarkable about the exchange is how civil it is. Both videographer and politician know that she's there to catch him on camera saying something dumb, but they treat this moment like just another day at the office.
They chat about the weather, golf and whether she's getting paid enough.
The New Norm
In politics, video tracking has become normal. And it's a growth industry. There are trackers working for campaigns, political parties and, increasingly, political action committees.
One pro-Democratic PAC, "American Bridge 21st Century," has 17 trackers deployed to key congressional races around the country. Because federal law bars PACs from coordinating with campaigns, you'll sometimes see multiple trackers at the same event. And even though they're on the same side, they're not supposed to talk to each other.
They are also under strict orders not to talk to reporters.
Former tracker Sara DuBois worked for a left-leaning organization called Progressive Media in 2008. She said the job is stressful.
"You want to make sure you don't go to [an] event and forget to turn the camera on," said DuBois.
There's a lot to juggle. The tracker has to be part detective, making sure not to miss even small, poorly advertised public appearances in out-of-the-way places. The driving can be nonstop. When the tracker finally arrives at an event, a candidate's supporters may turn hostile.
DuBois said the tracker's best strategy is to be transparent, at least up to a point.
"Transparency, without overdivulging," said DuBois. "I mean, you don't want to go in and say, 'Hi, I'm here to destroy you; where do I stand?' "
The Right To Record
The targeted campaigns usually tolerate the trackers, but they rarely offer them front-row seating.
Occasionally, the trackers face eviction.
At an outdoor event featuring West in 2010, a Democratic tracker caught the attention of a group of West supporters, dressed in motorcycle gear, who created a physical barrier and ordered the tracker to leave.
Sometimes, tracker evictions become exercises in the theater of the absurd.
Last summer, Washington state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna was speaking to a small meeting of young Republicans. In the midst of his talk, he turned to a Democratic video tracker attending the event and asked him to
turn off his camera. When the tracker refused to do so, the Young Republicans called 911.
The tracker's video is posted on YouTube under the title "Rob McKenna Camera Shy @ King County Young Republicans."
DuBois says trackers are trained to point out their legal right to record at public events. So eviction arguments often pivot on whether the event is public or private.
Many organizations hosting candidates are now declaring their meetings private, or "closed press," in advance, in anticipation of trackers. But that
can deprive candidates of coverage by the news media.
Keep It Rolling
DuBois says trackers should never engage in a physical fight. After all, there's a better strategy.
"No matter what, you keep the camera on. ... The last thing [
campaign staff] want is to become the story by sort of aggressively turning away a tracker."
There are different kinds of video tracking. Some organizations are building libraries of everything said by opposing candidates, cataloging hours of video for future reference.
Trackers' strategy borrows phrases from sports lingo, operating "man to man" or using a "zone" strategy. Then there's the more aggressive subspecialty of tracking known as "bird-dogging."
In one video posted on YouTube, called "Tester doesn't know what the national debt is," a bird-dogger hides behind a pillar outside Washington, D.C.'s Union Station, then jumps out at Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., firing off a series of loaded questions.
He then trails the senator, following him inside the train station, where even a news organization cannot film without prior permission from the station's press department.
Tester does not stop to chat, and that's not the point. The senator is locked in a tough re-election fight, and images of him fleeing the camera may be useful for attack ads later this year.
Political Implications
When confronted by a bird-dogger, the challenge for a candidate is to walk away as swiftly as possible without looking guilty.
And no matter what, a politician should never take a swipe at a tracker while the camera is rolling.
Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina grabbed the arm of a videographer, a scene later remixed as an effective attack ad that contributed to his election loss in 2010.
Video tracking has even become a feature of small-budget races for state legislatures.
Washington Republican state Sen. Michael Baumgartner said he and his GOP colleagues joke about trackers, imagining the voiceover for the ads that will be made from the videos.
"We sometimes say the little voice to each other, you know, 'Sen. Joe Fain doesn't like puppy dogs!' " Baumgartner said.
The video tracking of Baumgartner intensified last fall, after he announced a run for the U.S. Senate.
On a trip to Washington, D.C., an apparent bird-dogger confronted him as he got out of a cab. Back home, he said trackers have recorded him during legislative committee meetings in Olympia, then driven four hours to catch him at a campaign event across the state. He recently complained to the state Democrats that a tracker had followed his wife around a dark parking lot outside a political event.
The cameras also remind candidates not to deviate from their scripts. With the camera around, Baumgartner said, off-the-cuff humor becomes a big risk.
"You do get a temptation sometimes to say something a little ironic, but you know it's going to get taken out of context. And when you're on the campaign trail, jokes taken out of context can do a lot of damage," said Baumgartner.
Always On
This may be the most lamentable effect of all the video tracking, says political consultant Brian Crowley. During his years as a reporter, he learned the value of sometimes putting his notebook away — to let the candidate relax.
But now, he says, candidates rarely have that luxury.
"When you hear complaints that a candidate X, Y or Z is too stiff, I think it's just that they're afraid," said Crowley.
DuBois, the former video tracker, said candidates shouldn't worry so much about gaffes.
"It's not the fact that we have a camera on them and that we have it recorded that something sticks and changes everything," said DuBois. "If they're being candid and consistent and their policies are something people will support, then I think having cameras there isn't something that will change it."
Not that anyone really has a choice in the matter. With video cameras now in every pocket, politicians are foolish not to assume they're being recorded, all the time, almost anywhere. Just like everybody else.
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.
And I'm Robert Siegel.
Left-leaning websites had a field day earlier this month with a video. It's of Republican Congressman Allen West speaking at a public meeting in Florida.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLEN WEST: I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party.
SIEGEL: Seventy-eight to 81 Democrats in Congress are communists, he believes. West has been defending that remark ever since. As NPR's Martin Kaste reports, the scene was recorded by a video tracker, one of a legion of political operatives trying to catch opposing candidates saying something they'll regret.
