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Give yourself a financial tune-up
As we move through one of the most financially tumultuous years in many decades, some economists feel the worst may be over. But today's continuing high unemployment rates, troubled housing market and tight credit conditions leave many people feeling anxious about the future.
Against that backdrop, this is a good time to examine your current financial state. Ask yourself where you want to be by year's end and how you may need to change course now in order to reach those goals. Here are a few action steps:
Reexamine your budget. A lot could have changed since you last examined your household budget. You may need to tweak your spending and saving habits to get back on track:
* Income: Has your pay increased or decreased significantly? Has overtime income diminished? Has interest income you count on from savings and investments dropped appreciably?
* Basic expenses: Examine how much you pay each month for rent/mortgage, food, insurance, utilities, gas, clothing and other basics compared to six months ago. Have you offset any increases by boosting your income, or do you need to trim a few expenses?
* Debt: Have you taken out new loans or amassed new credit card balances? If you carry forward balances, are you paying more in interest due to rising rates?
If you need a budget refresher course, Visa Inc.'s free personal financial management site, Practical Money Skills for Life, features a step-by-step guide to building a budget, including several interactive calculators @link href='http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/budgeting'target="_blank">www.practicalmoneyskills.com/budgeting/link
Taxes. Nobody likes overpaying their taxes or underpaying and getting penalized the following April. Ask yourself:
* Did you receive an overly large tax refund or have to pay significantly more than was deducted from your paycheck? If so, you may want to fill out a new W-4 form with your employer and recalculate your withholding allowances.
* Do you expect significantly higher (or lower) deductions this year? (For example, deductible mortgage costs or medical expenses.)
* If you make quarterly tax filings, have you allocated enough to ensure you won't pay a penalty next year?
* Has your home property value dropped significantly in recent years? If so, you may be able to request that your property taxes be reevaluated.
* If you plan to buy a home or new car this year, have you investigated tax credits for which you may be eligible? Go to www.irs.gov and search for "Recovery Act."
Charitable contributions. If you don't have charitable contributions automatically deducted, tally up what you've contributed so far and decide if it's in line with your goal for the year. Don't wait until the expensive month of December to make last-minute contributions.
Reimbursement accounts. If you participate in employer-sponsored health care or dependent care reimbursement accounts, determine whether you're on track to exhaust your account balances. Again, don't wait until year's end to scramble for qualified expenses that will allow you to fully benefit from their tax advantages.
Regardless of whether the worst is behind us or not, it makes sense to get your own financial house in order to weather this economic storm and any future ones.
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King Boonen wrote:Is your second chainring ruining your aerodynamics..?
I haven't read the thread but there are things that running single chainring enables which can result in quite a few watts saving for those interesting in TT riding. The gains are more to do with being able to narrow Q-factor than the actual removal of a ring from an existing set up, the latter having a very limited benefit - I guess it might cough up a watt or two. Ruin aero? No. Potential tiny gain, yes. Narrowing Q factor though can be somewhat more worthwhile for aero gains.
I'd still run a chain guide for the front though if not riding a fixed gear.

subset: commoncrawl


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This is the first in a series of posts that focuses on how Local Search Marketing can help your business in Long Island New York. This post looks at what is Local Search Marketing and what business can benefit from using it.
It is conservatively estimated that 30 to 40 percent of all online search is made with local intent. The fact that at any given second of any day, people are searching online for information to help them in their every day life makes Local Search Marketing extremely important in helping you reach your prospective customers and clients.
What is Local Search Marketing?
Local search is the use of specialized Internet search engines like Google Maps, Yahoo Local and Bing Places for Business that allow users to submit geographically constrained searches against a database of local business listings. Local search is any search aimed at finding something within a specific geographic area. Example: "Caribbean restaurant in Baldwin new York." Local search is seeking information online with the intention of making a transaction offline. Example: "atm Rockville Center." Anything that you would traditionally look for in the printed yellow pages becomes a local search when it is conducted online. Example: "immigration attorney on Sunrise Highway."
Who can benefit from Local Search Marketing?
If you want your customers and clients to find your place of business you can benefit from Local Search Marketing.
1. HyperLocal Business – If you are a hyperlocal business that only draw customers from within a specific service area. Some examples are restaurants, barbers, manicurists, dry cleaners, delicatessens, and sandwich shops. It's a given that if someone is searching for these types of products or services, they intend to purchase them from a location nearby.
2. Location Specific Business – If your business is location-specific, but the people searching for them are most likely elsewhere. While potential customers might not currently be in your immediate area, they hope to be some time in the future. Examples are cruise lines, ski resorts, car rental agencies, campgrounds, and convention centers.
3. Non-Location Specific Business – Some business draw clients from both nearby and far away. Examples of these are immigration attorneys, financial advisers real estate brokers, regional hospitals, household movers, and mortgage companies
As you can see, just about anyone who conducts any business offline can be impacted by local search. Have you started to use Local Search Marketing? How is it working for you? We look forward to your comments. Do feel free to contact me at sandra @smbizsol.com if you need help with your Local Search Marketing.


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03/14/2010 Pig Turd.
Salem Harley Davidson
2019 Rally In The ValleyMark Your Calendars!
The 2019 Salem HOG Rally in the Valley Poker Run will be held on Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Participants: Poker Run Information
Bike Show: Bike Show Information
Vendors: Vendors Information
Donations: Donors Letter
Facebook: Rally in the Valley Group
Team Oregon CoursesTeam Oregon Motorcycle Rider Training and Skill Development
Officers E-Mail System


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Job Description
Children's Services
We are delighted to be recruiting experienced carers to join our Complex Care Children's Service division for part time work in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
H1 Complex Care look after children with complex care needs in their own homes. Our service allows parents to work and live as normal a family life as possible.
Our tasks will include assistance with feeding often via PEG, washing & dressing, play activities, exercise and medication delivery.
We are looking for experienced carers willing to commit to set hours and to learn new skills.
To be considered for this post you must match the following criteria:
- PEG experience
- Epilepsy experience
- Manual handling experience
- Experience working with children would be highly advantageous
- Current driving license and own transport is essential
- Experience of support work
H1 Complex Care offers:
- Competitive hourly rate £9.65 - £11 per hour
- Set working pattern with monthly rota
- Training on all aspects of care for children's needs
- A variety of different clients with a variety of care needs
- Other opportunities within the company
If you have at least 2 years care experience and are looking for a new opportunity within Children's Services please APPLY NOW or call Craig Anderson on 07584 563152 for an informal chat.


