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2013 March Highlights
Once a month, we highlight departments and programs from across the
college that have great things happening motivated by a desire to
improve student learning.
March 2013
-- Janey Skinner, faculty -- "Faculty have posted over 60 curricula resources including syllabi, course assignments and grading rubrics to a shared directory."
There have been a number of benefits to SLO assessment for our department, including rich discussion of how we know what the students know, sharing of pedagogical tools, and revision of course outlines and assignments as a result. Faculty have posted over 60 curricula resources including syllabi, course assignments and grading rubrics to a shared directory.
Two tools that have been helpful in our department have been Excel spreadsheet templates – one to correlate course assignments to course-level SLOs, and another to correlate course SLOs to program-level SLOs in the CTE programs and the department major. Having a roughly uniform method of reporting SLO attainment has made it easier for us discuss and share what we learn from the SLO process. Having a designated point-person for SLO questions in the department has also been helpful.
For the last two years, we have had a committee that has actively looked at student achievement through the lens of equity. We consider this a part of our departmental SLO assessment plan. The Health Education (HED) Student Equity Committee analyzed retention and GPA data for 3 ethnic/racial groups that have lower overall rates of student success than white students: African American, Latino/Hispanic, and Pacific Islander students. We noticed that these three groups, and in general students of color, have higher rates of achievement in the HED than at CCSF overall. HED Faculty engaged in a robust discussion about available student success data and decided to conduct additional research into specific courses in which students of color performed higher than the department average (in terms of retention and GPA). Faculty wanted to learn what factors might be responsible for the enhanced achievement of students of color. Research included additional surveys with students from selected classes and interviews with department faculty. Results were summarized and shared in the Department Flex Day meeting, with a lively discussion of best classroom practices. A report was sent to all department faculty. Among the findings of our HED Student Equity Committee were that classes that produced more equitable results in terms of GPA and retention were ones that emphasized practices like the following:
- Run class like a community – lots of individual encouragement
- Relate material to real life and real work
- Use participatory pedagogy – skills-based curriculum
- Maintain high expectations with high level of support
- Make referrals to learning assistance center and other resources on campus
- Scaffold assignments, one building on another, with complex tasks broken down
In general, cohorted programs and courses with prerequisites (where
students may know one another or have connections to the material from
previous courses) also showed higher student retention and GPA. One
notable success in our department has been the Metro Academy of
Health, which was recently assessed by an outside evaluator; the
evaluation showed that students in Metro were over 50% more likely to
have a positive outcome (transfer, degree, or persist) than a
comparison group, and 9 times more likely than the comparison group to
be transfer-ready after 2 years in Metro.
-- Tracy Burt, faculty -- "We were determined to turn the SLO 'crisis' into an opportunity to up our game."
In Fall 2012, we formed a Child Development SLO Team with four CDEV faculty. We were determined to turn the SLO 'crisis' into an opportunity to up our game. We knew that our department already had a lot of strengths: High participation in professional development, decent student achievement rates, strong working relationships. Could we build on our strengths to make us better?
We planned a series of activities and developed a number of resources for our faculty with the goals of:
- Honoring and acknowledging the dedication and commitment of our faculty—we had already been assessing SLOs in an ongoing fashion, but we needed to get better at documenting our work and develop a more coordinated effort.
- Clarifying what had happened from a larger perspective (we had to do six years of work in 6 weeks, and our learning curve might be a little steep, but it would get less so over time).
- Engaging faculty in brainstorming about what we already did well, starting with diverse and varied forms of assessment.
- Framing the SLO process as an opportunity to up our game, which after all is why we are all here in the first place—to facilitate student learning and success.
- Defining roles and responsibilities as we moved forward.
On Flex Day we brainstormed as a department about different methods of assessment and solicited feedback on a course-level SLO survey that everyone in the department would administer to their students at the midterm and the final.
The SLO survey was individualized for each course offered Fall 2012 to assess student perception of 1-to-3 SLOs, define one key term, and assess student perception of the effectiveness of the variety of teaching methods used in a course. Students filled out the survey at the midterm so we could get a sense of where students were and then again at the final. Final results were tallied and the data are being discussed in course- and program-groupings throughout this semester. 100% of our courses administered the survey.
Many faculty reported positive outcomes from using the survey. First, faculty gained awareness about SLOs and further integrated SLOs into assignments, clarified assignment expectations, increased the variety of teaching methods they used, added more small group time, clarified terms and phrases, created new materials, developed more methods for engaging with reading assignments, and found new videos and reading materials to share with students (a partial list). Faculty shared what they were learning about this process in written form, by turning in a cover sheet at the end of the semester, and also verbally in course-level meetings.
In addition to increased focus and integration of SLOs in our courses, we also experienced some unexpected positive outcomes. Increased dialogue among faculty inspired more creativity and we shared more resources with each other. The positive feedback from students inspired many faculty and reinvigorated their love of teaching. And finally, we collectively gained increased comfort with technology—over 20 faculty joined Dropbox, mastered its use, and developed other various technological skills.
- Grace Hom – Transfer Center Director – "Life in the SLO Lane"
The Transfer Center's Program Reviews have consistently included SLOs. At the beginning of each new academic year, we chose an SLO from the list to focus on, developed and administered a survey to students. Results were tallied up, some discussion would happen at a department meeting, a brief report was written up, and that would conclude work on that particular SLO.
What's different now? Last Fall, SLO Guru, Dr. Kathleen Mitchell, gently and patiently guided counselors to a greater understanding and appreciation for SLOs. Kathleen provided an "aha" moment for us when she explained that our SLO could be a single activity we were engaged in, and the assessment could be as uncomplicated as a 6-item Pre & Post Test. We also learned to incorporate the missing element in our earlier attempts with SLOs, and to simultaneously value its worth. So now we're doin' the RD, aka: ROBUST DIALOG that includes discussion of the Research data from the assessments which helps us Develop ways we can reach our goal to deliver helpful information and have students leave our offices or workshops with 100% clarity. Because assessment has been ongoing for many years, our program is at Sustainable Continuous Quality.
Examples of Program SLOs: Students will be able to:
Complete a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) application after learning of the minimum course requirements, GPA thresholds, deadlines, and campus specific requirements. (CCSF TAG applications submitted each year average at 260).
Complete a CSU Admission Application or UC Admission Application after learning of the process including the application websites, deadlines, minimum transfer eligibility requirements, academic reporting requirements, and the university notification timeline. (CCSF has on average about 1400 students who transfer to CSU/UC annually. The Transfer Center directly assists approximately 300 students with their applications.)
What did we learn?
Our workshops offer students a similar quality of information as the one-to-one sessions with a counselor. Through the survey results and our observations, this can be attributed to the consistency of information presented to students. The Transfer Center will offer more workshops to fill the gap produced by the shortage of available counseling appointments and limited Express Counseling hours.
An assessment for the classroom presentation to the ENGN 10A class on the topic of general transfer information indicated that at the conclusion of the presentation, there was as much as a 52% increase in the level of understanding of transfer information. We will discuss how we can improve on these presentations to get closer to our goal of 100% clarity for the students.
Future Plans:
- We observed a core set of questions students had about TAG. Therefore, we are developing a TAG FAQ and a university-application FAQ for students.
- As a result of feedback from a student focus group, we will attempt to conduct shorter presentations in workshops so that more time can be tacked on to provide Q&A with a Transfer Counselor either in small groups or one-to-one.
- This Spring '13, we will repeat our SLO collaboration with the
ENGN 10A class and Professor Hitesh Soneji. The students will
complete the survey via the class website (Pre Test) before coming
to class to hear the presentation. By doing this, we are hoping that
students will have some preparation of the content of the
presentation and have questions ready, so that they can leave the
event with new or clarified information.
- The Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) became available to CCSF students in Spring 2012. The Transfer Center is charged with the responsibility to process these graduation petitions. That term, two majors were available and 27 petitions were processed. In Spring 2013, five majors were available and 47 petitions were processed. (If we include the 9 petitions that were processed in Fall '12, the total is 56 petitions). We have established collaborative relationships with our Admissions & Records Office, our Articulation Officer and the Admissions Office at San Francisco State University, to facilitate the timely processing of these AA-T petitions. A trend we are seeing is that in just one year, the number of petitions processed has doubled, such that in the coming year, especially as more majors are added, we anticipate a big increase in student interest in these degrees. Therefore there will be a need to provide cross training of other counselors to accommodate the processing of petitions and to strengthen our collaborative efforts.


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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Sample Tea Tins
However, in browsing Adagio's forums, I found a link to a site where you can order just the tins.
2 comments:
- Tana Butler said...
Hi, Tea Guy. I just found your blog from FoodPornWatch. I have my own Adagio tins, and I was wishing they would sell refills without the tins, which would be better environmentally.
I am in love with the apricot tea: the first apricot tea I ever had came at the end of a dazzling evening of great conversation with a young man I fell in love with on the spot. He went and got married the next month. Bad timing...and then the marriage was bad, and he died young. But hey, I got turned on to apricot tea.
I also like their mango tea, and the Yunnan Jig. I ordered Earl Grey but have decided it's better with a salty/savory breakfast than just for sipping at my desk.
Thanks for blogging. I'll be back.
- William I. Lengeman III said...
Adagio makes a nice peach-flavored black tea and Tempest Tea makes White Snow with Apricot, which I reviewed not so long ago. Worth a try.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bring on the Golden Globes
With the Oscar nominations behind us (read Lisa Kennedy's take here), it's time to press on to the next awards buzz. Normally we wouldn't consider the Golden Globes a big deal — the party hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is famously bawdy and boozy and not particularly good at predicting Oscar winners. This year, however, it's going to be a TV spectacle aside from any awards prognosticating: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are co-hosting and that's enough to draw a crowd. E! salivates over the arrivals 4-6 p.m. Sunday; NBC shows the choreographed red carpet ritual 5-6 p.m. on NBC, the awards show follows from 6-9 p.m. locally.
Presenters for the 70th Golden Globes include George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Garner, Debra Messing, Kerry Washington, Nathan Fillion, Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Kristen Wiig, Jeremy Renner, Amanda Seyfried and Will Ferrell.
To get in the spirit, Poehler and Fey shared possible drinking games with the Hollywood Reporter, including:
Drink any time an actress cries in a speech.
Drink any time you see a person actively not listening to someone onstage.
Drink any time someone says, "I didn't prepare anything!"
Take off an article of clothing any time Maggie Smith wins.
We'll be live tweeting the proceedings Sunday.