MARTIN KASTE, BYLINE: For every snippet of video that goes viral, video trackers record hundreds of hours of pure tedium, stump speeches, town halls, chit-chats in parking lots.
JESSIE WILLIAMS: Mr. Hasner.
ADAM HASNER: Hey.
WILLIAMS: Hi.
KASTE: This is tracker footage of Adam Hasner, a Republican running for Congress in Florida. The tracker, a young woman working for the Democrats, approaches him by his car as he preps for an event.
WILLIAMS: Before you go inside, can you answer a couple of questions for me?
HASNER: Yeah. Can I get dressed first?
WILLIAMS: Sure. I won't look.
KASTE: Both of them are well aware of the fact that she's here in hopes of catching him on camera saying something dumb, and yet the whole exchange is remarkably cordial. They start chatting as if it's just another day at the office.
HASNER: So how are you enjoying Florida?
WILLIAMS: I'm liking it. I've been here for a few months, though.
HASNER: Oh. Are you?
WILLIAMS: Yeah.
KASTE: Hasner even holds the door open for the camera as it follows him. In American politics, video tracking has now become normal. There are trackers working for the campaigns, for the parties and, increasingly, for political action committees.
One pro-Democratic PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, has 17 trackers deployed to key congressional races around the country. In 2008, Sara DuBois was a tracker for a group called Progressive Media. She says, as jobs go, it can be pretty nerve-wracking.
SARA DUBOIS: Well, the first thing is you want to make sure that you don't go to this event and forget to turn the camera on.
KASTE: She says things work best when trackers don't try to play games. They should admit up front that they're working for the enemy camp. The key, she says, is transparency.
DUBOIS: Transparency without over-divulging. I mean, you don't want to go in and say, hi. I'm here to destroy you. Where do I stand?
KASTE: The targeted campaigns usually tolerate the trackers, though they don't exactly offer them front row seats. But sometimes, trackers face eviction. DuBois says she was taught to point out her right to record at public events. But she says it's also important not to put up a physical fight because there's a better strategy.
DUBOIS: No matter what, you keep the camera on. So, if you are being turned away, you film that process. The last thing that they want is to become the story by, you know, sort of aggressively turning away a tracker.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: You know you're not wanted here.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: You're going to make it worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: All right. You guys made that clear.
KASTE: This is the kind of scene DuBois is talking about. In 2010, at an outdoor political rally in Florida, a Democratic tracker kept the camera going as he was confronted by what you might call a group of motorcycle enthusiasts.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Get your hands off (unintelligible).
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: This is a free place.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Yeah? And we're free to stand here.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: OK. Fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: We're free to stand here.
KASTE: There are different kinds of video tracking. Some organizations are mainly building libraries of everything said by the opposing candidates. It's all catalogued for future reference. There are trackers focused on public events. Some of them work man-to-man. Others have what they call a zone strategy.
And then there is the more daring, subspecialty of tracking that's known as bird-dogging. For instance, this guy. As the video starts, he's actually hiding behind a pillar waiting for the perfect moment to jump out at Democratic Senator Jon Tester.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: Senator Tester, how are you today, sir? You doing well? Sir, you know what the national debt is? Do you?
KASTE: The whole point of this is to produce unflattering images of the politician fleeing the camera. For the candidate, the challenge is to walk away as swiftly as possible without looking guilty. And, no matter what, the candidate should never do what Democrat Bob Etheridge did two years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: Do you fully support the Obama agenda?
BOB ETHERIDGE: Who are you? Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: Whoa.
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
KASTE: Etheridge takes a swipe at the camera, then grabs the arm of one of the young men. He later apologized, claiming a long day, but the tape was already destined for remix as an attack ad.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: Whoa.
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
ABBY: I'm Abby.
RICHARD: Richard.
SAM: Sam.
ETHERIDGE: I don't know who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Where Bob Etheridge's constituents.
KASTE: Etheridge was not re-elected. When the video trackers appear, Michael Baumgartner says he and his fellow politicians can't help but imagine the eventual attack ad.
SENATOR MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER: We sometimes say the little voice to each other, you know, Senator Joe Paine doesn't like puppy dogs.
KASTE: Baumgartner is a legislator in Washington state and he says he's seen video tracking on state level campaigns, but when he launched a run for the U.S. Senate last fall, the cameras were suddenly everywhere. On a trip to D.C., bird-doggers popped up as he got out of a taxi cab. And back home, he says a tracker followed his wife around a dark parking lot. He says there ought to be some limits.
BAUMGARTNER: Videotape the candidate, but don't harass their family members.
KASTE: The cameras also constantly remind the candidates to stay on message. For instance, Baumgartner says it's just not a good idea to engage in off-the-cuff humor.
BAUMGARTNER: You do get a temptation sometimes to say something a little ironic, but you know it's going to get taken out of context. And when you're on the campaign trail, you know, jokes taken out of context oftentimes do a lot of damage.
KASTE: And that may be video tracking's most lamentable effect, says political consultant Brian Crowley. During his years as a reporter, he says he learned the value of sometimes putting his notebook away to let the candidate relax.
BRIAN CROWLEY: Now, a candidate never feels like he's not only not being watched by somebody holding a notebook, but not being watched by somebody carrying an iPhone. And sometimes, I think, when you hear complaints that candidate X, Y or Z is too stiff, I think, sometimes, they're just afraid.
KASTE: Former video tracker Sara DuBois says she understands this, but she also says candidates should not worry so much about gaffs. A dumb remark may get play on the Internet, she says, but that by itself won't sink a campaign.
DUBOIS: It's not the fact that we have a camera on them and that we have it recorded that something sticks or changes everything. So, if they're being candid and consistent and their policies are something that people support, then having the camera there, I don't think, will change it.
KASTE: Not that anybody really has a choice in the matter. With video cameras now in every pocket, politicians are foolish not to assume they're being recorded all the time, almost anywhere, just like everybody else.
Martin Kaste, NPR News.
BLOCK: I'm Melissa Block.
SIEGEL: And I'm Robert Siegel. You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