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In Part 1: Out-of-the-box Features, I went through some of the great new features with Enterprise Library 5 Data Access including accessors and mappers. Before version 5, most of my EntLib extensions code was in place to perform these new features (not as eloquently, of course). I have become attached to a few of the extensions I had put in place over the years. I will keep my extensions around now for only a few reasons. 1) Customized database exceptions 2) IDataReader usability enhancements 3) Reduced mapping footprint.
I typically have a Utils.dll that I import in every project. For data/resource access projects, I also include my Utils.Data.dll. Utils.Data started its career as a data access application block similar to SqlHelper from the pre-EntLib days. Today, Utils.Data is a set of extensions that merely makes Enterprise Library more fun to be with.
Out of the box, System.Data.IDataRecord only gives you the ability to access fields by their integer index value. As an architect that does not have supervisory control over the database or the objects within, this scares me. Any additions or re-ordering of the output fields will surely cause your index-based mapping to blow up. You could solve this with a call to .GetOrdinal(fieldName) first to get the index, but that is twice the code (not to mention boring plumbing code). My extensions do nothing novel. They simply provide string-based extensions like .GetInt32(string name) that do the retrieval and casting for you. I also added a few frequently-used new extensions like .GetNullableInt(string name) to keep my result mapping as clean as concise as possible.
Reader use with built-in features:
jeep = new Jeep() { ID = row.GetInt32(0), Name = row.GetString(1), Description = row.GetString(2), Status = row.GetBoolean(3) };
Reader use with extensions:
jeep = new Jeep() { ID = reader.GetInt32("JeepID"), Name = reader.GetString("Name"), Description = reader.GetString("Description"), Status = reader.GetBoolean("Status"), };
I advise that you never use string literals in data access code. Data access code is hit hard, so take your performance improvements when you can. I prefer having const strings locally in my data access class or having an internal static class with const strings to share with all classes in my data access project. The attached solution has examples.
Parameter and Result/Row Mapping
The now built-in ParameterMapper, RowMapper, and ResultSetMapper are beautiful. Sometimes you need a little sumpin' special to make your code easier to read and work consistently when getting one or ten entities in a database call. Similar to how ExecuteSprocAccessor works with row and result set mappers, CreateObject and CreateCollection support generics and build an object or collection of the specified type. Instead of deriving a new class from a base mapper class, I chose to have one delegate method that generates a single object from a reader. This delegate is used by both CreateObject and CreateCollection. Let's look at the differences with code.
Creating an object with EntLib5 features:
public Jeep GetJeepByID(int id) { Database db = DatabaseFactory.CreateDatabase(); IParameterMapper jeepParameterMapper = new JeepParameterMapper(); IRowMapper<Jeep> jeepRowMapper = new JeepRowMapper(); IEnumerable<Jeep> jeeps = db.ExecuteSprocAccessor<Jeep>(StoredProcedures.GetJeepByID, jeepParameterMapper, jeepRowMapper, id); return jeeps.First(); } internal class JeepRowMapper : IRowMapper<Jeep> { public Jeep MapRow(System.Data.IDataRecord row) { return new Jeep() { ID = row.GetInt32(0), Name = row.GetString(1), Description = row.GetString(2), Status = row.GetBoolean(3) }; } }
Creating an object with extensions:
public Jeep GetJeepByID(int id) { Database db = DatabaseFactory.CreateDatabase(); DbCommand cmd = db.GetStoredProcCommand(StoredProcedures.GetJeepByID, id); Jeep jeep = db.CreateObject(cmd, GenerateJeepFromReader); return jeep; } private Jeep GenerateJeepFromReader(IDataReader reader) { Jeep jeep = null; if (reader.Read()) { jeep = new Jeep() { ID = reader.GetInt32(Fields.JeepID), Name = reader.GetString(Fields.JeepName), Description = reader.GetString(Fields.JeepDescription), Status = reader.GetBoolean(Fields.JeepStatus), }; } return jeep; }
One more thing to note is that my CreateObject, CreateCollection, and their GetAccessor equivalents have my customized exception handling logic that makes use of the StoredProcedureException. We'll go through that now.
Customized and Standardized Exceptions
The only value in logging exceptions is if your entire system logs exceptions and other messages in a consistent and meaningful manner. If error messages are logged as "ERROR!" or "All bets are off!!!" then you shouldn't bother logging. In the real world, few developers, architects, or support staff have access to production databases. Having meaningful and detailed error messages is key to troubleshooting an issue and meeting your SLAs. I created a simple StoredProcedureException that provides the executed (or attempted) command as part of the stack trace.
|You should never, ever, ever show the stack trace in your application or let your users see the real error messages.
Log the real message and stack trace, then show "Data access exception" to your users. Please!
In the attached code samples, you'll see two data access methods that call "ExceptionStoredProcedure" that does nothing other than RAISERROR('This is an exception', 16, 1). With the built-in features, you can expect a SqlException and a stack trace that looks like this:
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlInternalConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection) at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning() at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Run(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.ConsumeMetaData() at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.get_MetaData() at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.FinishExecuteReader(SqlDataReader ds, RunBehavior runBehavior, String resetOptionsString) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReaderTds(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, Boolean async) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method, DbAsyncResult result) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior behavior, String method) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteDbDataReader(CommandBehavior behavior) at System.Data.Common.DbCommand.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior behavior) at Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Data.Database.DoExecuteReader(DbCommand command, CommandBehavior cmdBehavior) in e:BuildsEntLibLatestSourceBlocksDataSrcDataDatabase.cs:line 460 at Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Data.Database.ExecuteReader(DbCommand command) in e:BuildsEntLibLatestSourceBlocksDataSrcDataDatabase.cs:line 846 at Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Data.CommandAccessor`1.
d__0.MoveNext() in e:BuildsEntLibLatestSourceBlocksDataSrcDataCommandAccessor.cs:line 68 at System.Linq.Enumerable.First[TSource](IEnumerable`1 source) at DataAccess.JeepDataAccess.GetJeepByIDShowingException(Int32 id) in C:DevCookbookUtilitiesEntLibExtensions5.0EntLibExtensionsDataAccessJeepDataAccess.cs:line 58 at Client.Program.TestExceptionGetWithEntLib5Only() in C:DevCookbookUtilitiesEntLibExtensions5.0EntLibExtensionsClientProgram.cs:line 58 at Client.Program.Main(String[] args) in C:DevCookbookUtilitiesEntLibExtensions5.0EntLibExtensionsClientProgram.cs:line 22
With my extensions, you can expect a StoredProcedureException that includes the text of the full stored procedure being executed at the time. This has saved me countless times as my log table stores the full stack trace and I can reproduce exactly what happened without guessing. The InnerException of the StoredProcedureException will be the same SqlException seen above. The customized stack trace will look like this:
[Stored procedure executed: ExceptionStoredProcedure @RETURN_VALUE=-6, @JeepID=1] at Soalutions.Utilities.Data.DatabaseExtensions.CreateObject[T](Database db, DbCommand cmd, GenerateObjectFromReader`1 gofr) in C:DevCookbookUtilitiesEntLibExtensions5.0EntLibExtensionsEntLibExtensionsDatabaseExtensions.cs:line 49 at DataAccess.JeepDataAccess.GetJeepByIDShowingExceptionWithExtensions(Int32 id) in C:DevCookbookUtilitiesEntLibExtensions5.0EntLibExtensionsDataAccessJeepDataAccess.cs:line 65 at Client.Program.TestExceptionGetWithExtensions() in C:DevCookbookUtilitiesEntLibExtensions5.0EntLibExtensionsClientProgram.cs:line 66 at Client.Program.Main(String[] args) in C:DevCookbookUtilitiesEntLibExtensions5.0EntLibExtensionsClientProgram.cs:line 23
So that's really it. There is some other hidden goodness in there, but it's not really worth talking about in this post.
Download sample solution: EntLibExtensions.zip – 140 KB (143,360 bytes)