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Forgive Keith Parsons for being a tad blissed out. The 35-year-old salesman, born in Redskins country, married into a Ravens clan and carrying a lifelong torch for the Orioles, is pretty sure he's having the best sports year of his life.
"I can't even really put it into words how cool it is to see the teams I root for not be jokes," he says. "It's truly been magical."
In recent days, when Parsons, who lives in Owings Mills, isn't trying on the RGIII jersey he got for Christmas, he's singing the praises of Ray Lewis and sending out giddy Twitter messages portending a Beltway boy's dream: a Ravens-Redskins Super Bowl.
"I don't believe you can have two teams, heart and soul, that you bleed for," he says. "But if I can root for any team other than [the] Washington Redskins it would be the Baltimore Ravens."
As the Ravens and the Redskins head into playoff games this weekend, even after Washington and Baltimore tasted similar glory in baseball, for the region's fans, chests are puffed, hearts swelling, eyes shining. Whether rooting for Nationals, Orioles, Ravens or Redskins, Maryland, for once, has found it impossible to go wrong.
Erin Weston, a public relations manager for Flying Dog Brewery, sent out a Tweet on the company account the other day that had little to do with work: "@Ravens @Redskins @Orioles & @Nationals all getting some post-season action this year. Been a damn good year for the #DMV."
"As cheesy as it sounds, if felt really good to send it," she says. "Entirely self-serving."
At the brewery's Frederick headquarters, the fate of the four teams has dominated water-cooler confabs for months. Though she's a Ravens fan, the Redskins' charisma and comeback story have pulled Weston in.
"You can't help but be happy for them," she says. "There are certainly die-hard people that bleed nothing but the color of their sports team, but for us average fans, certain teams hold special places in your heart, and the proximity between D.C. and Baltimore breeds that."
In Howard County, government buildings will be bathed this weekend in purple and burgundy lights.
On Sunday, folks expect the Interstate 95 corridor to all but shut down when the Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts take the field at M&T Bank Stadium, followed by the Redskins and the Seattle Seahawks at FedEx Field.
One real estate company warned folks to reconsider open houses. An art gallery-juice bar in D.C. took the if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em approach, deciding to become an impromptu sports bar for the day, showing both games on flat screens and selling purple health drinks to Baltimore fans, red ones, maybe with beets, for Washington people.
"In D.C. we see as many Ravens flags on cars as Redskins," says John Woods, who owns The B Spot on Capitol Hill. "I see this thing kind of building as both teams win on Sunday. It's going to be pretty exciting."
Things took off months ago at Sports Card Heroes, a memorabilia store in Laurel. With the loyalties of that town fairly split, owner Rick Currence has had to keep Redskins and Ravens goods in stock — as well as Orioles and Nats. His hottest ticket by far is anything with Robert Lee Griffin III, the Redskins' superstar rookie quarterback, on it. And he says quite a few Ravens fans are buying it.
"It's a great time to be a sports fan in this area — four teams in two different professional sports that you can consider a home team and they're all doing well," he says. "As a sports fan myself, it's been a lot of fun to watch the games and as a business owner it's been very good."
In fact, the last time Baltimore and D.C. both sent NFL teams to the playoffs was 1976. But at no point until 2012 had teams from both cities made it to the MLB postseason simultaneously.
Currence says that on Sunday he's going to turn on his television at 11 a.m. for pre-game shows and not switch it off until well into the evening. In Baltimore, Marty Glaze plays to do the same, hunkering down for his traditional game day tailgate with his family, everyone heavily hyped and dripping with purple.
Before the Ravens kickoff, they'll huddle before platters heaped with wings and attempt their best Ray Lewis. Someone will ask, "Any dogs in da house?" The rest of the crowd will bark back an adrenalized chorus of woofs.
There's no mistaking the Baltimore-born 48-year-old's team allegiance. Glaze wants to see his Ravens in Louisiana. But the idea of the Redskins joining them there tickles him even more.
"Wow," he says. "Wow. I would love that. That would be awesome. Absolutely awesome."
Baltimore Liquor Board Chairman Steve Fogleman will be rooting for both teams, probably starting at his Canton home, then perhaps wandering over to one of the nearby bars if his teams are up and the public revelry proves irresistible.
Fogleman grew up rooting for the Redskins in their glory days and then, living in Baltimore during Super Bowl XXXV, the city attorney became swept up in Ravens fervor. These days, both teams give him goose bumps.
He's been working on a cousin in the clothing business, trying to persuade him to manufacture a jersey that's half Ravens, half Redskins. "I know it sounds insane," Fogleman says. "But I would wear it."
With pride.
"Obviously we'd like one of them to win the big one to really cement it," he says. "We can keep hope alive."
Forgive Keith Parsons for being a tad blissed out. The 35-year-old salesman, born in Redskins country, married into a Ravens clan and carrying a lifelong torch for the Orioles, is pretty sure he's having the best sports year of his life.


text: The Salt The Science Of Twinkies: How Do They Last So Darned Long? July 10, 2013 When Twinkies hit the stores again on July 15, their shelf life will be nearly twice as long as it used to be: 45 days. (We were surprised it wasn't longer.) There's a whole lot of food science employed to help the creme-filled cake defy the laws of baked-good longevity.


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I started to respond in the comment section to several questions from Barefeet in the Kitchen and then decided my response was getting a bit long-winded for that venue.
2. Pulled out the plants that were near death and those should not be thrown in the compost pile because the fungus can survive unless subjected to intense heat. (Which means it might die in the valley but you'd be taking a chance.)We chose to leave
3. Next year, plant resistant varieties or ones that have shown resistance this year. One of the heirlooms, Chico, looks lush and healthy despite being in a bed where even the Early Girls are suffering.
Here are some helpful excerpts from our Web searches ~
Fusarium wilt and Fusarium crown rot symptoms begin as yellowing of older leaves. With Fusarium crown rot, the leaves often turn brown or black and eventually wilt. With Fusarium wilt, the yellow leaves turn downward and droop.Fusarium oxysporum, the cause of both diseases, is a common tomato fungus that lives in the plant's vascular system, which carries water from the roots to the leaves. To see if either of these diseases is present:
- Check watering practices. Both over- and underwatering can mimic disease symptoms.
- Check the roots. Discolored roots indicate root rot.
- Cut the lower or main stem and look inside at the vascular tissue. Fusarium wilt causes a dark brown discoloration within the vascular tissue. Fusarium crown rot causes a rot or canker at the base of the stem and possibly a root rot. (We found when we cut open the stems of infected plants the entire diameter was brown.)
Most tomato seeds or transplants are labeled with a code such as "VFN," "VFNA," "VFNT," etc. This indicates that the plants are resistant to Verticillium wilt (V), Fusarium wilt (F), southern root-knot nematode (N), early blight (A), or tobacco (tomato) mosaic virus (T). Do not plant tomatoes, potatoes or eggplant in the affected area for two or three years.
And on another site~
The first line of defense against wilt is to use disease-free seedlings. This avoids introducing wilt fungi into the garden. Remove and destroy wilted plants and all debris of tomato and other susceptible crops at the end of the growing season. Rotate tomato-growing areas, growing tomatoes in the same part of the garden only once in four years. The benefit of rotation is less with wilts than with other diseases since both wilt fungi survive for years in the soil and the Verticillium fungus attacks many different crops. Fungicides for control of leaf blights have no effect on the wilt diseases, which are internal infections. Once soil is infested and further rotation impossible, the only possible management practice is use of resistant varieties.