subset: commoncrawl


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As a team, the No. 11 Gauchos turned in a statistical performance to remember on Wednesday night, setting individual highs in kills, digs, assists, hitting percentage and blocks. All that was not enough to beat the No. 14Cal State Northridge Matadors, as UCSB fell 3-2 in a five-set thriller at the Matadome. Game scores for the match were 21-25, 25-21, 30-28, 20-25, 15-9. The loss snapped a five-match winning streak against CSUN for the Gauchos.
Tied with Northridge in the MPSF standings at the beginning of the night, UCSB now falls to 5-10 with a 3-8 conference mark. The Gauchos now sit tenth in the conference, tied with Hawai'i. Cal State Northridge improves to 6-9, 4-7 in the MPSF.
The box score from Wednesday's match will surely produce a number of double-takes, as the Gauchos set season-highs across the board. Junior middle blocker Dylan Davis found his stride and then some- recording a match, season, and career-high 22 kills on 32 attacks for a .656 hitting percentage, also an individual and team season-high.
Davis had not recorded more than nine kills so far this season. The last time he reached double digits was in the NCAA Championship, when he had 15 in the semifinal match against USC. Dylan's 22 kills are now the most by a Gaucho so far this season. The cherry on top of Davis's stat line was his 14 blocks, a career-high, and the most by a Gaucho this season. In fact, it was the most by a Gaucho in almost 12 years, as Andy Tomkinson was the last to do so, recording 14 total blocks on Mar. 11, 2000 against Lewis College. Dylan finished the night with an astounding 29.5 points.
Sophomore setter Bryce Miller, in his first career start, tallied 57 assists. Bryce now has the top two assist totals by a Gaucho this season- his season-high 57 is followed by the 48 he picked up at BYU last weekend (though he shares that slot with junior setter Oliver Deutschman's 48 at Stanford on Jan. 21). Bryce also had 13 digs, giving UCSB their first double-double from a setter this season.
Junior outside hitter Miles Evans had an up-and-down night. Evans had a dozen kills, giving him 10 or more in 14 of 15 matches this season, and also picked up a career-high 19 digs. Those 19 digs represent the most a Gaucho has picked up in a match this season. However, Miles had a tough night receiving serves, as he finished with five of the team's 10 receiving errors.
Freshman opposite Austin Kingi continued his strong run, finishing with 15 kills to go along with eight blocks and eight digs. It was the second consecutive match that three or more Gauchos have finished with 10 or more kills.
Coming into the match, the Gauchos had recorded three double-doubles all season, with two of them coming at BYU last weekend. Against Northridge, UCSB doubled that tally by putting down another three double-doubles from Davis, Miller, and Evans.
The Matadors were led by Matt Stork, who had 20 kills and three service aces. As a team, Cal State Northridge had 10 aces, the most the Gauchos have surrendered to an opponent this season. UCSB's .900 team reception percentage was their lowest to this point of the season.
Cal State Northridge libero Charlie Condron also digged up 20 balls to lead all players.
UCSB will hope to right the ship against Long Beach State on Friday night at Rob Gym. Long Beach was swept by top-ranked UCLA on Wednesday night. The faceoff against the 49ers will be the first of a five-match homestand for UCSB. Tickets for that match, and all remaining home matches this season can be found here.


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American Legion Commander says Shinseki Must Go
Editor – The following guest editorial by the national commander of The American Legion is offered for your consideration. Photos of National Commander Dellinger are available at www.legion.org.
Shinseki Must Go
By Daniel M. Dellinger
A career soldier and Vietnam veteran, General Eric Shinseki has served his country well. His patriotism and sacrifice for this nation are above reproach.
His record as the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, however, tells a story of bureaucratic incompetence and failed leadership.
As national commander of the nation's largest veterans service organization, it is with great sadness that I call for the resignations of Secretary Shinseki, Under Secretary of Health Robert Petzel and Under Secretary of Benefits Allison Hickey.
The disturbing reports coming from the Phoenix VA Medical Center are just one of what appears to be a pattern of scandals that have infected the entire system. It has been more than 20 years since The American Legion has called for the resignation of a public official. It's not something we do lightly.
We do this because of people who have been failed by the system.
James Pert served as a Marine in Vietnam. Diagnosed with skin cancer, diabetes and Post Traumatic Stress, he died as he waited for a medical appointment at the Phoenix VA Medical Center.
"How could they treat him so badly, when he served his country so honorably?" his widow, Sandy Pert, said to the International Business Times.
The interview came on the heels of a shocking CNN report that administrators at the hospital kept a secret waiting list, which included veterans waiting more than 200 days for an appointment. Not surprisingly, more than 40 veterans may have needlessly died while waiting. The other list – the one that was not kept secret, according to Dr. Sam Foote –included only patients that would be seen in the next 15 days, a reasonable period intended to make executives look good and earn generous bonuses for the top brass.
More disturbing is that this is not isolated to the Grand Canyon State. More reports of "fixed" scheduling are coming from places like Fort Collins, Colo., and Cheyenne, Wyoming.
During my testimony to a congressional subcommittee last month, I mentioned reports of patients' deaths at the Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Jackson, Miss., VA Medical Centers. While unconnected to phantom waiting lists, these deaths could also be classified as negligent.
But back to Mrs. Pert. She deserves an answer, just like all affected veterans and their loved ones deserve the very best care that this nation has to offer.
I have directed The American Legion System Worth Saving Task Force to conduct a townhall meeting at American Legion Post 41 in Phoenix on May 13. All those affected by VA's reckless bureaucracy are welcome to attend. All are welcome to tell their stories on a new platform set up at www.legion.org.
The Legion System Worth Saving Task Force will follow the townhall meeting with a visit to the Phoenix VA Medical Center on May 14-15. As national commander of The American Legion, I was able to meet with President Obama in the Oval Office a few weeks ago. I expressed The American Legion's strong concerns about service at the VA.
I also discussed the unacceptable benefits backlog and poor access to facilities with Shinseki. My staff has met with top VA officials. We have found the meetings far less than satisfactory and the answers not very forthcoming. In fact, the secretary didn't seem to fully appreciate the seriousness of the situation and, at the time, didn't feel anybody needed to be replaced. If it were a private institution or if the executives were still in the military, they would be relieved of duty.
VA's senior leaders didn't seem to realize that one great tragedy of these delays and needless deaths is that they undeniably besmirch the compassionate work of thousands of dedicated VA employees and the outstanding care that many facilities provide. A few years ago, The American Legion was lauding the VA for its great care and we hope to do so again. Unfortunately, we do not see VA enacting the culture change that it so desperately needs with the current leadership in place. Senior VA leaders have isolated themselves from the media and, more importantly, from answering to their shareholders, America's veterans.
We look forward to hearing the results of the VA Inspector General's report and The American Legion welcomes Sen. Bernie Sanders' intention to hold hearings based on the IG's findings.
Like the mythical bird for which the city is named, the Phoenix VAMC needs to rise from the ashes of its bureaucratic ineptitude and provide the medical care worthy of the veterans it was built to serve.
As Mr. Pert's widow told the IB Times, "We were married for 33 years. My heart is broken. I just can't understand."
Neither can we.
Although putting Phoenix VA director Sharon Helman and two other senior executives on administrative leave is a step in the right direction, VA clearly has a widespread problem that goes beyond the misbehavior of three people. Moreover, VA has been dragging its feet in dealing with the backlog of disability claims and modernizing its records. The private sector would never tolerate such inefficiency and callousness. Neither should veterans.
Daniel M. Dellinger is the national commander of the 2.4 million member American Legion, www.legion.org.
Media contact: John Raughter, office: (317) 630-1350, cell (317)441-8847, firstname.lastname@example.com; Washington: Marty Callaghan , (202) 263-5758, (202)215-8644, email@example.com
Legion.org - Facebook - Twitter - YouTube