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One of the genealogy newsletters I subscribe to is Treasure Maps Genealogy. It's author is Robert Ragan, best known for his "Pyjama Genealogy" books and instructional videos. http://treasuremapsgenealogy.com/ has loads of free help. Guess what! He has launched a new website http://5minutegenealogy.com/ where you can view three instructional videos for free, if you have broadband internet. (My satellite system is too slow for continuous play back, but if you you have any sort of broadband internet, please take the 15 minutes and watch these and show them to others.) In fact it would be good for the FHCs to have a link to this site, at least for as long as these videos remain available. They are full of helpful tips for internet searches. The third video link takes you to YouTube, where you can watch some additional genealogy video clips, including some instructional videos. or use this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp710JYJ6vs&eurl=http://5minutegenealogy.com/ Enjoy! _____________________________________________________________________ On CBC radio yesterday they reported the visit of Hannah Taylor to an Edmonton Elementary school. Hannah is 11 years old, and when she was 7 she started a foundation to help homeless people. (See the foundation website below.) The Ladybug Foundation My name is Hannah Taylor. I am 11 years old and I have started the Ladybug Foundation to help the homeless. Ladybugs are good luck and they are my mascot. ... http://www.ladybugfoundation.ca/ The name of Hannah's great grandmother, Mabel Henry, will be familar to most of you. Mabel was one of my early role models in genealogy. Hannah's 2g grandfather was David James Watson, who wrote a lot of family stories, including the only surviving account of the big move of the Buchanan and Watson families from Elma township in Ontario to Manitoba in 1879. I don't know whether Hannah is interested in family history, but she is making history herself!
Bill's Genealogy Blog
Bill Buchanan is a long-time genealogy enthusiast, living in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. This blog will describe my experiences as I research my family history and help others.
About Me
- Name: Bill Buchanan
- Location: Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
I am a retired online school teacher. I love family history. Since 2007, I have spent much of my time providing part-time support for the world's largest free family history site https://familysearch.org This is very rewarding. I have helped others with the Family Tree and related FamilySearch products.
Since April 2010, I have served in the Edmonton Riverbend Family History Centre. I have a FHC blog at Bill's Family History Center Blog For information the Latter-day Saints and family history click http://mormon.org/


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Reba McEntire's 'Fancy' Mashed With Iggy Azalea Actually Works [Listen – NSFW]
Sometimes, mash-ups go horribly wrong, and sometimes, they go wonderfully right. This blend of Reba McEntire's 'Fancy' and Izzy Azalea's 'Fancy' is one of those that just somehow just works.
The mash-up begins primarily with Azalea's No. 1 hit with just subtle country undertones. Without the twang of the guitar, you may not initially know McEntire's 1991 hit was in there at all. (Warning: Azalea's song contains explicit content from the get go.)
After about 40 seconds, McEntire's well-known lyrics begin: "Here's your one chance Fancy, don't let me down," she sings, before Azalea's rap tunes kick right back up. The mix of country tunes and fast-paced raps combine perfectly in this 3:31 mash-up that's been circulating.
It takes nearly two minutes for Azalea's lyrics and McEntire's voice to overlap, but when they do, it's a match made in heaven -- albeit, an unexpected heaven. The Australian artist's sound slows just in time for McEntire's to pick the mash-up that Don Chamberlain (Chambaland Mashups) created back up.
McEntire's version of 'Fancy' was originally performed by Bobbie Gentry in 1969 before McEntire made it her own. Gentry used it as a crossover pop/country hit in the early '70s. The emotional song then became a big hit for McEntire in 1991, hitting the Top 10.
Azalea's 'Fancy,' on the other hand, was released in early 2014. It's a song where she celebrates being "the realest" and able to ignore "haters." Check out the 'Fancy' mash-up below.
Listen to Reba McEntire and Iggy Azalea's 'Fancy' Mash-up:


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May 20, 2011
BETHLEHEM, PA-Two members of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's track and field team scored and two school records fell on the second and final day of action at the two-day Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Moravian College at the Timothy Breidegam Track Friday.
In the shot put, freshman Jessica Masse (Somerville, MA/Somerville HS) finished in second place, breaking the outdoor school record with a mark of 41 feet, six inches. Masse, who was in fourth place after her first three throws in the trials, had her best throw on her second of three attempts in the finals, lifting her into second place.
At 1500 meters, senior Eric Nygaard (Medway, MA/Medway HS) finished fifth overall in 3:54.11. He narrowly missed the NCAA Division III provisional qualifying mark while posting the fastest 1500 time of his career and the second best ever at UMass Dartmouth.
For the women, at 800 meters, junior Meagan Bohigian (Barre, MA/Quabbin Regional HS) finished 16th overall in 2:18.67. Her time broke the outdoor school record. For the men, in the discus, freshman Conway King (Boston, MA/O'Bryant HS) finished 18th at 124 feet, two inches, while junior Robert Yarbough (Fall River, MA/Durfee HS) finished 21st in the hammer at 148 feet, six inches.
"We're very pleased,' said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Steve Gardiner. "Jessica came back with a big throw in the finals, and Eric gave it all he could in the 1500, it was a nice way for him to end his career. It helped to confirm how this team has come together, we've developed a genuine closeness, and everyone has supported each other.
To break two school records and have someone run the second fastest time in school history is a great way for us to end the season."
The meet was the final action of the season for the Corsairs.