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BodyArmor Adds (Ray) Rice To Marketing Mix To Whet Sports Drinkers' Thirsts
By Barry Janoff
October 5, 2012: Sports teams stockpile top players in order to have the best opportunity to defeat the competition, so it makes sense that brands in the competitive sports and energy drink category would do the same thing.
BodyArmor SuperDrink, a relative newcomer to the category — having launched in May 2011 — has boosted its roster with the addition of Ray Rice, running back for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. Like the other athletes aligned with the brand, Rice comes in not only as a marketing spokesperson put as an "investor and partner."
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
BodyArmor is trying to reach consumers in a crowded field of sports nutrition and energy drinks that includes the likes of Gatorade, PowerAde, Vitaminwater, Red Bull, Amp, Monster, Rockstar and a new and burgeoning category of coconut-water brands such as Vita Coca, Zico and PowerCoco.
The risks and rewards are significant for those in the category. The global sports and energy drinks market surpassed $40 billion in 2010 for the first time and is expected to reach $52 billion by 2016, nearly 40% of sales in North America, according to a recent report from market research and consulting firm MarketsandMarkets, Dallas.
Rice joins the Los Angeles-based BodyArmor just weeks after the signing of MLB rookie star Mike Trout (pictured) of the Los Angeles Angels.
"Proud to join the BodyArmor Superdrink team," Rice wrote to his more than 330,000 followers on Twitter. "Best nutrition and hydration for gameday."
Rice, now in his fifth season with the Ravens, is part of a BodyArmor roster of athlete investors and partners that also includes NFLers Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots), LeSean McCoy (Philadelphia Eagles) and Jason Pierre-Paul (New York Giants). BodyArmor has also donated camps run by Major League Lacrosse star Jordan Burke.
In addition to its athlete investors, BodyArmor comes with a strong heritage. Its executive ranks include founder/CEO Lance Collins, also the creator of Fuz Beverage and Nos Energy Drink (sold to the Coca-Cola Co. in 2007); and chairman Mike Repole, co-founder and president of Vitaminwater (also sold to Coca-Cola in 2007), who also has been a major investor in Pirate's Booty.
BodyArmor made headlines this past July when it publicly responded to a trademark infringement lawsuit filed in April by sports apparel and footwear company Under Armour. Baltimore-based Under Armour also objected to BodyArmor's use of the tag line, "Protect + Restore," which Under Armour said too closely mirrored its tag line, "Protect This House."
According to a statement from BodyArmor, which says its name and bottle design were trademarked in 2007, "Under Armour's claim against BodyArmor is without merit. It is nearly impossible that consumers or retailers of either brand would confuse the two. Under Armour and BodyArmor operate in disparate industries, produce distinctly unrelated products, and share no branding or logo similarities."
The lawsuit is still pending.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, Under Armour is based in Baltimore, where BodyArmor's newest investor/endorser is situated during the NFL season and where the Ravens practice at the Under Armour Performance Center.
Like the other athletes associated with the brand, Rice will be involved in marketing, promotions and in-person events as well as product testing. The alliance will also support The Ray Rice Charitable Fund, which primarily aids youths through mentorship in the Baltimore, Md. and New Rochelle, NY areas.
"Ray is considered elite because he never settles for anything less than super and continues to prove he is one of the top running backs in football," Collins said in a statement. "Ray's game is multifaceted as he excels in all areas when on the field, just as BodyArmor SuperDrink is multifaceted and delivers all of the nutrition and hydration benefits that today's athlete needs."
According to Rice, "I learned early on that in order to perform as a professional athlete I have to consume the right nutrition and hydration. The benefits that BodyArmor SuperDrink provide are key to my performance, whether I need to gain that extra yard or grind through the fourth quarter. It's the real deal."
Coconut Water Energy Drinks Scoring Big With Sports Stars
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Sky blue ric rac
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Jessica Goes to Washington
Forget those reports that Jessica Simpson bailed on Bush. She is in DC as we speak. A special thanks to Tyler for the POPSUGAR exclusive picture of Jessica who is there to lobby members of Congress on behalf of Operation Smile, a non-profit venture offering free plastic surgery for disadvantaged children overseas with facial deformities. Word is she still may not plan to see Bush but she is in DC so we'll see. We're just having fun imagining a conversation between the two.
It looks like BFF/hairdresser Ken is by her side. Where's Ms Cobb these days?


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Electricity group snags Emerson
Missouri Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is leaving the House to lead a power industry trade group that has served as one of her biggest sources of campaign money.
The 16-year Republican lawmaker announced Monday that she will step down in February to become president and CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, whose efforts have included opposition to a host of the Environmental Protection Agency's pollution rules.
Story Continued Below
The announcement came a week after another power industry player — Duke Energy — announced it hired retiring Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) as senior vice president.
The rural electricity association may not be a household name with many voters, but it ranks as a lobbying and campaign-spending " heavy hitter," according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The watchdog group says the association has made at least $1.8 million in contributions during this campaign cycle — ranking it No. 146 of 20,484 donors — and has spent more than $2 million on lobbying this year.
The association has contributed almost $80,000 to Emerson throughout her career, the center says, making the rural electrical group her largest all-time source of campaign cash. That includes at least $8,000 during the 2011-2012 cycle, although the final reports for that period are not yet due.
The rural electrical association has been a consistent big spender on lobbying too: It has devoted more than $2.9 million on federal lobbying efforts every year since 2003, according to federal disclosure records. It reported spending $691,000 to lobby on a slew of issues in the first quarter of this year alone.
The association has supported numerous pieces of legislation to pull back EPA regulatory authority, including the agency's efforts to regulate greenhouse gases and coal ash.
The group has also lobbied on legislation to move forward on the Keystone XL pipeline and repeal light bulb standards. And it has pushed bills regarding health care, retirement, cybersecurity, railroad anti-trust exemptions, broadband communications and various efforts to rein in the Dodd-Frank financial reforms.
The group represents 900 nonprofit rural electric cooperatives and public power districts that have more than 42 million customers in 47 states, the association says. The cooperatives account for about 12 percent of U.S. electricity sales.


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One of the producers of The King's Speech talks about the film's 12 Oscar nominations and the box-office boom.
Gareth Unwin, one of the producers of The King's Speech, praises the film's distributors The Weinstein Company (US) and Momentum (UK) for not only pushing the film for awards season but also for its phenomenal box-office performance.
Gareth Unwin told Screen last week: "All of three of us [the other producers are Iain Canning and Emile Sherman] want to recognise the amazing work that the theatrical distribution departments at The Weinstein Company and Momentum have been doing getting people into the cinemas to see our film, because that's often the hardest step to get people out of the front door into the dark room for two hours."
"It's so great that the film is resonating with awards juries and panels and groups, but what's really stunning us as producers at the moment is the amazing response we're seeing at the box office," he added.
Unwin, of UK production company Bedlam Productions, originated the project with writer David Seidler before going to Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Productions to take the project to the next level.
He called the film's 12 Oscar nominations "amazing," and added: "The recognition that BAFTA offered us was a precursor to all of this, and I think as we've all mentioned, each group of people have their own predictions and preferences, and so it never becomes real until the nominations are announced."
Speculating on why the film is such a hit with UK and US audiences, Unwin said: "The reason that the film is resonating with people so much is that it's a very common theme, we've all struggled with an issue in our lives. In a times when things are very uncertain on a global stage, ours is a story is triumph in the face of adversity and good winning out. It's one of those universal themes that people can embrace…You hear anecdotal stories about spontaneous rounds of applause at the end of the film, cinemas in the farthest-flung districts of the US and UK being absolutely mobbed."
Speaking about working with Harvey Weinstein on the awards campaign, Unwin said: "It's difficult to speculate how it would have been different [without TWC] but he has an amazing track record in being able to profile and support films."
Unwin recalled the shock when the team for what he calls "ostensibly the little film that could" won the PGA award instead of heavily tipped more seasoned producers. "It was stunning for us, we literally screamed. It was a genuine, genuine shock," he said. "They [PGA voters] didn't preclude us because we're under 40 and non PGA members, but generally the membership spoke that that was their favourite movie of 2010." The surprises continued as Hooper won the DGA prize on Saturday.
The cast has also been key in the awards race. "No one can take away the fact that the awards season is incredibly punishing for those that are going through it," Unwin said. "For Colin [Firth] to do two back to back, reflects his incredible stamina. Across the board the work that Colin, Geoffrey [Rush], Helena [Bonham-Carter], Tom [Hooper], and David [Seidler] have been doing to keep the film in the public gaze, they've been so generous with their time."
Both Bedlam and See-Saw haven't just been sitting back counting the nominations. Canning and Sherman are busy in New York shooting Steve McQueen's Shame, starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.
And because Unwin and Seidler have been in LA together, they have been able to continue to develop their next film together, The Lady Who Went Too Far, about Lady Hestor Stanhope. "I'm getting a lovely amount of time to work on these early drafts of Lady Hestor," he said.
The whole team will be back in the UK soon for the BAFTAs. "We are all looking forward to being back for the BAFTAs. We've seen this UK box office grow and mature and yet we've been distant from it, so we're looking forward to being back and to embrace the home support."
He added: "I think it is great to be part of a resurgent year [for British year], it's been a very strong year for British cinema."