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Here is helpful information about access to the conference rooms.
Here is a helpful post written by Shane in 2014.
We have two different web interfaces for the conference rooms. The Flash room seems to be the most reliable.
Flash Interface - Do enter your team name and order (TEAM-02 - numbers cannot be first) in the initial window. Leave the password blank.
Java Interface - Do not enter anything in the initial screen. Let the room load, then enter the team name and order using two digits (such as TEAM-02)
<NOTE - I have tested both of these options, as well as the back door, with my Windows 8 laptop via Chrome and IE. The Java Interface is old, and so may be blocked unless your Java security is reduced to the minimum setting (medium). Follow the instructions here - http://www.java.com/en/download/help/jcp_security.xml - and set the Security Level to "Medium">
I encourage everyone to try both of these options! It will be good to have alternatives.
There also seems to be a "back door" at http://backpack.webmaster.com - Enter your TEAM-02 as the nickname, leave the password blank, and then change the room to #Mocksports. Hit "Connect" This is a much more basic interface, but should get the job done. TEST THIS LINK! PREPARE TO USE THIS IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE MOCKSPORTS PAGES!!!
If you have time, you might want to play it safe and just download mIRC: http://forums.mocksports.com/phpbb/view ... hp?t=12939
Here is Shane's development of the last option mentioned by him:
Just a reminder, if you want the most effective method of connecting to the chat room, use your own IRC clientl
mIRC (a basic IRC program for Windows) is available at http://www.mirc.com, and is relatively easy to install and use.
Fortunately, the server we use for our auctions is now a part of the standard list of IRC servers available in mIRC!
When you do an installation, if you get a choice, do a "Full" rather than an "Upgrade".
Then, when the program fires up (you don't have to register, you may just have to wait a few seconds for the "continue" button to be ready), the mIRC Options box should open up. Put junk in the name and e-mail boxes (I use "ask" and "me.com"). Place your Nickname (TEAM-##) in the Nickname box and whatever sounds like a good but not common alternative.
Then, on the left side of the box, click on "Servers". Scroll down through the list that comes up, and double-click on "Webchat". "Random Server" should appear underneath "Webchat". Double-click on "Random Server" and you'll be taken back to the main Options. A little past half way down on the right side your server should be displayed, and it should say "Webchat: Random server". Then click the "Connect to server" button.
If Webchat doesn't show up on your list, you'll have to click "Add". In the window that pops up, enter "Mocksports" in description, "irc.webchat.org" as server, and "AAA_Mocksports" as group (that way it'll be at the top of the list. Note that whatever port is listed here needs to be what gets through your firewall, and can be changed to suit.
This should connect you to the server. If not, you'll probably have to open your firewall. This might be done a couple of different ways. Some firewalls are set by program (in this case, it would be wherever you installed mIRC - probably c:\program files\mirc - with the key program being mirc.exe). Others are set by port (in this case Port 7000).
If you connect, a "mIRC Favorites" box should appear. In the top line, you can enter the channel. In our case, that would be #Mocksports or #Mocksports_B (do remember the # in front!).
And that should be it!
mIRC is much more flexible - you can simply do a lot more than the java chat client. However, IRC servers are the original chat servers of the Internet (actually, I think they predate the Internet). So all of that bad stuff you hear about internet chat also started here. So if you have kiddies, you might want to either take steps to keep them from using it, or supervise their use.
I would add. Shane's instructions about MIRC sound complicated, but if you print them off and do the download, they are absolutely lucid. It should not take more than two minutes and MIRC is far more stable than the alternatives.
Joined: 11 Mar 2013
Posts: 297
Location: Melrose MA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 8:27 am Post subject: Reply with quote
Question regarding the backdoor method - I got in fine, how do I differentiate (if necessary) between chat room A and room B?
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Steve Shiffrin
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I have not used that method, but my guess is that you use #Mocksports_B for the other room. That is what you do with the Mirc software. #Mocksports should work for the A room.
Steve is right....#Mocksports_B works for room B.


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We have a winner of this awesome giveway! Kim H. of Stanfordville, NY is the lucky winner. Congratulations to Kim and to everyone else, thanks for entering! We'll have more contests on the way very soon.
Christopher Nolan's epic Dark Knight trilogy will be coming to a close with the July 20 release of The Dark Knight Rises. To celebrate the 7-year tale of the iconic caped crusader, Screen Rant is giving away a Lucius Fox-approved mega prize pack valued at over $950.
Contest Details and Prizes
Only lucky winner will win the HUGE list of items below...
2 Ladies' "Matte Foil" Black Tank Top2 Next Level Men's Burnout Dark Grey T-shirt2 Set of 4 Tattoos in Case2 Three Screen Cleaners on Card1 Worn Hat with Chalk Bat1 Distressed Worn "Bane" Hat1 Textured Wrist Cuff1 Built NY 13" Laptop Case with Rubber Patch1 Hoodie with Sewn Fabric Bat and Hidden Compartment1 Oakley Utility Backpack with Patch and Metal Plate2 Soundtrack CD1 2-Pack IMAX tickets
How To Enter:
To enter this contest use the widget below. You can enter multiple ways and every friend you refer will get you 5 extra ballots. Follow the easy instructions below.
About The Dark Knight Rises
Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act.
But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.
Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar winner Christian Bale (The Fighter) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Dark Knight Rises also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.
Returning to the main cast, Oscar winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.
The screenplay is written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on Batman Begins and the record-breaking blockbuster The Dark Knight. The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters created by Bob Kane and published by DC Comics.
The Dark Knight Rises will be presented on 70-millimeter film in 102 IMAX 15/70mm locations worldwide. Christopher Nolan stated, "Having shot almost half the picture with large-format IMAX film cameras, it is very important to me that we show 'The Dark Knight Rises' in the IMAX film format wherever possible. Audiences everywhere should be assured that every presentation of the film will be of the highest standard—having benefited from the clarity and depth IMAX cameras offer. However, these 102 screens will showcase the original IMAX film photography in its optimum form, and I hope anyone who has an opportunity to experience the film in these theatres will seek it out."
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Film by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises. Opening in theatres and IMAX, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Check out the official Dark Knight Rises site and The Dark Knight Rises Facebook page
The Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack featuring music by Hans Zimmer!
The Dark Knight Rises premieres in theaters July 20.
All the legal stuff is on the following page...