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One of the mantras of the department is 'Results, not excuses.' I expect my students to pursue their work with academic rigor, and do a quality work of which they can be proud.
Jim Maneval set out for college with plans to become a forest ranger, but soon found his path taking a turn.
"When I started studying the properties of wood," says Maneval, "I realized what I was really interested in were the chemicals you could make from wood. When I checked out the courses I needed to take to learn more about this area, I realized it would make more sense for me to get a chemical engineering degree. And here I am."
During his more than two decades at Bucknell he has taught a wide range of courses within his department, with a strong emphasis in chemical process design. "When you build a chemical plant, someone has to determine the best way to put it together," says Maneval. "Someone has to decide the most sensible course that will take chemicals from a raw state to a finished product, and process design teaches how to design the necessary equipment and the sequence of operations."
Working closely with small groups of students, Maneval's aim is to help students understand the complexities of project management. Students get the opportunity to work on projects with real-world applications, having recently worked, for example, on a project to design a burner for the Army Corps of Engineers and on a project to improve yeast performance at a local brewery. Maneval feels it is important for the students to learn how to work around problems as they arise. He says, "Instilling the sense that 'You can do it' involves being able to get around an unexpected 'wall' in the design process. One of the mantras of the department is 'Results, not excuses.' I expect my students to pursue their work with academic rigor, and do a quality work of which they can be proud."
Additionally, his research involves nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), the physical underpinning of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). "When materials are put together, they can display aspects of their properties we might not have seen otherwise. NMR allows you to watch processes and properties of interest to effective industrial manufacture." Maneval and his students use Bucknell's 600 MHz NMR spectrometer for much of this work. The University is one of only three or four undergraduate institutions in the nation that offers NMR technology of this caliber. "Subsequently, we get a better understanding of the materials we work with and give students an opportunity to use and learn from world-class laboratory systems," he says.
Posted October 2012


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Priebus makes nice with Paul forces
CHARLOTTE—By quietly wooing a handful of Ron Paul supporters and capitalizing on a rift in the libertarian ranks, the Republican National Committee's chairman squashed a long-shot challenge for his job.
Reince Priebus's reelection to another two-year term was guaranteed when a 5 p.m. deadline passed Thursday. His sole challenger, Maine committeeman Mark Willis, did not have the support required from three state delegations to get on the ballot for a formal vote on Friday.
Story Continued Below
( Also on POLITICO: RNC panel to report what went wrong)
Priebus flew to Las Vegas Monday for an evening sit-down with Nevada's Republican state chairman and national committeeman. After these Paul supporters won control at a state convention last year, the RNC and Mitt Romney's campaign largely bypassed them by funneling funds through a shadow party. Both sides express a desire to mend fences after the GOP got creamed in the Silver State in November.
"There were certainly some promises exchanged," Nevada committeeman James Smack said of the meeting. "We're not talking about money. We're talking about promises, though, that he's going to work on getting some doors open for us that have been closed by whatever means – whether that be through some of the casino owners or what have you."
( Also on POLITICO: Exclusive: Priebus plans for 'renewal')
Until late in the afternoon, Willis believed he still had the support of Smack and the Nevadans as he worked the halls aggressively looking for a third state. If formally nominated, Willis would have had the ability to cause chaos during what Priebus desperately wanted to be a pro-forma, unanimous vote.
In a bow to pragmatism, others on the national committee who supported Paul's 2012 run for president and fought hard to win seats at the table inside the GOP's power structure also backed Priebus.
Paul himself, now retired, did not offer an endorsement of either candidate. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul let it be known through his chief of staff that he looked forward to working with Priebus the next two years, a tacit acknowledgement that Priebus had the votes he needed locked up.
( Also on POLITICO: The Alaska GOP's mud wrestling match)
Willis, a big Paul supporter last year, downplayed the lack of support. He said Paul supporters still "feel like outcasts" after being treated poorly at the convention last summer in Tampa.
"It's not just about Ron Paul," he said. "That's his choice."
AJ Spiker, who was co-chair of Ron Paul's Iowa campaign in 2012, recently won reelection as chairman of the state Republican Party with the backing of six of the 11 non-Paul people on the central committee.
Willis never called to ask for Spiker's support. They did not even meet until Wednesday. Spiker said he worked well with Priebus last fall when Iowa was a top swing state.
A Paul insider heaped praise on Spiker and Smack "for their combination of principle and pragmatism." Spiker represents what the elder Paul sees as the new generation of libertarian leaders. He's 33, sells real estate and has three kids under 10.
Iowa national committeeman Steve Scheffler, a leading social conservative, supported Spiker's reelection as chairman. He compares the energy that the Paul forces can bring to the table to what Pat Robertson's supporters brought after his failed 1988 campaign.
"When I worked with Pat Robertson, we had some goofy people too," he said. "If you don't start including new people, you're going to die on the vine…The old guard needs to be inclusive."


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By the way, I strongly recommend checking our Facebook.


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We simply require one of these. Only 218 were built, and they didn't come with the full-boat Shelby Charger/GLHS setup. But these have to be some of the rarest Shelbys ever. Our half-birthday's in less than a month. Somebody get on this.
The 1984 Dodge California Shelby Rampage [Allpar]
Plymouth Rock Coulda Landed In The Scamp-amino! [Internal]