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Officials announce big tree thinning for Lakes Basin; project to begin in 2014
Twenty years after the Rainbow Fire blew hot embers from Red's Valley into the very outskirts of Mammoth, Inyo National Forest officials said it is time to reduce the fire risk in the Lakes Basin.
Beginning next summer with a series of informational give-and-take meetings with public, the Forest Service said it would begin thinning the basin woodlands in the summer of 2014.
It is a very large project, said Sue Farley, the forest's environmental planner, who will lead the ramp-up to the actual cut-and clear efforts.
"We're going to try to minimize the impact for visitors by doing a lot of the work at the end of the season, when many people using the forest have gone home," she said.
"That doesn't give us a very big window, so we might have to do the project over several years."
Farley said resort owners and people who have property in the Lakes Basin already have done a good job of providing defensible spaces around their spots. But, she said, the large project—the forest itself—needs to be thinned.
"If you go up to the Lakes Basin now," she said, "you can see old western white pines with fire scars at their base," she said.
Those fire scars indicate that in the not-so-distant past, fire was a regular presence in the basin, back before fire suppression became the prevailing technique to handle wildfires.
In the 100 to 125 years since, the once-open forest has filled in with all kinds of conifers, in one of the most populated summer-visitation areas in Mammoth.
That situation has danger written all over it.
"The Lakes Basin is the wildfire gateway into the Town of Mammoth Lakes," she said, "and the town needs defensible space. There has been a lot of work around the perimeter of town, but not in the forest itself."
She said it is critical because there are many people who use the plethora of campgrounds and the five lakes for all kinds of things, be it fishing, hiking, climbing, or just hanging out in the pristine wilderness areas.
The problem, she said, is that they are essentially trapped in a fire emergency.
"It's a one-way-in, one-way-out area," she said, with Lake Mary Road the only escape route.
Farley said there has already been good research on the fire potential from such people as Dan Dawson, the overseer of the Valentine Reserve.
In the 1992 Rainbow Fire, the scars of which still are plainly visible to the west of Mammoth Pass, Dawson reported to Farley that he helped extinguish spot fires in the Valentine Reserve, caused by embers floating in the prevailing winds.
This is not just a matter of thinning trees, however, Farley said.
Much of her work as a planner is to help the forest conform to guidelines set down by the National Environmental Protection Act. She also will identify any archaeological sites before the tree thinning can begin.
The plan for the forest thinning was made public on Wednesday afternoon, when District Recreation Officer Jon Kazmierski notified the Mammoth Lakes Trails System Coordinating Committee at its meeting in Suite Z.
The news took Mammoth's public works director, Ray Jarvis, by surprise, along with everyone else in the room, including John Wentworth, executive director of the Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access (MLTPA) Foundation.
Kazmierski said the impact on the visitor experience will be noticeable. Among other things, so-called "user trails," those trails that are not maintained but have been used by people for generations, would likely "be obliterated."
But with proper information gathering, Farley said, "everyone should be on the same page by the time the work begins a year from next summer."
That is, unless the forest burns down in the meantime.


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Posted: Nov 23 2015, 9:12pm CST | by pamela , in Deals
This story may contain affiliate links.
|Available on: Nov 26-28,2015
$19.99 SanDisk Ultra Plus 64GB SDXC
SanDisk Ultra Plus 64GB SDXC
Available on Nov 26-28,2015
Best Buy ad features $19.99 SanDisk Ultra Plus 64GB SDXC Deal at Best Buy Black Friday Sale.
The Best Buy Black Friday 2015 sale starts at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day. Best Buy will hand out tickets up to 2 hours before the store opening. Best Buy closes at 1am Black Friday and then re-opens at 8am on Black Friday 2015. Tickets will be handed out up to 1 hour before the stores open. Best Buy is opening 1 hour earlier than Walmart this year.
Of course the Best Buy Black Friday 2015 online sale starts already at midnight or shortly there after. It is never clear which advertised Best Buy Black Friday deals will also be offered online. What we know for sure is that the $199.99 50-inch Panasonic Doorbuster is in stores only.
Consumer electronics deals are again exceptional in the Best Buy Black Friday ad. Best Buy has advertised 37 TV deals besides, laptop, tablets, Apple products, video game consoles, cameras, movies, appliances and many more<
Disclaimer: The Black Friday deal information given above is without warranties on accuracy and availability. Black Friday deals tend to sell out very quickly and as retailer only keep low inventories for doorbuster deals.
$19.99 SanDisk Ultra Plus 64GB SDXC Deal at Best Buy Black Friday Sale
Get the Free Tracker App to find a Nintendo Switch in Stock
Published: 1:15:32 am, 10/24/2019


text:
Byron's Largest Accommodation Service
"Byron Bay Accom makes you feel right at home" - Drew, WA
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"Very efficient and smooth service"- Christine, Vic
"All staff were excellent! So good to talk to someone before making a decision" - Leonie, NSW
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Fiesta Palms 5
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Point of difference
2 bedrooms - 1 bathroom - 1 car park - sleeps 4
Byron Bay Apartment
This open plan two bedroom Byron Bay apartment has a new fully appointed kitchen and bathroom with marble bench tops and twin vanities. The bright and airy living space opens out to a covered outdoor area where you can enjoy a glass of wine before heading out to dinner. Or you may prefer to relax and watch a movie, or listen to some music.
Byron Bay's wonderful array of cafes, bars, restaurants and shops are at your doorstep, and the beautiful Main Beach is only a short stroll away, making this central Byron Bay holiday accommodation a perfect choice for your next coastal getaway.
Bedding and Bathrooms
Main Bedroom with own deck - King Bed
Second bedroom - 2 Single Beds
Byron Bay Town Centre
Experience the unique atmosphere of Byron's town centre. Close to everything Byron has to offer including a variety of restaurants, cafes and boutiques right on your doorstep. The pristine beaches of Byron Bay are only a short leisurely stroll from your holiday accommodation. Fiesta Palms 5 is right in town and only a 3 minute walk to Main Beach.
Please note a security deposit is required for this property.
Arrival Time: 14:00 | Departure Time: 10:00
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text: The 27th annual Red Andrews Tournament continued with a late game on Monday and another game on Tuesday. In Monday's action, Warwick West Side's second entry in the tournament posted a thrilling 9-8 win over Warwick National. On Tuesday, Warwick Continental opened tourney play with a 4-1 victory over East Greenwich. (Warwick Beacon photos by William Geoghegan and Leo van Dijk / rhodyphoto.com)


text:
Vincent Brown necesitaba un nuevo diseño de banner publicitario y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 77 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
I am wanting a banner ad designed that will attract the attention of job applicants on the careerone.com.au website and direct them to my website cvdoctor.com.au.
My business provides the service of reviewing job applications (cv/resumes and cover letters) for job seekers before they send them off to employers.
We check formatting, grammar, appropriate use of language and that the contents of the application are complete. This service is provided within 24 hours.
The business is approximately 2 weeks old... I have put together a site and am paying for some direct advertising to bring in some business.
I am after a very simple and clear banner ad. I want it to stand out on the site it will be appearing - careerone.com.au and not be radically different from the destination site (cvdoctor.com.au). I want the ad to be eye-catching but relatively formal and instill a sense of trust.
"Has anyone read your CV or cover letter?"
I am open to suggestions for the next part, but I was thinking of...
"If you want the job, it is worth having your application checked out"
Size & format - form careerone.com.au - I can forward details if you are unsure of anything (I have no clues in this area)
300(w) x 250(h) pixels
JPEG of GIF format - 20k static
I don't want something that looks like a christmas tree or bargain basement advertising. Thats it...


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The City of Cedar Park has informed us that a sampling of mosquitoes collected at Milburn Park last week has tested positive for West Nile Virus. In response, the city will enhance monitoring and testing and is prepared to take additional action if necessary.
More information from the City of Cedar Park can be found here.
Leander ISD has taken appropriate measures with our grounds crews to follow mosquito control protocol.
Students are not allowed to bring mosquito repellents to school; however, students clothing can be treated with repellent before coming to school.
Here are a few tips from the City of Cedar Park and Williamson County about what you can do to protect against mosquitoes:
Mosquitoes breed in standing or stagnant water. Eliminating places where mosquitoes can breed and reducing the chances of mosquito bites are the most effective lines of defense against exposure to West Nile Virus. As part of its Fight the Bite campaign, the Williamson County Health District recommends the "3 Ds" of mosquito safety:
The safety of students is our top priority at Leander ISD. If you have questions, please contact the City of Cedar Park at 512-401-5000 for more information.
Engage, inspire, achieve for lifelong success.


text:
Jewett Gallery and Skylight Gallery
Punk Passage San Francisco First Wave Punk 1977-1981- San Francisco was the center of a vibrant and exciting punk scene in the late 1970s, rivaling Los Angeles and New York. In 1977, photographer Ruby Ray began documenting the punk scene in the city for the seminal punk magazine Search and Destroy.
Click here for more about Punk Passage
Other Exhibit Areas in the Library
A Trip to the Fair, 1939: The Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco - This exhibit marking the 70th anniversary of the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island features original souvenirs, art work, photographs and ephemera from the collections of the San Francisco History Center.
Exhibition: July 1, 2009 through Sept. 21, 2009
Main Library, Sixth Floor, outside the San Francisco History Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove) See More Past Exhibits 2009 from the Other Exhibition Areas in the Library


text:
Currency Displayed in
These chairs are the best you can get. The Original Chair started the revolution in outdoor seating comfort over 25 years ago. And ever since, Crazy Creek has been the choice of professional adventurers all over the globe, from the North to the South Pole – and everywhere in between. Take a seat with the best!
PowerLounger Features:
54″ x 17.5″; 32 oz / 135 x 44 cm; 906 gr
Limited Lifetime
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All prices are in USD