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If you are looking for an area with great opportunities for both domestic and global business, this is the place to be. Shiroyama Trust Tower is located right between Roppongi Itchome station and Kamiyacho station, providing convenient transportation access. Hotel Okura, known as the best Japanese hotel in Tokyo, is located next to the building and the world famous Japanese restaurant "Nobu" is just a one-minute walk away. In Spring time, cherry blossoms around the building are lit at night - the best of what Tokyo has on offer and a local "hot spot".
Servcorp is located on the twenty-seventh floor of the building and both locations provide spectacular views of Tokyo city from its large and open reception areas. The fourth to the fortieth floors are office spaces occupied by several leading global companies. Shiroyama Trust Tower is in the middle of "Shiroyama Garden"; a lot of nature and parks in the surrounding area make your work-life balance that little more peaceful and relaxing.
From Narita International Airport: 60 min by Narita Express to Tokyo Station, 13 min by Subway from Tokyo Station to Kamiyacho Station. From Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport): 30 min by Keikyu Line to Tokyo Station, 13 min by Subway from Tokyo Station to Kamiyacho Station.
2 min walk from Exit 4b of Kamiyacho Station on Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. 5 min walk from Exit 2 of Roppongi-Icchome Station on Tokyo Metro Namboku Line.
TOEI BUS: Kamiyacho Station (TV Tokyo) Bus Stop (3 min walk): SHIBU88/HASHI86. Roppongi-Icchome Station Bus Stop (5 min walk): TO01/SHINYA01.
Within 5 minutes walking distance:
Recommended lunch places:
Nobu Tokyo (Japanese)
Tel +81 3 5733 0070
Tokarin (Chinese)
Tel +81 3 3505 6068
Voie Lactee (French)
Tel +81 3 5733 5135
Ask if they have unique-password, rocket-fast WiFi – For your security.
Ask to be connected to the internet – How long does it take?
Ask if the provider is Tier-1.
Ask to be allowed to check download speeds.
Ask to speak to IT support: Are they in-house or a third party? Are they even in the country?
Ask to be given a phone number so you can try the service before you buy.
Ask for a phone rate card.
Ask to meet your dedicated receptionist. The receptionist is the front line of your business.
Ask about disaster transfer.
Ask if your phone extension can roam at no cost to other locations.
Ask if the wireless internet is secure.
Ask what kind of firewall can be set up for your network.
Ask to see the transparency code of the provider.
Ask if incoming callers can dial '1' for voicemail to mobile.
Ask if you can get free calls equal to your connection amount.
Ask if your phone bill is 20% lower than telco rate.


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Broker Marketing Webinar Tomorrow 10am
There are a few open slots for tomorrow's webinar!
Join us for an exclusive Professional Education for Real Estate Brokers webinar, titled: "Online Marketing Terms, Tactics, and Tips to Survive".
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Time: 10am PST / 1pm EST
Cost: No Charge
This 45 minute online real estate seminar will cover Broker best practices in online marketing to gain business from the growing numbers of online buyers and sellers.
You will learn how to:
- Increase your marketing success online.
- Determine what online buyers and sellers are seeking (and what they hate!).
- Evaluate and differentiate online marketing.
- Explain online marketing terminology (such as SEO, SEM, SERP, and SMM). Understand how each term can affect your business.
- Increase recruiting, retention and transactions for your office. Continue reading this post


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Now this is clever marketing.
Over the last few months, Boeing has been sending its next-generation airplane, the 787 Dreamliner, all over the world on a goodwill tour meant to impress country after country with its composite materials, its curved wings, and of course its fuel efficiency.
But this month, the aviation giant sent one of its Dreamliners on a very precise flight over the United States. Over the the last two weeks, a 787 has been plying the skies of America, tracing out "787" and Boeing's signature logo over much of the northern U.S.
To be sure, no one on the ground would have been able to look up and recognize what was happening. But when the plane touched down in Seattle, it completed the complex route and--more importantly--the image seen above that shows just what happens when marketing meets flying. And leads to articles just like this one written by aviation geeks who can't help but be impressed.
Looking through the flight logs, it's quite impressive how tight some of the plane's turns must have been. All told, the flight took about 18 hours and 9,000 nautical miles over Oregon, Colorado, Montana, and several other states.
And it's not the first time Boeing has done something like this. Last August, according to the Seattle PI, one of Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinentals traced "747" in the skies over the U.S.
Correction, 1:29 p.m. PT: This story originally misstated when the Boeing flight took place and how long it took to complete.


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Grandma Irvine's Tomato Soup Recipe
September 18, 2012 by © Joan Miller - Luxegen Genealogy.
Filed under Family History, genealogy
Continuing on the theme of heritage recipes- this one from my sis Ellen. Grandmas tomato soup….very simple 1/2 cup tomato with a pinch of baking soda in one pot to heat up 1 cup milk with a dab of butter and seasonings in another pot Heat both pots to roughly the same temperature. Pour the [...]