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2012 Girls' Volleyball All-Scholastics
Meet the standout performers who earned All-Scholastic honors for their work this season:
Athletes of the Year
Kayla Crook
Division 1: Barnstable
The three-time Division 1 state champion leaves as the program's all-time leader in assists (2,023). This year, she had a team-high 188 service points and 680 assists to earn her third consecutive appearance on the MGVCA All-State Team.
Brooke Bell
Division 2: Melrose
The setter snapped the assist record at Melrose, steering the Red Raiders to a Division 2 state championship. The captain is a two-year All-State Team member with four Middlesex League championships. The honor roll student has played for the Mass Patriots for four years.
Caroline Shannon
Division 3: Lynnfield
The Cape Ann All-League player led the Pioneers to the Division 3 state finals, qualifying her for the MGVCA All-State team. Shannon finished her career with 385 kills and 434 digs. The National Honor Society member also played for the Pumas volleyball club.
Alex Braverman
Lincoln-Sudbury, senior
The Dual County League All-Star and Division 1 State semifinalist qualified for the USA Volleyball Nationals and is a two-time beach volleyball doubles national qualifier. The senior finished second in the Northeast Bay State Games and will attend Colorado College.
Keane Brazda
Newton North, senior
The Bucknell University commit recorded 300 assists and 250 kills en route to making the Division 1 State finals. The tri-athlete plays softball and soccer and was an AAU 16-U National Champion. The four-year honor roll student also pushed SMASH Volleyball to the New England East Coast championship.
Regan Bristol
Barnstable, senior
A member of the MGVCA All-State Team, Bristol has won three consecutive Division 1 State championships, and this season recorded a team-high .303 hitting percentage. The senior had 287 kills and 48 blocks and played for the Southern Alliance U-18 team.
Julia Flynn
Notre Dame (Hingham), junior
The Division 1 All-State Team member collected 259 kills, 59 aces, and 160 digs in reaching the Division 1 South Sectional semifinals. The Catholic Conference All-Star won the Northeast championship with SMASH Volleyball Club. The junior also plays basketball and ice hockey and runs track.
Alexandra McDevitt
Medfield, senior
The Tri-Valley League MVP earned recognition as part of the Division 2 All-State team after leading the Warriors an 18-4 season. The 2010 state champion and National Honor Society member committed to Connecticut College, where she plans to play volleyball. The senior also captained the lacrosse team.
Sarah McGowan
Melrose, senior
The senior captained the Red Raiders to their first Division 2 state championship. The senior, who ranked fourth in the state with 4.5 kills per set, has collected three league and sectional championships. A National Honor Society member, McGowan is also the president of her class.
Elise Morgan
Holbrook, senior
The three-time Mayflower League champion, four-time All-Star, and two-time MVP ended her career with 922 kills to earn a spot on the MGVCA All-State team. The honor roll student clinched bronze at the this year's Bay State Games and is the league champion in the shot put.
Kay Mullen
Fairhaven, senior
The captain's team-best 326 kills and 493 digs aided the Blue Devils in becoming the first team in program history to win both the South Coast Conference and the South Sectional titles. Mullen posted a 89.3 service percentage in winning her third straight sectional title.
Julia Murphy
Canton, senior
The Hockomock League MVP captained the Bulldogs to a Division 2 Central championship and finishes her career with 724 kills, 202 blocks, 119 aces, and 556 digs. The honor roll students is a tri-athlete, also playing ice hockey and softball. The senior wants to pursue engineering at UMass-Boston.
Claire Quinn
Dana Hall, junior
A fearsome outside hitter, Quinn was named the EIL's Most Valuable Player this fall, helping Dana Hall to a first-place finish in both the regular season and league tournament. An honors student, she is vice president of the Best Buddies program.
Danielle Robillard
Case, senior
The team MVP ends her career (83-17) a Division 3 All-State nominee with 488 kills and 562 digs, a Division 3 state champion, and a two-time semifinalist. The National Honor Society president is eighth in her class and looks to major in math and minor in secondary education.
Amanda Sifferlen
Lincoln-Sudbury, senior
The Dual County League MVP led her team to the Division 1 state semifinals and was chosen for the MGVCA All-State team. The Holy Cross commit earned a spot on the US Women's Junior National A2 Volleyball Team and is a Lincoln-Sudbury Scholar.
Elizabeth Wait
Andover, senior
The team MVP made the All-Conference team and led the Golden Warriors to a Division 1 North championship and a 23-1 season. The National Honor Society member received awards for excellence in math and biology and looks to major in marine biology in college.
Coaches of the Year
Richard Barton
Division 1: Newton North
The Tigers were Bay State Conference champions and Division 1 Central finalists, but a nine-day stretch in which they broke a long Barnstable winning streak and beat Lincoln-Sudbury and Melrose in a nine-day stretch,was Barton's most memorable moment. The Harvard alum was picked for the MGVCA Coaches Hall of Fame with a 510-170 record.
Pat Cawley
Division 2: Canton
The Boston College alum steered her talented squad (22-1) as they ''boldly went where no other Canton team has been'' - a Division 2 Central championship. The six-year coach and Hockomock Davenport Div. 2 champion manages the Cobra Juniors team and also referees high school and collegiate-level volleyball.
Michelle Perrone
Division 3: Lynnfield