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Mplus Home
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Tree View
Using Means in LCGA models
Mplus Discussion
Growth Modeling of Longitudinal Data
posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 4:04 pm
I recently finished the Li, Duncan, Duncan, and Acock (2001)article in Structural Equation Modeling. After reading the article I looked at their website, www.ori.org/methodology/sempaper.home.htm. On the website, they present some model Mplus programming. I understand the programming is for version 1.0, I am left to wonder is it still necessary (i.e., using Mplus 3.11) when building the models to include the means of the intercepts and slopes? For instance, after running a model with 1 class, they used the mean for the intercept and slope in the next run for class 1 in a 2 class model. Is this necessary?
Also, I noticed in the Li et al. article and the Nagin (1999) article that part of the process is to make comparisons of the latent class variable on covariates. Both seem to use logit. I am familiar with the logit function in Mplus, but not in this context. How would I do this so that I maintained my groups from the Latent class analysis? Would it be necessary to add to the LCGA program the logistic regression syntax were the latent class variable is the dependent variable and then use the covariates as predictors? Will I still be able to keep the groups separate?
Any help with these issues will be outstanding. Thanks in advance.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 5:49 pm
It is no longer necessary to give starting values for mixture models. As the default, Mplus provides automatic starting values and random starts.
The regression of the categorical latent variable on a set of covariates is a multinomial logisitc regression. It is specified as follows for two class model where the last class is the reference class:
c#1 ON x1 x2;
See the following paper for a discussion of covariates in mixture models:
Muthén, B. (2004). Latent variable analysis: Growth mixture modeling and related techniques for longitudinal data. In D. Kaplan (ed.), Handbook of quantitative methodology for the social sciences (pp. 345-368). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 4:38 am
One more point of clarification on the multinomial logistic regression. Is this performed in conjunction with the LCGA analysis? Or is this a separate run on data that have been save using the savedata command?
Thank you in advance.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 7:01 am
It is a simultaneous analysis.
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It's a good time to be shopping for mobile service in the US.
T-Mobile's '"UnCarrier" strategy, which launched last year, has ignited a battle in the wireless market as large carriers finally start competing on prices. Even Verizon Wireless, the company with the best network reputation and the highest prices, has reacted. This week the company introduced its new "More Everything" plan, which offers subscribers more data and a few other perks for the same price. And it also tweaked its early upgrade and device financing program to make it more attractive to consumers. But how do these tweaks and changes compare with other plans offered by Verizon's largest competitors? That's the question I answer in this edition of Ask Maggie.
Apples to apples comparison
Dear Maggie,
I'm shopping around for wireless service. And I'm utterly confused. I heard that Verizon Wireless announced a new offer this week. I was wondering how it stacks up against the other major wireless operators. I have four people in my family and we all have smartphones. If some or all of us bring our own phones to the service, can we get a discount like you can with AT&T or T-Mobile's service?
I know all the wireless companies keep saying they are simplifying their plans. But honestly, I feel like I need a PhD to understand what they're offering and how it compares to other offers. I've read your comparisons in the past and you always do such a good job. Can you please help me figure out what's the best option for my family?
Lost in wireless plan mayhem
Dear Lost in wireless plan mayhem,
You are so right about how confusing these plans have become. I am shocked every time I hear wireless providers market these plans as "simpler" and "easier to understand." The truth is that most of these plans are anything but easy to understand.
For instance, AT&T and Verizon offer share plans that require you to choose different buckets of data and then pay additional fees to connect devices to those plans. And depending on the type of device you're connecting, the number of devices connected, and whether those devices are on contract, you could have different charges just to connect to the service plan.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile doesn't offer contract plans anymore. And AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile each have early upgrade plans that allow for device financing, which also can increase the cost of your monthly bill. Sprint had an early upgrade program but then eliminated it. And then it introduced a device-finance program, as well as a new family plan that it calls the Framily plan, which offers savings with more people connected to the plan.
While service providers are indeed offering customers more choices and options than ever before, to call the offerings simple or easy to understand is just not true. And in order to figure out which is the best deal for you and your family often takes some real work.
The latest updates to Verizon's wireless plans are a good example of how these plans can get over-complicated and still leave consumers wondering if they're getting a good deal.
Before we get started, you have to understand how Verizon prices its service. All new smartphone customers must sign up for one of its "share" plans. As I mentioned above, these plans offer unlimited voice minutes, text messaging, and a certain amount of shared data. Each device connected to the plan pays a fee: $40 for smartphones, $30 for basic phones, and $10 for tablets. Then you select a data plan, which also includes the unlimited talk and text messaging.
What this means from a pricing perspective is that people are able to share all the services, but the more people you add to your plan, the more expensive the plan becomes.
This week Verizon updated these share plans and increased the amount of data that subscribers get. For example, people on the $40 plan, which had offered 500MB of data, will now get 1GB of data, while the $50 plan shifts up from offering 1GB of data per month to 2GB of data. And the $60 plan now includes 3GB instead of 2GB. Customers with these plans will see their data allotments increase automatically.
This part of the announcement is pretty easy to understand, and for existing Verizon customers, it's a good deal: Pay the same amount each month for service and get more data. Period.
Verizon's Edge plan: Where things get confusing.
In addition to simply offering more data to customers, Verizon also tried to make its device financing and early upgrade program, Edge, look more attractive. Under the original incarnation of Edge, Verizon subscribers could buy a smartphone with no contract and no down payment by making 24-monthly payments for the device. At 12 months, when the device is half paid off, these customers could upgrade to a new device, so long as they traded in the previously financed device to Verizon.
This is similar to plans offered by T-Mobile and AT&T. The big difference is that up until this point, Verizon had not offered any discount on the monthly service for customers signing up for Edge. This meant that a customer who bought an iPhone 5S, which costs $650 at full retail, for the subsidized price of $200 was paying the same monthly fee for service that someone buying the iPhone 5S on the Edge program was paying. But in addition to the monthly service fee, the Edge customer was also paying $27.08 per month for the iPhone 5S.
This means that Edge customers were paying for their device twice.
Meanwhile, AT&T and T-Mobile have each adopted plans where they've completely unbundled the cost of the service from the cost of the device. In other words, customers get a discount if they finance or bring their own device to the network. And if they finance a device, the charge is added to their monthly fee. But in the case of most AT&T customers, whether the device is financed or bought with a subsidy under contract, the monthly fee ends up being about the same. The real discount comes when you bring your own device to the network.
This week Verizon tweaked its Edge monthly payment plan to look a bit more like AT&T's and T-Mobile's programs. But it didn't go all the way. Under its new Everything More plan, Edge customers can now qualify for a discount on their mobile share plans. And this is where things start to get confusing, because the discount varies based on the data package. For customers subscribed to Edge, they can get a $10 discount when adding a new smartphone for any data plan up to 8GB. This means each smartphone connected to a single plan is $30 instead of $40. If they subscribe to a plan with 10GB or more, the discount doubles to $20 for each smartphone connected to the plan. So each smartphone will cost $20 to connect to the plan rather than $40.
The discount applies only to the monthly access fee -- customers still need to pay a separate charge for data, phone calls, and text messages.
These changes could make Edge more attractive to some customers, because subscribers no longer end up paying a huge premium for the privilege of upgrading every year.
But where Verizon still differs from T-Mobile and AT&T is that it doesn't offer any such discount for a customer bringing his or her own Verizon-compatible device to the network. In other words, if you've already paid off your Verizon smartphone from a previous Verizon contract or you bring your own device to the network, you don't get a discount on your monthly service, like you would with AT&T or T-Mobile.
How does Verizon stack up to the competition?
Now let's get to your main question: What does all this mean for your bottom line? And how do Verizon's revised plans stack up to the competition?
In order to make an apples-to-apples comparison I looked at service for a family that has four smartphones and is subscribing to service with at least 2.5GB of data per user. When looking at plans from AT&T and Verizon, this means subscribing to a 10GB-of-data plan for the entire family. For Sprint's Framily Plan, which comes with 1GB of data per subscriber on the plan, this means bumping up the data usage by $10 per user, giving each person up to 3GB worth of data.
Looking at this chart, you can see that if you're truly comparing apples to apples in terms of the same type of plans with the same amount of data and the same number of subscribers with the same type of smartphone, Verizon still ends up on the higher end. But if you're keeping everyone on a contract, it's no more expensive than AT&T's service. They each cost about $260 a month for this family of four. Even if you subscribe to an early upgrade program from either Verizon or AT&T, you're still likely to pay the same amount per month. On Verizon's Edge early upgrade program, which allows subscribers to upgrade their phones after 12-months of service, the cost is $288.32 per month. AT&T's similar Next plan, which allows users to upgrade after 12-months, costs about $290 a month.
If you need to buy new phones for everyone in your family, the Sprint plan is the cheapest. On the Framily Plan with up to 3GB of data for each person in the family, you can get service for $200 a month.
The best way to save money is to get everyone on your family plan to use an existing device or buy a less expensive smartphone and sign up to either AT&T's or T-Mobile's plans, which as I explained above offer deep discounts if you already have a device to use on their networks. In fact, AT&T recently sweetened the deal for families adding more people to their plans if they bring their own device or finance one through AT&T as part of its Next program.
Previously, AT&T charged $25 to add each smartphone if the device was off-contract. On contract, the cost is $40 a smartphone. Now the company has cut that price to $15 per device. This means a family of four will pay $160 per month for service. That's $100 cheaper than what it costs from Verizon with a contract. And because Verizon Edge customers still pay a small premium for the cost of their device on top of the service, AT&T ends up being $128 a month cheaper.
T-Mobile offers even more savings. If everyone in your family already has a smartphone they can use on this service, it's only $140 a month for the entire family.
The bottom line
Verizon's new pricing is a welcome change for existing Verizon customers, as well as for customers who either believe Verizon offers a more reliable service or who need Verizon's wide coverage footprint. For these customers, the new pricing is an improvement.
But if you're shopping around for wireless service, regardless of whether everyone in your family needs a new smartphone, you're likely to get a better deal from any of the other three national wireless operators.
Sprint is a good choice if you need to buy new phones for everyone on your plan, given the fact that, like Verizon, it doesn't offer an unbundled monthly service price for devices that are unsubsidized. So if you're going to get this service, you might as well take advantage of getting a new phone since it's already bundled into the price of your service. But if you already have devices for each family member, or you're able to get them on the cheap, T-Mobile and AT&T are still going to offer you the most savings.
The main thing to keep in mind as you shop for a new service is to make sure that whichever service provider you choose, you can get a signal where you live, work, and travel. Otherwise, all those savings are meaningless.
Good luck!
Updated 2/17/14 6:20 p.m. PT: This story was updated with additional pricing information regarding AT&T's Next program.
Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie's advice. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And please put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You can also follow me on Facebook on my Ask Maggie page.