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- Vibrant magenta lacquered glossy barrel and cap with a brushed finish
- Chrome arrowhead clip and trim
- Packaged in a PARKER gift box.
- Made in CHINA
Welcome to the world of PARKERYour Parker writing instrument is guaranteed for two years from the date of original purchase against defects in materials or workmanship. If found to be defective within the warranty period, your Parker product will be repaired or replaced free of charge.It's a world that spans more than 130 years of pioneering innovation, unique style and world-renowned craftsmanship of exquisite fine writing instruments. With over a century of passion and experience, PARKER continues to build on its heritage and reputation by constantly reinvigorating and transforming the writing experience.
Driven by a long held belief in the importance of the written word, we strive to bestow upon our writers the confidence to craft their own remarkable stories. Because the words we speak can be heard by many, but the words we write transcend time.Explore a range of beautifully crafted pens made with constant innovation and refinement.
Match to your personal style and choose from Fountain pen, Parker 5TH TM, Ballpoint pen or Rollerball. View our Parker range here.
Passion and expertise, Immerse yourself in the fine art of pen making.
Limited Edition
Elegance, craftsmanship, intelligence and vision collide to mark the 130th anniversary of the iconic Parker Duofold.
Our Story
Explore the most iconic moments of more than 130 years of PARKER history, from George PARKER's first pioneering creations to today's modern innovations that continue to uphold the PARKER legacy.
Making a Parker pen is a solemn act of creation. It not only requires experience but also rare technical competence in areas as diverse as mechanical design engineering, prototyping, and testing.
PARKER announces enhancements to the Duofold and Sonnet collections alongside an elevated new take on the PARKER brand identity, encouraging people to slow down, organize their thoughts and embrace better thinking.


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Distance from Portsmouth, RI to Mina, NV
Driving distance between Portsmouth, RI and Mina, NV is 2,944.59 miles (or 4,738.85 kilometers). If you drove an average car (using about 3.6 gallons of gas per mile), the gas would cost you around $, since you would need about gallons of fuel.
Leaving from Portsmouth, RI you would reach Mina, NV in about 1 day 19 hours if you keep an average speed of miles per hour, assuming you don't make any breaks or get stuck in traffic.


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imagineinternet necesitaba un nuevo diseño de papelería y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 40 diseños de 10 diseñadores freelance.
We have held 123 contests and paid every one of them - over $31,000 so far and more than any other contest holder. We pay fast and give lots of timely feedback. We are looking for some great creativity here.
Education and Training Solutions LLC
Education and Training company needs a contemporary looking business card, letterhead, and envelope design. You can take a look at their website to get an idea of their business. We are looking for creative and professional.Info for front/back of card (you decide what goes where):
Logo: http://www.gowebsolutions.com/dev/ets/logo.ai, http://www.gowebsolutions.com/dev/e…go_icon.ai
Jan Schwartz
123 Jones Street
Tucson, Arizona 85710
Tag line 1: "Web-based Solutions for Education and Training"
Tag line 2: "Unlock the Potential"
FINAL FILES must be in Adobe Illustrator (AI) and hi res jpg.
PAYMENT OPTIONS: Paypal, Western Union, Xoom
- 2 color design - Green from logo and graphite gray
- White on front, solid color on back
- Use logo elements for style, watermarks, etc
- Cheesy


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COLLABORATOR NY Screenings/
This June COLLABORATOR will have two special screenings here in New York City before its July theatrical release. The first is June 18th at the IFC center, and the second is on June 19th at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. Hal Hartley will be there to present on the 18th, and Martin Donovan, David Morse, and Ted Hope will be there to answer your questions on both nights.
June 18th IFC Center 7pm Buy tickets online.
June 19th Museum of the Moving Image Buy tickets online.
Find out more about Collaborator on Prescreen.
Collaborator premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, winning several awards including best actor for David Morse.
Read director, writer, and star, Martin Donovan's thoughts on creating Collaborator.
Check out Collaborator's Facebook page, and find more information about the film and its upcoming release from Tribeca Film on VOD, iTunes, Amazon, VUDU on June 19th here.
And read about previous coverage of Collaborator on Hopeforfilm here, here, and here


text: Snyder will direct the film from a screenplay being written by Chris Terrio from a screenplay by David S. Goyer and a story co-created by Goyer and Snyder. Zack Snyder's Superman/Batman film stars Henry Cavill, reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent, and Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne. The film will also reunite "Man of Steel" stars Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Ma Kent, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. Zack Snyder's untitled Superman/Batman film which will now be arriving in theaters May 6, 2016.


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BOSTON — Cathy Jerome spent a year and a half watching her 3-year-old daughter's legs lifelessly drag behind her on a treadmill's conveyor belt, as the rest of her upper body slowly lurched forward.
Jerome would hit the stop button, then start again for what seemed like a hundred times every session.
Until the day she didn't have to.
When Jerome's daughter, Sydni Pecevich, finally took a step on that treadmill, it marked another moment in the young girl's life where she defied the odds.
Sydni was never expected to walk. Nor was she supposed to reach the age of 3. Sydni wasn't expected to make it out of the room where a team of doctors spent 12 hours operating on her 2-month-old body to remove an aggressive malignant brain tumor the size of a grapefruit.
Last week Sydni turned 8, and she is celebrating seven cancer-free years.
She also got an early birthday present from Boston zoning officials, who unanimously approved a permit allowing Jerome to build a 75-foot wheelchair ramp on the side of her South Boston home, as well as an addition in the rear of the home that will give Sydni more room to move around.
Like Sydni's recovery, the process that will ultimately lead to making the family's Marine Road home handicap accessible, is nothing short of a miracle, said Jerome, a single mother to Sydni, 10-year-old Tari, and 6-year-old Tristin. The work will be done for free.
"It's unbelievable," said the 45-year-old, whose group of friends had already started a fund-raising effort to retrofit the home. "We figured we needed to make $5,000 every single week for 16 consecutive weeks or something, and we were not doing that."
The work was expected to start as early as the end of last week, and is expected to be completed in time for Christmas thanks to an unlikely chain of events that led to Mayor Thomas M. Menino's office.
When Jerome applied for the special permits in September, the project request, like all others requiring relief from the city, was automatically sent to the Office of Neighborhood Services, which coordinates meetings between applicants and abutters.
Jerome's application landed on the desk of Sean Regan, the coordinator for Jerome's neighborhood. Regan set up a meeting with Jerome and heard Sydni's story. Although in remission, Sydni was left with a series of disabilities that require 24-hour supervision, including her inability to speak, and dependency on a wheelchair and feeding tube.
At her special needs school in Weymouth, Sydni is able to use a gait trainer, a large two-wheeled device resembling a walker that has helped her gain mobility to the tune of 50 steps in a 30-minute span.
But the device is too wide to bring into the four-room, first-floor unit the family calls home.
The home is also too narrow to accommodate Sydni's specialized wheelchair that affords her more support, so Jerome, with the help of personal care attendants, has to transfer the 4-foot-tall, and growing, girl into a smaller wheelchair.
"When she started taking these steps a few years ago it was unbelievable," Jerome said. "But she hasn't really progressed to the next level, and I really believe it's just because of the lack of continuity between school and home."
Realizing the urgency of Sydni's needs at home, Regan sought help from Jay Walsh, Neighborhood Services director. Walsh reached out to Menino's office.
"It was an easy ask," Walsh said. "I think it's just the desire of the family to stay together and doing whatever they can to make that their home, and make it more comfortable to live as one. You see the family's devotion."
Menino got in touch with the carpenter, electrician, plumber, and ironworker labor unions, and they all agreed to donate their work for Sydni.
"I'm proud that we can make a difference for such a brave and deserving young lady," Menino said in a statement.
After being contacted by one of Jerome's friends, Dorchester architect Bill Christopher is coordinating the process at no cost to the family. Christopher accompanied Jerome to the Zoning Board of Appeals hearing Tuesday, where he gave a two-minute presentation before the swift approval.
"Ordinarily, this could easily be a nine-month project, but the city is working very closely with us to expedite permits, and the labor unions are stepping up," Christopher said. "In a project like this, you don't have to negotiate."
Jerome said she had been anxious about the process for the past two years. "Even though in my heart I knew we weren't asking for anything more than what we needed, I still was afraid," Jerome said of the permit application process. "I walked out totally crying."
Jerome, a stay-at-home mom dependent on the rental income from the two units upstairs from her home, said she is grateful to Regan for sparking the movement that brought all the right people together for Sydni. "I would talk to anybody and everybody who would listen," she said, "but there was no real coordinator of all the pieces until now."
Boston young cancer survivor wins home makeover
BOSTON — Cathy Jerome spent a year and a half watching her 3-year-old daughter's legs lifelessly drag behind her on a treadmill's conveyor belt, as the rest of her upper body slowly lurched forward.