The three-time Cape Ann League Coach of the Year led her Division 3 state finalists behind the team motto of ''One team, one dream.'' When she is not teaching girls' or boys' volleyball, Perrone is working to earn her second Master's degree in nutrition education.
Bay State — Newton North: Keane Brazda.
Big Three — Brockton: Fabiola Garcon, Jeamela Guilloteau. Durfee: Amber Nelson. New Bedford: Katherine Guillotte, Katherine Mendes, Chandler Palmieri, Jenna Peixoto.
Boston City — Boston English: Heidy Barreiro, Nelsy Barreiro, Idil Barros. Boston International: Patricia Bello, Jasmine Soto. Brighton: Sahila Benjamin, Reyna Joint, Christille Vilme. Burke: Brenda Calderon, Kirina Laryea, Cassandra Teneus. Charlestown: Cora Chen Libero, Stephanie DePina, Aleja Quintero. CASH: Mariamma Bah, Gabriela Caruffo. Dorchester: Edili Rosario Tavares, Jasmine Sudhu, Radiesha Vassell. East Boston: Juliana Grillo, Natalia Preciaso, Clarita Prudencio. Latin Academy: Victoria Thong, Christina Wong. Madison Park: Amber Edwards, Krystal Edwards, Dayma Santana. O'Bryant: Fanny Chan, Diep Nguyen, Camly Phan. Snowden: Stephanie Chen, Shirley Peng, Baolan Xie. South Boston: Stanasa Dowdye, Jose Horne, Natalia Reyes. West Roxbury: Angelica Avugara, Joseangie Francois, Yarieliz Ortiz.
Cape Ann — Lynnfield: Caroline Shannon.
Catholic Central — Archbishop Williams: Christine Chanse, Caitlin Kearny. Arlington Catholic: Melissa Foote, Danielle Hunt, Victoria Reis, Allie Whitney. Austin Prep: Brittany Winters. Bishop Fenwick: Jen Crovo, Kate Lipka, Tessa McLaughlin, Gianna Pizzano. Cardinal Spellman: Bridget Cooke, Emily Debarros. Cathedral: Jennifer Mai. Cristo Rey: Julianna Quiroz. Lowell Catholic: Liz Friedrich, Gianna Nolan. Marian: Andressa Andrade, Sammy Fonseca, Nicole Magliozzi, Suzie Ramos, Katie Rufo. Matignon: Olivia McDonald. Pope John: Kamila Rodrigues. St. Clement: Allison Caloggero, Kristina Ofoedu, Jess Popken. St. Joseph's Prep: Jackie Chong, Gianna Scioletti. St. Mary's: Taylor Faiete.
Catholic Conference — Fontbonne: Madison Devine, Megan Shea. Notre Dame (Hingham): Julia Flynn, Natalia Maccarrone, Randi Whitham. Ursuline: Morgan O'Donnell, Jenny Weston.
Dual County — Acton-Boxborough: Rachel Hughes, Kara Mathisen. Bedford: Vicki Albert. Boston Latin: Emerson Boone. Concord-Carlisle: Kelsey Bjornson, Margaret O'Brien. Lincoln-Sudbury: Alex Braverman, Meghan Klapper, Amanda Sifferlen. Newton South: Sydney Rubinstein. Waltham: Ashley McLaughlin. Wayland: Olivia Shaw, Emily Van Mulbreght. Westford: Amanda Brooks, Casey Doremus. Weston: Sophie Alphas, Paige Gordon, Sydney Halloran.
Eastern Athletic — Bishop Feehan: Sophie Fish, Rebecca Laliberte, Sierea Schrader. Bishop Stang: Courtney Carroll, Morgan Lester. Coyle & Cassidy: Linsay Bumila, Angelina Smith. Somerset Berkley: Julie Gastall, Kristina Mongeon.
EIL — Bancroft: Lindsay Braith. Beaver Country Day: Maggie Cherneff. Concord Academy: Alex Craig, Eleni Papadopoulos, Corey Rost. Dana Hall: Elena Heiland, Alondra Lynch, Margot Palandjian, Claire Quinn, Jodie Sheffels. Newton Country Day: Sally Lakis, Nicole Macedo. Pingree: Bridget Healey, Casey Torto, Samantha Torto.
Greater Boston — Cambridge: Yanthia DeJesus, Autumn Harrison, Kyia Jones, Fnan Mesmer, Meron Woldemariam. Everett: Vanessa Bernard, Lindsey Ducheine. Malden: Lisa Delacey, Joyce Ly, Norma Pimental, Marissa Wofsey. Medford: Kelly Foley, Katie Napier, Lydia Regan. Somerville: Melissa McGovern.
Hockomock — Attleboro: Brianna Robitaille. Canton: Jackie Bornemann, Mellyn Costello, Julia Murphy. Foxborough: Ashley Snyder. Franklin: Shay Feeley, Emily Natal. King Philip: Brigid Murray. Mansfield: Eliana Cassimassima. North Attleborough: Sydney Bennett, Morgan Kieon, Meghan Ronaghan. Oliver Ames: Rachel Namenson. Sharon: Raichel Topale. Stoughton: Nicole Daniels, Emma Zuk. Taunton: Jess Khang.
Mass. Charter — Codman Charter: Johanna St. Claire. Foxborough Charter: Christa Chubet, Amanda Delva. KIPP Academy: Jalyssa Pena. Prospect Hill: Aaliyah Mercer, Chynere Scott-Dottin.
Mayflower — Avon: Christine Crane. Bishop Connolly: Katie Gordon. Blue Hills: Brittany Clark. Bristol Aggie: Shandell Saylors. Bristol-Plymouth: Rachel Ducharme, Larissa Nowak. Diman: Lexie Botelho. Holbrook: Ari Hay, Liz Kerek, Elise Morgan. Norfolk Aggie: Ashley Gatchell, Courtney Murray. Old Colony: Cassandra Eastwine, Kasandra Gonet. Sacred Heart: Jan Rathje, Kathy Rathje, Sammy Slavik. South Shore Voc-Tech: Olivia O'Connell, Olivia Swiatek. Tri-County: Lauren Hall, Colleen Mistler. Upper Cape: Danielle Willett. Westport: Jen Alves.
Merrimack Valley — Andover: Lauren Gibson, Lauren Murtagh, Elizabeth Wait, Sarah Weimer. Billerica: Danielle Nickerson. Central Catholic: Michelle Bouchard, Amanda Williams. Chelmsford: Lauren Silverman. Dracut: Stephanie Nihan. Haverhill: Alex Itasca, Abigail Sonuga. North Andover: Micaela Donatio, Kaylee Lambrinos.
Middlesex — Burlington: Melannie Aquino. Lexington: Muriel Lavelle, Jackie Oliver. Melrose: Brooke Bell, Jennifer Cain, Amanda Commito, Rachel Johnson, Jill MacInnes, Sarah McGowan, Kayla Wyland. Reading: Hannah Conroy, Alex Hopkinson, Jenna Maroney, Morgan O'Brien, Shannon Sciarappa. Stoneham: Samantha Trant. Winchester: Ellen Boettcher, Karen Li.
Old Colony — Barnstable: Regan Bristol, Kayla Crook.
South Coast — Apponequet: Julia Lahaie. Bourne: Colleen Brady, Chelsea Doucette, Madi Durr. Case: Ellie Roberts, Danielle Robillard. Fairhaven: Ashley Brown, Katie Leidhold, Kay Mullen. Greater New Bedford: Kayla Boyd, Casey Lopes. Seekonk: Kayla Baril.
Tri-Valley — Hopkinton: Holly Adams, Tess Chandler, Kristen Cooprider. Medfield: Kristin Fechtelkotter, Anna Krah, Alexandra McDevitt, Mekenzie Smith. Medway: Dana Mott, Lilly Mott, Christina Spinazola. Millis: Mia Burruss. Norton: Jackie Dunne. Westwood: Monica Norris.