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When the Wall Street Journal added a New York sports section, we assumed it would be more than game stories and notes columns. Sure enough, they've debuted with a series of needlessly rigorous analyses of things nobody cares about.
Today's entry: a fancy Nielsen Co. algorithm (that's a high-falutin' word that means what follows must be absolute truth) to figure out which baseball team is the most hated. It looks at Internet keywords associated with teams, and assigns them positive or negative connotations.
For example, "I hate the Yankees" would receive negative points. "I love the Twins" would score positive points. "I hate the stupid Red Sox" would probably be a double negative, and register as positive. I don't know; I'm not a scientist.
Here's the full list. Sure enough, the Yankees and Red Sox make appearances, as the fifth and second most-hated teams. But the top spot is a real shocker: the Cleveland Indians.
Really? Who hates the Indians? They haven't won in a decade. They don't have any despised players. We're forced to conclude that the algorithm is flawed, and it's simply picking up on people hating real, non-baseball Indians. (Dot or feather? The presence of the Reds in third place suggests the latter.)
It's just the latest in a week of thinking-man's features for the Journal's sports section. Did you know Alex Rodriguez takes an average of 24.9 seconds to circle the bases after a home run? Did you know the Yankees have won more World Series with a Democrat in the White House than a Republican? Did you care?
Are the Yankees Truly the Most-Despised Ballclub? [Wall Street Journal]


text:
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Wednesday October 16, 2019; 09:58 am EDT
Tiny frogs seldom seen but often heard
Spring has sprung.
Spring peepers are wide awake and calling out loud.
These tiny frogs are among the first to call and breed. Only the males sing. They're calling for mates.
Competition's tough.
Females choose a mate by the quality of his call.
You can tell a peeper by a prominent dark X mark on its back.
That is, if you can find one. They're tiny, measuring less than an inch and a half long. Their thumbnail size makes them rarely seen.
But they're often heard.
Peepers fill their vocal sacs with air until they look like a balloon. Then they let out a peep that can be heard as far as a half-mile away.
They peep about once every second.
A single peeper's call is a high-pitched whistle. As a chorus, they sound like jingling sleigh bells.
The intensity of calling increases to a deafening chorus during humid evenings or just after a warm spring rain, when many males congregate.
The faster and louder a male sings, the more likely he is to attract a mate. A male peeper may also give a lower-pitched trilled whistle, usually when another male has moved too close to his calling site. During the day, peepers often call during light rains or in cloudy weather.
They have much to sing about after a long winter's slumber.
In the winter, spring peepers hibernate under logs or loose tree bark.
Their bodies freeze, but their cells don't rupture because the concentrated sugars in them, produced by their livers, act like natural antifreeze.
So these tiny frogs survive even after parts of their bodies are crystallized into ice.
Often mistaken for crickets, these early frogs start singing their songs in late February. You won't hear crickets until summer.
I'm lucky to live near water and woods, prime territory for the peepers to mate and lay their eggs. Peepers are music to my ears, my springtime lullaby.
Hear frog calls at http://www.leaps.ms/soundpage.htm.


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Used cars for sale in Selby
Browse out inventory of used cars for sale in and around Selby supplied by local Selby car dealers and car supermarkets. We have 39,153 used cars for sale within 50 miles of Selby.
Sorry no results matched your criteria.
Choose a manufacturer to find cars near you...
Other cars for sale in the North Yorkshire area...
As well as searching for cars for sale in Selby, you may also be interested in looking further a field for used cars in other areas of North Yorkshire.
Telephone numbers starting with 08XX will cost you 7p per minute plus your phone company's access charge. Calls to other telephone numbers will only cost your phone company's access charge


text:
Motorists are being warned of delays on a busy stretch of road next week.
The A23 between Pease Pottage and Patcham will be shut from Monday April 3 for five nights as vegetation is cleared along the route.
Various slip road closures will be in place in both directions overnight, between 8pm and 6am and clearly signed diversions will be in place via the next available junction. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of April.


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Hi everyone, I have finally managed to finish a project bag set and put it in my shop!
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Project bags
Posted by Lynn B at 20:04 15 comments
Labels: project bags
Sunday, 19 March 2017
Finished red winter sampler, new pattern design pending and Just Nan exclusives in my shop.
Hi everyone, I have finished my red winter sampler, I have a new pattern design pending and I am a new supplier of Just Nan cross stitch products!
Posted by Lynn B at 13:31 16 comments
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Harry Potter gift stitching and stash.
Hi everyone, I wish I could say that the beautiful cross stitch in this photo was a finished piece of mine but it isn't, however, I have recently purchased the pattern and I love it!
Posted by Lynn B at 16:20 12 comments
Labels: cross stitch
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Summer cross stitch, Seasons completed and new Etsy shop plans
Posted by Lynn B at 15:26 12 comments
Labels: cross stitch
Friday, 3 March 2017
Freebie Friday Winter Cross Stitch Pattern
Hi everyone, its Freebie Friday! Here is the last pattern in the seasons collection 2016/2017, it is a snowman design with a little bird, I hope you like it!
Posted by Lynn B at 12:08 22 comments
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text: Stay and Go parking is available at this hotel for our hotel guests. The La Quinta Inn & Suites Salt Lake Airport is located just two miles west of the Salt Lake International Airport and ten minutes from Rocky Mountain Raceway. It is only a short drive to the Great Salt Lake, Wingpointe Golf Course, Gateway Mall, Downtown, Historic Temple Square, and Energy Solutions Arena, home of the Utah Jazz. From here, visit Salt Palace Convention Center, University of Utah, Lagoon Amusement Park, the State Fairgrounds, and the Olympic Speed Skating Oval. Bring your business functions to the La Quinta Inn & Suites Salt Lake City Airport. We have meeting facilities and a courteous staff to ensure your success. While you're here, enjoy the indoor pool, hot tub, and well-equipped fitness center. Room styles vary, but all come loaded with amenities such as free high-speed Internet access. We serve a free Bright Side Breakfast every morning. Easy access off I-80 (exit 114), with shuttle service for our hotel guests, to the airport from 4:30am to 1am 7 days per week.


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The ten episode set focuses on James Stenbeck's first decade in Oakdale from his arrival in 1980 to his daring helicopter escape in 1989, with many memorable moments in between. Of course he died several times along the way. James (Anthony Herrera), Barbara (Colleen Zenk), Gunnar (Hugo Napier) and John (Larry Bryggman) are just some of the many fan favorites featured in this collection.
Below is a summary of the ten episodes on the new "James Stenbeck" set:
To order "The James Stenbeck Story," visit SoapClassics.com. You can also watch a free episode which features the November 1987 episode just prior to the one on this disc (Ruxton Hills!).
- AS THE WORLD TURNS ON DVD: Sara Ramirez Reminisces About Playing Hannah
- AS THE WORLD TURNS ON DVD: Eileen Fulton Reminisces About The Ending Of ATWT & Much More (Part 3 of 3)
- EXCLUSIVE: SoapClassics Releases Carly & Jack "CarJack" AS THE WORLD TURNS DVD!
- EXCLUSIVE: SoapClassics.com President Mark Yates Reveals New Details of ATWT DVD Release - How Did It Happen? What's Next? How You Can Make A Difference!
- Classic Soap Opera GUIDING LIGHT Next to be Released on DVD; SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, ANOTHER WORLD, THE EDGE OF NIGHT & TEXAS May Follow
- SoapClassics Begins Streaming AS THE WORLD TURNS on the Internet
- Soap Classics Will Hit Store Shelves Soon (AS THE WORLD TURNS & GUIDING LIGHT)


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|Search Results (37 videos found)
|Rle Perceptions and Privacy in Online Social Networking
Genre: Educational
Keywords: Online; security; privacy; disclosure; information sharing; online identity;
Duration: 00:17:33
Popularity (downloads): 43
|mediaBlocks: Tangible Interfaces for Online Media
Video demonstration from the 1999 CHI conference.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: Media; Interface; Online; CHI;
Duration: 00:04:56
Popularity (downloads): 512
|Interview with Jeff Pomerantz
Genre: Educational
Keywords: Jeff Pomerantz; online reference; online help; digital libraries;
Duration: 00:16:45
Popularity (downloads): 11
|NASA Connect - MTF - Airplane Design Online Activity
NASA Connect segment involving students in an online activity that features an Airplane Design Workshop that gives an example how artificial intelligence helps engineers in modeling and designing aircraft.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; Website; Online Activity; Student Activity; Model Aircraft Artificial Intelligence; Design; Airplane; Range; Fuel; Engine; Wing; Area; Shock Waves;
Duration: 00:03:06
Popularity (downloads): 2610
|Jackson Fox: Identity Formation and Identity Management in Online Social Networking Applications
Genre: Educational
Keywords: identity; social networks; social software; online identity; identity projection; privacy; public relations; social identity;
Duration: 00:22:46
Popularity (downloads): 16
|NASA Connect - EOM - Planetary Observer Activity
NASA Connect Segment featuring an online activity to show students how to design a planetary observer like the Mars Global Surveyor.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; Mars Global Surveyor; Online Activity; Website; Spacecraft; Mapping Configuration; Mapping Orbit Geometry; Science Instruments; Mars Orbiter Camera; Thermal Emission Spectrometer;
Duration: 00:02:33
Popularity (downloads): 1751
|ACM CSCW 2000 - Talking in Circles
Talking in Circles is an online environment designed to foster rich and flexible social interaction. Participants communicate primarily by speech, and are represented as colored circles within a two-dimensional...
Genre: Educational
Keywords: CSCW; computer-supported cooperative work; online environment; social interaction; Talking in Circles;
Duration: 00:04:39
Popularity (downloads): 574
|NASA Connect - ISS - Virtual ISS
NASA Connect segment exploring a virtual tour of the International Space Station through a three-dimensional tour of the ISS online.
Genre: Educational
Keywords: NASA Connect; International Space Station; Online; 3-D; Virtual;
Duration: 00:01:50
Popularity (downloads): 1672
|ASIST PANEL: This conversation is being blogged
Genre: Educational
Keywords: blogs; online identity; communications; social software; archival; technology; society;
Duration: 01:03:43
Popularity (downloads): 129
|EBLIP4 Kenote 5-7-07 Rowenna Cullen
Genre: Educational
Keywords: government documents; e-government; government; library; digitization; public access; online documents;
Duration: 01:19:20
Popularity (downloads): 8