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Social Security for the widowed
As a financial columnist, I meet with people every week to hear their stories. One of the most distressing situations is a widow who becomes impoverished after the death of her husband. A large part of the population is dependent upon Social Security benefits for their livelihood in retirement. Yet most people start receiving them when they become eligible at age 62, instead of waiting longer to increase their own and their survivor's benefits.
Maximizing survivor Social Security benefits is an area of particular interest for Christine Fahlund, a senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price, who provided the following insights:
If a surviving spouse has a work record, he or she will receive the greater of his or her own Social Security retirement benefit or a survivor's benefit.
The survivor's benefit will be less than the deceased's benefit unless the survivor waits to apply until the survivor's full retirement age (FRA), which is 66 for people born between 1942 and 1954.
The size of the check will depend on timing.
Your survivor's benefits are based on when you chose to start your own Social Security retirement benefits and the age at which your spouse starts survivor benefits. Your critical time frame is between the ages of 62 and 70; your surviving spouse's is between ages 60 and 66.
Let's assume that your wife does not work. You begin your benefits at 66. Assume you get $1,000 a month. This is your "primary insurance amount" or PIA, the benefit due to you at FRA, payable for life, plus increases for inflation.
You could have started as early as age 62, with a reduced benefit of $750 a month (75 percent of your PIA) instead of $1,000.
Or, you could have waited to age 70 to receive $1,320 a month or 132 percent of your PIA.
With survivor's benefits, two timing decisions intersect -- yours and your surviving spouse's.
If you start your benefits at 62 (the earliest possible) and your survivor starts at 60 (the earliest possible), your surviving spouse's benefits will be the lowest. If you wait as long as possible (age 70) to start your benefits, and your survivor waits to start until 66 (his or her FRA), they will be the highest.
The difference in the size of the survivor's benefits is substantial -- the highest payment is more than double the lowest payment.
Assuming your PIA is $1,000, and depending upon the ages at which you each make your election decisions, your surviving spouse could receive between a low of $590 to a high of $1,320 per month.
If you die after your wife is 66, no problem. She will automatically receive the higher benefit.
What happens if you die before applying for your own Social Security benefits?
If you die before reaching age 66, the benefit paid to your surviving spouse will be based on the assumption that you died at 66. If you die after 66 but before age 70, the benefit will be based on your age at your date of death.
Then, as in the examples above, your spouse's age when starting to take survivor's benefits will determine the ultimate size of the benefit. The lowest will be $715 (71.5 percent of the deceased's PIA of $1,000) if he or she applies at age 60. The highest is 100 percent or $1,000 a month if he or she waits until 66.
If I were to try to sum everything up in one neat little package, I would say that it's all about the ages at which each spouse makes Social Security benefit decisions during the critical periods between ages 62 and 70 for the retiree and 60 and 66 for your surviving spouse.
"Deciding when you and your spouse should take Social Security benefits and when the surviving spouse should take widow/er's benefits can impact the survivor's income in retirement significantly -- to the tune of thousands of dollars," Fahlund said.
"Be sure to make each of your claiming decisions after you know all the facts. Learn from your financial adviser the pros and cons of each choice."
Julie Jason, JD, LLM, award-winning author of "The AARP Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad," and "Managing Retirement Wealth: An Expert Guide to Personal Portfolio Management in Good Times and Bad," is principal of Jackson, Grant Investment Advisers, Inc. of Stamford. Please email her with questions at email@example.com or write to her c/o The Advocate, 9A Riverbend Drive South, Box 4910, Stamford, CT 06907.


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Ali Farag kept his perfect season alive with two wins at the CSA Individual Championship in Amherst, Mass. (photo courtes Dale Walker).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Sophomore Ali Farag is the lone Harvard player left in the winners' bracket after day one of the College Squash Association (CSA) Individual Championship in Amherst, Mass. Five other Crimson players competed Friday, but all lost in one of the first two rounds of the Pool Trophy or Molloy Cup tournaments.
The top 32 college squash players compete for the Pool Trophy, while 48 others are battling in the Molloy Cup bracket.
Farag defeated Adam Perkiomaki of Trinity and Harvard teammate Brandon McLaughlin to advance to the round of 16 of the Pool Trophy tournament. Farag swept Perkiomaki 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 and beat McLaughlin, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4. The Cairo, Egypt native is the tournament's No. 1 seed and will play Trinity's Antonia Diaz Glez tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
If Farag defeats Glez Diaz, he would advance to the tournament's semifinal at 6:30 p.m. The championship match is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday.
Harvard's Nick Hopcroft and Gary Power were each selected to compete in the Pool Trophy tournament, but fell in the first round. Diaz Glez bounced Nick Hopcroft, 13-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-6, and Gary Power lost, 10-12, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 to Ben Fischer of Trinity.
In the Molloy Cup, the CSA individual's 'B' division, Nigel Koh and Thomas Mullaney dropped second round matches. Koh fell to Kyle Ogilvy of St. Lawrence, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, after getting a bye past the first round and Mullaney fell to Rochester's Matt Domenick, 13-11, 11-3, 11-9. Mullaney opened with an 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 win over Harry Waterton of Bryant in the first round.
For links to the complete brackets click here.