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Drone policy requires scrutiny
Penning hard-core terrorists up at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba was a bad idea, President Barack Obama has said. Making men dedicated to slaughtering Americans think they might be about to die by drowning is just wrong, his administration has held.
But actually killing people, including Americans, with strikes from remote-controlled drone aircraft – with little evidence, and no proceedings other than an OK from the White House – that's all right. At least, it is Obama's policy.
No one outside the White House, the intelligence community and some in the military knows how many people have been executed by Obama's order. The White House assures us the killings were necessary to safeguard Americans.
Some in Congress are not comfortable with the ethical contradictions in Obama's judge, jury and executioner drone policy. Lawmakers of both parties have expressed serious reservations, including reasonable ones about the constitutionality of executing American citizens without trials.
Again, the validity of looking into executions by drone is indicated by the wide bipartisan nature of concern. Senators and representatives are right to be concerned about the scheme.


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11th April 2017
The First Minister still awaits a formal response from Downing Street to her letter dated 31st March, requesting discussions on a Section 30 Order of the Scotland Act that would enable a second independence referendum.
In full knowledge that such a request is unlikely to be granted in the short-medium term, Nicola Sturgeon has promised to come back to the Scottish Parliament after the Easter recess to explain how the Scottish Government intends to 'progress the will of the Scottish Parliament'.
Despite Holyrood voting in favour of seeking a second referendum, Theresa May is resolute in her stance that "now is not the time". So what can the Scottish Government conceivably do to bring about a legally binding referendum?
Indyref2: How will the FM 'progress the will of the Scottish Parliament'? https://t.co/GNMVnnRgCx via @GraylingSCOT pic.twitter.com/zOrncSZSAw
Hold a snap Holyrood election – in the hope to win a majority and further demonstrate the strength of feeling? The SNP already have a cast-iron mandate and the Scottish Parliament has spoken, so it is unclear what significant difference this could make, unless it was a proxy IndyRef2. It would also be pretty risky given Tory resurgence north of the border.
Hold an advisory referendum? The Edinburgh Agreement suggests that both parties agreed last time that a legally binding referendum required a Section 30 Order, which transfers powers to the Scottish Parliament to allow a referendum result that would not be challenged in the courts. An advisory referendum could demonstrate the scale of feeling on the issue of independence, but the precedent has been set, so what would be the point. The SNP couldn't be certain that the population at large would take any referendum as seriously as the last one, and a simple boycott by Unionist voters would be enough to render it redundant.
Disrupt the Great Repeal Bill when it comes before UK and Scottish parliaments? The Great Repeal Bill may not be published until 2018 and given what is outlined in the UK Government's White Paper on the Bill, it's unlikely the SNP Group in Westminster will have much impact without support from Labour and minded Tory rebels. Trying to delay elements of the Bill via legislative consent motions in the Scottish Parliament would also not be straightforward, and would be disruptive to the SNP's desired IndyRef2 time window.
Challenge the Section 30 request in the courts? The FM has alluded to this during her trip to the US. She has since denied any intention to do so, but that doesn't stop an individual from seeking to test the issue in court. Any court decision may not be expeditious and would be challenged, so this wouldn't fit with the First Minister's desire to hold a referendum in autumn 2018.
The UK Government is confident that Brexit allows it to kick the Section 30 request into the long-grass, maybe even beyond the current Scottish parliamentary term. However, the SNP are not to be underestimated, the party has skilful strategists who will have explored all of the options, so presumably the FM has something up her sleeve.
The FM also needs to get the SNP's domestic record back on track, recent economic data putting Scotland on the brink of economic recession is not going to help the case for IndyRef2 or the local elections in a few weeks' time.
It remains unclear how the will of the Scottish Parliament is to be "progressed", but there won't be long to wait – expect the First Minister to resurrect her case after Easter.
Matthew Revett
15th November 2016
Will Kunkel, Executive Vice President for Creative and Content in Grayling New York, on the final of our #7for17 trends, Live and Uncut'Timing is everything' has been a favorite line to many but...Read More
8th November 2016
Danica Ross, Grayling San Francisco US Executive Vice President, on how brands can guide themselves through the 'the new space race' – part of our #7for17 trends series.In an era where brands...Read More
3rd November 2016
Russell Patten, Chair of Grayling's European Public Affairs practice, looks at one of the major political trends as part of our #7for17 series. It's been a turbulent year in politics, with the...Read More


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The recent death of Neil Armstrong spurred me to ponder who are the greatest explorers in history.
Now, to be sure, so many of the great explorers are lost to history. Who led the first humans out of Africa sometime between 60,000 and 125,000 years ago? He or she was surely a great explorer. So, too, were the discoverers of the Polynesian islands, and so were the first Americans who arrived here 16,500 years ago.
Alas, any list of great explorers must be confined to the historical record. And my list is highly subjective — it's mine. For my purposes, I define "great" as a combination of venturing into the unknown, and the value of the information returned.
So here's the list:
1. Christopher Columbus: Columbus is undoubtedly a controversial historical figure because how he treated the natives of North America, it cannot be denied that his four crossings of the Atlantic led to the first lasting European contact with America.
2. James Cook: A classic explorer endowed with physical courage and exceptional mapping skills, Cook achieved the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
3. Yuri Gagarin: The first man in space. Enough said.
4. Ferdinand Magellan: Magellan's expedition became the first to sail from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, and although Magellan was killed in the Philippines, his expedition completed a circumnavigation of the globe. Craters on the Moon and Mars are named after him, as are the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way.
5. Neil Armstrong: The first human to set foot on another world.
6. Roald Amundsen: Probably the greatest explorer of the poles, he led the first expedition to discover the South Pole, the first to indisputably find the North Pole and is the first to traverse the Northwest Passage.
7. Marco Polo: In 1269 he left for a 24-year journey to Asia, returning to author a book that did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. His explorations and travels did much to increase trade between Asia and Europe, and inspired later European explorers.
8. Sir Edmund Hilary: First man, along with sherpa Tenzing Norgay, to climb Mount Everest.
9. Meriwether Lewis: The leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition that made a transcontinental passage of America, Lewis opened the western half of America to the United States.
10. Leif Ericson: A Norse explorer, Ericson is believed to have landed in North America 500 years before Columbus. He is believed to have established a small colony in Newfoundland called Vinland.
So who did I leave off? Who did I rank too high? I'm really interested to see the discussion that follows this list as the nature of great exploration is so subjective.


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This week's apparent discovery of radioactive polonium on the possessions and clothing of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Arafat looked like it could have finally solved the mystery surrounding the cause of his death in 2004— it was poison.
Unfortunately, it looks like the new theory, as put forward by Al Jazeera after an 8 month investigation, is only heightening the speculation and conspiracy theories.
The Jerusalem Post spoke to Dr. Ely Karmon a chemicals expert from Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center's Institute for Counter-Terrorism:
"If it had been used to for poisoning, minimal levels should be seen now. Yet much higher levels were found. Someone planted the polonium much later," Karmon said.
"Because of the half life of the substance, the conclusion is that the polonium is much more fresh," he added.
The response seems to back up a report from French newspaper Le Figaro which argued that the symptoms did not mach polonium poisoning.


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VANCOUVER, BC – After playing hero in New Mexico's Elite Eight fixture, Ben McKendry is the last Vancouver Whitecaps FC youth development product remaining in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament play.
The seventh-seeded New Mexico Lobos were victorious in their second all-time berth in the prestigious Elite Eight, where they shut out the second-seeded University of Washington Huskies by a score of 1-0.
McKendry scored the lone goal for the Lobos in the 37th minute when Oniel Fisher found the former 'Caps Residency standout for a point-blank tally, which lifted the Lobos to the Final Four for the second time in school history.
New Mexico will now clash with the third-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday, December 13 in Philadelphia, PA. The Lobos should be brimming with confidence, as they are the only team in the Final Four that hasn't conceded a goal in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA final will be held on December 15.
Click here to view the complete NCAA Division I bracket.
Over in the NCAA Division II bracket, the Simon Fraser University Clan fell 3-2 to the Carson-Newman Eagles on December 5 in a Final Four match that was delayed 45 minutes due to light failure.
SFU's season once again ended in the same round and on the same pitch it ended on in 2012, as the Clan led 1-0 at the half but three second half goals from Carson-Newman proved more than SFU could handle.
Despite the loss, head coach Alan Koch's side enjoyed a successful year in which they captured their second consecutive conference NCAA West Region Championship and fourth straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown.
Former Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency player Alex Rowley was also named to the 2013 NSCAA/Continental Tire All-West Region team. Rowley made 20 starts in 22 appearances in 2013, registering two goals and seven assists while earning a spot on the first-team of conference all-stars.
Click here to view the complete NCAA Division II bracket.


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Let's continue a discussion of powerful web tools that may change the way we teach and learn.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Google and the World Brain
from the YouTube trailer description:
"The story of the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet. In 2002 Google began to scan millions of books in an effort to create a giant global library, containing every book in existence. They had an even greater purpose - to create a higher form of intelligence, something that HG Wells had predicted in his 1937 essay "World Brain". But over half the books Google scanned were in copyright, and authors across the world launched a campaign to stop Google, which climaxed in a New York courtroom in 2011. A film about the dreams, dilemmas and dangers of the Internet."
Learn more about this film!
It is an official selection in the 2013 Sundance Film Festival screening in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 18.
Wish I could be there. A must see!
Posted by Judy Gressel at 7:13 PM 0 comments Links to this post
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The example I have is a rotating, animated cube using CSS3 transformations and transitions.
The problem is that there seems to be no possible CSS3 rotation from the starting position in this jsfiddle to show the '4' face (one rotation left).
Basic Instructions for JSFiddle: the 'x' key styles the cube with the CSS3
rotateX:90deg, 'y' for rotateY and 'z' for rotateZ. Click the 'Reset' button to return to the starting position. NOTICE* No matter what rotation (x, y or z), I CANNOT get the cube to rotate left one position.
I am working with the CSS3 rotate3d properties
rotateY and
rotateZ with a CSS3
transition affecting the
transform attribute.
Also, it is worth mentioning that using the rotateX/Y/Z properties allow the cube to rotate up, left, right or down in almost ALL other positions/orientations.
What is the problem here? Is this rotation impossible? Is there a problem with the CSS3 rotations, or is the problem in my code/logic?
The best answer would explain how the CSS3 rotate3d transformations work (behind the scenes; mathematically).


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State budget talks broke down between legislative leaders and Gov. Douglas on Tuesday, tossing the Democratic leadership and the governor into a game of political chicken. The Democrats declared they would likely send out a budget of their own making and leave it to the governor to veto. If the Democrats leave in their request for $26.1 million in new taxes, while also transferring $19.8 million to the property tax, the governor's veto will likely follow. Both sides have to ask how their intransigent positions serve the state.
Since the start of the economic downturn, Gov. Douglas has been suggesting cuts needed to be made to state services, while refusing to consider tax increases. Twenty million in cuts were made to the proposed fiscal year 2010 budget back in August. Since then, political stalemate has prevented further action. Estimates vary, but current projections suggest the state could be looking at deficits as big as $116 million in fiscal year 2011, and $194 million in 2012 — and that's assuming the economy bottoms out and we see 3 percent growth in both fiscal years. It is not a promising forecast.
Just where should the political process take us from here?
One scenario is that after the showdown this week, the Legislature will adjourn and anticipate the governor's veto. More dialogue will take place and finally they'll propose another budget, call a special session and see if it passes and is approved by the governor. What's certain is this: The longer the negotiating process goes into the summer, the deeper the cuts will have to be.
The Democrats, it must be noted, recently made a big concession to the governor by agreeing that $19.8 million allotted to the Teachers' Retirement Fund should be shifted from the state's general fund to the education fund — meaning it would financed through the local property tax. The Democratic leadership had resisted such a shift for months, but recently conceded because it was the one way the governor has been willing to, essentially, increase taxes — though he has refused to call it an increase on the property tax because voters will have the opportunity to slash their school budgets.
Has the governor conceded? So far, not much. He has held to an ideological — almost pathological — aversion to raising any taxes, and that lack of compromise has jeopardized progress on the budget and led to poor decision-making — like cutting the budgets for the state's regional development corporations by 8 percent, with another 12 percent cut in the offing. (That's just plain dumb to cut funding for programs that focus on job development and economic growth.)
For their part, the Democrats have been playing semantics with their talk of budgets "cut to the bone." By all accounts, their proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2010 is up about 6.7 percent compared to fiscal year 2009. That may be a significant decrease from the initial budget proposal (therefore they can say they've cut their proposed spending), but in real terms it's an increase — and much of that is being financed with the federal stimulus money. That is, as Gov. Douglas has been harping, a recipe for disaster two years down the road when the stimulus checks are gone.
The bottom line is not that difficult to perceive: Democrats must make some tough concessions to reduce government spending, and Douglas must concede to more revenue growth. Our guess is that most Vermonters have been hoping to see that logical compromise since the session began and are disappointed in the current stalemate.
To that end, legislative leaders and the governor should review the budget line-item by line-item and make specific suggestions as to which programs should be cut, which reduced and which increased. The caveat is to understand that leaving programs decimated serves no one well, and that boosting programs that seek to raise government revenue — economic development, for example — makes sense in this economy.
On the revenue side, the governor can make the easy concessions on increasing the sin taxes (cigarettes and alcohol); adding a tax to digital downloads (essentially the same as paying a tax when you buy a record at a store); and closing the loophole on capital gains. Similarly, the governor should agree to a hike in the gas tax.
For their part, Democrats must suggest cuts in programs. At this date, the human services budget, for example, is looking at a $180 million (by one report) increase over the prior year. Some of that increase is explained by higher unemployment payments, for example, and the added services required to help those most affected by the recession — as opposed to an expansion of services. Nonetheless, Vermont has always offered generous relief programs, and those may need to be trimmed in order to provide the basics to the thousands of additional people in need.
One mistake to avoid is weakening all governmental programs through cuts across the board, as Douglas has advocated, rather than to make the harder choices of selecting programs that add most value in hard times, while mothballing others. The governor should also be required to seek significant cuts in staffing throughout his administration — at a level back to when he first took office would be appropriate. Keeping public relations posts when vital services for people in need go lacking is an insult to all Vermonters.
The overarching goal is to live within the state's means, but recognizing also that ineffective government does as much economic harm to the state as does excessive taxation.
Angelo S. Lynn