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Shipping to: Suomi
You have 30 days to exchange a product purchased in store for another item of the same value. The product must nonetheless be complete, unused and any packaging must be intact. To exchange it, please visit the store where you purchased the item, or any store within your country, bringing both product and receipt with you.
We cannot offer exchanges for opened products and items without a receipt.


text: ………….The Earth Day Environmental emphasis never was to "protect nature" and "earth" from man-made excesses, but a collectivist political entity. Now apparently that has served its purpose, and technology to save the world is to be the "buzzword" which rational thought would conclude to be the antithesis of Earth Day. Hegelian Dialectic in action. Worship the earth together with worshiping Science and Technology? Both being celebrated on the same day, Lenin's Birthday!…………..


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Mediterranean & Adriatic Cruises
Empires rose and fell along the Mediterranean and Adriatic and left behind a remarkable cross section of history. Explore Italian treasures, from ancient Rome to the Renaissance. Witness the birthplace of democracy in Athens and the source of world religions in Israel. Bask in the light that inspired great painters in the South of France. And sample the world's finest wines. As you trace some of the world's most historic shores, raise a glass to countless Mediterranean discoveries.


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Fall TV premier week is finally here! We've matched delicious recipes with some of our favorite shows to turn a night of TV viewing into a tasty experience.
Monday – September 23rd
Castle – Best-selling mystery writer Richard Castle partners with NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett to solve crimes and gain inspiration for future novels.
Team up with Coupons.com and KitchMe to investigate this fettuccine alfredo that is to die for.
Tuesday – September 24th
The Voice – Four celebrity mentors create teams of aspiring singers trying to get their big break and discover amazing new talent.
These melt-in-your-mouth meatballs are so good, they'll make you want to sing!
Wednesday – September 25th
Nashville – Reigning Queen of Country Music Rayna James and rising star Juliette Barnes vie for the top spot their industry.
Southern fried chicken is crisp and juicy; you'll want to sink your teeth into it just like this musical drama.
Thursday – September 26th
Grey's Anatomy – Surgical interns try to balance the demands of their growing careers while maintaining personal lives outside the hospital.
Conduct your own surgery on these balsamic chicken thighs, full of intensity and flavor.
Friday – September 27th
Blue Bloods – An Irish-American family dedicated to law enforcement faces the struggles of politics while preserving their family values.
Honor the tradition of having fish on Fridays with this oven-baked salmon.
Saturday – September 28th
Saturday Night Live – A classic sketch comedy and variety show with parodies, short skits, and live bands.
Embrace the late night munchies with a tasty Cuban midnight sandwich.
Sunday – September 29th
The Good Wife – Alicia Florrick defends criminals while at the same time trying to decide whether to renew vows with her Governor husband or continue her affair with a partner at her law firm.
Unlike being cross-examined on the witness stand, no grilling is necessary to make these "should be illegal" oven BBQ ribs.
Recipe selections not endorsed by or affiliated with the TV shows.


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Founder of Megaupload Kim Dotcom relaunched his empire yesterday with Mega.co.nz, and celebrated with a glitzy launch event at his mansion outside of Auckland.The event featured a performance by local musician Tiki Taane and his father, as well as a dramatisation of an armed offenders squad raid. A helicopter with 'FBI' printed on the side at one point circled the crowd as men in black abseiled down the side of the Dotcom mansion.At the event, Dotcom spoke about why Mega was to be trusted with users' files, given that a significant number of Megaupload users had lost theirs."Well, of course I understand that some of our customers will have concerns because of what happened before. And there will be some that say, 'Hey, we'll wait a little bit and see what happens here before we sign up and become customers," Dotcom said."But there will be the early adopters. And it will be those who try it out, and I think once they see how great Mega is, the word will spread quickly and more people will sign up. And I'm actually more concerned about how I can manage the current growth because there are so many people signing up."Lawyering upWhen asked why Mega was a safer business than Megaupload had been, Dotcom told the audience at Mega's launch that the service has been "scrutinised by lawyers like no other internet start-up in history". "Every single pixel of this website has been checked for some kinds of issues. Our lawyers have made sure that we are fully compliant with the law," he said."So I don't think that we need to worry about any kind of takedown anytime soon."On privacy and encryptionA Computerworld reporter suggested that perhaps, given that Mega was encrypting all files, the Government would make attempts to outlaw encryption. However Dotcom reiterated that privacy was a "basic human right". "It's in the United Nations' charter of human rights, so I think it will be difficult to outlaw encryption," he said.Chief technology officer of Mega, Mathias Ortmann, said the encryption code was open source and as such would be subject to peer review."We expect the security community to take a long and hard look and comment on possible weaknesses and implementation errors," Ortmann said."To crack the key by simply trying all possible keys is definitely impossible, the universe is not old enough for that."More than 50% internet traffic is piracy, Dotcom saysWhen asked about how Mega would prevent abuse, Dotcom said that Megaupload had not been responsible for the actions of its users."They are trying to blame us for an internet phenomenon. This wasn't a Megaupload phenomenon, that there was piracy on Megaupload," he said. "You can ask any ISP that connects users to the internet, 'How much piracy traffic do you have on your network?'. And anyone who will tell you less than 50% is a liar."Every internet company has to deal with piracy issues, Dotcom said, including reputable organisations like YouTube."Why are they coming here, to New Zealand, [to] rip me out of my house when everyone has to deal with the same issues? They can't blame me for the actions of third parties.""If someone speeds in a car they bought you don't go to the car manufacturer and say, 'We're shutting you down.'"MegaboxDotcom also spoke of sister service Megabox, which is yet to be launched. Megabox is to be a service designed for musicians to upload music and get royalties when their music is played on the website."Megabox is still under development," he said. "It will take at least another six month before that site goes live. I'm a perfectionist and I'm not going to release a product that I'm not 100% sure of. And Megabox still needs some improvements. But it's going to be an awesome site, it's definitely going to change the music industry."Dotcom said Megabox would give the power back to the artists and creators of content. Artists using Megabox will keep the "lion's share" - 90% - of revenue from the service for themselves, he said.What now?Now that Mega is launched, Dotcom said he will be taking a break from the limelight. "I am getting tired of seeing myself in the news," he said, "so I can't imagine how a lot of New Zealanders feel.""The next time you hear from me will probably be when I am in court, fighting my case if it comes to that. I'm going to take myself a step back."
Join the CIO New Zealand group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.


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New Search / 22x12s / TIS 22s / 544BM 22s / TIS / 544BM
TIS 544BM 22x12 -44
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Home solutions: Fireplace cleanup
Arendell Parrott Academy middle school students collected over 950 cans and boxes of food during their annual Thanksgiving food drive. The food was taken to Jarvis Methodist Church in Greenville, Religious Community Services in New Bern, Greene County Interfaith, and First Presbyterian Church in Kinston for distribution to needy families. Several boxes of food were also sent to St. Mary�s Soup Kitchen in Kinston.
Home solutions: Fireplace cleanup
In the midst of cold, damp weather, nothing says �cozy� better than a cheerful fire in the fireplace. But along with the lovely ambiance of a wood-burning fireplace comes two less desirable companions: soot and ash. The American Cleaning Institute has some solutions for banishing soot and ash from your hearth and surrounding areas.
When soot gets on the carpet, our first instinct is to brush it away. But doing that will simply imbed the stain deeper into the fibers. Instead, vacuum the spot, using a canister vacuum and a crevice tool. Avoid the upright type of vacuum with a rotating brush as the brush will spread the stain and push the soot deeper into the carpet. Gently work from the outer edge of the stain to the center. If this doesn�t remove most of the stain, stop the do-it-yourself process and call a carpet cleaning professional.
However, if vacuuming removes most of the stain, the next step (assuming it is safe according to the carpet manufacturer) is to apply rubbing alcohol to a clean white cloth and blot gently until the spot is removed. Do not saturate the carpet as the alcohol can harm the backing if it has a latex bond. If the spot still remains, mix a fourth of a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid with one quart of water. Blot gently with a clean white paper towel. Continue until the spot is removed. To rinse, mist, using tap water and a spray bottle; blot to remove the moisture. Spray lightly; apply a pad (about a half-inch thick) of paper towels weighted down with a brick. Let the carpet thoroughly dry before walking on it again.
Glass fireplace screens are a magnet for baked-on ash buildup. Before you begin the cleanup, line the floor with newspapers to catch the debris.
If the ash build-up is heavy, the first step is to scrape most of it off. To avoid scratching the glass, use a flat razor blade. Hold it so it�s almost flat against the screen. Start at one corner and work your way across and then down the screen.
To remove softer ash build-up � or the residue that�s left after scraping � use a spray cleaner designed to clean glass to remove any greasy build-up. Wipe clean with a soft cloth or paper towels.
There are also commercial soot and ash cleaners and special sponges available at home improvement and janitorial supply stores that will make this dirty job a little easier.
Resource: American Cleaning Institute
Trudy W. Pickett is extension family and consumer agent at the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Center, 1791 N.C. 11/55. Reach her at 252-527-2191 or email@example.com.


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The Physician's Role in Reducing Childhood Gun Injuries and Deaths
Our Services
After reading this article and answering the review questions, the reader will be able to:
- Define the scope of gun violence against children
- Recognize parental misperceptions about gun safety
- Identify successful strategies to reduce youth deaths due to firearms
- Describe the primary care provider's role in preventing gun violence against children
You are seeing a 5-year-old boy, J.T., in your clinic for an annual well child exam. He is in kindergarten and doing well. During the visit, his mother expresses concern and shock about the shooting at Sandyhook Elementary School. She tells you that they have two hunting rifles and one handgun in their home. This has never bothered her before, but since the Sandyhook incident she is having second thoughts about the guns. She tells you, "I don't think they are any danger to J.T., what do you think?" How will you respond to her question?
Gun violence is a leading cause of mortality for children and adolescents in the United States. Firearms cause the death of almost 3,000 children under the age of 19 each year. This is an average of eight gun related pediatric deaths a day. The majority of these deaths are homicide (66%) or suicide (28%), but 4% of these deaths are accidental. Among high-income countries, the U.S. has the highest rates of childhood deaths related to firearms.
Figure 1: U.S. Firearm Deaths, 2009, Children Ages 0-19 years
- Homicide: 66%
- Suicide: 28%
- Unintentional: 4%
- Undetermined: 1%
- Legal intervention: 1%
(Adapted from National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web-Based Injury Statistics Query & Reporting System Injury Mortality Reports 1999-2009.)
Among teenagers specifically, firearms are used for the vast majority of homicides (85%) and completed suicides (63%). Adolescents are at a relatively high risk of attempting suicide or committing homicide as a consequence of their tendency toward impulsive behavior. Choosing a highly lethal method, such as a firearm, results in very high fatality rates.
In addition to mortality, firearms are also a significant source of childhood morbidity. In 2010, over 15,500 children presented to emergency departments in the U.S. for treatment of gun shot injuries. Forty percent (6,236) required hospitalization to treat these injuries at an average cost of $24,353 per case. For nonfatal child gun injuries:
- 80% of children were shot by someone they knew or shot themselves
- 56% of unintentional shootings occurred at home
- 42% occurred while a child was playing with or handling a gun
This study and many others support that the presence of a gun in the home is a significant risk for childhood firearm injury or gun death. Guns and gun ownership are pervasive in U.S. culture.
Guns and gun ownership are pervasive in U.S. culture. Recent studies on gun ownership show that firearms are present in 38% of U.S. households. There is notable geographic variability in gun ownership across the country, with Wyoming having the highest percentage of household gun ownership (63%) and Hawaii having the lowest (9.7%). When a gun is present in the home of a child or a teen, it is stored unlocked in almost half (43%) of these homes. Easy access to unlocked guns creates a risk of serious injury or death for the pediatric population. Figure 2 depicts the gun storage practices within homes containing firearms in the U.S. in which children are present.
Figure 2. Storage Patterns of Firearms in the U.S.
- Locked, unloaded, without ammunition: 39%
- Unlocked, unloaded, without ammunition: 27%
- Locked, unloaded, with ammunition: 14%
- Unlocked, loaded: 9%
- Locked, loaded: 7%
- Unlocked, unloaded, with ammunition: 4%
Parents often harbor misperceptions about guns. Many parents feel that a child does not have the coordination or grip strength to fire a gun. The average handgun requires 5 pounds of grip force to depress the trigger; the average 5-year-old can generate a grip force of 10 pounds. Parents also misperceive how their children will behave around guns. They have falsely high expectations that children will not touch a gun and underestimate that children know about the presence of a gun in the home (Table 1). Studies support that participation in comprehensive firearm safety courses have no significant effect on reducing the children's likelihood of playing with guns or engaging in shooting behaviors.6 Graduates of childhood gun safety programs do not consistently demonstrate safe behavior around guns. Most young children cannot discriminate between a toy gun and a real one. Parents underestimate the risk a gun in the home poses to their children. Pediatricians can improve safety counseling by raising parental awareness about common child behavior around guns.
Table 1. Parental Perception Versus Actual Child Behavior/Knowledge of Firearms
Parental perception
Actual child behavior
87% state the child will not touch a gun
36% of children have handled a gun in their home5
65% state the child does not know about the presence of a gun in the house
100% of children correctly reported the presence of a gun in the house6
73% of children accurately identified the location of the gun in the house5
Safe storage of guns can drastically reduce the risk of firearm death or injury (Table 2). Each of the recommendations below are associated with a protective effect in reducing unintentional firearm shootings and suicide attempts among adolescents and children.4 Pediatricians need to be aware of safe storage practices and should include this information in routine anticipatory guidance counseling for families.
Table 2. Safe Gun Storage Recommendations
Office counseling about firearms by health care providers is an effective method of producing behavior change that will promote home safety. Parents who own guns are willing to consider or implement their physician's advice about safe storage. In fact, when given verbal counseling on safe storage, over 60% of parents made a safe change in home gun storage practices. Counseling should not be limited to those families suspected of gun ownership because pediatricians significantly underestimate the likelihood of gun ownership by families.7Some physicians report anxiety or fear that parents will not be receptive to gun counseling. Multiple studies verify that parents are receptive to discussing firearms with pediatricians. Through office-based counseling, pediatricians can improve parental knowledge about gun safety, facilitate changes to improve home safety and reduce childhood firearm fatalities.
Despite the data suggesting counseling is effective, studies show pediatricians are not consistently discussing the risks of gun violence with families. A recent study assessing the firearm safety counseling practices of pediatricians showed that only 11% of parents report that their pediatrician discussed gun safety with them.7 Most pediatricians (75%) reported feeling comfortable discussing firearm safety with patients, but cited insufficient training on the topic (33%) or insufficient time during visits (28%) as reasons why they failed to discuss firearm safety.8 The AAP advocates that physicians acquire the knowledge and create the time to counsel parents about the dangers of allowing children and adolescents to have access to guns. As the AAP policy states:
"Pediatricians and other child health care professionals are urged to counsel parents about the dangers of allowing children and adolescents to have access to guns inside and outside the home. The AAP recommends that pediatricians incorporate questions about the presence and availability of firearms into their patient history taking and urge parents who possess guns to prevent access to these guns by children."1
In addition to counseling by health care providers, legislation is another effective strategy in reducing youth deaths due to firearms. Currently 18 states, including Wisconsin, have firearm safe storage laws. Child access prevention (CAP) laws hold a gun owner criminally liable if someone is injured from a child's unsupervised access to his/her gun. Application of these laws result in a consistent decrease in unintentional youth firearm deaths and suicides.10 There are no federal CAP laws; however, twenty-eight states, including Wisconsin, have such laws. Advocating for increased state and federal gun safety laws and consistent enforcement of existing laws are additional effective ways for pediatricians to reduce childhood gun deaths.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' policy statement on pediatric firearm injuries discusses the role of the pediatrician in preventing firearm injuries in more detail.1 The role of the pediatrician is summarized as follows:
- Pediatricians and other child health care professionals are urged to counsel parents about the dangers of allowing children and adolescents to have access to guns.
- Pediatricians should incorporate questions about the presence and availability of firearms into their patient history taking and urge parents who possess guns to prevent access to these guns by children.
- Health care professionals should counsel the parents of all adolescents to remove guns from the home or restrict access to them.
- Pediatricians should continue to advocate for the strongest possible legislative and regulatory approaches to prevent firearm injuries and deaths.
- Dowd M and Sege R. Firearm-related injuries affecting the pediatric population. Pediatrics. 2012;130(5):e1416-1423.
- Eber G et al. Nonfatal and Fatal Firearm-Related Injuries Among Children Aged 14 Years and Younger: United States, 1993–2000. Pediatrics. 2004;113(6);1686-1692.
- Hepburn L, Miller M, Azreal D, Hemenway D. The US gunstock: results from the 2004 national firearms survey. Inj Prev. 2007;13(1):15-19.
- Grossman D et al. Gun storage practices and risk of youth suicide and unintentional firearm injury. JAMA. 2005;293(6):707-714.
- Baxley F and Miller M. Parental misperceptions about children and firearms. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:542-547.
- Hardy MS. Teaching Firearm Safety to Children: Failure of a Program. Dev and Behav Peds. 2002;23(2):71-76.
- Becher E and Christakis N. Firearm injury prevention: are we missing the mark? Pediatrics. 2005;104(3):530-535.
- Olson M, Christoffel K and O'Connor K. Pediatricians' involvement in gun injury prevention. Inj Prev. 2007;13:99-104.
- Albright T and Burge S. Improving firearm storage habits: impact of brief office counseling by family physicians. J Am Board Fam Pract. 2003;16(1):40-46. 10. Webster D, Vernick J, Zeoli A and Manganello J. Association between youth focused firearm laws and youth suicide. JAMA. 2004;292(5):594-601.