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3 Tips for Finding Your Perfect Spring Coat
The weather may be iffy, but here's a sure thing—a spring coat that offers coverage with a touch of class. Here are three things to keep in mind when you're finding the perfect one.
1. THE IMPACTThese sophisticated toppers with their dressmaker details (think fly fronts, princess seams, Peter Pan collars, ornamental pockets) instantly say polished and pulled together.
2. THE FITThe body-skimming, knee-length silhouette flatters most figures. Choose an A-line or a swing shape for more ease.
3. THE OPTIONSGo dressy? Yes. But you can also try a casual version in an unembellished fabric over slim pants. Pair with ballet flats for a '60s gamine vibe.
Some of our favorite toppers of the season are pictured above: from left, Ann Taylor ($198 at anntaylor.com), Marc by Marc Jacobs ($698 at Marc by Marc Jacobs), and ICB ($695 at icbnyc.com). See more by flipping to page 285 of InStyle's March issue, now on newsstands. And a special treat for New York readers—check out editor Dana Avidan Cohn talking about her favorite spring coats on The Better Show on CBS Wednesday, March 6 at 6 a.m.
Plus, see how the stars wear their coats for some more inspiration in the gallery.


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Memory is one of the biggest considerations when buying any electronic device. However, you can always purchase a range of high quality 16GB generic memory devices to upgrade your storage. Developed by industry experts including Kingston and Crucial, you'll find a range of 16GB and 32GB generic memory products at BT Shop. We've got everything you need to upgrade the storage on your laptop or desktop computer, giving you extra space to keep all of your documents, videos and photos. Browse the full range of generic memory items today.
Read what our customers had to say about how smart devices could help them at home. From smart lighting, heating and security, to health and wellbeing, we've covered it all.


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My grandmother Anna Bartels Schridde and my great grandmother Maria Korbach Bartels.
My grandmother Gertrude O'Rourke Dowd and her mother Ellen Mortel O'Rourke and Patrick O'Rourke
My great grandmother Anna Margarethe Hackmann and Heinrich Schridde and Family.
My grandmother Anna Bartels Schridde, Willi Schridde and my mother Gerda Schridde Dowd.
My mother Gerda Schridde Dowd and Claudia Dowd.
My sisters and I, all married with children.


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I'll be frank here, attitudes like this disappoint me. I'm not going to edit your comments because A. You've been on this board a long time and I respect you and B. because I'm not willing to even think for 2 seconds that I can actually control how people communicate. So if anyone wants to PM/IM/EMAIL Lex for free digital copies of Greek text - go for it because we can't and won't stop you.My goodness! It's terrible that you would do such a thing! Why, if somebody were to contact me privately by IM, I would not be able give them copies of, oh, say, Anabasis or Homer that I already obtained in this way, thus saving them lots of time, because I would never do anything so horrid! <insert innocent angel emoticon here>
But Here's my long rant about why I feel strongly that this is not a good thing.
I recreated Textkit because I felt an obligation, almost a duty, to give back to the Internet what it had given to me. My entire career, a career that supports my family, was ONLY made possible by the thousands of people and hundreds of websites that for no other purpose other than to share knowledge decided to spend time answering questions in forums, writing tutorials and creating free software from which I could learn. I have never had a single computer class or purchased one technical book and yet I'm a web developer who has been lucky enough to work full time since I started 5 years ago.
Textkit was created because some very special stars all aligned.
1. I had web skills
2. I enjoy classical languages
3. I could get free legal advice
4. I'm fortunate enough to afford a production scanner. They are not cheap and I think some jaws would drop around here if you knew exactly how expensive this site was to create and operate. I don't do this for money, I do it because I want to somehow validate my classics education and basically do to oi kaloi.
I'm usually very quiet about myself and the production side of things. This is because it's in my nature to lead a private life. Yet, I'm being more open right now because when I see how others are without shame willing to admit to and share web site content that they have taken, I can't help but have empathy for the lifted website because it makes me think about my own time and effort spent creating free content and how I would feel if others distributed Textkit content elsewhere.
I have no idea how expensive the Perseus project is but it's fair to say that it's not cheap. I'm willing to venture that it's the most expensive classics site ever created. I'm pointing out that it's expensive because the content is free and its massive collection of high quality content is simply stunning. Perseus is Rome. I pay it my respect by linking to them and encouraging visitors to explore their content. When Perseus arrived on the scene it was an epiphany. I felt, "So this is what the Internet can do!" My personal opinion is that Perseus hasn't even seen its golden age - that is still yet to come. If we're lucky, someday there will be a world in which every computer is small, cheap and with wireless high speed connections to the Internet. When that day arrives I'll be learning Plato in the park from Perseus.
In the meantime, I do not take from others things that are not mine to take. And I do not give to others things that are not mine to give.
When you take a website's content and share it with others you deny that site of its visitors. Visitorship is the very blood of websites. Without it project expenses are difficult to justify, with it they flourish. Textkit's own guideline on the footer every page is "The redistribution of Textkit files and content is prohibited" You might think, "Why is that, these are public domain books." The reason is very simple. We want site visitors. I could have just put all the PDFs in a boring file server – but how interesting is that. Not very. With visitors our site grows and things that are not possible today may become possible tomorrow.
So if you enjoy Perseus content this is what you do >> http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
Ok. I'm done with ranting. Perhaps my opinions are trivial to some, but I thank all for reading this and as always, thank you for visiting Textkit!


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When people drive into Eastwood from downtown Syracuse, the first thing to greet them at the gateway to our "village" has been this, the Veterans' Monument. It is in an area that is 50% residential. We finish our Memorial Day parade there, where we gather for speeches and silent contemplation.
The proposed "monument sign" makes our gateway all about Walgreens instead:
We'll let our monument speak for itself: